Supposing so, supposing a certain degree of its truly factual possibility, what do you think could be Sri Krishna’s reason for embodying the role of a paramour? What according to you is the divine work He achieved there? The Mahabharata Krishna seems very different from the Bhagavata Krishna and the role of Mahabharata Krishna seems clear enough to me in the larger scheme of things; this specific moonlit abandonment of the raas leela seems unclear to me.
Do you think the Bhagavata cannon represents the Mahabharata Krishna sufficiently well? What is the occult significance behind Raas Leela? It surely wasn’t some casual pastime for a Supermentally informed God.
And can you tell me some books or resource for researching on the historicity of Krishna?
As to Sri Aurobindo’s quote I would like to see which one you are referring to. Sri Aurobindo did revise his view as he entered deeper and deeper into the profundities of the Yoga. But even then Sri Krishna had always real to him, as real or even more real than anyone or anything could be. As to the Krishna Lila, it is evidently a profound metaphor that reveals some some deepest truths of our inner life and the spiritual journey.
Coming to your questions, we can take them one by one.
1. Sri Krishna’s reason for embodying the role of a paramour?
A paramour is someone whom we secretly love. Here is an aphorism of Sri Aurobindo explaining this in his inimitable style.
‘God has so arranged life that the world is the soul’s husband; Krishna its divine paramour. We owe a debt of service to the world and are bound to it by a law, a compelling opinion, and a common experience of pain and pleasure, but our heart’s worship and our free and secret joy are for our Lover.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/12/bhakti#p57)
2. What according to you is the divine work He achieved there?
Sri Krishna released the streams of bhakti in Vrindavan. Here is the truth revealed by Sri Aurobindo about Sri Krishna’s life.
‘There are four very great events in history, the siege of Troy, the life and crucifixion of Christ, the exile of Krishna in Brindavan and the colloquy with Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra. The siege of Troy created Hellas, the exile in Brindavan1 created devotional religion (for before there was only meditation and worship), Christ from his cross humanised Europe, the colloquy at Kurukshetra will yet liberate humanity. Yet it is said that none of these four events ever happened.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/12/jnana#p41)
(Note: 1 – The child Krishna had to take refuge at Brindavan in order to escape his uncle Kansa, the tyrant king of Mathura. ↩)
There are of course many other things that Sri Krishna achieved, especially the unification of Aryavarta. But the Vrindavan part is mainly to release streams of an unprecedented bhakti upon earth.
3. The Mahabharata Krishna seems very different from the Bhagavata Krishna and the role of Mahabharata Krishna seems clear enough to me in the larger scheme of things, this specific moonlit abandon of the raas leela seems unclear to me.
The Bhagawat Purana is a deeply mystic literature that gives profound occult and spiritual truths. The moonlight abandon is of course the revelation of a truth that the earth is not yet ready to realise the fullness of the Lila. The Raslila was the promise but the movement that it took is vital. After Sri Krishna’s sudden disappearance, the gopa and gopis realised that they were not ready enough. What followed was a long vital purification symbolised perfectly in Radha.
4. Do you think the Bhagavata cannon represents the Mahabharata Krishna sufficiently well?
The Sri Krishna of the Bhagawat does not take up the Sri Krishna of the Mahabharata. Vyasa, the author of both had already done that. In the Bhagawat his main purpose was to bring out the Divine and the Avataric aspect of Sri Krishna.
5. What is the occult significance behind Raas Leela? It surely wasn’t some casual pastime for a Supermentally informed God.
Raslila is the symbol of the perfect union of the Divine and His powers woven in perfect harmony and alignment with each other. It is the future, the new creation when the soul and nature will be in perfect union and completely in harmony with each other.
6. And can you tell me some books or resource for researching on the historicity of Krishna?
The historicity of Sri Krishna is best described in the Mahabharata, and Harivansha. There is a very beautiful recreation of the historical human side of Sri Krishna in a series of books titled Krishnavatar, by KM Munshi.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
