Ala re ala, Govinda ala!

Today marks the birth of the most beloved of all the deities in the Hindu pantheon, Lord Krishna. This Godly figure, however, isn't distant and forbidding like the rest, maybe that's why He's so loved. And love is a more appropriate emotion for Him than mere veneration, because He is the god that resides where there is love.

Throughout the tale of His life, He never bothered about the ethics of dharma, or the fairness of religion with respect to his actions. That doesn't mean that He was as bad as those whom He opposed, just that He exemplified the view that 'Do unto others as they do unto you'. Those who know no right, who care not for niceties, for justice and righteousness, cannot be reformed using soft words and diplomacy. They must be dealt with in the same manner, as they treat others, for in that they realise the fundamental lesson: It could happen to us. A perpetrator of evil, when faced with a similar situation dawning upon himself, realises the folly of his actions, and is expected to reform. Krishna is the epitome of this thought process.

For me, when asked to choose between Rama and Krishna, the choice is a difficult one to make, and for many reasons. While Rama is the ideal man, His conduct with respect to His wife in the culmination of His legend brings to fore the inherent hypocrisies of the Hindu religion, which on one hand praises Him for his steadfast devotion to all that is righteous, and on the other hand, through His actions, sanctions the mistreatment of one's beloved for the safety of the throne. And there Krishna scores. Because His entire life was a game, meant at outwitting those who tormented their fellow beings, at their own play, using their own methods, His life isn't a contradiction; rather it's a open book.

One can search the ancient tomes, the songs of yore, the dramas, and one will find many references to Rama, and yet one can find more fond references to Krishna. His love for Radha, though in the end left unrequited, is an immortal tale of how love must be. His heroic rescue of the lady Rukmini and Hs subsequent marriage is an Indian girl's version of the tale of the knight in shining armour. His surrender of the throne to the aging Ugrasena, his great uncle, showed the purity of Hs character. His genius at defeating His enemies is the Indian equivalent of Sun Tzu, maybe even more the better because in the end, He always got the girl.

His guidance to the troubled Arjuna serves as the message that the Divine wishes to give to humanity: 'Do your duty fearlessly, without any expectation of results, and I shall manage the rest.' His protection of Draupadi, when her own wedded husbands failed to do so, speaks of the power of devotion. His city of Dwaraka, the impregnable island city, is a testament to the greatness of the skills of the Gods, and to that of the genius that is inherent in the Indian people.

In truth, Krishna is not a God. He is one of us, a common man, who laughs and cries with us, who plays with us, and frolics in our glee. He is present in each and every child whose aim is to break the Handi. His antics are the stuff of childhood lore, which every mother prays her own child emulate. His bravado is the type that young teenagers aim for, consciously or unconsciously. And His love is the reward that we all desire, for in the end,

'Who the Lord loves, no grief shall touch,
Who the Lord protects, no harm shall come unto,
For the Lord is the Supreme,
And in Him, we place our lives.'