Janamashtami 2025

                My Painting - My Tribute 

In the sacred city of Mathura, in 3228 BCE, a child was born in a prison cell. His name was Krishna—an avatar, a strategist, a lover, a sage, a cosmic enigma. Today, more than 5000 years later, his flute still echoes through the soul of India, stirring hearts, awakening dormant love, and guiding lost seekers.

I was born in the 1960s—not quite in a prison, but perhaps in a psychological one. Named Ashutosh, by my father,  after Lord Shiva, I often wonder if, in naming me thus, my father unknowingly triggered an ancient polarity. For Shiva seeks Vishnu and Vishnu seeks Shiva. Their dance is eternal. My inner being—warmed by the fires of seeking and curosity to know how Life works - has been quietly seeking Krishna across lifetimes.

One Life, Infinite Roles

What made Krishna so unique wasn’t that he lived for 125 years—it’s how he lived. In every chapter of his life, he wore a new attire or a role: a naughty child, a fearless youth, a romantic lover, a political genius, a charioteer, a cosmic guru, and finally, a yogi smiling at death. Yet through every role, he never lost awareness of the game being played. He knew that Leela is not escapism—it’s the highest awareness.

He once said to Arjuna:

“You have the right to perform your duties, but never to the fruits thereof.”

And he lived this truth—detached, joyful, and whole.

Have you ever seen someone laugh through pain, dance through chaos, and advise kings while herding cows? That was Krishna.

Love as a Path to God

People talk of miracles like lifting the Govardhana mountain. But the real miracle was that every gopi in Vrindavan believed Krishna danced only with her. He mirrored their deepest selves. This was not just divine charm—it was a profound spiritual insight: God is experienced personally, intimately, and uniquely by every soul.

In this divine romance, Radha became the epitome of longing - so powerful that her name comes before Krishna’s. She didn’t have Krishna; she became Krishna.

In the rasa-leela, the boundary between the lover and the beloved dissolved. This was not sensuality - it was soul - merging. And what a lesson! That love, when untainted by possession, becomes the highest path to God.

The Strategist of Dharma and the Soul Coach

Fast forward to Kurukshetra. Amid the dust and roar of war, Arjuna collapses in despair. And Krishna doesn’t say, “Meditate and escape.” He says, “Rise. Fight. But know who you are while you fight.”

Thus was born the Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the greatest psychological and spiritual manual ever given to mankind.

As a soldier, I first encountered the Gita in the NDA and IMA libraries. Now, after the end of a formal Gita diploma course, I’ve handwritten all 700 verses. Each word has been chiselled into my being. The layers of prakriti, purusha, gunas, and karma - once abstract concepts - now resonate with every breath I take.

Krishna didn’t just explain the universe - he decoded it for me. Finally, and largely, my childhood curiosity to know "Yeh Kaun Chitrakaar Hai?" has been answered. I now have a fair, though limited, peep or a glimpse of why it is happening and how this all works. 

The Soul’s  Democracy

Krishna never limited his wisdom to sages. He spoke to cowherds, queens, bandits, and beggars. He danced with the poor and debated with kings. He was not for any one caste, gender, or sect - he was the original champion of spiritual inclusivity.

He urged everyone to follow their svadharma—their unique calling. Whether a janitor or a general, a mother or a monk, Krishna's message was simple: Do your duty. Surrender your Ego. Remember Me.

Even his death, from a hunter’s stray arrow, was symbolic. No drama, no protest. Just a smile and a blessing. His exit was as graceful as his entry—underneath both was the unshakable joy of knowing: I am not this body. I am the eternal Self.

Krishna: The Future-Ready Intelligence

Osho once said: “Krishna is the most complete incarnation of the divine—not serious like Buddha, not ascetic like Mahavira, not sorrowful like Jesus. He danced. He played the flute. He loved. And yet he was utterly enlightened.”

In other words, Krishna was Spiritually Intelligent long before the term SI was invented. While religions promoted renunciation, he celebrated life. While others split body and soul, he integrated them.

In Krishna’s presence, there was no contradiction between laughter and liberation, or between play and prayer. That’s why he is so difficult to understand - he doesn’t fit our neat boxes of prophet, saint, or god. He is the box, the content, and the empty space beyond.

No wonder Nietzsche dreamed of a man like Zarathustra, who would be born laughing. India had already met such a being in Krishna.

The Cosmic Mirror

Krishna's Gita is not just a book - it’s a mirror. And in its reflection, you find your fears, your doubts, your ego, your light. 

You begin to understand:

- That dharma is not duty alone - it’s alignment with your highest self.

- That the gunas - sattva, rajas, tamas - are like lenses; transcend them, and the real world appears.

- That the Self is beyond thought, time, and death.

- That everything is connected - the quantum physicist and the yogi agree here.

- That freedom lies not in renunciation, but in wise engagement.

Krishna’s vision of the universe is not outdated - it’s ahead of its time. His message bridges spirituality and science, duty and delight, logic and love.

A Janmashtami Reflection

This Janmashtami, don’t just celebrate Krishna’s birthday with flutes and sweets. Celebrate by embracing his intelligence - his deep, intuitive grasp of the universe, his joy in living, his unwavering alignment with dharma.

Read the Gita. Watch a ras-leela. Chant his name with love, not ritualism. Look around - maybe Krishna is hiding in your own laughter, your own dilemmas, your own acts of silent courage.

As for me, the seeker named after Shiva, I continue to walk toward Krishna - not to reach him, but to dissolve in him.

And if you ask what he has given me, I would say in the words of a gopi:

“He took away my ego, my sense of ‘me’, and gave me himself instead.”

Hare Krishna.

References:

Works by Osho, Swami Chinmayananda, Prabhupada, Paramhansa Yogananda, Amma, Devdutt Pattanaik, Shankaracharya, J.B. Patr and Sri Madhavananda.