JANMASHTAMI

Janmashtami is the sacred day dedicated to Lord Krishna,who,as per Hindu mythology,is believed to be the eighth incarnation of God Vishnu.

Lord Krishna was born in Mathura.His tyrant uncle,Kamsa,imprisoned His father along with his cruel minister,Chanura.So long as two men were in charge of Mathura there was confusion and chaos all around.Krishna destroyed the tyrents and restored peace and order in that land.

When Krishna was born in the hidden prison ,He was delivered to Yasoda.When He had grown up sufficiently He went to Dwaraka,where He established order.Then He went to Hastinapura.In the battle of Kurushetra He gave out His wisdom and through Arjuna to society at large the doctrine of the Bhagwat Geetha.

Every aspect of action during this eighth incarnation of God Vishnu in the form of Lord Krishna and His deeds are filled with deep mystical symbolism indicating the higher truth.An attempt has been made in this article to analyse some of them in order to set a direction for a deeper study and discovery of the deep significance behind a few of the subtle suggestions.

In Sanskrit,the word, Krishna,means Dark.indicating the supreme consciousness .Pure consciousness is said to be dark,not as opposed to light,but in the sense that it is unseen or unknown to one as long as one remains rooted in earthly experience,which are limited to the realms of perceptions,emotions and thoughts gained through the physical body and intellect.

The Incarnate of Krishna represents the descent of the Infinite Brahman to the material world.The Lord is described as being blue in colour and donning yellow clothes.The colour Blue is associated with the colour of the Infinite as whatever is immeasurable appears to the mortal eyes only as blue like the clear midday sky or the deep ocean appearing blue to human perception.Like wise the colour Yellow represents the Earth.Anything buried in the earth gathers an yellowish hue and when introduced into a colourless flame the mud in the earth glows with an yellowish tinge.Hence the blue form of Krishna clothed in yellow appropriately suggests pure infinite consciousness coming down to earth to play in His finite form.

The Infinite all pervading Truth donning the finite form of a human being may give one an impression that the truth is fettered and limited.This idea of illimitable truth seeming to be limited is well brought out by the fact that Krishna,as said earlier,was born in a prison.Though the Infinite Being seems to be limited and confined to a human embodiment,it is ever free and uncontaminated.The pure SELF within is never affected or bound by one's body,mind and intellect.This is well brought out in Krishna's birth,wherein one may observe that although the Divine Child was born in a prison ,neither the Iron bars nor the prison rods could confine Him.Likewise when one conquers the two evil forces that imprison man viz Ego and Egocentric desires by higher nature,the original glory and splendour of the pure Self gets restored.

Today a young man is not satisfied with mere theories.He demands a rational reply.The Bible cannot be questioned.To question it becomes blasphemy.The West cannot understand the Logic and so the West is unhappy.earlier they thought material advancement would give them happiness.Today this thought is also breaking down.Wealth is plenty but alas peace is scarce.Achivement is visible but the expected joy is still deluding the Western World.

Western Thought is ransacked by all these contradictions.A French Philosopher expressed his realisation that behind all these struggles there is as an Infinite reality that appears incomprehensible.The Intellect is unable to understand and bring it to scientific apprehension.The Intellect cannot reach there because there is a dark screen between the Man and the Infinite making the man feel helpless.

The west could not penetrate this darkness because the mind,body and intellect,being finite and limited are unable to penetrate the same.That darkness is this night of Krishna's birth.When every one is sleeping in the prison of his ego,when the sense organs are all asleep.the mysterious light shines forth during meditation and in that darkness the Divine Child Krishna ia born.

Krishna is thus described as the Infinite Omnipresent,Omnipotent and Omniscient reality.Yet His mother Yasoda saw only her child in Him.On one occasion the little boy,Krishna,was suspected of having eaten mud.The mother chided Him but the boy denied of having eaten mud.Krishna was telling only the truth for the earth is included in His Universal Form,He being the whole.

How can the whole being eat its own part?The eater and the eaten cannot be one and the same.The Lord tried to explain this to His mother but the mother could not measure the magnitude and stature of His infinite being in her own child.Upon her insistence the boy opened His tiny mouth and revealed to her utter amazement the entire universe within.

Lord Krishna plays the flute producing enchanting music.The flute by itself cannot create music.It is an inert piece of matter.But when the Lord plays it divine music emanates from it and enchants everyone.Likewise the human body by itself is inert.but when the mind contrls the senses the Divine Consciousness expresses itself thro' the same inert body.

In the Rasa Leela (Divine Sport)Lord Krishna is found in the midst of the dancing maids of Brindavan.Much criticism has been levelled by many towards this part of Krishna's life.This is borne out of ignorance.Little do these critics realise that the Lord remains unaffected in this whole process.Krishna is like the consciousness within,the pure Self.which vitalises one's thoughts but remains unaffected by them.This part of Krishna's life drives home the ultimate truth that the Self is ever immaculate and uncontaminated by the thoughts that run in one's bosom in spite of the Self taking part in the whole thought process.

Likewise the dancing maids ,while carrying out their obligatory duties throughout the day were constantly attuned mentally to the Lord.This brings out the essence of Karma Yoga,which is to dedicateoneself to a higher alter and work without ego and egocentric desires.

One can thus see in this episode of the life of Lord Krishna that ignorence of its mystical symbolism can lead to wrong and at time absurd conclusions.

The life of Krishna is not complete without a mention of Mahabharata war.The virtues of Hindu culture are brought out in the story of this great battle.Krishna did not take up any weaponand only guided the fight in order to destroy evil and establish Dharma.In the midst of the battle field He preached to Arjuna the immortal Bhagwat Geeyha considered the quintessence of all shastras.It explores the three paths to salvation viz Karma Yoga,Gyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.Is is considered sacred by all Hindus and if understood and practiced ,it can lead man to the ultimate bliss in life.To comman mortals like us,the lord sums up His Gospel in Bhagwad Geetha
by thus saying--"The mind that constantly contemplates the sense objects irrestably comes to revel in their finite joys whereas the mind that learns to constantly remember ME comes to dissolve into ME and becomes a part of ME."

To conclude,Janmashtami,the birth of Lore Krishna is a wonderful day.On this day the Sun dawns in the bosom of all those,who turn inward in meditation.In that silence of the heart, in spite of outside turmoils and disturbances,if one were to remain sufficiently long ,one is sure to experience in that long earned traquility, the realisation of the indestructible Self,in the form of the birth of Krishna,the light.This trans state cannot be described in mere words.It is something that needs to be experienced.

References---- 1)Symbolism in Hinduism.---Chinmaya Mission publication.
2)Vedanta Sagar------------Ramakrishna Mission Publication.

Compiled by BAIYU Mumbai August 1994.

SRI RAMANAVAMI

SRI RAMANAVAMI is a traditional Hindu festivalperformed annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of Lord Rama.The word 'Navami' denotes the nineth day of the fortnight of the rising moon of the twelveth month of the solar year,when the Lord was born.

This festival is performed religiously every year in all parts of our country,India,and in those parts of the globe where Hindus dwell.It usually falls towards the first half of the month of April in the present Gregorian calender.

On this all Hindus offer their prayers after a bath in salutation to the Lord,read hymns from Ramayana,place flowers at the feet of the Idolof the Lord and seek His blessings.The story of Ramayana is either narrated or chanted by the Learned to convey the message to the masses.
Prasad is distributed to One and All at the end of the ceremony.

In the Vedic Heritage,which was in fact an eternal Universal Heritage,every action is associated with the Lord,who is all pervading being HIMSELF Omnipotent,Omnipresent and Omnicient.There is therefore no human activity beyond the realms of the Lord.This fact is revealed by the Vedas and when the Lord,who is revealed by the Vedas,manifested Himself as Lord Rama,son of Emperor Dasaratha,the Vedas took the form of Srimad Ramayana to stay with the humans so long as the mountains stand and Rivers flow on Mother Earth.

The personality of Lord Rama in the Ramayana stands out unique and the most glorious as compared to any other charecter in the scriptual literature.The great sage Valmiki,in his creation of this Divine Hero,has symbolised in Him the ideal of uncompromising goodness.Nowhere else does one find such idealistic perfection in all walks of life combined in a single Individual.Thus Lord Rama was atonce,a perfect Son,an ideal King,a true Husband,a real Friend,a devoted Brother,a noble Enemy and so on.As an Avatar or IncarnationSri Rama personified all these qualities in one personand it is believed that HE was the seventh Avatar of Lord VISHNU,who took birth in the Thretha Yuga in human form to show to the world the righteousness of living,saving Dharma by protecting the Saints and destroying the Evil by slaying Demons culminating in the ultimate triumph of good over evil by destroying Ravana,the King of Lanka.

The very name 'RAMA' means---SARVESHU RAMATI ETIE RAMAHA ---- That is-----
That which reveals in every one of us,the pure light of consciousness,the ATMAN the SELF,the Atman Rama.

Different aspects of Human Personality functioning in diverse facets of life have been separately projected and in Sri Rama an achievable perfection is indicated in each aspect.In attempting to paint an ideal picture of each aspect of the Lord's personality,the sage would not compromise with the standard of perfection conceived by him.He highlights one aspect of His personality at the expense of others so that Lord Rama's conduct and behaviour,in certain instnces appear inconsistent with His Divine charecter.Such seeming inconsistencies have created misapprehensions amongst the students of Ramayana because their deeper inner significance has been lost sight of.

The story of Ramayana as conveyed over the past centuries ad verbatim is too well known to all Hindus to warrent any repetition.The inner significance of Sri Rama's personality and behaviour and also the metaphysical aspect of Ramayana however merit a more detailed consideration.

Instances of conflicting behaviour of SRI RAMA
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1)Sri Rama leaving His father,King Dasaratha,and going away to the jungle in spite of knowing fully well that His father would not survive the sorrows of his son's exile.
In the above seemingly abnormal behaviour,one should understandThat Rama was only playing the part of an ideal son.In order to emphasise perfection in a son,the sage Valmiki provided an exaggerated environment and situation.Being aware of His father's promise to fulfil the demand of His stepmother,Kaikeyi,Lord Rama demonstrated that the son's duty was to see that his father's promise was redeemed notwithstanding the series of obstacles that confronted him.

2)An Ideal Husband
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The deep devotion and concern displayed by Rama as the ideal Husband when Sita was carried away by Ravana and the tears shed by Him throughout the period of separation have raised the eye brows of many who see in this a mortal human behaviour of One considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.In this behaviour Lord Rama only shows to mortals like us the duty of an ideal husbnd towards his wife and having taken the form of a Human being the Lord goes through the process of normal human behaviour.From that very moment of her abduction ,Rama put forth HIS Super Human efforts to regain His lost wife.Here Rama provides the proof of an illustrious Husband.

3)As Ideal Brother
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The characterof Rama paints a picture of a man of perfection.His role as an ideal brother is very well portrayed in Ramayana in the form of His love towards his three brothers ,His offering the Kingdom to Bharata spontaneously,His asking Sita to plead to Lakshmana for his forgiveness and so on and so forth.

4)Slaying of VALI
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The charges of apparent cowardice levelled against SRI RAMA for His having hidden Himself behind a tree to kill the monkey king Vali while the latter was engaged in a fight with his brother Sugriva is the most criticised portion of the entire Ramayana since time immemorial and hence warrents clarification.

While, in the mundane physical level,the above act of Sri Rama may be explained as the demonstration of His ideal friendship with Sugreeva and to prove that once a friend he was always a friend,this episode has besidesa deeper mystical significance.

Vali,the immoral and vicious brother represents Lust,the lower nature of man.Sugreeva,the moral and virtuous brother,on the other hand,represents man's higher and nobler stature.The story goes that Vali had earned through austerity a boon by which half the strength of his enemy was transferred to him as soon as any enemy confronted him in a battle.Similarly the power of lust becomes invulnerable the moment man comes in contact with the object of lust.The sense objects overpower manand they leave him a helpless victim of temptation.To avoid this and to overcome successfully the disastrous influence of sense objects,man has to stay physicallyfrom such objectsbefore gaining mastery over them.So long as man remains in the midst of sense objects and tries to exercise his self control over them ,he can never be successful.To indicate this great truth,Rama hides behind a tree to physically keep Himself away from Vali,personifying lust,while killing him with an arrow from a distance.

5)As Chivalrous Enemy
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Rama's conduct as a chivalrous enemy is majestically portrayed in the Yuddha Kanta of Valmiki Ramayana,where finding Ravana armless,Rama asks him to go back and come prepared the next day fully armed and also giving ravana ample oppertunities to correct his misdeeds before slaying him as the last resort.When ravana is killed and his brother,Vibishana,hesitates to perform the last rites for Ravana Sri Rama exhibits His own greatness by deciding to do the last rites Himself in place of Vibishana.

6)Testing SITA
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The last act of Rama,before returning to Ayodhya,of asking Sita to enter the fire to prove Her chastity Is considered uncalled for by many even today.This behaviour particularly in the context of Rama's own knowledge of His wife's sanctity is incomprehensible to a layman.Herein Rama shows a King's concern for the need to show to the world His wife's chastity notwithstanding His own knowledge of the same.this is aptly conveyed by Rama through the words of a chinese writer,Lin Yutang,in the English version of the book' The Wisdom Of India
"Never from the time I saw Her in Her maiden days of youth
Have I doubted Sita's virtue,Sita's fixed and challenged truth
I have known Her ever sinless,let the world Her virtue know
For the God of Fire is Her witness to Her truth and challenged vow
Ravana in his pride and passion conquered not a woman's love
For the virtueous like the bright Fire in their native radiance move
Ravana in his rage and folly conquered not a faithful wife
For like the ray of Sun unsullied is a Righteous woman's life
Be the wide world a witness,pure and stainless is my dame
Rama shall not leave His consort till He leaves His righteous fame."

7)Sending away Sita to the forest
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In Rama sending away His consort Sita to the forest in response to the irresponsible prattle of a washerman questioning the chastity of the Queen,the ideal kingship of Rama is personified to the pitch of incredibility.A true King in those days was one,who was accepted by all his subjects,unlike the present system of democracy,which is the rule of the majority.Hence when Rama found even a single dissenting note in the voice of the public,He made the greatest sacrifice in sending His Queen away.This action of Rama,though appears unacceptable by the current standards,potrays the sanctity that rama attached to the accepted standards of ideal kinghood in those days.

8)Agressive Goodness
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A peculiarity noticed in the personality of Lord Rama is that He is seen to be carrying His bow and arrows at all times.The wielding of the bow and of the bow and arrows symbolises His preparedness and strength to maintain peace and justice both within and without.Disturbances may arise out of one's bosom or reach him from the external world.Rama is ever prepared to face such challenges with strength.He is the ideal of 'Agressive Goodness 'as opposed to 'Passive Goodness'.He would not accept anything that is inconsistent with or contrary to morality and righteousness.He stands for righteousness and destroys all that is unrighteous.

Thus one finds in Ramayana a neclace of priceless gems,each gem dazzling with the Divine brilliance of the ideal personality of Lord Rama.

In India,while Valmiki Ramayana in Sanskrit forms the basic trust for any scholarly discussions the one in amil by umban and the one in Hindi by Tulsidas are the ones widely read and chanted by the masses in the South and North regions of the country.Innumerable local linguistic writings and translations are also available and read in the different regions of the country.

The Dharma Sastras have clearly laid that if one cannot study or chant even one sloka in the sacred story of Ramayana,he should atleast once in a year take active part in the festival celebration of the Lord's birthday.By doing so,one cannot help being inspired to emulate the Ideal Personin one's own day to day life.

To conclude,in the metaphysical sense,since Rama functioned in the world outside with a perfectly controlled mind,the result had to be 'RAMA RAJYA'.From such matters wisdom emerges generally from books written by Scholars and Rishis of yore singing the glory of the Lord.When,LAVA and KUSHA,the two Divine OffSprings of Lord Rama and His consort Sita,sang the glory of Rama,they were merely echoing the glory of Reality.Tis the spread of such literature and celebration of festivals like Ramanavami that have sustained the culture of our country.

References
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1)Srimad Ramayana --------------Bhavans Publications
2)Symbolism in Hinduism----------Chinmaya Mission Publication
3)Wisdom Of India-----------------LIN YUTANG
Compiled by------BAIYU MUMBAI----- April 1994.