Krishna- The most attractive

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Krishna’s birth on Ashtami, the eighth day of a lunar fortnight or the half moon is significant, as it indicates a perfect balance between the visible material world and the invisible spiritual realm. This signifies Krishna’s mastery over realms, the seen and the unseen.

The personality of Krishna is so unique and difficult to fathom. He is simultaneously a great teacher, a spiritual inspiration as well as a politician. On the one hand, he is Yogeshwara (the Lord of Yogas) while on the other hand he is called chit chor, a thief. His behaviour encompasses both extremes and yet he remains a perfect balance of the extremes.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita "People think of me as a physical embodiment. I am not the body; I am the consciousness which is present all over and in everything".
Krishna is the symbol of all possibilities, the total blossoming of all aspects of the human, and the divine.  It’s very difficult to really understand Krishna’s personality. The rishis called him the full embodiment of the divine, the totality, because all that a human could be is in Krishna.

It is said that Krishna used to steal butter. What does this metaphor signify? Butter is the final product of a process: the milk is first made into curd and then only the curd that is well churned becomes butter. Life is also like that. So many events, happenings and instances are churning your life. And as your mind is churned and churned finally the butter comes out, which is the saintliness in you. And Krishna steals the saintliness because he loves this state of mind.

Why does Krishna carry a flute? You know, what you have in your hand indicates what you are inside.  If you have a flower in your hand, it indicates you are like a flower. If you have a flute in your hand, you are like a flute – hollow and empty. Krishna holds a flute and his posture indicates his whole philosophy.

Krishna is the Self of every being and when our true natural self shines through our personality, skills and abundance follow. As Krishna himself says in the Bhagavad Gita, he is the strength in the strong, the wisdom in the wise, the beauty in the beautiful and the dignity in the dignified. He is the very life force in every living being.

And Janmashtami is the day when you enliven that virat swaroop of Krishna in your own consciousness once again.

Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Krishna Janmashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role- of being a responsible citizen of the nation and at the same time to realise that you are above all these roles and events.