LIVE THE LIFE ETERNAL
(Sri Krishna Jayanti Message)
By HH Shri Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Lovers of Truth,
The Sri Krishna-Janmashtami marks for the spiritual aspirants the dawning of the Higher Life, lifted above the clogging material vestures and psychological veils; it is the symbol of self-transfiguration, both in the macrocosm and the microcosm. 'Krishnastu Bhagavan Svayam' --- Krishna is the Almighty Himself --- is the statement of the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna refers to Himself as the supreme Support, Origin and End of the universe. The Mahabharata exalts Him to the highest perfection conceivable, and depicts Him as the great Ideal for all times. Sri Krishna hails as the representation of the Cosmic Person, the animating Conscious Principle immanent in all things, and yet transcends all things. He is the epitome of the whole evolutionary activity of the cosmos, and portrays in Himself the eternal governing Law which supports the universe, in general, as well as in particular. It is the undying Law that is spoken to the world of relativity, in the language of the individual beings, through the personality of this great representative of Divinity on earth. Sri Krishna stands as the symbol of the Destination towards which humanity is progressing.
ESOTERIC IMPORT
The great epic of life receives meaning from its pre-eminent hero, the Spirit propelling the purposive movement of all Nature, the Absolute God who is not only the Goal of this movement, but the actuating force underlying the current of all progress. The Mahabharata is this grand epic of life, Sri Krishm is the moving Spirit of the Absolute behind it, the Pandavas are the embodiment of virtue, the war is the one that goes on for ever between the lower and the higher urges of life, and the cosmos is the Dharmakshetra, the field of the ultimate victory of righteousness over the impetuosity of the dividing and individualising forces which assert with vehemence the separateness of beings. Krishna working behind the Pandava forces represents Divinity working behind the forces of virtue. Where there is virtue, there is Divinity; where there is Divinity, there is prosperity and success in all undertakings. The Mahabharata says; Yatah Krishnah tato Dharmah Yato Dharmah tato Jayah ---"Where Krishna is, there righteousness is, and where righteousness.is, there victory is."
DESCRIPTION OF KRISRNA
The Mahabharata eulogizes Sri Krishna as the incomparable Being in all the worlds. In the Shanti-Parva it is said: "Yudhishthira saw Sri Krishna seated on a majestic couch decorated with gems and inlaid with gold. He was shining like the blue Clouds. Adorned in celestial ornaments, he was shedding his resplendence on all sides. Wearing a yellow silk robe, he looked like sapphire worked out in gold. The Kaustubha gem on his chest with its lustre cast on his body, looked like the rising sun in the eastern mountain, blue with its rich growth. In short, there was nothing in the three worlds with which this stately Being could be compared."
THE GRAND IDEAL
Sri Krishna taught the ideal of harmony, and Himself exemplified it by personally living it in His own personality. In Him were beautifully harmonised and synthesised the four great paths of Karma, Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana, and He demonstrated to the world the integrated relation that subsists among these varying ways of attainment. It was Sri Krishna who gave a new orientation to the philosophy of Yoga, and made it clear that the practice of metaphysical verities is not confined to the forest-dwelling hermits, but that it is the duty of every human being to be in a state of Yoga, if he is to act rightly as a free individual. It is significant to note that he taught the highest philosophy in the middle of the battlefield, a place teeming with. intense activity, and not in a secluded sylvan hermitage. Life and philosophy are one; to separate them is ignorance, and is the source of bondage. Sri Krishna Himself is an example of this great truth of the unison of spiritual realisation with practical activity. God and man, the Absolute and the relative, are brought together in the unique person of Sri Krishna.
PATTERN OF PERFECTION
It is impossible to understand Krishna unless one rightly understands His Gospel, the Bhagavadgita; and it is difficult to arrive at the true spirit of the Bhagavadgita without understanding the meaning of the manifoldly illustrated life of Sri Krishina. He sported the cosmic life in individual form, displayed the invisible Law of existence in visible acts. His teachings describe what He was and what He did; He is the pattern of perfection, an allround, well-adjusted, able statesman, a master of Yoga, a knower of Truth, a centre of love, a humble servant of humanity.
Krishna exhorts all to be perfect "even as the Heavenly Father is Perfect", to be ever rooted in, the Perfect and carry on the divine work of Lokasangraha. The duty of man is to attune himself to God; all other ties are secondary, and have a value only so long as they serve as aids in the fulfilment of this primary Duty. On the basis of this attunement, man has to act. This is Karma-yoga.
SIGNIFICANCE OF KRISHNA JAYANTI
Beloved Sadhakas! The sacred Sri Krishna-jayanti is really the birth of the Eternal in every heart. It takes place at midnight, when the sense-world is asleep, the mind functions not in the duality-ridden realm, and the personal ego gets buried in an indefinable being. You have to bring about His divine birth in the core of your being, consciously, by withdrawing your senses, stifling the mind and .'Steadying the intellect. Sri Krishna, the eternal Krishna, residing in all, is beheld by that inner eye which is not of the flesh, but made of light and purity. It is the Divya-chakshu, the eye of intuition, which includes and transcends all other processes of knowing, and which is the means to delve into the Higher Spirit in you. You have to develop this new faculty.
Spend the day of Sri Krishna-Jayanti in Japa of the Mantra 'Om Namo Bbagavate Vaasudevaya', study of the Bbagavata and the Bhagavadgita, prayer, worship and meditation. Contemplate on the two aspects of Sri Krishjia, -- the formed and the forrnless -- one known to be spatialised temporal vision and the other realised in non-mediate experience. Sri Krishna is not the name of any human being; it is the appellation of the Absolute cast in the moulds of space-time-causation. Sri Krishna is crystallised Satchidananda. To adore Him and to abide by His Law is to live truly. Strive to reach this Goal, which is life Eternal. May the Supreme Sri Krishna bless you all with wisdom and illuminations!
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