HOLY DAYS THAT AMERICA’S HINDUS CELEBRATE
Krishna Jayanti
Birthday
of the God of Divine Love
Krishna, the preeminent incarnation of God Vishnu,
lived life to the fullest.
He
had divine wisdom, charisma and power, but He also enjoyed mischief,
games
and the company of His beloved Radha. He was the protagonist in
an
epic war, inspiring by speech and example. Above all, He is known for loving
every
living being, for He is every one of them. It is His extraordinary life that
Hindus
celebrate in this birthday festival of fasting, devotion, drama and games.
Who is Krishna?
Born
in a royal family, Krishna was the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. He is the
noble
philosopher, born to relieve this world of all evil. He is the divine child
who
brings laughter, love and beauty into life. He is the celestial charioteer
whose
discourse on dharma to the warrior
Arjuna is the heart of the
Bhagavad
Gita. He is the all-knowing Deity
at whose feet devotees lay their
troubles.
To chant “Krishna Arpanam” is to offer everything in complete surrender
to
Him with full faith that He will take care of it. It is said that in a
grand,
cosmic leela, or play, He creates illusions around us to catalyze
learning
and
realization. Killed by an arrow as He slept in a fi eld of grass, He left this
Earth
at the end of the Dwapara Yuga, and upon His death some 5,000 years
ago
our present era began.
What is Krishna
Jayanti?
Jayanti
means birth, and Krishna Jayanti is the
Lord’s birthday. The festival
is
also called Krishna Janmashtami, indicating His birth on the eighth day
of
the waning moon in the month of Shravana (August/September).
What do people do
on Krishna Jayanti?
Anticipating
the birth of the divine child, devotees prepare their home shrines with
images
of Krishna decorated with fl owers (particularly tulsi) and lavishly adorned
with
jewels. The whole house is made festive with rangoli
designs, lights and fragrant
flowers
festooning doorways. The discipline is to fast during the previous
day
and keep an all-night vigil. Families and communities sing and dance late into
the
night as bards recall Krishna’s youthful antics, His passionate love for Radha
and
His precious teachings. At midnight, the time He was born, a statue of the
infant
Krishna
is bathed, dressed in new clothes, placed in a cradle and worshiped
in
an elaborate puja. The fast is then broken, and devotees celebrate and feast
for
hours.
At dawn, women paint baby footprints on the fl oor leading to the shrine
room,
a sign that Krishna has entered their home.
How do devotees
relate to Krishna?
Interaction
with Krishna is always personal. Depending on the devotee, the
love
inspired by the Divine energy that is Krishna is like that of a mother for a
child,
a teen friend for another, a lover for a life partner. To many, Krishna is the
ultimate
mentor and refuge in challenging, soul-searching times. He reminds
us
of our dharma, or duty, and explains the philosophical choices we have in life.
Ultimately,
Krishna shows us the path to God Realization.
Tidbits About Lord Krishna
In
what ways is Krishna portrayed?
Krishna
is normally seen as a young cowherd
playing
a fl ute, illustrating His days as a carefree youth who whittled reeds
into
fl utes and enchanted the world with music. As an infant, paintings show Him
crawling
or holding a ball of butter. As a young man, He is the perfect lover. As an
adult,
He is Arjuna’s wise charioteer on the Mahabharata battlefi eld. Krishna
literally
means
dark. It is said He is so dark that His
skin has a bluish sheen.
Who
are the women in Krishna’s life?
Radha
is the lovely young woman Krishna loved. She represents the devotee, loved by
Krishna.
Rukmini is Krishna’s soft, gentle and beautiful wife. Satyabhama, another
wife,
is a brave, daring warrior. On moonlit nights, Krishna dances with
the
gopis, lovely maiden cowherds. Krishna’s myriad amorous encounters
symbolize
the infi nite capacity of His love, indicating that each of us,
no
matter how common, can simultaneously be one with the Lord.
What
is the handi competition?
Reenacting
the story of Krishna and His playmates absconding with earthen pots of
buttermilk, called
handi,
young men in Maharashtra form human
pyramids to reach a
high-hung
pot of buttermilk and break it with a blunt object, spilling the liquid on all
below. Handis are
set
up in various parts of cities, and teams travel around in trucks competing,
as
young men do, to break as many as possible, especially those
that
promise hefty rewards
Pancha Kajjaya
This
sweet, crunchy salad is enjoyed as a
snack
or an exotic side dish
Preparation
time: 30 minutes.
Cooking
time: 10 minutes
Serves:
6-8
Ingredients
4
cups thin beaten rice (poha);
4
cups grated coconut—preferably fresh,
but
frozen will work. If using dry coconut,
soak
in water for 1 hour and squeeze out.
1
to 2 cups powdered jaggery, 4 tbsp white
sesame
seeds, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 2
tbsp
honey
Method
1.
Mix rice with the grated coconut and set
aside
for 30 minutes.
2.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
3.
Arrange in a shallow dish and pour
about
2 tbsp of honey over it.
4.
Decorate with thin slices of ripe banana.
Tip: Use only the very thin, light poha.
The
thicker variety remains hard in the
end
product and does not absorb the honey.
Om
Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to Sadguru Sri Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ji, Hinduism
Today dot com for the collection)
(The Blog is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers
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