Shri Krishna Janmashtami, the biggest festival for Vaishnava devotees all over the globe, has arrived to break the monotony of the lockdown. And as we get ready to welcome the Lord into our homes, this is perhaps the most opportune time for me to share how Lord Krishna’s arrival was celebrated by diverse people throughout His stay on earth as well as my own experience of welcoming Him into my own life.
I was introduced to Shri Krishna pretty early in my life and grew up listening to stories of Shri Krishna and Shri Rama from my grandmother who was coincidentally named Yashoda. But it wasn’t until I moved to Mumbai to pursue medicine that I was introduced to the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. It was perhaps in my first year that one of my seniors, perhaps noticing a spark of spiritual curiosity inside a couple of us, decided to take us for the Sunday lectures at Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple, located at Girgaum Chowpatty.
{Images courtesy Internet}
Living in a dormitory that served strictly palatable food, I have to admit that the primary objective for most people who went for the Sunday sessions was to partake of the sumptuous meal that followed, but gradually our interest in the content of the lectures grew as well. I was now visiting the temple more for the wisdom I would get from the accomplished speakers though the delicious prasadam never really lost its importance.
Just like that amazing Satvik food, I devoured the various enlightening books and translations written down by Swami Prabhupada and gradually began to understand the philosophy behind Krishna consciousness. I was fortunate to have heard from such stalwarts as Shri Radhanath Maharaj and Gaur Gopal Prabhu whom I even had to smuggle in and out of our hostel once because our warden didn't look too kindly on his sessions!
Today, when I write my books or blog posts, I have to confess that a lot of it finds basis in the teachings of the Vaishnava texts that establish Shri Krishna as the Supreme Lord of all Creation or as Swami Prabhupada refers to Him – the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And as the joyous day of welcoming the Lord is upon us, I have chosen to share few verses from scriptures that showcase how the Lord was welcomed by various people at various stages of His life.
The very first instance comes from the Tenth Canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam and I believe also sets the tone for all that has to follow as it showcases Shri Krishna as the Lord of all Lords. When the Lord had taken residence inside the womb of Mother Devaki, He was visited by not just the demigods but also the other gods of the Hindu Trinity and various sages. The Verse S.B.10.2.25 shows us the devotion with which all these divine beings, taking care not to bewilder Mother Devaki, address the unborn Lord in an invisible form:
The demigods prayed: O Lord, You never deviate from Your vow, which is always perfect because whatever You decide is perfectly correct and cannot be stopped by anyone. Being present in the three phases of cosmic manifestation — creation, maintenance and annihilation — You are the Supreme Truth... You are the active principle, the real truth, in all the ingredients of creation, and therefore You are known as antaryāmī, the inner force. You are equal to everyone, and Your instructions apply for everyone, for all time. You are the beginning of all truth. Therefore, offering our obeisances, we surrender unto You. Kindly give us protection.
{Images courtesy Krsna.com}
While the demigods prayed to the Lord in a subtle form, there was a very visible change in the environment and it seemed that Nature itself was celebrating the imminent arrival of her Lord. Multiple verses from the third chapter of the tenth canto describe how the entire Universe seemed to be rejoicing in the knowledge that they would soon be able to get a glimpse of the Supreme Lord. Auspicious Nakshatras became visible in the night sky while the sun, moon and other stars and planets seemed to be glowing with splendor. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily beautiful. Birds and bees frolicked around the trees that were loaded with flowers and pleasant breeze carried their fragrance to the people living around.
Those who were sufficiently advanced in the spiritual path, also began feeling the tranquility that Lord’s arrival would bring to those who had been tormented by demons like Kamsa. Divine beings like Kinnaras and Gandharvas began to sing auspicious songs, the Siddhas and Cāraṇas offered prayers, and the Vidyādharīs and Apsarās began to dance in jubilation. The demigods showered flowers in a joyous mood, and clouds rumbled in the sky making sounds like those of the ocean waves.
Isn’t it extra-ordinary that all different species of life, be it the plants and animals or humans or Devas, heralded Shri Krishna’s arrival with the same jubilation and ecstasy that we feel in our hearts today. All sentient being are inherently connected with that same bond of devotion to the Supreme Lord who resides inside each of us.
Srimad Bhagvatam gives us many more examples of how the Lord was hailed by various beings like Indra after his defeat in the Govardhan episode or even Lord Brahma, when in his hubris he dared to test Krishna. One of my favorite instances is Shri Krishna’s encounter with the Lord of the Ocean when Nand Baba had been dragged to the netherworld by the minions of Varun, the demigod who rules over the water bodies. The twenty-eighth chapter of the tenth canto mentions the reception the child Krishna received by this ancient Deva who enjoys an exalted position in many Vedic verses:
Seeing that the Lord, Hṛṣīkeśa, had arrived, the demigod Varuṇa worshiped Him with elaborate offerings. Varuṇa was in a state of great jubilation upon seeing the Lord, and he spoke as follows….. Your father, who is sitting here, was brought to me by a foolish, ignorant servant of mine who did not understand his proper duty. Therefore, please forgive us. OKṛṣṇa, O seer of everything, please give Your mercy even to me. O Govinda, You are most affectionate to Your father. Please take him home.
Nanda Mahārāja
had been astonished to see for the first time the great opulence of Varuṇa, the
ruler of the ocean planet, and also to see how Varuṇa and his servants had
offered such humble respect to Kṛṣṇa.
In Chapter seventy-one of the tenth canto we find Shri Krishna being welcomed with much the same fanfare by Pandavas who were fortunate enough to be related to the Lord through their mother Kunti. Their jubilation on seeing Shri Krishna arrive at Indraprastha is not just the happiness of meeting a beloved cousin but arises out of the deep reverence an individual soul experiences at the divine sight of the Supreme Soul. The verses describe their meeting thus:
As songs and musical instruments resounded along with the loud vibration of Vedic hymns, the King went forth with great reverence to meet Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, just as the senses go forth to meet the consciousness of life. The heart of King Yudhiṣṭhira melted with affection when he saw his dearmost friend, Lord Kṛṣṇa, after such a long separation, and he embraced the Lord again and again. Then Bhīma, his eyes brimming with tears, laughed with joy as he embraced his maternal cousin, Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna and the twins — Nakula and Sahadeva — also joyfully embraced their dearmost friend, the infallible Lord, and they cried profusely.
Other inhabitants
of Indraprastha were equally affected by the sight of Shri Krishna and when He
entered the city, throngs of citizens and leaders of the occupational guilds came
forward to worship the Lord. Sūtas, Māgadhas, Gandharvas, Vandīs, jesters and
brāhmaṇas all glorified the lotus-eyed Lord — some reciting prayers, some
dancing and singing — as mṛdaṅgas, conchshells, kettledrums, vīṇās, paṇavas and
gomukhas resounded. The royal road was so crowded with people that the women of
the city had to climb to the tops of their houses, to see the Lord and shower
flower petals on him.
And it wasn’t just the ones who knew Shri Krishna well who welcomed him in such a fashion. In fact, when Krishna and Balaram had gone to Mathura on the invitation of Kamsa, He had a similar effect on the citizens of that city. Chapter forty-one of the tenth canto tells us that in their hurry to see the Lord, some of the ladies put their clothes and ornaments on backwards, others forgot one of their earrings or ankle bells, and others applied makeup to one eye but not the other. Those who were taking their meals abandoned them, others went out without finishing their baths or massages. Brāhmaṇas standing along the way honored the two Lords with presentations of yogurt, unbroken barley corns, pots full of water, garlands, fragrant substances such as sandalwood paste, and other items of worship.
Even
Dhritrashtra, the Kuru king who was notorious for nepotism towards his sons, knew
the importance the Lord deserved. In the Udyog Parva of
the Mahabharat, he mentions to his step-brother:
"O
Vidura, Janardana is the leader of the Ahukas, the foremost person amongst all
the members of the Sattwata race, is high-souled, and endued with great energy
and great might. Indeed, Madhava is the guardian and protector of the
Prosperous kingdom of Vrishnis and is the illustrious Great-Grandsire of even
the three worlds. The Vrishnis adore the wisdom of the intelligent Krishna,
even as the Adityas, the Vasus, and the Rudras adore the wisdom of Vrihaspati.
O virtuous one, I will in thy presence, offer worship unto that illustrious
scion of Dasarha's race.”
The Kuru king thereby proceeded to declare the things he would
gift the Lord on His arrival at Hastinapur – Sixteen chariots made of gold,
each drawn by four excellent and well-adorned Vahlik steeds, eight elephants
with tusks as large as ploughs, a hundred servants of each gender, eighteen
thousand woolen blankets, a thousand deer-skins brought from China and other
things of the kind that he thought worthy of Shri Krishna. He ordered the road
leading to the palace to be well-watered and decorated with pendants and
banners and a thousand dancers were asked to line the road to welcome the Lord
with their performances.
Dhritrashtra advised all his sons and grandsons to go out to receive the Lord and as the Mahabharat mentions, there was not a single citizen of Hastinapur who stayed indoors that day, yearning to get a glimpse of Shri Krishna. Even though Duryodhan defied his father and did not turn up to welcome the Lord, even he bowed down to Krishna once He had entered the Kuru court and offered Him the choicest of gifts. Duryodhan even arranged a lavish lunch which Shri Krishna refused knowing well that the eldest Kaurav did not do so out of love or devotion but as a show of his own grandeur. Krishna politely declined the invitation and left the sumptuous meal prepared for him in favor of the humble food offered by Vidura instead.
Indeed, if the above passages give a feeling that the Lord desires to be welcomed in an extravagant manner, let me share this one incident that will show us that He is completely unaffected by the presence or lack of such arrangements provided He is invited with true and pure love.
In the Draupadi-haran Parva of the Mahabharat, we find the incident of Durvasa rishi landing at the gates of the Pandava dwelling during their exile, with ten thousand disciples. Now as luck would have it, the brothers and their wife had just finished their meal and did not have anything left to entertain the guests with.
They requested the sages to go and freshen themselves in the nearby stream while Draupadi frantically called to Shri Krishna, the only friend she could rely on with utmost faith. The verses below show the kind of unalloyed devotion one needs to possess to be able to entice the Lord to come to your aid without any delay:
And the princess said, 'Krishna, O Krishna, of mighty arms, O son of Devaki, whose power is inexhaustible, O Vasudeva, O lord of the Universe, who dispels the difficulties of those that bow down to You, You are the soul, the creator and the destroyer of the Universe. Thou, O lord, art inexhaustible and the saviour of the afflicted. Thou art the preserver of the Universe and of all created beings…. I seek Your protection O god, who are ever kindly disposed towards those that take refuge in You. Do cherish me with Your kindness. Under Your protection, O lord of the gods, all evils lose their terror. As You protected me before from Dushasana, do extricate me now from this difficulty."
This genuine cry for help by a devotee who truly believed in Him
was enough to make Shri Krishna come to Draupadi's rescue almost immediately, leaving
the side of Rukmini who at that time had been sleeping next to Him. The Lord
and His leelas turn such trivial incidents into
something memorable and as you can guess, He did help Draupadi but
not before throwing a friendly tantrum - Krishna declared that he was tired
after the long journey from Dwarka and wanted to eat something first. Understandably,
Draupadi, who had hoped for help from Shri Krishna, was confused since the lack
of food was the very reason she had asked for His help!
Then
that lotus-eyed and adorable being said unto Krishnaa (Draupadi), 'This is no time for
jest,--I am much distressed with hunger, go thou quickly to fetch
the vessel and show it to me.' When Kesava, that ornament of the Yadu's race,
had the vessel brought unto him,--with such persistence, he looked into it and
saw a particle of rice and vegetable sticking at its rim. And swallowing it He
said unto her, 'May it please the god Hari, the soul of the Universe, and may
that god who partakes at sacrifices, be satiated with this.'
Not surprisingly, the moment Lord Hari Offered that one grain of
rice to Himself, its effect was felt on the entire creation and the rishis decided not to
go back to the Pandav dwelling for fear of not being able to eat what Draupadi
had prepared for them. I believe this incident tells us more about the
welcome the Lord really desires from His devotees than any of the others mentioned before.
Shri Krishna was the scion of the Yadu clan, the leader of the Ahukas, the foremost amongst all heroes of the Sattwata race, the guardian and protector of the Prosperous kingdom of Vrishnis, the destroyer of demons like Kamsa, Jarasandh, Shishupal and Narkasur, yet He is primarily the Lord inside each person’s heart. He listens to us when we call to Him with unadulterated devotion and He fulfills our wishes in ways that even we may not be able to understand at that point of time.
Whether we welcome Him with all pomp and glory that He deserves or simply remember Him in our meditation or chant His name with pure and unalloyed devotion, it is the intention with which we do these acts that matters. This Janmashtami, as we adorn our shrines and temples for welcoming the Lord into our homes, let us take the opportunity to clean and decorate our own hearts as well to make them worthy enough for the lord to reside!
Hare Krishna!
