Who is Shri Krishna?

kṛiṣhirbhvāchakaḥ śhabdaḥ ṇaṣhch nivṛitti vāchakaḥ tvayoraikya parabrahm kṛiṣhṇa ityabhidhīyate (gopālatāpaniyopaniṣhat)

In the Vedas, the meaning of the word "Krishna" is Satchidanand Brahm (the absolute divinity full of bliss, knowledge and eternity).

'karṣhati paramhañsānām chetañsi iti kṛiṣhṇaḥ'

The one who attracts and entices everybody's heart (mind), the Supreme Soul, is Krishna. Even Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shankar (Shiva), are attracted to Shree Krishna. He attracts His own Self! Is it not astonishing?

The Supreme God, Shree Krishna has three main forms - Brahm, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Just like the three forms of water - steam, ice and water itself (liquid). If we decrease the temperature of water it becomes ice, and if we increase the temperature, it becomes steam. Even though we have three forms, they are fundamentally the same. Similarly, there is only one God who manifests Himself in three different forms.

tattvam yajjñānamadvayam

Let us now understand the meaning and qualities of these three forms of God.

Brahm - This refers to the all-pervading form of God. Two main powers that are revealed in this form. The first is self protection and the second is Swaroopanand (personal Bliss). The other powers are present but are not manifest. Another important aspect of Brahm is that He is formless.

Paramatma - This refers to that form of God that resides in everyone's hearts. The Paramatma also manifests in the personal form as Vishnu, and various avatars such as Narsingh and Varaha. Many more powers are manifest in the Paramatma form, than in the Brahm form. Bhagavan - God reveals all his powers in this form. This is the form of Shree Krishna, in which He manifests. He manifests His Divine Names, Form, Pastimes, Abodes, and Associates.
Bhagavan - God reveals all his powers in this form. This is the form of Shree Krishna, in which He manifests His Divine Names, Form, Pastimes, Abodes, and Associates.

yo sau param brahma gopāl

A question has been asked in the Vedas:

kam paramo devaḥ Who is this Supreme power? Who is Brahm? kasmānmṛityurvibheti Who is the personality that is feared even by death? kasya jñānenākhilam jñātam bhavati What is that, by knowing which everything is known?

The answers to these three questions are given in the Vedas - kṛiṣhno havai hariaḥ paramam daivataṁ The Supreme power is Shree Krishna. govindānmṛityurvibheti Even death fears Shree Krishna. And gopījanavallabha jñānenākhilam jñātam bhavati - By knowing Shree Krishna everything becomes known. So, Shree Krishna is the ultimate Supreme Personality who is the ocean of Divine Love and eternal Bliss. Shree Krishna is Absolute truth and essence of Divine Love and nectar. We, being a part of His Divine personality naturally love Him.

Now here comes the question of Shree Krishna's birth. If we say that He was born, then it means He will die one day. Shree Krishna himself says:

jātasya hī dhruvo mṛityurdhruvam janma mṛitasya cha

"Arjun! The one who is born dies one day." That implies Shree Krishna also died. Is the Supreme Lord also caught in this cycle of life and death? No, let us first understand the meaning of the birth of God. For the Supreme Lord, birth means to manifest and death means disappearance. During Shree Krishna's descension period, He first appeared in front of mother Devaki in the form of the four-armed Maha Vishnu, with His Sudarshan chakra, conch, mace, and lotus.

tamadbhutam bālakamambuje kṣhaṇam chaturbhujam śhankha gadayudayudhaṁ

Having seen this form of God she asked Him to appear as a normal child. When Devaki closed and opened her eyes bhaye prakaṭ kṛipalā dīn dayālā God manifested Himself as a sweet smiling child. So, it was not like a material birth that takes place from the mother's womb. Shree Krishna had a Divine birth, and similarly His body was also Divine.

chidānandamaya deha tumhārī
vigata vikār jāna adhikārī

Only people with Divine vision are able to perceive the Divinity of His form. So His body is chidanandmaya, full of knowledge and eternal Bliss. We have a body and a soul. The soul is immortal but the body is destructible. But the body and soul of God are one. His body is Divine by nature, full of Bliss.

Every sense organ of God's body can perform the functions of the other senses. For example, God's eyes can see, think, smell, and take decisions. This is unlike human senses, where our eyes can only see and ears can only hear, etc. Each one of the senses of God can perform the functions of all the other senses.

paśhyatyachakṣhu saśhṛiṇotyakarṇaḥ

Not only are God's sense organs so powerful but He can also hear without ears and see without eyes! This is unbelievable for us humans!

Now comes a question. What is the need of the Absolute and Supreme God to descend on earth? Why does He leave His Divine abode and come to this material world? Does He want something from us humans? No, He is complete and content in Himself. He does not have the need to search for anything from outside to fulfill or satisfy Himself.

There are many reasons for God's descension. But the main reason of His descension is to shower His causeless grace and mercy on everyone. Grace and mercy are inseparable parts of His nature. This is the reason why He comes to this world repeatedly and does various pastimes.

When God descends on the world, He reveals the glory of His personal and all-blissful Form, His Divine Names and His Pastimes. This provides a basis for the material conditioned souls to engage in His Devotion. By meditating on His Form, and listening to His Pastimes, they get a means for enhancing their devotion. If God had not taken any avatars, the souls in the material world would not have had any basis for engaging in devotion, because the formless Brahm is exceedingly difficult to worship.

So the main motive of celebrating Janmashtami is to understand the secret behind Shree Krishna's Divine descension and our eternal relationship with Him. We must aim to build a firm relationship with Him and constantly realize His presence with us so that we progress quickly on this path and cleanse our mind. By the grace of our Guru, we can then receive Divine Love with which we can relish the sweet leelas (pastimes) of Shree Krishna and enjoy the eternal Bliss of Divine Love.