Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa

Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, also referred to as Vyasadeva or Vyasa, is the literary incarnation of Lord Krishna and is known as the father of all Vedic literature. Originally, the Veda, meaning “truth” or “knowledge”, was one doctrine that was passed down through oral tradition in India. Vyasadeva put the Veda into written scripture and divided it into four parts, collectively known as the Vedas. For this reason, he is also referred to as Veda Vyasa.

Vyasadeva appeared as the son of the sage Parashara and his wife Satyavati. His mission was to make the Vedas more understandable to the society at large. Aside from the original Vedas, he wrote almost all the other major Vedic texts including the Puranasa, Vedanta-sutra, and the Upanishads. Aside from the original doctrine, the term “Vedas” also refers to any literature authored by Vyasadeva or any other literature based on his works.  His most famous work is the Mahabharata, also known as the fifth Veda. The Mahabharata means “great India” and contains the history of India revolving primarily around the Bharata War which took place some five thousand years ago. The Bharata War involved two families, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Vyasadeva was the grandfather of Arjuna, the Pandava’s most prominent warrior. The Mahabharata contains many conversations and stories by various sages and touches on many subjects of Vedic wisdom, but the hidden jewel of the work is its inclusion of the discussion between Lord Krishna and Arjuna that took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This conversation is known as the Bhagavad-gita and contains the essence of all Vedic knowledge.

After having written voluminous works on Vedic teachings, Vyasadeva was still not satisfied. At the insistence of his spiritual master Narada Muni, he then wrote the Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Shrimad Bhagavatam. Unlike his previous works, the Bhagavatam doesn’t touch on material subjects but instead deals primarily with Lord Krishna and His activities. The Bhagavatam clearly states that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that devotion to Him is the highest form of religion.

Vyasadeva was the perfect spiritual master. He committed all his works to memory and he taught his disciples to recite them in public. When reading the Puranas in their current form, one will find that they are usually just transcripts of recitations given to an audience by one of his disciples. At the end of the recitation, the poet will usually inform the audience that they originally heard the story from Vyasa. In this way, all the important Vedic texts are attributed to him. He is the original spiritual master, and devotees worship him on the appearance day anniversary of their spiritual master, which is known as Vyasa Puja.

 

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Lord Chaitanya

  Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the incarnation of Lord Krishna who appeared in Navadvipa, India some five hundred years ago. Usually when Lord Krishna descends to earth, He appears as a member of the kshatriya, or warrior class because His primary duty is to provide protection to His devotees. Lord Chaitanya’s advent is unique in that the Lord descended as a member of the brahmana, or priestly class. Brahmanas are the intelligent class of men whose duty is to perform worship of Lord Krishna and to teach the other three classes of society, namely the kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras.

During the time of the Shri Krishna Chaitanya’s appearance, most of the brahmanas in India were impersonalists of the Mayavada school. Mayavadis believe that there is no Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the living entities are part of the impersonal Brahman energy. They believe in silent meditation as the means of self-realization with the aim of negating all activities and merging into the Brahman effulgence and thus become “one with Brahman”.

Lord Chaitanya came to teach the real meaning of the Vedas, that Lord Shri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that mankind’s highest duty is to be constantly engaged in Krishna’s service. One doesn’t have to stop all activities, but instead should dovetail all activities with Krishna. The simplest way to do this is the method taught by Lord Chaintaya, called sankirtana, or the congregational chanting of the holy name of God. His sankirtana movement was initially met with great opposition, especially from the mayavadis, but the Lord didn’t care and kept distributing Krishna prema, or love for Krishna, to anyone who would take it.

Lord Chaitanya didn’t remain on this earth for very long and he took to sannyasa, the renounced order of life, at a very young age. He was God Himself, but this was known only to His closes associates. Teaching by example, the Lord was engaged twenty-four hours a day in singing and preaching about Krishna.

Lord Chaitanya popularized the Hare Krishna mantra: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare”. The Vedas are full of different mantras, each having their own meaning and purpose. The Hare Krishna mantra, also known as the Maha-Mantra, is the highest of all Vedic mantras because it directly addresses Lord Krishna and His energy in a loving way. Lord Chaitanya and His associates would be constantly engaged in singing the Maha-Mantra throughout India.

Lord Chaitanya instructed His closes disciples, the six Goswamis of Vrindavana, to carry on the tradition of the sankirtana movement and to write books about Krishna. Lord Chaitanya’s wish was that someday Lord Krishna’s name would be sung in all parts of the world and this was fulfilled some forty years ago by His great devotee, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON. Further details of the the Lord’s pastimes and teachings can be found in the Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita written by Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami and the Chaitanya Bhagavata, written by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura.

 

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Lord Ramachandra

   Lord Ramachandra, also referred to as Lord Rama, is the incarnation of Krishna that appeared in Ayodhya during the Treta Yuga. According to the Vedas, the universe is constantly created and destroyed and each creation is divided in to four yugas, or time periods; Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga which we are currently in.

The reasons for the Lord's advent were many and they differ slightly for each creation. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that "whenever there is a decline in religion, I personally come Myself to restore the tradition of the Vedas and to protect My devotees”. Prior to Lord Rama’s advent, there was a very powerful demon named Ravana who was wreaking havoc throughout the world and disrupting the sacrifices of the saintly people on earth. The sadhus of the world prayed for the Lord to personally come and save them and he answered their prayers.

There was a great king who ruled over Adyodhya at the time by the name of Dashrath who was very pious and respected by all. His life was perfect except for the fact that he had no son to whom he could pass down his kingdom. On the advice of his priest Vasishtha, Dashrath performed a yajna (Vedic sacrifice) for Lord Vishnu, and in due time his wives gave birth to four beautiful sons named Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna.

Lord Rama performed many glorious pastimes during His time on earth, but His most celebrated pastime was Hs slaying of the demon Ravana, who had abducted His wife Sita. Stories related Lord Rama’s life are beautifully told in the original Ramayana, written by Maharishi Valmiki, who was instructed to write the Ramayana by his spiritual master Narada Muni. Other historical accounts of Lord Rama’s life can be found in almost all of the Puranas (ancient Vedic stories), including the Mahabharata and the Shrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). Around five hundred years, Goswami Tulsidas wrote his own poem detailing the pastimes of Lord Rama, called the Ramacharitamanasa, also known as the Tulsi Ramayana. In this beautiful work, Tulsidas references all the stories of Lord Rama contained in various Vedic literatures, but especially the Valmiki Ramayana and the Brahmananda Purana, and merges them to tell the story of the Ramayana in a mood of devotion and love, and for this it is considered to be one of the most important Vedic literatures.

Lord Rama is considered an avatar of Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), and thus there is no difference between Him and God. He is usually worshipped along with His wife Sita, younger brother Lakshmana, and His greatest devotee Hanuman, collectively known as the Ram Darbar. Lord Rama played the role of a perfect human being, a role model for everyone. He was an ideal son, husband, friend, and king. He had no other interest in His mind other than to please His devotees and to serve them. Recitation of Lord Rama’s name is the only means of salvation in this age of Kali as it will immediately remind us of His beautiful form and wonderful pastimes.

 

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Goswami Tulsidas

Goswami Tulsidas was a great devotee of Lord Ramachandra (Lord Rama) who appeared in India in the 16^th century. A true saint, he is best known for the books that he authored, the most famous of which was the Ramacharitamanasa.

The original story of Lord Ramachandra, an incarnation of Lord Krishna or God, was written by Maharishi Valmiki during Lord Rama’s appearance on earth in the Treta yuga, and this story is famously known as the Valmiki Ramayana.  Stories relating to Lord Krishna and His incarnations are also found in many other Vedic literatures, such as the Puranas, all of which are written in the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit, known as the language of the gods, is a very difficult language for people to understand in this age of Kali. Tulsidas wanted to make Lord Rama’s story more accessible to today’s society. He wrote the Ramacharitamanasa, also known as the Tulsi Ramayana, in Awadhi, which is a dialect of the Hindi language. His version is based off the historical accounts of Lord Rama found in all the Vedic literatures, but is especially based off the Valmiki Ramayana and the Adhyatma Ramayana found in the Brahmananda Purana. Tulsidas’s Ramayana is written in a mood of pure devotion, using beautiful poetry, making it a wonderful read for anyone.

In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to “declare to the world that My devotee never perishes.” The popularity of the Ramacharitamanasa is proof of that. Tulsidas’s work is a staple in the homes of all Indians. It is recited regularly during the holy periods of the year relating to Lord Rama.

Aside from the Manasa, Tulsidas also authored several other shorter works relating to Lord Rama, including the Vinaya Patrika, Dohawali, and the Kavitawali. In addition, he is the author of the famous Hanuman Chalisa, a poem which glorifies Lord Rama’s greatest devotee Lord Hanuman.

Tulsidas belonged to the Ramananda Sampradaya, which has a hint of impersonalist philosophy. The Vedas describe the Supreme Absolute Truth as “nirguna”, which means attributeless. Impersonalitsts misinterpret this to mean that God is only an all pervading spirit, or Brahman, and not a person. Nirguna actually means that God is formless in that He doesn’t have a material form, but He is still an individual separate from us. From reading Tulsidas’s works there is no mistaking that he is a pure devotee of God’s form as Lord Ramachandra. In fact, Tulsidas boldly declares that God’s name is even more important than God Himself, since His name directly brings us in touch with Him. He teaches that we should be constantly engaged in reciting the Lord’s name and in this way our lives will be perfect.

Several English translations of his works are available, but sadly they usually include impersonalist and atheistic interpretations which distort the original meanings. Tulsidas’s works must be presented in their original form, with the original meanings preserved. Tulsidas was a great devotee of Lord Ramachandra and his writings leave no doubt about that. He taught devotion to God and nothing else. Krishna’s Mercy is dedicated to honoring Goswami Tulsidas by distributing his works and presenting his teachings without deviation.

 

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Shivaratri

Shivaratri is the celebration festival for Lord Shiva, one of the three presiding deities of the material world. To manage the material world, Lord Krishna incarnates as three guna avatars, Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, and Lord Shiva. Guna means qualities, and each of the deities preside over a specific quality of material nature. Lord Vishnu represents the mode of goodness, Lord Brahma the mode of passion, and Lord Shiva the mode of ignorance or darkness.

Lord Shiva is known as Mahadeva, or the great god or demigod. He is known as the highest demigod because he is a great devotee of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. Lord Shiva is always seen seated in a yoga posture and meditating, for his mind is in deep concentration on the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Like other demigods, he has been deputed by Lord Krishna to provide material benedictions to those who worship him. Lord Shiva is generally the demigod to go to for people in the mode of ignorance. People in the mode of ignorance usually crave material benedictions and they know that Lord Shiva is very easily pleased, so they go to him to fulfill their desires.

There have been many examples in the past where demons worshipped Lord Shiva in order to obtain things that weren’t for used for good purposes. The evil Rakshasa demon Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva and was granted many powers through him. He used these powers to wreak havoc throughout the world, until he was finally stopped by Lord Krishna Himself through His incarnation as Lord Rama. Another demon named Vrikasura once asked Lord Shiva for the benediction that would enable him to kill anyone simply by placing his hand on their head. Lord Shiva granted this wish and the demon immediately tried to place his hand on Lord Shiva’s head in order to kill him. Lord Vishnu then intervened and tricked the demon into killing himself. Prior to becoming a great sage, Vishwamitra Muni was a kshatriya king and he worshipped Lord Shiva in order to procure weapons that he would later use to attack the noble sage Vashishta. Vishwamitra was defeated and he eventually became a very pious brahmana.

In all these instances, we see that Lord Shiva was easily pleased based on austerities, and not necessarily the qualities of the person performing them. Though he is a boon granter, Lord Shiva is best known for being a great Vaishnava, or devotee of Lord Vishnu. In the Brahmavaivarta Purana, after Lord Shiva takes birth, he tells Lord Krishna that he wants to spend all his time thinking of Him. Lord Krishna tells Shiva that he must get married to Goddess Parvati, but not to worry, because Parvati will only increase his devotion to Him. In this way, we see that Lord Krishna and Shiva have always had a loving relationship. Lord Shiva is also the narrator of the story of Lord Rama found in the Brahmananda Purana, which forms the basis of the Ramacharitamansa of Tulsidas. Lord Shiva beautifully narrates the life and pastimes of Lord Rama to his wife Parvati. He explains that Lord Rama is the Supereme Personality of Godhead, and that devotion to Him is the highest perfection of life. Since he always resides in the city of Kashi in India, Lord Shiva whispers the name of Rama into the ear of anyone who dies there. In this way, people who give up their bodies in Kashi are granted liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Bearing all this in mind, Lord Shiva deserves the utmost respect from Vaishnavas. The proper way to worship him is to ask him to grant us the same level of devotion for Krishna that he has. In this way, we will be performing the highest worship of Lord Shiva.

 

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