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By kishori gopika devi dasi<\/strong><\/p>\n Pitter patter pitter patter Janmashtami is the most important day in our vaisnava calendar. Krishna\u2019s birth heralds hope and happiness after Kamsa\u2019s reign of terror. Devaki and Vasudev had experienced the pain of seeing their children die in front of them by a merciless Kamsa. Imprisoned and shackled, their present was grim. But as Krishna appears from Vasudev\u2019s heart and in Devaki\u2019s womb, they are infused with fearlessness. The Lord will appear soon.
\nHere He comes
\nWith His soft buttery feet
\nPitter patter pitter patter
\nHere He comes
\nWith His soft curls bouncing up and down
\nPitter patter pitter patter
\nHere He comes
\nWith His lotus like eyes looking out for you
\nEmbrace Him
\nFor He protects you like none other
\nEmbrace Him
\nFor He loves you like none other
\nEmbrace Him
\nFor He longs for you to do so<\/p>\n
\nAnd Lo and behold, He appears as the most extraordinary and beautiful baby; fully dressed and bedecked with jewels and four hands! His soft black curls frame His chubby cheeks and His lotus-like eyes shine with love for Devaki and Vasudev. They went through so much grief for Him.
\nChallenges and tribulations had been constant in Devaki and Vasudev\u2019s world, the moment the disembodied voice from the sky proclaimed that Devaki\u2019s eight child would kill Kamsa.
\nAs we all gear up for Janmashtami in our respective temples; we also face challenges and tribulations of our own. It is a race against time to complete all preparations. It\u2019s a dodge ball game to ensure we don\u2019t ruffle anyone\u2019s egos. Tempers flare. Chastisement does come; it\u2019s inevitable. Unforeseen difficulties crop up. Criticism and back-biting is also rife.
\nWe see ourselves accomplishing incredible feats for THE festival. And as we reach the finishing line for the D-day; we marvel at the result. We marvel at the creativity, the intelligence and the ingenuity behind the service. And here comes the biggest pitfall- Pride!
\nAs we shrivel at others\u2019 anger
\nRemember that this is Krishna\u2019s doing. He is checking our ego.
\nAs we bristle at criticism
\nRemember that this is Krishna\u2019s doing. There is a lesson for us.
\nAnd as we marvel at \u2018our own\u2019 prowess and intelligence
\nRemember that this is Krishna\u2019s splendor
\nAs we do seva for Janmashtami, there are many pitfalls. If we are not careful, anger, greed for fame, an inflated ego and lust for recognition and respect all place themselves as big boulders to block us from seeing our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal for Janmashtami is to please Krishna; it is to act as His instrument.
\nKrishna is the complete whole. Everything emanates from HIM only. The good and the bad; all are meant for our ultimate good and our purification so that similar to Devaki and Vasudvev, we can also see HIM at the end.
\nIsopanishad
\n\u012b\u015b\u0101v\u0101syam ida\u1e3f sarva\u1e41
\nyat ki\u00f1ca jagaty\u0101\u1e41 jagat
\ntena tyaktena bhu\u00f1j\u012bth\u0101
\nm\u0101 g\u1e5bdha\u1e25 kasya svid dhanam
\nEverything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
\nWishing everyone a very joyful Janmashtami. Let us treasure in our hearts our Sweet Lord and always remember for whom we are doing seva.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By kishori gopika devi dasi Pitter patter pitter patter Here He comes With His soft buttery feet Pitter patter pitter patter Here He comes With His soft curls bouncing up and down Pitter patter pitter patter Here He comes With His lotus like eyes looking out for you Embrace Him For He protects you like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-testing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101731,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101726\/revisions\/101731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}