Write
up on 'KRISHNA LEELA UPANYASAM' by Sri Hari Anna as enjoyed by his devotees-- FROM NOV 27TH TO DEC 2ND AT THE SINDHI HALL, DUBAI AS ORGANISED BY BRAHMA SABHA
by KUMARI RAGHAVI
Day -1
In Srimad
Bhagavat Gita, Krishna acknowledges his bhaktas as Rasikaha Bhuvi Bhavukaha . Likewise, Sri Hari Anna also commenced
his upanyasam by honouring us with the title of Rasikas
and also distinguished it with Bhavukas,
who would experience overwhelming emotions ( Ananda Bashpam ) upon hearing the katha.
The katha started with
Raja Parikshit urging Rishi Sukar to elaborate on Krishna Leela, when Sage
Sukar completes it by quoting mere 10 verses. Raja Parikshit persuades
him by enlightening him that, listening to Krishna Leela is the sole purpose of
his life.
Kamsa, the notorious
king of Mathura , son of King Ugrasenar, arranges the wedding of his sister
Devaki with Vasudhevar, the Yadhava king of Chandravanshi clan. Amidst the
wedding procession, an Asiriri (
aakashvani / oracle) warns Kamsa of his Mrithyu
( death) at the hands of the 8th son of Devaki. Kamsa spares Devaki's life upon
Vasudhevar's promise to hand over his 8th son to him. However, Kamsa imprisons
both of them. All the 6 births of Devaki meet their doom but, the 7th child
gets transferred to the garba of
Rohini in Mathura.
Finally when Devaki
breaks down contemplating her fate, Bhagwan Vishnu emanates as Shanka Chakra Gadha Dhari and gives Darshana to Mata Devaki and Vasudevar
on Shravana masam Krishna paksham rohini nakshatram at midnight in a baalaka
roopa. This marked the birth of Krishna or Krishna
Jananam.
DAY 2
Krishna jananam not
only signifies the birth of Krishna, but also symbolizes the birth of nganam ( knowledge) in our minds. When
Krishna directs Vasudevar to relocate him to Gokulam and bring Yashoda's child
with him, Vasudevar enacts his orders without a 2nd thought of suspecting or
questioning how things were going to transpire. The shackles tied to his arms
and feet fall off, the door breaks open, Yamuna splits herself to give way to
Vasudevar who was carrying little Krishna. This stands as an example to prove
that, when Krishna is the player, obstacles themselves choose to clear the path
. Hence our only dharma or duty is
to trust him and his doings and follow his leadership.
When Kamsa comes to
kill Devi Maya, who was bought from Gokulam, she kicks him on his chest and
warns him that his kaal (death) has
been born and is safe somewhere.
Krishna's Janmotsavam is celebrated
the next day. Little Krishna is put to settle on the cradle studded with
navratnas and diamonds which was gifted by Lord Brahma. Krishna's naming ceremony
takes place when even Rohini's son is named, as Balarama.
Krishna assassins
various rakshasas sent by Kamsa like Putanai, the maiden who tries to feed
poison to Krishna, Shakatasuran, who used Krishna's cradle as his weapon,
Trinavarta, who takes the form of a whirling storm and many others. But he also
grants moksha to all of them .
Krishna's joyable and
adorable leelas with the Gopikas , where he breaks the butter, milk and curd
pot tied to everybody's house was also recited.
This shows that Krishna
will climb any heights to break the agnyanam
developed in the minds of his Bhaktas.
DAY 3
The upanyasam started
with the katha of Yashoda's divine
vision. When the beloved leader of all i.e. Krishna puts mud in his mouth,
his friends complain of this to Yashoda Ma . She hastily comes to scold him
but, the glimpse of the divine vision leaves her perplexed. In the tiny mouth
of little Krishna she visualizes the never ending cycle of the astronomical
Brahmand, in that the Braratha Khandam, in that a Gokulam, in that a Yashoda
with Krishna's mouth open in that again a Brahmand and so on.
Just when Yashoda
becomes conscious of Krishna's divinity and goes to touch his feet, Krishna
makes her forget the Leela, leaving only the experience with her. Krishna's
only motive behind this was, not to hamper the compassion his mother has for
him.
Krishna also satisfies
Brahma's wish by performing a Leela with him, when Brahma fails to
witness one. Brahma kidnaps all the children and the animals of Gokulam to
Brahmaloka. Krishna replies to this act by taking the form of all the children
and the jeev jantoos to prove that he is sarvamayam
( omnipresent). The animal families expanded and they showed greater affection
to their kids . This scene left Brahma dumbstruck when returned a year later.
Finally when he gets enlightened of Krishna's leelai, he goes on praising him
and Krishna ends his leelai.
The following katha
was Govardhana leelai which was
intended to break the garvam of Lord
Indra who floods Gokulam with rain when Krishna instructs the villagers to
perform pooja to the Govardhana hill instead of Indra. Krishna provides shelter
to all by lifting the Govardhana hill on the tip of his little finger.
Consequently, he gets the name of Govardhana
Giridhari.
During the discourse,
Sri Hari Anna had also communicated an important message from Krishna's Vastrabharanam leelai . This act of
Krishna intended to make the Gopikas surrender their body made of the pancha bhoothas to Krishna. He showed
the path to salvation through samarpanam.
DAY 4
The katha of Kaliya Nardhanam was recited by Sri
Hari Anna's son, Chi.Raja Gopal. When Krishna dives into Yamuna to get the ball
fallen in it, the 100 headed serpent, Kaliya captures Krishna. Krishna emerges out
of the water and performs Nardhanam on all the naga's head. While all the
villagers and the children were apprehensive, Balarama remained calmed. Would
1000 headed naga (Vasuki) ever fear a 100 headed serpent? Soon Krishna overpowers
Kaliya and sends him out of Gokulam. This proves that Krishna will keep trying
to break the garvam of his bhaktas as and when they emerge ( like the heads of
Kaliya).
Due to Krishna's
mischief, Yashoda maiyya ties him to a wooden mortar with great difficulty, as
his punishment. Angry little Krishna drags the mortar along with him to the
forest and breaks free 2 Arjuna trees by entering in between them. He liberates
the 2 sons of Kubera, Nalakubera and Manigriva who were enslaved in the trees
due to a curse bestowed on them because of their indecent behaviour with sage
Narada, in their intoxicated state. They plead to Krishna to keep them away
from ku-sangathi and always provide
them Nama sankeerthanam and nyanam.
One day while all the
children were herding their cows, the hungry kids in search of food go to the
cottage of the Brahma Patnis . Upon hearing the arrival of Krishna, the
patnis leave everything and come to meet him . Krishna blesses them and sends
them back. Witnessing the Bhakti of their wives, the Yagna Brahmans forgo their
ignorance and seek the Lord's pardon. The Bhakti of the Brahma patnis is an
evidence that the chetna or thought
of the Lord itself will relive us of all our dilemma.
Sri Hari Anna had also
described the mesmerizing Tribhangi
body position of Krishna.
When all the Gokulwasi
shift to Brindavan, Krishna performs the Raasaleelai
with all the Gopis and Radha. Hearing the melodious tune of Krishna's
flute, all the Gopis leave their chores half way and come running to him. The
Lord performs Raasam with all the Gopis and Radha.
DAY 5
Arrogance and pride
will leave us with nothing. All the happenings in the world are credited to and
by the enlightened one. We have no claim over our fortune or misfortune. This
is the very lesson Krishna wanted the Gopis to understand when he vanishes from
the raasam when all the Gopis think proudly of their fortune of dancing with
Krishna. When he had defeated the Kama
( power of Lord of love) in all of them, he reappears and continues the raasam.
At this time Kamsa
gets the news of Krishna and orders Akrurar to bring him to Mathura. Akrurar,
who had always awaited an opportunity to see Krishna, blissfully proceeds to
Gokulam. Upon his arrival, Krishna and Balarama do seva for him. The next day
when Akrurar leaves with all the children, all the Gopis especially Yashoda and
Radha sob and sends them with a heavy heart. During their journey, Krishna and
Balarama give Darshan to Akrurar while he does his sandhyavandhanam . This shows that if one duly does his duties, the
Lord will never let go off him. When they arrive at Mathura they are greeted by
many like the tailor, the garland weaver, an old woman and many others. All of
them offer their services to Krishna.
Krishna breaks the dhanush
that was meant for the Dhanuryagyam.
Kamsa Vadhanam takes place after Krishna and Balarama kill mushtika and chaanoora. He
also releases his parents from the prison.
This is followed by
Krishna's Paatasalai. katha, where
he learns 64 kalai (arts) in 64 days and returns his Guru his long lost son as
his Gurudakshina.
Sri Hari Anna had
ended the Upanyasam with the beautiful Rukmini
Kalyanam. Rukmini, the daughter of the King of Vidarbha, had grown up
listening to Krishna Leelai and consequently devoted her life to the devotion
of her love, Krishna. Though her father gave consent to her marriage with
Krishna, her eldest brother , Rukmi disapproved this. He chose Shishupala as
her groom.
Devastated by this
news, Rukmini sends a letter to Krishna through a Brahmin. Krishna asks the
Brahmin itself to read it in the same emotion. The letter read, Sruthva guna bhuvana sundara... . It
had addressed the universally beautiful, Krishna and directed him to came on
the day of her marriage and take her away with him. Krishna executes the plan
and kidnaps Rukmini from the Devi's temple in his chariot to marry her. The
army that had come to attack him had 1st witnessed this magnificent scene and
then took their weapons. The army was handled by Balarama and Krishna solemnly
married RukminI.
WRITE UP AS ENJOYED BY SMT. RADHA PRASAD
Sri Krishna Leelai upanyasam –by Sri Hari Anna - Dubai
Sindhi Hall 27th November to 1st December 2017
Sri Hari Anna
explains that this avataram of the supreme lord is to show the myriad ‘ leelais’ to this world.
1st Day – Krishna Jananam
Alert from the sky !!
Sri Hari Anna
beautifully dwelves into the ‘state of mind’ that Vasudev is when Kamsan decides to kill
Devaki as stated below.
When the voice
from the sky alerts Kamsan of the impending danger from Devakis 8th
child, it brings to fore the
superficial love that Kamsan has been exuding for his sister.
As he raises his
arm to kill Devaki ,Vasudev goes through multiple emotions from helplessness to
trepidation to save his newly wed wife. Finally , he chooses ‘Vivekam’ over ‘Bhayam’ and advises Kamsan to kill every child that
is born to the young couple to ensure no enemy of Kamsan is alive.
This brilliant ‘on the feet’ thinking not only saves his beloved wife, it provided us ‘bhakthas’ an opportunity to experience the multitude ‘ leelais’ of Krishna from
Mathura to Gokulam.
2nd Day – GokulamLeelai
The ‘Udupi’ Butter thief
Inspite of being
fooled, Kamsan did not rest till he made multiple attempts to have the ‘balkrishna’ killed. Each of his messengers of death only ended up getting
moksha at the hands of the Lord.
Krishna’s fondness for butter is succinctly
elucidated in the story of Udupi Krishna. The young Krishna always sought
undivided attention of mother Yashoda, who would carry on her duties
diligently. Once while curdling curd, as she was unable to divert her attention
to the continuous yearning from the young lord, so he showed his leelai by
tightly holding the churning stick with 1 hand, a task too big for any small
child but not for the almighty.
It is this
posture of the lord that we see in the divyakshetram of Udupi, a scene not
visible anywhere else.
3rdDay – BrindavanamLeelai / Govardhanaleelai /
Brahma mohanam
The illusionist
Lord Brahma, the
creator of this world was eager to watch Krishna Leelai in person and he
decided to hide all Brindavan folk in his abode. Considering the huge distance
between Brindavan and Brahmalog, it took him some time to come back.
In contrast to his expectations, Brindavan was abuzz with the sound of village
folk and cattle stock.
This completely
confused Brahma who couldn’t comprehend this
miracle. Unknown to him , Lord Krishna had created an illusion of recreating
all the brindavan niwasis in both the places at the same time.
To provide him with a glimpse of his leelai, Krishna immediately showed himself
in all the people around Brindavan.
Wherever Brahma
could see, there was Krishna all around. Having seen this supreme leelai of the
lord , brahma brought back all the original niwasis to brindavan.
4th Day – Kalinga / RaasLeelai
Kalinga snake
story was beautifully rendered by little Rajagopal which enthralled the
audience. The way he quoted various
slokas and the final kalinga narthanam gadhyam from Sri Anna’s grantham was splendid.
Hari Anna then
continued with brindhvan Gopikas prema Bhakta towards Krishna.
During Raas
leelai Krishna suddenly disappears. This is because gopis saw devas waiting
above and watching the leela which gave rise to thought in their mind “ Krishna is in our hand and is not with them” . Here the vakyanam goes that had they just thought that “Krishna is in our hand” then he would not have left them. Further Sri Anna vakyanam in this
place goes as had the gopis thought that “Krishna has held us” rather than “Krishna is in our hands” would have made Him more happy.
5th Day – Akruragamanam to Rukminikalyanam
Krishna’s uncle ,Akrurar , longed to meet the lord in
person and seek his grace. But the fear of King Kamsan never gave him the
courage to visit brindavan.
To his utter
surprise, Kamsan instructed him to visit Brindavanam and bring Krishna who has
slayed all the mighty asuras sent to kill him.
Without
hesitation akurar set off with boundless happiness to see the Lord. Sitting
amongst a bunch of friends ,Akurar wasn’t able to identify the young Lord, but Krishna the enchanter came
upto Akurar and holding his hand addressed him as ‘Chittappa’. Akrura’s joy knew no bounds as he felt blessed in the divine presence of
the lord.
In another
incident, the lord tricked Shisupal and Rukmi and married Rukmini who is the
incarnation of goddess Lakshmi.
Guruvayoorappan Leelai & Radha Kalyanam
Smt Vishaka Hari
rendered a beautiful sangeeta Upanyasam on Guruvaoor appan leelai on the
occasion of 17th anniversary of Sri Vishnu sahasranama Laksharchana
at Global Indian International School Dubai on 1st December 2017.
She started off
with Bhishmas advice to Darmaputrar and then the importance of
sahasranamam.
The way Lord
Ranganatha was worshiped by Lord Rama similarly Lord Adikesava was worshiped by
Lord Krishna in Dwarka who was then brought by Guru and Vayoo to mummiyoor and
is now known as Guruvayoorappan.
There are various
devotees to Guruvayoorappan but as stated in sahasranam “ kim japan muchyethe jantu” in recent past an
elephant named Kesavan also was a great devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan.
PAST EVENTS-- VYAGRAPURI SEVA SAMITHI, CHENNAI
Sri Hari Anna delivered Sri Krishna leela pravachanam at Ayodhya Mandapam , Chennai from Jan 7th to 13th of 2018. It was organised by Vyagrapuri Seva Samothi. Many devotees drank the elixir of devotion.
PAST EVENTS--------BRAHMA SABHA SINGAPORE
Brahma Sabha, Singapore conducted the discourse of Sri Hari Anna at the Sivan temple, Geylang, from Jan 21st to 25th of 2018. It was attended by the rasikas of Singapore with great enthusiasm. The topic was Ekadasa Skandam and every word he uttered was like medicine to the injured wounds of tantalised minds.
