King Ugrasena ruled the prosperous kingdom of Mathura. Later on, his son, Kamsa, imprisoned him and ascended the throne. He caused great devastation by harassing and plundering his subjects. Mother Earth, unable to bear the atrocities, sought help from Shri Vishnu. He assured her that to end her sorrows, He would soon be born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki.

Devaki was Kamsa’s cousin sister. He celebrated her marriage to Vasudeva, but when a voice from the sky warned him that Devaki’s eighth child would cause his death, he tried to kill her. Vasudeva convinced him not to and promised to hand over all of Devaki’s children. Kamsa let the couple go but later confined them in a dungeon and killed six of their children.

The seventh child of Devaki, Sheshanaga, was mystically transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva’s first wife. Devaki became pregnant again. The Supreme Lord called His Yogamaya and asked her to take birth in the house of Nanda and Yashoda. The moment she was born, everybody fell asleep – they only knew that Yashoda had given birth to a baby.

Exactly at the stroke of midnight, the Lord, brilliant in His full splendour, appeared before Vasudeva and Devaki. Then, taking the form of an infant, He asked His father to cross the river to Nanda Baba’s house and exchange Him with the baby girl born there.

With Krishna’s appearance, a radiant blue light spread, darkness was dispelled, and chains and locks broke open. Vasudeva quickly placed the baby in a basket and carried the divine infant on his head across the flooding River Yamuna. Seeing that the Lord of the Universe had come, Yamuna became impatient to touch His feet and started rising higher and higher. Vasudeva continued walking till the water reached his mouth. Concerned that the river’s love would drown His father, the Lord put His tiny foot out of the basket. Yamuna touched it, instantly subsided, parted, and made way for Vasudeva to carry Krishna to the other side.

Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda pointed out the beautiful symbolism of this crossing. In the river of samsara, there will be joys, sorrows and overwhelming problems – this is the nature of the world. However, if we remember the Lord, if we keep Him on our heads, He will always protect us. He will always put out His foot and ensure that we do not drown.

Reaching Gokul, Vasudeva switched the babies and returned to the prison. Kamsa tried to kill the baby girl but she appeared as Mahadevi, in all her glory, and informed him that the eighth child had already been born.

The Lord’s avatar can take place in your heart – right now! The Supreme Brahman is also the Consciousness present in each one of us. Living in the darkness of the inner personality, one is chained to the identification and attachments of the ego – Kamsa – in a jail of five gates or five layers. Vasu means climate – the mind goes through many climates and mood changes. But when it becomes the honest Vasudeva, when all moods become divine (deva) – and the intellect grows to be Deva-ki (belonging to the Lord) – the mind and intellect become integrated. Thereafter, when such a personality remains in contemplation; when all other thoughts are dropped; when the seeker waits in anticipation, the supreme Consciousness is reflected, and His avatar takes place in our hearts.

This is Krishna avatar. Instantly, darkness is dispersed, chains fall off, all sorrows end and the soul is free. Understanding this deeper meaning, let us strive to create the right environment in the mind for the birth of Krishna and nourish Him with love and care. The Lord is eternal and can be experienced here and now, even in this dark age of Kaliyuga.

Swamiji is the Global head of Chinmaya Mission.