Best Way to Observe Sri Krishna Janmashtami

 

What is the best way to observe the beautiful occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami? Bhagawan lovingly reminds us on this holy day of Krishna’s advent.

"Among devotional disciplines, installing a picture or idol of the Lord in the home and adoring it, is the least valuable. The celebration of Krishna Janmashtami should not be confined to special worship and extra dishes for lunch. People do this to attract the grace of Krishna. But that grace can be won only by the observance of the teachings of Krishna. They will not be conferred on pride and pompous display. 

Adoring Krishna and avoiding His teachings is a sacrilege. You can give up the adoration; nevertheless, you can earn grace if you sincerely attempt to proceed on the path He has marked out. 

Krishna was the embodiment of love. Hence, love is the virtue He appreciates most. Love has to turn into concrete acts of compassion. Cultivate compassion and develop sympathetic understanding until you reach the goal of merging in the Embodiment of Love, Krishna. 

There are many among you who are engaged in sadhana. What is the basic purpose of sadhana? Each exercise of the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) is a stream that moves on to the sea of grace. Believe that the love that prompts you to serve and sympathise is a spark of the love of God."

~  Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - August 14, 1979)

Repeat the name Krishna in your mind every moment of your life. You will find it sweeter than sugar or honey; indeed, it will taste more delicious than ambrosia. – BABA

Happy Sri Krishna Jamashtami

 

May all be blessed on this auspicious occasion!

HAPPY SRI KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI

4th September 2026

The Yearning of Neeraja

 

As Krishna’s mission unfolded, He left Gokulam and His childhood companions to be the King of Mathura. Gopikas, who had never experienced being away from Krishna’s company, could not continue to live life in normal manner. Many of them stopped eating and taking proper care of their bodies. Swami narrated a story about Neeraja, who yearned to see Krishna in her last moments.

Here was an occasion when Krishna laid His flute aside and declared that He would not play it again. It is a long story, not found in books. I alone must tell you about it, for only the Person who has experienced it can describe it.

A bride called Neeraja came to Gokulam as the daughter-in-law of a Gopa family. Once she peeped into a crowd of enthusiastic gopikas watching the dance of Radha with Krishna in a flower bower near the hill. She was so captivated by the divine presence that she was no longer the same person.

Another day, while on the Yamuna river bank, she saw Krishna fashioning a flute from a reed taken out of bamboo bower, and she heard Him play! Oh, it was overwhelmingly ecstatic! It was a call to transcend the material bonds to free oneself from the trammels of earthly endeavours. Neeraja did not care for anyone now. She became God intoxicated. She spent her days in the bamboo bower, her whole mind fixed on the Lord whom she had installed there.

Years passed. Nanda, Yasoda, and Radha left the world. Neeraja was now 52 years old. One day, she prayed desperately to Krishna, “I can no longer bear this forlorn life. My eyes have gone dry and they have no more tears to keep this love green. My heart is fast turning into a wasteland. Come, O Lord, come and save me, take me unto yourself.”

Krishna heard the prayer. He responded to her yearning and called her by name so sweetly that His very voice filled her with new life. The bamboo bower was fragrant with divine glory. Krishna came near and took Neeraja’s palm in His Hand. “What do you desire?” He asked.

She asked “What is the purpose of life?”

 “To merge in God.”

“Well let me merge in You ... but before that, before my love merges in yours, let me hear you play on that flute for a short while.”

Krishna smiled and gave the excuse that He had not brought His flute. But seeing Neeraja’s yearning, He plucked a reed from the bamboo bower and broke it right and in a trice converted it into a flute. With Neeraja on his lap, Krishna played so melodiously on the flute that the entire Gokulam and even the whole world was bathed in ecstatic joy. When He stopped, Neeraja had attained final beatitude and was no longer a limited individual gopi separate from Him.

Krishna laid aside His flute and said He would not play on it again. That is the story of one gopi. The story of every gopi will be interesting, each in its own way, for they were all so transmuted by the devotion they bore toward the Lord.

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 3.19, August 12, 1963)

Krishna Rama Govinda Narayana

 

Krishna Rama Govinda Narayana

Madhava Keshava Hari Narayana

Sri Venu Gopala Krishna

Madhava Madhusudana Narayana

Meaning:

The lord is divinely attractive and full of joy. He is the embodiment of Vedas and destroyer of ignorance. He as Krishna destroyed the wickedness of Keshi (Keshava) and Madhu. He mesmerized his comrades with soulful music from His flute. He is the ultimate destination of humanity.

Money

"Money, if it is in the hands of pure hearted people, will be used for noble deeds. Hence the usage of wealth or knowledge is dependent on the character of the person in whose hands it is. Money is not bad. The intent with which you use money should be for good. Use spirituality to streamline the focus of your mind towards good."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

('My Dear Students', Vol 3, Ch 7, Jul 9 1989)

Divinity

"First of all, you have to realize that divinity is present everywhere.  Let all your actions be pleasing to God.  You have come from God and you are living in God.  All your actions should therefore be dedicated to God.  When you follow such a sacred path, you will ultimately merge with God." 

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(January 14, 2006)

Fear of God

"Most people today are fearful and especially are fearful of God.  They flock to temples and holy shrines.  They visit temples so that they may not have difficulties in life.  People claim that they are God-fearing.

Fearing God is a disqualification.  One could fear a snake, a wild animal or a dangerous person but don't fear God!  Rather, we should be God-loving and not God-fearing.  Why?  Love has no fear.  Trust knows no fear.  Where there is fear, there is no love.  The child has no fear because it is by the side of the mother.  The child loves the mother, so there is no fear.

Yet, we are saying "Mata Pita Daivamu Mari Antayu Neeve: You are myFather, You are my Mother, You are my Guru" .... but I am afraid of You!"  It is nonsense!  So, let us be God-loving and not God-fearing.

It is a wonder that we should be fearful.  To the rich and the pauper, literate or illiterate, there is the one common fear of death.  No one says, "I love death".  Indeed, everyone is afraid of death.

Now, if we fear God, it is meaningless because God is verily life.  No one is afraid of one's life.  Of death, yes.  So the correct spiritual logic implies that when God is life and we love life, it follows that we love God.

During his last days, Ramana Maharishi was asked whether he was going to die?  His reply was that he was never born.  "I was never born" was the reply of the sage.  Can the question of dying concern the one who has no birth and hence there is no question of death at all.

If we ponder that there is no birth or death, then what is death?  What is birth?  Birth is the appearance of the body and death is the disappearance of the body.  That is all.  Then, what follows?  We are like a channel through which water flows from start to the end through the channel.  The water goes out through the other end.  The body is similarly so, through which life passes (via this canal), endless and beginning-less.  So life is infinite.  It is only the body that has a beginning nd nturally, it has an end.  Obviously then, we are afraid of death but we should not be afraid of God."

(From the book "Sai-Chology" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)

Love

 

Divine Wisdom

 

Gems of Wisdom

TRUE HAPPINESS COMES FROM WITHIN 

It is not measured by wealth, success or material things.

It comes from having peace in your heart, love in your life, and faith that keeps you strong.

The happiest people are not those who have perfect lives but those who learn to appreciate imperfect moments.

Choose kindness, protect your peace and never forget how blessed you truly are.

SAMASTA LOKAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU