Survival of the Holiest

Govindaji Temple, Vrindavana, India.

This fall, if you’re looking for an exciting holiday, look no further than Janmashtami, advent day of Lord Krishna, the ancient Sanskrit name for God. With 930 million Hindus and devotees around the world celebrating, including two million in America, it’s a colorful whirlwind of festivities. Images, or deities, of Krishna and his divine consort Radha are bathed in auspicious liquids, devotional songs are sung with musical accompaniment, sacred texts are read aloud and traditional Indian dance and drama are performed. Finally, tired but happy, celebrants break their day-long fast with a delicious feast at midnight, the exact time that Krishna is said to have appeared.

That’s today. But according to Vaishnavas – Krishna worshippers and members of Hinduism’s largest sect – we must go back five thousand years to find out where it all began.

Krishna and Chaitanya

Krishna’s parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, were imprisoned by the tyrannical ruler Kamsa when a prophecy predicted that their eighth child would kill him. Not wanting to take any chances, the wicked king held them in captivity and slaughtered each child as it was born. The eighth child Krishna however, at his concerned parents’ request, hid signs of his divinity so that they could smuggle him out of jail.

Naturally, being God, Krishna did not need to be rescued. Yet this paradox only serves to highlight a unique quality of Krishna that makes him the most adored deity in Indian spirituality: a son to some, a friend to others, and a lover to still others, he reciprocates every devotee’s love in very human ways.

The celebration of Janmashtami continued on in some form or other since the time of Krishna’s appearance. But it was the Bhakti renaissance, or resurgence of Krishna worship, between the 11th and 16th centuries, that gave birth to the festival as we know it today. This culminated with the appearance of the great saint Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengal in 1486 – a mere six years before Christopher Columbus mistakenly discovered America, thinking it to be India. Revered by Vaishnavas as Krishna Himself, Chaitanya inspired love of God in many and brought attention to the forgotten historical site of Krishna’s childhood activities, Vrindavana.

Krishna worship continued to flourish over the next hundred years as Chaitanya’s immediate disciples, the six Goswamis, carried on his teachings and built many temples.

But then the Muslim regime invaded.

Trials and Opposition

Muslim emperor Aurangzeb had his men destroy the top four floors of the magnificent seven storey Govindaji temple. Other places of worship were similarly attacked. This triggered a mass exodus, and over the next eighty or ninety years, many major deities of Vrindavana were moved to surrounding areas to protect them -- some, like Govindaji, as far as Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Krishna worship faced more opposition in the 19th century, when British Christian missionaries traveled to India with the goal of converting the ‘heathens’. Upon arriving, however, they were amazed at the rich and complex theology that they found. Furthermore, rather than converting to Christianity and replacing what they already had, the Indians, with trademark hospitality, simply included Jesus. Somewhat disappointed at this, the missionaries returned to England. It was their subsequent determination to understand this new mysteriously knowledgeable people, that yielded some of the best indological scholarship in history.

Janmashtami Celebration Spreads

In more recent times, America and the rest of the Western world experienced a strong influx of Indian thought. The 1960s, in particular, saw an abundance of Gurus and holy men peddle their teachings. Standing out from the crowd was A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a monk in the direct line of Shri Chaitanya. Soon he had established hundreds of Krishna temples and introduced the celebration of Janmashtami to the Western world.

At the same time, Indian immigration into the U.S. began again after a lapse of about 40 years, bringing with it a flood of culture and spirituality.

Today, an estimated seven hundred thousand Indian and western pilgrims pour into Mathura, Krishna’s birthplace, every year. Millions around the world celebrate Janmashtami in their homes and temples. And website Krishna.com is gearing up for their second annual online Janmashtami celebration, with art galleries, quizzes, videos, music, stories and festive e-cards.

Five thousand years on from Krishna’s birth, the ancient festival of Janmashtami is still as alive, and still as relevant, in the digital age as it was all those years ago.

Midnight Mystique

Radha-Krishna deities

This fall, carrying on a five thousand year-old tradition, some 930 million people worldwide will celebrate it. Two million in the US will celebrate it, many of them Americans. It’s one of the biggest religious festivals in the world.

So what exactly is Janmashtami all about?

The festival heralds the birth of Krishna, a Sanskrit name for God, who is also well-known as the speaker of the famous Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita. According to tradition, he advented on earth 5,000 years ago in the village of Vrindavana near Agra, India.

"As Christmas fills Christians with a sense of joyfulness and celebration at the divine savior’s appearance in this world, Janmashtami does the same for Hindus," says Vasudha Narayanan, professor of religion at the University of Florida, "—and particularly for devotees of Lord Krishna. So while observance of the festival does include prayer, meditation and fasting, it is also celebrated with much merriment."

Indeed, devotees manage to sandwich endless festivities between their early morning wake-up call and the feast at midnight, when Krishna is believed to have appeared in human form.

A Colorful Culture of Devotion

Activities are plentiful. The images, or deities, of Krishna and his divine consort Radha are clothed in outfits made entirely of flowers. Devotional songs are sung by the congregation. Over one hundred different food dishes are offered to the deity, accompanied by still more jubilant song and music. The deities are then bathed with a variety of auspicious liquids in a kind of ablution ceremony called "Abhisekha".

"This is performed with great pomp," says Dr. Kenneth Williams, Research Fellow of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies in the U.K, "sometimes taking over two hours for the entire procedure. Interestingly, it is very similar to a king’s consecration, which adds a sense of royalty to the festival."

Other rituals vary according to the different Indian regions they originated from. For instance, a Maharastrian custom called ‘Dahi Handi’ involves filling a clay pot with milk, curds, butter, honey and fruits and suspending it twenty to forty feet above the ground. Young men and children then form a human pyramid to reach the pot, break it, and claim their prize. One of the more creative re-enactment methods, this recalls a famous pastime of Krishna, wherein he and his cowherd friends stole milk products hung out of reach by their mothers – other more classic methods include dance, drama and music.

Williams acknowledges the entertainment value of such practices. But, he adds, there’s much more to them. "One might observe of this tradition that the line seems rather blurry between the mundane and the transcendent -- Krishna is depicted as an ordinary child, rather than as an otherworldly being. Yet he is understood to be the Supreme powerful divinity, and so all dance and drama re-enacting his activities are sacred."

A Festival For All

You don’t have to be a deep spiritual thinker, however, to enjoy Janmastami. "Children love this festival," says Abhinav Vivedi, devout Hindu and family man, who fondly remembers a childhood full of Janmastamis in his native Gujarat. "You get to stay up late, and to be involved in so many ways: decorating, making and distributing food, playing different folk music instruments like drums and flutes – or, in my case, making a deafening noise out of them!" He laughs. "It’s fun. It’s joyful."

This joy is so infectious that in India, many adherents of other religions leave their differences behind and join in the festivities. In a 2004 public address, the then Prime Minister of England, Tony Blair, agreed that we should, too. "Janmashtami is a festival that teaches us the values of family, the importance of justice, and the significance of faith. As such it is a festival whose values are shared by all faith traditions."

For those of us who want to share from the comfort of our armchairs, the website Krishna.com prides itself on being among the first to celebrate the 5,000 year-old festival online, with art galleries, quizzes, videos, music, stories and festive e-cards. Luckily, they also list hundreds of Krishna temples throughout the United States. So when September 4 arrives, if you’re feeling enthusiastic, inquisitive or just plain nosy, drop by.

I’ll be the one at the top of that human pyramid.

The Significance of Janmashtami

Krishna reciprocates his devotees' love as a friend

In late August or early September each year, hundreds of millions of Hindus in India and throughout the world celebrate Janmashtami, the birth (in Sanskrit, janma) of Lord Krishna. On our calendar the exact date varies, for Krishna was born, according to the lunar calendar, on the eighth day (astami) after a certain late summer full moon.

Though interpretations vary widely, Vaishnavas, members of Hinduism’s largest sect, revere Krishna as the single, omnipotent, supreme God. According to Vaishnava theology, fifty centuries ago Krishna revealed to the warrior Arjuna the Bhagavad-gita, the "Bible of Hinduism." This famous treatise, dear to intellectuals such as Emerson, Thoreau, Gandhi and Einstein, concisely explains the phenomena of love, stress, self-development, creation and life after death.

"There is no truth superior to me," Krishna asserts in the Gita; "Everything rests upon me as pearls are strung on a thread. I am the source of all material and spiritual worlds. The wise who know this perfectly engage in my devotional service with all their hearts."

Skeptics question how God could be a blue-skinned cowherd such as Krishna, and how, in his divinity, he could be born among human beings. In the Gita Krishna explains that he appears at his own volition, unlike ordinary souls, who are shoved into new bodies due to past sins. Krishna’s benevolent purpose: to protect the good and punish the evil.

Does God Need to be Rescued?

Krishna’s birth does not seem to befit a deity. Before his birth, his imprisoned parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, lost six of their first seven children to Kamsa, their political oppressor. Their eighth son appeared with all the accouterments of Vishnu, the formal deity of God, but shed them at his parent’s request so they could smuggle Him out of jail and save Him.

This superficial contradiction—God almighty needing a rescue—reveals a splendid and unique quality of Krishna: He reciprocates His devotees’ love in very human ways. He is a son to Vasudeva and Devaki, a friend to Arjuna, a lover to the cowherd damsels, a husband to thousands of wives, and more. Sometimes these intimate devotees, entranced with their particular love for Krishna, witness His superhuman actions and slip into a mood of awe. At that time Krishna, forever inundated by supplicating worshipers, extends a spell over these intimate servants to perpetuate their familiar roles. Krishna enjoys their diverse loving moods.

Images of Krishna as the mischievous boy, the romantic dancer or the compassionate friend often confuse the uninitiated. On Janmashtami, however, devotees celebrate Krishna in all of these aspects. For just as Krishna reciprocates individually with His celebrated relatives and confidantes, he responds to the distinct feelings and desires held most deeply in the heart of every single worshiper.

How Devotees Celebrate Janmashtami

Where Vaishnava temples exist, festivities begin before dawn and extend all day until midnight, the exact moment of the anniversary of Krishna’s birth. Events include kirtan, group chanting of Krishna’s names with musical accompaniment, and japa, private, individual chanting. Some devotees cook an enormous feast while others perform drama and dance. Some devotees bathe and decorate the deity of Krishna while others string enormous flower garlands and other decorations for the temple. Incense burns, scriptures are read, and all but the young and the infirm fast all day.

Finally, at midnight, priests pull apart the curtains to reveal the freshly dressed deity of Krishna on a creatively festooned and colored altar. A rousing kirtan ensues. Then, devotees and guests enjoy a lavish, multi-course feast in honor of Krishna’s appearance. The strictly vegetarian dishes comprise a wide variety of grains, fruits, vegetables and milk products, brilliantly combined in an array of succulent savories and sweets.

To devotees, Janmashtami is Christmas and New Year's in one, a day of intense spiritual renewal and celebration that effectively finishes an old year and begins a fresh one. It is a day that recreates the activities of God's abode: a non-stop celebration of love of God through various spiritual activities in the fellowship of like-minded, submissive servants of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Culture

• Krishna appeared on earth roughly 5,000 years ago.
• Devotees are adamant about calling Janmastami an "appearance day" instead of a "birthday," because God comes of His own sweet will rather than being forced to take birth due to karma.
• Janmastami takes place in August or early September, with specifics that vary according to the solar calendar. (The Vedic calendar is lunar)
• Janmastami can also be spelled as "Janmashtami" or "Janmasthami."
• Janmastami is a non-sectarian festival and, especially in India, persons of different faiths often participate in the celebrations.
• Krishna is said to have appeared at exactly midnight. Thus devotees fast until midnight on Janmastami. Then a big feast is had by all.
• Janma means birth and ashtami means eighth day – Krishna was "born" on the eighth day of the lunar fortnight.
• The festival is usually celebrated over two days. The first day is called Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami (Gokula is the town in which Krishna was born). The second is Janmastami proper.
• Devotees cook and offer 108 different food preparations to the Lord at midnight. This number is especially significant: there are 108 Upanishads (Vedic books of learning) and 108 gopis (cowherd devotees of Krishna who assist Him in His earthly pastimes)
• Often, in temples, the deities of Radha and Krishna will be dressed in outfits made entirely out of flowers.
• A public bathing ceremony called "Abhishekha" (meaning "a sprinkling") takes place, wherein the deities of Krishna and His consort Radha are bathed with fruit juices and milk products. Devotees then take a sip of the bathing mixture, which is said to cleanse away sins. The procedure of Abhishekha is very similar to the Vedic procedure for a King’s consecration.
• Other festivities include:
  
  • Devotional singing
  • Full-length dramas detailing the specifics of Krishna’s appearance and activities
  • Reading of sacred texts
  • Traditional Indian dances
  • "Dahi Handi," a ceremony held in certain parts of India, most notably Maharastra. Young men and children form a human pyramid to reach a clay pot filled with butter or curds, break it and claim the prize. This practice evokes Krishna’s famous childhood pastime, wherein He and His cowherd friends stole milk products hung out of reach by their mothers.
  
  
• Krishna also periodically appears in other forms, but Janmastami focuses on His appearance in His original two-armed form as a cowherd boy.
• Although He is God, master of the universe, Krishna prefers to spend His time as a simple cowherd boy. After death, Vaishnavas (devotees of Krishna) aim to join Him in His celestial home of Braj, where they will assist Him in His activites, loving Him, being with Him. This truth is the essential religious spirit found in the hearts of devotees on Janmastami.
• Puranic literature prescribes setting up a diorama of the birth scene to celebrate Janmastami. This would include the divine child in some sort of crib, as well as his mother and father and some other ladies present. The image is then worshipped with arati. The giving of gifts to the divine child is also mentioned. This presents an interesting parallel with Christianity.
• It is also recommended that a couple who want a child themselves worship Krishna, the divine child, on His appearance day.

History

• Krishna appeared on earth roughly 5,000 years ago. However, according to http://www.salagram.net/janmastami-whoisKrishna.html: "Historically, Lord Krishna appeared in the Dvapara yuga, on the midnight of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravan, in Mathura. This corresponds to July 19th in the year 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a little over 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalgun. His departure marks the beginning of the current age of corruption known as Kali." (Various respected sources are cited, including Vedic philosopher Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
• The basic story of Janmastami is: Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki, the cousin of the ruling King Kamsa. It was prophesied that Devaki’s eighth son would kill Kamsa. Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva and killed her children as they were born. Their eighth child, Krishna, appeared with all the accouterments of Vishnu, the formal deity of God. However, He shed them at his parents’ request so they could smuggle him out of jail to Gokul, where he was brought up as the child of the cowherd Nanda and his wife Yashoda at Gokul.
• Most information of Krishna’s activities are garnered from the ancient Vedic texts Hari-Vamsa, Vishnu Purana, Brahma Purana, and most notably, the Bhagavata Purana.
• Krishna is the ultimate paradox: He’s born yet unborn. He’s the ultimate supreme divinity, but he’s also the most intimate supreme divinity. He’s most transcendent, and he’s most imminent. He’s enjoying pleasure activities with the cowherd maidens, and yet he’s on the battlefield with Arjuna.
• While Krishna worship continued on since the time of Krishna’s appearance, there was a Bhakti renaissance, or resurgence of Krishna worship, from the 11th to the 16th century. This culminated with the appearance of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengal in 1486. A great saint who is believed by Vaishnavas to be Krishna Himself, Chaitanya re-established Vrindavana (where Krishna performed most of his pastimes) as a great pilgrimage site and developed Janmastami as it is celebrated today.
• An interesting side fact is that when in 1492, Columbus sailed the blue searching for India and accidentally discovering America, Lord Chaitanya was six years old. (born in 1486)
• Shri Chaitanya’s immediate disciples, the six Goswamis, carried on his teachings, continuing to establish Krishna worship and building many temples in Vrindavana. But then the Muslim regime invaded. The Govindaji temple previously had seven floors but the top four were destroyed by Muslim emperor Aurangzeb. Over a span of eighty or ninety years, major deities of Vrindavana were moved in bullock cars by their priests to outlying areas to protect them. Some, like Govindaji, as far as Jaipur in Rajasthan.
• Krishna worship faced another threat when in the 19th century, British Christian missionaries traveled to India, with the goal of converting the "heathens." Upon arriving, they were amazed at the rich and complex theology that they found. Furthermore the locals, rather than converting to Christianity and replacing what they already had, with trademark Indian hospitality, just included Jesus. Somewhat disappointed at this, the missionaries returned to England, and began indological scholarship.
• Krishna’s Janmasthan (birthplace) is still preserved in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh, India), commemorated by the Katra Keshava Deo temple. (http://us.makemytrip.com/indiabest/pilgrimage-mathura.htm)
• It is estimated that on Janmastami, almost seven hundred thousand pilgrims pour into Mathura and surrounding towns. http://indiafairs.dgreetings.com/indian/festivals/janamashtami/janamashtami.htm
• Many holy places and temples commemorating different activities of Krishna’s earthly appearance still exist all over India, particularly in Vrindavana and Mathura.
• Recently, in the 1960s, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a monk in the direct disciplic line of Shri Chaitanya, brought his teachings, and the Janmastami festival, to America and the Western world.
• At the same time – post 1965 – Indian immigration into the U.S. began again after a lapse of about 40 years, and of course they brought their culture with them. (US Federal Census Department)
• There are now about 930 million Hindus in the world. Some 560 million of these are Vaishnavas. (See "The Hindu Community")
• There are 2 million Hindus in the US. (See "The Hindu Community")
• Now, this ancient 5,000 year old festival has been brought into this modern age of technology and is being celebrated online at Krishna.com.

Significance

• Vaishnavas revere Krishna as the single, omnipotent, supreme God.
• According to Vaishnava theology, fifty centuries ago Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita (literally meaning "Song of God"), known as "the Bible of Hinduism" to the warrior Arjuna. It covers many topics, including love, stress, self-development, creation and life after death.
• In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna explains why He appears: "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself."
• A unique quality of Krishna is that he reciprocates his devotees’ love in very human ways. He is a son to Vasudeva and Devaki, a friend to Arjuna, a lover to the cowherd damsels of Vrindavana, a husband to thousands of wives, and more. This fact, that he responds to the distinct feelings and desires held most deeply in the heart of every single worshipper, makes him most loved as a deity.
• There are various different meanings given for the name "Krishna": Steven J. Rosen’s "Hinduism" cites the literal Sanskrit meaning: "black" or "dark blue." Vedic Scriptures and oral tradition also define the word as "all-attractive." And several other sources also explain that the root "kr" indicates "existence" and the syllable "na" indicates "bliss." (http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/mar96/0128.html)

The Hindu Community

Population

• There are 930 million Hindus worldwide, most of whom would celebrate Janmastami in some capacity.
• According to the 1996 Britannica Book of the Year, there are some 560 million Vaishnavas worldwide. Vaishnavism claims the largest number of followers among the various sects in India.
• There are 2 million Hindus in the US. (According to the Hindu American Foundation)
• After a large Hindu migration to America at the turn of the 20th century, there was a 40 year lapse. Indian immigration into the U.S. then began again post 1965, and of course they brought their culture with them.

Professional

• More than 87% of Indians in America have completed high school while at least 62% have some college education. As much as 58% of Indian Americans over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
• High levels of education have also enabled Indian Americans to become a productive segment of the U. S. population, with 72.3% participating in the work force.
• Of these work force participants, 43.6% are employed in managerial and professional specialties.
• Two Indian Americans - Har Gobind Khorana of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and late Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar of University of Chicago - have been awarded the Nobel Prize, in medicine and physics respectively.
• Some successes are well known, such as Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and Sabeer Bhatia, who founded HotMail and sold it to Microsoft for $400 million. The number of Indian American New Economy millionaires is in the thousands. Massachusetts' Gururaj Deshpande, co-founder of a number of network-technology companies, is worth between $4 billion and $6 billion.

History

• Prior to 1965, Hindu immigration to the US was minuscule and isolated. In those earlier days, traders were primarily the only ones who bothered to set foot in the USA.
• The Bellingham Riots in Bellingham, Washington on September 5, 1907 epitomized the low tolerance in the USA for Indians and Hindus. Despite such events, they continued to work and stay until the Immigration and Nationality Services (INS) Act of 1965 was passed.
• This opened the doors to Hindu immigrants who wished to work and start families in the United States. It included preachers as well, who spread awareness of the religion among a people that had little contact with it.
• In September of 1965, an elderly Indian sadhu named A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada arrived in New York. After a short time, he acquired a troupe of followers, and founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Other Indians of a Hindu faith, such as Chinmoy and Maharishi, started preaching missions that inspired many Americans to accept a Hindu belief system. Today, the most visible of the Hindu preachers appear to be those who sing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, i.e., the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, as well as other Vaishnavas, and those of a Shaivite faith. Today, numerous sadhus and Gurus live in or visit the United States.
• Many Hindu communities exist, from close knit communities of mainstream Hindus living near one another, to planned communities such as Vedic City, Iowa, and several farm communities owned by ISKCON.

Hindu Temples in United States

• Many Hindu temples were constructed in United States. They are very popular with the Indian-American communities in the country. Prominent temples include The Hindu Temple near Malibu, California. Built in 1981 and located in Calabasas, it is owned and operated by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California.

Status

• The Hindus of America in modern times enjoy both de jure and de facto equality under the laws of the United States. Generations of Hindus, both of South Asian, as well as European ancestory, have lived and worked in the USA, raising families, buying homes, and making roots, rendering their culture and spirituality an integral part of the multi-faceted diamond that is the American Experience.

Awareness

• Hinduism being a minority religion, there is little awareness about it among the general public. Many misconceptions, stereotypes exist and are sometimes further perpetrated by otherwise responsible entities (such as schools, school books, encyclopedic articles). It is widely perceived in America as a polytheistic religion with caste and worship of the cow as its defining features. Those familiar with the religion will note that it is not polytheistic, worship of the cow is rare and that the caste system is over-emphasised and exaggerated in the American conscience.

Scholarship

• Hinduism studies in American Universities has been under the spotlight recently for its shoddy scholarship. With the increasing Hindu population in the country, gross errors & misrepresentations that may have passed through easily before are being caught and highlighted. An influential figure in the academy, Wendy Doniger, Professor of History of Religions, University of Chicago, has come under severe criticism for her work and that of her students.

Images

The images below are available for use by the press. Please send your name, the name of your publication, and your publication's address to our permissions manager at sri@bbt.org, and we will send you a permissions form to sign. We will then supply you with the username and password for a website from which you can download high quality versions of the images.

For any other Janmashtami related queries, please contact krishna.com.press@gmail.com.

Download this image