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[Quick links] [Pause]         In a gender biased world, one’s gender is usually associated with what that person is. Normally men are considered to be brave, logical and dashing; while women are assumed to be emotional, weak and indecisive. Though this characterization is baseless, we often tend to unknowingly use this generalization.

[Quick links] [Pause]  In the previous episode, we saw how the wicked Dhushasana dragged Draupadi, the Queen of the Pandavas, to a fully assembled court. Her husbands had lost not only themselves but also her, to Duryodhana. As per the rules of the unfair dice game, all of them were now the slaves of Duryodhana who could treat them in whatever manner he felt right. Draupadi was pleading for help. But none had the guts to take on Duryodhana. Not even his blind father Dhritarastra.

[Quick links] [Pause]   The purpose of Bhagavata was to instill devotion in God and assure helpless people that God would always come to their rescue. But Mahabharata had a different focus. It was a complex plot where intricate ideas of right and wrong are dissected and contrasted to bring out the subtle nuances of righteousness. Many a times it is difficult to give a verdict on what is right in a given complex situation.

[Quick links] [Pause]                 We were discussing about Krishna’s stories from Bhagavata. Now all of a sudden, I seem to shift from Bhagavata to another Indian Epic namely Mahabharata. It is not without reason though.

[Quick links] [Pause] We were discussing the interesting story of Avadhoota – a completely liberated person who was moving around like a mad man completely nude. Though Avadhoota had attained the ultimate knowledge, he never had any specific Guru. He imbibed whatever he knew from various sources which he considered as his Gurus. Some of these were not even human. In the previous episode, we saw 8 of them namely fire, moon, sun, pigeon, boa constrictor, sea, moth and bee. We also saw what Avadhoota learnt from these Gurus. Let us continue with rest of his Gurus in this concluding episode on Avadhoota’s story.

[Quick links] [Pause]      HappyNew year and my best wishes! I have some interesting things to announce for this New year.

[Quick links] [Pause] We were discussing the interesting story of Avadhoota – a totally liberated person who was moving around like a mad man, completely nude. Though Avadhoota had attained the ultimate knowledge, he never had any specific Guru. He imbibed whatever he knew from various sources which he considered as his Gurus. Some of these were not even human. In the previous episode, we saw 4 of those Gurus namely earth, air, sky, and water. We also saw what Avadhoota learnt from these Gurus. Let us continue with some more of his Gurus in this episode.

[Quick links] [Pause]       Guruis a Sanskrit word which means a teacher – someone who shows you the way. Many of us spend our lifetime searching for a Guru in our spiritual journey. We try to coverup our lazy lifestyle by saying that we have not yet found a proper Guru. And some of us hang on to fake Gurus who mislead more than lead us on the right path. Bhagavata talks of a strange man who claimed that he had not one but 24 Gurus! But most of them were not even human!

[Quick links] [Pause]   Aswe discussed a few episodes ago, Krishna did his schooling in a residential school run by a well-known teacher by name Sandipani. Such residential schools were called Gurukul– literally meaning ‘family of teachers’. Students lived in such Gurukuls along with their teachers and their family, during the period of their study which could be as long as 12 years. During that period, these students not only studied various subjects but also took part in the day-to-day household activities of the teachers’ family. In a way, it used to be all-round-training.

[Quick links] [Pause] Jara bringing child Jarasandha                   Withthe dual intention of freeing the Kings imprisoned by Jarasandha and also attending special Rajasuya ritual organized by Yudhishthira, Krishna and his entourage reaches Indraprastha. It would have taken several days for them to travel from western end of India to almost Northern end.

[Quick links] [Pause]         Krishnahas left behind his naughty childhood days. And also, the playful youthful days. He is a mature person now, married and also with several children. Though he was not the King, for all practical purposes, he worked like the representative of aging King Ugrasena – his maternal grand father. Have you ever wondered how a King or Prime minister or President of a country spends his typical day? Here is a short snap shot that Vyasa provides.

[Quick links] [Pause]             Whilehe was in Gokul, as a mischievous kid, Krishna was often accused of stealing butter. As he grew into a young man, people accused him of stealing the hearts of young girls. He was now an adult and the prince of Dwarika. But accusations of stealing never left Krishna. And now, he was faced with the accusation of stealing an expensive Gem. What is this new story?

[Quick links] [Pause]     Krishnawas now in Dwarika. He was no more the boy of Mathura. He had grown into an adult. Naturally, like all human beings he too fell for the cupid’s arrows. That is, he too fell in love like a typical human being. But it was not a one-sided story. Nor was it a smooth love affair. Let us discuss this love story in this episode.

[Quick links] [Pause]                 The book that I am going to announce today is not really a new book. I had started working on it 2 years ago, but I was not very comfortable giving a final shape to it. It is about a highly revered ancient Indian scripture, or shall I say the most controversial one. It is highly revered since it is supposed to put down in clear terms, everything about Brahma or God. I am terming it controversial since the same book has been used to justify diametrically opposite view points by many great Indian philosophers.

[Quick links] [Pause]       Wewere discussing events in Mathura after Kamsa was killed by Krishna. Kamsa’s father-in-law, namely Jarasandha was furious about the killing of Kamsa. He wanted to wipe out the entire Yadavaclan to which Krishna belonged to avenge Kamsa’s death.

[Quick links] [Pause]   Uddhav meeting the cowherd girls               Afterfreeing Mathura from the clutches of the tyrant Kamsa, Krishna installed Ugrasena– Kamsa’s father, as the King of Mathura.

[Quick links] [Pause] Krishna curing Trivarka WhenKrishna and Balarama were going around in the majestic city of Mathura, they came across two types of people.  There were some who were close admirers of Kamsa and loyal to him. They tried to slight Krishna in whatever way they could. But there was a vast silent majority who suffered a lot from the tyrant Kamsa. They were quite jubilated to see Krishna. They had heard so many heroic stories about Krishna that they were hoping that Krishna would free them from the oppressor Kamsa.

[Quick links] [Pause]   Akrura lands in Vrindavan with an invite from Kamsa                   Wereyou surprised?  The Kamsa, who was all along doing everything possible to kill Krishna, how could he think of inviting Krishna to Mathura? Was he repenting for whatever wrongs he did against Krishna? Was he thinking of patching up with Krishna to avoid his death in Krishna’s hands? Or was his wicked mind scheming for something very big?

[Quick links] [Pause]                     TheKrishna’s story that you have been listening to for the past few weeks is now in a book form – e-book, Paperback as well as audio. Each format has its own advantages.

[Quick links] [Pause]                   Inthe previous episode, we saw how Vyasa apparently portrayed Krishna as a flirtatious boy.  More than getting into the historicity of the incident narrated in the previous episode, I am more curious as to why Vyasa included such an incident in the Bhagavata. Did Vyasa really want to portray Krishna as a flirtatious boy?