What is Japa?

'Japa' means personal chanting on beads and hearing the Holy Name.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for chanting Hare Krsna.
The most wonderful thing about mantra meditation is that one may chant anywhere-at home, at work, driving in the car, or riding on the bus or subway.
And one may chant at any time.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

You have probably noticed “Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!” at the end of my letters. And some may be skeptical that simply chanting: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare will produce happiness. However happiness is one of the very first symptoms that becomes manifest in a person advancing in Krishna consciousness. And this is my practical, personal experience. Ever since I started chanting the Hare Krishna mantra it has given me a sense of great transcendental happiness.

Not being happy is a sign of not being Krishna conscious. Because Krishna consciousness is a self-manifested joyful condition. Why is that? It is because by nature every living entity is joyful and is in Krishna consciousness. The only reason we are not joyful here in the material world is because our original Krishna consciousness is covered by maya. This chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra has the power to uncover our original consciousness and when our original Krishna consciousness is uncovered we will be in our eternal natural constitutional position of ever-increasing happiness, full knowledge and we will realize that we are eternally youthful spiritual living entities who’s only purpose is to serve Krishna.
This process of ‘cleansing the mirror of the heart’ [ceto darpana marjanam] is described by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in one of the only eight verses that He wrote. These eight verses written by Lord Caitanya very perfectly summarize Krishna consciousness and one of the verses is:

                        ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
                         sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
                         anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam
                         sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam

Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtana which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss and enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
Lord Caitanya says if you chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra all the dirty things which have accumulated in your heart due to material contamination will be cleared off. He gives the example that the heart is just like a mirror. If on the mirror there is heaps of dust accumulated one can not see his real face by the reflection of the mirror, therefore it should be cleansed. In our present conditional life our hearts are so overloaded with so much dust due to our material association from time immemorial, if we chant this Hare Krishna mantra then the dust will be removed. It will begin to be removed immediately and as soon as the heart is cleansed of all dust we can see our face, what we really are. Seeing our face means knowing our real identification.
By chanting Hare Krishna mantra we will understand we are not the body. This is our misconception. The dust means this misconception, accepting this body or the mind as self. Actually, we are not this body or the mind. We are spirit soul. So as soon as we can understand that we are not these bodies, immediately the blazing fire of material conditions, or the blazing fire of material miseries, becomes dissipated. No more misery. Aham brahmasmi.
As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhutaḥ prasannatma. Immediately one understands his real identification as spirit soul, he becomes joyful. In the material world we are not joyful. Due to our material contact, we are always full of anxieties. By chanting Hare Krishna mantra, we shall immediately come to the stage of joyful life. This is called liberation. When one becomes joyful, free from all anxieties, that stage is actual liberation because every living creature, the spirit soul, is by nature joyful. The whole struggle for existence is that he is searching after that joyful stage of life, but he missing the point. Therefore, every time we try for a joyful life we are being defeated. This constant defeat can be overcome immediately by chanting this Hare Krishna mantra. That is the effect of this transcendental vibration.
The spiritual pleasure that we enjoy from chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is not like material so-called pleasure. For example we may be hungry but as soon as we get food, with every mouthful we take the pleasure we receive from eating that food decreases. Until after we have eaten a few mouthfuls and our hunger is satisfied we do not like to take any more of that food. This means here in the material world whatever pleasure we can experience, it will decrease. But spiritual pleasure is different. Lord Caitanya says: anandambudhi-vardhanam, the spiritual pleasure is just like the ocean. Here in the material world we have the experience that the ocean does not increase, the ocean always remains within its limit. But the ocean of spiritual pleasure increases. Anandambudhi-vardhanam. Sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam. How does that spiritual pleasure increase? Lord Caitanya gives the example of the moon. On the first night after the new moon the moon is a very thin curved line in the sky only. But on the second day, third day, the moon increases, gradually it increases. Similarly in spiritual life the spiritual pleasure increases day after day after day until it reaches the full moon night. And then our lives become full of knowledge because spiritual life means eternal life, full of bliss and full of knowledge
So we increase our pleasure because proportionately we increase the volume of our knowledge. It is just like the ocean, but still it increases. It is so nice that once situated in this state of life, one thinks that “I am fully satisfied.” Just like if one takes bath dipping into the water, he feels refreshed immediately. Similarly, in spiritual life the increasing joy day after day makes one feel that he is fully satisfied.
One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. (Bhagavad Gita 18.54)
A materialist who is working very hard for sense gratification is miserable but for a devotee, who does not work for his own sense gratification but works for the gratification of Krishna’s senses, there is no misery. The devotee has nothing to lament or desire, because he has no desire except the desire to serve his spiritual master and Krishna. Because the devotee is serving God and God is full and completely satisfied in every way the devotee engaged in the service of Krishna also becomes full and completely satisfied in every way.  He becomes just like a river cleansed of all the dirty water.
Because the pure devotee has no thought other than Krishna he is naturally always joyful. He is not at all disturbed by material loss or gain because he is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. The pure devotee has no desire for any type of material enjoyment because he knows that every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore eternally a servant. The devotee’s peace and happiness comes from this realization that he is eternally a servant of Krishna and the only purpose of his life is to serve Krishna. He is attached to nothing except being engaged in the service of his spiritual master and Krishna. This is the real, natural and eternal constitutional position of every living entity: nitya krsna dasa, “every living entity is eternally a servant of Krishna.” As soon as we realize we are servants of Krishna and give up all personal desires and aspirations and simply work for the pleasure of Krishna under the direction of Krishna’s pure devotee, the bona fide spiritual master, we will at once be relieved of all the sources of anxiety and distress in the material world and at once we will relish transcendental happiness on the spiritual platform.
The world is miserable for the materially infected person, but for a devotee the entire world is as good as Vaikuntha, or the spiritual sky. The highest personality in this material universe is no more significant than an ant for a devotee. Such a stage can be achieved by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, who preached pure devotional service in this age.
The stage of perfection is called trance, or samadhi, when one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact. (Bhagavad Gita 6.20-23)
This is from the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad Gita which we have been discussing for some weeks now. By practice of yoga one becomes gradually detached from material concepts. This is the primary characteristic of the yoga principle. And after this, one becomes situated in trance, or samadhi, which means that the yogi realizes the Supersoul through transcendental mind and intelligence, without any of the misgivings of identifying the self with the Superself. In this verse transcendental pleasure–realized through transcendental senses–is accepted.
When the yogi is once situated in the transcendental position, he is never shaken from it. Unless the yogi is able to reach this position, he is unsuccessful. Today’s so-called yoga practice, which involves various sense pleasures, is contradictory. A yogi indulging in sex and intoxication is a mockery. Even those yogis who are attracted by the siddhis (perfections) in the process of yoga are not perfectly situated. If the yogis are attracted by the by-products of yoga, then they cannot attain the stage of perfection, as is stated in this verse. Persons, therefore, indulging in the make-show practice of gymnastic feats or siddhis should know that the aim of yoga is lost in that way.
The best practice of yoga in this age is Krishna consciousness, which is not baffling. A Krishna conscious person is so happy in his occupation that he does not aspire after any other happiness. There are many impediments, especially in this age of hypocrisy, to practicing hatha-yoga, dhyana-yoga and jnana-yoga, but there is no such problem in executing karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga.
As long as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of the body, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person who is in pure bhakti-yoga or in Krishna consciousness does not arouse the senses while meeting the demands of the body. Rather, he accepts the bare necessities of life, making the best use of a bad bargain, and enjoys transcendental happiness in Krishna consciousness. He is callous toward incidental occurrences–such as accidents, disease, scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative–but he is always alert to execute his duties in Krishna consciousness or bhakti-yoga. Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, agamapayino ‘nityas tams titiksasva bharata. He endures all such incidental occurrences because he knows that they come and go and do not affect his duties. In this way he achieves the highest perfection in yoga practice.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

What Does The Hare Krishna Mantra Mean?

The mantra is a spiritual call to the Lord, meaning, “Oh energy of the Lord, please engage me in the loving service of Lord Krishna.”

This chanting of Hare Krishna is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, surpassing all lower stages of consciousness, namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need of mental speculation, nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such anyone can take part in this transcendental sound vibration without any previous qualification and dance in ecstasy.

The word Hara is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord. Both Krishna and Rama are forms of directly addressing the Lord, and they mean “the highest pleasure.” Hara is the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord. This potency, addressed as Hare, helps us in reaching the Supreme Lord.

The three words—namely Hare, Krishna, and Rama—are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra, and the chanting is the spiritual call for the Lord and His internal energy, Hara, for giving protection to the conditioned souls. The chanting is exactly like genuine crying by the child for his mother. Mother Hara helps in achieving the grace of the supreme father Hari, or Krishna, and the Lord reveals Himself to such sincere devotees.

What is Mantra Meditation?

There are two types of mantra meditation, Japa and Kirtan. Japa is a quiet and personal meditation where one chants on beads. Kirtan, on the other hand, is the singing of mantras with others, often with musical instruments.

There are two types of mantra meditation, Japa and Kirtan. Japa is a quiet and personal meditation where one chants on beads. Kirtan, on the other hand, is the singing of mantras with others, often with musical instruments.

Japa is counted on a japa mala, the sanskrit word for prayer beads. These beads are used to count the number of mantras chanted. One chants the Hare Krishna mantra on each of the 108 beads of the mala to complete ‘a round’. The focus while chanting is to hear the sound of the mantra. If the mind wanders to other thoughts (which it will!) gently bring it back to the mantra. Though one can chant japa at any time of the day, the morning hours around dawn are recommended. The stillness and peace compliment focused and contemplative chanting.
Kirtan is another way to practice mantra meditation. There are lots of types of kirtan. Some can be quiet and soothing, some more energetic.
The Hare Krishna mantra is made up of three words – Hare, Krishna, and Rama:

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

What is Hare Krishna?

Who is Krishna? Why do people dress in robes and chant His name on the streets? What is the philosophy of these Krishna devotees? What's the meaning of their chant?

Krishna is a name of the Supreme. It means "all- attractive." Anything that might attract you has its source in the Supreme. Therefore the Supreme is also known as Rama (rhymes with "drama"). "Rama" means "the highest eternal pleasure."

All of us are pleasure-seeking creatures. So you can say that directly or indirectly we are all seeking Krishna. Chanting Hare Krishna is a way of seeking Krishna directly.

As for the word "Hare" (pronounced huh-ray), it's a call to Krishna's divine energy. Just as the sun shines forth to us through its energies like heat and light, the Supreme reveals Himself through His multitude of energies. If the Supreme is the source of everything, then whatever we see--and even what we don't see-- belongs to the energy of the Supreme.

Now we're trying to exploit that energy, but the more we try the more entangled we get and the more complex our life becomes. But when we place ourselves in harmony with Krishna and Krishna's energy, we return to our natural, pure state of consciousness. This is what we call "Krishna consciousness."

Krishna consciousness is not something imposed on the mind. On the contrary, it's already inside of each of us, waiting to come out, like fire in a match. Chanting Hare Krishna brings out that natural, pure state of mind.

The chant is called a mantra, a vibration of sound that cleanses the mind, freeing it from anxiety and illusion. And this is a mantra anyone can chant. It's for people of all religions, all nations, all colors, and both sexes. No need to pay any fees, join any group, or turn your life upside down. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can try the chanting for yourself and experience its result.
Krishna and His energy are fully present in the sound of the mantra, so even if we don't know the language or intellectually understand how it works, by coming in touch with Krishna we'll become happy, and our life will become sublime.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Radha Krishna:- Not So Typical Love Story

 Now that I have told you two love stories, I’m going to move on to something much greater than anything you have heard of before.  Hold your elephants, this story is going to strike you straight in the heart with my love arrows! The stirring tale I will tell you is about Radha Krishna.  The proper way to say it is Radha and Krishna but they are just so darn in love with each other that both their names have combined into one; now isn’t that just crazy?!

  I’m going to open my book and start from the beginning. As you SHOULD know, Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu and is the Supreme power behind all the gods.  You would think that a god like Krishna does not have time for love- well, you’re wrong.  He had thousands of wives but his heart was Radha.
 
“Whoa, there Kamadeva! If Radha and Krishna are in love with each other, why is Krishna bringing any lady he can find and marrying her?? That is not acceptable!” one Apsarasa hastily points out.
 
Oh shush! Krishna only married them to save their lives, but that’s a different story.  Actually, even Radha was married when she fell in love with Krishna.
“This story is getting promiscuous, I like it!” another Apsarasa said jokingly.

You girls will not stop with the jokes! Radha Krishna did have a secret connection going on but I approved of it, and that is all that matters. Now back to my story, Radha and Krishna were one soul; they were soul mates.  However, just like any other love tale, there has to be some juicy conflict! When Krishna was a wee little boy, he would go by the lake, in Gokul, and start playing the flute for the grazing cows. He continued to do this everyday until he became the best flute player in all of Gokul and in the whole world! When Krishna played the flute, everyone and everything was taken into a trance that was absolutely pure and beautiful.  Even the Gopis, or the cowgirls, would stop what they were doing, find Krishna, and start dancing around him in his love.   
 “He is absolutely gorgeous when he plays the flute! I cannot keep my eyes or ears off him.  I remember because I dressed up as a Gopi and danced with him, too. I want him to be mine,” an Apsarasa said as she recollected the memories.


You silly girl! Thousands of gopis would run up to Krishna, while playing the flute, and would try to woo him.  Of course, he was the best-looking man in the world.  He had monsoon-blue skin, almond-shaped eyes, lotus-pink lips, curly black hair, a chiseled body, and a few peacock feathers in his hair to tie up the look.  Krishna was a very naughty boy.  He would flirt back with the Gopis and fulfill their desires.  However, one Gopi, Radha had captivated him.  The whole universe yearned for Krishna but he yearned for Radha.  She was more gorgeous than him, she had the purest heart, and the way she danced when he played the flute made it seem like he was back in Heaven.  You should have seen the love in their eyes for each other, just take a look here!

The problem was that Radha was married.  The worst barrier that could have risen! She tried to submerge any feelings for Krishna and love her husband but it was no use.  Eventually, she accepted her devotion to Krishna.  Thanks to me and my love potions, she knew that her love for Krishna would not burn out.  She thought about Krishna every second of her life. However, Krishna was a King and had duties to fulfill.  He never married Radha and was not able to meet her after he left Gokul and became King.   
“WHAT? They were not together? They did not get married? They never saw each other again? This is no love story! This is a tragedy!” an Apsarasa yelled.
 
You don’t understand.  Love isn’t about being married or being with someone. Love is being connected from the soul.  That’s exactly what
Radha and Krishna had.  They thought about each other every moment of their lives that they became one being in two bodies.  Because Radha’s love was so pure, she achieved God Status! Whenever you hear the flute play or see a dance, Radha and Krishna are there invisibly enjoying themselves, too.  They are in Heaven together now as one entity.  You cannot say Krishna without saying Radha, and you cannot say Radha without thinking of Krishna.  That is how strong their love is.  Any picture you see of Krishna, it is not complete without Radha.  Their love is an undying flame that will continue to burn. Just so beautiful!

Bal Leela

Strange are the ways to get Butter. One day when Yashoda was churning, suddenly Balram and Shyam (One of the many names of Shri Krishna) reached there to make Yashoda happy. Krishna held the matted hair and started pulling it towards him and at the same time Balram held the rosary and did the same. Both of them said that they were very hungry and demanded for butter and bread. Yashoda told them to have milk and sweet, which were ready in the kitchen. Shri Krishna insisted on butter and bread because he did not like milk or sweet. Still Yashoda tried to convince him and said if he consumed much butter, his hair would never grow as healthy as Balbhadra's. Then Shri Krishna expressed his regret and said he could understand why he was refused butter and bread. On hearing this statement Yashoda looked at him questioningly and asked him why? Shri Krishna then said, Balram had told him that he was not the real son of Yashoda and that was the reason. Yashoda immediately offered him butter and bread and said, that Balram was lying.

1. Wonderful dance of Mohan One day Yashoda assigned some household works to all her maidservants, and started churning herself. At that time Krishna came and informed Yashoda that he was very hungry. Yashoda, being very busy, wanted to keep him engaged in something else. Accordingly, she requested Krishna to show her a dance till she finished her work. Shri Krishna then started dancing with the rhythm of churning vessel. It was such a wonderful dance that all the dancers from the heaven took the form of cowherds' wives and came down to the earth to watch it. In Gokul all cowherds' wives started peeping from the windows. On completing the dance, Krishna requested for food to Mother Yashoda. She took him into her lap and gave him milk. Krishna, thus, always made his mother happy by one or the other way. 

2. Govind's love for cows Gopal had a distinct love for cows. Because of the virtuous actions in their previous births, all cows could manage to take birth at Gokul during the Krishna's time. Krishna loved and respected cows, as if, they were his mothers. On the other hand, cows had also great love for Krishna. There is a notable incident, which took place during that period. One day, one of the cows was continuously staring at the doors of Nandbhuvan, and waiting for Krishna to come out. That cow wanted to offer her milk to Krishna. The milk was automatically oozing from her teats. When Krishna came out and saw that cow, he immediately approached her and took a teat into his mouth and started sucking it. Yashoda saw this scene from the window and thought how lucky that cow was! She bowed to that cow from within. 

3. A Punishment with love One day all cowherds' wives collectively came to Nandababa's place and complained about Krishna's mischief like stealing butter, milk and curd, teasing their children and many more. From within, they liked these Lilas, they, however, pretended to be angry and lodged their complaints. Yashoda said to Krishna she was fed up with all these regular complaints. She also instructed him not to visit their place. When Yashoda scolded Krishna, he replied, 'I promise, I shall never go to their place. They themselves are mischievous. First they invite me to their house and if I go, they start complaining against me.' Obeying Yashoda's instructions Krishna did not go to play outside. He instead went to play in the backyard of his house. A black cobra, having opened his hood, was looking at Krishna's games and was enjoying it. On seeing the snake, Krishna went upto it and started playing with it. She immediately pulled off Krishna and started scolding him. Fearful Krishna looked at his mother and started apologizing her. The Triloknath Krishna, of whom death is also afraid, was today standing there and afraid of his mother. Divine Raas Lila.

The Gopies represented the human being. The whole atmosphere appeared musical, as it were. Shri Krishna being an Avatar, he needed nobody. Out of love for the Gopies, he danced with them assuming many forms. Out of mercy for the people, the Shri came as an Avatar It was to make people aware of almighty God.

4. Pludering Butter for Monkeys One day Krishna went to Yashoda's lap to have milk. Out of divine motherly love, the milk was automatically oozing out of her breasts. She was enjoying herself by looking at Krishna. Suddenly she realized that she had put milk on fire. She immediately rushed to kitchen leaving Krishna halfway having milk and unsatisfied. Krishna got very angry; his lips were trembling with anger. He cracked a water pot. When Yashoda returned, she saw pieces of water pot scattered around, and she immediately knew what had happened. Krishna was nowhere in sight there. On searching here and there Yashoda found him in the next room distributing butter to Monkeys. From within Yashoda thought how lucky those monkeys were to receive butter from Shri Krishna! When Krishna saw his mother coming towards him having a stick in her hand, he ran away. From a safe distance, he started urging her mother to forgive him. Had there been any demon, equipped with weapons, Krishna would have remembered his Chakra (a circular missile weapon of Krishna), but he was helpless before the divine motherly love of Yashoda. 

5. A Punishment of Bondage (Yamlaarjun) At last Gopal was caught. Yashoda told him she was fed up with his mischief. In order to teach him a lesson, she decided to tie Krishna with a stone mortar. Accordingly she brought one cord and tried to tie Krishna, but it was a bit short. She then brought one more piece of cord and joined them and again tried to tie Krishna, still cord was not long enough to tie Krishna. One by one she joined many cords together and tried to tie Krishna but all her efforts were to vain. When Shri Krishna saw his mother had started sweating, he let her tie him. On confirming Krishna was really tied up, she got engaged in her household work. As she had to do some special work at that time. Slowly, slowly he went in backyard garden along with the mortar. There, he emancipated two trees, which were waiting since ages for Krishna's incarnation. Actually they were sons of Kuber in their previous births. Because of their egoistic nature they had been cursed by Narad Rishi and got transformed into trees and had been waiting there for Krishna's arrival.  

6. Kaliya Daman A big Kali Nag was residing in the river Yamuna. Because of its presence the water of Yamuna got poisonous. When Shri Krishna came to know about it, he immediately decided to liberate the people of Vraj from the terror of this Kali Nag. One day Shri Krishna climbed a Kadamb tree and took a plunge into the river Yamuna seeing him Kali Nag got irritated. Kali Nag encircled Shri Krishna's body very firmly. Krishna's friends were frightened to see this fight. They started weeping. Mother Yashoda tried to take a plunge into the river, but cowherds' wives prevented her. It was just a divine play on the part of Shri Krishna. When He saw that everybody was very sad about him, he started to expand his body. Immediately a hissing sound of Kali Nag was heard and a fire was also seen coming out of its mouth. The fight between the Kali and Shri Krishna went on for quite some time. At last, Shri Krishna jumped over to Kali's hood and started dancing. Kali Nag had one hundred hoods. Shri Krishna had beaten him severely. At last Kali Nag got exhausted and he started bleeding profusely. Now Kali Nag remembered the Bhagvan Narayan as 'Adi Guru'. The wives of Kali Nag rushed towards Shri Krishna and offered him prayers. At last Kali Nag realized his mistake and implored to Shri Krishna - 'O! Shri! I am very wicked and angry by nature. Your Maya enamoured me. You are the root cause of my nature and this Maya. I surrender to you. Please bless me and at the same time punish me.' Then Shri Krishna sent him to Ramnak Island and made Yamuna river free from the clutches of Kali Nag.

When Indra came to know that nobody worshipped him, he got very angry with Nandababa and cowherds. Stung by this insult Indra ordered the rain-God to invade Vraj. The whole Vraj was reeling under the impact of torrential rain. Dazed at this sudden calamity the people sought Shri Krishna's help. To protect his devotees, Shri Krishna lifted the Govardhan on the tip of his little finger. For seven days, Shri Krishna held the Govardhan thus forgetting food and water. Shri Krishna's YogMaya dazzled everybody, including Indra. The rain stopped and everybody was free from anxiety.

Govardhan was in its place now. The people of Vraj thanked Shri Krishna from the bottom of their heart.

7. Cosmic Dance It was a full moon night. The Nature was at its best. Worshipped by Gopies, Shri Krishna looked very pleasing. Shri Krishna was very pleased with the Gopies. By his YogMaya, Shri Krishna manifested himself in several forms. The Divine Raas Lila was started. The God from the heaven could not resist the temptation of watching this Divine Raas Lila. The Gopies represented the human being. The whole atmosphere appeared musical, as it were. Shri Krishna being an Avatar, he needed nobody. Out of love for the Gopies, he danced with them assuming many forms. Out of mercy for the people, the Shri cameas an and Avatar. It was to make people aware of almighty God

 

Story of Lord Krishna Avtar

Mother Earth, unable to bear the burden of sins committed by evil kings and rulers, appealed to Brahma, the Creator for help. Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to annihilate tyrannical forces. 
One such evil force was Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura (in northern India) and his people were utterly terrified of him. On the day Kamsa's sister Devaki was married off to Vasudeva, an akashvani or voice from the sky was heard prophesying that Devaki's 8th son would be the destroyer of Kamsa. The frightened Kamsa immediately unsheathed his sword to kill his sister but Vasudeva intervened and implored Kamsa to spare his bride, and promised to hand over every new born child to him. Kamsa relented but imprisoned both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. 
When Devaki gave birth to her first child, Kamsa came to the prison cell and slaughtered the newborn. In this way, he killed the first six sons of Devaki. Even before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and theirs. Then suddenly Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said he himself was coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry him to the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after his birth, where Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter. 
He was to exchange his boy and bring Yashoda's baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that "nothing shall bar your path". 
At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kamsa's prison. Remembering the divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and started for Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up. While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held his baby high over his head. The rain fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter over the baby. 
When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kamsa with the baby girl. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda's beautiful male child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison closed themselves.
When Kamsa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reaching the sky. She was transformed into the goddess Yogamaya, who told Kamsa: "O foolish! What will you get by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else."
 In his youth Krishna killed Kamsa along with all his cruel associates, liberated his parents from prison, and reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura.

Krishna is inconceivable

All the creations, material and spiritual are inside Krishna, yet He is present in His complete form within each and every atom. He is non-different from His potencies and by these potencies He creates, maintains and destroys. The effulgence of His body is the impersonal, non differentiated Brahman glorified in the Upanishads. His external potency embodies the three modes of material nature, goodness, passion and ignorance, but He is never touched by these modes. The wheel of time moves under His direction yet He is never affected by it. He lies on Ananta Sesa, His own plenary portion, in yoga-nidra (creative sleep) and creates millions of universes from the pores of His hair that last only the duration of His exhalation, yet in each of these universes He descends as His own avatar. All virtues, all vices, the Vedas, all forms of austerity, all living entities, the nine elements of the material worlds, the spiritual worlds, the cycle of karma, all enjoyment and suffering, all devotional service, everything that is to be known comes from Krishna. He is the cause of all causes.

What does Krishna do

Krishna lives in Goloka with Srimati Radharani, the embodiment of His personal pleasure potency in the company of Her expansions, the gopis. He is served with great love and affection by millions of goddess of good fortune (Lakshmi devis). Here Krishna plays His flute, tends to the Surabhi cows and enjoys the pastimes of love. Krishna is the adi-purusa, the original enjoyer. He has no other business than to enjoy with His devotees. The spiritual world, the material world, the living entities are all maintained by the expansions or the plenary portions of His expansions.

Where does Krishna live

The material world which we live in is called Devi dhama, for it is controlled by the Goddess Durga devi. Above this world is Mahesh dhama, the abode of Lord Shiva. Above the abode of Lord Shiva is Hari dhama, the abode of Lord Vishnu, also known as Vaikuntha. Above Hari dhama, is the highest of all abodes, Goloka where Krishna lives. Goloka is made of cintamani (touchstones). The trees there are kalpa-vrksas that fulfill all desires. The cows are Surabhi cows that emit oceans of milk. The water is nectar, every word is a song and every step is a dance. In Goloka there is no past, present or future and every moment is fully saturated with transcendental bliss.

What does Krishna look like?

Krishna is a person, an individual, with a transcendental body full of the most dazzling splendor. Even though Krishna is the oldest, the most ancient and primeval, He looks ever youthful. His eyes are like the petals of a blooming lotus flower. His head is decorated with a peacock feather. His complexion is bluish, like the hue of rain clouds. Around His neck swings a garland of flowers decorated by the moon-locket and He is adorned by many jewels. In His hands he holds a flute and He manifests a graceful, threefold bending form. In the material world, Cupid or Kamadeva is considered to be most attractive. But the beauty of Krishna surpasses that of a million Cupids. 

The body of Krishna is completely spiritual and qualitatively composed of truth, bliss and eternality. His body is not subject to decay. and each of His limbs posses the full functionality of all the other limbs.

Who is Krishna?

God is described as the "param ishwar" or the supreme controller. There are many controllers or isvaras in the universe, like Vayu who controls the air, Indra who controls the rain and Surya who controls the Sun. But all these controllers are in turn controlled by some one else and if go up the chain we finally reach the supreme controller, one who directly or indirectly controls every one, but has no controller.
 

This supreme controller is ultimate origin of everyone and everything. He has no other origin and He is the cause of all causes. Lord Brahma states that this supreme controller, is Krishna, also known as Govinda.

Beautiful Wallpapers Collection Of Lord Shri Krishna And Radha