Lord Krishna descended to this world around 5,000 years ago with His associates and performed His divine leelas in Vraj Dham.
As Srila Prabhupada explained, if we look at religions across the world, the core message of every religion is love of God. The Vedic literature too speaks of this love. But love has many flavours, degrees and intensities. The love of the Supreme Lord expressed at its highest pinnacle, parakastha prema, is found among the residents of Vrindavan: Nanda Maharaj, Yashoda Mata, the gopas, the gopis and Srimati Radharani.
Krishna came not only to impart transcendental knowledge but also to reveal this highest expression of divine love to the world. Through His pastimes, especially in Braj, He demonstrated a level of pure devotion that was intimate, uninterrupted and intense. The residents of Vrindavan did not simply worship Krishna from a distance. Their entire lives and relationships were centred around Him. Their love was not based on philosophical understanding alone, but on an intimate and complete relationship with the Lord.
The Bhagavatam explains that those who are pure in heart can perceive Him by the process of bhakti yoga. Bhakti yoga cleanses the heart. One of the impurities within the heart is ignorance about who we really are. We think, “I am a man. I am a woman. I am Indian. I am young. I am old.” But none of these designations represents our actual identity.
The Bhagavad Gita explains that the soul is perceived not by these material eyes but by the eye of knowledge, and our senses have limitations.
The Lord, therefore, makes Himself accessible to us through His vigraha form. When prana pratishtha is performed, the Lord resides in that vigraha. The Deity should not be seen merely as metal, stone or wood. The Lord is personally present there for our benefit. We therefore offer worship to Him.
As you know, parents provide everything for their child without expecting anything in return. Yet when a child lovingly acknowledges that affection and wishes to offer something back to the parents, the parents become very pleased. In the same way, Krishna provides everything for us. When we acknowledge Him, we become blessed, and Krishna is pleased.
An elaborate abhishek requires days of preparation and the coordination of many devotees. We may not be able to perform such an elaborate ceremony every day, but bhakti yoga can be practised every day for Krishna. A very simple method is Hari Nama Sankirtana, the chanting of the holy names:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare
Human life gives us this special opportunity. We should make use of it and chant Sri Krishna’s name throughout the day and throughout our lives. This is the message of the Bhagavad Gita. This is the message of the Srimad Bhagavatam. This is the message of all the acharyas. The Lord says that we should always think of Him. By chanting His holy names, we can remember Him.
On the auspicious occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtami, devotees remember Krishna’s appearance, accompanied by singing prayers known as the Garbha Stuti (known to be offered by the devatas to Krishna). Across the world, devotees observe the occasion through fasting, prayer, kirtans and other forms of celebration.
Today, we perform a special grand abhishek for the Lord in His vigraha form. The Vedic literature describes the vigraha, the archa murti, worshipable form of the Lord in the temple, as an incarnation of the Lord. The word avatara means to descend from a higher plane to a lower plane. Krishna’s existence is in a higher plane, in the spiritual world.
As the evening progresses, devotees await the sacred moment at midnight, traditionally associated with the appearance of Lord Krishna. It is a moment of celebration, remembrance and renewed devotion.
Janmashtami also offers an opportunity to reflect on Krishna’s message. In a world where almost everything around us is constantly changing, this reminds us to look beyond the temporary and understand the eternal. May the blessings of Sri Krishna be upon you all on this auspicious occasion.
The author is vice-chairman and co-mentor, Hare Krishna Movement, and president, Vrindavan Heritage Tower