The Lord’s incarnation as Krishna is said to be the complete incarnation wherein all aspects are contained.

Krishna is said to be thousand eyed. Here it implies that all the stars in our galaxy are His eyes. The sound of His anklets is the Atharvana Veda and Samaveda. His tilak on His forehead symbolizes Rigveda while the Kausthuba gem He wears symbolizes Yajurveda.

His discus represents that He is over and above time. His stomach is the universal egg which contains the 14 planetary systems.

Bhagavatham declares that although inherently formless, this Lord as Krishna was the most beautiful of all living entities. He is only beautiful one in this world. He is the only male in this universe. Every living entity apart from Him, irrespective of their gender, is female and thus are attracted to him. (Any living being who entertains desires is considered female).

When Bheeshma was on his deathbed, Yudhishthira wanted to learn the tenets of dharma from him. Therefore he approached Bheeshma, who then taught the Pandavas. When he was thus explaining, all of a sudden Draupadi laughed for no apparent reason. The Pandavas were embarrassed at her behaviour and demanded an explanation. Unconcerned, she continued to laugh. Then Bheeshma asked her why she was laughing.

She said “On the day when the Kauravas were trying to disrobe me, I was crying for protection. Seated in that hall, you simply stared at me. You did not even attempt to stop or reprimand them. You did not even close your eyes. Your expression on your face did not even carry the hint of remorse, shock or unhappiness. It appeared as if you were enjoying the show. But today you are giving the moral lessons to my husbands’.

Bheeshma said, ”Yes, my daughter. You are giving an indirect lesson to me. I was a servant of the Kauravas. I had eaten their salt and hence could not go against their wishes. I had promised my father that I would swear by his progeny. Now on the deathbed today, I have sipped the Ganga, which Arjuna so kindly offered to me. Due to this, I have turned pure.”

Every chapter of Bhagavatam and Mahabharata are like moral lessons. Don’t treat them as mythological stories. Try to grasp the inner meaning contained in them. Study Bhagavad Gita. Memorise and understand those verses. It has all the answers for the modern day perturbed mind.

Today we offer butter to Krishna. It represents spiritual quest of a true seeker. Krishna stealing butter symbolizes that He steals our karma and ego. He also steals our silly doubts. He steals our mind.

London, August 2000