Krishna channels the divine feminine

When you think of Krishna, the most beloved of gods in the Hindu pantheon, chances are you conjure up a flute playing youth, who wears a peacock feather headgear than anything else. You could also see him as the sudarshan chakra wielding mature entity at the battle of Kurukshetra. Neither of these images is that of an alpha male, unlike other popular gods like Shiva, who is the ultimate male symbol, or Ram, who is the model Indian man from his times.

Krishna, is never aggressive and he is often, far from being a role model. In fact, he is a gentle god, who is completely comfortable engaging his softer side, or what is traditionally seen as feminine energy. He chooses to channel his divine feminine more often than not, even though he is perfectly capable of being the most macho of men in town when it really comes to it. Think of the time when he provided shelter to the entire village under a hill he held with nothing more than his little finger. Or the time that he went into the wrestling ring, finally killing his evil uncle Kansa with his bare hands.

All the muscle flexing, however, happens in his early youth only. And even then, parallel storylines about that segment of his life focus more on his leisure pursuits far more.  He preferred to spend time in the the realm of charming the socks off his beloved gopis or all the animals that are so fond of him. He has musical flair, and he loves a good dance. He also has an early romance with Radha, who never becomes his wife. He is perhaps the only god to have more than one relationship in his life.

The mature Krishna prefers to keep his activities subtle, rather than brutal, too. As an advisor to the Pandavas, he has no interest in taking centre stage, despite being the reason they actually win the Mahabharata. He understands that the battle is about the humans in the game, and is happy assisting them on the side at key moments, but lets them fight it for most part. In other words, he has a supporting role, not the key part.

Of course, no mention of the Krishna and Mahabharata can be complete without the mention of Draupadi. This is perhaps the only time that he makes full use of his divinity to effect events on the material plane. Here too, though, he does not swoop in to save the day. Krishna almost never feels the need for histrionics, and finds lateral solutions to extreme challenges.

Even though his ethical code might sometimes be questionable – he does ultimately lead Duryodhana to his demise – the reasons for doing what he does are almost always right. Essentially, Krishna is the ultimate believer in brain over brawn, even though he will use the latter when necessary. He thus has his yin and yang perfectly balanced. A nice reminder in a world struggling with equality, and something to consider on his birthday!

Happy Birthday, Lord Krishna!