Janama Ashtami

During the despotic reign of king Kangsha the entire Kingdom was under great oppression where fear reigned supreme in every mind. The black shadows of despotism had completed shrouded the entire kingdom heralding an impending doom sooner or later. No one dared to ventilate his grievances to anybody or to any authority. Silence loomed large everywhere, and everybody mutely awaited hoping for a favourable change in their pathetic condition.

Amidst such chaos and confusion, suddenly, a ray of light, harbingering a grain of hope in the minds of dejected and depressed people began to be seen with the birth of Shri Krishna in the prison of King Kangsha in the midnight hour of darkness. With his birth dawned a new era and a ray of hope and expectation surged through every dark corners of the world. The hearts of the naive and innocent inflated with a sense of security and justice and the soft eyes of the sadhus and santas sparkled with supernatural radiation. The name of this messiah was Shri Krishna and his birth anniversary is celebrated as Janma Astami.

Although this incident had occurred more than five thousand years ago it still lingers in the minds of Hindus as fresh as ever, that is why the fun, frolic and devotion of this festival have not diminished till this day.

This festival, not only makes people repose their faith on the personality, character, virtues and advices that Shri Krishna laid before the people as examples but also instills in them energy, bravery and a desire which are very essential for their survival.

Sri Krishna was the son of Basudeo and Deoki. He was like a bright and illuminated pillar under whose guidance the then leaders of the society led the ship of their society through rough waters to a safe harbour of their destination. If today we are living a worthy life than it is all due to the contributions of those wise and worthy ancestors who spared, no pain in framing and setting good examples for emulation by future generations. Remembrance of those ancestors inspires us to move towards a definite destination. Life is a co-existence of body and soul together and to make this life self sufficient and to achieve its fullest development, Shri Krishna bestowed the earth with two important and valuable gems viz. the Cow and the Gita.

Shri Krishna, who was reared in a Cow shed amidst cattle when he was a child was also known as Gopal used to graze calves when he was a child and graze cows when he grew up. He spent his childhood with cowherds and fed himself with milk and milk product

The importance of a cow is unquestionable considering the usefulness of its milk which is proteinous enough to make a man healthy both physically and mentally. Not only that, the excreta of these animals, in enhancing the fertility of the soil and the contribution of oxen in ploughing fields are beyond appreciation. That is why Hindus call cows as "Gau mata". Even the holy veda has extolled a cow as "Gawa biswastha matai" meaning cow is the mother of the universe, equating it with a mother. Because of these unique qualities of the cow, Shri Krishna, even when he was a child, used to perform Goraksha Puja by making Govardhan Parbat of cowdung. That is why to Hinduism.

Srimadbhagwat Gita cow slaughter is banned by Hindus and consider it as a slur is the another gem, that Shri Krishna has given to the world. It is considered as one of the greatest scriptures of the world and is highly acclaimed by the whole ,world. It has been translated into different major languages of the world. Gita, which is considered as a penecca for all diseases, contains detailed explanations for subjects like action, knowledge, devotion etc. and provides answers to all the riddles regarding human life.

Professor Edward J. Thomas of London, famous German writer William Hewold, Prof. of Arabic Pharsi literature Kekhash Rajay dastur, brother of Aurangazeb Darasikoha and many other learned people, both from within and outside India have greatly praised this holy scripture. Mahatma Gandhi was greatly inspired by the teachings of Gita and he always based his activities upon the philosophy of this great scripture. Due to immortal messages and ever relevant teachings and examples of Gita, the Hindus, world over, pay homage and respect to Lord Shri Krishna on Janma astami every year. Because Shri Krishna, to whom the credit of Gita goes, was incarnated as a human being to save humanity and destroy evils. The Divya tila that Shri Krishna performed for eleven years and three months are very ambiguous. If learned and wise men derive intense light and meanings from these lilas, which not only make them wiser but also make the path of their life more bright and clear, the men with unclean heart and impure thoughts, on the other hand, cannot even understand them at all.

After his Divya lila, Shri Krishna confronted Kaurav and other enemies and made Pandavas victorious. He also came out successful in instilling the deadly germ of enmity into yaday dynasty and initiating a fatal feud among them, through the curse of a rishi, which finally resulted in self destruction of Yadav Dynasty. Shrimadbhagwat Gita, in which Shri Krishna has clearly shown the value of good deed, knowledge and contemplation, setting examples through the activities of Arjuna and the Mahabharat, which is capable of leading a man towards his over all development are two valuable books worth reading and emulating. Shri Krishna is the incarnation of Purnapurush Lila he possesses all the six qualities of a God. These I qualities are ashwarya, dharma, yash, shiv a, gyan and bairag. Besides, he also incorporates other virtues like tyag, niti, prem and shorya.

Therefore, it is our prime responsibility to adhere to the teachings of Shri Krishna and celebrate his birth ann.iversary with proper evaluation and appreciation of the numerous examples he set for the entire humanity