Celebrating Shri Krishna

Happy Krishna Janmashtami! Today we celebrate the birth of Shri Krishna. As I was making my post for instagram, I thought I would hop on here and take this time to quickly explain the significance of Krishna and why he has become such an important figure in my journey and the journey of many others.

Krishna was one of the last of Lord Vishnu’s avatars to be born and was manifested from the mahavidya (tantric goddess) Kali’s energy. Before I go any further I want to mention the 4 cycles of time or yugas. As each yuga passes, time is cut into 1/4 of the first yuga (satya yuga, 4/4). The morality and righteousness of mankind and the world is also cut into 1/4 each time. According to sanatana dharma, we are currently in the shortest and morally corrupt yuga called kali yuga (age of darkness, 1/4) where divinity is diminished every day and ignorance prevails. Shri Krishna is important to the cycle of time because he was born in the previous yuga called dwapara yuga and when he passed away, kali yuga is said to have begun.

Krishna was born in a jail cell as his birth mother Devaki and father Vasudeva were imprisoned by his Uncle Kansa. It was prophesied to his uncle that a son born from his sister would be the death of him, hence why he imprisoned his sister and her husband. He believed by imprisoning them, he could kill all of her children at birth, before they were able to kill him. However, through divine intervention Krishna’s birth and escape was made possible. As a newborn he was carried by his father across the Yamuna river to his father’s friend Nanda and raised by Nanda and his wife Yashoda in a small village of cow headers called Gokula. Krishna had a fulfilling childhood with his foster family, friends, and the gopi Radha (divine counterpart). It is during this time in Krishna’s life we learn about the importance of unconditional love and leela (playfulness). However he had to leave his family and Radha as a young teenager in order to fulfill his duties. Eventually he was able to kill his wicked Uncle Kansa and free his birth parents from their imprisonment.

Later in his life Krishna became a central figure in what was written as the epic of The Mahabharata. I’m sure many of you have heard and perhaps seen/read The Ramayana. The Ramanaya tells the story of Vishnu’s previous avatar Shri Rama and Devi Sita in their fight between good and evil. The Ramayana happened in the second yuga called treta yuga where morality was 3/4. However the Mahabharata took place in dwapara yuga where morality is cut in 2/4. So while the Ramayana (moral scale: 3/4) was more simple and black and white… the Mahabharata (moral scale: 2/4) is much more complex and falls in the grey area with even the most righteous of characters struggling their morality. This is why Krishna becomes important as his divinity is what guides the characters through their dharma.

It was during the events of the Mahabharata where Krishna delivered his gift to the world; The Bhagavad Gita or The Song of God. In santana dharma, this is considered one of the most important pieces of scripture and can be read and understood by almost anyone. A little background on the Bhagavad Gita; there was a war happening between two sides of the same family and Arjuna, Krishna’s dear friend, was finding it hard to fight against his first cousins. Krishna, who was his charioteer, spoke the words of The Bhagavad Gita during Arjuna’s moment of fear and uncertainty. In short, Krishna personified himself as the ultimate Godhead (also known as the Brahmana or God) to show Arjuna the power of divinity. He also details many other truths including the power of dharma and why we must follow our dharma no matter how much it hurts us sometimes to do so. With that, Arjuna was able to help his brothers fight the war and become victorious.

So what is the significance of The Bhagavad Gita? The Gita was not only made for Arjuna… but for all of us. Krishna speaking these words was not a coincidence because no one would need to hear those words more than those who were born in the age of kali yuga (the age of ignorance). Why did Krishna take on the form of the Ultimate Godhead? Because he is a reflection of God… as are we. The more devoted we become to divinity, the more devoted we become to our higher selves. That is the purpose of Krishna representing love. To read the Bhagavad Gita is to understand the meaning of life and to understand the power of love. This is why Krishna is said to be the god of love and devotion. Anyone who has a connection to him knows how gentle and loving his energy is. You start to understand to love Krishna is to love God… to love the universe… to love each other… and most importantly to love the self… as we are a reflection of God’s love. This also explains why Krishna has so many devotees around the world. He becomes one of the easiest gods to reach because of the imprint he has left on the world.

A bit of my personal journey. I went through many years of unclarity, darkness and pain. Then suddenly, I was feeling drawn to Krishna. I felt drawn to his tender and loving spirit… probably because I wasn’t feeling very loved by the people in my life… and I wasn’t feeling much self love within. And I tried reading the Gita once but it was not resonating… I was still too caught up in my pain and my cycles to hear those words. However, after some time has passed, as I started to heal, I decided to revisit the Gita and made it a practice to read a chapter or two a day. As I read it, my spiritual awakening deepened, and I felt so connected to him and his divine spirit. I felt like all I wanted to do was love him and to show him my devotion. At that point I felt I had nothing else to give to anyone except to God because I felt like this was the only place I felt safe and accepted for who I was. So I did just that. I stepped into a bubble of divine light and focused on what I was reading and being devoted to divinity.

Slowly but surely that love and devotion I had for the divine started to turn inwards within me. I started to forgive, accept and love myself. Soon I started to forgive others for hurting me and loving them as well. Then I started noticing changes in my life. I became so compassionate to life around me, I started making healthier choices, I started taking care of myself and those around me, I started progressing in certain areas of my life, and I began to have so much clarity on my journey. I was finally at peace, filled with light, and finally filled with love… unconditional love. Life is not perfect. I go through many ups and downs like everyone else, but the surrender and faith that Krishna has taught me, gives me the reassurance that every thing will be okay and that I am protected.

With all of this being said, I will not preach to anyone to follow Krishna and his teachings as I don’t feel like that path is for everyone, nor is it something you can force onto someone. I feel like if it's meant for you, the path to Krishna consciousness will find you. And if there is ever a point in your life when you do feel drawn to Krishna, please accept his love with open arms, and if you can, read his words through the Gita as it means you are ready to be touched by divine light and divine love.

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading. There's so much more I wish to say but for now I will leave you with a quote by Shri Krishna from chapter 10 verse 10 of the Gita which describes how I have felt thus far in my journey:

"To those steadfast in love and devotion I give spiritual wisdom, so that they may come to me. Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives."

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya 🙏✨