krishna in gold

Gopala Krishna is the younger form of Lord Krishna who was the protector of the cows and who played his flute, catching the attention of all of the Gopis (maidens) including Radha and making mischief with playful antics.

However you consider Krishna, either as the Supreme God or the 8th avatar of Vishnu, in this beautiful artwork by Giampaolo Tomassetti he is shining the Brahman light from his self-effulgent body. The grace of his form enchants all the living beings around him – notably the calf and the lotus flower. The music of the flute emanates notions of delicate forms of leaves all around and the golden background reminds us of the sheltering Brahmayoti sky (spiritual sky), not dissimilar to the gold background used in medieval gothic art when showing the holy mother and child, reminding once again of the intuition that all world religions had in history.