What Makes Krishna Janmashtami Special in Your Home?
Today’s date 26th August this year marks the auspicious occasion of Lord Krishna’s birthday. The grand birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated with deep religious fervor and dedications in India as Janmashtami. The festival has its multiple rituals and usages practiced all over the country, but Mathura and Vrindavan, the places of Krishna's birth, exhibit a special prudence over the celebrations. The day is marked with the decoration of temples with flowers and bright lights. This year the festival is the 5251st birthday of Lord Krishna. The birth of Krishna, regarded as the eighth avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is not an ordinary celebration but more of a spiritual affair that unites people in reflection upon his teachings and role as the guide for mankind to strive for a life of righteousness and devotion.
Krishna Janmashtami means more than normal historical celebration. It is an occasion for one's great spiritual awakening and realization, since it reminds one about Krishna's teachings. Of course, one of the important scriptures of Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita, is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna on duty and righteousness in war and reality, focusing on virtue, selfless action, and equanimity in life. This festival further portrays Krishna as the divine lover and protector; his life is full of spellbinding leelas, teaching love, devotion, and divine nature. In Mathura and Vrindavan, the streets where Krishna's life commenced are bursting with processions, dance, and theatrical reenactments that bring about a magic touch. From the UK, with grand ISKCON temple events, to the United States, with all their cultural programs and feasts, communities from around the globe celebrate in so many different ways such is the universality of Krishna and the boundless love that completely transcends cultural and geographic divides.
How Does the Story of Krishna’s Miraculous Birth Inspires?
The festival of Krishna Janmashtami, more popularly recognized as Gokulashtami, really comes to life with mirthful celebrations steeped in deep religious fervor and spiritualism around the world touching the hearts of millions. It is entirely dedicated to the incarnation day of the eighth Lord Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu. We celebrate it on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in one of the months of Bhadrapada, which falls in August or September. Worshipped for the love, wisdom, and divine charm that Lord Krishna had, his birth stands as a historical event in the annals of time and, moreover, is an exulting tribute to the divine spirit of playfulness and the everlasting lessons he imparts. The myth underlying Krishna's birth is shrouded in mystique and relevance. A wicked King Kansa, in Hindu mythology, afraid of the prophecy that said he would be killed by his sister's eighth son, imprisoned his sister and her husband. But despite all those intentions of that evil king, Krishna was born in a dead night in a dark cell of prison.
On the day of his visit, divine phenomena marked the entrance of the visitor: the doors of the prison opened; the guards went to heavy sleep; the Yamuna River parted to make way for Vasudeva to take the newborn Krishna to Gokul; where he was taken care of by his foster parents Nanda and Yashoda. It signifies the triumph of good over evil. It also symbolizes that divine power never deserts humanity not so much in its battling with others as its never-ending battle with its own dark side. And it is on this day that Krishna is said to be born at midnight.
Finally, the ambiance and stories narrated of the life of Krishna infuse one with an even greater sense of spiritual awareness and kinship with every other living entity. Krishna Janmashtami therefore celebrates the living, divine presence within every heart and seeks to remind that amidst so much chaos in our lives, we are guided through divine play toward love, truth, and enlightenment. As one joins in the celebration, timeless wisdom from Krishna lights up paths and inspires lives of greater purpose and joy.
