The Shrimad Bhagwat Katha contains stories of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, which inspires devotees to lead a righteous life. It depicts the life of the Lord when he lived on earth. Every leela or incident of his life can inspire human beings to face adversity and emerge victorious. Lord Krishna has also taught us that one should remain the same in every situation. His life was filled with one problem after another, yet he was always seen smiling. He would look at the problem calmly and then try to find a solution to it. We, mortal beings can also imbibe this and move forward on the path of inner peace.
Lord Krishna was separated from his biological mother soon after birth, yet he adjusted to the new environment as an infant itself. He spread happiness in Gokul and was loved by all. In life he faced many enemies; He first fought in Gokul against the demons sent by Kansa, and when he was 11.5 years old, he moved to Mathura to fight Kansa. Later, he was seen running between Hastinapur and Dwaraka. Despite a busy life, he always followed the path of dharma and taught us that the only way forward is the right path.
Lord Krishna also taught us to stand firm and face our problems. The incident where Krishna asked the people of Gokul to worship Mount Govardhan and he became the spirit of the mountain to accept their offering is well known. Lord Indra was enraged by this usurpation and unleashed a terrible storm. Krishna held up the Govardhan mountain like an umbrella for seven days to protect his companions and their cattle. Thus, he taught that when we face a problem, we should stand firm for as many days as the problem is because one day it will be solved. Just like he fought the Kali Naag, we too must remain firm on our path and we will win, even if we have our greatest enemy in front of us.
When Krishna was lifting the mountain, the villagers too lifted their sticks to help him. At one point, they requested him to take a little rest while taking care of the mountain. The moment Krishna moved his finger a little, everything became unbalanced. Thus, this is the biggest life lesson from the Srimad Bhagwat that even though we may believe that we are doing something, it is actually God who has decided our fate and is protecting us from all problems. We must do what needs to be done, play our part and not get too attached to our karma. We must be able to break free from this cycle of karma and move towards the path where karma does not affect us. We must do the work that God wants us to do, without any expectations, only then will we be able to achieve salvation. We are nothing but puppets in the hands of God. We are like characters in a movie. We should play our role and move forward instead of entangling ourselves in the wheel of karma. Since whatever is happening is predestined, we should be humble. The world has always moved on, is moving today and will continue to move the same way even without you.
Another great lesson that Lord Krishna has taught us is to live in harmony with nature. Giriraj Govardhan is considered revered as it is a major part of the ecosystem of Gokul. This lesson given to us 5,000 years ago should be adopted by us even today. If we worship the environment around us, we will avoid harming it. Today we are all grappling with climate change, when the earth becomes too hot or cold or there is incessant rain. Once we start planting trees instead of cutting them, only then will we be able to create a balance and live in peace. Global warming is increasing every day. We must remember: when we save nature, we will survive, destroying it will accelerate the process of destruction of mankind.
There are many more such teachings in Shrimad Bhagwat. And this is why Lord Krishna is called Jagat Guru or the teacher of the entire mankind.