Lord Krishna, ought to be that one name with whom two women fell in love in different time frames, Radha in Dwapar yuga and Meera in Kalyug. And surprisingly, those two admirable women from our scriptures never had any hatred for each other. Because it is quite unusual that when two women loves the same man, they don’t have differences but that is the definition of love that Lord Krishna brings to life.
If you have ever lived love and found it swaying away from your amalgamated soul, your palms clasped together and your head turned back, you searched for the lord. As you walked down the stairs you ended up glaring at a miniature of Lord Krishna, in which he stood flawlessly with Radha. Your eyes remained stuck at the display of togetherness the Divine portrayed. But then true love stories are not meant to usually have a happy ending. Krishna and Radha’s love story will always be immortal but it never ended up in a marriage. In a human being’s life when you think of your amalgamated soul wearing away and your love parting ways, due to something uncontrollable, even if you are an atheist, your head bows down, your hands join mostly before one admired figure from the scriptures, Lord Krishna.
During his childhood, Lord Krishna once asked his mother, ‘Maa, you say that the Sun is there in the east, but today I saw it in the west. How did that happen?’ She replied, ‘Son, you will be the king of this world one day, so in whichever direction, you, as a leader direct your finger, the sun, the moon and the universe is bound to go that way.’
If you are your mother’s most adored child, you must have your own tantrums, you must have your own precious pampering that you need. You must also have your own set of pranks you played on your neighbours, and dare I say, their daughters. I believe, this must have brought some nostalgia to each one of us quite vividly. Some of us from towns and villages must have jumped walls to get hold of mangoes and guavas from our neighbours’ gardens. We must have jumped walls to bring the cricket ball back, we must have broken window panes too and must have faced complaints that those neighbours made to our mothers. Despite all these you still remains your mother’s most loved. Lord Krishna was no different, and so as a human soul, we do share one more common thread with him.
Each one of us strives to achieve great milestones and as B-School graduates, one day most of us would be leading some organization. When you will be at that position, again, even if you are an atheist, don’t forget to visualize one of the most eminent leaders, Lord Krishna. He shaped his career and profession so perfectly that when he led a team of helpless brothers into one of the most epic battles of all time, his philosophy, his lessons, his advice and his logic made underdogs the winners, and as a result, the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ was born. Even today the world recognizes those lessons. Science, arts, politics, management, choose whatever you like, the Bhagwad Gita has had an impact everywhere. That’s a real leader and a career that wields an influence even today.
School, colleges, workplace – your journey results in the forging of many friendships. With time we forget them – we move ahead, life moves ahead and we say time has changed. Well, time may change, the world may change but you, as an individual, shouldn’t change. At the mention of ‘friendship’, think of how many friends you have retained from, say kindergarten and primary school. And if you have some, how many of them stand with you today? Today you have many friends in a B-School. How many of these will you still be in touch with, 20 years from now? You may not want a horde of friends, but do retain the most genuine of those, and you will achieve the ideal of friendship that Lord Krishna and Sudama defined. It is not about positions, status or time, it is just about love, humanity, modesty, care and concern. Preserve these elements and life will be beautiful.
Reflections on Lord Krishna may never end but the major aspects in a human being’s life have four touch points. It starts with a mother’s affection and the childhood days, gets friendship added with time, moves on to career and then love, relationships, marriage and beyond that, the role as a leader or as an individual to whom society and your family look up to. Science may say that nothing can be ideal in life, not even PV=NRT is completely ideal, though taught as an ideal gas equation. But by following Lord Krishna’s footsteps and lessons, things may closely follow an ideal path, even in our daily life.
Just think of bringing a change. When you do, others will question you, but stay firm on what you believe and act upon. Eventually someone else will do the same and henceforth, a chain will start, a chain of moving towards perfection and a state as close as humanly achievable, to an ideal one.