Krishna S Lineage

Forming the final part of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, the Harivamsha's main business is to supply narrative details about the great god Vishnu's avatar Krishna Vasudeva, who has been a comparatively minor character in the previous parts of the Mahabharata, despite having taken centre stage in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is born in Mathura (some 85 miles south of present-day Delhi). As an infant he is smuggled out of Mathura for his own safety. He and his brother Baladeva grow up among cowherds in the forest, where between them they perform many miraculous deeds and kill many dangerous demons, before returning to Mathura where they kill the evil King Kamsa and his cronies. Thereafter, Krishna is the hero and unofficial leader of his people the Yadava-Vrishnis. When Mathura is besieged by enemies, Krishna leads his people to abandon the town and migrate west, founding the dazzling new city of Dvaraka by the sea. Krishna then repeatedly travels away from that base repeatedly to perform heroic deeds benefitting those in need - including his own people, his more immediate family, and the gods. After narrating the stories of Krishna, the Harivamsha ends by finishing the story of Janamejaya with which the Mahabharata began. The Harivamsha is a powerhouse of Hindu mythology and a classic of world literature. It begins by contextualising Vishnu's appearance as Krishna in several ways, in the process presenting a variety of cosmogonical, cosmological, genealogical, mythological, theological, and karmalogical materials. It then narrates Krishna's birth and adventures in detail. Presenting a wide variety of exciting stories in a poetic register that makes extensive use of natural imagery, the Harivamsha is a neglected literary gem and an ideal starting-point for readers new to Indian literature.

Going beyond the standard depictions of Krishna in the epics, this book uses regional and vernacular sources to present a wide range of Krishna traditions.

"The Harivamsha, the final part of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, is a powerhouse of Hindu mythology. Its main business is to supply narrative details about the great god Vishnu's avatar Krishna Vasudeva, who has been a comparatively minor character up to now, despite having taken centre stage in the Bhagavad Gita. It puts Vishnu's manifestation as Krishna in its cosmic context and details Krishna's exploits in childhood and maturity. Presenting a wide variety of exciting stories in a poetic register that makes extensive use of natural imagery, the Harivamsha is a neglected literary gem and an ideal starting-point for readers new to Indian literature"--

Most Americans know about the "Hare Krishnas" only from encounters in airports or from tales of their activities in the East Village and Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s. This entertaining and sensitive book deepens our knowledge by tracing the paths of those Western Hare Krishnas who eventually traveled to or lived in India. The charismatic leader of the sect, the Indian monk Swami Bhaktivedanta, aimed to save Westerners from what he saw as materialism and atheism by converting them to worship of the Hindu god Krishna. In addition, he hoped that Western disciples would inspire Indians to rediscover their own religious heritage. Charles Brooks describes in full detail the work of the "reverse missionaries" in the town of Vrindaban--which, since it is traditionally considered to be identical with Krishna's spiritual world, is one of the holiest places in India and the site of some of its most engaging rituals. Have the Western Hare Krishnas really become part of Indian culture? Can it be that Indians accept these foreigners as essentially Hindu and even Brahman? Brooks answers in a way that radically challenges our accepted images of Indian social dynamics. Analyzing the remarkable success of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and their temple complex in Vrindaban (where Bhaktivedanta was buried in 1977), Brooks describes the intricate social, economic, and religious relationships between Westerners and Indians. He demonstrates that social rank in the town is based not only on caste but also on religious competence: many Indians of Vrindaban believe, in Bhaktivedanta's words, that "Krishna is for all." Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Brahmananda Patro (J B Patro) retired as a Deputy Chief Executive from the Nuclear Fuels Complex, Hyderabad (earlier in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), specialized in the production of Nuclear Fuels for Power Reactors. He is a member of the early pioneering team in the production of natural uranium, right from milling ore to finished fuel for nuclear power reactors operating in India. During his long service he had the chance to interact and participate in a number of scientific seminars in India and abroad. Drawn to the teachings of Lord Krishna right from a very early age, Mr. Patro viewed Bhagavad-Gita as a treatise on the Physics of energy-The Laws of Thermodynamics-the very cosmic laws that govern of our Universe and conduct our lives as the rita of the Vedas. He has compiled, edited and since published Sree MahaBhagavatam in English translated from original Sanskrit by late Swami Ramakrishna Brahmananda. Enchanted by Lord Krishna’s personality and researching into the classical and contemporary literature on Krishna, his book The Life and Times of Krishna- the Deity Who Lived as Man was published by Wisdom Tree in September 2013.While researching on Krishna Mr. Patro was fascinated by the character of Arjuna, the bosom friend of Krishna. Krishna says on a number of occasions in the Epic Mahabharata that Arjuna is his other self, alter ego. And also, the Puranic literature attributes the duo to the legend of ancient rishis Nara Narayan. Arjuna being an avatar of Nara-The primeval Man or eternal spirit pervading the Universe, always associated with Narayana the Supreme Spirit Vishnu/Krishna. Both are considered as Gods or Sages and accordingly called ‘Deva, Rishi, and Tapasao’. This has been the theme of the book on Pandava hero Arjuna entitled as ‘Two Krishnas and One Chariot-The story of Arjuna. It took about two years to research on the subject from Epic Mahabharata and other related literature. Arjuna was a versatile human, intellectual with an enquiring mind, and a peerless warrior, and Lord Krishna rightly selected him to impart his Science of Yoga which has been handed down to us as Bhagavad Gita.

This book offers a new account for the emergence of the Hare Krishna movement from the perspective of cognitive science of religion. It focuses especially on the charisma of its founder guru, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (1896-1997) through the writings of his disciples.