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.
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."
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.