The Play of God: Visions of the Life of Krishna

Never before has the complete life of Krishna been told in a way that is so engaging and understandable, yet so faithful to the ancient epics of India. Spiritual seekers of all traditions will find inspiration and revitalized faith in these pages.

The Play of God is the account of a spiritual phenomenon. It describes the extraordinary manifestation of the divine that was Krishna, the playful and enchantingly beautiful deity who epitomizes the highest principles of India's spiritual vision. While the usual Western image of God as father or monarch is represented in this story, readers will also find here much more -- a refreshing and powerful picture of God as child, playmate, lover, friend, and teacher. They will discover how India conceived the most intimate and joyous experience of God, using the seductive metaphor of the Divine Beloved. What is evoked here is not a religion of moral law and stern obligation, but a spirituality of joy and true desire, love and beauty, contemplation and inner awakening.

This life of Krishna expands our concept of divinity and raises our thoughts to a higher spiritual plane. What does it mean to conceive of God as warrior and king? What does it mean to relate to the Infinite as friend or husband? Such experiences are vividly portrayed in these pages. We are uplifted as we contemplate the unlimited joy of the Eternal, appearing to us in a form combining beauty, strength, and irrepressible playfulness.

Just as the music from Krishna's heavenly flute is irresistibly attractive, so this book will entrance its readers. Never before has the complete life of Krishna been told in a way that is so engaging and understandable, yet so faithful to the ancient epics of India.