Duty Calls

Well hello there! Welcome to my abode er... Myself! I am My own place and moment as Bhagavan! Being omnipresent means that I pervade every location in existence. I have nothing outside of Me to call my location, and so, I am My own location. I am also omni-temporal. There is no past or future for Me. Just one eternally vast present. I exist in this one infinite, eternal here and now! Those words of mine you just heard me speak didn't just exist in the past nor is what I'm about to speak exclusive to the future. All of My words exist together, always! Just like they do on the page you're staring at right now!

Oh! Did I make your head a little dizzy? Oh I'm so sorry! No time to waste though. Literally, we have all of time right here. So there's no wasting it! Hehe, see what I did there?! Anyways, come and let me whisk you through My Infinite Self. I'm taking you to the part of Me known by the Hindus as Brahman. It is also infinite and eternal just like Me, except not to an absolute degree. Oh wait... that rhymed! Haha!

Okay, you see It down there? It's that big infinite-dimensional fella with no particular form. Within It, are the three Supreme Beings known as the Trimurti. They include Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer, and Shiva the Destroyer. Yes, very beautiful and terrifying Beings, I know. Anyways, focus on Vishnu in particular. He's very important to this story of Mine. Remember, I am His eighth avatar.

There He is lying on Shesha, the great multi-headed naga. His wife Lakshmi is rubbing His feet and Brahma the Creator sits on a lotus flower protruding from Vishnu's naval. Brahma is speaking with Vishnu about an important matter. Come, let's eavesdrop on them!

Brahma: My Lord Vishnu, the Earth is in great distress. So many evil kings exist on its surface that the dear Mother can no longer tolerate the pain! You must do something! I dare not command you but I beg of you!

Vishnu: Hold your sorrows, my dear Brahma. I will be born as an avatar on the Earth again and defeat the Earth's mighty evil.

Brahma: My grandest gratitude goes to you, My Lord!

Now come! We're going to the part of Me that is northern India on the eighth day of Bhadrapada, 3228 B.C. That is when and where I am born as Krishna. Here's a little bit of background on events prior to that date. On their wedding day, my human parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, heard Vishnu's loud voice announce from the sky that their son would be His eighth avatar and would slay Devaki's brother, Kansa. He's the most evil of kings on Earth at this time.

Fearful Kansa also heard this mighty voice and imprisoned My parents, vowing to kill every single one of their children. That's why you see My parents in a prison cell right now. Their first seven children were indeed killed. Yet, Vishnu came to them and promised to be born as their eighth son and free them from Kansa's tyrannical rule. Oh and look! There I am being born as their son Krishna right now!

• Author's Note: Krishna is really considered to be Bhagavan and higher than Brahman and the Trimurti in some Hindu sects. That's why some sects also refer to Him as Parabrahman (literally "beyond Brahman"). Brahman Itself is regarded as the infinite essence that is both immanent in and transcendent of reality. However, as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, Krishna is also regarded as being Vishnu in his true nature. There aren't many straightforward reconciliations describing how Krishna can be both. So I came up with my own way of describing the nature of Krishna as both Vishnu and Bhagavan. It's the same idea that Hindu doctrine seems to hint at. Krishna can be both Bhagavan and Vishnu because Bhagavan is everything, including Vishnu. It's like the opposite to how Rama was an avatar of Vishnu. Rama was a part of Vishnu's essence while Vishnu is actually a part of Krishna's whole essence. Since I wanted to depict this Storybook from the perspective of Krishna in His true nature as Bhagavan, I had him journey with the reader through these "past" events as merely parts contained within His present Self. So this perspective is original to my story but the events described, such as Brahma asking Vishnu for help, Vishnu announcing His birth, and Kansa slaying Vasudeva and Devaki's first seven children are all found in traditional stories of Krishna's life. I just wrapped them up in this extra layer.

Bibliography:

• Banner Image: Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Brahma
• Image Source 1: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
• Image Source 2: Krishna is Born
• Bhagavan and Brahman: Krishna.com
• Shesha: Wikipedia
• Story of Krishna's Birth: Times of India
• Krishna's Birthday: Wikipedia