This Janmashtami was celebrated in a small and convenient way. This has always happened to me. Never can arrange to celebrate anything properly (according to me) and end up consoling myself by doing it in a ‘convenient’ way! Aaha this word ‘convenient’…O’ Krishna when you were born on eight-day as an eighth child, was it also as per your convenience?
Sorry sorry!! But I am curious!!
But I have learnt, you declared, ‘whenever and wherever there is a decline of righteousness and increase in unrighteousness, I recreate myself from time to time to save and righteous, destroy the unrighteous and preserve dharma’. So, Krishna, you have taken this avatar!
Whenever there is a celebration, besides celebrating in a ‘convenient’ way, I find it interesting to learn many facts associated with the celebration, sometimes that may be through exploring the available resources of my bookshelves. This time, however, has been from the Speaking Tree section of Times of India I have learnt that Krishna avatar is the avatar of ‘Truth’. Bhagwad Gita expounds that the body is a tree, which has 2 fruits, 3 roots, 4 juices, understanding gross aspects through 5 organs, 6 stages, 7 lairs of bark, 8 branches, 9 hollows, 10 leaves. Krishna is the cause of this tree, its creation, preservation and annihilation. Krishna is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.
Keeping aside this complex philosophy or ritualistic part associated with the Janmashtami celebration, I consider Janmashtami very interesting as one festival music repertoire has been evolving around this festival. Besides the ‘devotional song’ genre, the ‘life-cycle’ song genre also in almost every society of India include songs related to the birth of Krishna. Birth of a baby boy is considered as Krishna in a traditional Indian family. So the repertoire generally includes songs about love, affection, emotion, playing and laughing along with devotion.
Hence there are many reasons – to be happy with Janmashtami! To learn with Janmashtami…
