Janmastami

Celebrating Janmashtami and Krishna's appearance

0:00Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Hare Krishna. Happy Janmashthame to all of you. I was asked to speak a few words about today's event.

0:44And I will try my best to say something. As you all know, we're celebrating the appearance day of Lord Krishna, and according to the astrological calculations, he appeared in the year three

1:06thousand two hundred twenty eight BC which is roughly five thousand two hundred That's a pretty long time. And the most amazing thing is that people still to this day celebrate his appearance.

1:33Usually people remember about some great personalities for 100 years, 200 years, 500 years, for very great personalities for 2000 years. But Krishna is being remembered, adored, worshiped, loved, most important for 500-5250

2:02years. And it's very important for us to understand why. What is the reason? Who is Krishna? Why people still celebrate his appearance? And what does it mean for us? The event which took place so long back may

2:25be considered not very relevant. So I will try to I will try to explain a few of these things in my short talk, introductory talk tonight. So according to our main scripture which is a

2:44very important scripture of ancient India, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Krishna is the supreme Lord. Krishnaḥ tu bhagavān svayam. And he says most importantly, why it is important for us to hear about

3:00Him and to understand specifically his appearance, he says himself: janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna. Karma Chame di Vyamme Vam Ya Veti Tatvatahatiak Tvadeham Punar Janmanaiti Mameti Sorjunan.

3:12He says if somebody really understands the reason and the nature of my appearance in this world and the work which I do while appearing in this world, he will get liberated.

3:29Yogis they do very severe austerities, do all kinds of practices just to get some sort of liberation, not even full liberation. Liberation is a very difficult thing to achieve. So many different religious traditions explain

3:49how difficult it is to get liberated from the chains of this world. We are more or less suffering in this world by being born in this world, getting old, getting diseased, and ultimately by dying.

4:07Nobody wants to die, nobody wants to get old.

4:11So, everyone in every conception, in every culture, there is this understanding You can get another way of existence which is not dependent on your birth, which is not dependent on your body, which is not dependent on you know you don't have to die, you don't have to suffer.

4:30And Krishna says, janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ, there is a very simple method to achieve liberation. There are many difficult methods. So many different religions explain difficult things.

4:44Krishna says there is a simple way. Simple way is to understand why I am being born in this world.

4:54And before he says, notably in Bhagavad-gītā, he himself says, ajaḥ sato 'vyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san, I'm aja, I'm unborn. So please to understand what is the nature of the birth of somebody who is unborn. It's not that easy.

5:14But still, it's relatively easy, and today we're celebrating the birth of somebody who is unborn. And the simple answer to this uh riddle is that Krishna is being born because of love.

5:30And if we understand the nature of his birth, that he is unborn, supreme lord, who is without beginning, who doesn't have to be born, still comes to this world because of love. If we understand this simple point, we will get liberated.

Manifestations of one supreme God

5:49Actually, what Krishna wants to say to us is that the liberation in the true sense of the word is only possible when we understand the nature of love. And Krishna himself is God of love.

6:07There are so many different manifestations of God. Different religions speak about different God, you know, Muslim religions speak about Allah, Christian religions speak about Christ and Father God and Ghost as a God.

6:23And you know, in Hinduism itself, there are so many gods. Brahma is God, and Shiva is God, and Durga is God, and who else not God, you know, Rajiv Gandhi is God and Narendra Modi most probably too.

6:41But Krishna says that ye yathā māṁ he explains why there are so many different manifestations of God. He himself explains ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. God is one. There is no two gods.

7:00There is no many gods. Sometimes people think that you know this is some I once spoke with one Shankarachari. Shankarachari came to Moscow. I spent a lot of time in Moscow.

7:14And the Shankarachari came to Moscow and he called me in a corner, and he said, Yoswamiji, meaning Prabhupada, was very clever.

7:28He knew that there are many gods, but because he preached to you Christians, and you Christians have very primitive understanding that there's only one God, therefore Swamiji said there's only one God.

7:40But every Hindu knows there's many gods. That's not true. It's not really true. Even in Rigveda, it is said that there is one reality, one supreme reality, a Kam Sat.

7:53But different people see this one reality, universal reality, all encompassing reality differently. And because different people, different moon is viewed differently, he appears differently to them.

8:11Krishna Himself formulates this law. He said, I will appear to you the way you want me to appear. In a sense. The way you want, you worship, you meditate on some form of God, God has no problem.

8:27He can reveal himself to you according to the level of your understanding, according to the level of your consciousness.

8:35And therefore, he says, if you worship me in a particular way, you will understand me, I will reciprocate with you.

8:47But at the same time, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam very emphatically says Krishna's tu bhagavān svayaṁ, there is the fullest manifestation of God and vaiam there is the fullest manifestation of God and that's Krishna.

8:59How to understand this, how to reconcile this, it's very simple. There is only one moon, right? Moon is one. There is not many moons. But still, moon appears differently on the first day of the moon.

9:15Today is day the eighth of the moon, so the moon is half moon. On a full moon, the moon is full. On a new moon, there's no moon.

9:25So there is one moon, but according to the energy which it manifests, it manifests differently, it looks differently, it appears completely differently to us, it shines its light in a different way.

9:42So in the same way, God manifests Himself proportionately to his energy. He may manifest his full energy, he may manifest very small fraction of his energy.

9:57And therefore, when we worship God on the altar, we worship God with His energy. There is no way to understand God without the help of His energy. In fact, that's the definition of energy.

10:12Energy is something which reveals the unknown to you. Energy is something which is revealing something which you otherwise cannot know.

Divine attraction and power of love

10:26So what we see here in the altar, the fullest manifestation of God, revealed by His fullest energy. His fullest energy, the fullest energy of God is love. Love is the most powerful manifestation of reality.

10:47And therefore, Krishna is called Krishna. Krishna basically means the one who attracts. And this power of attraction is the power of love. We all know this truth. We are all attracted to something or somebody.

11:04And this attraction is called love. And Krishna says, I am all attractive. I'm the source of love. I'm God of love. And therefore, He comes as Krishna and manifests himself as Krishna on this very day for us to understand.

11:23And therefore, I said, for us to understand God, we have to understand love. And therefore, he comes here. And why he comes here, he comes here being obedient to the love.

11:36I will tell just a few things about his appearance which is relevant to us. Because, again, as I said, this day will only be relevant to us if God on this very day will appear within our heart.

11:54We are not celebrating the event of you know 5000 antiquity for 5000, years antiquity, some very you know ancient event.

12:08We're celebrating this event, we're coming here in this temple to really, really somehow or other to be connected with God because God is eternal. He is always there.

12:24But today is the opportunity, He gives us opportunity to understand him to the fullest extent. And as we know, Krishna appeared 5,000 plus years back in Mathurā, India, at least most of the people think like this.

12:45But according to our conception, Krishna appeared 5,000 years back, not only in Mathurā, he appeared in Vṛndāvana. He appeared simultaneously in two places.

12:58And in Madhura, he didn't appear as a small baby. He was not born.

13:05He manifests himself in his full attire with crown and with jewels and with everything, with his club and with his uh with his consul and uh all other attributes. But in Vrindavan he appeared as a little baby.

13:25Sometimes people say that he is the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. But he was never born to Vasudeva and Devaki in Mathura. He just appeared himself completely.

13:39And when ultimately Vasudeva and Devaki begged him to become little baby, he became little baby. And according to our acharyas, there is a great mystery behind this. Krishna is really born, was really born in Vrindavan

13:56as a little small child completely helpless when he appeared to Vasudeva and Devaki in Mathura, he immediately started speaking and he spoke in Sanskrit and he started speaking poetry. Very elevated Sanskrit.

14:15Usually, normally babies don't do this.

14:19But when he appeared in Vrindavan to Nanda and Yaśodā, he couldn't speak a word he was a little baby he was only uh you know doing this how you say this you know he was anyway he was a little baby. He was the true baby.

14:39He was completely helpless. So these two appearances is actually very important for us to understand. God is God. He manifested himself in his full glory in Madhura to somebody according to their mode of worship, as I said.

14:56They were worshipping him in full awe and reverence. But nearby, in a village which was across the river, Nanda and Yaśodā were worshiping the same God with complete love.

15:14And because they were worshiping him with such genuine love, he appeared as a small baby. Krishna more or less gave the opportunity to Nanda and Yaśodā to serve Him in full love and complete love.

15:30And for us, this is a very important lesson on this day. What this day means for us. This day for us means a very simple thing. If we worship God with love, He will appear within our heart. He will come to us.

15:49According to the extent of our love.

Spiritual qualities of Nanda and Yashoda

15:53So we are here in this temple uh just for this purpose, to hear his holy name, to associate with other devotees, to hear about his appearance, mysterious appearance in two different places, and ultimately to develop love towards him.

16:13The name of his real parents, and that's also very important for us, is Nanda and Yaśodā. Nanda means Nanda it jagat it nanda. Nanda is somebody who is giving joy to the whole world.

16:30And Yaśodā means somebody who is glorifying. Yaśodā. Yes, okay. Somebody who wants to glorify.

16:42Allegorically speaking, if we analyze these names of God's parents, we will understand what are the qualities of a person to whom Krishna comes, to whom he reveals himself.

17:00If we try to take care of other people, if we try to uh, and that's the quality of his real father Nanda, if we try to take care of other people, to give them joy, and at the same time if we try to glorify them.

17:15If we develop this quality of the soft heart, non-envious heart, when we're just trying to glorify other people and trying to take care of other people, Krishna will come.

17:29The heart which is full of love has certain qualities. And when Krishna appears, he wants to show to us the example how God can come to us.

17:44So, the simple lesson which we have to derive from his appearance is that if we by certain practices develop softness of the heart. By certain practices if we get rid of envy which is there in our heart.

18:05Unfortunately, everyone who is born in this world is born envious, matsarya or envy, jealousy, competitive spirit is there in our heart. But if we want God to come to our life, we have to get rid of this competition.

18:23There is no use, there is no point of being competitive. There is no point of being jealous or envious to anyone else. The only real truth of our heart is just to love everyone.

18:40And to take care of everyone and try to glorify everyone. And then Krishna He likes this, He appreciates these qualities and He comes. Therefore, His real parents are Nanda and Yaśodā.

Chanting holy names to awaken devotion

18:53So if we develop uh this sort of qualities and with these qualities and with this consciousness, with this heart, try to chant his holy name, then Krishna for sure will appear in our heart.

19:12There are different methods, different sādhanas, different practices, spiritual practices, which make people closer to God. You may do some yoga sadhana, you may do some meditation, you may do this

19:27and that, but the most simple, at the same time, most powerful, and the most conducive sādhana which should be done is chanting the holy name.

19:39Everywhere in the scriptures it is said that there is no other way, there is no other way, just chant the holy name. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

19:53But how? That's the most important. We should chant the Holy Name with love. God is ready to reveal Himself. God is ready to come. God is there. God is already in your heart.

20:07The only thing which He requires to manifest completely is this understanding that you can understand God by love.

20:18And you can manifest this love for God by also manifesting it in our relationship, taking care of other people and taking care of other devotees, and at the same time chanting the holy name.

20:37So these are just a few lessons from this day. 5247 or something, yeah, 47 years back, Krishna appeared. And today He may reenact His appearance within our heart.

20:59If we completely, being completely absorbed in Him, we chant His holy name with love. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

21:13And I was told by Hansarupa Prabhu, who is the president of this temple, to mention to all of you guests for this program that this temple is really open for you. This is the temple for every one of you.

21:34And every one of you is the most welcome because this temple provides the opportunity for us to develop some personal relationship with God.

21:46He is here, He appeared, He appeared on this day, He is manifesting His love and glory. So please come. You have come today, that's very nice.

22:00Please come more often and feel that this temple is your home and Krishna is your God who only wants one thing from you to develop love.

22:12And in this way to become happy yourself and to make everyone who is around you also happy. Thank you very much.