“కిత్తాత్తమి అంటే కిత్తుది బత్తుడే”నా? or Is it about EXPERIENCING Lord Krishna? మరియు YVR salutes 🇮🇳…

“కాలోస్మి లోకక్షయ కృత్ ప్రవృద్ధో, లోకాన్ సమాహర్తుమి హ ప్రవృత్తః |ఋతేపిత్వా నభవిష్యంతి సర్వే, ఏవస్థితాః ప్రత్యనీకేషుయోధా||” – అని కృష్ణుడు సాధికారంగా చెప్పాడంటే అందులో ఆశ్చర్యం ఏముంది? అలా అనగల కెపాసిటీ, ఆ సుప్రీం ఎవేర్‌నెస్ వున్నవాడు కనకే ఆయన కృష్ణ పరమాత్మ అయ్యాడు. కానీ మామూలు మనిషి అదే భావాన్ని పొంది, తనవైన అలతిపదాలలో వ్యక్తీకరించినప్పుడు; అది ఇతర మామూలు మనుషులనీ స్పందింప చేసినప్పుడు – ఓహ్! కృష్ణపరమాత్మకి తన గీతాగానమే ప్రతిధ్వనించినట్టు ఉంటుందేమో? మళ్ళీ ఏమో అనే ప్రశ్నార్ధకం ఎందుకు?

నమోస్త్వనంతాయ సహస్రమూర్తయే సహస్ర పాదాక్షి శిరోరుబాహవే… అనిపించుకున్నవాడు తన గానపు ప్రతిధ్వని ఎందుకు వినలేడు? ఆయనే విశ్వం విష్ణుః కూడా. అందువల్ల తనే తన సృష్టిలోనే మరో రూపంలో నిలిచి పాడుతున్న విశ్వగీతిగా వింటాడు. ఇక్కడింకో విషయం స్ఫురిస్తోంది. విశ్వం విష్ణుః అన్న రెండు పదాల్లో విశ్వం అంటే భౌతిక ప్రపంచం , విష్ణువు ఆధ్యాత్మిక వాస్తవం. ఈ ప్రపంచంలో వుంటూ దైవాన్ని వెతుక్కునే మార్గాల్లో ఫిజిక్స్ (సైన్సు) కూడా ఒకటి అని మనం నమ్మగలిగితే పైన చెప్పిన కోట్‌లో For people like us who believe in physics… అంటూ విశ్వాన్ని tenacious illusion అంటూ విష్ణుశక్తిని రెండిటినీ స్ఫురణకి తెప్పించినట్టు వుంది కదూ?

What Adi Sankaracharya is for Adwaitha Vedanta (Non-Dualist philosophy), Einstein is for Physics. Thats what I feel, whenever I come across some of his observations, with whatever limited knowledge I have of both areas of human exploration. In fact, it is easy to imagine that AdiSankara transmigrated into this German-Jewish Scientist’s body just to explore the field of Physics. And transmigration is something he resorted to, at least once in his illustrious career of propagating Adwaitha philosphy, to understand the intricacies of family life which he never experienced, having renounced it even before entering it. Let me now come to the words that Einstein uttered, which led to my writing  of this post. Writing to the family of his close friend and fellow scientist, Michele Besso, just after Besso’s death, Einstein says -“Now he has again preceded me a little in parting from this strange world. (But) this has no importance. For people like us who believe in physics, the separation between past, present and future has only the importance of an admittedly tenacious illusion.” To someone familiar with India’s Adwaitha vedanta, such words can only come from a great soul capable of transcending the limitations of time and space. And the reference to the word ‘illusion’ points to Adwaitha philosophy whose central theme is maya i.e illusion. By breaking barriers separating the past, present and future, Einstein – knowingly or unknowingly- positioned himself, rather, his observing mind outside the boundaries of Time. That, probably, is the reason why he sounds like a transcendent soul. In physics Distance is defined as the space between two objects. And Einstein sees time as the space between two events. Based on Einstein’s definition Time is nothing but a measure of change. There is no separate entity or force called Time other than the infinite and irreversible process of Change. Now, any object or thing in the universe is subject to change, a change in its state. Change of state, however infinitesimal it may be, is a perennial process taking place at all levels and phases of existence, whether it is at an atomic scale or at a galactic one. This change is what we call time and measure it in nano-seconds, minutes, hours, light-years, etc. Applying this understanding to life we can see that three stages of life, namely Childhood, Youth and Senility are but the three milestones marking the changes of state of a living being. Thus life becomes a flow of time between birth and death implying that it is a series of changes that a body goes through between birth and death.

If Lord Krishna said –

kalo ‘smi loka-ksaya-krt pravrddho
lokan samahartum iha pravrttah
rte ‘pi tvam na bhavisyanti sarve
ye ‘vasthitah pratyanikesu yodhah 

(Time am I, world-destroying, grown mature, engaged here in subduing the world. Even without thee (and thy action), all the warriors standing arrayed in the opposing armies shall cease to be) –he said that with the authority and supreme awareness of a personified Universal Soul which also is the source and destination of all that is part of the creation.

Now what would the Lord feel when an ordinary person feels and utters words similar to His own, making other ordinary beings feel the same?

I think the blessed Lord hears the echoes of His own Song Celestial from a corner of His Universe. 

Well, why not? After all He is praised by sages as one with infinite forms, eyes, heads, hands and feet. According to Vishnu Sahasranama, Viswam (the world) is Vishnu meaning Vishnu pervades the Universe that He created i.e. He creates the Universe out of Himself. Hence it is no wonder that the Lord hears His own divine song being sung by one of His manifestations. This brings to my mind another point that Einstein might have conveyed (most probably without the knowledge that he is echoing Vishnu Sahasranama) through the words – For people like us who believe in physics… and tenacious illusion. Viswam, the world, is the physical manifestation of Vishnu, the Ultimate Spiritual Reality. Einstein sounds like he is referring to both aspects by referring to Physics and Illusion. Physics was his preferred path to attain (or understand?) the Ultimate. Illusion is the power of Vishnu that is at the root of the created Universe.