Happy Janmashtami!!!

"Yada yada hi dharmasya,glanirbhavatiBharatah,Abhiyutthanam dharmasya,tadatmanam srijamyaham! Paritranaya sadhunam, vinashaya cha dushkritam, Dharmasamsthapanarthaya, sambhabami yuge yuge!! " - Lord Krishna to Arjun (Shrimat Bhagavat Geeta)

Translation -
Whenever and wherever there is decline of dharma (righteousness) and ascendance of adharma (unrighteousness), at that time I manifest Myself in visible form. For the protection of the righteous and destruction of the wicked, and for the sake of establishing dharma again, I incarnate Myself on earth ages after ages.

This is what the Lord Himself gave his word in the Bhagvat Geeta. The Lord did not ever fail to keep His words down the ages. From His heavenly abode at the Vaikuntha, He incarnated down to the earth to protect His devotees. Just like ‘the waves in an ocean,’ Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Soul and the sustainer, appeared down to the earth in different, different forms, one after another. However, His Avatar (incarnation) is considered as the God Himself incarnated on the eighth day of the new-moon fortnight (krishnapaksha) of the month of Shrãvana, when Lord Krishna appeared on this earth. Lord Krishna was born in the DuaparYug, which came just before the Kal Yug.

Legends

According to the legends, the birth of Lord Krishna took place under bizarre conditions. Krishna is considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who appears to the world to get rid of all evil demons. He was born at midnight stroke on a dark, rainy night to ‘Devaki’ and ‘Vasudev’ who was imprisoned by Devaki’s brother Kansa.

It had been prophesied that the eight son of Devaki would take the ghost out of the evil king Kansa. On hearing this prophesy, Kansa got his sister imprisoned and killed her seven children one by one but when Krishna was born, there was divine involvement to protect the life of baby Krishna. The guards had fallen into slumber and could not inform their master about the newborn child.

An echoing invisible voice powered Vasudev to carry the baby to Gokul and exchange with the newborn baby Nanda and Yashoda. The fetters and the jail gates were opened amazingly and Vasudev took the child in a tiny basket, through the waters of Yamuna. Being a dark stormy night, the waves of Yamuna water was in a fit of fury however parted to allow the carrier of the divine Krishna to pass. A gigantic snake recognized as Adisesha with 2000 hoods, glided behind them, its hoods made a shielding shelter over the child.

When Vasudev came back with Nanda’s child, the fetters fastened, the doors were closed and the guards awakened. Kansa came and lifted up the child to throw it to the wall and kill him however someway the baby slipped from his clutch and took the shape of a Goddess laughing at Kansa, she was nowhere to be found after revealing him that the one who would kill him had already been born and was elsewhere.

Krishna was the heartbeat of Gokul, as a small boy, a naughty prankster who was much loved amongst the Gopikas. He would steal curd and butter from the houses of gopikas. Though he was a child, yet he did numerous miraculous works. His exploits are now the everlasting legends of Braj. He killed a number of ‘asuras’(devils), vanquished the Kali Nag and later he killed Kansa as it had been predicted.

Janmashtami Celebration
The festival of Janmashtami (pronunciation: Janmãshtami) is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Krishna, the re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who gave us the vital message of the Bhagwat Gita. Janmashtami is now prevalently celebrated outside of India because of the unusual efforts of numerous Krishna-devotees and numerous Hindu organizations.

Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day of the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the month of Bhadrapadha in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatram is ascendent. The Hindu calendar being lunar, these two events [the day being the eighth of the waning moon (Krishna-paksha Ashtami) and the Rohini Nakshatram being ascendent] may overlap for only a few hours. In such an event, the festival may be celebrated on different (but successive) days by different people, depending on their local or family traditions.

Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, where his parents remained in confinement of the wicked Kansa and He, as a little boy, came and vanquished his maternal uncle Kansa to lead the throne and get his parents freed, commemorates Janmashtami with great pomp and show. The major celebrations are made at the Dwãrakadhish temple, Mathurã in the form of Jhulanotsava and the Ghatas in the course of the entire month of Shrãvana.

The Ghatas are an exclusive feature of the celebrations that goes for a long month. At the time of ghatas of a specific color, the entire temple is engulfed with beautification in the matching color. Even the Lord clothed up in the same color. The twin cities of Mathura-Vrindavan takes on a celebratory look and spirit of devotion runs high amongst the people. It was on the banks of the Yamuna River, where Lord Krishna used to play during his childhood and pandered to pranks and tricks with his friends and the Gopies. There are nearly 400 temples devoted to Lord Krishna in this sacrosanct city, and the most important festivities are conducted at the Shri Krishna Balarãm temple, Gopinãth temple, Bãnke Bihãri and Rangaji. The Raslila of Braj is thematically the origin of numerous performing arts.


Info taken from indianpath.org

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Indians...

Interesting questions for smart people

1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?

4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?

5. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

6. This is an unusual paragraph.

I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.

See the answers below....

Answers:

1. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.

3. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and put the ice in the barrel. You will be able to tell which water came from which jug.

4. The answer is Charcoal.

5. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

6. The letter "e," which is the most common letter in the English language, does not appear once in the long paragraph.

Indian-in-law

A young Indian man excitedly tells his mother he's fallen in love and that he is going to get married. He says, "Just for fun, Ma, I'm going to bring over 3 women and you try and guess which one I'm going to marry."

The mother agrees.

The next day, he brings three beautiful women into the house and sits them down on the couch and they chat for a while.He then says, "Okay Ma, guess which one I'm going to marry."

She immediately replies, "The one on the right." "That's amazing, Ma. You're right. How did you know?"

The mother replies, "I don't like her."

Contradicting quotes...

Actions speak louder than words./The pen is mightier than the sword.

Look before you leap./ He who hesitates is lost.

Many hands make light work. (or) Two heads are better than one. / To many cooks spoil the broth.

A silent man is a wise one. / A man without words is a man without thoughts.

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. / Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Clothes make the man. / Don't judge a book by its cover. (or) All that glitters is not gold.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. / Better safe than sorry.

The bigger, the better. / The best things come in small packages.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. / Out of sight, out of mind.

What will be, will be. / Life is what you make it.

Cross your bridges when you come to them. / Forewarned is forearmed.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. / One man's meat is another man's poison.

With age comes wisdom. / Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings come all wise sayings.

The more, the merrier./ Two's company; three's a crowd.

The best things in life are free. / You get what you pay for.

It never rains, than it pours. / Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.

Better to ask the way than to go astray. / Ask no questions and hear no lies.

Never do evil, that good may come of it. / The end justifies the means.

Variety is the spice of life. / Don't change horses in the middle of a stream.

There is nothing permanent except change. / There is nothing new under the sun.

Never too old to learn. / You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Everything comes to him who waits. / He who hesitates is lost.