Lord Sri Krishna's appearance and his universal message

The Unborn is born! This act of the Lord is His causeless mercy on us. His appearance spreads all auspiciousness in the world. BhagavadGita declares that the Lord appears in order to annihilate the miscreants and to protect His devotees. He appears to enhance the happiness of the world and to reduce the burdens of life. On this auspicious occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, let’s remember the glories of the lord and purify the soul within.

Shankaracharya recommends ONE:

His Holiness Adi Shankaracharya summed up his Gita-Mahatmya by writing this master piece:

eka śāstra devakī-putra-gītam

eko devo devakī-putra eva

eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni

karmāpy eka tasya devasya sevā

(Gītā-māhātmya 7)

In this verse, Adi Shankaracharya explains his theory of oneness:

Let there be ONE god: Devaki Putra i.e, Krishna

Let there be ONE scripture: Devaki Putra Gitam i.e, Krishna's Gitam - Bhagavad-Gita

Let there be ONE mantra: Krishna's Name

Let there be ONE Karma: Krishna's seva

Shankaracharya wanted to glorify ONLY ONE: Krishna. He has proclaimed the universality of Krishna & Krishna's words in this verse.

That ONE god is Krishna and He is for everyone:

Krishna Himself proclaims in Bhagavad-Gita (9.17): “Pitaham asya Jagato”, I am the father of the entire world or universe. Krishna is NOT a Hindu God. Nor a God of Yadavas. He is the almighty father and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and naturally for everyone. Some religions may call Him by a different name, but Supreme father is one. He & His Bhagavad-Gita are meant for the entire universe, nay, entire existence. Krishna is the original source of everything. He declares in Bhagavad Gita (10.8):

aham sarvasya prabhavo

mattah sarvam pravartate

iti matva bhajante mam

budha bhava-samanvitah

“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”

Vedanta or Ultimate Truth is KRISHNA:

Krishna is the end of all knowledge and compiler of Vedanta.

vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo

vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham

“By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (BG 15.15). Krishna in His incarnation of Vyasadeva compiled the Vedanta. Vedanta means end of knowledge. BG declares that Vedanta is Krishna and Vyasa is the compiler of Vedanta-Sutra. Why would Shankaracharya recommend if Krishna is not the ultimate truth?

Vāyu and Skanda Purāṇas define a sūtra as follows:

alpākṣaram asandigdhaṁ sāra-vat viśvato-mukham

astobham anavadyaṁ ca sūtraṁ sūtra-vido viduḥ

“A sūtra  is a compilation of aphorisms that expresses the essence of all  knowledge in a minimum of words. It must be universally applicable and  faultless in its linguistic presentation.”

Vyasadeva, a powerful incarnation of Narayana, is the compiler of Vedanta-Sutra. A Sutra means that it has to be universally applicable. After compiling the Vedanta-Sutra, Vyasadeva wrote commentary of these sutras in the form of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is naturally universally applicable, which declares emphatically “Krishnastu Bhagavan Svayam” (SB 1.3.28)

Krishna, the almighty God, descends into this world

Krishna is described in Vedic literature as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of everything and the eternal lover of all living beings. Though unborn and complete in Himself, He descends into the material world out of causeless mercy, bringing auspiciousness and protecting devotees while curbing miscreants.

The Bhagavad Gita explains that the Lord appears to uphold righteousness and relieve the burdens of the world. While some traditions hold that the Almighty cannot descend among humanity, Vedic literature describes Krishna’s divine appearances in detail.

Krishna does not come under material laws when He appears. He descends through His internal potency, or atma-maya, which is distinct from material energy. His extraordinary appearance before His parents in Kamsa’s prison is vividly described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

tam adbhutaṁ bālakam ambujekṣaṇaṁ

catur-bhujaṁ śaṅkha-gadādy-udāyudham

śrīvatsa-lakṣmaṁ gala-śobhi-kaustubhaṁ

pītāmbaraṁ sāndra-payoda-saubhagam

mahārha-vaidūrya-kirīṭa-kuṇḍala

tviṣā pariṣvakta-sahasra-kuntala

muddāma-kāñcy-aṅgada-kaṅkaṇādibhir

virocamānaṁ vasudeva aikṣata

Translation

Vasudeva saw the newborn Krishna with lotus-like eyes and four hands holding the shankha, chakra, gada and padma. His chest bore the Srivatsa mark and His neck the radiant Kaustubha gem. Dressed in yellow and dark like a dense cloud, Krishna’s beautiful form was adorned with a jeweled crown, earrings, belt, armlets, bangles and other ornaments.

His appearance amazed Vasudeva, who understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself had manifested before him and Devaki as their newborn child. This divine form, described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.3.9–10), reveals the extraordinary nature of Krishna’s appearance, demonstrating that although He appeared as an infant, He remained the Supreme Lord.

Krishna's appearance is rare and auspicious

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna appears in this world only once in a day of Lord Brahma. In one day of Lord Brahma, there are 1000 Maha Yugas (a cycle of Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali Yuga) and Krishna appears in one of the Dwapara Yugas. We are fortunate to be in that Maha-Yuga cycle wherein Krishna appeared just 5000 years ago and currently, we are in the immediate Kali Yuga.

We can easily note that the Lord didn't appear like the way ordinary children are born in this world under the influence of Maha-Maya. From the descriptions above, one can easily see that the Lord's appearance is indeed wonderful. Where can anyone see a newborn child with Shanka, Cakra, Gada and padma? A newborn child with helmet, other Abharanas and full grown hair? This is the glorious appearance of the Lord heralding a time of happiness and bliss in this world.

What is the ultimate knowledge and goal of life?

Srila Prabhupada, the Founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna movement, explains:

"The Vedānta-sūtra consists of four chapters. The first two chapters discuss the relationship of the living entity with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is known as sambandha-jñāna, or knowledge of the relationship. The third chapter describes how one can act in his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called abhidheya-jñāna.

The relationship of the living entity with the Supreme Lord is described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’. “The living entity is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme God.” (Cc. Madhya 20.108) Therefore, to act in that relationship one must perform sādhana-bhakti, or the prescribed duties of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called abhidheya-jñāna. The fourth chapter describes the result of such devotional service (prayojana-jñāna). This ultimate goal of life is to go back home, back to Godhead. The words anāvṛttiḥ śabdāt in the Vedānta-sūtra indicate this ultimate goal."

Universal Message of Krishna

Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita which is accepted as universally applicable. At the end of BG, Krishna declares His final message (BG 18.66):

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Translation

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”

In order to achieve the ultimate goal of life, one should surrender to Krishna and render loving devotional service to Him. One who perfects His devotion to Krishna can go back to our eternal home, the abode of God or Krishna.

Chant the Holy Names of God, the universal Dharma of this age

Srila Prabhupada, the Parampara Acharya in Krishna's line, quotes that one should chant the Holy Names of God incessantly in order to achieve perfection of life. This is the universal message. One should Chant Holy Names of God as revealed in your scriptures and avoid sin.

Specifically, one should chant:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

mantra everyday and be happy.

Hare Krishna!

- Sri Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa Prabhu (M.Tech, IIT, Chennai), President, Hare Krishna Movement, Hyderabad and Regional President, Akshaya Patra, AP & Telangana