32 Quotes on Krishna by Sadhguru

Krishna is an irrepressible child, a terrible prankster, an enchanting flute player, a graceful dancer, an irresistible lover, a truly valiant warrior, a ruthless vanquisher of his foes, a man who left a broken heart in every home, an astute statesman and kingmaker, a thorough gentleman, a yogi of the highest order, and the most colorful incarnation of the Divine.

If we want to be touched by the consciousness that we refer to as Krishna, we need Leela – the path of the playful.

The essence of the early part of Krishna’s life was that he turned a whole community blissfully mad about him. With his very enchanting looks, his inimitable smile, his flute, and the dance in his step, he drove people into a new kind of frenzy that they had never known before.

From the day Krishna was born, people were trying to kill him. Though he went through many extreme situations, he romped through his life. This is what has made Krishna such an integral part of the cultural ethos of Bharat.

Krishna lived his life like it was a festival. Even as a little child, he said many beautiful things about himself. One thing he said was, ‘When I wake up in the morning, when I hear the cows mooing and my mother calling each cow by its name before milking them, I know it is time to rub my eyes and smile.’

Even when he went to war, Krishna wore a peacock feather. He was not a vain man but absolutely committed to make every aspect of his life into a celebration. Whether it was his emotion, mind, action, or clothes – he always wanted to be at his best for everyone around him. This is love.

People usually recognized the divinity only in great ascetic yogis or kings. Though Krishna was just a cowherd, they could not ignore his beauty, wisdom, strength, and valor.

When we refer to Krishna as Gopala, we are talking about him in an endearing way. When we call him Govinda, we are bowing down to him as the Divine.

The simplicity and gracefulness with which Krishna existed, the way he approached everything around him, his gait and the balance of his body and mind – people could not take their attention and eyes away from him.

It is the blueness of the outermost ring of Krishna’s aura which made him irresistibly attractive.

Krishna was so irresistible that even Putana, the assassin who came to kill him when he was just a baby, fell in love with him.

Knowingly or unknowingly, people around Krishna became extremely loving and sweet. He inspired people to their sweetness.

This was Krishna’s sadhana – he was in perfect tune with life around him. Only when you feel in tune with someone, you will feel pleasant in their presence. Otherwise, there can be discomfort.

Krishna was known as a dusky beauty, Shyama Sundara. He was like twilight. When the sun begins to set, the light blue of the day sky gives way to a dark, blackish blue – that was his color.

Krishna’s childhood lover was Radhe. Radhe’s perception was such that she said, ‘Krishna is always with me. Wherever he is, whomever he is with, he is still with me.’

With his flute, Krishna could melt and mesmerize any kind of person, and even animals. But when he left the village to establish Dharma, he gave away his flute to Radhe and never played again. From that day on, Radhe played the flute like Krishna.

Krishna – who had always been well-dressed in silk clothes with a diadem and peacock feathers – became a perfect brahmachari in just a strip of deerskin, hundred percent dedicated to his new sadhana. Never before had the world witnessed a more glorious beggar.

Krishna’s Guru Sandipani did not need to open his mouth to give an instruction. All was conveyed, grasped and attained, internally.

Krishna was acknowledged as Dharmagopta, the emperor of Dharma and righteousness, but he never ruled any kingdom, though he had the power and capability to do so.

During his lifetime and even now, many people called Krishna a charlatan, a fake, or a smiling rogue – because he did not follow the moral codes of the day; he just did whatever would produce the appropriate result in a situation.

Krishna’s sense of all-inclusiveness was such that even his sworn enemies sat with him and unwittingly gave in to him. Any number of times, he effortlessly turned around those who abused and plotted to kill him.

When people asked Krishna, ‘O Master! They say you are a deliverer. So what is the way for us?’ Krishna looked at them quizzically and said, ‘What is the way? I am the way.’

Though Krishna played all kinds of pranks on people, everyone still loved him, because he was in perfect tune with them and all life around him.

The word ‘Radhe’ means, one who gives the juice of life, or love. In her love, Radhe included Krishna as a part of herself. They say, there is no Krishna without Radhe, not the other way around. Radhe Krishna or Radheya.

The feminine is a certain quality; it can be as alive in a man as in a woman. If you want to know Krishna, you must be willing to become absolutely feminine. This is a path of intimacy and tremendous passion, which does not exclude anything.

When Krishna wanted to do something, he would do it the way it had to be done, no matter what anyone else said. There were many such incidents in his life which made him a natural leader among the community.

Krishna neither believed the Pandavas were absolutely pure beings, nor that the Kauravas were absolute evil. He was not a moralistic person who made black-and-white judgments about anyone.

Krishna was very compassionate with some, and absolutely ruthless with others. He both killed and nurtured when he had to. He dealt with life whichever way it needed to be dealt with, because he had no policy
of his own. He is just life.

What we refer to as Krishna is not a man but a certain consciousness.

Uddhava once asked Krishna why he could not handle people’s problems with a snap of his fingers, as he is a divine manifestation. Krishna smilingly said, ‘No one can work a miracle unless the recipient is in full faith.’

In his lifetime, Krishna himself generated faith in lots of people, but still not in adequate measure for who he was. That has always been so – when the greatest ones came, the greatest things did not happen, because they were too far ahead.