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***Greetings on the Occasion of Krishna Janmastami*** Birthday of Lord Krishna |
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Text & photo source - copyrights: Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust -
sssbpt.org - Radiosai.org Prasanthi Diary -
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We gratefully acknowledge the publishers
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Sri Krishna Janmashtami |
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Hare Krishana
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Sri Krishna Janmashtami
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Sai Baba Explains Spiritual significance of
Sri Krishna Janmashtami
Today we celebrate Krishna's birthday. Where was he born? In a prison. What were his possessions? Nothing. Born in a prison, he was taken to the house of Nanda, and then he went to Mathura. He owned nothing. But he became the greatest figure in the world. What does this show? Worldly possessions are not the secret of greatness. Krishna's greatness consisted in His permanent state of bliss (ananda).
If you recognise the distinction between Krishna and Rama, you will appreciate Krishna's nature better. Krishna always smiled at the outset and carried out his task later. For Rama, the deed came first and then the smile. Krishna made women cry. Rama wept for the sake of women. Rama went into the battle only after having a strong cause for it. Krishna first provoked the conflict and then determined its outcome.
The Krishna principle revels in delight. The Rama principle is based on the concept of obligation (baadhyatha).
The Ramaayana is intended to promote the reign of truth and righteousness on earth. The Krishna Avathaar was intended to give a perennial message to the world. He sought nothing for himself. He kept nothing for himself. He gave away everything to the people. He slayed his maternal uncle, Kamsa. He installed Kamsa's father, Ugrasena, on the throne. He did not covet the kingdom. He befriended the Pandavas, defeated the Kauravas, and crowned Dharmaja as the emperor. He did not make himself king. He was a king without a crown. He was the king of kings. He had no kingdom of his own. But he ruled over the hearts of the millions. It is this profound truth that is proclaimed by the Krishna principle (Krishna thathva).
If you enquire deeply, you will find that every Avathaar has incarnated to convey a special message and carry out a particular mission.
Divine Discourse: Sri Krishna Janmaashtami, 4 September 1996
The incarnation of Krishna proclaimed the doctrine of divine love, as manifested by the cowherd maids (Gopikas). Today, man is like an earthen pot filled with nectar. His body may be made of clay, but his spirit is eternal. The Divine has to be experienced through the body. Hence, human birth should not be treated as something trivial. Human life is worth living --it should be cherished as something precious.
But today, such a precious gift is being treated as dirt. It is essential to realise the value of human existence. What is the goal of human life? It is to go back to the source from which we came. Our duty is to return to our primordial, original home.
All of you who are here have come from different parts of India and the world. After your stay here, you have to go back to your native places. Likewise, human beings have come to the planet earth as pilgrims. They have to return to their original home. You have come from the Aathma. You have to go back to the Aathma. You have come from the Brahman (Supreme Self). You have to merge in the Brahman. You have incarnated as a spark of Brahman. You have to become the Brahman. That is the ideal. That is the goal. In between, there may be many impediments. You should ignore them. Have unshakable faith. That is true devotion. top
Divine Discourse: Sri Krishna Janmaashtami, 18 August 1995
Whatever you do, remember the Omnipresence of the Divine. Do every act to please God, out of love and not out of compulsion. Divinise every act. The Lord declares in the Gita, "Having been born in this transient and unhappy world, worship Me."
Krishna called upon Arjuna to stand up and face the battle, reminding him of what was in store for the evil minded Kauravas. He adjured Arjuna to have full faith in Him and do his duty. Then Arjuna declared, "I shall do as You bid me (Karishyevachanam thava)." Then Krishna declared, "You have now become My true devotee." And He exhorted Arjuna to rise and fight the battle, which would end in the complete destruction of the Kauravas and the wicked quartet, Duryodhana, Dussaasana, Karna, and Sakuni.
The great teaching of the Gita is this: Put your trust in God, carry on your duties, be helpful to everyone, and sanctify your lives. Dedicate all actions to God. That is the way to experience oneness with God. God is in you. You are in God. This oneness is the basic truth. Chant the name of the Lord and render social service in a spirit of selflessness and devotion to God.
Divine Discourse: Sri Krishna Janmaashtami, 18 August 1995
Krishna is omnipresent. The word has three meanings:
(1) "Krishithi-ithi Krishna --The man who ploughs is Krishna." The heart is the symbol of a field. The heart should be cleared of weeds (evil qualities). It should be filled with love. The seeds of the Lord's name should be sown in it. Krishna encourages the devotee to do all this.
(2) "Karshathi-ithi Krishna --Because he attracts, he is Krishna." Krishna has the supreme power of attraction. By his words, his sport, his music, and all his actions he attracts all people. This power of attraction is present in everyone. Hence, everyone is potentially Krishna.
(3) "Krushyathi-ithi Krishnah --Because he imparts bliss, he is called Krishna." Everyone seeks happiness. The Divine, who is the embodiment of happiness, is in you. God wants you to be happy, but you do not realize it. Try to recognize the source of bliss within you. It is not the true nature of man to be unhappy. When anyone is otherwise, people around him are concerned about him. You should always be happy, because you are the embodiment of the Aathma. Never give way to worry.
As a spark of the Divine, you have to behave like the Divine. Do not give room for grief. What use is there in turning over the beads of the rosary while your mind is thinking of mundane matters? First of all, purify your mind. Dedicate all actions to God. Free yourself from all attachments. Treat all things as gifts from God for which you are the guardian and not the owner. top
Divine Discourse: Sri Krishna Janmaashtami, 25 August 997
Birth of Lord Krishna
Krishna was born during the Krishna Paksha (the dark fortnight of the month). The
effulgence of the Lord is seen with greater effect when it is dark. In a world of
disorder, Krishna was born to establish order. He was born on Ashtami day. Ashtami
is associated with troubles and difficulties. When do troubles arise? When
righteousness is forgotten. Krishna’s advent therefore signifies removal of
darkness, end of troubles and effulgence of Supreme Wisdom.
– Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
“Krishna was born on 20th July, 3227 B.C., during the early morning at 3 a.m.” -
Baba
The Divine Advent
The birth of Krishna is in itself a transcendental phenomenon that generates awe
among the Hindus and overwhelms one and all with its supra mundane happenings.
Mother Earth, unable to bear the burden of sins committed by evil kings and rulers,
appealed to Brahma, the Creator for help. Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu,
who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to annihilate tyrannical forces.
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One such evil force was Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura (in northern India) and his
people were utterly terrified of him. On the day Kamsa's sister Devaki was married
off to Vasudeva, an akashvani or voice from the sky was heard prophesying that
Devaki's 8th son would be the destroyer of Kamsa. The frightened Kamsa immediately
unsheathed his sword to kill his sister but Vasudeva intervened and implored Kamsa
to spare his bride, and promised to hand over every new born child to him. Kamsa
relented but imprisoned both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva.
When Devaki gave birth to her first child, Kamsa came to the prison cell and
slaughtered the newborn. In this way, he killed the first six sons of Devaki. Even
before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and
theirs. Then suddenly Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said he himself was
coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry him to
the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after his birth,
where Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter. He was to exchange his boy
and bring Yashoda's baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that
"nothing shall bar your path".
At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kamsa's prison. Remembering the
divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and started for Gokula,
but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The
massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up.
While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held his baby high over his head. The rain
fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and
miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter over
the baby.
When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged
the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kamsa with the baby girl. Early in the
morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda's beautiful male
child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison
closed themselves.
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When Kamsa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to
kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reaching the sky. She was
transformed into the goddess Yogamaya, who told Kamsa: "O foolish! What will you get
by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else."
Meaning of Krishna
“The name Krishna has to be properly understood. ‘Krish’ + ‘Na’ = Krishna. This
means that He is one who cultivates (Krish) the heart. ‘Karsh’ + ‘Na’ is another
derivation, which indicates that Krishna is one who attracts (‘Krishnati it Krishnah’).
Krishna attracts people not only by the matchless beauty of his form. He attracts
people by his music, his dance, his sports and his words.
Sri Krishnashtami in the Divine Presence
Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba witnesses the rare
sight of celebrating Avatar’s Birthday in the Divine Presence of Avatar Himself. Sri
Krishna Janmashtami has been a major celebration in Prasanthi Nilayam for the past
many years. The festivity normally begins with the arrival of Bhagawan to Sai
Kulwant Hall for giving coveted Divine Darshan to the milling crowd of thousands. As
soon as Bhagawan takes seat on the specially decorated throne meant for Him on the
dias, students from the Institute sing various hymns exalting the Lord of Dwapara
and the Lord of Parthi. Half way through the musical offering, the procession
comprising of Sai Geeta, Bhagawan’s pet elephant, cows and calves from Bhagawan’s
Gokulam, all adorned in style befitting the grandeur of occasion arrives at the
Mandir followed by dancing students from the school and devotees from the
neighbouring villages. Bhagawan blesses the procession by giving away fruits to Sai
Geeta, cows and calves. Prasadam will be distributed to the devotees before the
offering of Mangala Aarati to Bhagawan. Invariably, Bhagawan gives His Divine
discourse either in the morning or in the evening, most of the time narrating
various incidents from the life of Bhagawan Sri Krishna. Krishnashtami is a
spiritual treat to the devotees flock into Prasanthi Nilayam, a rare opportunity to
celebrate the Birth of one Avatar in the immediate presence of present Avatar.
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The supreme message of Bhagawan Krishna's life is the uniqueness of Love Principle.
This Yadava born, darling Chinni Krishna, whose childhood pranks, dream of every
mother, weave nostalgic memory of those Golden Days of Dwapara, whose flute still
enchants the love filled hearts of present day gopikas, whose song celestial is the
guide to Ultimate Truth for the present day Arjunas was the embodiment of Supreme
Divine Love.
The teachings of Lord Krishna have been written
down in a book famously known as 'Bhagwad Gita'. It is the holy book of Hindus. It is to
Hindus, what Bible is to Christians or what the holy Quran is to Muslims. Since the book
is quite big and extensive, sometimes it becomes difficult for a person to read at a
stretch. Geeta Saar is the gist of the main teachings of Lord Krishna. It contains the
crux of the Holy Gita.
Lord questions everyone over various issues and asks them to give up the illusionary
world. Bhagwan Krishna says, the only way to achieve life long happiness is to surrender
to him.
Why do you worry unnecessarily? What are you afraid of? Who can kill or destroy
you? A soul is never born, so it never dies.
Whatever happened in the past, happened for the best; whatever is happening,
is happening for the best; whatever will happen in future, will happen for the
best. Do not repent the past, do not worry for future, concentrate on your
present.
What did you own, that makes you cry on losing? What did you bring, that you
fear losing? What did you give birth to, that you fear its destruction? You
didn't bring anything. Whatever one takes, one must return it to God. Everyone
came empty handed and will therefore die, empty handed.
Whatever belongs to you today, belonged to someone else yesterday and it will
belong to some one else tomorrow. Don't be illusioned by
Maya. Maya is the
root cause of all pain and misery.
Change is the rule of nature. What one understands, as death is actually life
itself. One moment you are the owner of crores and in the very next moment you
become a pauper.
Your body doesn't belong to you and vice versa. Body is composed of five
elements- Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Sky; one day it will perish in these
elements.
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Krishnashtami
Saatam Aatham
Gokulashtami
Ashtami Rohini
Srikrishna Jayanti
Sree Jayanthi
Janmashtami
Dahi Handi
An eye witness account by a devotee from Puttaparthi
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Sri Krishna janmastami eve & Sri Krishnajanmastami day