Sri Krishna Janmashtami

Giriraj Swami: We welcome you to the auspicious celebration of Sri Krishna Janmashtami the appearance day of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says, janma karma ca me divyam evaḿ, yo vetti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna, that one who understands the transcendental nature of Krishna’s appearance and activities in this world never has to take birth again but he goes back home back to Krishna. So in one sense it is very easy to become liberated from the material miseries, but in another sense it is not so easy because in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna also says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti, that he can be understood only by devotional service, by Bhakti. 

So to understand Krishna one must become a bhakta, devotee. And Krishna also explains to Arjuna why he spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna. Arjuna was not a sannyasi, he wasn’t a brahman, he wasn’t a vedantist, so why did Krishna impart this most precious knowledge to Arjuna? And Krishna answers bhakto ‘si me, because you are my devotee, sakhā ceti, and friend and because you are not envious of me. Most of us or I should say practically all of us in the material world are envious of Krishna, and that is why we are in the material world, because we wanted to take the place of Krishna. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that a child, say a young girl, will want to cook. It is quite common, I have seen in one of our devotee’s homes that the parents, the mother, gives a play set of a kitchen for the child. So Krishna says, “Okay, you want to be me, you want to take my position, you can have this material world to play at being God.” 

My learned godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu says it is like every one of us is going around with that idea, maybe not fully consciously but subconsciously, every one of us really within our hearts we want to say, “Excuse me please, I have an important announcement to make. I am the center of the universe and you should do what I want.” He said it is like each one of us lives life as if we were the hero or heroine of some movie and we want everyone else to be the supporting actors and actresses to support us. And if someone doesn’t support us the way we want, we become angry. So this envy, this wanting to be the center instead of Krishna being the center, is very deep rooted in us and these festivals in particular are meant to elevate us from that consciousness, so that Krishna is the center. Actually Krishna is the center but because of our covering, being covered by maya we want to be the center, and actually life is very enjoyable when Krishna is the center. But because of ignorance, because of our conditioning, we think that we will be happy if we are the center.

And one of our teachers, Srila Rupa Gosvami, has given a very nice example in The Nectar of Instruction, and he says that the holy name, syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidya, that the holy name and qualities of Krishna are very sweet like sugar candy. But one who is afflicted by the disease of avidya, that means ignorance, he cannot relish the sweet taste, just like someone who is afflicted by the disease jaundice cannot relish the sweetness of sweet things. I had jaundice in India and it is true. In that condition I preferred sour things but the Ayurvedic cure for jaundice is rock candy even though it tastes bitter but it is the cure for the disease. So the patient eats the rock candy even though it tastes bitter and as he is cured of his disease, then gradually he can taste the sweet candy for what it is and in the end it is sweet like nectar. 

So even though due to that ignorant, of course theoretically we know we are not this body and Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead but we have that ignorance so that when it really comes down to it we are living our life like that, that we are the center. And so by practice we chant the glories of Krishna, we hear the glories of Krishna, and that cures us of our disease. And as we become cured we can relish the sweetness of Krishna’s holy name and qualities and pastimes. So on these festivals we have an opportunity to hear about Krishna and purify our hearts. Now most of you, from what I have been given to understand, have attended programs here before. You are not new and therefore I will discuss about Krishna’s appearance, but in a little bit more of an esoteric way. In brief, we always hear the description from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that Krishna was born as the eighth son of Devaki in Mathura but because Kamsa, the evil King Kamsa, was determined to kill Krishna because it was foretold that Krishna would kill him. So he was so demonic he was killing all the sons of Devaki, six. And the seventh was a daughter, that is another story, and then the eighth was Krishna.

So Vasudeva, Devaki’s husband took Krishna to Gokula, to Vrindavan where mother Yasoda had given birth. And due to being exhaustion from childbirth she didn’t know whether she had given birth to a boy or a girl. So when Vasudeva reached Gokula he exchanged that baby girl for Krishna and that is the basic story as given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But if we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam very carefully and also with the help of Srila Prabhupada’s purports, commentary, we will find something very interesting. And that is, that Yasoda actually gave birth to twins; one was a boy, Krishna and one was a girl. And so there are actually two Krishna’s; there is the Vasudeva Krishna who is born of Vasudeva in Mathura, and the original Krishna who is born of Yasoda in Gokula. And the original Krishna actually never leaves Vrindavan, vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya padam ekaṁ na gacchati, H never takes one step out of Vrindavan. 

So that Krishna in Mathura, He appeared as in Vishnu form with the four hands holding the four symbols so they would know that yes, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared and then He converted Himself into the form of a child, baby boy, and Vasudeva carried Him through the raging storm river Yamuna and exchanged the baby boy for the baby girl. But the original Krishna absorbed that Krishna who was born in Mathura. And there are many evidences, so many, maybe I will read a little; we do have a few minutes. This is called The Mystery of Lord Krishna’s Birth. So we should turn to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and look more closely to understand this hidden mystery. At the beginning of the Tenth Canto, Chapter Five we find

nandas tv ātmaja utpanne jātāhlādo mahā-manāḥ

“When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared as his son, Nanda Mahārāja was overwhelmed with jubilation.” 

āhūya viprān veda-jñān
snātaḥ śucir alaṅkṛtaḥ
vācayitvā svastyayanaṁ
jāta-karmātmajasya vai

Then Nanda Mahārāja arranged to have the Vedic birth ceremony, jāta-karmā celebrated for his newborn child.

Now the jāta-karmāis a ceremony performed when the umbilical cord is severed that connects to the baby to the mother. Now if the only Krishna or if the Krishna in Vrindavan was the Krishna from the Mathura, there was no possibility of performing the jāta-karmā because the umbilical cord would have already been cut. But Nanda Maharaja did performed that jāta-karmā ceremony because the original Krishna was actually born of Yasoda in Gokula. So there are many evidences, even coming down to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his Śikṣāṣṭakam, ayi nanda-tanuja, this is saci tanai. What does saci tanai mean? The son of mother Saci, yes. So nanda-tanuja is similar; nanda, Nanda Maharaja, tanuja actually means ja means born from and tanu means body. So ayi nanda-tanuja referring to Krishna that means born from the body of Nanda. So like this, there are many evidences to support the fact that the original Krishna was born of Nanda and Yasoda in Gokula.

So now we have just a few minutes before the auspicious hour of midnight and the appearance of Lord Krishna, and I will just read one a little passage to prepare your consciousness for this most auspicious moment. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives a very nice description of what happened when Krishna appeared, so please listen attentively, because the first words of this sentence set the scene for us.

“Thereafter, at the auspicious time for the appearance of the Lord, the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness, beauty and peace.” 

I think that is prevailing here.

“The constellation Rohiṇī appeared, as did stars like Aśvinī.”

That must be the case because it is Janmashtami.

“The sun, the moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All directions appeared extremely pleasing, and the beautiful stars twinkled in the cloudless sky. Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the earth seemed all-auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily beautiful.” 

So when Krishna is there everything becomes beautiful, and if it was beautiful already it becomes more beautiful. So our lives become beautiful or more beautiful when Krishna is in the center it is guaranteed.

“In the trees and green plants, full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of the demigods. A pure breeze began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers, and when the brāhmaṇas engaging in ritualistic ceremonies ignited their fires according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Viṣṇu,”

This is very important. Birthless – he is not really born he just appears

“Thus when the birthless Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brāhmaṇas, who had always been disturbed by demons like Kaṁsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their hearts, and kettledrums simultaneously vibrated from the upper planetary system.”

So I don’t know if it will quell the excitement or ignite the excitement, we will chant one maha-mantra. So please repeat after me.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.