Swami says: God is beyond Name and Form; He is all names and all forms and yet, incomprehensible and mysterious. How then can God be apprehended by means of dhyaana (meditation) on name-form? This is a legitimate question. It can be answered by means of a simile. Water drowns man; water also helps him to swim. It draws in and it buoys up. Only, man has to learn the process by which he can keep afloat. In the same way, name and form, which appear to be limitations and handicaps can serve as instruments and help to transcend Name-Form and realise God.

The Quiz that follows dwells on the facets of the charming form of Lord Krishna as explained by the Lord Himself! Ready to savour the sweetness of the Lord? Let’s go!

The meaning of the name “Krishna”

1. What, according to Swami is the meaning of the name Krishna?

Who am I? Symbolism of the Form and ornaments of Lord Krishna

In the questions that follow, an attribute or an ornament of Lord Krishna introduces itself so that the reader may guess its identity. In order to make this more interesting the ornaments / attributes are not in any particular order.

I am dark blue as a raincloud. I remind the devotee of the raincloud because the very sight of me is so refreshing. I indicate that Krishna satisfies the deepest thirst of man, for peace, joy and wisdom.

Swami says that I am three parts dark and one part fair. Swami also says that because of me, Balarama once teased Krishna saying he could not be the son of Yashoda and Nanda.

Once when Dr. Hislop was travelling in the car with Swami and turned to look at Him, he had a darshan of the Krishna form and he queried about my colour. Swami explained my colour to Dr. Hislop thus: Whenever there is something of unfathomable depth, it appears dark blue.

I remind the devotee that God is endless like the sky or fathomless like the ocean.

02. Who am I?

Who am I? I bear the sign of the conch and the wheel. I am adored by all devotees.

Once mother Yashoda caught hold of Krishna as He was running away and took Him to task for stealing butter from other houses. Using my speed Krishna escaped from her. She searched for Him in vain from house to house. Taking pity on her, Krishna dipped me in milk so that I could leave a trail for mother Yashoda to follow.

I once guided two sadhakas by blessing them with a vision of me and led them to the Chitravathi river and later to the Mandir where Swami was waiting for them.

3. Who Am I?

Who am I? I adorn Lord Krishna as an ornament.

One rite that every Hindu has to honour before entering on any enterprise of a sacred nature, like performing a Yajna or undertaking a vow, or taking on a new stage of life, is to wear me, to symbolize the determination that he evinces to fulfill that vow or carry out the duties of that stage of life.

Krishna wears me to represent the three vows that He has taken. If devotees think of Him only to the exclusion of everything else, then they would get the full benefit of what I symbolize as Krishna’s ornament.

4. Who am I?

Who am I? I am an ornament of Lord Krishna.

When He was a baby, I was strung onto a golden wire, and He was then adorned with me to ward off the death that had carried away many children from the family. I can be won only by diving into the depths of the sea and Swami therefore says I symbolize Viveka or discrimination. My position on the Lord indicates the point of concentration in meditation.

5. Who am I?

Who am I? I am a colour.

I am the colour of Krishna’s robe and the sandalpaste with which He is anointed all over. I represent the colour of Prakrithi which the Lord can don or doff at His will.

6. Who am I?

I have had such great good fortune that I have drawn the Lord to myself, and in His hand, I the infinitesimal was transformed into the Infinite. So much so that even the gopis pined to be like me.

One day, Krishna pretended to be fast asleep with me carelessly thrown by His side. Radha approached me and plaintively asked me the secret of my great good fortune. I told her the story of my unquestioning surrender. Her devotion scaled such great heights that the last I was used by my Lord was at her request in her dying moments. I watched as her jeevan jyothi merged in the Lord.

07. Who am I?

I am seen in any picture or painting of Lord Krishna. In fact, even when I am seen without the picture of Krishna, I still bring to mind the charming form of the lovely Lord. I represent the thousand eyed glance of grace. Contrary to popular belief though, as Swami says, I was not always worn.

08. Who am I?

Belief and Blessings

A Brahmin, whose profession was singing the glories of the Lord, was once reciting Bhagavatha in the house of a patron. A thief broke into the house where the recital was going on and hid himself in the attic. Perforce, he had to listen to Bhagavatha.

The singer was describing the ornaments worn by Krishna. He described the various ornaments Yasodha put on Krishna before sending Him out with the cows. The thief thought that he should kill that lad, Krishna and rob all the ornaments at one stroke instead of struggling every day with petty stealing. He waited till the Brahmin finished the story and left the place.

09. Who do you think subsequently had the darshan of the Lord?

‘Drawing’ God

A very reputed painter secured a much-coveted appointment with Lord Krishna to paint His picture. After a sitting, the painter drew an outline of His form and promised to return in a week’s time with the completed painting of the Lord.

When the painter returned in a week’s time, even he was shocked at the lack of similarity between the portrait and the real Krishna.

He asked for a week more to paint the Lord. When he returned the second time too, he found that he had not managed to capture the likeness. This went on for many weeks. In complete frustration and dejection the painter decided to leave the city.

That was when Narada met him, and advised him of a method to capture the Lord’s true likeness. Following the sage’s advice, the painter returned to the palace with a cloth covering his latest offering. This time he challenged Krishna that this painting would be perfect, could be changed at any time, and would always look like Him.

10. How was this possible?