Krishna

Krishna, revered as a glorious manifestation of the Supreme (Vishnu). He is often picture as drawing humans to the Divine by the power of love, symbolized by the lure of his flute. (Living Religions, 14th edit; p. 93) The textbook, The Humanities by Witt, Brown, Dunbar, Tirro and Witt, states that Krishna is the ninth and most recognizable incarnation of Vishnu. People of compare the relationship between Vishnu and Krishna to the Christian belief of God and Jesus.

In the eighteenth book of the Mahabharata, The Bhagavad-Gita ("Song of the Supreme Exalted One"), Krishna appears as the charioteer of Arjuna. (Living Religions, 14th edit; p. 93) In the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna is going to fight in a battle that places him in the position of fighting his own people. Arjuna then turns to Krishna for guidance. In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna is a wise teacher, as well as Arjuna charioteer. In R. Zaehner translation of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna in response to Arjuna plight says:

"Never was there a time when I was not, nor you, nor yet these princes, nor will there ever be a time when we shall cease to be - all of us hereafter. Just as in this body the embodied [self] must pass through childhood, youth, and old age, so too [at death] will it assume another body: in this a thoughtful man is not perplexed. But contacts with the objects of sense give rise to heat and cold, pleasure and pain: they come and go, impermanent. Put up with them, Arjuna...."

Arjuna is told to withdraw his attention from the impetuous demands of senses, ignoring all feelings of attraction or aversion. This will give him a steady, peaceful mind. He is instructed to offer devotional service and to perform the prescribed Vedic sacrifices, but for the sake of discipline, duty, and example alone rather than reward.

Krishna says those who do everything for love of the Supreme transcend the notion of duty. Everything they do is offered to the Supreme. Thus they feel peace, freedom from earthly entanglements, and unassailable happiness. This yogic science of transcend the "lower self" by the "higher self" is so ancient that Krishna says it was originally given to the sun god and, through his agents, to humans. (Living Religions, 14th edit; p. 94)

Works Cited

Fisher, Mary Pat. "Hinduism." Living Religions 4th edition,