Over 5000 years ago on Janmashtami, Lord Krishna appeared at midnight in a dark prison cell. This is indeed an historical fact, but this momentous event has a deeper significance. Presently, our hearts have become darkened due to the debilitating passions - lust, anger, greed, pride, envy and illusion, which deprive us of the illumination of divine wisdom and joy. Moreover these misgivings compel us to dissipate our precious mental and physical energies in hankering for the undesirable and lamenting over the inevitable. Thus they imprison our desires and destiny within the world of matter, where we are constantly tormented by anxiety and misery. In their extreme perverted form, these insidious internal forces manifest as the specter of international terrorism that is haunting everyone today.
As soon as the Lord appeared, the darkness in the prison cell immediately disappeared. Similarly, the holy occasion of Janmashtami offers us the best opportunity to invoke the Lord's presence in our heart through sincere devotion. Thus we can break free from the darkness and shackles of self-destructive desires and attain inner peace and fulfillment. And once our hearts are overflowing with tranquility and joy, we can share that treasure with all our brothers and sisters in God's eternal family and thus assist in heralding a better world. In our turbulent times of violence and terror, Janmashtami is a timely reminder of the timeless aphorism: No God, no peace; Know God, Know Peace.
We can very easily and effectively invite the Lord in our heart by the non-sectarian spiritual process of chanting His holy names, as is recommended by all the great religions of the world. For example, the Bible declares , "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10.13); the Islamic tradition extols the chanting of the ninety-nine names of Allah, called the "Beautiful Names"and the Bhagavad-gita (10.25) declares, "Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names"
On the sacred appearance day of Lord Krishna, let us come together in a festival of the heart by chanting His holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna / Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
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Investigating Reality from the Higher Dimensional
Perspective of Vedic Wisdom |