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and men and women of great spiritual signi cance are celebrated with immense joy and devotion. For example, the life of Lord Krishna is colorfully portrayed in the Hindu scripture known as Srimad Bhagavatam, and his birth is celebrated with one of the biggest religious festivals in the world. To devotees, Janmashtami is Christmas and New Year’s in one celebration, a day of deep spiritual renewal. Very much like Christmas festivities, it is celebrated with scriptural readings in the temples, colorful decorations and garlands, the singing of devotional kirtans, waving of light, delicious feasts and giving gifts to the Lord. The festivities begin before dawn and extend all day until midnight—the time, according to the scriptural stories, that Lord Krishna—like Christ—was born.
The stories contained in the Holy Bible and Srimad Bhagavatam have brought us inspiring portraits of Christ and Krishna as amazing historical personalities that have transformed the world and inspired the greatest realization of human potential. However, Sages remind us that all religious scriptures are actually allegorical in nature, and history is not the most important, inspiring, or transformative aspect of their teachings. A greater reward awaits us if we look into the symbolic meaning of the scriptural accounts to discover and deeply understand the profound meaning of the teachings.