Happy Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtami

Jai Shree Krishna

Krishna Janmashtami, falls on the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapad (August-September), signifying the birth of Lord Krishna, the eternal ocean of Cosmic Love. Krishna represents Brahman or God consciousnesses. Krishna avatar is synonymous with self-realization. Normally desires and negative thoughts mask our consciousness with ignorance. The journey to self-realization involves removal or shedding of this ignorance which can only be done by the eight spiritual principles as described in the Ashtang Yoga Sutras by Rishi Patanjali. These are as follows:

Yama (self control)

Niyama (self-discipline),

Asana (bodily postures)

Pranayam (control of breath)

Pratyahara (Focused Inwards),

Dharana (Single pointedness)

Dhyana (contemplation)

Samadhi (self-realization).

Every aspect coinciding with the birth of the great Lord Krishna has a deeply embedded meaning with our body, mind & soul. Ignorance is symbolized by a “PRISON”, which represents darkness; narrow-minded approach (small entry gate to the prison) and limitedness to everything (small room). The chain in the prison means the bondages to lust, greed, desires and ego. Birth of Krishna in the prison means ‘Self-realization out of ignorance’. It can only be acquired by adhering to the eight principles of Ashtang Yoga with Tapas (Abhyas) or hard work.  Krishna was born as the eighth child of Devaki, which symbolizes tapas of eight limbs of yoga. The self-realization can only occur after the seven chakras are successfully negotiated and the mind gets purified in the process. In the state of Samadhi, there is spontaneous birth of the self. In this state (Sama = equal; dhi – intelligence) one controls equality and balances oneself between the good and the bad. The significance is that, as Krishna was born, the chains that bound his father fell off; the doors that had been bolted flew open and the prison guards immediately went into sleep. And his father, Vasudev, took Krishna and went to Gokul, by placing Krishna in a basket and walking across the Yamuna river, where at the same time Yashodha, consort of Nanda, had given birth to a female child. The ‘Chains’ here symbolizes the bondage to the external world through the five senses. A self realized person is free of these bondages. The “Opening of prison gates” symbolizes control over lust, desire, greed and attachments. “Sleeping of the guards” symbolizes, that in the state of self-realization, one is totally cut off from the outer world. Everything else perishes and only oneness exists. The thunderstorm, the rain, and the fire, all represent the internal turmoil of uncontrolled desires and hatred. The moment Krishna’s feet touched the turbulent waters, everything settles. The spiritual lesson is that by turning inwards and towards one’s pure consciousness, any turbulent state of mind can be controlled. While acquiring all this, one must be able to control the ego and the egocentric desires. Controlling the ego is depicted as a snake sitting over the basket and guarding Lord Krishna who is the epitome of joy, the quintessence of simplicity and the very source of pure love. Our mind is slippery like butter and the symbolic meaning of Krishna stealing butter, denotes Lord Krishna entering into our minds, and stealing away all the negative elements, leaving us with pure Krishna consciousness, which is the eternal joy and cosmic bliss, which we all yearn to experience for births together. Inner joy sprouts in us when the senses are directed inwards. Lord Krishna is the ocean of eternal bliss, his soul-stirring Leelas, which are considered to be wonder of wonders, symbolizes the waves of the ocean. The enchanting music of his flute captivates the minds of his devotees. His unequalled and unsurpassed wealth of beauty amazes the animate and the inanimate beings. He adorns his friends with his incomparable love. Devotion is the only means of attaining Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna, through his teachings of the ancient Science of Kriya yoga, led Arjuna from the front and guided him through all the travails on the battle of Kurukshetra. Janmashtami holds high significance in the life of Kriyayogi’s and Sadhaks who are practitioners, of this pious path of Spiritual awakening. Kriya yoga is  a bold and powerful path for all aspiring individuals irrespective of  their caste, creed or religious orientation . Kriya yoga is the fastest and powerful path to break free from the throes of negativity and merge yourself with universal consciousness, because it is a bold path of Karma yoga. Krishna epitomizes Bhakti and pure love, anything associated with Krishna has tremendous affinity towards Unconditional Love and happiness, since Krishna is the ruler of the heart chakra, the seat of Unconditional Love. When a sadhak transcends the barriers of the body consciousness and merges with the Cosmic consciousness, he experiences this divine love, the Krishna consciousness. Coinciding with Krishna Janmashtami is the most popular of games which was played by the little and natkhat Kanhaiya, “DAHI HANDI”. Dahi Handi though portrays the playful and adoringly mischievous attitude of Krishna; it actually carries a profound and deep meaning behind it. The Handi here, represents the ego or the sense of the body & mind, that dangles in the grasp of Society and relationships. The butter or Dahi which forms the content is embodied as the essence, or the being. The Lord breaks the Handi, or the ego to release the accumulated contents, from the bindings of the Sansara. His eagerness to savor it reveals the bliss, which one enjoys on realizing the true essence or the true self. It can also be taken as the Lord’s instruction to break the body mind complex, which is portrayed as the Handi to attain true bliss. However, to break the illusion of the body & mind is not an easy task, as one will have to focus steadfastly on realizing the ultimate, with true devotion or bhakti ras. Distractions in and around one’s surroundings, disturbs one from attaining the eternal truth. However single pointed focus and devotion to the Lord will ultimately lead one to the ultimate goal.

I bless all of humanity with the happiness and joy of experiencing the Krishna consciousness, and urge all of humanity , to tide over all the evils ,and the demons in oneself and the society, by uniting everyone under the Govardhan parvat of “Unconditional Love & Unconditional Forgiveness”. I bless all of humanity to invoke the Krishna in you, and be the harbinger of Love and happiness everywhere. Remember, Krishna consciousness can be easily awakened, but only with pure faith, bhakti, and Love, never by intellectual analysis.

So come one, come all,

Rejoice, celebrate, be happy and make others happy. Spread Love ,Harmony, Peace everywhere ,let us unitedly be a strong force to salvage negativity and unite the world with the chain of LOVE.

Shri Krishnam Sharanam Ma ma

Love& Blessings,

Sadguru Mangeshda