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When devotion meets the breath and the body in perfect harmony, the Krishna within you manifests. That is the true birth we celebrate
When the body and the ‘prana’ unite in harmony, ‘Ananda’ (bliss) takes birth. That is why Krishna is called Nandalala. (PTI)
Lord Krishna was never born in the way we think of birth. He simply manifested. Yet, we celebrate his birth with great joy and devotion. If you look into it, there is great symbolic relevance in the story of his birth that is timeless.
Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva. ‘Vasu’ means breath or the life force (prana). ‘Devaki’ means the body. In the story, Devaki’s brother Kansa, who stands for ego, imprisoned them both. Ego binds the body and the breath in chains. But when the body and the prana unite in harmony, Ananda (bliss) takes birth. That is why Krishna is called Nandalala — the beloved child of bliss, knowledge, and infinity.
Within this small frame of a human body, you have the capacity to experience the vastness of infinity. This is why Krishna is depicted in blue, as is Shiva. Blue is the colour of the infinite: the sky, the ocean, the depth that has no end. The blue body does not point to the outer skin but to the inner, boundless Being. The soul is never born; it exists in a different state of consciousness. When the mind, breath, and body come together in stillness, that consciousness becomes alive within you.
When we meditate, we slowly take our attention inward to different parts of the body and the different levels of our existence, when we become hollow and empty we see, all that remains is space. Inside, there is nothing but pure and eternal space, which has always been there but we never noticed.
When Krishna appeared at midnight in the prison, the guards are said to have fallen asleep. These guards are none other than the five senses — the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin — that keep you engaged in the outer world. They are always on duty, keeping your awareness outward. When they rest, the inner sky reveals itself. Then, bliss is born.
In the story, Vasudeva (the prana) carries Krishna away to protect him from Kansa, the ego, which cannot tolerate bliss for long. He crosses the Yamuna, that symbolises love, to bring Krishna to Yashoda. Love rises high in ecstasy when it meets infinity, and then it returns to silence, just as a beautiful song must have pauses. Without the silence between the notes, music has no depth.
Yashoda is the symbol of bhakti – devotion, faith, and loving surrender. Yoga and meditation give birth to infinity within, but it is devotion that nurtures it. Without bhakti, bliss cannot grow.
So, Krishna grows up in the lap of devotion, in the home of Yashoda. Krishna is the complete, multidimensional personality: playful yet profound, wise yet simple, the embodiment of love and joy.
When devotion meets the breath and the body in perfect harmony, the Krishna within you manifests. That is the true birth we celebrate.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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