Krishna Janmashtami Celebration

Shravan vad 8 celebrates the birth of Lord Shri Krishna, one of the most venerated incarnations in the Hindu Dharma. Five thousand years ago, he incarnated, at the end of the third cosmic phase, 'Dwapar Yuga' and the beginning of the present, 'Kali Yuga'.

Purpose of Incarnation
In the Gita (4/78) the Lord has ordained:
"Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharat;
Dharma sansthaapanaarthaaya sambhaavami yuge yuge."
i.e. I incarnate whenever Dharma declines and evil predominates, to establish Dharma and vanquish evil.
In the Bhavishyottara Puran Shri Krishna himself extols the celebration of Janmashtami to Yudhishtir, the eldest of the five Pandavas.
He incarnated in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) to vanquish the evil King Kansa and other evil elements who were harassing pious people. His second reason was to fulfil the pledge he had given to Vasudev and Devki. When they married Kansa heard a divine proclamation that the couple's eighth son would be his nemesis. To obviate this, Kansa imprisoned the couple and killed the first seven sons born to Devki. When Shri Krishna was born Vasudev placed him in a cradle and took the baby child through the river Yamuna. Thus the Lord survived and eventually vanquished Kansa and other evil elements.

Festival Sentiments
The first importance of Janmashtami is to observe dharma. Since we humans are all imprisoned in samsara, the Lord incarnates in this prison with us, establishes dharma and redeems us from maya. We can only win over maya if we seek the Lord's aid, as did Arjuna during the battle of Mahabharat. As sage Ved Vyas ordains:
"Yato Krishnastato dharmaha, Yato dharmastato Jayaha."
i.e. Where there is krishna, there is dharma, where there is dharma, there is victory. Since Duryodhana, leader of the Kauravs did not observe dharma, he did not have Krishna. No Krishna, no victory.

Surrenderance - 'Sharnaagati'
During the battle Shri Krishna uttered 700 shloks in the form of the 'Bhagvad Gita' to convince the reluctant Arjun to fight. The Lord finally uttered the essence of his sermons in the following verse (18/66):
"Sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam sharanam vraja,
aham twaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa shuchaha."
i.e. O Arjun! Forsake all your personal beliefs and surrender to me. Do not lament for I shall deliver you from all sins.
Therefore a true spirit of Janmashtami is for devotees to implicitly surrender at the Lord's lotus-feet, while staunchly observing dharma.

Ideal Devotee
In the Gita (18/54), the Lord stipulates:
"Brahma bhootaha prasannaatmaa na shochati na kaankshati,
Samaha sarveshu bhuteshu madbhaktim labhate param."
i.e. One who becomes 'Brahmarup' and offers devotion to Parabrahma (God), he forever remains blissful and attains the highest glory of God. 'Brahmarup' simply means to become the ideal devotee like Arjun who represents 'Nar' to then worship Krishna - Narayan. Hence the murtis of Nar-Narayan. Similarly, Shri Krishna played the 'Maha Raas' traditional (stick folk dance) with the Gopis of Vrundavan because of their unalloyed love for him. Radha was the foremost among them. Therefore devotees should develop 'Gopi-bhav', to become Radha-rup (like Radha) to worship Shri Krishna. Hence devotees everywhere also consecrate murtis of 'Radha-Krishna' in mandirs, worshipping the Lord with his consort or choicest devotee.
In addition to such surrenderance, how should the devotee strive to attain 'Gopi-bhav' to please the Lord?

Satsang
In the Srimad Bhagwat (11/12/1,2), Shri Krishna himself propounds 'Satsang', which is another important principle in celebrating Janmashtami
"I am not as pleased by endeavors such as: Yoga, Sankhya, scriptural study, austerities, renunciation, altruistic social deeds, donation, fasting, yagna, study of Vedic scriptures, observance of the laws of Dharma and Yama (part of yoga), as I am by Satsang."
'Satsang' means associating with a God realised Sadhu. This was exemplified by King Parikshit when he was cursed to die in seven days, by surrendering to Shukdevji, who was a God-realised sadhu.

Finally, after Shri Krishna's departure from earth, how did the Lord continue his manifestation? This question was posed by Shaunak and other rishis to Suta Purani (in the Bhagwat). He replied, "Dharma resided in the Lord's true sadhu who is the true beholder of Dharma." In the Bhagwat, Shri Krishna supports this when he revealed to Uddhavji: "O Uddhav! You are not any the lesser than me." Thus the Lord revealed Bhagwat Dharma to Uddhavji and since then propagated it through him. The true spirit then, in celebrating Janmashtami is for devotees to do Satsang through the Satpurush who is the beholder of Bhagwat Dharma - in order to realize God within.

Festival & Rituals

• People fast on this day, usually a waterless fast.
• They spend the day immersed in Shri Krishna's glory by reading, reciting and singing his divine leela especially in the evening in mandirs.
• At midnight, the Lord's birth hour, arti is performed. He is also installed in the form of 'Lalji' (child form) in a swing and devotionally offered many sumptuous food dishes. 'Makhan' (butter) is especially included since Shri Krishna loved this in childhood. The traditional prasad is 'Panchajiri' - made of five ingredients: powdered ginger, 'suva', coriander, sugar and ghee. Other ingredients include poppy seeds (khaskhas) and dessicated coconut shavings.
  
  After arti, devotees jubilantly sing and hail kirtans extolling the Lord's incarnation:
  
• "Nand gher anand bhayo, Jai Kanaiyalal ki ..
  Hathi, ghoda, palkhi, jai Kanaiyalal ki …"
• "Bawa Nand tane darbar, nobat vaage re lol …
  Hari pragatya taaranhaar, nobat vaage re lol…"

KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI

Krishna Janmashtami (Lord Krishna's Birth day) (Devanagari कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी kṛṣṇa janmāṣṭami), also known as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, Sree Jayanti or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna, an avatar of the god Vishnu.^[1]
Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadra in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra is ascendant. The festival always falls within mid-August to mid-September in the Gregorian calendar. In 2010, for example, the festival was celebrated on 2 September, and in 2011 on 22 August in North India and on 21 August in South Indian states like Kerala.^[2]
Rasa lila, dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, are a special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur. While the Rasa lila re-creates the flirtatious aspects of Krishna's youthful days, the Dahi Handi celebrate God's playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a high-hanging pot of butter and break it. This tradition, also known as uriadi, is a major event in Tamil Nadu on Gokulashtami.

In Maharashtra

Jay Bharat Seva Sangh (Lower Parel) forming human tower to break the Dahi handi

Govinda Pathaks forming human tower to break the Dahi handi

See also: Govinda sport

Janmaashtami, popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi, is celebrated with enormous zeal and enthusiasm. The handi is a clay pot filled with buttermilk that is positioned at a convenient height prior to the event. The topmost person on the human pyramid tries to break the handi by hitting it with a blunt object. Mostly nariyal (coconut) is preferred being a sign of purity, truth etc. in Hinduism. When that happens the buttermilk is spilled over the entire group, symbolizing their achievement through unity. Handis are set up around the city, and groups of youngsters, called Govinda Pathaks, travel around in trucks trying to break as many handis as possible during the day.
Many such Govinda Pathaks compete with each other, especially for the handis that dole out hefty rewards. The event, in recent times, has gathered a political flavor, and it is common for political parties and rich community groups to offer prizes amounting to lakhs of rupees.
Some of the most famous handis are at Dadar, Lower Parel, Worli, Mazgaon, Lalbaug, Thane and Babu Genu, Mandai in Pune.^[3]
Cash and gifts are offered for Govinda troops to participate; for over 4,000 handis in Mumbai, 2,000 Govinda troops compete for the prizes.

In Manipur

Janmaashtami, popularly known in Manipur as Krishna Janma, is a significant festival celebrated at two temples in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. The first festival is at the Govindaji temple and the second is at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple. Devotees of Lord Krishna gather mostly at the ISKCON temple.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

In Karnataka, Madhwas , Iyengars and Srivaishnavas, and Smarthas make elaborate preparations for the festival. The idol of Lord Krishna is placed in a decorated mantapa. Bhakshanam , that are specially prepared for the festival, are offered to Lord Krishna along with fruits and are considered to be his favourites. In some parts of Karnataka, chakli, avalakki and bellada panaka are prepared especially for the festival. Hand made avalakki is prepared in memory of Krishna's friend Sudhama. Legend has it that Sudhama had once offered avalakki to Krishna, as it was considered to be one of his favourite snacks. Gamaka vachana and other devotional activities are held in the evening.
=== Among Vadakalai Iyengars – The Pancaratra tradition is followed by Shri Ahobila Mutt, Munitraya tradition by Srirangam Srimadh Andavan Ashramam along with some other acharya purusha families, and the Mannar tradition is followed by Sri Parakala Mutt. It is named after one mannAr svAmi of unknown date who is the first extant authority arguing for this calculation. The tozhappar tradition is named after Sri Vaidika Sarvabhauma Swami, also known as Kidambi Thozhappar, who wrote a detailed text establishing the reasoning behind his tradition.^[4]
The Thenkalai iyengars adhere to the Vaikhanasa tradition.

In North India

In Uttar Pradesh where the lord was born in Mathura, his play ground Gokul and Vrindavan become more crowded and celebrations go up to a week. In Gujarat where the city Dwarka has Dwarkadhish temple celebrates it with pomp and joy.In Jammu,kite flying is an important part of the celebration on his day.^[5]
In the eastern state of Orissa, around Puri and West Bengal in Nabadwip, people celebrate it with fasting and doing puja at midnight. Purana Pravachana from Bhagavata Purana are done from the 10th Skandha which deals with pastimes of Lord Krishna. The next day is called Nanda Utsav or the joyous celebration of Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda Maharaani. On that day people break their fast and offer various cooked sweets during the early hour.

Outside India

An image of Bala Krishna displayed during Janmashtami celebrations at a Swaminarayan Temple in London

Krishna Janmashtami is considered as Appearance of Lord Krishna, and the first ever elected government official in the world to issue Proclamations for celebrating Janmashtami is credited as Janet Napolitano ^[6][7][8] followed by others^[9][10][11]

Janmastami vow

Sri Krishna taught us Karma Yoga. He strongly dictated in Gita that a man is bound to get the fruits of his actions. If he has done good actions/deeds throughout his life, he will get good results. The real meaning of Janamashtami vow is to become Karamyogi like Krishna. One should always follow the right path and never tolerate injustice. Karma yoga is action (karma) performed without expectations or thought of reward. This selfless service of karma yoga is the path by which the mind is most quickly purified and its limits transcended. The karma yogi works hard, both physically and mentally. He seeks to eliminate the ego and its attachments, to serve humanity without expecting rewards, and to see unity in diversity . This enables him to tune to the one underlying divine essence that dwells within all beings. Karma yoga is most suitable for people who have an active temperament. It involves working in the world and giving of oneself in a selfless way. The real essence is to become a selfless Karamyogi.
All advices and sermons Sri Krishna laid down in Gita, every word that he uttered, whether he was talking of Yoga or of stable genius (sthitaprajna), wisdom, always gave inspiration to fight and propelled them against the injustice. The perishability of the body, immortality of the soul, concentration of the mind, and undisturbed equanimity, calm and peaceful disposition of mind – all was to be described and explained in detail by Krishna so that Arjun, caught in the bewitching trap and completely at his wit's end should pick up his arms and pounce upon injustice, otherwise all these utterances were unnecessary right at the beginning of the war of Mahabharata, certainly not so important as to attract the attention of a magnanimous personality like Krishna.
"Dear devotees of Krishna, let us take a pledge today, let us make a resolution that we will not allow even advertently any blemish to defame the noble life of that spotless, innocent, virtuous and realized soul. Let us follow the footsteps of the ideals of great people." Following are the words of Krishna

yad yad acarati shresthasthat devetaro janah

sa yat pramam kurute lokas tadanuvartate

This is thus the preaching of life and the simple solution of finding happiness, peace and prosperity in life.^[12]

Street Plays

Every year for the past few years, several thousand teams of youth perform street plays on occasion of Janmashtami worldwide. These are youth inspired by Pandurang Shastri Athavale, of the Swadhyay Pariwar, to take the message of Krishna. Parallel to the work that Lord Krishna has done by spreading positive, strong values and thoughts in soceity, these youth want to take the powerful thoughts of the Gita in society through the medium of a play around the week of Janmashtami.

Raksha Bandhan--Thread of Protection bond

Raksha Bandhan--Thread of Protection bond

आज रक्षा-बंधन के त्यौहार के उपलक्ष पर हम दोनों (सिमरन और हेमा) यह सयुंक्त पोस्ट सभी भाई-बहनों को समर्पित करते हैं.  जैसा की सभी जानते है कि इस त्यौहार में बहन का अपने भाई की कलाई पर राखी या पवित्र धागा (डोरी) बंधना शामिल है.  यह त्यौहार बहन के प्यार और उसके भाई की भलाई के लिए बहन की प्राथना और भाई का अपनी बहन को बदले में दिए गए उसकी रक्षा करने का उसकी आजीवन रक्षा करने का व्रत का प्रतिक है. बहन भाई को तिलक लगा कर उसकी आरती कर भाई की लम्बी उम्र और उसकी उन्नति की कामना करती है. भाई-बहन परंपरागत एक दुसरे को उपहार देते है और एक दुसरे को खूब मिठाइयाँ खिलाते है. छोटे भाई बड़ी बहनों के और छोटी बहन बड़े भाइयों के पैर छू कर आशीर्वाद लेते है. भाई-बहन एक दुसरे के लिए मंगल कामनाएं करते है.

Today, on the day of Raksha Bandhan (An Indian festival which celebrate the relationship between brothers and sisters) we (Simran and Hema) dedicated this combined post to all Brothers and Sisters. As we all know that this festival involves the tying of a rakhi (sacred/holy thread) by a sister on her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her. By putting Tilak on brother's forehead and doing Aarti to him sisters prayer for his long life prayers and wishes of his progress. The brother and sister traditionally offer presents to each other and feed lots of sweets to one another. Little Brother/Sisters take blessings from their Big Sisters/Brothers by touching their foot. Brothers and Sisters wishes for prosperity and well being of each other.

इस पर्व पर हमने एक-एक कविता लिखी है...

  

We have written 1-1 Poem each on this festival....

पहली  कविता---एक छोटी बहन (सिमरन) द्वारा अपने बड़े भैया के लिए लिखी गयी कविता

The first poem---a younger sister (Simran) poem written for her Big Brother.

"मेरा  भैया मुझे सबसे प्यारा है. मुझे किसी चीज की फिक्र नहीं होती जब भैया मेरे पास होता है. हमारे बीच और भाई बहनों की तरह लड़ाई नहीं होती और अगर होती है तो प्यार की लड़ाई."

"My Big Brother is my world best brother. There is nothing to worry about anything if he is with me...he take care of me.. There are no fight between us like otherbrothers and sisters and if there is one then that one would be little love fight."

RAKSHA BANDHAN

My giggles and your face with a charm,

Whenever you hold me in your protective arms,

Secretly I become calm...

My little eyes searching for you !!

Bhaiya...Bhaiya ..

Where are you?

My Incomplete sleep without your lullaby,

I still remember those moments ..

When my eyes were filled with tears whenever you said ''BYE'' !

My happiness expanded your smile,

When you hold my little hand ;

And I was taking step on those slippery tiles,

But your hand in my hand assured me that nothing could go wrong;

 even for a while!

 

My sad face on failure and your hand on my back encouraged me so wide,

That you inspired and taught me to walk on miles,

In this journey of covering miles,

You promised to protect me and do not leave aside,

I embraced you with a thread of love and wishes besides,

I have got God's angel as you my brother,

You're my valley,

You're my harbor,

You're my path,

You're my lane,

You're my angel,

You're my Brother  ..

-Simran 

On this holy festival of brothers and sisters we wish Very Very Happy Raksha Bandhan to all brothers and sisters) 

दूसरी  कविता---एक सबसे बड़ी बहन (हेमा) द्वारा अपने दोनों छोटे भाइयों के लिए लिखी गयी कविता

The second poem---an eldest sister (Hema) poem written for her two younger brothers

"मैं हम तीन भाई-बहन में सबसे बड़ी हूँ. हम तीनो में उम्र का ज्यादा अंतर नहीं है. एक भाई मुझसे 1 साल छोटा है तो दूसरा 3 साल. लगभग हमउम्र होने के कारण अक्षर हम लड़ते-झगड़ते रहते है पर इसका मतलब यह नहीं की हमारे बीच प्यार नहीं....बस हम एक-दुसरे को अपना प्यार जाहिर नहीं करते. पर जानतें है कि हम एक-दुसरे के बिना नहीं रह सकते. मन ही मन एक-दुसरे को प्यार करते हैं....बस यही कुछ मैंने अपनी कविता में कहने की कोशिश की है....."

"I am the Eldest Sister among three of us. The three of us is not much difference in age. I have two brothers--one brother 1 year younger and the other is 3 years younger than me. Because of almost similar age we fight a lot- but it doesn't mean that there no love between us .... we just do not show our love for each other. But we know that one can not live without other. We kept our love for each other in our heart..... that's something I have tried to say in this poem....."

                                   रक्षा-बंधन

लड़ते झगड़ते युहिं एक साथ रहते हो गए हम बड़े

कभी सहमत तो कभी किसी बात पे एक साथ अड़े

माना है दो फूल अलग अलग रंग के एक ही डाली के

पर फिर जुड़े है कहीं क्यूंकि सींचती है हमें एक जड़े

गुली डंडा खेल में कभी मैं जीती तो रोये

कभी केरम में तुम जीत कर खूब खुश होए

बेफिक्र थी वो उम्र दोनों की हमने कितने मौसम साथ बिताये

बारिश में कागज़ की कश्ती तैराई तो कभी तेज़ धुप में दिन बिताये

माँ की मार और पिता की चपत पर सहमे एक दूजे को एक-टुक निहार घूरा

तो कभी दुसरे पे लगती हलकी सी डांट से खुश हो कर मुह बना बनाकर छेड़ा

एक-दूजे को अजीबो-गरीब नामो का दिया पिटारा

कभी दुसरे के गिरने पर दिया उसे सप्रेम सहारा

इस दुश्मनी और प्यार के रिश्ते को और मज़बूत किया एक पर्व ने

इस रिश्ते की गहराई समझी जब हमने तो हमको भाव-विभोर किया गर्व ने

अभी और हैं मंजिले पानी अभी और है समझना सही से हमें एक दूजे को

अभी तक साथ रहकर लड़ते रहे अभी जुदा हो के भी प्यार करना है एक दूजे को

मानती हूँ तंग हो परेशान भी होते हो तुम मुझसे और मेरी बेकार की मनमानियों से

पर अब कुछ साल ही है बाकी चली जाउंगी जल्द ही इस घर और इन गलियों से

उम्मीद है यह प्यार और बढेगा अब फिर से न होंगी कोई बड़ी लड़ाई

जब भी आया करुँगी राखी के पावन पर्व पर नहीं लगूंगी तुमको पराई

दुनिया वाले क्या जाने इस लड़ाई-झगड़ो की प्यारी दुश्मनी में है कितना प्यार छिपा

तुम्हारे हाथो पे बंधी यह डोरी के हर धागे के संग है कितने सालों का प्यार लिपा

यह रक्षा-बंधन का पावन पर्व युही आता रहे

हर डोर से हमारे प्यार को गहरा करता रहे

~'~hn~'~

~'~hn~'~

(रक्षा-बंधन के पावन-पर्व पर सभी भाई-बहनों को हमारी तरफ से रक्षा-बंधन की बहुत बहुत शुभकामनाएं )