24 On the Way to Krsna

In this verse Krsna also points out that His descent
into the material world is transcendental. The word
divyam means transcendental. His activities are not in
any way ordinary. Even today, in India, at the end of
August the people are accustomed to celebrating
Krsna’s birthday, regardless of sect, just as in the
Western world Jesus Christ’s birthday is celebrated at
Christmas. Krsna’s birthday is called Janmastami,
and in this verse Krsna uses the word janma in re-
ferring to “My birth.” Because there is birth, there
are some activities. Krsna’s birth and activities are
transcendental, which means they are not like ordi-
nary births and activities. One may ask how it is that
His activities are transcendental. He is born, He takes
part in a battle with Arjuna, he has a father by the
name of Vasudeva and a mother Devaki and a family
—what can be considered transcendental? Krsna says,
evam yo vetti tattvatah—we must know of His birth
and activities in truth. When one knows of Krsna’s
birth and activities in truth, the result is: tyaktva
deham punar janma naiti mam eti so ’rjuna—when he
leaves this material body, he is not born again but
goes directly to Krsna. This means that he becomes a
liberated soul. He goes to the eternal spiritual world
and attains his constitutional position full of bliss,
knowledge and eternality. All this can be obtained
simply by knowing in truth the transcendental na-
ture of Kysna’s birth and activities.

Ordinarily when one quits the body he has to take
up another body. The lives of the living entities are
going on simply due to the living entities’ changing
dress from one body to another—transmigration of
