Who is gopal

Something done thousands of years ago when only a half a billion humans walked the Earth, as opposed to the 7 billion who comprise the current human world-wide population, can appear very different now than it did then. The Hindu stories found in scriptures such as the Srimad Bhagavatam were written thousands of years ago when most humans did not have the consciousness to realize how something that seems benign like the milking of a cow could lead to the situation that we have in the world today—one of intense animal slavery, exploitation and cruelty.

As we all know, every dairy cow ends up at the slaughterhouse when they can no longer produce the amount of milk to make them a profitable commodity. Even though Bhagavan, the supreme Cosmic person, may have incarnated as a cowboy some five thousand years ago and lived with cows and other human cowboys and cowgirls, do we have to take the stories in the scriptures literally and use them to condone the drinking of milk today on religious grounds?

The essay suggests that we could take the references to milk and milk products symbolically. This way of seeing demands that we delve deep to be able to imbibe the essence—the essential nectar, the secret teachings—hidden deep underneath the outer layers of perception. When we risk looking this deep, through the surface level of the stories, we find that Gopal, like we as yogis, was a radical—he rejected the culturally-sanctioned practices he observed around him; he saw through them to their essence and crafted a life based on love, kindness and compassion.

The particulars of the stories—the milk, the butter, and many other things—must be seen within the contexts of their particular culture and time. But viewing them in terms of their deeper symbolic meanings makes them relevant throughout time and to all cultures, including to us today.

Remember another great avatar, Jesus, who incarnated as a carpenter—if we read the Biblical stories literally, we could take them as meaning that we should all spend our time sawing wood, building houses and making furniture. Also, we must take things in their cultural context. According to Hinduism, avatars have not always appeared in human form, but in the form of other animals too.

This is a perennial teaching that reminds us that godliness abounds in all creation. In the Bhagavad Gita we find the teaching: Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and evil is on the rise I appear verse IV. Perhaps God appears as the baby Gopal in a cow herding family to overturn the butter jar to upset the unquestioned cultural convention of herding cows, and the full teaching has not be able to be grasped and thus revealed until now.

Think of it—a thousand years ago or a hundred years ago or even thirty years ago not many people would even think twice about discussing the negative implications inherent in these ancient scriptural stories where cows, milk and butter play such a central role, and yet here we are today examining and questioning it.

Regardless, for me, there is no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I think we can still be animal rights, vegan activists and be devoted to Krishna. Krishna means the all-attractive—Krishna is unconditional Love, and as baby Gopal He guides our senses towards our ultimate goal: Supreme Love. When we recite or sing the name of God as Gopal, our hearts open and we are led by a charming young boy into the realms of heavenly delight.

Janmastami is an important holy day celebrated in India during this month of August as the birthday or appearance day of Krishna. As a teacher you can spend time this month chanting Sanskrit songs or playing recorded versions that focus on the childhood name of God as Gopal. There are kirtan chants in the Jivamukti Chant Book you could draw from to help create this celebratory birthday mood.

Another angle that you might explore as a teacher this month is the concept of perceiving God as a child. Outside of India many of the religious systems in the world today, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, see God as a judgmental old man, a father figure who is ready to punish you for your sins.

To relate to God as a mischievous little child is quite a departure from that notion. It can be quite upsetting, as it reverses the roles and puts the devotee in the place of the responsible parent or on a more equal level as the friend of God.

To share this kind of teaching with students this month can instigate a shift in perception and cause people to question deeply held assumptions relating to who they are and what possibilities life might hold. If God can be not only an old father figure but a baby and a mischievous child as well, then perhaps God can also be a pig, a lamb, a chicken or a tuna…and if so, then perhaps God can even be an ant, a fly or a cockroach…and if so, then perhaps God can even be a mountain, a river, a wheat field or a rock….

The possibilities are limitless when we let go of our deeply ingrained belief systems, and dwelling in the limitless possibilities is dwelling with God. Asana practice can provide us with a direct experience of this as we begin to see that we are physically capable of far more than we thought.

And that realization inevitably leads us to examine what we are capable of emotionally, mentally and even spiritually. Focusing on Gopal, the childlike form of God, has the potential to turn our preconceived notions about ourselves, others and God upside down as we open to new explorations with a childlike curiosity, a sense of adventure and wonder. For that reason, it could be good to focus on inversions this month—headstand, handstand, forearm stand and shoulderstand—because of how these asanas affect our consciousness.

They stimulate the master glands in the body and in doing so result in a more expansive, more inclusive sense of awareness. As we already know, for example, through the practice of shirshasana we activate the sahasrara crown chakra and are thus able to access our karmic relationship with God. Inversions provide powerful opportunities to shift perceptions of how you see God, the world, others and yourself.

Welcome to Our Community Join our email Satsang! Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Jivamukti Yoga. You can unsubscribe anytime. Check out the Jivamukti Ashram Click here for details! August, Child Krishna, son of Devaki, friend of cows. Teaching Tips. Paul Steinberg. Constant Contact Use. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. The Dalit pursuit of modernity in his works is based on the language of rights for fostering equality in interpersonal relations among communities.

The foundation of these rights is built upon the Kantian notion of self respect and the Hegelian understanding of recognition. Thus it resists the ethics of postmodernism and neo-liberalism described in terms of benevolence and charity.

Like the Hobbesian self seeks its cultivation and preservation through the Leviathan or in a Nietzschean sense through the Ubermensch , brahminhood for Guru seeks to secure itself through s anskritization Guru Hence, instead of pursuing theory, they focus on non-conceptual, empirical, and private domains, especially poetry and autobiographical narratives.

They utilize their experiences and depict them through similes, which in many ways sensitizes and generates sympathy in the public domain. But Guru does not agree with such prepositions as it lacks the dialectical power of the transformation of ideas which involves the argumentation process as this process is based on objectivity and justificatory principles. Essential Readings Guru, Gopal Guru, Gopal Guru, Gopal ed Further Readings Guru, Gopal India: Another Millennium?