How Krishna Makes His Entrance

Important activities of important people on this important planet get big media coverage. Fifty-foot high billboards in Times Square, full-page ads in major papers, and Super Bowl halftime commercials are all designed to:

• help us all appreciate the importance of such people and their activities, and
• sell product.

We have come to expect big light shows, sound effects, paparazzi, miles of magazine covers and huge crowds of rabid fans as standard show business procedure.

So, when contemplating the idea of the appearance of God Himself, a person steeped in the culture of hype might naturally expect a very, very big production--reminiscent of the appearance of the Wizard of Oz--calculated to inspire awe and fear.

Considering His extremely high-profile position--the omnipotent, omnipresent, ultimate source of all energies--Lord Krishna's appearance in this world was remarkably low-key. He didn't draw attention to himself. He's not trying to be God--He has nothing to prove. His P.R. department was--as you might expect--subtle, tasteful, and classy.

"Thereafter, at the auspicious time for the appearance of the Lord, the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness, beauty and peace. The constellation Rohini appeared, as did stars like Asvini. The sun, the moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All directions appeared extremely pleasing, and the beautiful stars twinkled in the cloudless sky. Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the earth seemed all-auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily beautiful. In the trees and green plants, full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of the demigods. A pure breeze began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers, and when the brahmanas engaging in ritualistic ceremonies ignited their fires according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brahmanas, who had always been disturbed by demons like Kamsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their hearts, and kettledrums simultaneously vibrated from the upper planetary system." (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.1-5)

He appeared in a prison, in the middle of the night. The only human witnesses were Devaki and Vasudeva--the extraordinarily devoted husband and wife who had prayed for many lifetimes to have Krishna as their son.

"Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, who is situated in the core of everyone's heart, appeared from the heart of Devaki in the dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon, because Devaki was of the same category as Sri Krishna." (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.3.8)

Almost immediately then, under cover of night, Krishna was mystically whisked away to the remote cowherd village of Gokula, so that no one but Devaki and Vasudeva would know that He had appeared.

Krishna's appearance was as undercover as could be.

"The Lord is one, but He can appear in everyone's heart by His inconceivable potency. Thus although the Lord was within the heart of Devaki, He appeared as her child. According to the Vishnu Purana, therefore, as quoted in the Vaishnava-toshani, the Lord appeared like the sun (anugrahasaya). The Brahma-samhita (5.35) confirms that the Lord is situated even within the atom (andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham). He is situated in Mathura, in Vaikuntha and in the core of the heart. Therefore one should clearly understand that He did not live like an ordinary child in the heart or the womb of Devaki. Nor did He appear like an ordinary human child, although He seemed to do so in order to bewilder asuras like Kamsa. The asuras wrongly think that Krishna took birth like an ordinary child and passed away from this world like an ordinary man. Such asuric conceptions are rejected by persons in knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ajo 'pi sann avyayatma bhutanam isvaro 'pi san (Bg. 4.6). As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord is aja, unborn, and He is the supreme controller of everything. Nonetheless, He appeared as the child of Devaki. This verse describes the inconceivable potency of the Lord, who appeared like the full moon. Understanding the special significance of the appearance of the Supreme Godhead, one should never regard Him as having taken birth like an ordinary child.(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.7-8, Purport)

"He's Coming. . .August 24th. . .Get Ready!".