Krishna Arjuna
How to Dispel Negativity and be Centered on the Positive
Images tell a thousand stories. And I find all the Hindu images of the divine as very positive. On the other hand, I found some of the images from other religions as negative in character (e.g. a cross and a crucified dead body as symbol of sacrifice, or images of tombs where dead bodies are kept). Once I shared my views with a friend who said that there was no comparison of any other image with the image of Dhanushdhari Ram. Dhanushdhari Ram is an extremely positive image. Dhanush and weapons represents our spiritual rigours which would help us dispel negativity and detachment in life and would reach us to the divine. This made me think of some other images that Hindus worship.
The picture along with this piece is also one of these. Lord Krishna driving the rath (vehicle) of Arjuna, a disciple and friend who goes on a righteous war (dharma yuddha) is such a positive image. There are many lessons from it too. Lord Krishna being Bhagwan himself didn't kill all the wrong doers Himself, but he drove Arjuna to make him do so. Arjuna being the medium, while God being the one who shows us the right path – tells so much. It asks us not to keep looking at God for Him to do all favours for us and prayers are not everything in life. We have to act ourselves - this is what Arjuna had to do! God will only show us the right path - this is why Krishna drove Arjuna's rath - acting like a guide and Guru rather than fighting on behalf of Arjuna. When Arjuna gets disillusioned - Krishna guides him and shows the right path to him - as is written in the Bhagwat Geeta. We get the lesson that whenever we get disillusioned in our personal lives, we can get back to our dharma and our scriptures where wisdom of ancient sages is described. Krishna here is a symbol of a statesman, a great philosopher and a Guru.
Krishna and Arjuna are also symbols of victory. Only dharma counts in the end – and if we are on the right side, we don’t need to worry about who is the player and what is the stage. In the image of Krishna Arjuna, they are no preachers with hallows around their heads. They are real images of we the human beings who get disillusioned and confused when faced with atrocities and dilemmas. Krishna driving Arjuna towards victory – it tells us that if we remain righteous we would win in the end and where it counts.
Image of Krishna Arjuna also represents our goal in life – to free ourselves from the attachments and ego – Arjuna was worried of the war because he thought it was ‘he’ who was fighting the war. When he realises that this world is only God’s leela, that he himself is part of God and so are all other participants of the war – he breaks free from his attachment of worldly matters and fights with a detachment. This is the perfection we should aim for, for our spiritual growth. The image of Krishna Arjuna inspires us to participate in the battles of life with a detachment while staying centered on the divine.
Let us aim to be perfect disciples of Krishna.
Images tell a thousand stories. And I find all the Hindu images of the divine as very positive. On the other hand, I found some of the images from other religions as negative in character (e.g. a cross and a crucified dead body as symbol of sacrifice, or images of tombs where dead bodies are kept). Once I shared my views with a friend who said that there was no comparison of any other image with the image of Dhanushdhari Ram. Dhanushdhari Ram is an extremely positive image. Dhanush and weapons represents our spiritual rigours which would help us dispel negativity and detachment in life and would reach us to the divine. This made me think of some other images that Hindus worship.
The picture along with this piece is also one of these. Lord Krishna driving the rath (vehicle) of Arjuna, a disciple and friend who goes on a righteous war (dharma yuddha) is such a positive image. There are many lessons from it too. Lord Krishna being Bhagwan himself didn't kill all the wrong doers Himself, but he drove Arjuna to make him do so. Arjuna being the medium, while God being the one who shows us the right path – tells so much. It asks us not to keep looking at God for Him to do all favours for us and prayers are not everything in life. We have to act ourselves - this is what Arjuna had to do! God will only show us the right path - this is why Krishna drove Arjuna's rath - acting like a guide and Guru rather than fighting on behalf of Arjuna. When Arjuna gets disillusioned - Krishna guides him and shows the right path to him - as is written in the Bhagwat Geeta. We get the lesson that whenever we get disillusioned in our personal lives, we can get back to our dharma and our scriptures where wisdom of ancient sages is described. Krishna here is a symbol of a statesman, a great philosopher and a Guru.
Krishna and Arjuna are also symbols of victory. Only dharma counts in the end – and if we are on the right side, we don’t need to worry about who is the player and what is the stage. In the image of Krishna Arjuna, they are no preachers with hallows around their heads. They are real images of we the human beings who get disillusioned and confused when faced with atrocities and dilemmas. Krishna driving Arjuna towards victory – it tells us that if we remain righteous we would win in the end and where it counts.
Image of Krishna Arjuna also represents our goal in life – to free ourselves from the attachments and ego – Arjuna was worried of the war because he thought it was ‘he’ who was fighting the war. When he realises that this world is only God’s leela, that he himself is part of God and so are all other participants of the war – he breaks free from his attachment of worldly matters and fights with a detachment. This is the perfection we should aim for, for our spiritual growth. The image of Krishna Arjuna inspires us to participate in the battles of life with a detachment while staying centered on the divine.
Let us aim to be perfect disciples of Krishna.
(Rahul)
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