When I was a child, I often heard my mother say, "Krishna was the only Poorna-avatar. Even Ram was only 3/4th complete." She had her own explanation to support this statement....(something about Krishna being 16 kala-sampoorna and Ram only 12 kala-sampoorna) which didn't cut ice with me as I didn't understand it then (and don't understand it now).
For me Ram was a better God because he was more 'holy'.....He had committed only a couple of mistakes, like doubting Sita's fidelity and making her go through Agni-pareeksha, and abandoning her alone in a forest when she was pregnant, (giving in to public opinion, while knowing fully well that Sita was 'un-touched')......Though unpardonable his crime was lesser than all the blatant un-thinkables that Krishna committed, beginning with the theft of butter as a child, encouraging adultery by many gopis, especially Radha, who was someone else's wife, in his youth (that is unthinkable number one), and telling lies on many occasions, even in the battle-field, getting valiant warriors killed through deceit, in his mature years etc. I had nothing to do with such a God who was so un-godly/ un-holy! He wasn't even a good human (by my/ society's standards)......
My mother would laugh at my out-bursts and smile mysteriously....saying, 'Don't judge Gods by your human standards. Who knows their Leela?" But I wasn't impressed with such leelas (including raas-leela) and had nothing to do with such gods.....for a long-long time!
That was until I understood that being spiritual is not about being being 'holy', it is about being 'Whole'.....and that's when it hit me...OMG Krishna was teaching us how to be WHOLE.....encompassing both poles of the polarity and everything in between with elan...with nonchalance.....with grace.....with beauty.....with confidence....and without any guilt, whatsoever....
Oh dear, oh dear.....Ram was 'holier' but not 'whole'......
and when I try to be 'holier', I am also not being whole...........:)))) This understanding has hit me like a punch and woken me up like nothing before.....I do not need to be holy (I already am that), I just need to be WHOLE......I need to encompass/ accept/ love all aspects of my polarity/ duality in this dual/ polar world.....
Simple??????
For me Ram was a better God because he was more 'holy'.....He had committed only a couple of mistakes, like doubting Sita's fidelity and making her go through Agni-pareeksha, and abandoning her alone in a forest when she was pregnant, (giving in to public opinion, while knowing fully well that Sita was 'un-touched')......Though unpardonable his crime was lesser than all the blatant un-thinkables that Krishna committed, beginning with the theft of butter as a child, encouraging adultery by many gopis, especially Radha, who was someone else's wife, in his youth (that is unthinkable number one), and telling lies on many occasions, even in the battle-field, getting valiant warriors killed through deceit, in his mature years etc. I had nothing to do with such a God who was so un-godly/ un-holy! He wasn't even a good human (by my/ society's standards)......
My mother would laugh at my out-bursts and smile mysteriously....saying, 'Don't judge Gods by your human standards. Who knows their Leela?" But I wasn't impressed with such leelas (including raas-leela) and had nothing to do with such gods.....for a long-long time!
That was until I understood that being spiritual is not about being being 'holy', it is about being 'Whole'.....and that's when it hit me...OMG Krishna was teaching us how to be WHOLE.....encompassing both poles of the polarity and everything in between with elan...with nonchalance.....with grace.....with beauty.....with confidence....and without any guilt, whatsoever....
Oh dear, oh dear.....Ram was 'holier' but not 'whole'......
and when I try to be 'holier', I am also not being whole...........:)))) This understanding has hit me like a punch and woken me up like nothing before.....I do not need to be holy (I already am that), I just need to be WHOLE......I need to encompass/ accept/ love all aspects of my polarity/ duality in this dual/ polar world.....
Simple??????
dear mrs jha... beautiful... but i loved krishna more than ram ;-)... always... i couldn't ever forgive rama for what he did to sita ... hence my blog is vaidehi... probably the woman i admire the most in the hindu pantheon... she forgave, bore all ills and finally said enough is enough and went her way...:-)
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