"I am the conscience in the heart of all creatures
I am their beginning, their being, their end
I am the mind of the senses,
I am the radiant sun among lights
I am the song in sacred lore,
I am the king of deities
I am the priest of great seers…"
………………Gita
Today is the holy birthday of Lord Krishna, the most powerful incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the Godhead of the Hindu Trinity of deities. Of all the Vishnu avataras or incarnations he is the most popular, and perhaps of all Hindu gods the one closest to the heart of the masses. Krishna was dark and extremely handsome & the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, believed to have been born about five thousand years ago in Mathura in 'Dwapar Yuga'.
Lord Krishna took birth at midnight on the ashtami or the 8th day of the Krishnapaksha or dark fortnight in the Hindu month of Shravan (August-September). The birthday of Krishna is called Janmashthami, a special occasion for Hindus that is celebrated around the world. Krishna Janmashtami, also known as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, Sree Jayanti or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is an annual commemoration of the birth of Krishna. Based on scriptural details and astrological calculations the date of Krishna's birth, known as Janmashtami, is 19 July 3228 BCE and departed on 3102 BCE. Krishna belonged to the Vrishni clan of Yadavas from Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva.
Baby Krishna: Killer of Evils
Stories about Krishna's exploits abound. Legends have it that on the very sixth day of his birth, Krishna killed lady demon Putna by sucking on her breasts. In his childhood, he also killed many other mighty demons, such as Trunavarta, Keshi, Aristhasur, Bakasur, Pralambasuret. During the same period he also killed Kali Nag (cobra de capello) and made the holy water of river Yamuna poison free.
Krishna's Childhood Days
Krishna made cowherdesses happy by the bliss of his cosmic dances and the soulful music of his flute. He stayed in Gokul, the legendary 'cow-village' in Northern India for 3 years and 4 months. As a child he was reputed to be very mischievous, stealing curd and butter and playing pranks with his girl friends or gopis. Having completed his Lila or exploits at Gokul, he went to Vrindavan and stayed until he was 6 years and 8 months old.
According to a famous legend, Krishna drove away the monsterous serpent Kaliya from the river to the sea. He, according to another popular myth, lifted the Govardhana hill up with his little finger and held it like an umbrella to protect the people of Vrindavana from the torrential rain caused by Lord Indra, who had been annoyed by Krishna. Then he lived in Nandagram till he was 10.
Krishna's Youth and Education
Krishna then returned to Mathura, his birthplace, and killed his wicked maternal uncle King Kangsa along with all his cruel associates and liberated his parents from jail. He also reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura. He completed his education and mastered the 64 sciences and arts in 64 days at Avantipura under his preceptor Sandipani. As gurudaksina or tuition fees, he restored Sandipani's dead son to him. He stayed in Mathura till he was 28.
Krishna, the King of Dwarka
Krishna then came to the rescue of a clan of Yadava chiefs, who were ousted by the king Jarasandha of Magadha. He easily triumphed over the multi-million army of Jarasandha by building an impregnable capital Dwarka, "the many-gated" city in an island in the sea. The city located on the western point of Gujarat, is now submerged in the sea according to the epic Mahabharata. In Dwarka, he married Rukmini, then Jambavati, and Satyabhama. He also saved his kingdom from Narakasura, the demon king of Pragjyotisapura(today’s Kamrup region in Assam), had abducted 16,000 princesses. Krishna freed them and married(?) them since they had nowhere else to go.
Krishna, the Hero of the Mahabharata
For many years, Krishna lived with the Pandava and Kaurava kings who ruled over Hastinapur. When a war was looming between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Krishna was sent to mediate, but failed. War became inevitable, and Krishna offered his forces to the Kauravs and himself agreed to join the Panadavas as the charioteer of the master warrior Arjuna. This epic battle of Kurukshetra described in the Mahabharata, was fought in about 3000 BC. In the middle of the war, Krishna delivered his famous preach, which forms the crux of the Bhagavad Gita, in which he put forward the theory of 'Nishkam Karma' or action without attachment.
Krishna's Final Days on Earth
After the great war, Krishna returned to Dwarka. In his final days on earth, he taught spiritual wisdom to Uddhava, his friend and disciple, and ascended to his abode after casting off his body, which was shot at by a hunter named Jara. He is believed to have lived for 125 years. Whether he was a human being or a God-incarnate, there is no gainsaying the fact that he has been ruling the hearts of millions for over three millennia.
The great Radha-Krishna romance
The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was with Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is referred to, and Krishna worship is to be incomplete though without the adoration of Radha.
Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover.
The Importance of Being Krishna
For generations, Krishna has been an enigma to some, but God to millions, who go ecstatic even as they hear his name. People consider Krishna their leader, hero, protector, philosopher, teacher and friend all rolled into one. Krishna has influenced the Indian thought, life and culture in myriad ways. He has influenced not only its religion and philosophy, but also into its mysticism and literature, painting and sculpture, dance and music, and all aspects of Indian folklore. He has preached in Bhagawad Gita, that -
Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya
Glanir Bhavathi Bharatha
Abhyudhanama Dharmasya
Dhatatmanam srjamy aham
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend Myself.
Paritranaya Sadhunam
Vinashaya Cha Dushkrutam
Dharmasansthapanarthaya
Sambhavaami Yuge Yuge!!!
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.
This popular “sloka(song or verse)” has been taken out from the Bhagavad-gita, which is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual wisdom. This was spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme personality of Godhead to his intimate disciple Arjuna, when he refused to fight against his kith & kins in the greatest battle ever on this earth as depicted in the great Hindu epic MAHABHARATA.
Humans have been the carrying the tendency to belief in God for their overall development and wellbeing. But in today’s super critical condition of our societies, the need for God has become more relevant. When weak, deprived, extorted, molested people or groups or communities have to rethink about their and their families life, security, wellbeing etc., they have no other choice but to take the shelter of some superficial powers or believes like no other than God and may be some others spirits by some people. But in this case Lord Krishna has always been the most influential character in Hindu mythology as depicted above.
The word srjami is significant herein. Srjami cannot be used in the sense of creation, because, according to the previous verse, there is no creation of the Lord's form or body, since all of the forms are eternally existent. Therefore, srjami means that the Lord manifests Himself as He is. Although the Lord appears on schedule, namely at the end of the Dwapara-yuga of the twenty-eighth millennium of the eighth Manu in one day of Brahma, still He has no obligation to adhere to such rules and regulations because He is completely free to act in many ways at His will. He therefore appears by his own will whenever there is a predominance of irreligiousness and a disappearance of true religion.
The highest principle of the religion is to surrender unto Him only, and nothing more. The Vedic principles push one towards complete surrender unto Him; and, whenever the demoniacs disturb such principles, the Lord appears time and time again.
**************KRISHNA*************
Courtesy: google/asitis.com/indif.com/hdwpapers.com/hinduism.about.com/Wikipedia.com
