Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day Lecture
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
(London, August 21, 1973)
Prabhupāda: His Excellency, the High Commissioner; ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this ceremony, Janmāṣṭamī, advent of Kṛṣṇa. The subject matter I’ve been ordered to speak on is advent of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā,
janma karma me divyaṁ
yo jānāti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti kaunteya
(BG 4.9)
This fact, that we can achieve such a stage of life when we can stop our birth and death… Sa ‘mṛtatvāya kalpate. This morning, I was explaining this verse:
yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete
puruṣaṁ puruṣarsabha
sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ
so ‘mṛtatvāya kalpate
Amrtatva means immortality. So the modern civilization, they have no idea, either the great philosopher, great politician or great scientist, that it is possible to attain the stage of immortality. Amṛtatva. We are all amṛta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mrīyate vā kadācin. We living entities, we never die, never take birth. Nityaḥ śāśvato yaṁ, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Every one of us, we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato; Purāṇa, the oldest. And after annihilation of this body, we do not die. Na hanyate. The body is finished, but I have to accept another body. Tathā dehāntara prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. Dehino ‘smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13).
This simple thing, at the present moment, they are lacking knowledge, that we, all living entities, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we are eternal, we are blissful, and we are cognizant. Kṛṣṇa is described in the Vedic śāstras:
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