Seek and Krishna will come to your aid

It is said that the descent of God (avatar) was for the ascent of man and this is best exemplified by the avatars of Rama and Krishna. While in some avatars, God returned after the deed was done—such as Nrisimha and Vamana avatars—in others, He stayed on longer but did not disseminate dharmic principles. For example as Balaram, He did not lay out guiding principles. As Parasuram, when He came on a mission to quell kings, He unified Kerala but again refrained from delving on deeper principles. It is only as the poorana punniya avatar, as Rama and as Krishna, that He showed mankind the principles of living a life in line with God’ s teachings. They came well ahead of their missions and stayed long after the same was accomplished. Rama’s sojourn did not end with Ravana’s death, but He continued to live for many years, showing the way to just and principled governance in public and personal life.

As Krishna, His mission was to vanquish Kamsa, which could have been accomplished on the Ashtami titi, in the midnight hour of His birth. Instead He chose to be smuggled out before Kamsa could reach the jail. He lived the life of an ordinary cowherd. People suspected Him of being a butter thief; he joins a gurukul goes through adolescent and puberty rituals. He kills Kamsa, but stays on in the world, even after his task is complete. He marries Rukmini, holds up the value of simplicity by meeting Kuselar, partaking aval and in turn making him rich. By making Kuselar refuse the wealth if it meant forgetting Krishna, He shows the world what is true and ever-lasting wealth. He then serves the Pandavas as their messenger and turns their Parthasarathy (charioteer) in the bitter war between the cousins, Pandavas and Kauravas. He highlights the importance of Karma yoga.

It is also in this battle that Krishna delivers His direct discourse through the Bhagavad Gita and propagates Bhakti yoga as the way to reach Him. It is enough if a devotee were to offer, ‘Pathiram, pushpam (flowers), palam (fruits) and thoyam (water)’. The water here refers to tears of a devotee. During distressing times, if a devotee were to cry, like gopis and akruras, saying, “Oh Krishna, why did You forget me? How will I overcome this without you?”, and fall at His feet, He will come to the aid of the distressed soul. Seeking His feet is the key to overcoming our trials and tribulations. This is why in Krishna temples, devotees are asked to look at His feet first and gradually look up, ending in His crown. He will help devotees lead a calm life on earth and help them travel the path of dharma in order to attain moksha.   

Devotees throng His temples in Mathura, Brindavan, the Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane, the Krishna temple in Udipi and in Guruvayur. On His Janmashtami, those who think of Him and meditate will find complete inner peace.