Krishna

Three great gods reign supreme above the other Hindu gods: they are Brahma the Creator of the universe, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Vishnu has ten incarnations on earth in order to maintain the balance between good and evil which must be kept until Shiva brings an end to this cycle of the universe. The most well-known of these incarnations are those of Rama and Krishna, the seventh and eighth. Worshippers of Krishna practise loving devotion to the god, who is to them the supreme god, all gods, men, and things animate and inanimate. In this story he kills Prince Sisupala who is the third and final incarnation of a demon against whom he fought in previous incarnations, notably when he was Rama and the demon was the ten-headed Ravana. It is said that the demon had formerly been one of Vishnus high heaven and had been given the choice, after committing an extreme sin, of redeeming himself by living seven incarnations as the friend of Vishnu or three incarnations as his enemy. He chose the latter because , despite the suffering involved, he would return to Vishnu all the quicker. This is the aim of Krishna s devotees, to gain release from the cycle of rebirth by completely giving themselves to his service.

Krishna and Sisupala at the coronation sacrifice

There was a time in the world when it looked as if wickedness and evil were going to win. So the great god Vishnu was born as a baby boy called Krishna. His mother was a royal princess, the sister of King Kamsa, a man so evil that many believed him to be a demon. Kamsa was jealous and feared that Krishna would become a danger to him, so he sent his soldiers to kill the new-born child. But when the soldiers arrived they found a baby girl. Secretly that night Krishna's father had swapped his baby boy with a baby girl who belonged to a cowherd outside the city. Krishna was brought up in a tiny country village looking after the cows. And hardly anyone knew that the poor boy was really a royal prince. Many people realised that the young cowherd was someone rather special, but very few guessed that he was the god Vishnu born on earth.
As Krishna grew into a young man he fought many battles against King Kamsa's wickedness. He met lords and ladies, princes, princesses, kings and queens. He stayed at royal palaces and became famous throughout India.

One day Krishna visited a king and queen whose baby son was called Prince Sisupala. The queen felt that something was not right with her child, though she did not know what it was. She did not know that her baby boy was a demon born into a human family. In the past this demon had committed sins of the utmost wickedness and his heart was full of evil. But the queen did not know this and wanted to protect her son. She asked Krishna, 'My Lord Krishna, give me a wish for the friendship we have.'

'Certainly " replied Krishna. 'What is your wish?'

'It is a wish for my son,' answered the queen. 'Promise me that you will forgive him if he does anything wrong against you.' 'I will gladly forgive him,' said Krishna. 'Even if he does a hundred things, I will forgive him.' Sisupala grew into a young man and, as a royal prince, was invited to the great coronation of King Yudhishthira. King Yudhishthira was Krishna's cousin and had made himself the king of all the other kings in India. His coronation was to be a magnificent ceremony. All the kings and queens and princes and princesses, indeed anyone of importance from throughout the land of India, had been invited.

And so the day of the coronation arrived. The many guests were staying in palaces especially built for them. They were large with many rooms and beautifully built. People said they were like the halls of the gods. Priests from every corner of the land had been called and the city was blessed in sacred ceremonies while hymns were sung and prayers were said. Gifts of great value and beauty were given by the guests to King Yudhishthira and he in turn gave presents to the priests and people. The ceremony of the coronation was due to begin. Holy fires had been lit and blessed by the priests. King Yudhishthira would stand in the centre of the circle of fires and the high priest would sprinkle him with blessed water and proclaim him King of the Kings of the whole world. And by this sacred and solemn ceremony the land would grow rich in food and the people would do well and be happy. The ceremony was about to begin and everyone was ready. King Yudhishthira and his family all bowed low to Krishna, when suddenly Sisupala's angry voice could be heard: 'You insult me as a royal prince. And you insult the kings and queens here. How can you, Yudhishthira, King of Kings, bow down before this Krishna. Krishna, the cowherd, brought up among the poor folk in a country village.

Krishna is a nobody and a nothing and yet you honour him in this way. The coronation had to stop. Some of the kings were ready to agree with Sisupala. After all, he was right. King Yudhishthira had worshipped Krishna first, and yet they were more royal than he. Arguments began among the crowd and the calm and seriousness of the great occasion were swept away by loud shouting and the shaking of fists. What could Yudhishthira do to save the day? If the coronation did not go ahead successfully there would be days of darkness and disaster in the land. The King tried to calm Sisupala down, but it was no use. Yudhishthira turned to his old and wise grandfather for his advice. The old man was quietly smiling: 'My Lord Krishna will settle this argument and then the coronation will go on,' he said. 'It seems serious now, but it will not be so later. Sisupala seems like a lion while the real lion is asleep. But when Lord Krishna speaks, Sisupala will seem like a dog.'

Sisupala completely lost his temper when he heard these words. He rushed up to the old grandfather and waved his sword at him, but the old man stayed calm. He understood that Krishna was something more than he seemed. He knew that there was nothing to fear while Krishna was there.

At last Krishna had heard enough. Sisupala had stopped the most holy ceremony held in India for many hundreds of years, he had been rude to the king and his family and to Krishna himself. Now he was threatening the wise old grandfather with a sword. 'You have said enough and you have done enough. Now there shall be an end to it,' said Krishna.

Krishna aimed at Sisupala with his discus and then hurled the weapon through the air. It flamed as it spun towards Sisupala and then hit him on the head splitting him from head to foot. A great mass of fire burst from the body of the wicked prince. His soul had escaped and was coming towards Krishna. The burning flames bowed towards Krishna as they came near and flickered around his feet. Krishna then took Sisupala's fiery soul into his own body. He had forgiven him his wickedness and brought peace to his anger. And in this way Krishna will save the souls of all people whose minds are full of him, whether they love him or hate him.

The king and his guests were full of joy to know that a god was with them to share the coronation, and the ceremony continued with happiness and rejoicing. King Yudhishthira was crowned the King of Kings of all the earth and the land was rich and contented.

In the Bhagavad Gita {The Song of the Blessed Lord) Krishna explains to one of his cousins how Krishna himself is God, and, as God, he is in everything in the universe which he made. Krishna himself is all the other gods. To be saved you must stop thinking selfish thoughts and fill your mind with Krishna. By loving God you will come to understand that the universe is his and you will come to him.

And now listen to my most important word, Of all my words the most mysterious:

I love you well.
I will tell you how you can be saved.

Keep Me in your mind, love Me and praise Me, Sacrifice to Me, worship Me:
I promise that you will come to Me
For you are dear to Me.

Forget everything else
And turn to Me, for I am your saviour And I will keep you
From all evils.
(from the Bhagavad Gita 18: 64-66)