“Relinquishing all sacred duties to me, make me your only refuge; do not grieve, for I shall free you from all evils.” These powerful words spoken by Bhagwan Shri Krishna during the Mahabharata resonate with a sense of promise not only to the sorrowful and discouraged Arjuna, who waged a war against evil, but also to the rest of the disheartened souls, suffering in maya. Only Bhagwan can grant ‘liberation from the cycle of birth and death’. Moksha, as it is known in Sanskrit, is what we strive for. Moksha is what Shri Krishna promised Arjuna.
‘Moksha yishyami ma shucha’, the theme of this year’s Janmashtmi celebration, reflected on this very principle. A cultural program revolving around this theme was conducted by the women of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha as they celebrated Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Shri Krishna. The cultural program presented by the children and youth illustrated various incidents from Shri Krishna’s life giving one key message: No doubts should remain as we have found Bhagwan.
Through the inspiration of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, devotees throughout North America sustain their religious and cultural values through events such as these and provide those same values to the next generation.