Krishna is undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic figures in history – a complex amalgamation of the divine and the human, whose story began with an astonishing prophecy. Here is how Sadhguru introduced the program “Leela – The Path of the Playful,” explaining what it takes to explore the most profound dimensions of life playfully.
Sadhguru: Krishna was an irrepressible child, a terrible prankster, an enchanting flute player, a graceful dancer, an irresistible lover, a truly valiant warrior, a ruthless vanquisher of his foes, a man who left a broken heart in every home, an astute statesman and kingmaker, a thorough gentlemen, a Yogi of the highest order, and the most colorful incarnation.
If you want to taste the essence of the consciousness that we refer to as “Krishna,” you need “Leela.” Leela means the path of the playful. This is not for the serious types. This is not about merely playing, but exploring the most profound aspects of life playfully. If you cannot conduct this exploration playfully, Krishna will not be present. The reason why the majority of the world population has missed the most profound dimensions of life is because they do not know how to be playful.
If you want to explore this path playfully, you need a heart full of love, a joyful mind, and a vibrant body. Otherwise there is no Leela. We cannot talk about Krishna without dance and music. If one has to explore the most profound dimensions of life in a playful way, they must be willing to play with their awareness, imagination, memory, life, and death. Leela does not mean just dancing with someone. You must be willing to dance with both those whom you love and your enemy. You must be willing to dance with both life and death. Only if you are willing to dance the last moment of your death, is there Leela.
Leela is the path of passion. If you do not have madness in your heart, you cannot walk this path. If you are too sane, Krishna is not for you. You need a level head but a mad heart. Krishna is both sides of the coin. If you only look at one side, you do not get him. Sometimes he will fall this way, and sometimes he will fall that way. All his life, Krishna talked about establishing dharma – the righteous way of living – with enormous respect for the wisdom of the ancients. At the same time, he disdainfully discarded traditions, rituals, and age-old practices that had been carried on by people for thousands of years.
Many things happened around him – sensible things, loving things, joyful things, ruthless things, cruel things, and absolutely miraculous things. The only thing that did not happen around him was dullness. Madness, love, murder, cunning, joy, ecstasy, miracles – everything except dullness happened around him. Krishna, as a man, the mission that he took up in his life, the divine element, at the same time the frailty of being a human being who lived such an active life – all these things are woven into a complex web.
It is not right to view him as one thing only because by looking at one aspect of his life alone, he will be represented in a totally distorted manner. He is so multi-dimensional that unless you touch at least a little of each of his dimensions, it will be a complete injustice to him.
Krishna was born in Mathura, which is in present-day Uttar Pradesh, to a community referred to as the Yadavas. Ugrasena was a very important chief in this community. He was growing old, and his very ambitious son, who had no qualms about how to gain power, could not wait for his father to die. When you are a king and your son is ambitious, you must either die soon, or you must go to the forest; otherwise, ambition gets frustrated.
Ugrasena’s son Kamsa got frustrated with his father’s sense of justice and his ways of handling things; he thought of it as too old-fashioned. The younger generation always thinks the old generation is old-fashioned. Kamsa’s ambition could not wait; so he imprisoned his own father, and took over the leadership of the place. Kamsa aligned himself with Jarasandha, an absolutely ruthless emperor from the East who was known for his brutality. His dream was to conquer the whole known world, and he was growing his kingdom at a great pace. Kamsa aligned with him because that was the only way to get powerful at that time.
Kamsa’s cousin Devaki got married to Vasudeva, one of the Yadava chiefs. Just after the wedding, when Kamsa was driving the newlywed couple in his chariot, an astral voice made a prophecy. This voice said from the sky, “Oh Kamsa, you are happily driving your cousin sister after her wedding, but the eighth child born to her will slay you. That will be the end of you.”
