The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Krishna gave quality time for the Gopikas to exhibit their ardent devotion towards Him. We had seen how the Gopikas too used this wonderful opportunity to spend each and every minute with their beloved Bhagawan Krishna. As the Gopikas were reaching ecstasy, they were almost falling to the ground unconscious. It is at this time, Bhagawan Krishna disappears from that place all of a sudden. This should not be viewed just as a mere play by Bhagawan Krishna to disappear from the Gopikas. Bhagawan Krishna does so, ONLY to protect the Gopikas and to bring them to their normal state. Hadn’t he fled from that scene at that time, the Gopikas would have fallen on the ground dead. It is to this extent was the devotion exhibited by the Gopikas. They were laughing, crying, smiling, etc. thinking of their beloved Bhagawan! In fact, they wouldn’t even eat or drink a drop of water without offering them to Him! Such was their ardent devotion and this is a great lesson for all of us to learn. This is why we often highlight the point that the Gopikas were epitomes of the highest level of Bhakti, one can exhibit towards Bhagawan Krishna.

Moving on thus with the final “Raakshasa” to attack Gokula and Little Krishna – It was none other than the Raakshasa by name “Kesi”. He came in the form of a horse. He was sent by Kamsa on a savage resolution to somehow kill Little Krishna, as time is running fast! Kamsa was steadfast in his approach to somehow seek revenge and kill Little Krishna, but till now, all his attempts went in vain – Right from Poothana till this point. Now it is the turn to Kesi to try his fortune to kill Little Krishna. He comes aggressively and with a great speed. The way in which Kesi was hurrying towards Gokula, sent Sage Naarada in fear too! Such was the ferocious form with which Kesi was approaching. He was breathing fire as he was nearing the town. The entire lot of kids and people started running here and there frantically as Kesi unleashes his aggression. Cattle too were crazily running here and there seeking shelter.

It is at this time, Little Krishna comes to know of what’s going on. He thus comes out of His house and faces Kesi head on. In fact, unlike Sage Naarada feared, it was yet another playful act for Little Krishna to put an end to Kesi’s atrocities. He ordered His “Chakra” towards Kesi and without any further delay, Kesi falls on the ground dead! Thus, the last Raakshasa in Kamsa’s camp was also neutralized by Little Krishna. This sent a huge fear of ripples to Kamsa, who now starts fearing for the first time openly! Till this time, he had underestimated Little Krishna to be “just another kid”, but now he feels the jitters for the first time when all the Raakshasas in has camp – right from Poothana to Kesi were killed by this one child! Certainly this child is not an ordinary child as he thought!

Now how does he stop Little Krishna? How does he get over Him? As there was nobody left for him to send to Gokula, the only way perhaps was to somehow bring Little Krishna to Mathura. By this time, ten years have passed, since Little Krishna was born. In the meanwhile, Little Krishna too thinks within Himself that He hasn’t seen His real parents – Devaki and Vasudeva for the past ten years now. He has to somehow get in touch with them and meet them. But He can’t do that unless and until this Kamsa is alive. So the only way to meet and free His parents is to kill Kamsa.

It is at this time, Kamsa also thinks of a plan as to how to call Little Krishna to Mathura city. He now calls one of his relatives, Akrura and tells him thus, “Oh Akrura! Please go to Gokula and tell Krishna that I’ve arranged for a huge Yagna and He too should take part in it! With this as a reason, please bring Krishna along with you while you come back!” Taking this message from Kamsa, Akrura gets into his chariot and makes his way to Gokula. As he crosses the Yamuna river, Akrura thinks within himself thus, “Oh! All these days I’ve been looking at this ferocious and wicked Kamsa. Atleast for today let me have the divine “darshan” of our Little Bhagawan Krishna for the first time in ten years. I’m so eager to see how Little Krishna has grown! How handsome He would be! How fortunate are the people of Gokula to experience the beauty of Bhagawan Krishna! Finally today I’m also going to be a part of the Gokula residents to witness the beauty of Little Krishna!”

Thinking thus, Akrura makes his way to Gokula. So for today, let us also join Akrura and make our way to Gokula as well (in our imagination)! 😊 Let us eagerly wait till tomorrow’s episode to have Little Krishna’s “Divine Darshan” along with Akrura! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed yet another beautiful experience from the “Krishna-Leela” wherein Little Krishna is spending quality time with the Gopikas, dancing with them with ecstasy and heights of devotion. We’ve also witnessed that these Gopikas were none other than the Devas (Celestial Beings) who had incarnated in the forms of these beautiful women and had wished to spend quality time with Bhagawan Vishnu, during His “Krishna-Avatara”. Thus, these Gopikas were not ordinary women, but were celestial beings dancing in bliss with Bhagawan Krishna.

As the level of devotion towards Bhagawan Krishna increases by the minute, the Gopikas reach a state of divine bliss wherein if they’re continuing in this state for another minute or two, they would fall on the ground dead! It is at this time, Little Krishna realizes that He has to protect the Gopikas and thus, He disappears from that place within a fraction of a second. Unable to see their Little Krishna anywhere, the Gopikas come back to reality and start searching for Him everywhere. They’re in tears that their Little Krishna has vanished somewhere without even intimating them! The Gopikas are frantically searching for their Bhagawan and within the next fraction of a second, Little Krishna re-appears in front of them! Upon seeing Him, the Gopikas rush towards Him and cry thus, “Oh Krishna! Where did you go? We were so tensed and worried! Even if you would have gone away from us just for a split of second, it seemed like a year’s time spent without you! So please do not go away from us like this. Please be with us all the time! We’re yearning for your divine presence every minute!”

As the Gopikas pray to Bhagawan Krishna thus, He again starts dancing with all of them in bliss. This again continues for some time and with time passing by, again the Gopikas are getting lost in divine bliss! They again reach a state that if this goes on for another minute or two, they’re going to fall on the ground dead! Again Little Krishna realizes this and quickly disappears from there! Again the frantic search starts!

This time, one of the Gopikas spot two pairs of footsteps that are leading to some place. Only the footsteps are visible. Upon looking round and round, they realize that one of the women amidst the Gopikas are missing. It seems as if that woman had walked away with Little Krishna when He disappeared mysteriously. Seeing the footsteps thus, the poor Gopikas decide to follow them and see where it goes. They go behind those footsteps, but surprisingly, only one pair of footsteps are visible now! How strange could that be? Normally, if two human beings are walking along, he / she would walk with two feet in parallel to each other, isn’t it? So we’ll have four foot imprints by the side. But here, there is an imprint of only one pair of feet! The imprint of the second person is missing!

After following this one pair of footsteps for a while, the Gopikas saw a woman sitting under a tree and crying! This woman was also one of the Gopikas, and it was this woman with whom, Little Krishna had mysteriously disappeared! Upon seeing this woman, the Gopikas go near her and ask her the reason for which she was crying! She explains thus, “Oh Gopikas! Do you know what happened? When all of us were dancing, Little Krishna caught hold of my hand and started walking along with me! I was so much in bliss and happiness that I followed Him! However, after walking for a long distance, my legs started getting tired. So I requested Him to carry me in His shoulders. He did exactly what I said! After sometime, I wanted Him to place a beautiful flower on my head amidst my hair, and He asked me to bend down a bit. As I bent down in anticipation and devotion, He suddenly disappeared somewhere! He’s not to be seen at all! I’m also searching for Him with all my pain! Perhaps I demanded a lot from Little Krishna that He started hating me! I feel so sorry and ashamed for my actions!”

Saying thus, the Gopika woman cried intensely! Upon hearing this, the other Gopikas were also moved to tears! Now they understood why the two pairs of footsteps suddenly reduced to one! Bhagawan Krishna had carried this woman in His divine shoulders! How fortunate is this woman to be in the arms of her Bhagawan!

As all the Gopikas were in tears thus, Little Krishna again re-appeared in front of them! If His devotees are in tears and yearning for His presence, how can He stay away from them? The devotion of the Gopikas melted Bhagawan Krishna’s heart and thus He immediately appeared in front of them and again started to dance with them! Thus the “Raasa-Kreeda” continued on and on!

From this “Raasa-Kreeda” episode, we realize that ardent devotion (Bhakti) moves Bhagawan to such an extent that His heart melts for us. This is exactly what the Gopikas exhibited. As mentioned yesterday, the Gopikas are a very special set of devotees of Bhagawan Krishna because their level of “Bhakti” towards Him was of the highest and the purest form! Upon reading these divine experiences of the Gopikas with Bhagawan Krishna, we should understand that we too should strive towards attaining such levels of pure devotion towards Bhagawan. Once we totally surrender to Bhagawan, He would take care of us in all aspects. This is exactly what He did for the Gopikas too. He ensured that the Gopikas were protected in all fronts and they get the deserved time with their beloved Bhagawan Krishna! When it comes to Bhagawan, all of us, irrespective of our gender, are equivalent to the Gopikas, if we’re exhibiting ardent devotion. If we happen to read through the literature of the famous “Alwars” and “Aachaaryas”, they imagine themselves as women (although they were males by birth), yearning for Bhagawan Vishnu’s divine presence. This, in literature is popularly referred to “Naayika-Bhaava”.

So for today, let us understand this important point and let us enjoy this divine experience! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the continuation of the “Krishna-Leela”! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed one of the most important events of the “Krishna Leela”, wherein, Little Krishna lifted the Govardhana mountain to save the people and animals of Gokula from torrential rains, that were triggered by Indra’s fury. We’ve seen that Indra unleashed the rains in Gokula town because the offerings that were to be given to him were diverted to the Govardhana mountain by Little Krishna. Hence, Indra wanted to teach Little Krishna a lesson for His “heinous act”. He clearly underestimated Little Krishna’s divine capabilities. He ordered Varuna to bring all the rain-bearing clouds to Gokula and eventually the rain started tormenting Gokula. As people were scrambling here and there for shelter, Little Krishna came to the rescue of the entire town. He led everybody towards the Govardhana mountain, to which all the offerings were made. Bringing all of them thus, Little Krishna easily lifted the mountain with His small finger and held it like a huge umbrella! All the residents, cows, cattle, deer, birds, etc. came under the mountain, which shielded all of them by giving shelter. Gokula thus worshipped Little Krishna as “Govardhana-Giridhaari”!

With this divine act of Little Krishna, Indra was easily overpowered! He did not anticipate that Little Krishna would lift a mountain so easily in His hands and provide shelter to the entire town! The rain continued to lash Gokula for the next seven days, non-stop. However, the entire town was saved by Little Krishna’s divine act! He held the Govardhana mountain in His hand for the next seven days and seven nights without a break! Seeing this, Indra was shell-shocked! He immediately realized his folly and rushes towards Little Krishna to seek unconditional apology! Thus, with this important event, Indra was rightfully shown his place by none other than Little Krishna Himself!

Moving on thus, Little Krishna eventually destroyed many more Raakshasas who were sent by Kamsa to kill Him. Subsequently Raakshasa Arishtaasura was the first one to arrive at Gokula, but Little Krishna proved a tough nut to crack for him. Arishtaasura was finally killed by Little Krishna. Next came Bhakaasura. He too met the same end in the hands of Little Krishna. Next in the list was Pralambhaasura. He too came into Gokula and never went out again! 😊

Now as Little Krishna grows by, He started doing the famous “Raasa-Leela” with all the Gopikas who were there at Gokula. As the famous lines go by,

“Anganaam Anganaa.. Anthare Maadhavo.. Maadhavam Maadhavam cha antarena anganaam…”

We’ve already witnessed in our previous episodes that the Gopikas were none other than the Devas (Celestial Beings) who had incarnated so that, they would get ample time to spend with Bhagawan Krishna. In fact, the Devas were very unhappy for a long time that they weren’t able to get quality time to spend with Bhagawan Vishnu. To fulfill the Devas’ request, Bhagawan Vishnu instructed them to take birth in the world as the Gopika women, while He’s incarnating as Bhagawan Krishna. Thus, Bhagawan Vishnu assures them that He would spend quality time with all of them and it is only because of this reason, the Devas have incarnated as the divine Gopikas.

Hence, we should understand this important point here – These Gopikas were not ordinary women. Each of them was a divine incarnation and they had taken birth solely to spend time with Little Krishna. Hence, all the crooked debates surrounding the chastity of Bhagawan Krishna or the Gopika women should be trashed and thrown to the dustbin with this firm understanding. Rather than making a debate out of this, we should admire the fact that these Gopikas were so fortunate to get quality time with Bhagawan Krishna, which we couldn’t get today!

Having said thus, Little Krishna slowly starts spending quality time with the Gopikas every day. This famous event in the “Krishna-Leela” is called “Raasa-Kreeda” or “Raasa-Leela”. Every day, Little Krishna would come to the place wherein all the Gopikas would assemble and wait for Him with their ardent devotion. Once Little Krishna arrives, He would take multiple forms of Himself and would dance with all the Gopikas there. In other words, the Gopikas were hundreds in number and Little Krishna would take hundreds of forms and dance with each of the Gopika women. This was a divine dance and the Gopikas were totally immersed in Bhakti towards Bhagawan Krishna.

While we talk about different forms of “Bhakti”, this “divine dancing” by holding Bhagawan’s hands is one of the highest forms of “Bhakti” that we can ever witness. The dance was out of ardent devotion and the Gopikas were entirely at a different spiritual plane altogether. This divine dance shouldn’t be confused with the dance that we see today in the movies and plays. As the divine dance progresses further and further, the devotion that the Gopikas are exhibiting is also increasing minute after minute. They were transcending into a different form of spiritual progress altogether! It finally reached a stage wherein if the devotion increases a bit further, the Gopikas would fall on the ground dead! Bhagawan Krishna senses this and thus He immediately disappears from that place totally!

Unable to find their Bhagawan, the Gopikas start searching for Him everywhere. They’re searching at all places in the huge hall, enquiring with some people in the vicinity, etc. But Little Krishna wasn’t there to be seen anywhere! However, when the Gopikas are yearning for His presence with lot of anxiety, Little Krishna would suddenly re-appear from nowhere, and would again start dancing with them! Such was the divine experience which Bhagawan Krishna gave the Gopikas. They were waiting for this golden opportunity and Bhagawan Krishna gave it to them in the most beautiful manner.

So for today, let us enjoy this devotion-filled “Raasa-Kreeda” episode of Little Krishna and let us learn from the Gopikas, the art of devotion towards Bhagawan! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this further! Stay tuned! 😊

We’re amidst a very interesting event wherein the people of Gokula were preparing themselves for a huge offering to be done to Indra. In fact, this was a customary practice that was carried out year after year on a selected auspicious day. As the people were getting ready for the same thus, Little Krishna played spoilsport! He creates a “confusion” in the minds of people by explaining that it is a mere waste of giving all these offerings to a thankless person called Indra, who hasn’t done anything in return to the people of Gokula. In other words, Little Krishna explained to the people that Indra is only interested in getting things from others, but he would never lend anything to anybody. If that is the case, why should Gokula waste its time and resources in honoring such a reckless person? Instead, the Govardhana mountain is an epitome of giving all the good things to Gokula – It gives rain, grass for the cows to graze, food grains, etc. Hence, Little Krishna opined that these prayers and offerings be diverted to the Govardhana mountain, rather than to Indra.

As the people of Gokula listen to these arguments, they were confused. However, with repeated persuasion from Little Krishna, they were convinced that all the offerings be given to the Govardhana mountain. As the prayers begin, Little Krishna immediately declares Himself thus, “Aham Govardhanosmi”! (Meaning: I’m the Govardhana Mountain!) Thus, Little Krishna consumes all the offerings that were in the cart! Perhaps, Little Krishna saw this as an opportunity to consume good food! 😊 In the name of the Govardhana mountain, Little Krishna eats every food item that was kept in the cart, and that too within a jiffy! Now as the people of Gokula open their eyes and see, the entire cart is empty! They were surprised! Little Krishna immediately explains thus, “See how the Govardhana mountain gleefully accepted your offerings and prayers! All these years, Indra was not even turning his face towards all of us. He disrespected our prayers and offerings. This is why I said to all of you – Please dump Indra and pray to the Govardhana mountain!”

Looking at all of this conspiring in Gokula, Indra was furious! He was raging with anger against whatever Little Krishna had just did and said. He wanted to show that Krishna was afterall a young kid and is helpless against the might of Indra! He thus makes a plan to teach Little Krishna a befitting lesson. He thus called upon his deputy, Varuna Bhagawan and instructed him thus, “Oh Varuna! Gather all the clouds from all directions and rain in such a way that the entire Gokula town would suffer with extreme flash floods! This would be a befitting lesson to Little Krishna who insulted me and took away all the offerings that were meant for me! This kid is thinking too much about himself! Now I’m going to show him his place!”

Upon the instruction from Indra, Varuna Bhagawan collects all the clouds from all directions and bring them towards Gokula. It starts raining and pouring down like hell. The rain was non-stop and was continuing unabated for days and nights together. The entire Gokula town starts to get flooded and the Yamuna river starts to swell up too. Flood waters start entering the town from all four directions and people are seen running around to save their houses and belongings. There was huge commotion everywhere as the rain continues to batter down with full force.

As this continues, people of Gokula fret within themselves thus, “Oh no! This is why we should never get convinced with whatever kids say. We had listened to Krishna’s words and see what’s happening to all of us! It’s a disaster in the making!” Even the kids were scared and all of them went to Little Krishna and asked thus, “Oh Krishna! All of us argued against the words of our elders and look at the mess in which we are right now! What do we do? How do we ever face the elders again? Oh Krishna! Only you should protect all of us!”

Seeing the huge commotion and mess that is conspiring, Little Krishna decides to take it upon Himself to protect His people and the animals. He immediately asks all the residents to follow Him. As Little Krishna walks in the front, He leads all the cows and cattle along with Him. After walking for a short distance, Little Krishna goes towards the Govardhana Mountain, lifts it with His small finger and holds it like a huge umbrella! He now invites all people to come beneath the mountain, which is now acting like a shade for everybody, including the animals and birds. Thus, the entire lot of people, animals, birds, etc. rush beneath the Govardhana mountain and seek shelter under it!

As this is conspiring, the rain is still continuing to batter the town – But of no use now! Little Krishna has successfully protected all the living beings in the town with His divine grace as the “GOVARDHANA-GIRIDHAARI”! The rain is pouring down for the next seven days, day and night, without a break. Little Krishna also holds the Govardhana mountain in His hands for the next seven days without a break!

As people are enjoying this blissful experience, some of the kids raised questions out of surprise thus, “Oh Krishna! How are you able to lift a huge mountain like this for seven days in a row? You’re also a seven-year-old kid like how we are, isn’t it? How are you able to do this effortlessly? Are you a normal human being or someone else?” Hearing thus from the kids, Little Krishna got a bit angry and emotional! He replies thus, “Oh friends! Why’re you isolating me from all of you by talking like this? I’m also one among you only. I’m also a little child like you are! So do not raise such questions and separate me from all of you!” Upon hearing thus from Little Krishna, the kids were extremely happy! They fall on Little Krishna and hug Him happily and with full contentment!

What a blissful experience for these little ones! How fortunate are these little kids to worship their Bhagawan in such a nice manner! By reading through this experience today, let us also imagine and enjoy the darshan of our Little Krishna as “Govardhana-Giridhaari”! We shall wait till the next episode to see how Indra was embarrassed and finally understood his folly! Stay tuned! 😊

We’re amidst a beautiful experience of enjoying Little Krishna (Venugopala) playing His divine flute, along with the residents of Gokula, the cows, deer, birds, etc. This is such a blissful experience for all of us, wherein Bhagawan Krishna is highlighting the important point that music is one of the easiest and powerful ways to capture Bhagawan’s heart. If we’re singing in praise of Bhagawan from our hearts sincerely and without any blemish, His heart is going to melt very easily, and we can be rest-assured of His divine hands protecting us at all times. Just like how Little Krishna was able to attract all people and animals around Him with His divine and blissful music, we should also be able to sing with an open heart, so as to attract Bhagawan towards us. It doesn’t really matter if we’re professionally trained singers or musicians. All what is required is our “ardent devotion” towards Bhagawan. In fact, this same Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains in His Bhagawad Gita that “Naama-Sankeertana” (Singing the praise of Bhagawan) is the best and easiest way to attain Moksha in this “Kali Yuga”. Of course, He has said it in words, but He Himself should illustrate this point, if people like us trust Bhagawan’s words, isn’t it? 😊 This is why, the illustration came first, and then the Bhagawad Gita!

Thus, we can see here that Little Venugopala is pulling everyone around into divine bliss with His soothing and peaceful music emanating from His divine flute. Moving on thus, we come to the next important event in the “Krishna-Leela” – The “Govardhana” episode. Here, we’re going to witness how Indra (Leader of the Devas) is going to underestimate Little Krishna, only to be shown his place rightfully by none other than Little Krishna Himself! We’ve already witnessed in our previous episodes how Bhagawan Brahma tried to meddle with Little Krishna and was given a befitting reply! Now it’s the turn of Indra to taste the same medicine. Let us witness what conspired.

It was a regular annual practice in Gokula that every family in the town would prepare a thousand kilograms of “Prasadha” (Offering of different varieties of sweets, savories, different varieties of rice, etc.) on a particular auspicious day. There was a big cart that was designed for this purpose. Each family would prepare whatever food items that are required and load everything onto the cart. Thus, this cart would be taken to each house in the town and each family would do the same – Prepare whatever food they can, and load it on. Finally after all the families have contributed their share of food items, the cart would be taken to a big ground and a huge offering would be done to Indra, with all the requisite prayers and other spiritual practices. This was a custom that was followed annually and that particular day of the year was about to arrive within the next few days. Thus, the entire town was in celebration mode. People were moving here and there, buying all the essential items for cooking the grand feast.

As Little Krishna was walking by at the marketplace, He was surprised to see all of these! Thus, He reaches home quickly and asks His mother Yashoda thus, “Oh Mother! Why is the entire town in such a celebration mode? What is so special?” Upon her darling son’s question, Yashoda explains the whole thing to Him and this only amused Little Krishna more! He bursts out laughing and asks a counter question to His mother thus, “Oh Mother! You’re saying that all of these items are to be offered to Indra, but tell me one thing – What good did Indra do to all of you in return all these years? Why are you wasting your time and energy in giving all these food items to a person who doesn’t even care for you or give you anything in return?”

Upon hearing such a reply from Little Krishna, Yashoda was initially shocked! She asked Him back thus, “Oh Krishna! Why are you talking like an atheist? Isn’t it our duty to offer things to the Devas? Isn’t our customary practice to do so? What’s wrong with this?” Little Krishna explains to His mother thus, “Oh Mother! But my question here is very simple – Why should we offer all this to a person who’s irresponsible in whatever he’s doing? Afterall, Indra is a selfish person who only thinks about his betterment and comforts. Little does he spare a thought for others for anything! Instead, look at this beautiful Govardhana mountain. If we’ve to have bountiful rain every year, it is this Govardhana mountain that gives it to us. If we’ve to let our cows graze for plants and grass, it is again this Govardhana mountain that is a beautiful source of all kinds of plants and medicinal herbs. If all the animals, birds, etc. should have a safe home for themselves, it is again this Govardhana mountain that serves the purpose! If this Govardhana mountain serves multiple purposes like these, we should worship this mountain with all our offerings, isn’t it? Why do we do all these offerings instead to a thankless person called Indra?”

As Little Krishna explains thus, Yashoda was puzzled. Meanwhile, many people come and gather around Little Krishna to listen to His explanation. Some people stand “for” Krishna and some “against”. There was a big debate whether these offerings should be given to Indra or the Govardhana mountain! As expected, all the kids take the side of Little Krishna and they make a loud noise! 😊 The older people couldn’t argue to the extent that these kids are arguing, and at one stage, the elders agree to what Little Krishna is saying! But within them, they start having a fear that something disastrous is going to happen in Gokula very soon, because the several-year-old-tradition is going to be disobeyed and disregarded. However, it was their darling Krishna who’s saying these things, and thus, they had to accept His words!

Thus, the entire town of Gokula gathers at the ground with the huge cart of food items. As planned, this year, the offering of these food items and other spiritual practices are not going to be for Indra, but for the Govardhana mountain. Little Krishna is present amidst all of them and is overseeing the entire process. He now instructs the crows thus, “Oh people of Gokula! Now close your eyes for two minutes as the offering of these food items are being done to the Govardhana mountain! Pray to Govardhana that this year should be bountiful with rain, plants, etc.” As per the instruction, all the people close their eyes and pray deeply within themselves, as the offering is being made.

It is at this juncture, Little Krishna takes the form of the Govardhana mountain itself! He quickly says “Aham Govardhanosmi!”, which means, “I’m the Govardhana mountain itself!” Saying thus, Little Krishna quickly consumes all the food items that were kept for offering! 😊 All of this happens within the wink of an eye! As the people open their eyes again after two minutes, they were surprised and stunned that none of the food items were remaining in the cart! Little Krishna explains thus, “Oh people! See – All these food items were consumed by the Govardhana mountain! All these years, you’ve been offering these to Indra. Did he ever honor you even once? This is why I told all of you to give these offerings to the Govardhana mountain! Do not worry! This Govardhana mountain would protect all of us from today onwards in all fronts!”

As this conspires, Indra is watching from above. He’s furious with each and every word and action that Little Krishna is uttering and doing! He decides to teach Little Krishna and the people of Gokula a befitting lesson. What is Indra going to do? How is he going to avenge Gokula? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness! Stay tuned! 😊

We’ve concluded our previous episode with Little Krishna overpowering the venomous Kaaliya snake, by dancing on his 100 heads, one after the other – The famed “Kaaliya-Nardhana”. Upon seeing this, the people of Gokula were relieved that their darling Krishna was safe and secure. More than that, they were also happy that the dangerous Kaaliya who was wreaking havoc all these days in the Yamuna river had been defeated. As Little Krishna teaches Kaaliya a lesson, He instructs Kaaliya to move away into the ocean and not to move around in places wherein human and animal population is abundant. As per the instruction of Bhagawan Krishna, Kaaliya makes his way to the Bay of Bengal and thus, he leaves River Yamuna for good.

Moving on thus, we’re now going to witness one of the most beautiful sections of Bhagawan Krishna’s childhood days – The beauty of Little Krishna playing the flute. We worship this form of Little Krishna holding the flute in His hand as “VenuGopala”. Eventually as days pass by, Little Krishna “learns” to play the flute. Flute is a musical instrument that is very famously played even today in Carnatic Music. There are many “Vidhwaans” (Experts) who play the flute exceptionally well today too. This musical instrument called “flute” rose up to fame only with Little Krishna. Of course, when we say that Little Krishna “learnt” to play the flute, we would immediately have the question thus, “Who is Krishna to learn this? Doesn’t He know it already? Ultimately Little Krishna is Bhagawan Vishnu Himself! Hence, who on earth can teach Little Krishna to play the flute?”

As we’re having these questions in our minds, Little Krishna somehow masters the art of playing the flute at such a young age. Whenever He gets some free time, He goes and sits on the banks of the Yamuna River and starts playing His little flute. Hearing the beautiful music emanating from His divine flute, all the lotus flowers that are floating across the waters in the river, are automatically attracted towards Little Krishna’s tender feet! It is as if the lotus flowers are worshipping their Bhagawan amidst the divine music from the flute!

Sage Sukhaachaarya describes this situation beautifully that the River Yamuna wanted to give some prize for Little Krishna’s beautiful music. Even today, if we go to a music concert, when the concert comes to an end, the musician is honored with a prize, isn’t it? Similarly, River Yamuna is so overwhelmed with Little Krishna’s “flute concert”, that it wants to give all these blooming fresh lotus flowers as a prize to Him! 😊 How fortunate are these lotus flowers to touch Little Krishna’s divine feet as He’s playing the “Venu-Ghaana”!!

As Little Krishna starts playing the flute, even the cows and cattle which are grazing in the nearby areas are attracted. The music is so divine that all the cows and calves flock towards Little Krishna, sit in front of Him and are enjoying it. Even people are drawn towards Little Krishna’s divine music. So we can witness here that Little Krishna gives this divine blissful experience in the form of the music from His flute, to all living beings of Gokula, including the cows, cattle, monkeys, birds, deer and of course to the human beings as well. As Little Krishna is playing the flute, He slowly walks here and there, and with this slow movement, all the animals follow His footsteps carefully and go behind Him.

Thus, this becomes a regular affair within the next few days, wherein Little Krishna’s divine flute is attracting all the animals towards Him and are enjoying the ultimate blissful experience around Him. This is where, music is of prime importance while we worship Bhagawan, even today. Music is one of the purest form of devotion (Bhakti) that we can exhibit towards Bhagawan. Music gives us a divine opportunity to open our hearts completely and surrender totally to Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet. If we’re able to sing with one-pointed concentration and focus, our music is sure to melt Bhagawan’s heart immediately.

It might be any form of music that we might perform and be good at – Either singing with our own voice, or playing any musical instrument like the flute, violin, veena, mridangam, etc. The music that emanates from all of these sources are bound to have a huge impact on all of us in terms of our spiritual development and upliftment. The vibrations that arise while singing the praises of Bhagawan automatically purifies the atmosphere around us, thus making our surrounding charged with divinity. This is not only mentioned in the Vedas and Upanishads, but also by modern-day scientists and researchers in the social sciences and humanity areas. Music is believed to have lot of scientific healing effects, and different “Raagas” (Tunes) are designed in such a way that each of them has their own soothing effects on different parts of our physical body, including our mind. This is why, we often keep telling that listening to soft music calms down our mind and makes it focused on Bhagawan. When we perform music (in any form), we should make sure that the listeners (audience) should be able to visualize their favorite deity in front of them and they should be in tears of joy and bliss with that visualization. This is where, music becomes a powerful tool in uniting all devotees (Bhaktas) together and move together towards Bhagawan.

Thus, in order to bring out all these significances behind music, and to teach all of us the important lesson that music is one extremely effective method to attain Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet and the ultimate bliss, Little Krishna plays His divine flute. So for today, let us realize this important point pertaining to music and let us try from our end to sing praises on our Little Krishna, so as to melt His heart, and in turn progress on our spiritual path. We shall wait till the next interesting episode to witness how Little Krishna lifted the “Govardhana” mountain in His hands – “Govardhana-Giridhaari”! Stay tuned! 😊

We’re amidst a very important juncture wherein Little Krishna had jumped into the waters of River Yamuna, so as to take on the poisonous Kaaliya snake. As Kaaliya was wreaking havoc in the Gokula town by poisoning the waters of the river, cow after cow fell unconscious after drinking water from there. People also started falling unconscious because of this. It was at this time, Little Krishna realized that it is time to teach this Kaaliya snake a lesson. On the pretext of playing “ball-catching” with His little friends on the river bank, Little Krishna purposefully threw the ball to such a distance that it fell into the river. Trying to reclaim the ball from the water, Little Krishna jumps into the river to swim across and pick the ball up. As Little Krishna was doing so, at one point, instead of moving towards the ball, He dived in deep into the river. This was exactly the place where the Kaaliya snake was sitting happily and enjoying life!

Although the water started to become more and more poisonous, Little Krishna managed to make His way to the vicinity of the Kaaliya snake. Upon seeing a little boy coming towards him, Kaaliya was surprised and asked him who was he! Little Krishna replied back saying that He had lost His ball and came there to take it. Sensing that he had got a great opportunity to feast on some “delicious food” for the day, Kaaliya tried to catch Little Krishna with his long tail. As this was happening, a great fight followed between the two. Kaliya didn’t anticipate such an intense fight with this little boy, and hence, he was complacent initially. He had took Little Krishna for granted. But he had to pay a hefty price for that, as the fight progressed further.

As Kaaliya caught hold of Little Krishna, he tried to squeeze Him to death in that instance itself. However, Little Krishna was way too powerful for Kaaliya to do that. He resisted Kaaliya’s squeeze to such an extent that He freed Himself from the squeeze within a jiffy. Subsequently, Kaaliya tried to bite Little Krishna with his ultra-sharp fangs, which were full of high-intensity poison. This also eventually failed, as Little Krishna caught hold of his head and started to squeeze him! Now it was Kaaliya’s turn to get squeezed. Initially, he tried to squeeze Little Krishna, but the tide has turned on to him now! Little Krishna started to slowly exert more and more of His power and started squeezing Kaaliya tightly! At one point, Kaaliya was unable to breathe and with that, all his poison started flowing out from his mouth.

With this, the color of the Yamuna river started turning pale. Upon seeing this from outside, all the people who had gathered there, including the kids and Yashoda were all tensed. At one point, all of them came to a conclusion that the snake had killed Little Krishna! However, within the next few moments, Little Krishna came out of the water, standing on top of Kaaliya’s head. Sage Sukhaachaarya describes this scene beautifully here – He says that the Kaaliya snake had a hundred heads, and Little Krishna started to dance over all these hundred heads! He dances in such a way that He goes from one side to the other keeping His feet on all the odd-numbered heads in one direction, and while coming back, He keeps His feet on all the even-numbered heads! In other words, while going from left to right, Little Krishna’s feet press the heads 1,3,5,7,9, etc. until the 99’th head. While moving from the right to left, Little Krishna’s feet press the heads 2,4,6,8,10, etc. till the 100’th head! In this fashion, Little Krishna performs a beautiful dance over the Kaaliya snake’s hundred heads.

Upon seeing Little Krishna dancing in this fashion, the entire Gokula town erupted in joy! They burst into a rapturous and a victorious sound together, hailing Little Krishna’s victory over the treacherous Kaaliya snake! People of Gokula heaved a huge sigh of relief for two reasons – The primary reason being that, their darling Krishna was back with them, safe and secure. Secondly, Kaaliya’s atrocities have come to an end, thanks to Little Krishna’s “divine heroics”! 😊 The entire town is into celebration mode now, as Little Krishna enthralls the people with His talent of performing different styles of dance over Kaaliya’s heads.

As Little Krishna does thus, Kaaliya realizes that he had been overpowered quite easily by the little boy. Thus, Kaaliya seeks forgiveness for his mistake of poisoning the Yamuna river’s waters. As Kaaliya seeks forgiveness, Little Krishna asks him for a promise thus, “Oh Kaaliya! I’m letting you go scot free now. But you should assure me that you wouldn’t come into the zone were people are living. You shouldn’t wreak havoc by unleashing your poison into any river.” Kaaliya on his part, gives back the assurance that he would not wreak havoc anymore on anybody and thus, leaves the place happily.

As Kaaliya moves away from the Yamuna river, the waters become devoid of poison and now it becomes totally safe for everyone to consume its waters. Little Krishna thus protects the people of Gokula with His divine powers and the entire town heaps praise on Him. Yashoda stands by her darling son, as a proud mother! So for today, let us enjoy this blissful experience of Little Krishna and let us wait till the next episode to move on with the next “Krishna Leela”! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an interesting point wherein Sage Sukhaachaarya explains to King Parikshit that Little Krishna came back from Satya Lokha with all the cows and herds only after a year. As this might have sounded a bit controversial, we witnessed an explanation how Little Krishna unleashed His “Maya” and assumed the forms of all the cows and the kids for that full year. In fact, Little Krishna executed His Maya perfectly that none in Gokula were able to figure out what exactly was going on. It was Balarama alone who had somehow sensed that something is not right! However, Little Krishna was smart enough to “shut” Balarama’s mouth and to make him go with the flow of things. In due course, we had also witnessed the time difference between our “Manushya Lokha” and Bhagawan Brahma’s “Satya Lokha” and the reason why Little Krishna took one year of our time to come back.

Thus, as the kids and Little Krishna successfully return back to their homes “after a year”, they were very happy to be back to Gokula. Thus, the kids were back to their normal routine again with all their cows, and spending valuable time with their “Hero”, Little Krishna. The cows were happy to be back under Little Krishna’s love and care. In fact, at one time there were around 700,000 thousand cows in Gokula and Little Krishna ensured that all the cows are adequately taken care of. If someone has to ask Bhagawan Vishnu whether He would like being at Vaikunta amidst the divine atmosphere, or whether He would like to be at Gokula amidst all these innocent kids and the cows, obviously He would chose the latter! Bhagawan Krishna has a special place in His heart for Gokula and its people always. Even today if we happen to visit Gokula, Mathura and Vrindavan in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, we would see the place with a huge population of cows and cattle. It would be so heart-warming for all of us to see how people in these places worship these cows even today. They take care of the cows exactly like how Little Krishna took care of them. I’m sure, if any of us, ardent devotees of Bhagawan Krishna would happen to visit these places, we would automatically be in tears of joy and devotion!

As days were passing by thus, moving on with the next important event, we’re now about to witness the “Kaaliya-Nardhana”. This is a very famous event, wherein Little Krishna was able to overcome a huge poisonous snake. This “Kaaliya” was creating lot of problem to the people of the neighborhood, as he poisoned the waters of the Yamuna river. Day by day, as people come to drink water from the river bank were falling unconscious mysteriously. Even the cows and other animals weren’t an exception. Cow after cow were falling on the ground as they drink the water from Yamuna river. Upon seeing this, people did not understand what was happening. Little did anybody know that there was this Kaaliya who was making a mess of the Yamuna waters.

It was Little Krishna who finally understood what was going on. He sensed that this Kaaliya was the one who was unleashing his fury upon His people and thus, Little Krishna decides to put and end to his atrocities. One fine day as Little Krishna was playing with His friends with a ball, unfortunately somebody threw the ball with such a force, that it went and fell into the river! Little Krishna saw this as an opportunity to teach Kaaliya a lesson. He informed His friends that He’s going to take the ball from the water and thus, jumped into the river! As the kids were watching with awe, Little Krishna swam across the river and before anyone notices, dived deep into the river.

Upon seeing this, the kids on the bank started to get a bit jittery. Till a minute ago they were seeing Little Krishna swimming across the river on the water’s surface, but now, He’s not to be seen anywhere! As minutes pass by, Little Krishna was not to be seen at all! So, the kids started to cry and they thought that their “hero” had drowned into the Yamuna river. All of them run to Yashoda to convey the news. As Yashoda hears thus, she is stunned beyond words! Both Yashoda and Nandagopa rush to the Yamuna river bank and call out for Little Krishna loudly – But in vein! Little Krishna wasn’t going to come back to the surface at all! As the river was poisonous at the moment, none were able to jump into the water to search for Little Krishna’s whereabouts. The entire Gokula town gathered in the river bank and were seeing if anybody can find a trace of Little Krishna somewhere.

Meanwhile, Little Krishna dived in deep and finally reaches the place where this Kaaliya snake was happily resting! He was emitting his poisonous fumes in such a way that it was too toxic even for Little Krishna to come closer. However, Little Krishna manages to brush aside the poison with His divine powers and finally reaches the close proximity of Kaliya. As both of them come face to face with each other, Kaaliya tries to squeeze Little Krishna with his long and strong tail! Now Little Krishna is totally under Kaaliya’s siege!

What is going to happen next? How is Little Krishna going to overcome such a ferocious and a poisonous enemy? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Little Krishna took Bhagawan Brahma to task, when he tried to act smart. Bhagawan Brahma underestimated the power of Little Krishna, although he knew that Little Krishna was an incarnate of Bhagawan Vishnu. As Little Krishna was playing at the Vrindavan gardens along with his friends, Bhagawan Brahma saw this opportunity and stole away all the cows and cattle, along with their herds! All of a sudden there was a deafening silence at Vrindavan, and the kids got worried. They were more worried because they were targeted very recently by the Raakshasa Aghaasura. However, Little Krishna assured them of safety and He ventures out to check what had happened. None of the cows were seen! Thus, immediately Little Krishna came to know that this was nothing but Bhagawan Brahma’s ploy! He decided to give it back and show Bhagawan Brahma the taste of his own medicine! Deciding thus, Little Krishna quickly transcended to the “Satya Lokha”, and even before Bhagawan Brahma arrived there with the cows, Little Krishna assumed Bhagawan Brahma’s form and started his job of creation!

As Bhagawan Brahma arrives there, the security guards thought that he was a “fake Brahma”, and kicked him out! Realizing that it was Little Krishna who had taken up his form and his job too, Bhagawan Brahma understands that he had committed a grave mistake. He immediately seeks unconditional apology to Little Krishna and with His divine grace, Bhagawan Brahma was reinstated back into his Satya Lokha. Little Krishna takes all the cows and cattle with Him and returns back to Vrindavan!

We might think that all this happened within a jiffy, but Sage Sukhaachaarya puts a bombshell here – He says that this entire event took a year to get over! In other words, it took a year’s time for Little Krishna to transcend to Satya Lokha and bring back all the cows. This is where we would get many doubts in our mind – How can it take one year for all this to happen? On one hand, it is mentioned that all of these events conspired within a jiffy, but on the other side, Sage Sukhaachaarya explains that from the day Little Krishna went to the Satya Lokha, it took a year for Him to come back, and it is only after a year’s time that all the kids returned back to Gokula with the cows. How does this match? Is there a discrepancy here?

We should understand an important point in this context – The methodology of calculating time is grossly different from that of the Satya Lokha and our Manushya Lokha (Our Mother Earth). We’ve already witnessed this during our earlier episodes when we spoke of “Time” and its different methodologies of calculation in the different “Lokhas”. Thus, if we’ve to say that Bhagawan Brahma took away all the cattle and reached Satya Lokha “within a minute”, this “minute-calculation” is as per the methodology followed in the Satya Lokha. We should understand here that, one minute at Satya Lokha is equivalent to one year in the Manushya Lokha. This is why, whatever conspired between Bhagawan Brahma and Little Krishna “within a minute” of time, it is as per the calculation of time at Satya Lokha. In our terms, the kids had to wait for a year before Little Krishna came back with all the cows.

But we would have another doubt here – We know that the normal routine for these kids – Everyday morning they used to go to Vrindavan and return back the same evening. But if Little Krishna and the kids didn’t return back to Gokula for a year, their parents, including Yashoda would have got worried that their kids aren’t back home for a long time, isn’t it?  Didn’t the Gokula residents search for their kids and cows? This is where, Little Krishna’s divine play come to the forefront – During this one-year time, as the kids and the cows were absent, Little Krishna Himself assumed the form of all the cows, all the kids, all the tiffin boxes, all the food items, etc. 😊 He created a perfect illusion in such a way that none of the people had even the mildest form of doubt. In other words, the routine seemed to be as normal as every passing day – The kids would go to Vrindavan along with the cows, and they would come back by evening. Little Krishna assumed the form of all these kids and the cows! In reality, the actual kids were still waiting at Vrindavan for their Little Krishna to arrive. They never came back to Gokula for a year’s time. It was Little Krishna who had visited all the homes of Gokula in the form of their own respective kids every day for a year! What a divine grace had Little Krishna showered upon all the residents of Gokula! 😊

However, as this was conspiring, none of the Gokula residents had the mildest doubt, because it was so real for them! Of course there can be no flaws in whatever Bhagawan is doing, isn’t it? As all this was happening for the first six months, it was Balarama who had a mild doubt. He sensed that something is not right! It should be remembered that Balarama is also a divine incarnation like Bhagawan Krishna. With doubts in his mind, Balarama approaches Little Krishna and asks Him thus, “Oh Krishna! I don’t know what is happening for the past six months with me! Usually whenever I see you, I feel overwhelmed with so much of compassion and affection. This feeling doesn’t come to me much with the others. But nowadays, I’m feeling the same compassion and affection towards all the kids! Why is this transformation happening?” As Balarama asks thus, Little Krishna replies him back, “Oh Balarama! Please shut up your mouth! By asking these “intelligent & intellectual questions”, you’re only playing spoilsport and exposing my play and lies! 😊 Don’t ask such questions in front of anybody! Please understand that it is me who has assumed the forms of all these kids and cows for a reason. This would continue for the next six months or so. So till then, do not ever open your mouth and talk nonsense!” 😊

Saying thus, Little Krishna silenced Balarama and this saga continues for one full year! Thus, it is only after a year’s time that the real kids and the cows return back to Gokula. In the meantime, it was Little Krishna who had created a “Maya” (Illusionary play) and assumed multiple forms of these kids and the cows, so that none in Gokula knows what had conspired. So for today, let us understand this important point and clarification and we shall wait for the next episode to continue with the divine “Krishna-Leela” experience! Stay tuned! 😊

During the previous episode, we had witnessed how Little Krishna put an end to a treacherous Raakshasa by name “Aghaasura”. He was deputed by Kamsa to finish off Little Krishna. Aghaasura took the form of a huge snake and was stay put at the place where Little Krishna and the kids were playing. Aghaasura opened his mouth wide, and the kids entered into his mouth in excitement, unknowing the great danger into which they’re stepping into! As all the kids enter inside, Aghaasura closes his mouth and the kids started falling unconscious after the snake’s poison started taking effect. However, Little Krishna was unmoved by all these gimmicks of Aghaasura! He used His muscle power to push open Aghaasura’s wide mouth and with that itself, Aghaasura breathed his last! The snake fell dead with its mouth wide open. Thus, Little Krishna killed Aghaasura and also rescued all the kids as well.

As the kids get up to consciousness, all of them celebrate the victory of their “gang leader” by surrounding Him and raising cheers. The kids were happy that they were safe, thanks to Little Krishna. As the celebrations galore, with the passage of time during the day, the children started feeling hungry. It was almost time for lunch. As per the daily protocol, all the kids would bring a “tiffin box” full of any food item that their mothers would prepare for them. 😊 Even today we see this practice with kids going to school, isn’t it? All the kids would open their respective boxes during the lunch break and then they would share each other’s food items as they eat. This is exactly the same practice that Little Krishna and kids followed too at Gokula. Every day morning as the kids would leave to Vrindavan along with the cows and cattle, they would bring some deliciously cooked food items for lunch. Yashoda too makes sure that she packs excellent lunch for her Little Krishna. She gives lot of butter and curd, as she knows that her son is fond of them. As the kids start feeling hungry, all of them open their lunch boxes and start eating. Meanwhile, the cows are happily grazing at all corners of the Vrindavan gardens. This is a wonderful sight to witness, isn’t it? On one side, the kids are having a wonderful time with Little Krishna and on the other, the cows are happily grazing through the grass.

As this was happening, Bhagawan Brahma was seeing all this from the top. He was thinking within himself thus, “Oh! How much of arrogance is this Little Krishna having within Himself? How is He taking control of the entire world, when I’m there as the sole authority to do that? Let me teach Him a lesson today!” Thinking thus with jealousy, Bhagawan Brahma descended to Vrindavan and took all the cows and the cattle along with him to his “Satya Lokha”. Suddenly the entire Vrindavan became so quiet without any sounds of any cow! Upon seeing this, the kids were surprised and worried too. They were concerned with the safety of their cows.

As the kids were getting scared, Little Krishna reassured them by saying thus, “Oh friends! Please do not worry. I shall go and check what has happened to our cows. Meanwhile you continue eating happily. I would join you again in a jiffy!” Saying thus, Little Krishna set out to see the cows. To His surprise too, none of the cows were to be seen – Not even a single cow! Usually there are hundreds of them grazing around, but strangely none of them were seen! Upon seeing this, Little Krishna realized that there was a ploy and this was duly orchestrated by Bhagawan Brahma himself. He wanted to teach Bhagawan Brahma a lesson here. Thus, Little Krishna quickly transcended to the Satya Lokha within seconds, entered into Bhagawan Brahma’s courtroom, assumed the form of Bhagawan Brahma and sat on his throne! Incidentally, Bhagawan Brahma was on his way towards his “Satya Lokha” with all the cows and cattle and little did he expect Little Krishna to assume the form of Bhagawan Brahma and reach the Satya Lokha much before he would reach! Thus, Little Krishna started to continue the duty of “creating the world” that Bhagawan Brahma was doing till date!

However, as Bhagawan Brahma returns back with all his tiredness, he was proud of himself! He thinks that he has achieved something great by teaching Little Krishna a lesson! However, as Bhagawan Brahma comes to the entrance of his “Satya Lokha”, the security guards stopped him and asked him thus, “Who are you? Why are you dressed up like Bhagawan Brahma? You’re a “fake Brahma”! 🙂 Are you trying to cheat us?” It should be remembered that Little Krishna has taken up Bhagawan Brahma’s form and job also! As the security guards say thus, they kick Bhagwan Brahma and he comes and falls on to the ground from where he stole away all the cows and cattle! As Bhagwan Brahma falls thus, Little Krishna was seen there standing on the ground, laughing at him loudly by clapping His small hands! Bhagwan Brahma realizes his folly!

Thus, Bhagawan Brahma folds his hands and seeks unconditional apology from Little Krishna as he releases all the cows and cattle that he had abducted. Little Krishna on His part, forgives Bhagawan Brahma and sends him back to his Satya Lokha, where he rightly belonged to. Thus from that point onwards, Bhagawan Brahma never interfered into the divine activities of Bhagawan Krishna. He had been shown his right place!

We can witness the irony here – An innocent fruit vendor was able to realize the significance of Little Krishna and with that, she was able to attain the highest “Moksha”. However on the other hand, although being the “creator of the entire world”, Bhagawan Brahma failed to realize the significance of Little Krishna and was rightly shown his place by Him! So for today, let us realize and experience this important event of the “Krishna Leela” and let us wait for the next episode to continue further! Stay tuned! 😊