Sri Krishna's Appearance
Date: 2008-08-24 Author: Kalacakra Krsna das
Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
Today is the most auspicious occasion of the appearance of Supreme Lord Krishna. In Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 3, Srila Sukadev Goswami very nicely explains the birth of Lord Krishna through the following verses.
śrī-śuka uvāca atha sarva-guṇopetaḥ kālaḥ parama-śobhanaḥ yarhy evājana-janmarkṣaṁ śāntarkṣa-graha-tārakam
diśaḥ prasedur gaganaṁ nirmaloḍu-gaṇodayam mahī maṅgala-bhūyiṣṭha-pura-grāma-vrajākarā
nadyaḥ prasanna-salilā hradā jalaruha-śriyaḥ dvijāli-kula-sannāda-stavakā vana-rājayaḥ
vavau vāyuḥ sukha-sparśaḥ puṇya-gandhavahaḥ śuciḥ agnayaś ca dvijātīnāṁ śāntās tatra samindhata
manāṁsy āsan prasannāni sādhūnām asura-druhām jāyamāne ’jane tasmin nedur dundubhayaḥ samam
Thereafter, at the auspicious time for the appearance of the Lord, the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness, beauty and peace. The constellation Rohini appeared, as did stars like Ashvini. The sun, the moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All directions appeared extremely pleasing, and the beautiful stars twinkled in the cloudless sky. Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the earth seemed all-auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily beautiful. In the trees and green plants, full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of the demigods. A pure breeze began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers, and when the brahmanas engaging in ritualistic ceremonies ignited their fires according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brahmanas, who had always been disturbed by demons like Kamsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their hearts, and kettledrums simultaneously vibrated from the upper planetary system.
The phrase , "kālaḥ parama-śobhanaḥ" which means "favorable and auspicious time from all points of view" mentioned in the above verse is worth meditating. As soon as the Lord appeared on the planet earth, everything became favorable, auspicious, beautiful and peaceful. The nature of seasons, position of the stars, blooming of flowers all changed in a very favorable and pleasing manner. Lord's appearance is not just confined to particular day, place or time. The all merciful Lord immediately appears in our hearts, if we simply chant His names with all sincerity. Just like how the brahmanas whose minds very much disturbed by Kamsa, were able to peacefully continue with ritualistic ceremonies at the time of Lord's appearance, without any disturbance, we can also lead a peaceful and blissful life, if we welcome the Lord in our hearts every day by chanting His names. Our life is also continuously being disturbed by so many demoniac thoughts. So to overcome the influences of these demons, we need to welcome the Lord to appear in our hearts every day.
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada very nicely explains the need of chanting His holy names, in one of his lectures in London on Aug 21 1973. He says So -" this Krishna consciousness movement is simply meant for awakening that Krishna consciousness. This is the process. Just like when you are sleeping, your, I have to call you loudly—"Mr. such and such, such and such, get up. You have got this business."No other senses will act when you are sleeping. But the ear will act. Therefore, in this age, when people are so fallen they will not hear anything, if we chant this Hare Krishna maha-mantra, he'll be awakened to Krishna consciousness. This is practical."
On this auspicious day of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, let us take a sincere vow to wake up our minds from the slumber of ignorance, by chanting the Lord names and sincerely request Him to appear in our hearts and thereby lead a peaceful and blissful life.
Sri Sri Krishna Janmashtami ki Jai ! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai ! Srila Gurudev ki Jai!
Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Kalacakra Krishna das and Sudarshana devi dasi