Krishna's Final Teaching to Uddhava (Uddhava Gita Summary)

The Yadava clan had destroyed itself, exactly as Gandhari had cursed. Dwaraka was sinking. Krishna sat alone in the forest, waiting for what was to come.

Uddhava found him there — his oldest friend, his most devoted disciple.

Uddhava: "Take me with you, Krishna. Don't leave me in this world without you."

Krishna: "You cannot come where I am going, my friend. But neither will you be without me."

Uddhava: "How can I live without seeing you? Without hearing your voice? All these years, you have been my everything."

Krishna: "And that is exactly what you must unlearn. Sit. Let me give you my final teaching."

Uddhava sat, tears streaming.

Krishna: ""You have loved the form of Krishna — this body, this face, this voice. But I am not this body. I never was. I am the consciousness that looks through these eyes, and that same consciousness looks through yours."

When this body falls, will the sun stop shining? Will the rivers stop flowing? Will babies stop being born? I am in all of that. I am in the flower that blooms and the fruit that ripens. I am in the mother feeding her child and the teacher sharing knowledge. Everywhere you look, I am there.

You don't need to seek me in temples or on pilgrimages. Sit quietly. Go within. The same presence you feel when you look at me — that presence is inside you, always has been, always will be.

I came into this form to do certain things. Those things are done. Now I leave this form. But 'I' do not go anywhere. How can the infinite go anywhere? It is already everywhere."

Uddhava: "But I will miss YOU. This form. This smile. The way you tease me, the way you explain things..."

KRISHNA (laughing): "And I will miss teasing you! You think I feel nothing? But Uddhava, every form must end. Clinging to forms is what creates suffering. The love between us — that is formless. That will never end.

A thousand years from now, when someone reads about us, they will feel that love. They won't have seen my face or heard my voice, but they will feel the connection. That is because love transcends form. Our love is already eternal — this goodbye is just a formality for the body."

Uddhava: "What should I do? Where should I go?"

Krishna: ""Go to Badrinath. Meditate. Share what you've learned. And when doubts arise, when you feel alone, close your eyes and remember this moment. I will be there. Not as a memory, but as a living presence. This I promise."

One more thing — don't make a religion out of me. Don't build walls and say 'Krishna is only here, not there.' I am in the temple AND in the tavern. I am in the saint AND in the sinner — judging neither, loving both. Wherever someone cries out for truth, I am there. Wherever someone helps another without expectation, I am there. You want to see me? Look at anyone being kind. That's my face."

A hunter's arrow struck Krishna's foot — the one vulnerable spot, as destined.

UDDHAVA cried out, but Krishna smiled.

Krishna: "See? Even this hunter is my devotee. He sends me home. Go now, Uddhava. Live fully. And remember — we never really part."