The Indian Dharma

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna granted the highest “Moksha” to an ordinary fruit vendor who had come knocking at His door for selling fruits. In exchange of the fruits, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna brought some food grains in HIs tiny hands, to give the old woman. However, upon looking at Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s little palms, the old woman quickly realized whom she was talking with. She knew that this child standing in front of her was none other than Bhagawan Vishnu in the form of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, and hence she wasn’t interested anymore in these food grains or the fruits. She saw this opportunity and negotiated with Bhagawan whether He’s ready to grant her the highest “Moksha” in exchange with the fruits that she had in her basket! Impressed with her unconditional surrender and spiritual maturity, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna too granted her wish and straightaway, this old women fled off to Vaikunta! Thus, we had witnessed how an ordinary woman who doesn’t have any knowledge of our scriptures and spiritual austerities is also able to attain “Moksha” with ease. 

So what is that we can learn from this particular segment of the “Krishna-Leela”? In fact, there are two important points that we need to discuss here, and let us carry forward this in today’s episode. Firstly, we should understand that for Bhagawan, all of us are equal. There is no difference between a highly learned scholar and an illiterate in Bhagawan’s eyes. All these differences are for the “Shareera” (Physical body) and not of the “Atman”. We’ve witnessed this point earlier as well, when we were discussing the narratives of Sage Jada-Bharata. This same point is now illustrated and shown to us by Bhagawan Krishna Himself. Thus, we should realize that there’s no point in comparing amongst ourselves – In terms of education, knowledge, richness, poorness, caste, color, creed, race, gender, etc. Also, there’s no point in complaining about others as well. If we’ve to attain Moksha, no matter who we are, we’ve to put our individual effort, as per our capacity. If we do so, Bhagawan is surely going to respond. How can a father stay quiet if His child is crying his heart out? We should have this faith firmly in our mind as we progress spiritually. Thus, the point here is that, irrespective of whoever we are, Bhagawan is going to grant us the highest “Moksha”, if our efforts and devotion are in the right direction. 

Secondly, even if we’re channelizing our efforts to attain “Moksha”, how ready are we to take that “offer” from Bhagawan? We’ve witnessed in the fruit-vendor case that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had granted her the “Moksha” immediately and she too was ready to accept it. We should imagine ourselves in the place of the fruit vendor for a moment and ask within ourselves thus, “Oh! If Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is going to appear in front of us at this very moment and is ready to grant us the “Moksha”, will we be ready to accept it at this moment itself and go off?” This is the real test here – If at all such a situation comes, what would our normal reaction be? We would immediately start negotiating with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan! I still have various commitments to fulfill in this lifetime – I’ve to have kids, educate them, marry them off, set them in life, and maybe, at the end of this birth, please come in front of me again, and I shall take up your offer!” 🙂 

This might be funny at the onset, but there’s definitely a deeper meaning to this – If we’re showing our readiness and willingness to immediately accept Bhagawan’s offer, it shows that we’re of the highest order of Bhakti! Whereas, if we’re trying to “beat around the bush” with Bhagawan, giving all sorts of reasons for not accepting His offer, it simply means that we’re getting carried away by the “Maya” (Worldly pleasures). So this is a check-point for all of us here. We should ask this question individually within each one of us to check how ready we are today, to attain “Moksha”, if Bhagawan is willing to offer it at this moment itself. The more we’re getting ready with an answer “Yes”, it means that we’re more and more getting detached towards worldly objects and pleasures. However, if our “No” answer is weighing more, it simply means that we’re engrossed into worldly attachments! 

So for today, let us understand this important point and let us conduct a check for ourselves. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was crying as He was being punished by His mother for stealing butter. We had witnessed that He was “folding His hands” while crying, thus signifying to the outside world as if He’s “seeking forgiveness” for His mistake. However, we’ve seen various in-depth meanings to this gesture of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna as explained to us by various Alwars and Aachaaryas. The crux of this explanation is that, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s time was saved by Mother Yashoda, as she succeeded in bringing together all of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s ardent devotees under one roof, rather than, Him going around meeting each of them one by one. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was crying aloud, all His “friends” came running towards Him to see what happened! Eventually He had the opportunity to grace all His ardent devotees at a stretch, and this is how Bhagawan uses every opportunity that He gets, irrespective of whether it is a punishment or not, to bless His devotees. This is where Bhagawan Bala-Krishna stands as an embodiment of compassion and love towards all His devotees. No matter whatever situation He’s in, He never misses an opportunity to see His devotees, isn’t it? 

Moving on thus, Sage Paraashara explains how Nandagopa frees Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and lets him off Yashoda’s punishment. As we witnessed yesterday too, upon seeing the child crying, Father Nandagopa couldn’t resist himself. He immediately unties the rope and lets Bhagawan Bala-Krishna free. He wipes the child’s tears off His beautiful eyes, and tells Him thus, “Oh Krishna! Now go the backside of our house, take the sack of grains and give it to the fruit vendor who has come out on the road. In return, you can ask for whatever fruits she has, and you can eat them as per your wish!” Upon hearing thus from His father, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was overjoyed! He immediately runs to the backyard, picks up the grain sack and runs back to the entrance. By this time, the fruit-vendor had reached Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s house, and was waiting to see Him. 

Now here’s another example as to how this fruit-vendor gets an opportunity to be part of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “divine league”. Afterall, this woman was uneducated and she didn’t even know “ABC” of our Sanaatana Dharma’s “Shaastras”. Even then, how did she become a part of Bhagawan Krishna’s divine league? Let’s witness! As the woman comes near Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, He gives off the grains that He had in His hands. Child as He was, His hands were tiny and we can imagine how much grains could actually fit into those tiny beautiful hands. Now an important conversation starts between the fruit vendor and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thus. The fruit vendor says to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thus, “Oh Krishna! Please give me what I ask for, and in turn, you can take whatever fruits you want from my basket!” Bhagawan Bala-Krishna gives her a handful of grains and replies thus, “Oh grandmother! Please give me the fruits!” However, the fruit-vendor woman wasn’t really seeming to be convinced with what Bhagawan Krishna had given her. She asks Him back thus, “Oh Krishna! I swear that you hadn’t given me what I wanted!” Upon hearing this, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was surprised. He asks her back, “Oh grandma! Normally this is what I give everyday isn’t it? Do you want more of it? Or, do you want a cow or milk or butter? Please ask me anything. I shall give you!” 

This last sentence uttered by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is what the old woman captures. She asks Him back thus, “Oh Krishna! You would give me whatever I ask, isn’t it? Now show me your hands!” As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna extends His tiny hands towards her, she sees the unthinkable! She sees the “Shanka” on one palm and a “Chakra” on the other! She immediately understood who this child was. She continues thus, “Oh Bala-Krishna! Upon seeing your hands, I understood who you are! You are the sole person who can grant the highest “Moksha” to everyone in this world! I’ve understood this fact now, and till date, I was longing for this for so many years and births! Now I feel that the purpose of this long wait has come to an end upon seeing you! Hence, what I want to ask you is that, please give me the highest “Moksha” in exchange of these fruits that I have in my basket! You know how poor I am. I cannot give you anything “hi-fi” like how other devotees might give you. All I have with me is this. So I’m offering my heart and tears of joy, along with this bunch of fruits! So please accept them and grant me what I had asked for!” 

Upon hearing this from the poor woman, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was moved! How can He ever deny an ardent devotee’s request? Bhagawan is extremely compassionate, isn’t it? Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s heart melted upon the woman’s selfless tears and complete surrender. He thus has a glance at her for a moment, and off she goes directly to Vaikunta! The poor woman has been granted “Moksha” then and there by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna! What an opportunity! What bliss! What a moment is this for the poor woman! So for today, let us get immersed into this experience of the fruit-vendor with tears in our eyes, and let us also wait for our turn from Bhagawan Bala-Krishna! We shall continue this experience in the next episode as well, and witness what are the important lessons that we can learn from this. Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed yet another significant message for our spiritual growth and progress, that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is conveying through His divine “Krishna-Leelas”. We’ve in due course of yesterday’s episode how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna escaped from the punishment meted out to Him by Mother Yashoda. As His father, Nandagopa arrived at the house, he was shocked to see His darling child crying loud and being tied to the “Ural”. He immediately unties Bhagawan Krishna from the “Ural”, and with this, He gets the desired butter too, straight into His hands from His father! Upon seeing this, Mother Yashoda fumes with anger and frustration and this episode comes to an end. With this, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is free and what is His next move going to be? Is He going to keep quiet, or, is He going to play His pranks again? Let’s continue witnessing! 

As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is freed, He immediately sets out to meet His “girlfriends” in and around Gokula. As I had mentioned earlier as well, when we mean “girlfriends”, these people were ardent “Bhaktas” of Bhagawan Krishna. They were longing for His presence, not for fulfilling their physical needs, but for the divine spiritual experience of being with the “Paramatma” or the Supreme Bhagawan. In fact, we’ve also witnessed that the Devas (Celestial Beings) headed by Indra, had requested to spend time in unison with Bhagawan Vishnu, and when He incarnated as Bhagawan Krishna, He’s going to fulfill the request made by the Devas. This is the reason why the Devas incarnated in this world as the divine “Gopikas”, wherein they had obtained that divine opportunity to spend time with Bhagawan all alone. 

Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna sets out of His house again and the “Operation-butter” continues. While this happens on one side, He also goes house after house in Gokula to spend time with the young unmarried women there, who were yearning for His presence. As He visits each and every house, all the girls were angry with Him for the delay. Normally, it was a routine practice that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna spends around an hour with each girl every day. But because of today’s punishment, He’s a bit late and all His friends were sad. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna tries to convince them individually, explaining to all of them as to how Mother Yashoda had punished Him and that He wasn’t able to rush towards them. However, as it was already delayed, He wasn’t able to visit all the friends of His! 

In fact, even when Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was tied up, He folded His hands as He was crying, isn’t it? The “Alwars” give a beautiful description to this act of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. In fact, there are three descriptions here – Firstly, of course, it was a mistake of stealing butter on His part, and hence, He had to anyway ask for forgiveness. Secondly, it was a token of respect to His mother, that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna folded His hands and cried. It is because, Bhagawan Vishnu Himself was having a long-pending wish – Since He is a “Paramatma”, He doesn’t have a start or an end to His life. He’s a permanent entity. Since He’s permanent, He doesn’t have a mother or a father from whom He took birth. Thus, Bhagawan Vishnu was thinking within Himself for a long time – “Oh! How fortunate are the people in this world! They have their parents, to whom they can pay their obsteinence. However, I’m not that fortunate to have parents to do so!” Thus, when He got an opportunity to be born as a son to Mother Yashoda and Nandagopa, Bhagawan thus used this opportunity to fold hands and salute His parents! 🙂 

These two descriptions aren’t that important anyways! The third description which the “Alwars” are giving here is of prominent significance – By tying Him to the “Ural”, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna wasn’t able to go to each of His friend’s places isn’t it? We’ve to also understand that the number of young women in and around Gokula were crossing five-hundred thousand (Five lakhs). Where is the time for Bhagwan Bala-Krishna to visit each of the five lakh people and give His divine darshan? Thus, by crying aloud and creating an alibi, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna made sure that all the five lakh people assembled in front of His house to enquire why their darling child was crying like this! With this, His work is minimised, isn’t it? 🙂 Rather than going individually to five lakh homes, if all the five lakh people come at a stretch to see Him, it becomes easy for Bhagawan to give His divine darshan to all the people at the same time, isn’t it? Hence, by folding His hands and crying, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thanked Mother Yashoda for giving Him an opportunity to see all His five lakh ardent devotees of Gokula “under one roof”, so that He doesn’t need to keep going everywhere! 🙂 

So for today, let us understand this important point and let us keep enjoying Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s divine “Leelas” in a continuous manner. The reason why we’re spending so much time in each “Leela” is that, more than just the storyline, we’ve to understand the inner spiritual significance as to why Bhagawan Bala-Krishna performs them. Every act of Bhagawan is extremely significant, irrespective of any incarnation, isn’t it? Hence, let us spend our time today enjoying this segment of the divine “Krishna-Leela”! Stay tuned for the next episode for the continuation! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important message from the three “Krishna Leela” instances that we’ve seen so far. The message is loud and clear from Bhagawan – He doesn’t like to share what He likes with others. His likes and preferences include those minds and hearts of His ardent devotees. This is exactly what the great “Alwars” and “Aachaaryas” have illustrated to all of us over and over again. If we look at all the “Paasurams” of the “Divyaprabhandham” text, each and every “Paasuram” would convey this message in a unique manner. The level to which the “Alwars” have exhibited this total “Sharanagati” towards Bhagawan is for all of us to see and experience. This clearly substantiates the point that the Alwars have dedicated their heart, mind, soul and breath to Bhagawan completely, and this is what made Bhagawan come towards them. Thus, we should realize this important spiritual message that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is symbolically trying to convey through His “Leelas”. 

Not only the “Alwars” and “Aachaaryas” – There are innumerable people even in this “Kali Yuga” who have attained Bhagawan through this way. We’ve earlier seen Meerabai, an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Krishna, Saint Thiyagaraja Swami, a prolific composer in Carnatic Music, Saint Tukaram, who was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Paanduranga (Bhagawan Krishna) and how they had completely dedicated and surrendered themselves into Him, and how Bhagawan honoured them in return. Thus, we should also understand an offshoot message here that “Yuga” isn’t a valid criterion for exhibiting “Sharanaagati”. All these examples that we’ve witnessed above, that is, Meerabai, Saint Thiyagaraja Swami, etc. have all lived in this present Kali Yuga, a few hundreds of years ago. There might be many myths that Bhagawan cannot be attained or witnessed in this treacherous Kali Yuga and all these “Sharanagati” narratives are futile in nature. We can bust all these myths with such beautiful examples. Similarly, in the earlier episodes of our Shri Vishnu Puraana itself, we’ve witnessed how little Dhruva with his innocent devotion, was able to see Bhagawan Narayana in front of him, isn’t it? Thus, we’ve to understand that if we take the right effort towards the right direction, Bhagawan can be witnessed by each one of us in our own capacities. For some, He might come directly in person. For some others, Bhagawan might assume the form of a “Guru” or an “Aachaarya” (Spiritual Master) and come. For some others, the forms might be different. But the point here is that, Bhagawan would definitely come towards us if we’re putting the right effort with the right thought process and guidance. 

Moving on with the instance thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishan is now tied to the “Ural” with the long pieces of rope by Mother Yashoda, and with this, Mother Yashoda too challenges Him thus, “Oh Krishna! Now that I’ve tied you with the rope, let us see how you will move an inch from here!” Listening to this “challenge” from His mother, Bhagwan Bala-Krishna is crying even more now! Tears are flowing from His eyes as He tries to shake His hands and legs while crying! However, Mother Yashoda has now become stone-hearted and she leaves the place to take care of other duties. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna crying thus, after a while, His father, Nandagopa comes from the cowshed. Upon seeing his darling child being tied to the “Ural”, he was shell-shocked. And the sight of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna crying aloud with folded hands melted Nandagopa’s heart even more. He thus pulls up Mother Yashoda, gives her a nice round of scolding and immediately frees Bhagawan Bala-Krishna from the ropes. Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s punishment for the day comes to an end. 

As the child gets freed up, Nandagopa takes Him on his lap and feeds Him with a lot of butter and fruits, as per the child’s desire. He feeds Bhagawan Bala-Krishna in such a way that He’s heartfully content with the food. Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was “rescued” by His father, even as Mother Yashoda meted out the punishment to Him. But the important question here is that, is this punishment going to teach Bhagwan Bala-Krishna a lesson to not steal things, as His mother intended to teach?  As He was freed up, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna immediately started His “Operation butter” again. He’s not a child who’s going to sit idle and as an obedient child. What is Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s next course of action? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is extremely compassionate towards His ardent devotees, that He even goes to the extent of receiving punishments from them! Mother Yashoda is a great example for this – As Bhagaan Bala-Krishna gets caught red-handed for His mistake of stealing butter, Mother Yashoda leaves no stone unturned to “mend” her son’s ways. She thus ties Him to the “Ural” (Drum) and makes Him cry. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna initially had His “soft and playful” ego and He wantedly grew in size as she was tying Him. This rendered her helpless. However, within the next few minutes, Bhagawan realized that He was fighting with a wrong person – A person who is pure by heart. He immediately accepted the punishment gleefully from His mother, but for the sake of the outside world, He was crying aloud, just to attract the attention of the onlookers! Thus, we had learnt the important lesson spiritually here – For all those who are ardent devotees, Bhagawan gleefully bows and obeys their orders. Whereas, for all those who are Raakshasas, Bhagawan takes the stick in hand and makes them obey His orders. 

Continuing with this message further thus, what we’re witnessing here as part of the divine “Krishna Leelas” so far is that we’ve firstly witnessed how Poothana came with the poisonous milk to be fed to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. Secondly, we’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna used the “Ural” to climb over and steal butter. Thirdly, we’ve witnessed how Mother Yashoda tied Bhagawan Krishna to that same “Ural”. In all these three instances, we can witness that neither the poisonous milk is of use to anybody, nor the “Ural” that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna employed to steal butter is of use to anybody, nor the rope that Mother Yashoda used to tie Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was of use to anybody. In other words, if the milk was good enough, it could have been used for a different purpose, isn’t it? What is the use of poisonous milk? Similarly, if the “Ural” was intact, it could have been used to store some food grains. It was an empty drum, which had holes in it, which made it unfit for any storage purpose. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna employed only that useless drum for His “Operation butter”. Similarly, the rope that Mother Yashoda used to tie Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was equally useless because, if the ropes were good enough, they could have been used to draw water from the well, isn’t it? Thus, we’re witnessing here that all the three items – Milk, rope and the “Ural” are totally useless items here, and these are the things that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is also employing to execute His divine “Leelas”. We might wonder what is the significance behind this, isn’t it? 

We’ve to understand something important here – All these above-mentioned items were dedicated to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna in a way, isn’t it? The poisonous milk brought by Poothana was only meant for Him! Similarly, the “Ural” was also meant for Him to climb over. Similarly, the ropes were exclusively meant for Him to be tied! Bhagawan always likes and goes behind those things that are exclusively meant for Him. He doesn’t like “sharing” His things with someone else. Now let us relate this concept with our own self here – Readers have to read this part with a bit more focus, so that the concept can be easily understood. Bhagawan has created all of us – “Jeevatmas” in this world, with a purpose of washing away our “Karma”. In this pursuit, Bhagawan has clearly made a guideline that if we exhibit “Sharanaagati” (Complete surrender to Bhagawan), we can achieve our agenda. For achieving “Sharanaagati”, we’ve to have a one-pointed focus towards Bhagawan. This means that our minds and hearts should only be filled with thoughts about Him, and not about worldly affairs (Maya). Just like how this poisoned milk had a one-pointed focus towards Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, just like how this “Ural” had a one-pointed focus on Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and just like how the rope had a one-pointed focus to tie Bhagawan Krishna and nothing else, our minds should have that one-pointed focus towards Bhagawan, if we’ve to attain “Moksha” by washing away all our “Karma”. This is the point that we’ve to understand from all these three episodes of “Krishna-Leelas” put together. 

Thus, the point here is very simple – Bhagawan doesn’t like sharing something that he loves the most with others. This implies that Bhagawan doesn’t like to share the mind space or the heart space of His ardent devotees with something else that is worldly in nature. If we’re saying to Bhagawan that “I’ll have some worldly desires and thoughts, along with the thoughts of yours”, He’s not going to like it. It is just like a couple falling in love with each other – Just like how the boy or girl wouldn’t like his / her partner to have any sort of relationship outside of their bonding, Bhagawan is also of this same nature. Thus, just like how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was so obsessed with the “Ural”, the rope and the poisonous milk, we also should be obsessed with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna with our ardent devotion. Thus, in continuation with yesterday’s point that Bhagawan Krishna obeys and bows to an ardent devotee, we’ve witnessed an important answer to the question – How would we become that ardent devotee to whom Bhagawan would bow to? 

So, let us realize this point for today, and we shall wait till the next episode to witness the continuation of the “Krishna-Leelas” narrated by Sage Paraashara! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Bala-Krishna being tied by Mother Yashoda to the drum (Ural) for all His theft of butter. Along with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, the Ural also had to bear the punishment, as it was also a partner in crime! 🙂 Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had used that Ural to climb over it to steal the butter, isn’t it? Thus, the punishment was meted out to both Bhagawan Bala-Krishna as well as the “Ural” together. As Mother Yashoda was tying both together with the rope, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna starts crying aloud, thus trying to create an alibi to the neighbours that He’s an innocent kid! However, Mother Yashoda was too smart for all this. She did not even care to pay heed to all these “fake cries” of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. She was busy tying both the Ural and the little boy together with the rope. 

At this juncture, we’ve to witness an important point here – As Mother Yashoda was trying to tie Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, He was thinking within Himself thus, “Oh wow! Afterall I’m the leader of this entire world, and I’ve tied the entire world under my feet till this moment. Now this woman is trying to tie me, who has tied the entire world down under!” Thinking thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had a little bit of ego within Himself, and He decided to teach His mother a fitting lesson! As Mother Yashoda was tying Him, He gradually increased His body within such a way that the rope wouldn’t be sufficient to tie Him completely. As Mother Yashoda was struggling to tie Him under that single rope, she asked her servant to bring in another rope to augment this one. Even then, these two ropes put together weren’t enough to tie Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to the “Ural”! This is because, within the time the second rope was bought in, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had once again grown in size. This was continuing for some moments and even though Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was crying aloud for the outside world, internally He was laughing within Himself upon seeing poor Mother Yashoda struggling to tie Him and execute the punishment. 

However, after a moment, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna realized His mistake and thought thus, “Oh wow! To whom am I showing all my might and power? Afterall to my mother? What will a poor mother do? If a child is notorious, it is very natural that she would mend the child’s ways, isn’t it? This is exactly what Mother Yashoda is also trying to do. Hence, what is wrong in this? Moreover, what am I going to gain by showing my prowess to her? Is anybody going to give me a trophy for this? However, if Kamsa or Sishupala had come in front, of course the story might be different. But my Mother is as innocent as a cow. She is not a Raakshasa by any means for me to show my powers. Hence, we shouldn’t be so aggressive towards her!” 

Thinking thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna allowed her to tie the rope around Him, but for the outside world, He was profusely crying! This was just merely a drama that He’s creating, just to make the outside world (including Mother Yashoda) believe that He was a normal child and not Bhagawan Vishnu! Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna allows Mother Yashoda to tie Him with the rope and He thus, accepts the punishment meted out to Him by His mother. This, in fact, is not just a story segment, but has a deeper spiritual significance here. This is the reason why we’re not rushing with the story portion of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Leelas”. Behind every “Leela” that Bhagawan performed, there is a unique spiritual message for all of us. Especially from this particular instance, we should understand that if an ardent and an innocent “Bhakta” (devotee) is doing something (even if it is seemingly harming Bhagawan in some way or the other), Bhagawan accepts it gleefully! This is the prize that Bhagawan is giving the “Bhakta” for his / her ardent devotion towards Him. Thus in other words, even if the Bhakta is issuing commands to Bhagawan, or even if the Bhakta is trying to “punish” Bhagawan for something, Bhagawan would accept it with joy and He would never ask anything back! 

However, if we’re not devotees of Bhagawan and if we’re acting against the “Dharma” that He had prescribed, this is where Bhagawan gets angry upon us. Hence, we’ve to understand the difference clearly here – If an ardent Bhakta is punishing Bhagawan, we’re seeing here how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna gleefully accepts it. This is because of the simple reason that Mother Yashoda is pure in what she’s doing. She doesn’t have any vengeance of any sorts. Her heart is pure. Hence, Bhagawan wants to reward her purity by accepting her punishment to be tied. Thus, if Bhagawan has to dance to our tunes, what is important for us? It is the level of “Bhakti” that is important, isn’t it? This is the very reason behind why we’re experiencing Bhagawan as a little child. As we do this every passing day and as we experience Bhagawan Bala-Krishna moment after moment, our level of “Bhakti” should increase, just by observing how Mother Yashoda, the Gopikas, the Gokula women and His childhood friends inclusive of Sudhaama, etc. moved with Him. This should automatically bring tears of emotions and this would automatically transform into Bhakti. Once we attain this level of Bhakti towards Bhagawan, automatically all of us would become Mother Yashoda, who was issuing her “Diktats” to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna with ease! 

So for today, let us understand this important message from Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s this segment of His “Leelas” and we shall wait for the next episode to proceed further from here! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Paraashara’s beautiful accord on how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Operation butter” ended up being caught red-handed by Mother Yashoda. As she was trying to investigate the “culprit” behind this operation (she already knew that it was one other than her notorious son who is behind it), she was purposefully screaming on top of her voice. Listening to this, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna blurts out His naughty act and His body showed stains of butter sticking all over! This made Mother Yashoda even more furious and eventually she tied Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to the drum (Ural) upon which He had climbed over to steal the butter, as a token of punishment for what He had done! We might wonder, why Mother Yashoda is tying Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to that same drum upon which He had climbed to steal the butter. As per the explanation given by the “Alwars” and “Aachaaryas”, if a punishment is given, it should be given to all those who are involved in the crime. Here, the drum was also involved in the crime, as Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had used it to climb over, and hence, the drum too was “declared” as a “convict” in the crime! 🙂 In other words, the drum had helped Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to execute His “Operation butter”, isn’t it? Thus, Mother Yashoda gives the punishment to both the drum and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna by tying them together! 

Now as she ties both,  Mother Yashoda exclaims thus, “Yes! Now that both of you were involved in the act, be tied like this for sometime, till both of you realize your folly!” Hearing thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna started to cry aloud (This was also an act of creating alibi to people around). He purposefully cried with His vociferous sound so as to attract the attention of all the neighbours. His face was so innocent-looking, that people wouldn’t believe at once that He was the one who stole the butter. With that beautiful innocent face, Bhagwan Bala-Krishna started crying profusely, protesting that neither Himself nor the drum were involved in the stealing of butter. However loud Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is going to cry, Mother Yashoda is not going to be fooled this time around! She lets Him cry as much as He wants to, and walks away from the house. 

Now, as we look at Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and the “Ural” (Drum) to which He’s tied to, both look the same! In fact, the drum was of the same height as that of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, and if we look at both together, it would be literally like two partners in crime! 🙂 The only difference between the two partners in crime were that, one was crying aloud and the other wasn’t! As we witness Bhagawan Bala-Krishna being tied this way, He obtained the divine name called “Damodara”. In other words, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is often referred to as Bhagawan Damodara because He was tied with the long rope by Mother Yashoda just above His hips. The portion between the hips and the top portion of the body is called “Daamam” and since Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was tied at this particular spot – Neither around His hips, nor His chest portion, but somewhere in the middle of both, He’s referred to as “Damodara”. 

As this was happening, the “Alwars” were very playful and explained thus, “Oh! This Mother Yashoda, more than being a tough mother, is also an extremely tough mother-in-law too!” We might wonder when Mother Yashoda became a mother-in-law, and that too how soon! Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was hardly 5 years old at that time, and how did He get married so quickly? We’ve to understand one important point here – Goddess Mahalakshmi permanently resides in the heart of Bhagawan Vishnu, isn’t it? We’ve witnessed this at many occasions earlier too. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is none other than Bhagawan Vishnu Himself! Hence, Goddess Mahalakshmi is embedded into His heart all the time, no matter whether He’s a five-year-old kid or a fifty-year-old adult! Now, Mother Yashoda is tying Bhagawan Damodara across His hips and top portion with the rope, which means that she is tying Goddess Mahalakshmi too along with Him, isn’t it? Hence, we can see here that Goddess Mahalakshmi too has become a “partner in crime” along with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and the drum! 🙂 

Thus, for today, let us enjoy this divine experience of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and let us understand the importance of Bhagawan Damodara. We shall wait till the next episode to move further from this point and witness how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna manages to come out of this punishment! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the “Modus operandi” of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Operation butter”. We’ve witnessed that as Mother Yashoda goes out to fend the cows, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna sees this as His golden opportunity to “put His hands” into the butter pot. He does so and within the time that Mother Yashoda returns back home, the entire pot of butter would be empty! Upon seeing that, Mother Yashoda would scream on top of her voice as to who stole all the butter! She also knows that it would have been none other than Bhagawan Bala-Krishna only, who would be lying on the bed, “acting” as if He’s sleeping in bliss! Bhagawan Bala-Krishna might be putting out this act successfully, but one thing what He would forget is to wipe off the butter that would have spilt on His body before He comes back to the bed! This remaining portion of butter is obviously visible to Mother Yashoda and the smell of butter that emits from Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s divine physical body makes Mother Yashoda conclude that the culprit is none other than Bhagawan Bala-Krishna only and nobody else! 

As Mother Yashoda concludes thus and screams “Oh! I had worked so hard to prepare the butter and store it in the pot. Someone has stolen it very easily!” Hearing thus from His mother, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna would immediately jump up from bed and respond thus, “Oh! So do you say that I was the person who stole it?” This is a funny answer, isn’t it? Mother Yashoda was smart enough not to mention Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s name while talking, and here is He, coming along and getting caught red-handed, by blurting out His theft! 

There is a small analogy that comes to my mind as we’re talking about this “Charitra” – Once there was a servant who was extremely lazy and was employed to clean a huge community center or a convention hall. Every passing day,  he used to consume a wholesome amount of food and sleep in one corner of the hall, without any responsibility of maintaining the hall clean. He never used to be punctual in his work, nor perfect in what he’s doing. One fine day, the owner of that hall came along with 2-3 other people and found that the hall was shabbily and horribly maintained. Obviously the owner got angry upon seeing this and he shouted on top of his voice thus, “Oh! Isn’t it very difficult for some people, even though they’re getting paid a lot of money, to clean and maintain this place? This hall is very big, and despite paying so much money, some people act like fools and sleep all the time without doing any work!” As this servant hears this in his half sleep, he jumps up immediately and rushes to the owner and replies thus, “Oh owner! I know whom you are talking about! How dare you tell that I’m a fool? Is it my fault that you’ve built such a massive hall? Is it my fault that I’m unable to clean it every day?” Now what do we conclude here? Isn’t the guilty consciousness of that servant pricking him that he’s at fault for not maintaining the facility properly? 

Similar is the case of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna here too – As Mother Yashoda fumes on top of her voice, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s guilty consciousness pricks Him and thus, He Himself blurts out that it is He who has stolen the butter! As Bhaagwan Bala-Krishna replies thus, Mother Yashoda decides that she has had enough with His pranks! She thus decides to punish Him for what He has done! Before Bhagawan Bala-Krishna even tries to escape an inch out of the house, Mother Yashoda pulls out a long rope and quickly ties Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to the drum, upon which He had climbed up to reach the butter pot. As Mother Yashoda was tying Him, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was vehemently protesting and refusing to be tied. Mother Yashoda did not care about anything and she went on tying Him on to the window sill. 

As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was getting tied thus, He started crying innocently as if nothing has happened from His side! He’s crying aloud in such a way that all the residents of Gokula could hear His crying! Mother Yashoda ties Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and thus walks off her home to perform her other duties for the day. What is going to happen next? Let’s wait for the next episode to witness how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is going to create a big “alibi” for Himself! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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We were at an important juncture at yesterday’s episode wherein Bhagawan Bala-Krishna wanted to try His luck in stealing butter from His own house, apart from His regular routine of stealing butter from other Gokula residences. As Mother Yashoda stacks up the freshly made butter in the mud pot (Uri) and hangs it from the roof, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna initially pretends as if He’s fast asleep. However, once Mother Yashoda leaves the home to fend the cows, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna decides that if He has to unleash His mischief, it is now or never! Thus He immediately jumps out of His bed, makes His way to the place where the “Uri” is hung and tries to poke His small hands into the pot. As Mother Yashoda was equally smart enough, she too knew that her notorious son would immediately put His hands into the butter! She has tied the Uri in such a way that there were sixteen ropes protecting it. If Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is trying to put His hands from amidst those sixteen ropes, either His hands wouldn’t be able to penetrate into the Uri, or, even if He somehow penetrates His hands in, He wouldn’t be able to take His hands out – Thus, while Mother Yashoda comes back, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna would be trapped red-handed! This was the plan! 

However, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna decided to “go for the kill” here. He climbs up the window sill and somehow reaches the “Uri” that is tied to the roof. He tries to put His small hands inside the pot and as per Mother Yashoda’s plan, His hands get stuck inside! Unable to remove His hands from the pot, He applies a bit of force to do so, and with this, the entire pot comes crashing down! Upon seeing this, Bhgawan Bala-Krishna is happy on one hand and scared on the other! He’s happy because He has got full access to all the freshly made butter that His mother has kept. On the other hand, He was scared because He might get caught by His mother for His “modus-operandi”. Discarding the scare part, Bhagawan Bala-Krishan quickly uses this opportunity and gulps in all the butter from the broken pot. He has now consumed the entire lot of butter that was inside the pot. 

As this is done and dusted, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thinks of ways to escape this mischief! He immediately goes back to His bed and gives an act as if He’s still fast asleep. However, the remaining part of the butter from the pot, along with the buttermilk oozes out and reaches the bed on which He was “sleeping”! It is at this time, Mother Yashoda makes her way back to the house! Upon reaching, she sees the broken pot of butter, buttermilk and butter oozing out to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s bed, and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna “fast asleep” on that bed! As He gives this act, He lies on the bed as if nothing has happened! He is “sleeping” on the bed in exactly the same position that Mother Yashoda had seen Him before she left home. However, these gimmicks aren’t going to fool Mother Yashoda anymore. She clearly found out who the culprit was and where has all the butter gone! She lets out a squeal of noise and shouts on top of her voice towards Bhagawan Bala-Krishna! 

This sound “wakes” Him up and He innocently asks thus, “Oh Mother! What has happened now that you’re screaming on top of your voice?” Mother Yashoda becomes even more furious upon hearing this from her mischievous son. She replies thus, “Oh Krishna! Till today I had a belief that all the Gokula people were lying about your mischief at their place. Now you’ve become so notorious that you’ve started stealing the butter from here itself. Now I understand everything!” Saying thus, Mother Yashoda dragged Bhagawan Bala-Krishna out of His bed, despite Him protesting against what she alleged! Mother Yashoda is now of a savage resolution to give Bhagawan Bala-Krishna some strict punishment. Now what is that punishment Mother Yashoda meted out to her son? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the significance of a “Guru” or the “Spiritual Master”, and what is His / Her role to play in connecting Bhagawan with His ardent devotees. Especially during this present Kali Yuga, the easiest way to attain Bhagawan is to surrender ourselves to a “Guru” or a “Mahatma” or a “Spiritual Master”. This is why we have this “Sampradhaaya” (Tradition) as part of our Sanaatana Dharma to offer our prayers at the divine lotus feet of the “Guru”, before even going in front of Bhagawan. In fact, even in the Ramayana, we’ve witnessed how Hanuman served the purpose of a “Guru”, isn’t it? We should recollect here, how Bhagawan Rama sends Hanuman to Mother Sita in Sri Lanka, and the reason behind it. Hanuman as an “Aachaarya” highlights the significance of the “Paramatma” (Bhagawan Rama)  to the “Jeevatma” (Mother Sita), and in turn obtains the message of suffering and yearning from the “Jeevatma”, comes back and conveys this to the “Paramatma”. This is the crux of the entire “Sundara Kanda” of the Valmiki Ramayana. Thus, the concept of the “Guru” is clearly brought about by Valmiki Bhagawan and it is for all of us to see. 

In similar lines, we have witnessed (and witnessing today also) several “Aachaaryas” and “Gurus” in this Kali Yuga. Starting from Bhagawad Ramanujaachaarya, Sage Adi Shankara Bhagawad Paada to Sage Madhvaachaarya to Shirdi Sai Baba, to modern day saints such as Kaanchi Paramaachaarya, Bhagawan Ramana Maharishi, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Maa Anandamayi, etc. each “Mahatma” has their own unique purpose and significance of incarnating in this world. Thus, we should understand here that there is no comparison between each “Mahatma”. Every Mahatma is unique and it is upto us to choose our spiritual path under any of them as per our preference. 

Moving on thus, let us come back to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and let us witness what is He going to do next. As Bhagawan Krishna is trying to steal the butter from other residences of Gokula, it is now time for Him to try His luck at His own house. Normally, Mother Yashoda had a practice – She prepares the butter from the fresh curd every morning, transfers the freshly-prepared butter into a mud put (Uri), ties the pot with a rope and hangs it at a height, which Bhagawan Bala-Krishna couldn’t reach out to! However, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s normal practice was to somehow put His hand inside the pot and eat off all the butter when Mother Yashoda is away to fend the cows at the cowshed. Annoyed by this each passing day, Mother Yashoda tries hard to keep the butter pot out of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s reach, but somehow, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is smart enough to steal it and eat it off! This was happening continuously for few days, and on one occasion, Mother Yashoda tried to control Bhagawan Bala-Krishna by scolding Him and warning Him of some punishments if He touched the butter pot again. But Bhagwan Bala-Krishna is not going to budge for all these gimmicks and threats! He’s going to do what He’s expert in doing! 

One day, Mother Yashoda ties the butter pot with sixteen ropes, closely knit together, and hangs it at a certain height, which seems to be unreachable for Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. On that day, peculiarly, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was seemingly sound asleep! Sensing this, Mother Yashoda walks out of the house without disturbing her son, goes out and fends her cows. Sensing that He was alone in the house, Bhaagwan Bala-Krishna quickly gets up from the bed, silently makes His way towards the butter pot, climbs over the window sill and tries to put His small hands into the butter pot. Since the butter pot is tied with sixteen ropes knit together closely, His hands got stuck between the ropes as He takes the butter out of the pot. He’s now not able to take His hand out! Only if He takes out His hands, will He be able to eat the butter, isn’t it? Moreover, if His hands are stuck inside the pot until Mother Yashoda comes back, what would He answer her? He would be caught red-handed for His “theft” isn’t it?

So what does Bhagawan Bala-Krishna do here? How’s He going to escape this trap that was laid to catch Him? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂