Why Does Shree Kirshna (God) Descend Part 1 of 5
Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj
Bhagwan Shree Krishna’s Divine descension occurs once in a kalp (a day of Brahma). What is a kalp? A cycle of four yugs (ages) is 4.32 million years long. Seventy-one cycles of four yugs make one manvantar (period of Manu). So, 306,620,000 years long is one manvantar. And as long 14 manvantars make one day in Brahma’s life. This is called a kalp.
So, one day in Brahma’s life equals 4.32 billion of our years, and a day and night of his are together 8.64 billion years long. Based on those time units, Brahma lives for 100 years. So, in 8.64 billion years, Bhagwan Shree Krishna descends once on this earth. The descension five thousand years ago was such a descension.
The other descension that appears in every Dwapar yug (third age) is called a yugavatar (descension for a particular age). It is an ansh (partial extension) of Shree Krishna. What does Shree Krishna’s ansh do? He kills demons and establishes order. And Bhagwan Shree Krishna? He doesn’t do all this. Well, He did, didn’t He, when He descended?
It was because Yugavatar Krishna had merged into Bhagwan Shree Krishna. It is Yugavatar Shree Krishna who does all the fighting and killing. Shree Krishna only grants the Bliss of Divine Love. He doesn’t fight or kill.
The Shree Krishna who descends after such big intervals cannot be understood by anyone. The ignorant souls under māyā (material illusion) cannot, of course, understand Him. Even the Divine Saints didn’t understand Him, neither did His friends nor did the Gopis (cowherd maidens) of Braj. No one. Shree Krishna had mesmerized all of them with His Yogamāyā (Divine internal power). They mocked Him (Shree Krishna, the Supreme God),
“Philanderer! Thief!”
Robbery and illicit love are two terrible sins in our world. But Krishna is tops in both!
चौर जार शिरोमणि
Chour jār shiroāmaṇi
The scriptures say that ‘in stealing and in illicit love, He is supreme’!
Had the Gopis regarded Him as God, their love for Him would have ended, and they would have been singing His praise.
In this world also, if a woman whose husband holds a high office actually regards him as an important person - a commissioner, a governor, a judge - she would be frightened of him, given that she has an ordinary education. But she doesn’t think of all that.
“Eh! What difference does it make!”
I have a personal experience about a High Court judge. I went to his house. This was more than 45 years ago. I used to go to many judges’ houses then (without telling them). As I stood in the sitting room, I heard the judge’s wife in the next room telling him:
“You will always be stupid!”
So, I was wondering that this judge, who decides between life and death, is told by his wife,
“You will always remain stupid!”
Nevertheless, I heard her and went into the room. Seeing me, they said,
“Maharaj Ji is here! Maharaj Ji is here!”
And all their anger and animosity vanished. I remarked that I had just heard a woman saying something like this to her husband. She immediately responded,
“Yes Maharaj Ji, it’s like this...”
See that! Even now she was not willing to accept her mistake. No mother will ever regard her son as a collector (a bureaucrat) or commissioner. She will always consider him a stupid fellow.
So the Gopis did not consider God to be God. He was their sweetheart, their slave, their paramour. So deep and unfathomable was their love that they forgot everything, although they had seen Shree Krishna’s miracles so many times.
He had swallowed the fire of dāvānal (forest fire). He had subdued the serpent Kāliya (the poisonous serpent). He had killed Aghāsur (the demon), Bakāsur (the demon), and other demons. They had seen all this happening, yet they forgot everything.
Yashoda saw Shree Krishna’s magnificent universal form and thought,
“He is probably a great God.”
God immediately worked His mohinī māyā (bewildering Divine power) on her, and,
“No, no! He is just my child!”
She forgot everything! At first she thought,
“Probably some supernatural power has come down as my child!”
But then she forgot everything again. Knowledge merges into love. That is the true essence of love in Braj. So, Shree Krishna is Bliss personified, the essence of love personified. In Him are unlimited glory, unlimited sweetness, unlimited radiance. He is omniscient. He loves His devotees. He obeys His devotees. There are many wonderful things about Him.
To be continued, which I can’t explain now. Maybe later.
Source: Excerpt from the Short published on Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat YouTube channel.