Spiritual Teachers

"Another, gazing in his face, sits wistfully apart Searching it with those looks of love that leap from heart to heart; Her eyes -- afire with shy desire, veiled by their lashes black -- Speak so that Krishna cannot choose but send the message back, In the company of damsels whose bright eyes in a ring Shine round him with soft meanings in the merry light of Spring."

"See, Lady! How thy Krishna passes these idle hours Decked forth in fold of woven gold, and crowded with forest flowers; And scented with sandal, and gay with gems of price -- Rubies to mate his laughing lips, and diamonds like his eyes; -- In the company of damsels, who dance and sing and play, Lies Krishna, laughing, toying, dreaming his Spring away."

"One, with star-blossomed champak wreaths, woos him to rest his head On the dark pillow of her breast so tenderly outspread; And o’er his brow with roses blown she fans a fragrance rare, That falls on the enchanted sense like rain in thirsty air, While the company of damsels wave many an odorous spray, And Krishna, laughing, toying, sighs the soft Spring away."

"Sweetest of all that Temptress who dances for him now With subtle feet which part and meet in the Rasa measures slow, To the chime of silver bangles and the beat of rose-leaf hands, And pipe and lute and cymbal played by the woodland bands; So that wholly passion-laden-eye, ear, sense, soul o'er come -- Krishna is there as in the forest; his heart forgets its home."

"Then she, the maid of Radha, spake again; And pointing far away between the leaves Guided her lovely Mistress where to look, And note how Krishna wantoned in the wood Now with this one, now that; his heart, her prize; Panting with foolish passions, and his eyes Beaming with too much love of those fair girls -- Fair, but not so as Radha; and she sang:"

"Mark this song of Jayadev! Deep as pearl in ocean-wave Lurketh in its lines a wonder Which the wise alone will ponder: Though it's seemeth of the Earth, Heavenly is the music's birth; Telling darkly of delights In the wood, of wasted nights, Of witless days, and fruitless love, And false pleasures of the grove,And rash passions of the prime, And those dances of Spring-time; Time, which seems so subtle-sweet, Time, which pipes to dancing-feet, Ah! So softly -- Ah! So sweetly -- That among those wood-maids featly Krishna cannot choose but dance, Letting pass life's greater chance."

"Yet the winds that sigh so As they stir the rose Wake a sigh from Krishna Wistfuller than those; All their faint breaths swinging The creepers to and fro Pass like rustling arrows Shot from Kama’s bow: Thus among the dancers What those Zephyrs bring Strikes to Krishna's spirit Like a darted sting."

"Where the breaking forth of blossom on the yellow Keshra-sprays Dazzles like Kama’s sceptre, whom all the world obeys; And Patal-buds fill drowsy bees from pink delicious bowls, As Kama’s nectared goblet steeps in languor human souls; There he dances with the dancers, and of Radha thinketh none, All in the warm new Spring-tide, when none will live alone."

"Krishna, made for heavenly things, 'Mid those woodland singers sings; With those dancers dances featly, Gives back soft embraces sweetly; Smiles on that one, toys with this, Glance for glance, and kiss for kiss; Meets the merry damsels fairly, Plays the round of folly rarely, Lapped in milk-warm Spring-time weather, He and those brown girls together."

"And as if -- far wandered -- The traveller should hear The bird of home, the Koil, With nest-notes rich and clear; And there should come one moment A blessed fleeting dream Of the bees among the mangoes Beside his native stream; So flash those sudden yearnings, That sense of a dearer thing, The love and lack of Radha Upon his soul in spring."

"Sri Krishna walked the soil to annihilate the philosophies of world-shunning spirituality and of world-grasping materialism. He established on earth the “Dharmarajya,” the Kingdom of the Inner Law. He restored the true spirit of Kshatriya heroism, motivated not by human ego, but by Divine Will, making man a devoted and active instrument of the Supreme. He brought down to the earth-consciousness the supreme Truth that earth and earthly life, being inherently divine, must be made outwardly divine, fully and totally, in every sphere, in every aspect."

"The sky is clouded; and the wood resembles The sky, thick arched with a black tamala boughs; Oh Radha, Radha! Take this soul that trembles In life's deep midnight, to thy Golden house. So Nanda spoke -- and led by Radha’s spirit, The feet of Krishna found the road aright; Wherefore, in bliss which all high hearts inherit, Together taste they love's divine delight."

"Sri Krishna is the shoreless ocean of Bliss. But as soon as I sincerely dedicate myself to Him, He presents me with His own Boat and takes me to the boundless Shore, the Golden All."

"A Vaishnava’s life is love-intoxicated. He is a portion of Sri Krishna’s individuality, perpetuating all the divine qualities of an everlasting Life."

"When I live in Sri Krishna’s Soul, I see the Truth from above. When I live in Sri Krishna’s Heart, I see the Truth from within. When I live in Sri Krishna’s Body, I see the Truth from without."

"Beautiful Radha, Jasmine bosomed Radha, All in the Spring-time waited by the wood For Krishna fair, Krishna the all-forgetful, - Krishna with earthly love's false fire consuming – And some one of her maidens sang this song: --"

"An aspirant’s is the cry that compels Sri Krishna to seize him with the very madness of love."

"I do. I refuse to accept the invitation of Desire. Sri Krishna does. He comes in to illuminate my consciousness."

"My ideal is to mount higher and higher up the ladder of divine evolution. Sri Krishna’s Ideal is to make of Himself the divine Sacrifice to strengthen the rungs of the ladder."

"For an earth-bound soul, the Gita can fruitfully reconcile the dark problems of human life. For a Heaven-seeking soul, the Gita can awaken a new consciousness of ever-increasing Bliss."

"I know where Krishna tarries in these early days of Spring, When every wind from warm Malay brings fragrance on its wing; Brings fragrance stolen far away from thickets of the clove, In Jungles where the bees hum and the Koil flutes her love; He dances with the dancers, at the merry morrice one, All in the budding Spring-time, for ‘tis sad to be alone."

"Radha carries the human soul into Sri Krishna’s Heart. Sri Krishna transforms the human soul into the Divine Soul and commands it to play its role in the Divine Play."

"The Gita is Sri Krishna’s Heart, his Vision-in-Fulfilment. The Gita is humanity’s Breath, its Journey towards Immortality."

"Sri Krishna is sweet when I realise Him in the perfection of my “I". Sri Krishna is sweeter when I realise Him as the Doer. Sri Krishna is sweetest when I realise Him as the Pilot of all my actions and myself as His dedicated instrument."

"The influence of the Mahabharata is a flowering of centuries. The influence of Sri Krishna is the Blessing for Eternity."

"The Pandavas had love for Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna had not only love but also unstinting concern for the Pandavas."

"Sri Krishna plays on His Flute. We hear. We do something more. We barter our body’s dust with His Soul’s Plenitude."

"Sri Krishna is the beloved Boatman who untiringly plies His Boat of Consciousness between India’s unparalleled history and Her unrivalled spirituality."

"Sri Krishna’s Flute stirs the Universal Consciousness. Sri Krishna’s Gita enchants the Transcendental Consciousness."

"Arjuna ultimately became the spiritual child of Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna ultimately became the loving slave of Arjuna’s surrender."

"God is proud of His Divinity in Sri Krishna. Man is proud of his humanity in Sri Krishna."

"Man’s growing divinity cries for the human perfection in Sri Krishna the man. In Sri Krishna’s humanity lies man’s promise of becoming divine."

"Sweetness and grace inexpressible, bond unbreakable, sacrifice unfathomable — this indeed is Radha, the Mother-Heart of Sri Krishna."

"Sri Krishna stole the hearts of the Gopis unconditionally. The Gopis stole His Ecstasy unreservedly."

"If the Avatar Sri Krishna is the most complicated Door, then the Gita, His Song, is the most effective Key."

"I know how Krishna passes these hours of blue and gold, When parted lovers sigh to meet and greet and closely hold Hand fast in hand; and every branch upon the Valkul-tree Droops downward with a hundred blooms, in every bloom a bee; He is dancing with the dancers to a laughter-moving tone, In the soft awakenings Spring-time, when ‘tis hard to live alone."

"...Nanda the foster parents of Krishna and his uncle who was the brother of Krishna's father has been referred as Mandaladhish (Head of Mandal) of Gokul Mandal. Therefore, the Mandal was administrative unit and the kingdom was organized into different Mandal whose head was responsible for the administration, tax collection and other matters."

"Arjuna is the ascending human soul. Krishna is the descending divine Soul. Finally they meet. The human sou says to the divine Soul: “I need you.”The divine Soul says to the human soul: *I need you, too. I need you for my self-manifestation. You need me for your self-realisation.” Arjuna says: “O, Krishna, you are mine, absolutely mine.” Krishna says: “O, Arjuna, no mine, no thine. We are the Oneness complete, within, without.”"

"It is clear that Krishna's historicity and legacies have been highjacked to the non-temporal level at the best and mythical level at the worst. If seen from objective point of view, there should not be any doubt about the historicity of Krishna and Mahabharata period"

"Krishna and post-Krishna era underlines the rather high period of Indian socio-political scape when ruling elites or Kshatriya was like philosopher king. The Gana-Sangh system or rather republican credo that Krishna had displayed in his stately conduct or the democratic principles of debate, discussion, and unanimity or a sort of consensus characterizing Yadavas and Krishna’s conduct testifies this."

"In the Buddhist texts the term 'kala' has been used for denote the villainous men or of wicked tendency, while in the Jain texts the term 'Krishna or Vasudev' has been used for referring to the great personality, called as the 'Slaka Purush'."

"There is no unanimity among the theologians and religious figures as what is the position of Krishna. It shows he is being interpreted as per the whims and fancies of the person and sects concerned. This also proves the historicity of Krishna."

"Garbe believes Krishna to have lived about two hundred years before Buddha, to have been son of Vasudeva, to have founded a monotheistic and ethical religion, and to have been eventually deified and identified with the god Vasudeva, he founded. In the Mahabharata we have all traditions about Krishna that survived until then, non-Aryan hero, a spiritual teacher, a tribal god."

"Krishna: Political Philosophy If Plato is called the father of politics and Machiavelli as that of modern politics, then Krishna could be undoubtedly designated as the father of politics of all the time. It is another matter that he has been relegated to the mystical realm, making him the God Himself."

"Panini, the ancient grammarian (probably belonged to 5th century or sixth century BC) mentions a character called Vasudeva son of Vasudeva, and also mentions Kaurava and Arjuna which testifies to Vasudeva Krishna, Arjuna and Kauravas being contemporaries. Megasthenes (350-290 BC), a Greek ethnographer and an ambassador of Seleucus I to the court of Chandragupta Maurya mentioned about Herakles in his famous work Indica. Many scholars have suggested that the deity identified as Herakles was Krishna"

"The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. Worship of a deity or hero called Krishna, in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopal, can be traced to the 4th century BC."

"The earliest text that explicitly provides detailed descriptions of Krishna as a personality is the epic Mahabharata which depicts Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna is central to many of the main stories of the epic. The eighteen chapters of the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) of the epic that constitutes the Bhagavad Gita contain the advice of Krishna to the warrior-hero Arjuna, on the battlefield."

"The Sanskrit word ‘krshna’ is primarily an adjective meaning “black”, “dark”, or “dark-blue”. Sometimes it is also translated as “all attractive”. In the Lalitavistara Sutra, Krishna is the chief of the black demons, the enemies of the Buddha."

"...republican credo of Yadavas were refined and institutionalized by Krishna, and for upholding it, he did not spare his own relatives such as Kans, Shishupal and others. Moreover, for the sake of republican credo of electing the capable King irrespective of whether he is elder, Krishna took part in the great war of Mahabharata on the side of Pandavas, who were the sons of younger brother, Pandu of Hastinapur."

"In the 4th century BC, Chanakya refers to the story of Krishna's birth, while Megasthenes mentions that the Sourasenoi (Surasenas or Yadavas) hero-worshipped Herakles (Krishna). Their two great cities were Methora (Mathura) and Kleisobora (Krishnapura?) on the navigable river Yobares (Yamuna)....Herkales (Krishna) sent his daughter Pandala to rule over the kingdom of Mathura (Madura)"