Uniqueness of Krishna’s divine form

Question

What is special about Shri Krishna’s divine form, that who so ever sees Him gets mesmerized?​​

Answer

You must have heard lots glories being sung of Shri Krishna's divine form like

अनुपम रूप नीलमणि को री । 
उर धरि कर करि हाय! गिरत सोई, लखत बार इक भूलेहुँ जो री ।
प्रेम रस मदिरा,  श्री कृष्ण माधुरी

anupama rūpa nīlamaṇi ko rī । 
ura dhari kara kari hāya! girata soī, lakhata bāra ika bhūlehum̐ jo rī ।
Prem Ras Madira, Shri Krishna Madhuri

“The beauty of the sapphire-complexioned Shyamsundar is incomparable. Those who get even a glimpse of Him, place their hand on their heart and fall unconscious (unable to bear the infinite bliss)”.

As the Vedas categorically declare the reason for why His form is captivating

आनंद एवाधस्तात् आनंद उपरिष्टात आनंद पुरस्तात् आनंद उत्तरतः आनंद दक्षिणतः आनंद  एवेदॅ्सर्वम्।
ānaṁda evādhastāt ānaṁda upariṣṭāta ānaṁda purastāt ānaṁda uttaऱtaḥ ānaṁda dakṣiṇataḥ ānaṁda  evedæsarvam।

आनंद चिन्मयदुज्वलविग्रहस्य गोविन्दमादिपुरुषं तमहं भजामि।। ब्र सं.
ānaṁda cinmayadujvalavigrahasya govindamādipuruṣaṁ tamahaṁ bhajāmi।। bra saṁ.

आनंदमात्रकरपादमखोदरादिः।
ānaṁdamātrakarapādamakhodarādiḥ।

"His personality is made of bliss only".

On the spiritual journey, an aspirant naturally desires to attain the same bliss as is mentioned in these verses by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. However, maybe only a handful start their journey in this state!

​So, what do average sadhaks (aspirants) need to do to reach this state? 

Please read the rest of the article as we explain how to get the nectar which is described above.

How do I feel reach there?

​Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj coined the word Roopdhyan which means to lovingly visualize and meditate upon the divine form of Shri Krishna.

This is a powerful means to increase the longing to meet Him. However, an aspirant who has never seen the form of Shri Krishna or seen His leelas can be perplexed about how to make His image in their mind. For this, it is important to learn more about Shri Krishna.

This knowledge (महात्म ज्ञान) of his divinity will increase our love and longing for Him (मिलने की व्याकुलता). In order to strengthen our Roopdhyan, we will dive deep and learn about Shri Krishna’s divine form and His divine qualities. When we repeatedly contemplate on His attributes during Roopdhyan, our eagerness to meet Him will start building multifold and we will start getting closer to our aim of life.

​In order to learn about Shri Krishna’s body, first let us examine the different kinds of form in which jeev can appear. 
​
​In the entire creation all the material bodies can be one of the 9 material body types. In addition to that there is 1 divine body.

Even in the divine bodies, Shri Krishna’s body has attributes that are unique to Him.

Below we will describe His body in Shri Maharaj Ji’s words.

​Shri Krishna’s body

श्री कृष्ण देह तो है गोविंद राधे। ​सच्चिदानंद स्वरूप बता दे ॥
राधा गोविन्द गीत​ ७२४५
śrī kr̥ṣṇa deha to hai goviṁda rādhe। ​
saccidānaṁda svarūpa batā de ॥
rādhā govinda gīta​ 7245

“Shri Krishna’s body is created from sat, chit and anand”.

​So what are the qualities of such a body? Let us read further to know.

The qualities of Shri Krishna’s body

Such a body has several qualities that are not there in any other body. Some of those qualities are mentioned below:

​In material bodies each body part has a different capability

कृष्ण का प्रति अंग गोविंद राधे। ​सब इंद्रियों का करें कर्म बता दे॥
राधा गोविन्द गीत​ ७२४६
kr̥ṣṇa kā prati aṁga goviṁda rādhe। ​
saba iṁdriyoṁ kā kareṁ karma batā de॥
rādhā govinda gīta​ 7246

"Each pore of Shri Krishna's body is capable of doing the work of the mind, intellect and all the senses". 

कृष्ण या कृष्ण देह गोविंद राधे। दोनों ही हैं एक तत्व बता दे॥​
राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२४७
kr̥ṣṇa yā kr̥ṣṇa deha goviṁda rādhe।
donoṁ hī haiṁ eka tatva batā de॥​
rādhā govinda gīta 7247

"Shri Krishna and His divine body are one and the same". This characteristic called svagata bheda shoonya​ (Devanagari: स्वगत भेद शून्य ISO15919: svagata bheda śūnya​​) means He and His body are the same. This quality is found ONLY in Shri Krishna.

कृष्ण में देह देही गोविंद राधे। गुण गुणी रूप रुपी भेद ना बता दे॥
​राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२४८
kr̥ṣṇa meṁ deha dehī goviṁda rādhe। 
guṇa guṇī rūpa rupī bheda nā batā de॥
​rādhā govinda gīta 7248

"There is no body-soul difference between Shri Krishna and His body". In Him, there is no difference of virtue and the virtuous either.

कृष्ण में नाम नामी गोविंद राधे। लीला अरु लीलाधारी भेद ना बता दे ॥ ​
राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२४९
kr̥ṣṇa meṁ nāma nāmī goviṁda rādhe। 
līlā aru līlādhārī bheda nā batā de ॥ ​
rādhā govinda gīta 7249

"The name of Shri Krishna is Shri Krishna Himself". For example Shri Krishna's name is Ajit (Devanagari: अजित ISO15919: ajita) which means one who cannot be defeated. Just as His name says He is invincible.

श्री कृष्ण का सब कुछ गोविंद राधे। ​श्री कृष्ण ही  हैं सार बता दे ॥ ​
राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५१
śrī kr̥ṣṇa kā saba kucha goviṁda rādhe।
​śrī kr̥ṣṇa hī  haiṁ sāra batā de ॥ ​
rādhā govinda gīta 7251

"Shri Krishna's name, form, divine pastimes, divine qualities, abodes and His saints are all Shri Krishna Himself". Yes, He Himself becomes His abode. So if you touch a particle of dust in Golok you will experience the same bliss as you would if you embrace Shri Krishna.

Color of Shri Krishna's Body

Shri Krishna's color is blue. It is not the blue color we see in this the world. What to say of a paramhans, even an ordinary human being cannot let go of their meditative bliss upon looking at any blue color in this world.

Saints thought for long and hard to figure out how to explain His color to us material beings. Since there is nothing in this world of an equivalent color, saints have accepted defeat and compared His body to these three things because of two qualities each of them possess -

• Neelmani (Devanagari: नीलमणि ISO15919: ) means blue sapphire. It is blue and extremely smooth and shiny.
• ​Neel Kamal (Devanagari: नील कमल ISO15919: nīla kamala) means blue lotus. It is blue and extremely soft and fragrant.
• Neel Jaldhar (Devanagari: नील जलधर ISO15919: nīla jaladhara) means blue rain-laden cloud. These are blue and they have a cooling effect and heat absorbent.

​For the purpose of Roopdhyan, multiply both the qualities of the above three things infinite times and make a divine body. In that body, also establish the following qualities. Though it is impossible to describe the body of Sachchidaanand in material words, still we will throw some light on some of the qualities of Shri Krishna’s body.

Enumerating some more characteristics of Shri Krishna's Body

More blissful than Brahm

ब्रह्महूँ ते सरस गोविंद राधे।
​आनंदकंद कृष्ण चंद हैं बता दे॥​ राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५२
brahmahūm̐ te sarasa goviṃda rādhe।
​ānaṃdakaṃda kṛṣṇa caṃda haiṃ batā de॥ Radha Govind Geet  7252

Shri Krishna’s blissfulness is so unique that since time immemorial, there is not a single example of one who, after attaining Brahm, has not gotten completely enchanted upon seeing Shri Krishna. His form is so blissful that if  the bliss of brahmanand, the bliss of Brahm, is multiplied by a hundred quadrillion (1 followed by 17 zeros), even then it will not be equal to even a drop of the bliss of premanand, the bliss of love.

Sweeter than sweetness

मधुर मधुरहूँ ते गोविंद राधे। 
चपल चपलहूँ ते हरि हैं बता दे॥​ राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५३
madhura madhurahūm̐ te goviṃda rādhe।
capala capalahūm̐ te hari haiṃ batā de॥
Radha Govind Geet  7253

​Whatever may be the sweetest thing you can imagine, multiply its sweetness infinite times. Shri Krishna is even sweeter than that.

Naughtier than naughtiness

कमला चला है किंतु गोविंद राधे।
​हरि ढिग​ जाके भाई अचला बता दे॥ ​राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५४
kamalā calā hai kiṃtu goviṃda rādhe।
​hari ḍhiga​ jāke bhāī acalā batā de॥ Radha Govind Geet  7254

"Mahalakshmi is considered to be extremely restless, hence she is called Chapala, meaning the naughty one. However, after looking at Shri Krishna’s naughtiness, Mahalakshmi stood like a statue". Once Mahalakshmi left her husband MahaVishnu to go and see Shri Krishna. Her desire to continue to seeing Him was so profound that She was unable to return to MahaVishnu (2). Out of His kindness, Shri Krishna held her on the left side of His chest in the form of the Srivatsa symbol.

Mesmerizes Cupid (Kamdev)

सबते हैं सुंदर गोविंद राधे।
​काम, श्याम सौंदर्य काम को हरा दे॥​ राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५५

sabate haiṃ suṃdara goviṃda rādhe।
​kāma, śyāma sauṃdarya kāma ko harā de॥

Radha Govind Geet  7255

Once, Kamdev went to put Shri Krishna to test. He thought that when Shri Krishna would be performing raas with the gopis, he would attack Shri Krishna. However, as soon as he looked at Shri Krishna, Madan, i.e. Kamdev became so enchanted (mohit) that Shri Krishna’s name became Madan Mohan.

Shri Krishna is the ornament of His ornamental attire

कृष्ण के अंग सब गोविंद राधे।
भूषण के भी हैं भूषण बता दें॥​ राधा गोविन्द गीत ७२५८

kṛṣṇa ke aṃga saba goviṃda rādhe।
bhūṣaṇa ke bhī haiṃ bhūṣaṇa batā deṃ॥ Radha Govind Geet  7258

Softer than softness

पद्म पंखुड़ियों की गोविंद राधे। कोमलता है प्रसिद्ध बता दें॥ ७२५९
उनकी अनंत गुनी गोविंद राधे। कोमलता रमा पद में बता दें॥ ७२६०
वाते भी कोमल गोविंद राधे। रामा के दो कर कमल बता दे ॥ ७२६१
रमा कर तल ते भी गोविंद राधे। कोमल कृष्ण के चरण है बता दे॥ ७२६२ 
विश्व में कहीं भी कोई गोविंद राधे। उपमा न कोमलता की बता दे॥ ७२६३
तनु की मधुरता ते गोविंद राधे। मधुर है कृष्ण मुखचन्द्र बता दे ॥ ७२६4

padma paṃkhuḍa़iyoṃ kī goviṃda rādhe। komalatā hai prasiddha batā deṃ॥ 7259
unakī anaṃta gunī goviṃda rādhe। komalatā ramā pada meṃ batā deṃ॥ 7260
vāte bhī komala goviṃda rādhe। rāmā ke do kara kamala batā de ॥ 7261
ramā kara tala te bhī goviṃda rādhe। komala kṛṣṇa ke caraṇa hai batā de॥ 7262 
viśva meṃ kahīṃ bhī koī goviṃda rādhe। upamā na komalatā kī batā de॥ 7263
tanu kī madhuratā te goviṃda rādhe। madhura hai kṛṣṇa mukhacandra batā de ॥ 7264

In the world tenderness is compared to petals of a lotus flower. The body of Goddess Mahalakshmi is infinitely softer than lotus petals. Goddess Mahalakshmi’s hands are infinitely softer than Her body. Shri Krishna’s body is infinitely softer than Her hands, and Shri Krishna’s feet are infinitely softer than that. His divine form is so tender that nothing in the world compares to the softness of His divine body. And His face is even softer than His body. 

Fragrance of Shri Krishna

Each one of us has a unique body odor. To combat those odor we humans spray fragrance on our bodies. The bodies of devatas are fragrant but those are also nothing as compared to the Shri Krishna's divine fragrance. From various parts of His body eight kinds of fragrances emanate.

​Those are described below.

मुख ते मधुर अति गोविंद राधे। मुख की है दिव्य सुगंधि बता दे॥ ७२६५
कृष्ण दिव्य तनु ते तो गोविंद राधे। अष्ट सुगंधि निकले बता दें॥ ७२६६

mukha te madhura ati goviṃda rādhe। mukha kī hai divya sugaṃdhi batā de॥ 7265
kṛṣṇa divya tanu te to goviṃda rādhe। aṣṭa sugaṃdhi nikale batā deṃ॥ 7266

"Shri Krishna's face is very sweet. And even sweeter than His face is the fragrance that emanates from His mouth. Eight fragrances spring out of Shri Krishna’s body."

एक सुगंधी तो है गोविंद राधे । श्री कृष्ण दिव्य मुख पद्म​ की बता दे॥  ७२६७
एक सुगंधि तो है गोविंद राधे । हरिचंदन तनु  लेप बता दे ॥ ७२६८
एक सुगंधि मिश्र गोविंद राधे । हरिचंदन कुमकुम की बता दे ॥ ७२६९
एक सुगंधि तो है गोविंद राधे । माला बिच तुलसी की बता दे॥ ७२७०
एक सुगंधि तो है गोविंद राधे ।  वन्य पुष्पमालाओं की बता दे॥ ७२७१
तुलसी मंदार कुंद गोविंद राधे । पारिजात पद्म वनमाला बना दे ॥ ७२७२
एक हरिचंदन गोविंद राधे। कुंकुम कस्तूरी मिश्र बता दे॥ ७२७३
एक हरिचंदन गोविंद राधे। कुंकुम वन्य पुष्प मिश्र बता दे॥ ७२७४
​एक श्री कृष्ण मुख गोविंद राधे। सब ही सुगंधि मिश्रित हैं बता दे॥ ७२७५

eka sugaṃdhī to hai goviṃda rādhe । śrī kṛṣṇa divya mukha padamā kī batā de॥ 7267
eka sugaṃdhi to hai goviṃda rādhe । haricaṃdana tanu lepa batā de ॥ 7268
eka sugaṃdhi miśra goviṃda rādhe । haricaṃdana kumakuma kī batā de ॥ 7269
eka sugaṃdhi to hai goviṃda rādhe । mālā bica tulasī kī batā de॥ 7270
eka sugaṃdhi to hai goviṃda rādhe । vanya puṣpamālāoṃ kī batā de॥ 7271
tulasī maṃdāra kuṃda goviṃda rādhe । pārijāta padma vanamālā banā de ॥ 7272
eka haricaṃdana goviṃda rādhe। kuṃkuma kastūrī miśra batā de॥ 7273
eka haricaṃdana goviṃda rādhe। kuṃkuma vanya puṣpa miśra batā de॥ 7274
eka śrī kṛṣṇa mukha goviṃda rādhe। saba hī sugaṃdhi miśrita haiṃ batā de॥ 7275

The eight fragrances of Shri Krishna are explained here – The sweet fragrance of a lotus emanates from Shri Krishna’s face. From His sachchidanand divine body, the fragrance of harichandan, i.e., a thin layer of sandalwood paste smeared all over His body, comes out. The sandalwood mixes with kumkum and becomes another fragrance. From Shri Krishna’s vanamala, the garland, the fragrance of tulsi that is strung into it comes out. Also, the fragrance of other flowers such as hibiscus, jasmine, night jasmine and lotus emanate from His garland. A combined fragrance of sandalwood, kumkum and saffron comes out. The sandalwood combines with Kumkum and other flowers and emanates a unique fragrance in itself. When all these fragrances mix with the fragrance of Shri Krishna’s lotus face, it forms another unique eighth fragrance.

The six stages not present in Shri Krishna’s body

An ordinary material bodies on earth go through the following six states -

Asti, meaning it begins one day,
jaayate meaning it takes birth,
vardhate meaning it grows,
viparinamate meaning it starts maturing,
apaksheeyate meaning it ​starts wearing off,
​vinashyati meaning it ends one  day.

​In Golok, Shri Krishna’s body does not have any of the above mentioned states. He always remains in a 16 year old youthful state.

​You may ask about - what happens during His descension? 

During Shri Krishna’s descension, the mother feels as though the baby has entered the womb, in other words, the state of asti or beginning. The mother only has such a feeling, but in reality Shri Krishna enters her inner consciousness, not the womb (3). 

Then in the state of being born, i.e. jaayate. Even here, you would have heard during the descension of Ram, that when He was born, He appeared as a 16 year old in front of the mother Kaushalya. That is when mother asked Him to become an infant. Additionally, she sought the boon that she forgets His Godliness. He granted her the boon and changed into the form of a one day old baby. Similarly, in Krishna's descension as well, first Devaki saw His 16 year old divine form and then He became a infant. He was not born like an ordinary child. Yet, in both cases mothers were convinced that He was born from their womb.

Later, Shri Krishna’s body grows for 16 years. This state is called vardhate. Though He was a child, yet He was NOT confined to that state. You must have read in many poems in Prem Ras Madira that  in order to please the devotees, Shri Krishna used to become older at will e.g. during Maharas and also the situation described below.

निज ब्रजधाम लेहु नंदरानी, हम कहुँ अंत बसेंगी जाए  ।
छोटो सो मत जान यशोदा, हाल बड़ो ह्वै जाए ।
प्रेम रस मदिरा श्री कृष्ण-बाल-लीला-माधुरी - पद नंबर ७३

nij brajadhāma lehu naṃdarānī, hama kahum̐ aṃta baseṃgī jāe ।
choṭo so mata jāna yaśodā, hāla baḍa़o hvai jāe ।
Prem Ras Madira śrī kṛṣṇa-bāla-līlā-mādhurī 73

"O Queen of Nand! you alone stay in Braj Dham. We are all leaving this place for we are fed up of your son's non-stop pranks. Don't think He is a little baby. He grows up whenever He feels like it". This is a rasik gopi's queer way of getting an opportunity to see Him and talk about His pastimes without seeming like she is smitten by His sweetness.

Even during His descension on Earth the last three states;

• Viparinamate - maturing,
• Apaksheeyate - wearing off,
• Vinashyati - ending
  

do not exist in Shri Krishna’s body. You might have heard in Shrimad Bhagawat Mahapuran that after 125 years Shri Krishna ascended to His Golok along with His divine form. Shri Ram ruled Ayodhya for 11,000 years and then submerged in the River Saryu (Jal Samadhi) and disappeared.

There are many more unique qualities in His body, which are indescribable through words. But as you progress in devotion you can experience them.

So, what is the point of describing all of these characteristics of Shri Krishna's divine form?

In general people are not attracted to just an object; instead they are attracted to beautiful objects. Hence, grow all these good qualities to the greatest extent that your mind and intellect can conceive. Assimilate and imbue all of them in one divine body. 

Without practice one cannot attain one’s goal. Hence, while doing Roop dhyan, create a divine body with all these attributes. Then worship this Shri Krishna, who is imbued with all divine qualities. On reaching the culmination of Bhav bhakti, Guru, through His grace, will transform your material mind into a divine mind. After that, you will also get the vision of that very divine form of Shri Krishna, which forcibly abducted the minds of great   paramhansas like Kumars in sat yug, king Janak in treta yug, Shukdev in dwaparyuga and Shankaracharya in kali yug. Just like they left their state of non-duality and became completely engrossed forever in the sweet duality of Shri Krishna, you too will get immersed in the divine form of Shri Krishna. Just keep doing sadhana bhakti then you too will one day say 

अनुपम रूप नीलमणि को री । 
उर धरि कर करि हाय! गिरत सोई, लखत बार इक भूलेहुँ जो री ।

Anupam rūp nīlamaṇi ko rī। 
Ur dhari kar kari hāya ! Girat soi, lakhat bār ik bhūlehun jo rī।