Krishna Animations and Krishna Meditations
BY: GOPAL BHATTA DAS
Jul 13, 2011 — INDIA (SUN) —
A devotee recently asked me to view ISKCON Bangalore's cartoon production, "Little Krishna", which attempts to present Tenth Canto Srimad-Bhagavatam for the pleasure of the general public. I appreciate the eagerness of the devotees involved to make Krishna lila attractive and easily available to the public, particularly children. Nonetheless, with all due respect for their devotional efforts, I believe their production is flawed. Perhaps they failed to hear proper advice from Srila Prabhupada on the topic of Krishna meditation, or they became influenced by professional production supervisors. I feel even the title "Little Krishna" is off the mark. Although Krishna, by His expansions, is within every individual soul and within every atom, I never heard Srila Prabhupada describe Him as being "little," particularly not when referring to His Vrindaban pastimes. "Wonderful Krishna," a chapter title from Srila Prabhupada's Krsna Book, would have been far better.
Srila Prabhupada often warned his disciples and followers not to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, particularly the Tenth Canto, from professional Bhagavatam reciters, even though some of these reciters may appear to be qualified brahmin pundits. Tenth Canto Bhagavatam deals with the most intimate and confidential lilas of Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and must therefore be received only from self-realized souls like Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, Sri Suta Gosvami, The Six Goswamis of Vrindaban, and other Vaisnava acaryas like Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Prabhupada. Not only Tenth Canto, but all of Srimad-Bhagavatam is considered the "post-graduate study of Vedic knowledge" and must therefore be understood through the commentaries of self-realized teachers of Krishna consciousness. Only pure devotees are qualified to deliver the supreme science of Krishna consciousness to everyone in its pure, original form. Otherwise, as Prabhupada often warned, one may be sipping "milk touched by the lips of a serpent."
Although not all professional Bhagavatam reciters are greedy opportunists, they are generally not qualified to deliver the transcendental lila of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in its pure and original form. Usually such professional reciters have no real connection to a genuine Vaisnava sampradaya, and thus they are often fond of embellishing the stories of the Bhagavata with their own dramatic interpretations and other folk lore not found in the original Bhagavatam. They do this for the pleasure and entertainment of their audiences.
In British India, before the advent of the Krishna consciousness movement begun by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, it was common among Indian intellectuals to regard Krishna and His supremely esoteric lila as either symbolic mythology or exaggerations of historical legend. Many Indian intellectuals of that era, and later Gandhi-ji himself, thought of Lord Krishna as a legend, a myth, an incarnation of maya, a great warrior and king or, at best, a great mystic yogi or demigod. By their powerful preaching, however, our Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas have proven with logic, reason and immense scriptural evidence that Lord Krishna is, in fact, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Cause of all Causes.
Srila Prabhupada especially was always very careful to present Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by constantly quoting prominent Vedic scriptures and great self-realized souls like Arjuna, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Kulashekara, Rupa Gosvami, Sridhara Swami, Visvanatha Chakravarti, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and other exalted, self-realized Vaisnavas. Mostly he relies on the authority of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers, citing their vast scriptural research and deep realizations. In this way, he firmly establishes the fact that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the absolute truth.
All acaryas in the Gaudiya Vaisnava line of gurus have stressed that the Bhagavatam is to be studied systematically, step by step, by hearing from self-realized souls, beginning with a thorough study of the first nine cantos. It has never been recommended by authorities that people skip ahead and try to relish Tenth Canto without first undergoing self-purification while studying the science of Krishna consciousness detailed in the first nine cantos. Srila Vyasadeva and Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, the original teachers of Bhagavat-tattva, showed this method by presenting nine cantos before presenting Krishna's Vrindaban pastimes.
"The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos, because it deals directly with the transcendental activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. One will be unable to capture the effects of Tenth Canto without first going through the first nine cantos." (From Srila Prabhupada's Preface to Srimad-Bhagavatam)
One may question, "Why, then, did Srila Prabhupada himself first publish Krsna Book in 1970, before publishing the first nine cantos?" Srila Prabhupada explained this was due to his sense of special urgency; he did not know how long Krishna would allow him to remain in this world to teach Krishna consciousness to the fallen conditioned souls of Kali-yuga. Srila Prabhupada therefore presented the first nine cantos and Tenth Canto simultaneously in a summarized form titled Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Krsna Book. Although Krsna Book is a book comprised of Tenth Canto stories, it is interlaced with Srila Prabhupada's purports on every page. On almost every page, and sometimes several times per page, Krishna is referred to as the "Supreme Personality of Godhead," and every story includes authoritative references from renowned acaryas and scriptures.
Srila Prabhupada engaged many talented disciple artists to depict Krishna's pastimes in paintings that illustrate his masterpiece Krsna Book. These devotee artists were personally guided by Srila Prabhupada to draw and paint the lilas and divine personalities properly. Although some of these disciples were only neophyte artists at the time, their paintings were empowered with transcendental potency by Srila Prabhupada's divine grace. (Some of these artists later became so expert that they were hired by Disney Productions in Los Angeles.) Some devotees had suggested to Srila Prabhupada that ISKCON could produce an animated series depicting Krsna lila, but Srila Prabhupada rejected such proposals. He was working with painstaking care to present Krishna lila authoritatively, following the conclusions of our parampara. He was concerned that cartoons were not the proper media for presenting the deep science of Krishna consciousness. He preferred that Krishna conscious culture be presented in traditional forms of art, theater and authoritative publications that include the bhasyas of great Vaisnavas.
Some devotees have suggested that Srila Prabhupada might have taken a different view had he been approached in our present day, because media technology has made such great advancements. This argument is faulty because even as early as 1960, Walt Disney Company had begun producing extremely high-quality cartoon movies, such as "Snow White" and "Bambi." Few cartoon movies have ever significantly surpassed these originals. Modern technology has only helped to produce clay doll animations cheaply and easily using computer graphics. Thus modern animations can be created without the painstaking care offered by dozens of qualified and meticulous devotee artists.
In Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 28th chapter, we find elaborate descriptions of the form of the Supreme Lord given by Lord Kapiladeva to enable yogis and devotees to properly meditate on the form of the Lord. Bhagavatam minutely describes how the Lord is dressed and decorated with jewelry and garlands of flowers, sandalwood, and other ornaments and paraphernalia, such as conch and chakra. In his purports, Srila Prabhupada refers to the science of shilpa-sastra, which carefully details how murtis of various direct expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are to be precisely fashioned from wood, stone, earth, metal, or jewels. In these sastras the exact shapes and proportions of the Lord's bodily parts are described. In his purports of this chapter of Third Canto, Srila Prabhupada assures us that forms of the Lord made following the sastras and worshiped by bona fide methods of sadhana become direct manifestations of the Supreme Lord Himself. Such forms are known as archa-avatara, or archa-vigraha, and They can be seen even by common men. Such Deity worship is the real method for helping the general public see God. The archa-avatara can bestow all benedictions because Krishna Himself enters these forms and accepts the devotion of worshipers.
In his purports to this chapter Srila Prabhupada warns: "A yogi cannot imagine of form for meditation… Actually a yogi must meditate upon the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that has been experienced by the Lord's pure devotees. Yogi means devotee. Yogis who are not actually pure devotees should follow in the footsteps of devotees. It is especially mentioned that the yogi should meditate upon the form which is thus approved; he cannot manufacture a form of the Lord… Devotees never imagine a form of the Lord. They are not satisfied with something imaginary." (Srimad Bhagavatam . 3.28.29-30, Purports)
It is unfortunate that the producers of Bangalore ISKCON's "Little Krishna" animated series did not follow precisely Srila Prabhupada's masterpiece Krsna Book, wherein Krishna and His pastimes are fully present. They apparently thought they could improve the stories found in Krsna Book by intertwining story additions supposedly found in other Puranas or in confidential sastras translated by who knows who. They also add their own concocted dialog and humor. Furthermore, these cartoon producers did not follow the descriptions of Krishna and His eternal associates found in Srimad Bhagavatam. Nor did they bother to study the pictures in Krsna Book, which even five-year-old children can do. The result is that they have produced a cheap caricature of Krishna and His eternal associates. Their caricatures of Krishna and Balarama, the gopis and gopas, look like unrealistic, clay toy images of skinny village kids wearing, at best, a few strands of costume jewelry. These cartoon producers have interjected silly humor involving both monkeys and gopis that is not found in Krsna Book. Finally, the voices of Krishna and His friends sound cutesy and squeaky, like munchkins or similar cartoon characters created to entertain children.
In my opinion, the "Little Krishna" cartoon series produced by ISKCON Bangalore devotees and friends (which is constantly hawked in their temple using big, color advertisements) is not worth viewing by Srila Prabhupada's followers or their children. It may, in fact, be counterproductive for the general public or harmful for their spiritual progress. Such caricatures may be offensive, leading to a new generation of foolish people who think of Krishna as a fictional cartoon hero. This series promotes the sahajiya idea that Tenth Canto Krishna lila can be enjoyed by any layman or child in a mundane way, without the guidance of the Acarya and without self-purification through sadhana-bhakti.
It may be argued that this series is meant mostly for the entertainment of small children and should not be held to such a high standard. But why not offer children something first-class by following Krsna Book precisely? Simplifications of Srila Prabhupada's purports could have been included using an age-old literary and theatrical device common in both Vedic and western cultures, wherein a sage or storyteller is narrating before a spellbound audience, who raise important questions. This device helps to clarify, emphasize and dramatize various episodes, as scenes shift back and forth between the storyteller and the movie or play. In real life, this is the original format of Srimad Bhagavatam, both when narrated by Sukadeva Goswami on the bank of the Ganges before Maharaja Pariksit, and later when narrated by Suta Gosvami before the sages at Naimisaranya Forest. The "Little Krishna" series seems like an attempt to scrape icing off the cake to please jaded modern children who are addicted to instant gratification.
I heard one justification for this cartoon that goes something like this: "In India there are many Vaisnavas who already believe in Krishna and love Krishna, and therefore they don't need a painstaking study of siddhanta found in Srila Prabhupada's purports, as do western devotees." Such an argument seems like an insult to Srila Prabhupada and our great parampara of Vaisnava acaryas, who have so carefully and painstakingly presented the science and philosophy of Krishna consciousness for the salvation of the whole world. Rare souls who already believe in Krishna and love Him will certainly relish Srila Prabhupada's purports in Krsna Book and will likely not prefer to teach Krishna lila to children by purchasing a low-budget cartoon production done by neophyte devotees.
Srila Prabhupada has explained that even during Krishna's manifest pastimes on Earth, only a few great sages and pure devotees understood His position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna Himself says, "Out many thousands of men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows me in truth." (Bg. 7.3) After all, India is the home territory of impersonalism, sahajiyism, demigod worship, vedavada ritualism, sunyavada, mayavada and many bogus philosophical cults that consider Krishna a myth, a legend, a demigod, a form of maya or, nowadays, a cartoon hero. It would be foolish to assume that most people purchasing and viewing these DVDs already love Krishna and understand He is the Supreme Lord.
Why should followers of Srila Prabhupada want to exploit the devotional sentiments of pious Indian people with cheesy caricatures? If they assume that Tenth Canto animation is potentially a bona fide form of Krishna meditation (I would not make that assumption), then for practically the same effort they could have presented something first-class by following Krsna Book carefully and consulting Srila Prabhupada's original artists—devotees he personally empowered for painting Krishna's pastimes.
Srila Prabhupada told a story of a great violin master who used to ask his prospective students about their background training in violin before telling them his fees. His more experienced students then complained that those with no experience were being charged far less than those who already had training elsewhere. The master then explained that his goal was to train true violin masters, but to do that he had to first un-train those who already thought they knew how to play, which was a difficult job. Srila Prabhupada told this story to illustrate why it has been difficult for most "cultured" and educated Indians to understand his mission and fully accept the pure science of Krishna consciousness. The "Little Krishna" cartoon series may be another illustration of his point.
