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Sri Krsna Janmastami A lecture by Giriraj Swami We have gathered today to celebrate the most auspicious occasion of the appearance anniversary of Sri Krsna. According to Vedic authority, Krsna is the Absolute Truth, or Brahman. The Absolute Truth is defined in the Vedanta-sutra: janmady asya yato--that from which, or He from whom, everything emanates. The concept of the Absolute Truth is even higher than the concept of God. God, in Sanskrit isvara, means controller, or even the Supreme Controller. But the concept of the Absolute Truth is even higher, because, for example, someone here could be the supreme controller of the present manifestation but not the origin of everything that exists. So Krsna, according to the Vedanta-sutra and the natural commentary on the Vedanta called Srimad-Bhagavatam, is the origin of everything. We celebrate Krsna Janmastami as the appearance day of Lord Krsna. Some people might call it the birthday of Lord Krsna, but the term "birthday" does not exactly apply, because Krsna Himself is the origin of all. He has no birth. In fact, the Bhagavad-gita states specifically that He is unborn (ajam), original and eternal (sasvatam). He appears just as the sun appears on the horizon. We may say that the sun rises at six in the morning and sets at eight in the evening, but the sun is always there. When we say that the sun rises what we really mean is that the sun appears before limited vision, and when we say that the sun sets we mean that sun disappears from our vision. In the same way, Krsna appeared about five thousand years ago, and He displayed His transcendental form, His divine qualities, and His wonderful pastimes so that all could know who is God, who is the Absolute Truth. Otherwise, people speculate, "God is the oldest, so He must be an old man with a white beard. He is the ruler of all, so He must sit on a throne." People are prone to speculate about the nature of God, so God Himself, Krsna, the Absolute, appears to teach us about Himself, so that we don't have to speculate about Him. He comes and manifests Himself to us, and further, He explains Himself to us. And often the explanation is more important than the appearance. For example, if we look at the sun with just our bare eyes, we will see just a small disc. We won't know what the nature of the sun is. But if we listen to authorities, we learn that the sun is actually many times bigger than the Earth. It is extremely hot, but because it is ninety-three million miles away, we feel the heat of only a hundred or a hundred and twenty degrees, or in some seasons zero degrees or twenty degrees below zero. Still, the sun is extremely hot and many times larger than the Earth. But we would not know that, just by seeing the sun in the sky. Similarly, even with Krsna's appearance we would not know about Krsna's nature unless we heard about it from an authority. And Krsna is the supreme authority: He Himself explains Himself to us. And He explains Himself in the Bhagavad-gita. The word bhagavata means "God," and gita means "song." So the Bhagavad-gita is the "Song of God." When God speaks, He doesn't speak as we do. He does articulate speech, but His words are poetry and His voice is song. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita is "The Song of God." God must have the faculty of speech. If He didn't, He would be less than we are. We have the faculty of speech, so how could God, the absolute origin of all, the supreme father of all of us, not have what He has given to us? He can speak, but His speaking is singing and His words are poetry. Now I shall read one verse from the Bhagavad-gita, first the Sanskrit text, then the word meanings, and then the translation and purport given by our spiritual master, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We read Chapter 5, Text 17: TEXT tad-buddhayas tad-atmanas TRANSLATION When one's intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleanses of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation. SYNONYMS COMMENT by Giriraj Swami "Him"--people may be sensitive to the case of the pronoun. Actually, the complete conception of God and the highest conception is both male and female. When we chant Hare Krsna, for example, "Hare" refers to the feminine aspect of the Supreme and "Krsna" refers to the masculine. Here, on my bead bag, we have images of both-- Hara and Krsna, Radha and Krsna--but because in the Bhagavad-gita it is Krsna who is speaking, the pronoun "He" and "Him" are appropriate. SYNONYMS (concluded) PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada The Supreme Transcendental Truth is Lord Krsna. The whole Bhagavad-gita centers around the declaration that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the version of all Vedic literature. Para-tattva means the Supreme Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing more than that. COMMENT Here in the purport Srila Prabhupada, as the acarya, refers to other Vedic literatures. The acarya, or spiritual master who teaches by example, does not concoct his own philosophy or theology or process or practice. Rather, he repeats what the supreme authority, Krsna, says. So, the Srimad-Bhagavatam states, vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam/ brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate: "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan." Brahman refers to the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth, Paramatma to the localized feature, and Bhagavan to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Coming back to the example of the sun, the sun exists in the sky. But the sun is reflected in many pots of water, and if you look into each pot, you will see the sun. That is the localized feature, Paramatma, situated in the heart of every living being. And the sun rays throughout the sky are the impersonal feature, or brahmajyoti, the spiritual light. The full manifestation of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda. Sat means eternal, cit means full of knowledge, and ananda means full of bliss. Realization of Brahman is realization of the eternal aspect of God, Paramatma includes eternity and knowledge, and Bhagavan includes all three: eternity, knowledge, and bliss. What all of us really want is bliss, or happiness, and that is realized in relation to Bhagavan, Sri Krsna. PURPORT (concluded) The Lord says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya. Impersonal Brahman is also supported by Krsna: brahmano hi pratisthaham. Therefore in all ways Krsna is the Supreme Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Krsna, or, in other words, one who is fully in Krsna consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence. A Krsna conscious person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity and individuality) in Krsna, and, equipped with such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation. COMMENT We are practicing bhakti-yoga. Yoga means to connect with God, and bhakti means to reestablish one's relationship with God through devotion and service. That is the direct method of realizing God. The other practices--karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, and astanga-yoga--are helpful in that they enable the soul to progress towards God, but they cannot bring the soul into direct relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jnana-yogis at most realize the impersonal light; their goal is to merge and become one with the light. And the mystic yogis at most realize the Lord within the heart, Paramatma. They have knowledge of the Lord in the heart, and they have realized that both the Lord and they are eternal. But the real happiness that we seek, the love that we seek, can be realized only in relation to the Supreme Person. We might wonder, "How can God be a person? I am a person. My wife is a person. My friend is a person. My child is a person. How can God be a person?" Logically, God must be everything that we are and more. So if we are persons, He must also be a person--and more. But He is not a person like we are. Sometimes people think that if you give God a name or call God a person, you are limiting Him. But it is quite the opposite: if we say that God cannot have a name, we are limiting Him; if we say that He cannot have a personality, we are limiting Him. Still, one might think that we are limiting God, because we are persons and we are limited. In fact, if we try to fit God into our limited conception of personality, that is limiting Him. We individual souls are limited. For example, if I am here with you in Ojai, I cannot be in Santa Barbara, or San Francisco, or New York or London or Bombay. But God is everywhere at once. He is here and in Santa Barbara and in San Francisco and in New York and London and Nairobi and Delhi and Tokyo and Sydney and everywhere. In fact, God is in the hearts of all of us. Because we are limited, we know the pains and pleasures within only our own bodies but not the pains and pleasures in other bodies. I don't know the pains and pleasures that you are experiencing in your body, and you don't know the pains and pleasures that I am experiencing in my body. I might have a headache, but you don't know. I don't, but I might, and you wouldn't know unless I told you. You might have a stomach ache, and I don't know. But God knows the pains and pleasures in every body, because He is all-pervading. My consciousness pervades my body, but God's consciousness pervades the entire existence. So He is conscious of everything. Although a person (bhagavata), He is directly and indirectly conscious of all that be (anvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah). How can we say that God is unconscious, like a dead stone? He is conscious of everything. Therefore He can understand us better than anyone else ever can. We all want a friend who can understand us, and God is that friend who can understand us best. He can understand us even better than we can understand ourselves. We all want a friend who can help us. Even if we have a friend who understands that we are in difficulty, that we are having trouble with our spouse, or our finances, or our children, or our health, still, he can't help us to the extent that we want. Our friends and family may want to help us, but they are limited. They can help only to a limited extent, which usually is not enough. But God is all-powerful; He can help us to any extent. Therefore, if we take refuge in God, develop our relationship with God, accept God as our best friend, He can help us to any extent--and He will. So, Krsna consciousness means to realize that God is everything that we could ever want--everything that we could ever imagine--in a friend, in a person. And in our relationship with God we can experience everything that we would ever want to experience in any relationship with anyone. We would be fully satisfied. Before I met Srila Prabhupada in Boston in 1969, I was very much in the mood to serve humanity, to do good for others. When I met Srila Prabhupada, I came to understand the value of serving God--not just the value, but the necessity--and the great benefit. Still, I wasn't sure where serving people fit in the picture, and so I asked him. In reply he narrated the story of Dhruva Maharaja. As a five year-old boy, Dhruva, who was the son of the deposed queen of King Uttanapada, was insulted by his stepmother, the current queen, who chided him for sitting on his father's lap on the throne. Despite her objections, Dhruva wanted to obtain the kingdom, which was his by birthright, and so he asked his mother what to do. She advised him, "Only God can help you." "Where can I find God?" he asked. "I don't know," she responded, "but many sages go to the forest to find God, so maybe there." Immediately Dhruva went to the forest to find God. While he was there, God, Krsna, sent a guru to instruct Dhruva in the method by which he could reach Him. Dhruva followed the instructions and chanted the holy name and executed the entire process. In the end God appeared to him and asked, "What would you like? I am prepared to give you anything." Just imagine if we were in that position--if God came and said He would give us whatever we wanted, or even if the President of the United States came--what an opportunity. So, Dhruva replied, "My Lord, I do not want anything. I am fully satisfied." God said, "But what about your kingdom? You performed all those austerities to gain your kingdom." And Dhruva replied, "I came looking for some pieces of broken glass, but now I have found the most valuable jewel." sthanabhilasi tapasi sthito 'ham "O my Lord, because I was seeking an opulent material position, I was performing severe types of penance and austerity. Now I have gotten You, who are very difficult for the great demigods, saintly persons and kings to attain. I was searching after a piece of glass, but instead I have found a most valuable jewel. Therefore I am so satisfied that I do not wish to ask any benediction from You." (Cc Madhya 22.42) Srila Prabhupada said, "Why are you and others coming here? Are we not rendering service? To deliver one from the illusory material existence and bring him to Krsna consciousness is the best service. What is the meaning of service? To give relief from suffering. And Krsna consciousness gives the best relief, as confirmed in the Bhagavatam [1.2.6]: 'The best service, the best religion, the best philosophy is that which teaches one how to serve God.' And as soon as one comes to serve God without any motive, immediately he becomes satisfied (yayatma suprasidati). "When one discovers his eternal relationship with God, he feels, 'I have nothing more to ask.' And to bring a man to feel that he has no more demands, that he is fully satisfied, is the best service. You may feed someone, but after some time the person will be hungry again. Then what will you do? And how many people can you feed? If you give someone Krsna consciousness, they will be completely satisfied forever. "Actual happiness comes when you learn to love God, and that can be achieved without any material advancement. Anywhere you are, in any condition of life, you can simply chant Hare Krsna and develop such love. Then you will say, 'Now I am fully satisfied. I do not want anything else. No more stealing, no more pick-pocketing, no more cheating. Because I have no want, why shall I cheat?'" Srila Prabhupada then told the story of Alexander the Great, how when the great conqueror first arrived in India he came upon a saintly person sitting in meditation in the blazing sun, just sitting very peacefully and blissfully, meditating on Krsna in the heart. Alexander had met many great heroes and warriors, but he had never seen anyone like that yogi. So he got off of his horse and approached him. "I am very impressed by your austerities," said Alexander. "You can ask from me whatever you like." And the yogi replied, "I have only one request. Please step aside. You are blocking the sun." [laughter] Because he was fully satisfied, what could Alexander the Great do for him? Alexander even wrote back to his people, "These people are very special. Don't mess with them." yam labdhva caparam labham "You will find in Bhagavad-gita [6.22] that if you are situated in the transcendental position, you have no more demand and are not disturbed even in the greatest difficulty. This is life--to be satisfied in any condition. And this peace can be achieved only by Krsna consciousness." So giving Krsna consciousness to others is the best service. That saintly person was so satisfied that when the emperor of the world, Alexander the Great, offered him whatever he wanted, he did not want anything. He just wanted Alexander to move out of the way of the sun, which was scorching him; he did not want Alexander to get in the way of his austerities, because such austerities were helping him to realize God, the supreme benefit. He did not want anything else. He just did not want to be disturbed in his Krsna consciousness. As Srila Prabhupada said, "Are we not rendering service? To deliver one from the illusory material existence and bring him to Krsna consciousness is the best service. As soon as one comes to serve God without any motive, immediately he becomes satisfied (yayatma suprasidati)." We are always in want; we are never satisfied. We always want one thing or another, this or that. But a pure devotee of Krsna is so satisfied in Krsna consciousness that he does not want anything else. He is satisfied in any situation because he can be Krsna conscious anywhere, at any time. And that is described in today's verse: tad-buddhayas tad-atmanas "When one's intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleanses of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation." The word for liberation here is apunah-avrttim. Punah means "again," and apunah means "never again." And avrttim refers to the repetition of birth and death. So apunah-avrttim means that never again will we have to suffer the repetition of birth and death. Every soul in the material world, every soul in a material body--in other words, all of us-- are suffering repeated birth, disease, old age, and death. We don't want these things, but they are forced upon us because we are conditioned souls in material bodies. Someone may challenge, "Well, what is wrong with material life? I am having a good time. Why are you so negative?" "Well, that's all right. You say you are happy in your material life, but do you want to get disease?" "No, I don't want disease?" "Do you want to grow old, to become an old fogy?" [laughter] "No, I don't want to become old." "Do you want to die?" "No, I don't want to die." But that is what material life entails. So you may say that you like it, but when you actually get down to what it is, you don't like it. You just don't know that there is an alternative. So you convince yourself that you like it. Krsna consciousness gives us everything that we want in material life minus the pain, minus the disruption. Everything that we could ever want in the material world, we can have with Krsna--minus disease, minus old age, minus death--minus all the things we don't want. That is the great benefit of Krsna consciousness. Krsna appeared about five thousand years ago, almost to this date, to let us know who He is, by manifesting Himself and by explaining Himself. And He came to tell us how we can go back home, back to our real home, back to Him through the process of bhakti-yoga, and especially in the present age through the process of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. Do any of you have any questions or comments? Lady: What do you mean when you say that Krsna "appeared"? Giriraj Swami: He actually appeared. He is here right now--He is all-pervading--but we are unable to see Him, because He is concealed from us by the curtain of maya, or illusion. So when we say that He appeared five thousand years ago, what we mean is that he removed the curtain so that everyone could see Him, whether they were qualified or not. Now we cannot see Him unless we are qualified, and the qualification is to have eyes that are smeared with the ointment of love of God. premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Syamasundara, Krsna Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love." (Bs 5.38) Because we are not qualified, because we do not have the eyes to see God, He is invisible to us. So when we say He appeared five thousand years ago, we mean that He allowed everyone to see Him, whether they were devoted to Him or not. So people could see Him, but unless one is devoted to Him, one won't understand Him. Therefore He spoke the Bhagavad-gita. For example, if a prominent or powerful person were to come here tonight, we might not recognize him. But if the person introduced himself, then we would know, "Oh, he is Steve Jobs, the co-founder and CEO of Apple Computers." Just by seeing him we wouldn't know, but if he introduced himself to us, then we would know. So Krsna did both: He came, and He explained Himself, and He also explained how we can reach Him and become liberated from the repetition of birth and death. Lady: Does Krsna come in the form of a person? Giriraj Swami: Yes, Krsna's original form is humanlike. And as the Bible says, "Man is created in the image of God." We accept that truth. But within our bodies we have flesh and blood and bones and so many organs that can fail at any moment, and within Krsna's body is the potency to create and maintain the entire existence. His body is completely spiritual, whereas ours are material--although we do exist as spiritual sparks within. And as described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krsna appears in a humanlike form: anugrahaya bhaktanam "The Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, and He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him." (SB 10.33.36) We pray to be attracted to the all-attractive Sri Krsna. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. |
