The Indian Dharma

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on why Bhagawan Krishna involved Himself in various childhood “Leelas” at Gokula. We’ve begun witnessing how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna started stealing butter from Gokula residences and how Sage Paraashara beautifully brings it out as part of his “Shri Vishnu Puraana”, but as we do so, we’re also witnessing some deeper spiritual meanings and understandings that we should have, with regards to Bhagawan’s “Leelas”. In that way, in yesterday’s episode we had seen an answer to the important question as to how can we relate to Bhagawan Krishna’s “Leelas” of the “Dwaapara Yuga” to the present “Kali Yuga. We should have the firm belief that even though Bhagawan Krishna incarnated in the previous Yuga, He would still give His divine darshan for us, if we exhibit our ardent devotion towards Him. We’ve witnessed similar examples with few ardent devotees like Saint Thiyagaraja Swami, wherein he was a great devotee of Bhagawan Rama. As he attained Moksha, Saint Thiyagaraja was rewarded by Bhagawan Rama with His divine darshan, for all the “Krithis” he had sung in praise of Him. Similar is the case with yet another devotee by name “Meerabai”. She was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Krishna in this Kali Yuga, and ultimately she merged with Bhagawan Krishna as she was constantly singing in praise of Him. There are innumerable examples of people who have lived in this Kali Yuga (living now as well) who have had the golden opportunity to witness Bhagawan in person. Hence, it is upto us to make up our mind to move forward in the path of “Bhakti Maarga” with the firm faith that Bhagawan would definitely answer our prayers some day. 

Obviously there might be another question in this regard – When will Bhagawan answer our prayers and come to us? How do we trust these words that Bhagawan would definitely come? We’ve to understand that we’re nobody to command Bhagawan Krishna to come or not to come. We’re nobody to fix “deadlines” for Bhagawan to come. It is He who has to take the call. All we can do is to pray to Him with all our ardent devotion. After that, it is His discretion as to when or when not to come to us. At times, Bhagawan might not come in person, but we would be able to see Him in terms of somebody else. For instance, Bhagawan might enable us to get in touch with a great spiritual master (Sadguru). This is even more a golden opportunity for all of us to attain Moksha, isn’t it? I’ve already spoken about the importance of a “Guru” on various occasions earlier as well. However, it is worth it for us to recollect it in this context. 

A “Guru” is a person who enables us to realize Bhagawan easily by prescribing us the right path. Just like how a doctor prescribes a path to cure a disease to our physical body, by giving medicines, performing surgeries, etc. a “Guru” prescribes the path for all of us to attain the highest “Moksha”. A “Guru” is also a person who shows us who Bhagawan really is and how to attain Him. Just like how a mother shows the father to their newly born baby, the Guru shows Bhagawan to us, and explains His significance. Moresoever, the “Guru” is someone who guides us through the path of attaining “Moksha”, as said earlier. We should understand here that not all of us might be comfortable with one particular path of attaining “Moksha”. What might work for you, might not work for me. It is similar to someone having a disease and how the doctor treats individual patients differently. This is because, what medicine works on one patient, might not work on me, because my body might be allergic to that medicine. Similarly, the “Guru” understands exactly which path of “Bhakti Maarga” suits me and which path might suit you. 

Thus, to be able to identify and approach a “Guru” in this birth, is itself Bhagawan’s divine grace. If we do not have that grace, we would not be able to even identify that this person is a “Mahatma”, even if we might be physically close to Him or Her. Thus, getting to talk with a “Mahatma”, getting good guidance from Him or Her is also a form of Bhagawan’s divine grace. Hence, we should understand here that Bhagawan needn’t come down in person to all of us everytime. He might send His “representative” to bring us to His place, which is Vaikunta! 🙂 For instance, if there is a small issue in some part of the country, will the Prime Minister of the country personally go everytime and address it? He might have his group of ministers or collectors, or someone else in the government machinery who would address selected issues, isn’t it? Similarly, Bhagawan doesn’t need to come down for each and every small thing that is happening in this world. For His ardent devotees, He makes sure that they attain Him through His representative, and that representative is none other than the “Guru” or the “Spiritual Master”. 

So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and let us wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Paraashara’s explanation as to why Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is stealing butter from the Gokula residences and also a deeper significance behind why Bhagawan Bala-Krishna preferred to spend ample time with young women in Gokula, as well as the Gopikas at Vrindavan. We’ve witnessed how young women are unconditional in their approach towards Bhagawan, and this is what attracts Bhagawan towards them in turn. This of course doesn’t mean that older people, married women and men of all categories aren’t devotional to Bhagawan. For Bhagawan, all of us, living beings are the same. It is only up to us to make our mind to approach Bhagawan and surrender to His divine lotus feet. For all those who unconditionally surrender to Bhagawan, it is for all of us to witness how He makes sure that we reach the ultimate Moksha. Not only in this Krishna-Avatara – We’ve witnessed at “n” number of occasions in the past as to how Bhagawan immediately attends devotees’ fervent calls. We’ve seen how Prahlaada was attended to by Bhagawan Narasimha, we’ve seen how Vibhishana, Hanuman, etc. were attended to by Bhagawan Rama, and now we’re going to witness in the coming episodes as to how Bhagawan Krishna is going to attend to His ardent devotees one after the other. Hence, it is up to us to inculcate that faith in ourselves. 

We might have this question at this point in time – We’re in the Kali Yuga at this point in time. We’ve never witnessed Bhagawan coming down to this earth till now. All these Prahlaada, Vibhishana examples happened in the previous “Yugas”. How does this apply to this present Kali Yuga that we’re living at the moment? Yes, it is a valid question, and we might encounter the same question from our children as we narrate all these stories to them. They might ask this question with all their innocence. How do we answer them? The answer to this question should always be that, “Bhagawan would definitely come down and help us attain Moksha, provided our Bhakti is sincere and ardent!” This has been true in various occasions as well – For instance, when the great music composer, Saint Thiyagaraja Swami was in his old age, he had the greatest fortune of obtaining the divine darshan of Bhagawan Rama, Lakshmana and Mother Sita in front of him as he attained Moksha then and there! Many of us might know, Saint Thiyagaraja was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Rama and most of his compositions are on Bhagawan Rama, which are widely sung even today in all the Carnatic music concerts worldwide. In similar lines, many of us might have heard the tales of Meerabai – How Bhagawan Krishna ensured that He absorbs her into His divine form. There are innumerable tales at one of Bhagawan Krishna’s most auspicious places of “Pandarpur” (Bhagawan Panduranga) wherein at many occasions, Bhagawan Krishna had appeared in person during this Kali Yuga in front of His ardent devotees. 

Thus, when our children innocently ask us this question, we should never discourage them by saying Bhagawan wouldn’t come down to this world during the Kali Yuga. If we say so, we would end up rupturing their ardent and innocent devotion towards Bhagawan. Their level of Bhakti would come down drastically as their minds would get shattered completely. Instead, we should always encourage them by saying that Bhagawan would definitely come and appear in front, provided we show the worthiness of it to Him. We should tell the children that they should first make themselves eligible for seeing Bhagawan in His divine form, and thereby, motivate them to follow the path of “Bhakti-Maarga”. 

So for today, let us understand this important point and let us wait till the next episode to continue with Sage Paraashara’s accord on Bhagawan Bala-Krishna! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the deeper significance of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Leela” of stealing butter from Gokula’s houses. We’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Krishna stresses upon the pure and innocent devotion of young women and how they unconditionally surrender to His divine lotus feet, which melts His heart very much. However, it is not to say that older people and men do not have devotion towards Bhagawan. But the point here is that, as compared to the others, normally one characteristic that stands out of young and unmarried women is that, their level of “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan is a step higher than others.  It is only to highlight this point that Bhagawan Krishna is enacting this “Leela”. 

So having said thus, we might have a question lingering in our mind – “Oh! We’re old, or married or a male! Is there no way that we might be able to attain Bhagawan Krishna? Is it only for young and single women? So for that, should we be unmarried all the time? Should we renounce our “Grihastashrama” completely for the sake of attaining Bhagawan Krishna’s divine lotus feet?” We’ve to look at this in a slightly different context here – Yes. The question is totally valid, but here is the catch point. Although we might be a male or a married woman or an elderly person with a family, etc. we should realize that all these characteristics are only for the physical body (“Deham”) and not for the “Atman”. Our “Atman” is always the same from the time when we take birth and till the time we attain Moksha and even beyond that. We’re now coming back to Sage Jada-Bharata’s point that we’ve discussed in our earlier episodes – We should learn to see the “Atman” and the “Deham” differently. The problem comes when we see both as a combined entity, and this is where we get carried away by the “Maya” (Illusion) that we have a family, a husband, etc. who can take care of us. Little do we realize that it is the “Atman” within us that is to be protected and it can be done by none other than Bhagawan Krishna. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains in His Bhagawad Gita, isn’t it? Bhagawan Krishna says thus, 

“Sarva dharmaan parithyajjya maam ekam sharanam vraja!

Aham tvaa sarva paapebhyo moksha isshyaami maashuchaha!!”

This is a famous sloka from the Bhagawad Gita and I’m sure many of us might be knowing this. Here, Bhagawan Krishna openly declares thus, “Oh Arjuna! For all the living beings in this world, I’m the only savior! No matter what, who and how you are – All of you should go only through me to attain Moksha! Please be assured that if you surrender to me, I shall make sure that all your sins are washed away and ultimately you would be able to attain “Moksha” with ease! Please do not worry!” This is a very important message that Bhagawan Krishna is sending out here – No matter who we are – Either a single woman, or married woman, or elderly woman, or a man, etc. – All are “Atmans” under one roof of Bhagawan. It is only in the way we realize the “Atman” better. It is only in the way we forget our physical differences and approach Bhagawan with that one-pointed devotion. The problem comes when we’re getting carried away by the differences in the “Deham” aspect and completely forget the “Atman” aspect that unites all of us together. 

Thus, to answer the question that we had asked above, everybody can attain Bhagawan Krishna equally. In fact, Bhagawan is neutral and has equal amount of affection towards all His divine children. Afterall how can a father differentiate between two of his own kids? Both kids would be equal for a parent, isn’t it? Similarly, Bhagawan sees all of us as the same. It is only we who keep differentiating ourselves with all these parameters. Thus, the message that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is trying to convey here is very simple – “Forget all your differences and come to me with a pure heart, just like how these young women do! I shall make sure that you’re granted Moksha then and there!” This is what we’ve to understand, and we should make it clear that Bhagawan has no “partiality” towards one person, more than the other. 

In fact, we should ask ourselves another question here – As we’re all Bhaktas, (or, atleast we proclaim so) – Assume that Bhagwan Bala-Krishna is coming and standing in front of us right at this moment and asking us, “Oh my Bhakta! I’m here to grant you Moksha then and there, and have come to take you along with me to Vaikunta!” How many of us in today’s scenario would be ready to go along with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to Vaikunta? We might immediately start thinking thus, “Oh! How come I can leave so early? I’ve to enjoy my family life, I’ve to marry off my son / daughter, I’ve to take care of my parents and family, etc. And hence, it would be nice if Bhagawan is giving us some more time to live in this world!” Now here is where the real check would come – If a person is able to throw away all matters relating to the “Samsara” and takes up the opportunity given by Bhagawan right away without thinking for a second, is Bhagawan’s most ardent devotee! 🙂 We should think within ourselves now – “Do we belong to this category?” If our answer is “Yes”, we’re truly Bhagawan’s go-to devotee! If our answer is “No”, we’ve to think again! 

So for today, let us understand this significant point and let us wait till the next episode to witness the continuation of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s divine “Leelas” further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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We’re at an important and an amazing juncture wherein we’re witnessing Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s adventurous “Operation Butter” that He’s executing at different homes in the Gokula village. This is not a one-time affair that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is doing, but it is now becoming a regular affair every night, buoyed by the success that He had initially! However, as we’ve seen yesterday, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna makes sure that He gets caught in the act too, thus giving all of us, ardent devotees a blissful experience of enjoying Bhagawan Krishna as a child besides us. As this “Operation Butter” is being staged successfully, we’ve witnessed one such instance wherein Bhagawan Bala-Krishna gets caught in the act, and how He smartly manages to escape out of the house unscathed! This was a thrilling experience for all of us yesterday and with this, we were enjoying this part of the “Krishna-Leela” nicely. 

As Bhagawan Krishna continues doing such notorious things, we’ve to also understand the deeper significance and meaning to why is He doing all this. We might wonder and conclude that all these are just childhood pranks that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is playing. But, there are extensive meanings to why all these were happening. In fact, the “Alwars” and the “Aachaaryas” have come out with extensive documentations as to why Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is stealing butter from different places and what is that message He’s trying to convey to the world through this act. One common consensus amongst all the people who’ve extensively documented this is that, there are certain set of characteristics that are imminent in all of us according to our age and gender categories. In other words, there are certain characteristics that are imminent to young women. Similarly there are certain characteristics that are common and imminent in men, and elder women. For instance, men have this common ideology that we can protect themselves and we do not require any external help to protect ourselves. Men tend to have this “boldness” in them, which Bhagawan Krishna doesn’t like much. Whereas, if we analyze the imminent characteristic of elderly women, we would find that they might have this mindset that their husbands would protect them and they’re in safe hands of their husbands. Hence, they too feel that they do not require external help and protection. This too, Bhagawan Krishna doesn’t like much! 

However, if we see the imminent characteristic of young and unmarried women, they would have that innocent mindset that they should be protected only by Bhagawan and by none of them around. Neuter they are married, so that their husbands can protect them, nor they cannot protect themselves, and hence, Bhagawan Krishna is their only savior! Hence, the attitude of “Sharanagati” (Surrender to Bhagawan’s divine Lotus Feet) is more imminent in young and married women, than anybody else in this world, and this is why Bhagawan Krishna liked them more than anybody else. Thus, Bhagawan Krishna made sure that He would stand by those people who come to Him with this innocent and blind devotion and this is why we would see that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna spent most of His time at Gokula and Vrindavan amidst the “Aayarpadi” women (Innocent village young women) and the “Gopikas”. It is not to be mistaken that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna enjoyed worldly and physical pleasures with these young women, like how there is a myth circulating today. In fact it is absolutely wrong to say that Bhagawan Krishna had so many wives in the worldly context. All those who married Bhagawan Krishna eventually during His entire period of incarnation were ardent devotees of Him, and Bhagawan gave them the time and opportunity to be amidst His divine presence. This was the same with Radha, Gopikas, Jaambhavati, etc. 

Thus, the “Operation Butter” was targeted by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna only at those homes wherein young women resided. It was not in all the other homes at Gokula wherein only elderly people lived. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna wanted to give this rejoicing experience to these innocent young women who were longing for His presence for ages and several births till then! Obviously our “Karma” too plays a role here, if we’ve to get Bhagawan’s divine presence near us. Only if the apt time arrives and only if our good “Karma” starts to give fruit, will Bhagawan’s or the Spiritual Master’s (Guru’s) presence be realized in this birth. This is not only applicable to the Gokula residents, but also for all of us too. In this Kali-Yuga if we’ve to be under the shadow of a Spiritual Master (Sadguru), we should have the right “Karma” in place at that particular point in time. If this is not fulfilled, no matter how much we might long for the presence of our Spiritual Master”, we wouldn’t be able to get it easily! 

So for today, let us understand and realize this very important point behind Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s divine “Operation Butter” and why did He target homes wherein young women resided. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this point of discussion! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the “modus operandi” of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna trying to steal butter from the homes of Gokula village. As He’s bluish black in color, He uses it to perfection by venturing out at night, wherein nobody can easily notice a kid going around on the streets. He thus spots and decides that this is the home to venture into, somehow sneaks inside that home and performs His “Operation butter” successfully! He makes sure that nobody finds out His mischief, and before anyone could even think of spotting Him, He would quickly disappear from that place and run away with full speed! As the day begins, the woman of that house would go to the kitchen as a routine practice to check on the butter pot, however, the butter would completely be missing! As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna doesn’t like buttermilk (A diluted version of curd), if at all He finds a pot full of buttermilk, He would just pour all of it on the floor. However, if there is the thicker version of the curd, He would be extremely happy to consume it. Such was Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s liking towards butter and curd. 

However, as mentioned in the previous episode itself, Mother Yashoda knew that her son had a special liking towards butter and curd, and she would feed Him with ample amounts of the same. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna too would happily consume all of it in front of His mother, however, He always has this feeling that the butter would taste even better if He steals it from somewhere else and eats. We might also have this feeling in us – If we get something very easily in our hands, we might not feel the worth of it. Whereas, if we’ve to plan, strategise, slog  and work hard for something, we would really enjoy the taste of success that comes out of it, isn’t it? For instance, we would have seen how medical aspirants prepare for their competitive examinations. They would sit up all through the nights, work hard, give the exams to their best of abilities and when they taste the success after it, we would see how ecstatic they would be. Whereas, if another student is lazy enough and he / she gets a medical seat with the money background of his / her parents, this student wouldn’t really understand the significance of what he / she has obtained, isn’t it? This is exactly the same thing that happened with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna as well – Although Mother Yashoda feeds Him with enough and more of butter and curd, He didn’t like that much because it comes easily to His hands. However, He derives more satisfaction when He strategizes and steals butter from others’ houses and eats! 

As this was progressing for the next few days, there was an instance wherein Bhagawan Bala-Krishna gets caught red-handed in the act! One remarkable characteristic of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is that, if He does some mischief, He would make sure that it is maintained a secret only for a short duration of time. He would make sure that the secret is blurted out to the entire world and likes to get caught red-handed! Obviously, Bhagawan has incarnated as Bala-Krishna only to give us that joy and experience of seeing Him as Bhagawan Chitta-Chora or Bhagawan Navaneetha Chora, isn’t it? The fun aspect amongst kids is only when they get caught in the act of doing something silly. If kids start acting very smart like how we adults do, there’s no fun in it, isn’t it? Hence, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna makes sure that He performs His “Operation Butter” but also makes sure that He gets caught red-handed. 

One such day, as the Operation Butter was going on in full swing, the woman of that particular house caught Him red-handed, as He was eating the butter! As she saw that it was none other than Bhagawan Bala-Krishna who was orchestrating the entire modus operandi, on one hand, she was admiring the smartness of the little one, and on the other hand, she was a bit angry that her house was the target of the day! Thus, she tries reprimanding Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. Now we’ve to enjoy how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna reacts to her reprimanding! 

The woman starts off by asking thus, “Oh little one! Who are you? What have you come here for?” Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thinks for a while as to what answer should He give. Should He disclose to that woman that He’s the all-prevailing Bhagawan Vishnu? Or should He hide His identity and say that He’s Yashoda’s darling son, Krishna? Neither of these answers excited Him. So He decides to “twist” the answer a little bit. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna “innocently” answers the woman thus, “Oh! I’m Balarama’s brother!” Now we might wonder what kind of an answer is this! There’s a reason why He’s giving such an answer here – Normally in Gokula village, Balarama is considered to be an innocent little child who doesn’t poke into anybody’s affairs or resort to anything that this fellow is doing! Hence, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna thinks that if He uses His brother’s name, He might be able to escape scot-free! However, that doesn’t really work! The woman continues further thus, “Oh really? Being Balarama’s brother, why have you indulged in such an act of stealing?” Bhagawan Bala-Krishna replies back thus, “Oh! I wasn’t stealing anything from your place! I was just checking out if one of my friends had fallen into this butter pot accidentally! He is so tiny and there is a chance that He might be in there!” 

Hearing this innocent reply from the little one, the woman was amused and she asks Him further thus, “Oh really? Did you find your little friend inside the pot?” Bhagawan Bala-Krishna answers “No! I didn’t! Perhapsmy friend isn’t inside this pot. He might have fallen into the pot of another home. I came inside this home as all the houses look very similar in Gokula, and I got confused! Had I known that it is your home, I wouldn’t have come inside at all!” 

As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna says thus, He quickly flees off from that place, leaving the woman of that house in total astonishment! It is thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was playing His pranks in Gokula, leaving people stumped and outsmarted! So for today, let us enjoy this wonderful and divine experience of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and let us wait till the next episode to witness more such “Krishna-Leelas”! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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As we’ve witnessed in the previous episode, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is now growing up and as He grows up, His naughtiness also grows along with Him! 🙂 As a child, He starts venturing out into other people’s homes, does some mischief and captures the attention of all the households in Gokula. Upon seeing this child unleashing His pranks at such an early age, the Gokula residents on one hand are in awe of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. However on the other hand, they’re getting increasingly irritated with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s notorious behavior and thus try to “ban” His entry into their homes! As they do this, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna too takes up a vow not to enter into their homes again! However, just within few hours of “banning” His entry, the Gokula residents realize that they are starting to miss Him and His childish pranks. How can they be so harsh to a baby like that? Thus, all of them go back to Yashoda’s home and convince Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to dwell into their homes again. Such is the way in which Bhagawan Bala-Krishna captured people’s hearts with His divine childhood pranks. 

Moving on further, as Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is getting a bit older and bigger, He now starts to “conspire” on how to steal butter and consume. Of course, Mother Yashoda knew that her son was extremely fond of freshly prepared butter and thus, she feeds Him with ample amounts of it. However, Bhagawan Bala-krishna has a desire – He doesn’t like to eat butter directly if someone gives it to Him. Rather, He feels that the taste of butter would be even greater if He steals it from others without their knowledge! Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna slowly starts executing His plans of stealing butter from the Gokula residents. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is doing this on a constant basis every passing day, He is worshipped as Bhagawan Navaneetha-Chora. 

Sage Paraashara beautifully explains the “modus operandi” of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “butter pursuit” – He ventures out of His house during the middle of the night. As He’s black in color, nobody can easily recognize Him in the dark. Thus, He selects His spot for the night and quietly enters into that home without making any noise. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna enters into the house, He pulls off His top coat and exposes His crest gem ornament. The ornament shines with moonlight that falls directly upon it. With this moonlight reflection, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna slowly crawls towards the place where the butter is stored. He locates it successfully, climbs over a small piece of furniture that lies beside it, opens the lid of the pot and starts consuming the butter! If by mistake there’s any noise from His end, and if someone realizes that something is happening at their home, He would immediately run away from that place through the exit door. Since Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is black in color, again He uses it to His advantage to flee off that scene without getting caught! Such was Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Operation butter” and this process was happening not just for that one night, but every night after that! During the daytime when the residents check their pots, the entire lot of butter would be missing! 

We might wonder whether this “Navaneetha-Chora” is running scott free everytime! Doesn’t he get caught for all what He’s doing every night? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness how Gokula residents try and tackle this “notorious” butter stealer! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we were amidst a beautiful experience with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, wherein He is now getting uncontrollable for Mother Yashoda. He’s growing up as days and months pass by, and is now trying to get up from the floor and walk. The way Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is trying to walk is something that needs to be admired and enjoyed. Mother Yashoda and Father Nandagopa are having the time of their lives in witnessing this beautiful child trying to get up and walk. They’re trying to call Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to one corner of the room and as He tries to walk His way across, He falls off on the floor. Again He tries to get up and walks another few steps across, and again He falls on the ground. This is a scene to watch and Mother Yashoda and Nandagopa were ecstatic to see Bhagawan Bala-Krishna walking for the first time. 

As this progresses for the next few days and months, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is up and running and it is now time for Him to show some of His “notorious skills” to His parents and to Gokula as a whole! Sometimes, when Nandagopa goes to fend the cows, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna follows him to the cowshed. He sees how his father fends the cows and once his father leaves the cowshed, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna starts playing His pranks on the cows! He starts to drink the milk from the cow directly and when the calf comes nearby, He lovingly chases it away! If the cow is unwilling to give its milk to Him, He kicks the cow on its back. Unable to bare the kick from the child, the cow starts giving milk again! However, as Bhagawan Bala-Krishna drinks the milk, He makes sure that the cows are lovingly taken care of. 

Sometimes, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is in an extremely playful and joyous mood – He wants to see how the cows react to some firecrackers! Once, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna ties a small firecracker to the cow’s tail as He’s drinking the milk from it. As the firecracker bursts with a loud sound, the cow starts running here and there, scared by the sound! Upon seeing the cow running crazily, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna would sit in one corner, clap His small hands together and laugh out loud! 🙂 Such were His games with the cows, and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna cherished every moment with them! Even the cows in turn were waiting for Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to arrive at the cowshed every day. If on any day He’s not coming, the cows start feeling dejected and it showed on their faces clearly! Thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna had a special affiliation with the cows of Gokula village. 

It is not only with the cows that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was playing His pranks – He was unleashing His pranks to the people of Gokula too! Every morning when He wakes up from bed, He straightaway runs into another person’s house, pinches a baby which is fast asleep and runs away! As the baby starts crying, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna gives some “expert advice” to the baby’s mother thus, “Oh mother! Why don’t you look after the baby properly? See! The baby is crying profusely! Do you want me to come every day to attend to your baby?” This happens in almost every home in Gokula now, and is becoming a routine practice for Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to play pranks on the Gokula people! 

Upon seeing this notorious kid giving some “expert advice” like this, the women in Gokula were astounded beyond words! They were utterly amazed at the smartness of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna on one hand, and on the other hand, they were getting increasingly irritated with His pranks. Hence, one fine day, all of them decide not to allow Bhagawan Bala-Krishna into their homes anymore! They’ve had enough of His pranks now! When Bhagawan Bala-Krishna came out of His home the next morning, He was surprised to see all the homes shut! The doors were locked from within and when He knocked at the doors, He was sent back with a cold response! Unable to bear this, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna started crying and slowly walked back to His place. He’s not going to come back to their places again! 

However, after a few minutes, the people of Gokula start missing Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and His pranks at their homes. So all of them come out of their homes and go together to Mother Yashoda’s place to see Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. Upon seeing all of them, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna angrily asks them, “Oh! Why have you come here now? You had chased me away from your home, isn’t it?” Upon hearing the child’s innocent words, the women were in tears! They reply together thus, “Oh Krishna! We’re very sorry for our cold behavior. Yes, we were irritated by your pranks, but now, we’re missing you at our places! Hence, please forgive us and come to us! We want to spend time with you!” Hearing thus from the women, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna replies thus, “If that’s the case, you should never put a check on my pranks! If you agree to this condition, I shall come. Else, I won’t!” 

Upon hearing thus from the child, all the women readily agreed to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s pre-condition! They take Him to their places one by one, and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna eventually unleashes more and more of His pranks upon them as days progress! What were the pranks that He unleashes next? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

We’re at a beautiful and an important juncture of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s “Leelas” as a newborn baby, wherein He has successfully killed two Raakshasas namely Poothana and Sakatasura. At the same time, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is also giving a memorable and a divine experience to all His ardent Bhaktas at Gokula, including Mother Yashoda and Father Nandagopa. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is crying on top of His voice, Mother Yashoda tries her best to pacify Him through various ways. Firstly, she does so by carrying Him on her hips, however, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna doesn’t like this. He’s kicking His mother’s hips lovingly with His tiny divine feet, indicating to her that He has to be let down on the floor. However. Mother Yashoda doesn’t want Bhagawan Bala-Krishna to crawl on the floor. She instead tries to put Him on to the cradle, which is also against Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s likes. He starts kicking the cradle with those tiny divine legs, which sends all the onlookers into unending bliss. All of them are admiring at Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s adamant behavior as a child and enjoying it. Mother Yashoda too heaves a huge sigh and proclaims that it is very difficult to manage this “notorious kid”! 🙂 

As this was progressing, as days and months passed by, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna started to crawl on the floor and eventually He slowly started to learn walking. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was crawling, He doesn’t limit to crawling within the house. He even starts crawling to the neighbouring houses too, and the neighbors upon seeing the little child crawling towards their house, were overwhelmed. They voluntarily come forward, lift the child in their hands and take Him to their homes. They feed Him with freshly prepared butter and milk in abundance. We should remember that Gokula is a village and in that village, there would be hundreds of cows and calves, owned by the Gokula residents. Even today if we visit Gokula and Mathura in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, we would find a similar scene. There would be “infinite number of cows roaming around here and there on the streets of Mathura and Gokula. All these cows are certainly the descendents of those fortunate cows which came in contact with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and we should worship all of them with the same Bhakti as we exhibit towards Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. This is because, it is believed that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna visits Gokula village even today in the form of these cows. 

Coming back to the context thus, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is now crawling all over the place and it is becoming increasingly difficult for Mother Yashoda to control Him. She tries to teach Him that He should not unnecessarily crawl into another person’s home just like that, however, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is not going to listen to all this advice from His mother! He has His own ways of working, isn’t it? 🙂 Despite the advice, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is continuing to crawl here and there and this makes Mother Yashoda angry at times. She tries to tie Him with a rope, to one corner of the house as she leaves to fend the cows. However, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna has His own ways of coming out of the knot! He would squeal loud so that the neighbors would hear the sound! Unable to bear the sound, the neighbors would rush in to see what’s wrong with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, only to see Him tied to one corner of the house! Feeling pity for the little one, they would untie Him and take Him to their place, feed Him with nice and fresh butter and milk and bring Him back to His place again. 

This continues unabated every passing day, and Mother Yashoda had no control over this “seemingly unruly” baby! It would be funny for us to note here that Bhagawan Krishna is the “Paramatma” and He is the one who ties all of us together in the “Maya” called “Samsara”. However, there is this Mother Yashoda who has the courage to tie the person who ties all of us! Such is the fortune that Mother Yashoda had in her life, and we should acknowledge that at this juncture. Little did she know that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is not an ordinary child and all what she did to Him was out of motherly love and affection. Even if she got angry with the child, the anger would be there for just a few minutes and once she sees the baby smiling and crying at the same time, all that anger would fly off immediately! This is how Mother Yashoda looked after Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and for today, let us enjoy this beautiful and divine experience! We shall wait till the next episode to continue witnessing how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna continued to become more and more “unruly” in the days to come. Stay tuned for an interesting and an absorbing accord! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna killed the second Raakshasa, Sakatasura by just giving him a mere kick off His tiny legs. This is all part of the Krishna-Leela and we’re at a very important juncture here. The Krishna-Leela commences actually from the day one when Bhagawan Bala-Krishna incarnates in this world. Since then, every event that conspired, right from how Vasudeva took Him to Gokula, how Kamsa was fooled by Goddess Yoga-Maya, to how Poothana was killed, are all part of the divine Krishna-Leela. All the events that are upcoming after this too, would be part of the Krishna-Leela only. 

Having said thus, we’ve seen in yesterday’s episode that Kamsa on the other side was waiting impatiently for the news that Sakatasura had killed Bhagawan Bala-Krishna. However, the news came on the contrary! Sakatasura had been killed by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, and this infuriates Kamsa even more. Whoever is being sent to Gokula is meeting with the same end. Kamsa has to now come up with something better to overpower this mysterious child. What is Kamsa going to do next? 

As Kamsa is conspiring on the Mathura side, let’s travel to the Gokula side now to see what Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is doing. Upon coming back from work for the day, Yashoda was tired and thus relaxes for a while. She has a glance at her baby, who is all smiles all the time! Moved by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s beauty, Yashoda couldn’t resist sitting at the corner of the room feeling tired. She wanted to pamper the little one and she came closer. Yashoda takes Bhagawan Bala-Krishna into her hands and places Him on her hips. It is to be noted that Bhagawan Bala-Krishna doesn’t like it when someone is trying to hold Him. He starts crying profusely and is kicking His legs as He cries loud. Normally too we would see how newborn babies cry. They would cry as if they’ve lost everything in this world, isn’t it? 🙂 They would kick their legs, punch their hands, etc. in the air and their entire body would vibrate as they cry intensely. Similar is the case with Bhagawan Bala-Krishna here too – As He cries, His tiny legs are kicking Yashoda’s hips – The same little legs that kicked Sakatasura to death, just a few minutes ago. However, now the situation is different, isn’t it? Yashoda is His mother, and Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is giving her childish kicks off His tiny legs as He cries. Sensing that this is not going to work, Yashoda changes her strategy of hugging Bhagawan Bala-Krishna with her chest. This also doesn’t work as Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s tender hands are also at work when He cries. He punches His mother as she tries to hug Him and calm Him down. This also doesn’t work beyond a point as Yashoda is receiving punch after punch from the little fellow! 🙂 Unable to bear them, Yashoda tries to leave Bhagwan Bala-Krishna in the cradle, heaving a sigh of relief that atleast here, He would be quiet. But on the contrary, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna is only going to cry even more profusely and His actions are going to increase further! Now, both the hands and legs are in action simultaneously. It is as if He’s going to kick and break away the cradle as He’s crying. Heaving a heavy sigh, Yashoda becomes tired of handling this little one! 

As the onlookers see what is happening at Yashoda’s place, all of them enter inside to have a glimpse at Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s beauty. They praise Yashoda thus, “Oh Yashoda! Your baby boy is so cute, beautiful and naughty! How fortunate are you to obtain such a beautiful baby! You’re really lucky!” Replying to all of them with a heavy sigh, Yashoda says, “Oh yes! I might be fortunate! But look at the way this fellow is kicking and punching the cradle! He did the same to me when I tried to hold Him! It is very difficult to handle this baby, and if you handle Him for a day, you would understand what I mean!” 

Thus, Mother Yashoda is trying to pamper Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and this story continues day in and day out for the next few months. How fortunate is Mother Yashoda to have Bhagawan Bala-Krishna by her side everytime? So for today, let us join hands with Mother Yashoda and enjoy Bhagawan Bala-Krishna’s divine presence alone with her! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Gargacharya performing the “Nama-Karana” for the newborn baby at Yasoda’s home. Sage Gargacharya gives the name “Krishna” for Yashoda’s son and “Balarama” for Rohini’s son. It should be remembered that Rohini was Vasudeva’s other wife apart from Devaki and thanks to Goddess Yoga-Maya, Balarama was shifted out of Devaki’s womb to that of Rohini’s. Thus, Balarama escaped the wrath of Kamsa’s atrocity of killing babies. As this was happening on the Gokula side, Kamsa was readying Sakatasura from the Mathura side to finish off this newborn baby. Sakatasursa was briefed by Kamsa about Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and how He managed to kill Poothana. Sakatasura, after hearing all this from Kamsa, made a plan for himself. He quickly hurries on to Gokula and spots Bhagawan Bala-Krishna smiling and playing around. 

As we’ve seen earlier too, Bhagawan Bala-Krishna doesn’t volunteer to take initiative to kill the Raakshasas and it is only the Raakshasas who came one by one in the queue to Bhagawan Bala-Krishna and got themselves killed. Similar is the case with this Sakatasura too. He came with a savage resolution to take the baby on. Bhagawan Bala-Krishna noticed Sakatasura approaching Him with a wicked attitude. Sakatasura’s plan was to hop on to a small cart that was lying near the place, roll over the baby and kill it then and there, and finally project it as an “accident” and escape from there. With this plan, Sakatasura gets on to the cart and comes towards Bhagawan Bala-Krishna with a great speed. As Bhagawan Bala-Krishna was seeing this person coming towards Him, He just lets out a beaming smile, kicks Sakatasura’s cart with His small legs and sends him packing! Unable to bear that one kick from Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, Sakatasura and the cart were thrown miles apart! This was just a small play for Bhagwan Bala-Krishna! Baby as He was, He was amused by the cart running fast towards Him, and just to make sure that the cart doesn’t hit Him, He playfully kicks the cart with His leg. It was Sakatasura who was unable to bear the kick of Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, who was badly bruised and hurt, which ultimately led him to breathe his last! 

Thus, we’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Bala-Krishna killed the second Raakshasa, Sakatasura. As this happened in Gokula, Kamsa was anxiously waiting at Mathura city for Sakatasura to return with the good news. However, as he learnt that Sakatasura too was neutralized by Bhagawan Bala-Krishna, Kamsa was shell shocked again! He couldn’t believe what was happening. Initially Kamsa had conceptualized Bhagawan Bala-Krishna as an ordinary newborn baby, but given the fact that He had managed to neutralize the powerful Poothana and Sakatasura, Kamsa is forced to re-visit his strategy to take on his lethal enemy! What is Kamsa’s next action plan to take on Bhagawan Bala-Krishna? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂