Lord Krishna said, ‘I am never born and I never die. I am ajanma (one who is never born).’ Celebrating the birth of one who is never born is a very fascinating thing. Before being born as Lord Krishna, there was another birth that Lord Krishna had taken. In that previous birth, he was known as Kapil Muni (a renowned wise enlightened sage). In his incarnation as Kapil Muni, Lord Krishna gave his mother the knowledge of the Self, the knowledge of Sankhya Yoga. So he had an avatar (incarnation) by the name of Kapil Muni before being born as Lord Krishna.
Now, a mother’s love is such that she would always want her child to keep coming back to her in every birth. So, even though she received self-knowledge, still her attachment to her child remained. So in the next birth she was once again born as mother to Lord Krishna –Yashoda. As Kapil Muni, He gave his mother the knowledge of the Self, but as Lord Krishna he gave her a lot of love and affection, and not Self-knowledge. So in one birth he gave her only knowledge and in another birth He gave her only love. He did not give any Self-knowledge to Yashoda. He played and did so much mischief with Yashoda. So today is a day to be mischievous!
The birth in which knowledge, love and mischief all come together is considered as the birth or incarnation of Lord Krishna. So, on Lord Krishna’s Birthday, all of you must take a Sankalpa (pledge or promise) to read the Bhagvad Gita. Read it with its simple translation, and understand as much as you can. If you cannot understand, never mind but at least read it once. Whatever you understand is good enough. Do not expect to understand the entire Bhagvad Gita all at once. Throughout your life you must read and go through the pages of the Gita again and again, only then will you be able to understand it completely. As the level of maturity of our mind and intellect rises, our understanding of the Bhagvad Gita also increases.
Lord Krishna says, ‘Senaninam Aham Skandah’ – Among Military Generals, I am Kartikeya. (Kartikeya was the most powerful leader of armies). Among Munis (wise sages) I am Kapil Muni. Among Rishis (enlightened seers) I am Veda Vyasa. Among Pandavas I am Arjuna. So he says that he is both Krishna and Arjuna. If someone is able to understand the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, they would have perfected the knowledge of Advaita (philosophy of Non-duality of the Self; experiencing all as ‘One’). It is called Vibhuti Yoga. One’s life becomes endowed with Vibhuti. Vibhuti does not just mean the holy ash that one smears on the forehead. Vibhuti also refers to miracles.
