Appreciate people for what they are

Lord Krishna’s life has all the nine rasas (flavors). For instance, he was naughty like a child, a warrior, joy personified and a source of knowledge. He was a perfect friend and guru. His birth on ashtami signifies His mastery of both the spiritual and material worlds. He is a great teacher and a spiritual inspiration as well as a consummate politician. On the one hand, he is Yogeshwara (the Lord of Yogis — the state to which every yogi aspires) while on the other, he is a mischievous thief. His behaviour is a perfect balance of the extremes — perhaps this is why the personality of Krishna is so difficult to fathom. The avdhoot is oblivious to the world outside and a materialistic person, a politician or a king is oblivious to the spiritual world. But Krishna is both Dwarkadheesh and Yogeshwar.  

In the Gita, Krishna says, “He is dear to Me who neither goes on thanking people nor hates anyone.” Thanking and feeling obliged indicates that you believe in someone else’s existence rather than in the Divine, who is ruling everything. When you feel obliged, then you are not honoring the principles of Karma or the divine plan.

Appreciate people for what they are, do not thank them for what they do. Otherwise your thankfulness is centered around ego. You are grateful, but not for an act. You are grateful for what is. As every individual is nothing but a puppet of the ONE, thanking and being obliged is simply an exhibition of ignorance. Everything is ruled, controlled and managed by one Divinity, that consciousness has to shine forth in every act of yours; you do not have to make a mood of it. 

Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Janamashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role — of being a responsible human being on the planet and at the same time to realise that you are above all events, the untouched Brahman. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of celebrating Janmashtami. Awaken the Krishna in your consciousness.

“Krishna is not far from me, not separate from me, he is within me” - this feeling will fill your life with Krishna.