How could baby Krishna defeat demons?
When Sri Krishna was a child in Gokula and, later, Vrindavana, several attempts were made, on behalf of Mathura’s King Kansa, to kill him. Putana, Shakatasura, Trinavarta, Bakasura, Aghasura, Vatsasura, Dhenukasura, Pralambasura, Kaliya, Arishtasura and Vyomasura were some demons who tried, but got killed.
It is a wonder that these demons, who were huge, powerful and armed with magical powers, were defeated and killed by a small child. How is it possible? The common explanation is that Sri Krishna was God, and therefore supremely powerful; even if he was in the form of a small baby. However, there is another way to look at it.
The attacks on a small baby show that the attackers were suffering from an inferiority complex. Kansa was getting these attacks done because he was afraid. A prophecy had been made that Devaki’s eighth son would be Kansa’s death. Had Kansa been confident of his strength, he would not have gone about killing all infants in Mathura and nearby villages.
A person who believes themselves inferior tries to bring down a superior person through such cowardly attacks. A person who has real strength does not need to show their superiority by attacking others.
Lao Tzu, the legendary founder of Chinese philosophy Taoism, was once asked why no one had been able to defeat him in his lifetime. He replied that it was difficult to defeat him because he was not trying to win. If you are trying too hard to get something, you often lose that thing. If you are not trying, it often means that you already have that thing.
Somebody trying too hard to gain inner peace may never be able to get it, but someone may have it without even trying. The demons were trying to defeat Krishna when he was still a baby, yet to become powerful. Because of this inferiority complex, they lost. On the other hand, Baby Krishna was not trying to defeat them. He was simply playing and, in that play, defeated them.
A central principle of the Japanese martial art of Judo is ‘ju yoku go o seisu’ meaning ‘softness controls hardness.’ The founder of Judo, Kano Jigoro, said, “Resisting a more powerful opponent will result in your defeat, whilst adjusting to and evading your opponent’s attack will cause him to lose his balance, his power will be reduced, and you will defeat him. This can apply whatever the relative values of power, thus making it possible for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones.”
A person who has happiness and peace inside him, and is not desperate to win, can defeat a much stronger opponent, who is afraid and broken inside, and suffering from an inferiority complex.