Janmashtami - the journey towards Oneness

It is Janmashtami today. The day on which the Complete Avatar of Lord Narayana was born as Little Krishna as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Krishna, if we go through the puranas, is everything. He is a good son, a brother, a friend, a lover, a protector, a destructor, a messenger, a statesman… and what not! Having the constrains of a living being, we try to limit Krishna or can only view Krishna at times as per our perception or state of mind. The fact is that Lord Krishna, the Supreme God, is beyond all space and time.

For Radha, Lord Krishna is her lover. She wants to be with him always and never wants to get separated from him. But, we can see sad Radha experiencing the pain of separation a lot.

The Mohiniyattam video clip by the renowned dancer Dr. Neena Prasad that is attached here depicts such a situation from Ashtapathi beautifully. Radha cannot suffer the pain of separation. She is imagining that her Lover is spending his time with his some other lover. She tells Sakhi about the leelas that her beloved Krishna is going through with his lover.

Radha says, "Hei Sakhi, Krishna is turning the face of a lady, in whom fervor goes on increasing, for a kiss. Like the deer mark in moon, he with his lips is creating a mark with musk on her face. She thrills... Such is the act of Krishna presently on the sand dunes and in the groves of Yamuna River”!

"Krishna who is like a cloudscape, is decorating Kuruvaka flower. It is glittering, in the braid of a beauty, in the forest where the god of love creeps around”.

Also Read >> Prof. Kalamandalam Leelamma - Memories that never fade. ( a Tribute )

"When the plougher's brother is immersed in the lovely moments with another girl, deceived by her magnetic eyes, why should I pointlessly wait inside the cottage here for a long period... Tell me, sakhi”.

When Radha feels Krishna is away from her, different thoughts comes to her senses and it begins to control her. But is Krishna far from her actually? No! But when the distractions comes to her mind, she feels the nearness of the Sakhi rather than her Lord. In-fact none is far away from Krishna or the Supreme Power if their mind is always focused. But when they fall into the maya, they undergo pains and sufferings. Draupathi, in Mahabharatha is before us too. Krishna was never far from her. But during the Vasthrakshepam of her in Court, he comes to save her only when she remembers him with ultimate focus.

The concept of Sakhi can be read as the childishness or the presence of maya or illusion. It is seen that, when Radha is with Krishna, she is not concerned about Sakhi. If ones mind is fully focused in the God, they are never separate from that power and they are never fallen into the maya. It is the Oneness with the ParaBrahmam. Each life is a journey for it. The Moksha or Liberation!

May Lord Krishna reside in you on this propitious Janmashtami.

Also Read >> Prof. Kalamandalam Leelamma - Memories that never fade. ( a Tribute )

Written by
Nambiar Sooryavamsha Kshathriya

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