Krishna Avatar

Krishna as the Supreme Deity of Hinduism

I am the source of all. From Me everything emanates. Thinking thus, the wise worship Me, absorbed in ecstatic contemplation…I am the Self (atman), O Gudakesha, abiding in the hearts of all beings…

Bhagavad Gita, X, 8 and 20

Krishna, as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, is very likely the most celebrated and worshipped Supreme Personality, “…the Unborn (aja) and the Beginingless, the Supreme Lord of all worlds…” (BG,X,3) of current day Hinduism. Known by many names across the different regions of India, the celebration of his birth has long been accompanied by fasting, singing, chanting, the recitation of sacred texts as well as musical and dance performances. And while regions such as Mathura emphasizes the childhood and Rasa Lila aspect, the divine playfulness and love, the intoxicating flute and cosmic dance of Krishna, other regions such as that of Orissa hold huge festivals in honor of more metaphysical conceptions. Great processions such as those of Rath Yatra, centered on the Jagganath temple at Puri, celebrate the pan-Hindu abstract conceptions of Krishna-Vishnu representing Purushottama (the Supreme Spirit) or Parabrahmam (the attributeless Absolute) itself.

Krishna both transcends and pervades the entire cosmos, the whole of nature and all beings, past, present and future.

According to Pew surveys, in 2013 there were roughly one billion Hindus worldwide and 68% of them or 641 million, were Vaishnavites, those who regard Vishnu as the Supreme Deity. At the time, that was more than twice the number of the entire U.S. population. However, it should also be noted that in many Shaivite traditions both Vishnu and his incarnations are regarded as aspects of Shiva, and that therefore the teaching of Krishna is also revered and studied. For example, Shankaracharya, the foremost expounder of non-ritualistic, non-dual Vedanta philosophy, and who is often associated with Shaivism, wrote one of his most famous commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita.

In addition, beginning in 1785 with the first known translation of the Bhagavad Gita into French and English by Charles Wilkins, the core teaching of the historical Krishna Avatar has had a profound spiritual, moral and intellectual influence in the West through multiple avenues. Many of these are non-sectarian and non-religious in the conventional sense. First, the Gita and other traditional texts of Hinduism such as the Manu-Shastras are known to have brought about the European Oriental Renaissance of the late 1700’s. When these same texts reached Boston harbors in the 1830’s, they helped inspire the Transcendentalist’s movement in the U.S. most obviously though their influence upon the writings of H.D. Thoreau. Then in 1890, William Quan Judge’s recension, along with his insightful introduction and footnotes appeared just two years after the publication of The Secret Doctrine.

Both H.P. Blavatsky and Judge pointed to the “Song of God,” the Bhagavad Gita, as a core jewel not only of Hindu philosophy, but as a golden textbook rich with mantramic guidance for all seekers on the path of true wisdom in the service of humanity. The path of Bhakti, the Book of Devotion, as Judge called it, was also that of Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga, of the right performance of action and the deepest forms of spiritual knowledge. The Gita was called the “study of Adepts,” the keynote teaching of Brahma Vach or Theosophia, given to the entire fifth race, the whole of humanity at the dawn of Kali Yuga, the most spiritually dark of the four ages, by one of the most legendary and enigmatic of enlightened Teachers, some 5,000 years prior. Far from being a relic of pre-Christian or pre-scientific and therefore primitive civilization, the Gita is extolled in Theosophical literature as a spiritual classic of the Sanatana Dharma, a dialogue between the human soul and its divine parent, every verse of which, with the right keys, can be found rich with profound practical/spiritual guidance as well as multi-layered, esoteric meaning.

The Gita's Western and Theosophical Influence

In addition, the sacred and mysterious principle of avataric descent, the “WORD made Flesh,” the logos in human form that Krishna represented, began to be understood not as a tribal myth or personal god, but as a universal, ever-active reality, a fact in nature. Represented in many traditions under different names and symbols, connected with the Mystery Schools of antiquity now being re-established in the West, the avatar was explained by H.P. Blavatsky as kind of pinnacle of a vast hierarchy and continuous lineage of Bodhisattvas, Mahatmas, Nirmanakayas and Adepts. These are not fanciful idealizations but living beings, enlightened exemplars, wise teachers, initiators and guides who had, since the dawn of time watched over, incarnated into, protected and aided all sentient life in our world system. Driven by universal compassion and the highest wisdom, whether called Krishna or Christos, Orpheus, Osiris or Buddha, Blavatsky taught that all such incarnations are derived from the same “Bija” or seed known as Maha Vishnu or Adhi-Buddha. Called the GREAT SACRIFICE and “the ever-living-human-Banyan” it forms the “root base” of that tree from which all the great historically known Sages and Hierophants have branched off. Such beings and their emissaries, she also explained, are those who stand behind the modern Theosophical movement, resounding the same underlying keynote. At the dawn of the Aquarian Age the great Brotherhood of Bodhisattvas seek again to aid the wheel of human evolution, by reviving this sacred, secret doctrine for all aspiring souls who, like Arjuna, have made themselves ready.

Stories of Krishna’s life are found originally in the Bhagavata Purana and Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem known to human history. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 slokas.  It is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, and about four times the length of the Ramayana. Because these epics, like much of ancient Indian sacred literature, were passed down orally for centuries, the actual dates of their composition are unknown. H.P. Blavatsky calls the Mahabharata the “prologue to 5^th Race humanity” all in explication of the avatar, but which must be explained by the “secret sense” contained in the 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

For example, as told in the Mahabharata, Krishna was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva, the previous 7 sons having been killed by Kamsa (the demon king who Krishna later slays). At the cosmic level, wrote H.P.B., the first seven children refers to the “the Seven Centres of Energy evolved, or rendered objective by the action of Fohat upon the one element…”(S.D., ii,604). As the eighth child, Krishna refers to that boundless circle in which the seven arise. In terms of the path, the first seven children are the seven principles of human nature, from which “We have to part or separate…before we reach the Krishna or Christ-state…and center ourselves entirely in the highest, the Seventh or the One.”(S.D., ii, 604)

The Mahabharata and the Cosmic Meaning of Krishna's Birth

For purposes of our talk today we will approach the Bhagavad-Gita in relation to two fundamental questions: 1. Who or what is Krishna? 2. How does realization of Krishna arise? In answer to the first question we should acknowledge that we are inquiring into one of the deepest mysteries and metaphysics of divine science, what H.P.B. called “the grandest mystery of every old religious system.” Bhavani Shankar, an accepted chela added:

The Avatara is one of the most abstruse truths of Hinduism as it is of Brahma Vidya. To have even a very faint idea of the great truth, it is necessary to know what real spirituality is, to have some notion of the spiritual ideal of Adeptship, of Jivanmukti. It is truly said that even in this proud age of intellect, very few can form a correct conception of a Jivanmukta.

Bhavani Shankar,

The Doctrine of the Bhagavad Gita, p. 13

The Gita itself suggests how formidable the task is: “ I know all beings, past and present, O Arjuna, and yet to come, but no one knows Me.” (-BG, VII, 26) “Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection, and among those so striving and even succeeding, scarcely one knows Me as I truly am.” (-BG, VII.3) And when Arjuna is given not simply a verbal explanation, but a temporary awakening of true spiritual clairvoyance, of direct cognition in the 11^th chapter, The Vishvarupa, the Vision of the Divine Form of Krishna, he quickly acknowledges that he is not yet ready, not yet capable of accommodating the glory, the magnificence or the universality of the reality. At the same time, there are many dozens of verses in the Gita in which Krishna describes that which is indescribable, who he is and what he is up to, providing a small sampling of the functions he performs in the vast play of cosmic and human evolution. We are given some of our first clues in Chapter III.

The Mystery of the Avatar

There is nothing in all three worlds, O Partha, for me to accomplish, neither is there anything I have to gain nor anything I cannot have. Yet, I am constantly engaged in action. For if I did not continue to act unceasingly, men all around would follow my path, O son of Pritha. If I should cease to act, these worlds would perish; I would be the cause of confusion among creatures and they would be destroyed. 25. As the unenlightened work, attached to action, O Son of Bharata, so too the enlightened man works, without attachment, for the welfare of the world.

Bhagavad Gita, III, 22-24

We immediately see the commonality of character between the avatar and the bodhisattva. Both have nothing to gain by action in this world. They have completed the program of evolution, learnt all that can be gained through the long cycle of rebirths and yet are ceaselessly engaged in action only for the welfare of sentient beings. In Tibetan Buddhism, the celestial hierarchy which incarnated as Gautama Buddha is regarded as a proto-typical Dhyani-Buddha, fully enlightened in a previous Kalpa, who has sacrificially taken birth many times in our world period in order to re-enact the path to enlightenment and to show others the way.

Shri Bhagavan said: This imperishable yoga I imparted to Vivasvat; Vivasvat transmitted it to Manu, and Manu conveyed it to Ikshvaku. Thus handed down in succession, from teacher to pupil, the Rajarishis knew it. But owing to the long lapse of time, this yoga was lost to the world, O Parantapa.

Ibid, IV, 1-2

In these verses alone, an epic story encompassing many mysteries central to Theosophia, begin to come into view. As Judge says in his commentary, Vivasvat is a name or synonym for Surya, the sun god. He is depicted in the Rig Veda as riding a chariot with 7 horses. Surya is not merely the visible solar orb, but the hidden spiritual sun, the divine logos of seven rays or lokas revered in the Gayatri Mantram. The seven rays of Surya refer to the seven creative hosts, the 7 principles of cosmic and human nature and the 7 globes of every planetary chain, while the 7 horses refer to the 7 great periods of each Manvantara. Surya like Agni, is also a reference to the Agnishvatta Pitris, the Solar Dhyanis of the human race who lit up the fifth principle of manas, of mind, choice and responsibility in the evolving human form (no doubt discussed last week). Moreover, in this context, says Judge, Vivasvat refers to a Being fully enlightened in former periods of evolution “appointed to guide the race at its beginning.” In the Mahabharata, Vivasvat is connected with the Matsya or Fish Avatar of Vishnu, who rescues the 7 Manus and the Vedas, the sacred teaching, and carries them over the waters of the deluge. Like many such so-called myths, H.P. Blavatsky explained, this has at least seven levels of meaning. At a minimum, it refers both to the mysteries of cosmic unfoldment and to Race evolution. Cosmically, the waters refer to the pre-cosmic ocean of Space, the Great Deep or Aditi. In terms of human evolution, the whole allegory refers to the transition between the Fourth and Fifth Race linked to the Biblical flood.

Vivasvat, Manu and the Lineage of Teaching

Similarly, the term Manu is rich with levels of meaning. The Sanskrit is translated as “human” and Manvantara means “between two Manus,” referring to the seeds of archetypal humanity as well as to the patrons or guardians of enormous periods of cyclic evolution. “The first Manu is called Svyambhu, meaning “the self-existent,” another term for the logos giving rise to the first human races of the first round “with the help of the Dhyan Chohans.” (S.D., ii, 307)

“Though birthless and deathless, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet I am born through my own maya, becoming manifest through My material nature (prakriti). Whenever there is a decline of righteousness (dharma) O descendant of Bharata, and an ascendance of immorality (adharma) then I manifest Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the firm establishment of righteousness, I come to birth from age to age.”

Ibid, IV, 6-8

Notwithstanding what H.P. Blavatsky calls the “terrible confusion” of Manus and Rishis and their progeny found in the Puranas, there are 14 Manus in each of the 7 Rounds, a root and a seed Manu for each. This makes credible the reference to Vivasvat as the 7^th Manu, the celestial host or Dhyani associated with our present Fourth Round. The same holds true for each of the Seven Root Races (the period of a Root Race also being called a Manvantara), there also being a Manu-Rishi for each of the seven sub-races. As the incarnation of Krishna attests, there is also an avataric descent at the initiation and closure of each yuga. The same no doubt holds true for many lesser periods of seven within the great Saros.

“Neither the host of gods nor the great seers know My origin, for I am verily the primordial source of all the gods and the great seers.” X, 2

“The seven great seers (Rishis) and the four ancient manus are My mind-born emanations, and from them arose all these beings in the world.” X, 6

This particular verse, says H.P.B. and Subbha Row, is a reference to the fact that Krishna in one of his aspects, belongs to the Fifth Race, the four manus mentioned are linked to the four previous great Races of this Round.

Cycles of Manus and Races

Though Vishnu is traditionally (exoterically) spoken of as having ten incarnations, the actual number appears to be far higher. The Bhagavata Purana mentions twenty-two, but after enumerating them, adds: “The incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable, like the rivulets flowing from an inexhaustible lake…” The tenth Avatar of Vishnu is said to be that of Kalki, associated by H.P.B. with Maitreya Buddha, who, exoterically speaking will not arrive until the end of the Kali-Yuga “in the seventh Race” (S.D., i, 470). Yet, Gautama Buddha, considered by Hindu teaching to be the 9^th avatar of Vishnu, H.P.B. states was 27^th in a lineage of Buddhas, 24 of which have incarnated in the Fifth Race alone. “These personages, however, though called in the Northern Buddhist religion “Buddhas,” may just as well be called Rishis, or Avatars, etc., as they are:

“Buddhas who have preceded Shakyamuni” only for the Northern followers of the ethics preached by Gautama. These great Mahatmas, or Buddhas, are a universal and common property: they are historical sages — at any rate, for all the Occultists who believe in such a hierarchy of Sages, the existence of which has been proved to them by the learned ones of the Fraternity.”

S.D., i, 423

In a footnote, she also states:

”Of these “Buddhas,” or the “Enlightened,” the far distant predecessors of Gautama the Buddha, and who represent, we are taught, once living men, great adepts and Saints, in whom the “Sons of Wisdom” had incarnated, and who were, therefore, so to speak, minor Avatars of the Celestial Beings — eleven only belong to the Atlantean race, and 24 to the Fifth race, from its beginnings. They are identical with the Tirthankaras of the Jainas.”

In addition, though there are lesser and greater avatars, we can think of at least 5 that H.P.B. mentions who have incarnated since the time of the Buddha. The 8^th century Shankaracharya, she says, was an avatar of the spirit animating Gautama Buddha and the 14^th century Tsong-Kha-Pa, an avatar of Amitabha (i, 108). In vol ii, p. 423 she again equates Masters with Avatars. Besides the two who were her teachers with whom she acted in strict obedience, there was her “Master’s master,” whom she called the Para-guru, “the Nameless One” also known as the Maha-Chohan, whose singular Will says Judge, “upholds the entire Movement.”

The Many Avatars and Buddhas

But as the Gita teaches, the avataric principle is not limited to specific human incarnations, or to that divine potentiality in every human heart. Every divine excellence, virtue and lustre of wisdom and compassion in human nature, as well as their loss, arises from Him.

“Behold, I shall declare to thee, O best of the Kurus, only the foremost of My divine excellences, for there is no end to their extensive details…”

Bhagavad Gita, X, 19

“I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti; I am the radiance of the moon and the sun, the sacred syllable OM in all the Vedas; I am sound in space and humanity in men. I am the sweet fragrance of the earth, the luminous glow (tejas) of fire, the vitality (jivana) in all beings, and I am the fervor of austerity (tapas) in ascetics…in all beings I am desire regulated by moral fitness (dharma)…”

Ibid, VII, 8,9 and 11

“Intellection (buddhi), wisdom (jnana), freedom from delusion (moha), patience (kshama), truth (satya), self-restraint (dama), equanimity (shama), weal and woe, birth and death, also fear and fearlessness. Non-injury (ahimsa), sameness (samata), contentment (tushti), austerity (tapas), charity (dana), fame and infamy – all these diverse modes of being arise from Me alone.”

Ibid, X, 4-5

“Whatsoever there is endowed with glory, beauty or vigor, know that to be born from a fragment of My splendor.”

Ibid, X, 41

“I reside in the hearts of all, and from Me come memory (smriti), knowledge (jnana), and also their loss…” (karma)

Ibid, XV, 15

Krishna both transcends and pervades the entire cosmos, the whole of nature and all beings, past, present and future.

“Earth, water, fire, wind, aether (kha), mind (manas), intellect (buddhi) and egoism (ahankhara) – these are the eightfold division of My nature. This is the inferior; but know thou as distinct My superior nature, the life-principle (jivabhuta) by which, O mighty armed, this entire universe is upheld. Know these two to be the source of all beings. I am the origin of the whole universe and also of its dissolution.” (VII, 4-5)

“…but what availeth all this knowledge to thee, O Arjuna? Upholding this entire universe with a single fragment of myself, I stand apart.”

Ibid, X, 42

Krishna's Divine Attributes and Nature

On face value, this may seem to imply an underlying duality, but Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, is both another name for Krishna and for the Supreme Vishnu, who (understood esoterically said H.P.B.) is both Nirguna and Saguna Brahman. Nirguna Brahman is the ultimate inexpressible reality without attributes, beyond maya and beyond the gunas. Saguna Brahman, is the Brahman with attributes whose theological equivalent is Ishvara, the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the cosmos.

Krishna is both. Humanity is both. Nature is both.

We thus have an implicit, overarching thematic which we might summarize by the four terms Krishna uses in relation to his nature at the close of chapter VII: Adhyatma, Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva and Adhiyagna.

“Those who strive towards deliverance from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, can come to realize in full that brahman, the adhyātma and the totality of karma. Those who know Me as the adhibhūta, the adhidaiva and also the adhiyajña – the One that underlies all elements, all gods and all sacrifices – they verily know Me even at the time of death, their consciousness being ever absorbed in Me.”

Ibid, VII, 29,30

Adhyatma is Brahman, the Absolute, No-thing, or TAT, That which cannot be named and is utterly beyond maya, symbolized under three aspects in the S.D.: Space Motion and Duration). Periodically there arises within the Boundless ALL, Adhibhuta (the one element which gives rise to all other elements, the divine substance or Mulaprakriti giving rise to all forms of matter, identical with the Pythagorean or Adhibuddhic Monad. This is the second “One” (called by Shankaracharya “brahmanda”) which is still unmanifested, but which initiates the manifested logos, the demi-urge called Ishvara by the Vedantins, which is three-fold Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or in the S.D. also Spirit/Matter/Fohat. With the third logos, Adhidaivata, as Mahat, or Universal Buddhi, the Ocean of Consciousness and Intelligence also arises. Adhiyagna, the Great Sacrifice we can link with Fohat, in one aspect as Kamadeva or Divine Eros, “the Desire which first arose in it and which sages, searching with their hearts, discovered the root of being in non-being” It is that divine compassion which periodically propels the formless to enter form, the energy of divine ideation to impress itself upon matter as the laws of nature. It is that which bridges the above to the below, spirit to matter on every plane in order to raise that which is lowest.

All of this can be seen as aspects of Universal cosmology, up to the third stage of cosmic manifestation (S.D., i, 437 and Stanza VI, p 151) In any given planetary system when the time for manifestation arises, the logoic unfoldment microcosmically repeats itself where this “eternal, immutable fire, the universal light of the logos called Daiviprakriti, ”shoots out, like 7 fiery tongues,” (S.D., i, 571-2) the Mind-Born Sons of Brahma, the Dhyani Buddhas of contemplation “the concrete forms of their formless fathers,” appropriate to the karma of a given system. Every human being, the Secret Doctrine teaches is a projected ray of one of these seven Dhyanis. In cyclic descent, in perfect harmony with cosmic and karmic law and the hierarchy of which they are a part, these centers of enlightened consciousness “emanate their shadows” the Bodhisattvas of the celestial realms, the proto-types of the super-terrestrial Bodhisattvas. These in turn project the guardians, manus and rishis, a multitude of “terrestrial Buddhas,” Masters of Wisdom or Avatars on Earth appropriate to a given Round, Race, sub-race, yuga, century or historical epoch.

This at least is one way of conceptualizing how Krishna Avatar represents the descent into human form of what H.P. Blavatsky called the “unitary ray” which “precedes” the seven-fold spiritual sun, holding “spiritual sway” over every initiated Adept since the dawn of human consciousness and creating the nursery for all future adepts in the upward arc of evolution

Adhyatma, Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva and Adhiyagna

This brings us to our second question: How does realization of Krishna arise? Again the Gita is rich with mantramic instruction not unrelated to passages and themes already considered. For to know Krishna, we find we must not only become like unto the object of knowledge, but must enter into unity with it, with the highest conception of what is Real, with heart of every creature and the whole of nature, with the boundless All. The word Yoga is often translated as union and etymologically means to “attach, join or yoke.” But in traditional Indian philosophy, it refers to a form of spiritual discipline and 17 different types of Yoga are mentioned in the title chapters. All of these can all be categorized or reduced to the 3 primary disciplines: Karma, Bhakti and Jnana Yoga. Though an individual may emphasize one or the other, in end, all three along with abhyasa “constancy of practice in daily life” are necessary in preparation for true discipleship and initiation. In addition, all paths or margas must be tread with a complete renunciation of their fruits. The primary key, says Judge, is the purification of motive and the unselfish performance of duty. The sole purpose of the Initiate, says Bhavani Shankar, is the service and elevation of humanity. This is the basis of higher ethics and the beginning, middle and ending point of the spiritual path.

“Let not the fruit of thy work be thy motive, nor take refuge in the abstinence from works. Steadfast in mind in yoga, do thy works…casting off attachment, the same in success and failure. Equal-mindedness is called yoga. Verily, action is far inferior to the discipline of wisdom (buddhiyoga)…In wisdom seek thou shelter…He who is yoked to wisdom (buddhiyoga) lets go both what is well done and what is ill done. Therefore, yearn for yoga. Yoga is skill in the performance of action…”

Ibid, II, 47-50

It is also in chapter II that we are given the timeless portrait of Self-governed sage, and where we find that the purity of intent and steadfast wisdom spoken of is not possible without the mind and heart steadily settled in the non-separate Self of all beings, the all-pervading Brahman. All lower forms of Ahankara are destructive to the end in view and meditation and self-study are the keys.

“When…a man puts away all the desires that arise in the mind, and reposes in the Self, rejoicing in the Self alone, he is spoken of as a man of steadfast wisdom (sthitaprajna). He whose mind is unperturbed by suffering, who is untouched by the allurement of happiness, from whom passion, fear and anger have fallen away, he is called a muni, a man established in meditation.”

Ibid, II, 55,56

The further we move in this direction, the more Kurukshetra, the wheel of samsara or field of battle is transformed into Dharmakshektra, the skillful means by which every blade of grass is eventually brought to the highest enlightenment. Through this practice the division between secular and sacred, between pravritti marga and nivritti marga begins to fall away. Even involvement in politics, as Gandhi demonstrated and exemplified, can be undertaken as a form of spiritual practice, with ceaseless self-purification and self-correction, as a means of service to the least and lowest. The deep longing for re-union with the Self of all, is Krishna himself seated in the hearts of all. Krishna is also Arjuna. He is the innate hunger of the soul which willingly and fearlessly undertakes the Mahabharatan battle, the inner alchemy necessary to overcome or transform all impediments and obstacles to that union. He is also the Higher Self which provides the illumination needed.

Yoga and the Path to Realization

“To those who are constantly yoked, and worship Me with love, I confer that intuitive understanding (buddhiyoga) by which they approach Me.”

Ibid, X, 10

So we find that the path of Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Wisdom or of Devotion through Spiritual Knowledge, as found in the fourth chapter of the Gita and reiterated in the eighteenth, is not simply for the scholar or forest dwelling ascetic. It is open to each and every human being willing to meet the preconditions. And in the fourth chapter those preconditions are translated by Judge as four-fold: service, strong search, questions and humility.

“Seek this wisdom by doing service, by strong search, by questions and by humility: the wise who see the truth will communicate it unto thee, and knowing which thou salt never again fall into error. By this knowledge thou shalt see all things and creatures whatsoever in thyself and then in me.”

Ibid, IV, 34

The service and work which the guardians of humanity exemplify and which they advise for all seekers, says Judge in his commentary, is that on behalf of Humanity as a whole. Can one raise a question on behalf of the whole? Can we happily and lovingly admit we were wrong on behalf of the whole? Can we stifle and crush our own ego or vanity on behalf of the whole? Can we find true joy in sustaining a discipline with no payback for the personal ego, on behalf of the whole? The promise that Krishna holds out is that he will aid all such authentic efforts in this direction, that from small beginnings, a small candle can become a great, continuous flame and beacon light for others. By steadily cleaving to this path, we not only eventually reach a supreme tranquility and peace, we not only awaken the highest creative capacities inherent in the soul and in the logos of nature, but we also eventually rejoin in conscious awareness our union with that deathless Brotherhood of Bodhisattvas and Mahatmas, the wisest guardians and guides of the human race.

Service, Wisdom and Union with Krishna

“Fix they mind on Me, become My devotee, sacrifice unto Me, prostrate before Me. Thus having Me as your supreme goal, and having yoked thyself, thou salt surely come to Me.”

Ibid, IX, 34

Kirk Gradin

March 2024