Who is Bhagavan Shree Krishna?

   Etymologically, the term 'Bhagavan' means, 'one who is seated within' and 'Shree' means, rich and resourceful, and 'Krishna' means, 'That which is immutable, unchanging, and never reducesordiminishes'! 

   There are many  avatars of Vishnu and one is Shre  Krishna. The Gita exemplifies this. The 'One' eulogized in the Gita is nirakara parabrahman. He is unborn, eternal and immutable. The other characters depicted in the Mahabharata as a King of Vrushni Clan, or the brother of Kunti Devi, the imaginary Mother Divine of the Pandavas and Karna born to her Mantra utterances is different and the one depicted in the epic Bhagavata that describes the prowess of the Child Krishna are  all different. One should not mistake the ancient history, epics and mythology and the Gods depicted in the Veda and other scriptures. Only an enlightened person can know all these with the help of an enlightened Guru.  

  Then, “Who is Shree Krishna, we are talking about here?" "Is He God, the Parabrahmn, Narayana, Vishnu or Vasudeva?" These questions are answered in the Taittiriya aranyaka Upanishad [10-1-6]. Here, in Bhagavad-Gita, Shree Krishna is addressed as Bhagavan, Achyuta, Vasudeva, Govinda, Janardhana, Keshava, Madhava, Purushottama, Yogeshvara, and many other names. Actually, all these names have their special context in the Shrimad Bhagavata and Mahabharata Puranas. In Vishnu sahasranamam [Bishma sthavara Raja in Anushasana parva / Shanti parva, Mahabharata], there are a thousand names of the Lord in which Bishma praised the lord before leaving his carnal body. Each one of these names has a hundred connotations! How can you call a name-less Supreme Spirit, the causeless cause of evolution of the Universe? Since there is no name or form and all functions are done by Him, call Him by His divine inherent quality / Moola svarupa- the “sat-chit-ananda”. But it is interesting here to know the exact nature of His relationship with Arjuna.

    Generally, the Vedic rituals include yajnya, yaga, homa, Havana, etc. to propitiate the Gods. It is with sankalpa or desire that the devotees perform these actions. So, Shree Krishna says, any action karma done with desire /sankalpa carries with it the fruits of action. So the desire is t the root of the tree of fruits of action that allows the tree grows; the more the fertile ground of desire, more the gregarious growth and plenty are the fruits bitter and sweet. The tree, its growth bearing fruits and the multitude of seeds and further sprouts and growth go on incessantly and life becomes an eternal bondage. This profuse growth is due to the ignorance, avidya. It leads to bondage. It is the desire that is the cause. This desire is due to lack of knowledge of the self.  Hence, it is necessary to cut this tree of ignorance and prevent further spread of its seeds from fruits of action. In order to cut this tree knowledge as a sharp axe becomes necessary. This knowledge is a secret called Brahm Vidya. Shree Krishna reveals this secret to us through Arjuna. It brings out the immortality of the Soul that can be attained by renunciation of fruits of action. In fact, Shree Krishna asks Arjuna to become a yogi. The Lord says,

मन्मनाभव मद्भक्तो मद्याजे मां नमस्कुरु।मामेवैश्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायणः॥(९. ३४)

Fix thy mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice unto Me; bow down to Me; having thus united thy whole self with Me, taking Me as the Supreme Goal, thou shalt verily come unto Me.

 Therefore, practice ‘dharana’ / contemplation and dhyana. Contemplate on ‘Me’ and ‘Me alone’; focus all your attention on Me”; chant my name day and night 24/7 all the year round. I will redeem you from all this ignorance, avidya, dualities, repeated births and bondage”, says Shree Krishna. Meditation is the key to emancipation. Thus, the secret of becoming Yogi is the central theme of the Bhagavad-Gita. Control your senses. Withdraw them from their outward going tendency and turn them within to focus on the Self. For this yoga, one has to adopt the Yoga Sutra.