THE SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST A Cyber Magazine for Those Who Think Vol 1 Issue
13 |
The Significance of Janmashtami
Festivals are an integral part of
every culture. They provide a welcome break from the humdrum routine of daily
life. The Vedic culture is special in that every aspect of it is oriented to
bring its followers close to God. Every festival celebrated in Vedic culture is
deeply related to God and is meant to be celebrated in such a way as to help
everyone come joyfully closer to God. Recently worldwide Janmashtami was
celebrated fervently. Let us try to understand the inner significance of this
historic festival.
A MYTH?
Is Janmashtami not just a
traditional Hindu festival? Is Krishna not a mythological figure?
The 5000 temples of Lord Krishna in
the tiny 88 square miles of Vrindavan, the birth-place of Krishna, bear eloquent
testimony to the fact that devotion to Krishna is no imaginary sentiment. The
remains of Dwarka, gradually being found in the Arabian Sea, reveal the majesty
of that erstwhile city built by Lord Krishna. Kurukshetra, the site of the
massive fratricidal Mahabharata war, continues to exist even today. So Krishna
is indeed a historical personality and Janmashtami a factual historical
event.
WHO IS KRISHNA ?
The design, order and structured organization evident throughout the creation insist that there is a Super-intelligent Creator. The Vedic scriptures and, indeed all scriptures throughout the world, give us further information about this Supreme Being, who is known variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, Rama and so on. The Supreme Person is full of extraordinary attributes, which make Him universally attractive. The name which describes this all-attractiveness of the Lord is His most complete name. Hence the name Krishna, meaning 'the all-attractive one', describes the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in full.
THE AVATAR
The Lord administers the world
through the laws of material nature - gross such as the law of gravitation and
subtle such as the law of karma. But when there is too much of a disturbance in
the universal order, the Lord descends Himself "to deliver the pious, annihilate
the miscreants and reestablish the principles of religion" paritranaya sadhunam
vinashaya cha dushkritam dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge
(Bhagavad-gita 4.8)
Such an incarnation is called an avatar, 'one who
descends'
THE LORD OF THE HEART
The Supreme Lord is not just a
neutral administrator, but the best friend of all living beings suhridam sarva
bhutanam (Bhagavad-gita 5.29) The love that the heart longs for through
relationships with various persons finds fulfillment only when it is reposed in
the Supreme Person God. Because it is only then that the love is never
interrupted, never betrayed, never let down, never disappointed. That is why
saints and devotees across the religious spectrum throughout history have been
the happiest persons, radiating love towards one and all.
But unfortunately in this world of
matter, all living beings are attracted not to the Lord of their heart but to
matter and material enjoyment. However matter being limited and finite can never
fulfil the unlimited desires of our spirits; material enjoyment satiates but
never satisfies.
So
the Lord comes into this material world and performs superhuman activities which
reveal His supreme position and His unparalleled love for His devotees. For
example, the Lord lifted a massive mountain Govardhan in order to protect His
devotees from oppressive rains. Such acts appear impossible to the logical mind,
but an ant would similarly consider the lifting of a book by a human being as
'impossible'. For the Lord possessing unlimited power, such an act is not at all
difficult.
Through
such incredible acts, the Lord shows all of us how much He loves us, His
children. By attracting our hearts back to him, He desires to take us to the
realm of eternal happiness away from this realm of fleeting
enjoyment.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JANMASHTAMI
5000 years ago on Janamashtmi, The
Lord appeared at midnight. This is indeed a historical fact, but it also has a
deeper significance. Midnight is the time of maximum darkness and from the
moment the Lord appeared the darkness started diminishing. Similarly our heart
is dark being afflicted by multiple anxieties and miseries. But in the darkest
hour of our life, when we turn to the Lord and He appears in our heart, all the
darkness recedes and the light of eternal hope starts streaming
in.
The Lord appeared
in a prison cell amidst shackles and then freed His parents . This indicates
that all of us who are shackled by our own material desires can be freed
by the Lord who appears in our heart which is like a prison house.
So the real Janmashtami will take
place when the Lord appears in our hearts. Though we do not know it, all of us
are actually pining for this Janmashtami to occur. All of us want love, care,
protection and happiness and this is what the actual Janmashtami - the
appearance of the Lord in our heart - brings.
THE KALI YUGA INCARNATION
How then can we make the Lord appear
in our hearts? Indeed amidst all the chaos and disorder prevalent in the
present Age of Kali, why has the Lord not appeared as per His eternal promise in
Bhagavad-gita?
It is
said in the Vedic scriptures kali kale nama rupe krishna avatar "In Kali Yuga
the Lord incarnates in the form of His Holy Name" That is why all bona fide
religions teach their followers to chant the names of God. For example, the
Bible says 'Let the Lord always be on your lips', the Islamic religion mentions
the 99 names of Allah to be regularly chanted and the Vedic scriptures abound
with instructions regarding the chanting of the Holy Names. And among all the
mantras (empowered sound vibrations) mentioned in the Vedic sciptures, the Hare
Krishna maha-mantra "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare
Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare" is said to be the most potent. Sincere spiritual
practitioners from all religions testify to the purifying potency of the Holy
Name. It helps them to become free from all carnal desires and awakens within
them love of God.
Thus for all of us living in Kali Yuga, the real Janmashtami will occur
when by regular mantra meditation our heart becomes cleansed and the Lord
appears in our heart, thus freeing us forever from the clutches of misery and
transporting us to the realm of eternal enjoyment.
Join us next month for another session of thought-provoking discussion.
Investigating Reality from the Higher Dimensional
Perspective of Vedic Wisdom |