Krishna's transcendental appearance is known only through pure devotion, granting immediate liberation from material existence.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Janmāṣṭamī Lecture — August 16, 1968, Montreal 680816JM-MONTREAL [64:11 Minutes] Prabhupāda: Very good. [sings] Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. [devotees repeat] cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣalakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.29] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.] veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda sundarāṅgam kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.30] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids.] ālola-candraka-lasad vanamālyavaṁsi ratnāṅgadam praṇaya-keli-kalā-vilāsam śyāmaṁ tribhaṅga-lalitaṁ niyata-prakāśaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.31] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jeweled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of Śyāmasundara is eternally manifest.] aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti ānanda-cin-māyā-saduj-jvala-vigrahasya govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.32] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.] advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.33] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal puruṣa; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.] panthāstu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānāṁ so 'pyasti yat prapada-sīmny-avicintya-tattve govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.33] So today, the birth appearance ceremony of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9] [One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.] "My dear Arjuna, any person who simply tries to understand about My transcendental birth or appearance and disappearance and activities, janma karma..." The Personality of Godhead is not niṣkriya, without activities.
So anyone who can understand that what kind of activities the Lord has and what kind of birth He accepts, simply by understanding these two things one gets wonderful result. What is that? Tyaktvā deham. By quitting this body, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9], he does not take any more birth in this material world. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti.
Some of us may think that punar janma naiti means he becomes vanquished. No. Punar janma naiti, but mām eti, "He does not come to this material world, but he comes to Me." Mām eti. Mām eti means, then, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has got His place, abode, where we can go, simply by understanding the nature of His appearance and activities. So today is that auspicious day, Janmāṣṭamī, when Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared five thousand years ago in India, Mathurā.
Those who are Indian ladies and gentlemen present, they know very well where is Mathurā. It is about ninety miles south of New Delhi. Mathurā is still existing, and it is eternally existing. Kṛṣṇa appeared in Mathurā in His maternal uncle's house in a very precarious condition.
That birthplace, Lord Kṛṣṇa's birthplace, is now maintained very nicely. One who goes to India, they see. So anyway, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. Now Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. Divyam means "not ordinary." It should not be understood just like we take our birth.
Kṛṣṇa does not take His birth like us. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are speaking that formerly You spoke this yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god. That means it is millions and trillions years ago You spoke.
How can I believe it?" Because Kṛṣṇa was contemporary to Arjuna, so he was thinking that "Kṛṣṇa is my friend, is my cousin-brother. How it is possible that He spoke this Bhagavad-gītā yoga to sun-god?" So what was the reply? The reply was this, that "You also appear many, many times; I also appear many, many times. The difference is that I can remember; you cannot remember." That is the difference between God and ordinary living creature, that we are also taking birth after birth.