(Sadhguru): When we say Krishna,
the essence of who he is,
he is 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, (Laughs)
an astute statesman
and kingmaker,
a thorough gentlemen,
a yogi of the highest order,
and the most colorful incarnation.
Krishna is seen and perceived and understood and experienced
in many, many different ways by different people.
Duryodhana,
through the eyes of Duryodhana,
for those of you who do not know the background
I will be
because unless you understand the whole tapestry of the story
and the situation in which he existed
many aspects of who he is will be missed.
So we will go into it,
but right now
Duryodhana is a man
because of certain situations into which he was placed,
insecure, angry, jealous,
greedy and feeling wronged all his life.
And because of actions which came forth from his greed and anger
he became the key for destruction of his whole race.
In Duryodhana’s words,
‘He’s a smiling rouge if there was ever one.
He can eat,
he can drink,
he can sing,
he can dance,
he can make love,
he can fight,
he can gossip with old woman,
play with little children.
Who says he’s God?’
That’s Duryodhana’s perception. (Laughs)
Shakuni,
the very embodiment of deception and cunning,
Shakuni says,
‘Let us suppose he is God, so what?
What can a God do?
God can only please those devotees who please him.
Let him be God.
I don’t like him.
And when you don’t like somebody
you must praise them.’ (Laughs)
That’s deceit.
Radhe, his childhood lover,
a milkmaid,
a simple woman of the village,
but with such unfaltering love and devotion
she has become so big
that today you cannot talk of Krishna without Radhe.
We don’t say Krishna Radhe.
We say Radhe Krishna.
She has become,
a simple village woman,
she has become as significant as Krishna
or a little more significant than him.
She said,
‘Krishna is with me.
He’s always with me wherever he is,
whoever he’s with, he’s still with me.’
That’s her perception.
Vainteya,
a youth
who was the Garuda chief’s eldest son
living on the mountains of Gomantak,
a sprightly youth,
because of a certain ailment became totally crippled.
This crippled youth after he met Krishna,
Krishna made him walk.
So Vainteya said,
‘He is God.
He is God.
He is God.’ (Laughs)
Akrura,
an uncle of Krishna,
a wise and saintly being
expressed his perception of Krishna this way,
‘Krishna,
when I look at him,
this strange young boy,
I see the sun,
the moon,
and the seven stars whirling around him.
When he speaks
he sounds like the voice of the eternal.
He is the hope.
If there is hope in this world he is the hope.”
Shikandin,
a tortured human being,
because of a certain situation within himself
right from his child.
This is an absolutely tortured soul.
So Shikandin said,
‘Krishna never gave me any hope
but when he is there
the breeze of hope touches everybody.’
I can go on like this.
Different people saw different facets of who he is.
For some he’s God.
For some he’s a crook.
For some he’s a lover.
For some he’s a fighter.
So many things he is.
If we want to taste an essence of what it means when we say Krishna,
the consciousness that we refer to as Krishna,
if we have to be touched by this
we need Leela.
Here we are for the Leela.
Leela means
it is the path of the playful.
This is not for the serious types.
Are you?
(All Laugh)
Because when I say playfulness
we are not here just to play,
we are here to explore
the most profound and the most serious aspect of life
but playfully,
conducted playfully.
Otherwise Krishna won’t be there.
The reason why the most profound dimensions of life have missed
have been missed by the vast population of the world is
because they do not know how to be playful.
If you want to explore this path playfully,
if you want to be playful
you need a heart full of love,
a joyful mind, and a vibrant body.
Otherwise there is no Leela.