Expansions Of Rhada And Krishna Essay Research

Expansions Of Rhada And Krishna Essay, Research Paper

Expansions of Rhada and Krishna. In India the Goddess is known by such names as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, among many others. She is the goddess of the material world, her jurisdiction given to her by Lord Krishna. She is the ruler of the fourth level of existence, known as the Devidharma, where the mother of the Universe, the Goddess, controls the living entities who choose to enjoy life separately from Krishna. Durga is the goddess who was expanded for the sole purpose of taking care of the Illusionary Energy (a.k.a. Material World); she is known as the Divine Mother. Kali is the wife of Siva; she is the goddess of destruction. Lakshmi is the wife of Lord Vishnu and is the goddess of prosperity, purity, chastity and generosity. The roles of these three goddesses are starkly different in their backgrounds, their purposes, and the way in which they are appreciated, though they come from the same powerful energy.

The Sanatandharma (Hindus) believe that Brahman expands his all pervading energy throughout the universe. Since Brahman is believed to be infinite, divinity is also infinite and found in every portion of the universe, observable in many different forms. Although the Sanatandharma have many gods, the gods have a oneness in Brahman; they are all the same divinity. In the Bhagavad-Gita, the Lord Krishna says, Whatever god a man worships, it is I who answer the prayer. (Patel, C Ch 14:27) Most Sanatan families favor for worship of either Vishnu or Siva. However some respect a Shakti, the female companion of a god, as the supreme manifestation of Brahman.

In most religions people refer to the higher being in many terms. Some say God, others say Allah, and some even refer to him as The Father. In India this higher being is known as Lord Krishna. Before time Lord Krishna roamed unaccompanied in the universe. Lord Krishna is the supreme personality of the godhead, and he is absolute Brahman (Patel, C Bhagavad-Gita Ch 14:27). Since he was divine he decided to expand himself in order to see himself in different moods. Just as you and I need self-satisfaction by glancing at our reflection in the mirror, a deity must expand. His first expansion was Rhada, also known as the Divine Mother. Rhada then expanded into twelve thousand forms, which were to service lord Krishna.

Lord Krishna then decided to expand into three more modes: Brahm (baby Krishna), Shiva (purity and perfection), and Vishnu (the exemplar of divine love). Then Rhada expanded into Yogamaya Devi, who expanded into Mahamaya Devi, who then expanded into Kalmaya Devi. Lord Krishna appointed Shiva to create the Material World, but Shiva refused due to his purity (the Material World is not pure) so Shiva expanded himself as Maya Devi (the consort of Shiva) whose sole purpose was to create the Material World (a.k.a. Brahmandakash).

From the Illusionary Energy (Material World) a goddess appeared, known as Durga (tough, indestructible). She was expanded by Lord Krishna to take care of the Illusionary world. Durga then expanded into three forms MahaLakshmi- matter energy or the goddess of wealth. MahaKali- motion energy of universe, keeps everything moving in space MahaSaraswati- is knowledge energy or Mother Nature. These three goddesses are important because they created the three gunas (mode of nature, way of life): Rajas Guna being active (created by MahaLakshmi), Tamas Guna brings anger, ignorance and sleep [Sleep is not good, according to the Sanatandharma (a.k.a. Hindu belief)], and Sattva Guna (created by MahaKali) leading to realization of god (created by MahaSaraswati).

The Shaktis are female divinities, generally the consorts of the gods Vishnu and Siva. The Shaktas represent the active forces or illusionary energy of their husbands and the personified power of Brahman. Most often worshiped is Siva-Shakti, the consort of Siva. She appears in many forms. As Parvati, Uma, or Annapurna she is a beautiful woman. But she is also a fierce and terrible goddess in the forms of Durga, or Kali. Durga, a stern-faced warrior, sits astride a lion and holds a number of fatal weapons in ten hands. She destroys the demon of ignorance, nourishes the poor and confers blessings of love, and knowledge upon all those who strive for God-realization (Huthison 599). In the honor of Durga there is an annual festival held in Bengal, which lasts at least for five days. The festival opens with the invocation to call Durga from the heavenly realm. On the final day of the festival an image of Durga is lowered into a river or a sea.

Kali, on the other hand, is known as the consort of Shiva and his Shakti, who is also known as the Divine Mother. She is often referred to as the the black one (Hutchison 601). In the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, Kali is the black, horrible tongue associated with Agni, the god of fire. Kali wears a garland of human heads around her neck and carries a bloodstained sword. Kali is the protector of righteous people. Kali was a fierce warrior, known as the anger energy of Durga. She was an expansion of Durga when the demons were getting out of hand. After Kali kills the Mahisasur demon by cutting off his head, his blood begins to drip on the ground. If this blood hits the ground more demons appear in the Material World. Kali brings out a bowl and pours all the demon s blood in it and swallows it to keep it from touching th