Spiritual Significance of Krishna Janamashtami

The devotees of Lord Krishna celebrate his birthday, better known as Janamashtami, with immense faith and fervor. On this day people do special worship of Lord Krishna, decorate his temple, observe fast, and as a ritual, some even recreate the moments of birth of Krishna at the mid night. There are few beliefs associated with the birth of Krishna.  It is said that five thousand years ago, when the God took birth in Mathura, India, the social fabric of the society was disturbed; chaos and lawlessness prevailed on earth due to the rule of demonic forces like that of Kansa. Hence out of mercy and compassion Lord Krishna decided to descend on earth to annihilate such unjust forces and to establish peace and well being amongst the common masses. It is said that he was born in a prison. It was a pitch dark night of amawasya when the God appeared at 12 p.m, i.e midnight on ashtami or the eighth night of the month of Shravan.

The above mentioned description of lord Krishna appears in Mahabharata, one of the great Indian epics.  Mahabharata along with other ancient Indian scriptures is not merely a collection of interesting stories to be remembered and rejoiced. These scriptures are voice of wisdom of several saints in the ancient times. The depth of these texts is unfathomable. There is a deeper interpretation of this divine fable of Krishna. It would be unfair to associate Krishna’s birth merely with the material dimensions of space and time as it also carries a hidden, sacred and divine message. Is it not an irony that the God himself was born in chains, behind the bars, in the dark midnight when the entire humanity was asleep? He was the all pervading master of the universe, the king of all kings, the Supreme Being and there was no need for him to choose a prison as a birth place for him.

The spiritual interpretation of the story of birth of lord Krishna unfolds many interesting secrets. The rule of tyrannical forces during the Dwaper Yug and the concomitant grievances of the common people followed by the urge to seek help from the God and hence Krishna’s decision to appear on the earth, then the prison, the dark midnight at 12 p.m at the time of his birth, are all symbolic representation of a hidden divine secret. The pain of common masses to seek relief under the shelter of God’s mercy metaphorically denotes the mental agony of a true devotee of God. When a devotee has gone through immense worldly suffering and is unable to bear the burden of his pain, he remembers God with all his sincerity and absolute devotion to help him out and to easy his misery. A true devotee is unable to bear the pain of being away from his master and therefore constantly desires to become one with Him. This leads to an extraordinary intimacy that one develops with God. This in turn gives rise to a new awakening in one’s soul. Hence the divine realization of God in one’s heart is felt by the devotee, which destroys all his pain and suffering and leads him towards realization. That is to say, appearance of Lord Krishna is a symbolic representation of an awakening within oneself, in one’s own heart and soul. Similarly the prison and the darkness of night are symbolic representation of our ignorance and worldly bondage. The chaos of common mass due to the demonic forces is actually within. Our own mental distress leads us to seek relief in our God. True remembrance of the God opens new avenues for a person’s spiritual realization; in one’s heart one can hear the divine message. Furthermore, what does the time of Krishna’s birth as 12:00 o’clock signify? It is the end of time, as nothing comes after 12, what the clock shows is just a repetition of numbers from 1-12 again and again. It means the divine birth of Krishna exceeds all worldly understanding of time. Divine God is born in infinity which is beyond comprehension of a common man. 12 o’clock also referred as 00:00 or zero hour indicates that there is no fixed time for the birth of Krishna within the soul or self-realization. Whenever a devotee truly ready for the realization of the God, and his consciousness has reached a certain level, it will begin guiding the devotee and hence Krishna will be born within! Birth of Krishna was not just one historical episode, but it can recur again and again in the hearts of every devotee.  

Usually we are so engulfed with our worldly thoughts and activities that we remain completely ignorant and untouched with our own real self, the soul, the dwelling place of the God. We nourish our bodies but completely ignore our inner soul which also needs to be nourished and taken care for the ultimate realization. In true sense birth of Krishna is a divine awakening of self and this awakening is distinct from attainment of a body. This awakening is a stage in the spiritual life of a yogi. When the unknown becomes known and that which had a veil is unveiled, Krishna is born. When God’s realization dawns on us, a new avatar of Krishna is born. We all have a possibility of becoming Krishna and we all have the latent potency to realize and reproduce our own Geeta. This unique possibility of realization of one’s soul lies in every human body, but it is not apparent to us unless we enhance our consciousness to a level where we begin to know about this unusual divinity within us. With our devotion when we begin realizing our soul, we have an awakening of our own consciousness. Krishna’s manifestation cannot be seen with physical eyes. Krishna is not born in a corporal form. He is birthless, hidden, and eternal, and yet he is born within a human heart. As stated in the Bhagavad-Geeta, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and all the leelas or activities are all transcendental, and one who understands this in the true sense is a yogi.

To sum up, the entire spiritual quest is not a quest for something new. It motivates you to experience what is yours, is within you- the divine spirit through your sadhna or spiritual exercise. It has to emerge from the inner consciousness. The aspirant who seeks Atma gyana has to embark on self-enquiry to experience this Self-awareness. Life is given to you to realise lasting bliss by the right use of the body, the mind and the intellect. Knowledge of one’s own self will be a true celebration of Krishna Janamashtami. Destroy ignorance by means of instruction in the knowledge of the Atma. Turn your attention inwards, away from the external world and find Krishna within.