Krishna: The Living God of Braj

Lord Krishna occupies a unique place in the minds and hearts of the people of India. The child and adolescent Krishna provided inspiration to poets like Jayadeva, surdas, Keshavdas, Rahim Khan-khana to name only a few. The adult Krishna is remembered as a counselor of princes in peace and war, just ruler and above all as the incarnation of the supreme being, who revealed the Geeta, which is the fountainhead of social, spiritual and moral thought of Hindu India. It is from all these attributes that Vallabhacharya, the founder of Pushti Marg, referred to him as Purushottam-the complete (Purna) incarnation of the Divinity. Krishna’s impact continues to be portrayed in the paintings and the performing arts of India. During the past 40 years a number of books have been published which focus either on the different styles of paintings and sculptures or illustrate the traditional folk and classical forms of dance, portraying the life of Krishna.Almost all the illustrated books have so far touched only the images drawn by the artists in creative and performing arts. This gives little indication of the vast sweep of Krishna’s impact on the life of India. The Braj Bhumi, where Krishna was born and lived the early part of his life, provides ample evidence of the innumerable ways in which the divine self is venerated, worshipped and remembered, as a way of life. It is the Braj Bhumi where the devotees, the poets and saints converged in the past to seek inspiration from this sacred land. The area is full of landmarks left by the saints, who sang the glory of Lord Krishna and left their marks enshrined in the form of temples, samadhis and festivals, that perpetuate the Lord’s message. Unfortunately many of these milestones are in a state of disrepair and may soon be lost in the sands of time.