Janmashtmi holds special significance for a spiritual practitioner as on this day it is the easiest to access the energy of Krishna for anyone who is following the path shown by him through a guru. Lord Krishna, is the energy of the Preserver, to protect Dharma. That is the purpose of an avatar.
Here I would like to emphasise that Dharma is not same as religion, there being no synonym for Dharma in the English language. Dharma is the lifeline of creation, that which keeps it going. The dharma of sun is to provide light and heat to earth. The dharma of tree is to purify the environment, provide shade and food. The dharma of a human being is to protect the weak, to ensure no creature in the vicinity goes without food, to raise a voice against cruelty. Today man has forgotten his dharma. Crime is at its peak, there animals -- dogs and cows and monkeys -- that are dying hungry.
To quote an example - Recently, in a posh market of Delhi, a pregnant cow was injured and was bleeding profusely. A volunteer at our ashram, spotted the cow and asked the people around to help, not one came. He made some calls and arranged for a pick up van; still nobody was willing to lend a hand to even put the injured animal into the truck. Finally, the cow died and so did her unborn baby…You visit that market right now, you will find the shops and streets decorated with confetti, hawkers have laid out stalls selling idols of baby Krishna since Janmashtmi is round the corner.
Krishna was the saviour the weak and stood up against evil. He has been called Gopala in our texts. Devotees can be seen purchasing flowers and mukuts to decorate the idols and temples, and making arrangements for ‘VIP’ darshan in mandirs…yet not one came up to save the dying animal.
If you wish to express Bhakti to Krishna, then you should do walk the path shown by him. There is nothing which will please him more than this, for he aimed at general upliftment of the poor, saving the weak, animals or women/men, or saving the environment.
If you are not doing the chosen works of your Isht devas, then just going to religious places and decorating them with flowers and singing songs, when the exteriors are dirty and there are hungry animals and humans just outside and atrocities are being committed on them, I can assure you, will get you nowhere. Even if you get a VIP darshan or get to decorate your favourite temple with flowers or golden mukuts...no matter how amazing your VIP darshan was, it is fruitless.
This quote is by Yogi Ashwini, the guiding light of Dhyan Ashram. Mail queries to dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com
Have a spiritual message? Mail it to us at inbox@dnaindia.net in less than 250 words.
