“In all of the Indian stories about Buddha the one central note of his whole life is kept up — [which is] sacrifice for others. In Krishna we find two ideas that stand supreme in his message: The first is the harmony of different ideas; the second is non-attachment. A man can attain to perfection, the highest goal, sitting on a throne, commanding armies, working out big plans for nations. In fact, Krishna’s great sermon was preached on the battlefield. Krishna saw plainly through the vanity of all the mummeries, mockeries, and ceremonials of the old priests; and yet he saw some good in them.
“If you are a strong man, very good! But do not curse others who are not strong enough for you. Everyone says, ‘Woe unto you people!’ But who says, ‘Woe unto me that I cannot help you?’ The people are doing all right to the best of their ability and means and knowledge. Woe unto me that I cannot lift them to where I am!
So the ceremonials, worship of gods, and myths, are all right, Krishna says … Why? Because they all lead to the same goal. Ceremonies, books and forms — all these are links in the chain. Get hold! That is the one thing. If you are sincere and have really got hold of one link, do not let go; the rest is bound to come. [But people] do not get hold. They spend their time quarrelling and determining what they should get hold of, and do not get hold of anything. … We are always after truth, but never want to get it. We simply want the pleasure to go about. We have a lot of energy and spend it that way.
“That is why Krishna says, ‘Get hold of any one of these chains that are stretched out from the common center. No one step is greater than another … Blame no view of religion so far as it is sincere. Hold on to one of these links, and it will pull you to the center. Your heart itself will teach all the rest. The teacher within [you] will teach all the creeds, all the philosophies.’
“Krishna talks of himself as God, as Christ does. He sees the Deity in himself. And he says, ‘None can go a day out of My path. All have to come to Me. Whosoever wants to worship in whatsoever form, I give him faith in that form, and through that I meet him.’ (Gita, IV. 12.) His heart is all for the masses.
“Independent, Krishna stands out. The very boldness of it frightens us. We depend upon everything — upon a few good words, upon circumstances. When the soul wants to depend upon nothing, not even upon life, that is the height of philosophy, the height of manhood. Worship leads to the same goal.
“Krishna lays great stress upon worship. Worship God! Various sorts of worship we see in this world. The sick man is very worshipful to God … There is the man who loses his fortune; he also prays very much, to get money. But the highest worship is that of the man who loves God for God’s sake.
“The question may be asked: ‘Why should there be so much sorrow if there is a God?’ The worshipper replies, ‘There is misery in the world; [but] because of that I do not cease to love God. I do not worship Him to take away my [misery]. I love Him because He is love itself.’
“The other [types of worship] are lower-grade; but Krishna has no condemnation for anything. It is better to do something than to stand still. The man who begins to worship God will grow by degrees and begin to love God for love’s sake.”
Source: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1
Painting by Harsh Malik