Thursday, December 31, 2010 @ 8:34 PM
Jai Shree Krishna!
Sabhaku Namasaakaram!
(which means 'Namaskaar to everyone gathered here' in Telugu😆)
So today we covered Shri Krishna Episodes 28-29, which showed the intro of Swapnil and Shweta as Krishna and Radha as well as a bunch of RadheKrishna Leelas ending with the scene where Krishna turns into Radha and Radha into Krishna. But....there are still a bunch of important and interesting scenes before Swapnil's entry, so let's tackle those first.😛
Underlined sections are like a mini-summary update of the episodes, while the non-underlined italicized ones are my thoughts.
Following the incident where Krishna lifts the Govardhan parvat and Lord Indra seeks his forgiveness, we are taken back to Mathura where Kans is told of the Govardhan incident by his spies. He is enraged, frightened, and restless all at once, and denies the thing happening citing Hanumanji as an example. He claims that since Hanuman was a vanar and he was the only other one to have ever held a mountain on his palm, it must have been false so this incident too is just some village gossip. His faithful minister Chanoor then assures him that this must be a ploy by the Devas to avert his attention from tracking down the real Vishnu. Chanoor's thought process is such that he reckons the real Vishnu would not bring attention to himself by doing all sorts of magic tricks which astound the people. The Devas must have plotted this so that Kans would get distracted by this 'fake' Vishnu and the real one would be safe in hiding. Idiot that he is, Kans falls for Chanoor's words and has a good laugh with the rest of his evil ministers, and we all are forced to listen to about a minute of their hyena laughter before the scene changes.🤪
Then what happens is that Narad Muni sees all this from heaven and goes to Golok Krishna with a plea. He claims that all of Krishna's devotees are worried for his safety and that by doing such miracles as the Govardhan Parvat and Kaliya Daman, he is making his devotees feel fretful with worry for him. Lord Krishna is amused but touched, and compares his devotees' worry to that of a mother's. He says that it is unnecessary for his devotees to worry about him, but to calm their minds he will not do anymore miracles before Kans Vadh. Narad Muni is relieved and then Lord Krishna asks him to go to Kans with a message. He says it is still not too late for Kans to realize his mistakes and seek the shelter of Krishna, and Naradji is the perfect person to convince him that Krishna is not one to be feared or detested, but one to love unconditionally, seek protection, and drown in Bhakti. Narad Muni is touched that Krishna has given him such a mission and though he is dubious about the result, agrees to go to Kans.
I really loved this dialogue a lot between Naradji and Lord Krishna, it is truly one of the most thought-provoking and moral infused scenes in SK.👏 The fact that Narad Muni, who is supposed to be a great Yogi free of attachment and all that which binds humans to Earth, is worried about Lord Krishna and feels emotions over his leelas shows us that even the greatest of all saints can get moved by the Lord's story. It also brings to mind the Uddhav story of Krishna (which I will talk about in detail later on), where Krishna demonstrates that one need not be attached and free of love to achieve liberation. Taking the Gopis for example, they loved Lord Krishna like no other and drowned in a pool of devotion to him. They felt happiness, pain, and every other emotion where Krishna was concerned, and yet Krishna considered all of them liberated from the human life. So true pure love for God, which makes us feel joy and pain simultaneously, can take us closer to God than complete detacchment. The very fact that Narad Muni felt worried for Krishna, Vasudev, Devaki, and the other great souls involved in the Lord's leela, really proves this.😍 Anyhow, now back to the story...
Meanwhile, Kans is relaxing with his faithful friends, Chanoor and Banasur. They drink, laugh, and applaud themselves over their brains and then greet Narad Muni when he makes an appearance in Kans's chamber. Kans listens with amusement and anger when Narad Muni relays Lord Krishna's message to him, and Banasur and Chanoor give him equally contemptuous looks. Narad tells Kans that the child at Gokul who is performing all these miracles is really Vishnu, and that if Kans surrenders to him he will be forgiven. Banasur sarcastically asks Narad how they can be assured that the so-called child who is apparently Vishnu won't just kill Kans when he surrenders, and Naradji patiently tells him that Krishna himself told him, and Banasur sneeringly replies that this is all Vishnu's plan, to convince Kans to surrender by having a truthful soul like Narad sent to relay his so-called message. Kans and Banasur ridicule and humiliate Narad by calling him a fool for falling for Vishnu's words, and an incapable messenger since he could not twist his master's words to get the deed done as a 'real' messenger should. Naradji gets angry but he controls himself since Krishna told him not to retaliate. Pitying Kans, he leaves him to his own misery and goes back to Golok, knowing Kans's end is near and even God cannot do anything to change his mindset.
During this scene, I felt like landing a slap across Chanoor's face for his smart alecky remarks, idiot!😡 Maybe it was the kind face of the actor who played Narad, or maybe it was because of Chanoor's really rude dialogue, but I felt soooo bad for Naradji while Chanoor and Kans were mocking him, but then I realized that was foolish too because in the end, the bad guys paid for their sins. Like Krishna said, there was no point in Narad retaliating since the inevitable would happen in due time. Also, the fact that neither Chanoor nor Kans could realize the truth in Naradji's words reminded me of the Vibhishan/Ravan scene in Ramayan where Vibhishan tries to warn Ravan about the errors of his ways and gets humiliated and kicked out of Lanka as a result. You can really see a parallel between Narad and Vibhishan in both scenes. When the end of a sinner is near, not only the advice of his well-wishers, but that of God even can not convince him to change. No matter how many chances they are given, they will refuse each and every one because their end is near and inevitable. As the Sagars *ehem* continuously state in AS Ramayan, "Vidhi Ka Vidhaan".😉
Narad shares his feelings with Golok Krishna and tells him that he pities those people who turn away from God's mercy when it is literally offered to them on a golden platter, and Krishna smilingly replies that it is all his maya and that things must go as planned for his leelas to be performed. Naradji laughingly requests Krishna never to let his maya touch him, and Yogmaya has a laugh of her own at this (the lady who played her looked really pretty and natural in this scene). Krishna chuckles and asks Narad why he is worrying about himself, and Narad replies that he can never worry about himself when he has Lord Krishna to take care of him, but that he is deeply worried for Vasudev and Devaki because they always suffer with worry over him whenever he performs his leelas and Kans gets infuriated. They are always on the receiving end of Kans's fury and for this, he is anxious about them. Lord Krishna calmly and smilingly tells Narad not to worry about Vasudev and Devaki, because their Dharma and Neeti will serve as a protection for them. They do not need even him to protect them, because a human's Dharma will always serve as his/her protection and Vasudev and Devaki are forever sheltered in the warm protective bubble of their Dharma.
Again, this scene was another must watch between Narad and Krishna, and my thoughts on it pretty much reflect the ones written above. The same teachings of how sinners will never realize their ways, or how those who subject to Dharma need never fear of anything, are again displayed in this scene in the form of Shri Krishna's words. Though this scene in general was very long, you don't really feel it is because of the miniscule detail and information which is interesting and riveting.
This leads us into the scene where Akrurji visits Vasudev and Devaki in their prison cell under disguise. I loved this scene for the sheer sweetness of it and the impeccable acting of Paulommi, Sunil, and Pramod Kapoor (the guy who played Akrur).👏 The looks of deep relief and happiness washing over VD's face when they see a welcome person for once in their prison cell was so sweet😍, and it really made my heart ache for the poor souls. Wonder how they spent their days....we all complain when we feel bored for a few hours, but we have the freedom to go where we please and do what we want. On the other hand, VD had only each other for company and absolutely nothing to do for years and years, really painful to think about. Even the prisoners of our society today have more freedom than that, and it makes me feel so guilty whenever I complain about life. We have it so good.🥺
Anyhow, back to the story...basically, Akrurji comes there to talk about Balram's education, and he quickly assures Vasudev and Devaki that both children are fine and it is nothing serious that has brought him to their Bandi Grah. The relief washing over VD's faces is really something to see, as they both enacted very naturally a parent's worry and anxiety over his/her child's life.👏 Such a sweet moment between both of them!
So basically Akrurji says that he and the other Yadavas have decided that if Balram is to lead them all against Kans one day, he must be educated and Rohini Devi as well as Nand Baba are in full support of the idea. Devaki Maiyya then asks him sadly whether no one is thinking of Krishna's education, and Akrurji tells her that that is not the case. He and the Yadava chiefs have given much thought to that also, but when the idea was suggested to Nand Baba to have Shri Krishna educated, he refused claiming that a cowherd does not need the education of city folk since his livelehood will always be in the village. Vasudev and Devaki are troubled by this and even shed a few tears at Akrurji's words that sending Krishna to a Gurukul would keep him out in the open, and Kans might find it easier to harm him, and they know that Nand Baba is justified in his words since it is for Krishna's wellbeing only. Akrurji then asks them what he and the Yadava chiefs should do. Is Krishna to spend the rest of his life playing a flute and grazing his cows, while his elder brother Balram goes off learning the valuable skills every Kshatriya is to know, or should they do something about it? Devaki Maiyya then manages a smile and tells Akrurji to let Krishna do what he wants. While the elder brother has his education, the younger one will be content playing his flute and grazing his cows. Once Balram learns everything, he will naturally teach it all to Krishna so there is no need to worry.
Loved the expression on Devaki Maiyya's face as she says, "Bas," and continues with her words, not wanting there to be any hindrance to Krishna's likes and interests. Really really sweet and natural motherly behavior.😍 The way she quickly adjusted to the situation and made the best of it demonstrates the wonderful mother she was even though she never brought up any of her children.
And the way Golok Krishna up in heaven sighs with relief that 'mother has saved me from being on the end of a teacher's anger' is sooooo cute, and Radherani is equally amused.😆 But then she tells him she is of the opinion that he is being unfair to Devaki Maiyya, because while Yashoda is enjoying the sweetness of motherhood in Gokul, poor Devaki is suffering from the desire to see him and rear him as her son. Why could he not treat both mothers to equal treatment when both of them loved him unconditionally? Krishna tells her that he is only fulfilling their boons, and that while Vasudev and Devaki are the re-incarnations of Kashyapa Prajapati and Devmata Aditi, Nand and Yashoda are the re-incarnations of the sage couple Dron and Dhara. Dron and Dhara had done severe tapasya in their previous life to beget Lord Vishnu's grace. When he appeared before them, they asked for a boon that they be blessed to witness his childhood in their next life. So Lord Vishnu was fulfilling both parents' wishes only. While Vasudev and Devaki got to give birth to Krishna, Nand and Yashoda got to see his childhood. Golok Krishna then tells Radharani that while each set of parents are suffering/will suffer at some stage of their life over separation from him, they are both absorbed in thoughts of parental love for him so in the end, all four of them will receive salvation at the end of their lives. Hearing this, Naradji is extremely happy and feels light at heart over Krishna's grace and mercy.
I really enjoyed listening to Krishna's explanation for the roles given to Yashoda and Devaki. Many people are often divided between favoritism to both mothers, and it is often Devaki whom people are unjust to because they claim that a mother who brings up a child is greater than the mother who gives birth to him/her. While this is true in cases where a biological mother does not care for her child and gives it up willingly and without feelings, I do not agree with this concept in such cases where a child is forcefully taken from the mother or a mother gives it up to another family because she wants her child to have a better life than the one she can provide. I feel that a mother's love begins from the moment a child is conceived and she can feel it moving around inside of her. How can that love become any less even when the child is wrenched away from her? While I agree that Yashoda Maiyya equally loved Krishna since she did bring him up as her own son, I do not agree that Devaki's love was any less, and that only Yashoda was entitled to his affection. The love of Devaki and Yashoda for Krishna is 100% equal and there is no doubt in it, and it really bothers me when people choose one over the other and say one mother was less deserving or whatnot.
Anyhow, my point is that Krishna's explanation to Radha really made perfect sense about why he was born to Devaki but grew up with Yashoda. That is what the two mothers wished for in their previous lives...Devaki wanted to feel the joy of having Lord Vishnu reside in her womb, and Yashoda wanted to feel the joy of rearing him like a mother. And so that is what Krishna granted them. If you think about this on a broad scale, he was unjust to neither. He simply fulfilled both their wishes amidst his leelas on Earth. This also is one of my fav dialogues in SK.😍
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYLRvD31S1k[/YOUTUBE]
So now that brings us to a delighted Narad Muni singing Shyam Tere Kaam Bade Achraj Bhare, Krishna Govind Gopal Madhav Dhare! where he describes the love and mercy of Krishna and how unconditional devotion to him will give us salvation. Love this song a lot!😍 First off, the tune is very upbeat and fun to listen, and I loved how they showed all the past leelas of Krishna before introducing his teenage phase. It is kind of sad too because the Bal Leelas that we all love and cherish are over, and after his Prem Leela, Krishna is going to exhibit his prowess as a warrior. Though every stage of Krishna is precious and meaningful, there is something about his Bal Leelas that is so beautiful and has us lost in a sea of love and devotion. Also, the Bal Leelas are when Krishna's life is kind of light and trouble-free, but from Kans Vadh on he fights battle after battle and then the whole Mahabharat starts. Love that phase a lot too of course, but I've always been more of a 'family story' person over war stories, and I enjoyed the Bal Krishna episodes a lot, all of the Krishna actors did amazingly well.👏
Anyhow, after Shyam Tere Kaam comes Narad Muni's Manmohan Lalla, Manbhavani Lali song which describes the beauty and purity of RadheKrishna's love.❤️ It shows us clips of the younger RadheKrishnas as they first meet and then meet again and again whenever Radherani goes to Gokul or Krishna goes to Barsana, and then the song melts into the faces of Swapnil Joshi and Shweta Rastogi as the teenage RadheKrishna as they sit by the banks of river Yamuna and are lost in each other's eyes.
Then comes the next song, Na Jaane Tose, Kaun Yugon Ka Naata, where Radherani describes her feelings of love and devotion to Krishna as she thinks of their age-old bond which has grown stronger and stronger by each Yuga.
As the song comes to a close, Radhaji's best friend Lalitha hurriedly calls her from the bushes where she and Visaakha are keeping watch for the lovers. Radharani's mother is coming because her father, Vrishabhanu, is about to leave for Barsana and it is time for them to go. Radhaji hurriedly leaves but Krishna catches hold of her hand and asks her when she will return. Radharani tells him she does not know but Krishna won't let her leave without seeking a promise from her that she will return soon. He tells her that if she does not come to Gokul, he will go to Barsana and play his flute to beckon her. Radhaji begs him not to do that because his flute is irresistable and she will surely come running when he plays his flute. She confides to him that tongues are wagging at their secret meetings and that the people of Barsana are talking about her and their relationship in a negative way. When she hears their talk, she feels hesitant about meeting him. She falls at Krishna's feet, with tears in her eyes, and begs him not to come to Barsana for her sake at least. Krishna smiles at her and replies that one who is truly in love should not care what others think. When one knows that what he/she is doing is not wrong, they should not give importance to society's words because people will always talk when it suits them. So if she, Radha, is certain of the purity of her feelings for Krishna, she should willingly surrender to his love and trust him. Radhaji contemplates his words and realizes that he is right. But hearing Lalitha's continued calls, she impatiently - and with amusement - agrees to meet him again before leaving Gokul and walks off in a huff.
I also love this scene, but I feel that it is one of those things people can very easily misunderstand. Often, people who date in today's modern society give Radha and Krishna as an example to support their actions, and while my personal views on dating is that it should not be done, I do not feel Radha and Krishna come under the example of dating. Dating is done between two individuals who do not know each other and spend time to know the other person's personality better. How does that relate to Radha and Krishna? They were not strangers to each other. They are Lakshmi and Vishnu, they are Sita and Ram, and they were married not once but many times in their previous incarnations. As Radha and Krishna, they simply continued that ageless pure love in their current incarnation, and again as Rukmini and Krishna also. So I feel that this scene is sending a message to people, that one should not care for society's criticisms if you know what you are doing is morally right. Dating against parents' wishes, or taking part in immoral activities by saying society's talk should not matter is not the message of this scene as I feel some modernized people in our society would claim. So yeah....that is what occurred to me when watching this scene so decided to share it with all of you....hope nothing I said was amiss.😳
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfP5fU-QjI&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
So Radhaji goes to meet her friends and they all tease her about Krishna. This is a cute, funny, and rare scene which we see between just Radha and her friends, and the interaction between them all is very natural.👏 Radharani's mother then comes and asks them what they are doing, and Lalitha makes up this story (or did it really happen?😳) about a big fish dragging Radha's foot into the river when 'a cowherd from Gokul' came and rescued her. Radha's mother sighs with aggravation and tells Radha to be more careful next time. She then tells them all that Radha's father is calling them because it is time to talk about Holi plans between Barsana and Gokul. No one could decide where it would take place that year and everyone was having a very passionate debate over the matter which the girls were missing.😆
We are then taken to a short scene between Krishna and his friends (Mansukha, Kuchela, etc), where they all tell him that he's missing the fun back with the elders, and we are then taken to a family scene between the Gokul and Barsana folk where they tease each other about Holi plans and whether Gokul or Barsana will win this year. When the Gokul folk insist that it should take place in Gokul that year for sure, the Barsana folk mischievously retort that it is because the Gokulvaasis are scared of the Barsana women. After everyone laughs, Krishna impishly says that the Barsana folks are right. The Gokulvaasis are scared of the Barsana women. Lalitha then tells Krishna just as playfully that he should not worry, since they will play just as hard in Gokul as they would in Barsana. Krishna replies that it would still be the Gokulvaasis' win since they would be the ones having fun. The cute/sneaky glances Radha and Krishna exchange are hilarious, as Radhaji tells Krishna through her expression that 'I'm with my friend on this one, sorry hun'.😆 This banter really must be scene to be understood, it's a bit tough writing it down and expecting it to be just as funny.😳 I would post the youtube link if I had it, but no one uploaded it yet.😔
So now comes the Holi song, and the winner is........BARSANA!🥳
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k1ekbqog1A[/YOUTUBE]
A short but funny scene follows this song where all the mothers and fathers wash off the Holi residue and joke about their 'younger years' and how they too were in 'the throes of love' once.😆 It kind of reminded me of how my own parents, aunts, and uncles joke around about their golden years when they are together, and how they secretly mourn their youth as if we do not know.😆 Basically, this too is a scene that must be watched to laugh, you can't really find any humor in my words.😆
So next comes the scene where Radhaji once again takes the help of Lalitha and Visaakha to secretly meet Krishna in the garden. She is hesitant at first and fearful of society's criticism, but Lalithaji convinces her to listen to her heart and not fear anything or anyone else. After Radhaji goes, Visaakha asks Lalitha how she could let Radha be with Krishna when she herself loves him. Lalitha explains to her that true love is sacrificing more than taking, so she is happy when she see Krishna happy. When Visaakha declares that she is greater than Radha for this, Lalitha vehemently denies it and says that the one who makes her love so happy, she is worthy of her respect.❤️ Because Radha makes Krishna happy, she will always be a goddess for Lalitha, and deserving of her worship.😍
I really loved this convo between Lalitha and Visaakha, because it demonstrated that there is nothing great in loving someone, but to sacrifice your love and make it possible for your loved one to be with whomever he loves...even God appreciates you for that. The way Lalitha stood up for Radha and understood her divine identity is really sweet. Radharani's love was a never-ending ocean of purity and selflessness, and she knew that no one, including themselves, had a right to comment on it or degrade it. All of them, the gopis, were devotees of Shrimati Radhrani and so should always serve her faithfully. They should prove their love for Shri Krishna by also loving Radhaji, and should never let jealousy or selfishness mar the purity of their love. Truly Lalithaji was a great great friend, another ideal of friendship along the same lines of Guha and Sugreeva.👏 Lola and I were talking about this scene the other day, and we drew a parallel between Lalitha and Hanuman, since both were two of the most faithful devotees who never showed jealousy towards other fellow devotees but in a way...became devotees of those devotees simply for loving the same Lord.
Now that brings us to Kampit Charan, which describes Radharani's feelings of love, anxiety, and worry as she goes to meet Shri Krishna by following the melodious sound of his flute. Shri Krishna alleviates her anxiety and calms her heart, and they both go to a secluded spot to be lost in each other's presence and love.😍
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH7ULGS1FNs[/YOUTUBE]
Then comes a conversation between Radha and Krishna, where she tells him that he was being too bold during Holi and she was scared everyone would find out about their love. Krishna asks her whether she enjoyed his attention, and she shyly replies that she did. Krishna says that is all that matters and she should not care for anyone else's words or criticisms. Radha tells him that is all easy for him to say, since he is a male and society is harder on females where it concerns relationships, and that he would understand only if he was Radha. Krishna says, "Alright, then I will be Radha!" and Radhaji is amused. Krishna decides to dress up as Radha and show her that he too can be a female for a day. He give Radha his Mor Mukut and while she becomes Krishna, he wears Radha's clothing and becomes Radha.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YftNV-QXrfY[/YOUTUBE]
And now comes one of the most beautiful beautiful conversations between Radha and Krishna.😍 Krishna says, "Look, now I have become Radha!" and Radharani slowly shakes her head, replying with a small sad smile, "No, you have only assumed Radha's outer-form." She goes on to explain that if Krishna had truly become Radha, then he would forever have the tears of love's pain hidden behind his eyes, and he would hold in his heart Radha's love for him, her anxiety, her longing, everything that she undergoes he would only realize if he was fully Radha. She tells him that she loves him so much she never has peace of mind. When he is with her she fears of him going away, and when he is away she longs for his presence. She is like a bird in a hunter's trap, and only when Krishna too undergoes such pain, anxiety, and love would he be fully Radha. Radhaji then wonders whether Krishna would ever be able to pay off his debt to her, such is the extent of her love. She then decides that no, it is not only difficult but impossible, Krishna is forever her debtor.
Up in Golok, the adult Radha and Krishna continue the conversation, and Radhaji says that Krishna has no love because he has no attachment, and that love only comes with attachment. Krishna asks her whom he should love, and Radha asks him with shock whether he considers anyone to be worthy of his love, and Krishna replies, "No." With a hurt face she asks him whether she herself is undeserving of his love, and Krishna asks her why he is differentiating between them by saying, "You" and "Me". Krishna and Radha are one and only, and it is meaningless to say one loves the other because they are the same being.
Radha claims that Krishna is trying to trap her in his illusion, and Krishna denies this saying that the whole universe is he. He is God and he is the devotee. Everything and everyone resides in him, so if he is Krishna and he is Radha, how can he love the other? It would be like loving himself only. Radha then asks him why she is feeling so much pain over their separation if both are the same. Why is he so detached and she attached? It does not seem fair. When he smiles, she gets indignant and tells him that by his philosophy, his body, his feet, and his flute are all her.
Krishna tells her that everything in the universe has a complementary form, and that through Radha only does Krishna perform his leelas. While Krishna is the detached form of himself, Radha is the attached one, and so she falls for her own illusion and feels the pain, anxiety, love, and jealousy of any human. Krishna tells her that he sees only her in all the Gopis, that he sees only them-self in all the lovers of the universe, that they are the sustaining power of the world.😍
This conversation between Radha and Krishna is truly divine in every aspect. It teaches us how true lovers should behave and the trust they should have in each other. And the way Krishna talks about everything in the universe being him, and how every lover is a reflection of them only, soooo beautiful. I believe that the many conversations between Radha and Krishna in this serial, both the Bhulok and Golok ones, serve as an ideal for every couple who strives to have the utmost faith and love for each other. Essentially, it is most important to realize that the trust only comes when one is free from jealousy and anger, and instead loses themselves in the purest of all feelings.....love.
Anyhow, that is all for this entry, and in the next one I will pick up with Radha Garva Bhangam and finish the remaining RadhaKrishna scenes.
Hope you all enjoyed this one. Looking forward to your responses!🤗
-Janu
Edited by JanakiRaghunath - 14 years ago
Totally different take on this oft-recited leela, instead of just telling us "look how God listens to you" RSji gets it to tell us "look what it takes to get God to listen to you". Very valuable lesson. Yeah, I loved every one of Naradji's lessons, he really gave a whole new meaning to some of the scenes we never usually gave thought to before.
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