The Significance of Janmastami

Delving deeper with Carl E. Woodham

In late August or early September each year, hundreds of millions of Hindus in India and throughout the world celebrate Janmastami, 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: the protect the good and punish the evil.

Krishna’s birth does not seem to befit a deity. Before his birth, his imprisoned parents, Vasudev 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 Vasudev 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 worshippers, 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 Janmastami, 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 worshipper.

How do devotees celebrate Janmastami?

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, Janmastami 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.