AFVOA Newletters of Year 2003

Page 88 of 170 can be on two different days as the star ‘Rohini’ and Ashtami may not be on the same day. This occurs between August and September on the Christian calendar. Sri Krishna is Lord Vishnu’s eighth avatar (incarnation) on earth. He is considered to be the Lord’s most glorious incarnations. Even saying and remembering His name brings joy because Sri Krishna himself was a manifestation of joy at all levels and in all walks of life. No other God in the Hindu pantheon, or for that matter in any other religion, is associated with so many romantic tales and so fully radiating with all the divine attributes as Sri Krishna. The life and message of Sri Krishna is the most stirring saga of one of the greatest saviours and propounders of Dharma. Born in the dungeons of Kansa who was out to kill him at the very moment of his birth, Sri Krishna’s life is replete with many such mortal dangers which he successfully triumphs over. He was the unchallenged hero of his times both in terms of his bodily prowess and his intellectual brilliance. A striking feature of his character was his supreme detachment to power. Though he had personally destroyed many an evil ruler, he never coveted those kingdoms for himself. He installed the next of king as the rightful heirs in those places. And he himself remained utterly simple and unassuming till the very last. After the killing of Kansa, he chose for himself a menial task like the receptionist at the court of Ugrasena whom he himself had installed as the king of Mathura. Himself a king and known all over the land as the mightiest and the wisest on the face of the earth, he however mixed freely with one and all. He embraced his old, poor friend Sudaama and ate with extreme relish the dry beaten rice offered by him and left him endowed with rich presents. Sri Krishna personified in himself all the various Divine Paths - the Bhakti, the Jnaana and the Karma to reach the highest goal of God-realization. And his personal example gave authority to the great gospel he preached to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is said of Bhagavadgita, “The Upanishads are the Cow, Krishna the milker, Partha the calf, and nectar of Gita, the milk.” No other scriptural text propounds all the various paths to Divinity in such a profound and yet so concise and easily intelligible manner to the commoner as the Bhagavadgita. The setting of the Gita is also wonderfully unique, Kurukshetra representing the eternal battlefield in the human soul. One of the most important couplets in the Bhagavadgita is given below in roman script and goes as: Karmany evadhikaraste ma phalesu kadacana Ma karma phala hetur bhur ma te sango stvakarmani {Which means: Your right is to work only, but never to the fruits thereof. Be not instrumental in making your actions bear fruit, nor let your attachment be to inaction.} Sri Krishna Jayanti, therefore, signifies not merely the birth of a great and Divine Teacher of mankind in some distant past but the lighting of the spark of the Divine Power in every one of us, which spurs us on to play our dynamic part in this world of practical and hard realities with a sense of high spiritual purpose. Krishna represents the total power of attraction (Aakarshna Shakti) like a magnet of infinite rise. Hence Krishna is the source of joy. (Sources: http://www.indiaa2z.com/festivals/janamashmi.htm ; http://www.hindunet.org/festivals/janmashtami/and Srimad Bhagavadgita by Jayadayal Goyandka) VINAYAKA CHATURTHI Vinayak Chaturthi is set apart for the sole worship of Ganesh, the common deity of all