The following is an excerpt from Kṛṣṇa – The Lord of Sweetness, Chapter 4, First Edition by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

 

With great honour, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was greedy to hear the sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. As Śukadeva Gosvāmī observed the moods of Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he became so happy that from his heart, he automatically spoke narrations about the Supreme Lord, hari-kathā.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes how those who are devotees have spontaneous love and affection for Kṛṣṇa. If they see a qualified devotee or disciple, an endless stream of bhakti-rasa (the mellow of transcendental devotion) automatically flows from their heart in the form of their narrations of Kṛṣṇa’s sweet pastimes. Those who are fortunate bathe in that bhakti-rasa, and their lives become successful. They forever forget their lust for eating, drinking, and making merry, and all their fears and anarthas (tendencies unfavourable for spiritual life) will go far away. Offences will also go, and they will soon have pure prema-bhakti for the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

[While narrating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,] Śukadeva Gosvāmī asked Parīkṣit Mahārāja, “Do you want to take water?”

“No, Gurudeva. I do not want to take it. I am drinking the ocean of rasa flowing from your mouth. I do not need anything else. Go on speaking the sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.”

Anyone who hears these sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa will soon have pure love ( prema-bhakti) for Him. This is certain. Their anarthas will be removed, and they will have nothing to worry about – neither death, suffering, nor sorrow.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī again began to utter hari-kathā.

Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are the Supreme Personalities of Godhead. Baladeva is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. We may see Them as two different forms, but actually, They are one. In this incarnation, Kṛṣṇa has appeared in the body of Baladeva only to teach us how to serve Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Baladeva Prabhu is the undivided principle of śrī guru. He teaches us how to serve Kṛṣṇa and imparts all spiritual truths.

Now, Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are in Vraja and are gradually approaching one or two years old. As we grow, we go from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, and from youth to old age. However, these stages are not present in Kṛṣṇa. In His pastimes in the spiritual world of Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is the ever-fresh, eternally youthful embodiment of the most expert dancer. He is in His teenage years and is very beautiful. He is never old and never young. Yet, in His pastimes on Earth, Kṛṣṇa is seen to grow through many different stages. He has manifested all these stages to increase the love and affection of the devotees.

As little children, Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva, the Supreme Personalities of Godhead, now roam here and there, quite naked. Previously, They used to move about on Their knees, crawling. Sometimes, They would see a serpent and catch hold of it. Upon seeing this, Mother Yaśodā became very worried. Sometimes, They would put Their hands in the mouths of very wild dogs, and the dogs would become calm and quiet and wag their tails back and forth. Sometimes, Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva used to see big, ferocious bulls. They would catch hold of the bulls’ horns and play with them, and the bulls would play with Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva.

Sometimes, when crawling about, Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva would crawl to the front door of a gopī’s house. If They saw anyone inside, They would remember Their mothers and quickly, in fear, turn back and run to the lap of Their mothers. And what would Their mothers do? They would wipe the dust from their children’s bodies with their veil, take Them on their lap, and caress Their hair. With tears in their eyes and a melting heart, they would put their breast in the mouths of Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva.

Sometimes, gopīs would come into the courtyard of Mother Yaśodā, who was engaged in churning butter and doing other jobs. What jobs? Preparing something for Kṛṣṇa. She has no other job. She is always engaged in serving Him. While doing any job, she was always remembering Him, singing, “Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhaveti, Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhaveti.”

Mother Yaśodā was brooming. Why? Because Kṛṣṇa was now crawling. She was making the floor very neat and clean, and while doing so, she was singing, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.” Sometimes, she was grinding grains and singing, “Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhaveti.”  She used to give pomegranates to the she-parrots and tell them, “You should sing as I am: ‘Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhaveti.’ ”

All the vraja-gopīs did this, not only Mother Yaśodā. In their homes, they always remembered Kṛṣṇa and did chores for Him, knowing that Kṛṣṇa would come and steal butter from their houses. Knowing that He would surely come, they would think, “How shall I, by any trick, catch hold of Kṛṣṇa?”

In this way, they passed their time. Sometimes in the morning, at seven o’clock, the gopīs would come to the house of Yaśodā to see Kṛṣṇa. He was so beautiful. They all had their sons, but they did not have as much love and affection for them as they had for Kṛṣṇa. They always thought, “We want Kṛṣṇa to be our son so that we can give Him our breast milk and serve Him with love and affection.”

All the elder, motherly gopīs felt this way. Even the cows thought like this. Sometimes, the cows would come inside the house of Nanda Mahārāja and stand there. Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva lay under those cows, and milk would spontaneously flow from the cows’ udders into Their mouth. The cows also thought, “If Kṛṣṇa were to become my son, then I could give my milk, love, and affection to Him.”

The elder, motherly gopīs sometimes went to Nanda-bhavana (the house of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā) to see Kṛṣṇa. They told Mother Yaśodā, “Now that your Kṛṣṇa has become bigger, He sometimes comes into our house, to where we keep butter. His friends – Sudāma, Śrīdāma, Subala, Madhumaṅgala, and all – are like monkeys. There are so many boys with Kṛṣṇa at all times. All are naked like Catuḥsana and Balākhalya Ṛṣi.” In this way, the gopīs used to complain to Yaśodā.

Among themselves, the gopīs would say: “Yaśodā is not fortunate like us. Kṛṣṇa comes to our homes to steal and play, but because He does not steal from His own house, she does not see all these sweet pastimes. We are so fortunate.”

Though the gopīs seem to complain, they want Yaśodā to know how sweet her son is. “Your boy has become so naughty. He enters our house, steals butter, and distributes it to the monkeys and His friends.”

Sometimes, Kṛṣṇa would tell one of His friends, “While we hide here under the shade of this tree, go and tell your mother that your calf has run away. Tell her that someone has untied the calf, and now that calf is taking his mother’s milk.” When that gopī heard this, she immediately ran out to stop the calf. In the meantime, Kṛṣṇa would enter her home to take butter and many other things.

Sometimes, a gopī would hide and wait for Kṛṣṇa, thinking that He would surely come to steal butter. When Kṛṣṇa came there and put His hand in the butter pot, she would immediately catch hold of Him.

“Why have You done this?” she would ask Him.

“O Mother, I see this place as My home. I never thought that you were not My mother. I came here, never thinking that you would catch hold of Me and beat Me.” Saying this, He would begin to smile and, pulling His hand out of hers, would run away.

Sometimes, a gopī would tell Mother Yaśodā, “Today I caught Kṛṣṇa red-handed. I asked Him, ‘Why have You come here? Did You come to steal butter?’

“He replied, ‘No, Mother. Today, I was playing with My calf. He ran away and jumped into this pot. I followed him. I was searching for My calf.’

“ ‘So Your calf jumped in this pot?’

“ ‘Yes, Mother.’

“Kṛṣṇa put His hand in the pot and pulled out a marble toy calf. He and His friends began to laugh, and He ran away from there the next moment.”

Being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa always wants to give pleasure to His devotees. Not all incarnations of Godhead are like Kṛṣṇa. Anyone can worship Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa wants to worship and serve His devotees. If someone desires for Kṛṣṇa to come to his house and steal butter, then Kṛṣṇa will come; otherwise, He never comes to anyone’s home.

Duryodhana was such a rich person. He served Kṛṣṇa water in a golden cup and offered Him, in golden pots, preparations of many delicious foodstuffs, like laḍḍū, peḍā, kacauḍī, puṛī, mākhana – so many things. Then he said to Kṛṣṇa, “You should take.”

Kṛṣṇa said, “I have no appetite. I cannot take it.”

If there is no appetite, we cannot eat, but [even if we have no appetite,] we can take anything offered with love and affection. Regarding Duryodhana, Kṛṣṇa thought, “But you have no love and affection for Me.” Kṛṣṇa also told Duryodhana, “I have come to submit a proposal.” But since you have not complied with that proposal, how can I take what you offer? I am not a beggar; I am not hungry. How can I take?”

Shortly after this, Kṛṣṇa went to Vidura’s house and pleaded to his wife, Vidurāṇī, “O Mother Vidurāṇī, I am so hungry. Please give me something to eat.” Vidurāṇī, being absorbed in her affection for Him, offered Him bananas, but only the outer part, the peel. She was throwing away the inner part, the soft, sweet banana fruit, the main thing, yet Kṛṣṇa was accepting those peels with love and affection, relishing them more than He relished the preparations made by His queens Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāmā in Dvārakā. He wholly absorbed Himself in taking that.

In the meantime, Vidura came home and saw this. He said to his wife, “O Vidurāṇī! What are you doing?”

Kṛṣṇa said, “Don’t say anything. She is not in external consciousness. She is fully absorbed in transcendental love and affection.”

But upon hearing her husband say, “What are you doing?” Vidurāṇī came to external consciousness. She began to give Kṛṣṇa the banana fruit and throw away the peel.

“This is not so tasty now,” Kṛṣṇa said.

Kṛṣṇa never becomes hungry. He wants to taste the mood of bhakti through an offering of any preparation. He never tastes plantain, rabaḍī, milk, or anything. The essence of those offerings is love and affection; it is the only thing he tastes in them. If anything is given with love and affection, He will gladly take it. And if a person has love and affection but withholds something from Him, He will forcibly take it from that devotee. But He will never take anything if there is no love and affection.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to [playfully] quarrel with Śrīdhara, a fruit and vegetable merchant, and would forcibly take his vegetables. Śrīdhara would say, “I will not give them to You. I am a very poor person. You should not take anything from me; You should go to others.” Still [because Śrīdhara had so much love for Him] Śrīman Mahāprabhu used to take his banana flowers and other things. This is the nature of Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa is not a beggar. He is complete in all opulences, yet in Vraja, He serves and plays with all His associates.

Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are now one-and-a-half years old and have begun walking a little. Though They can stand up, sometimes They fall down. Some motherly gopīs came to the house and divided into two parties. One party took the side of Baladeva, and the other took the side of Kṛṣṇa.

The gopīs in Kṛṣṇa’s party announced, “Kṛṣṇa is so strong that He can defeat Baladeva.”

The gopīs in the party of Baladeva Prabhu responded, “No, no. Baladeva is stronger than Kṛṣṇa.” Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva began to understand something of what they were saying. The gopīs on Kṛṣṇa’s side said, “If Kṛṣṇa defeats Baladeva, then we will give a laḍḍū to Kṛṣṇa.” And the party of Baladeva Prabhu responded, “If Baladeva wins this battle, then we will give a laḍḍū to Baladeva.”

In this way, the gopīs inspired Them to wrestle, and Baladeva and Kṛṣṇa began to do so. They were equally strong. Sometimes, Baladeva would overpower Kṛṣṇa, but in the middle of Their fight, in just a turn, Kṛṣṇa would overpower Baladeva, and then Baladeva would overpower Kṛṣṇa again. All the gopīs were clapping.

Now, Kṛṣṇa is somewhat bigger. One day, Yaśodā told Kṛṣṇa, “Kṛṣṇa, today is Your birthday – aṣṭamī (the half-moon night). You should fetch a calf and worship the feet of that calf.” Calf here means female calf. Kṛṣṇa became so happy. He was wearing only a tinkling golden chain around His waist. Kṛṣṇa wondered, “Where is this sound coming from?” He didn’t know it was coming from His waist, so He looked here and there.

He went to a calf, a very beautiful she-calf that was white like snow, like a swan, and so stout, so healthy. Kṛṣṇa wanted to catch that calf, but it was jumping about. Somehow, He grabbed hold of her. He tried to bring her into the courtyard, but she resisted, standing firmly on all four legs. There was a struggle between them. When Kṛṣṇa finally got her into the courtyard, He saw a pot hanging on a rope and understood that it must be a pot of sweet butter.

Kṛṣṇa forgot that He should bring the calf inside. He only wanted the butter. But how could He get it? It was hanging from the rafters. There was not a ladder or anything on which to climb. There were no friends that He could climb on, one by one. And there was no stick. How could He possibly do this? Only the calf was there. He thought, “If I stand on this calf, I can reach it easily.”

Kṛṣṇa tried to climb on that calf, but just as He was high enough to reach the pot, the calf jumped away. Kṛṣṇa had put His hand in the pot, but when the calf ran away, He was left hanging there. He fearfully called out, “O Mother! O Mother! O Mother!” and cried bitterly.

Mother Yaśodā was churning butter when she heard Kṛṣṇa weeping. She smiled and ran to help Him. Upon seeing Him, she exclaimed, “How did this happen? You should stay like that; I will not help You down. I will punish You for this.”

Kṛṣṇa began to weep even louder, calling, “Mother, Mother, Mother, Mother!” Yaśodā then lifted Him down and embraced Him.

Due to His mischievous nature during His childhood, He became the recipient of love and affection from all the gopīs, particularly His mother.

One day, Yaśodā thought, “He has become so naughty, stealing butter in neighbours’ houses. I must teach Him a good lesson.”

One gopī told her, “In the early morning, Kṛṣṇa came to my house to steal. He saw that everything was kept very carefully, and there was nothing to take – no butter lying about here and there. My son, a very little boy, was sleeping. Kṛṣṇa went over to him and pinched him so hard that he awoke and began to cry.

He will do this if you do not keep butter in your house for Him. And sometimes, He breaks all of our pots.”

One day, a gopī was in her home waiting for Kṛṣṇa and thinking, “When He comes, I will catch Him red-handed and take Him to Yaśodā, because she has no faith in our words [when we tell her that He steals from our houses]. Then she will see the naughtiness of her boy.”

Very early the following day, while it was dark, Kṛṣṇa came alone to that gopī’s house to steal butter. Looking this way and that, He was thinking, “No one can catch Me.”

But this gopī was prepared for Him. As Kṛṣṇa ate the butter, she came out from her hiding place and caught Him red-handed. She covered His head with a cloth and said, “I will take You to Mother Yaśodā. Now, she may have some faith in us when we tell her that her boy is a great thief.”

When she came to Nanda Bābā’s house, she cried out, “O Yaśodā, come and see. I have caught your son red-handed. He has become a thief. You had no faith in our words before, but today, you must believe us.”

As Yaśodā walked through the house, she saw that Kṛṣṇa was sleeping on the bed. Puzzled, she inquired from the gopī, “Where is my son?” The gopī took the cloth from the face of Kṛṣṇa, only to see that it was her son who was covered with it.

Kṛṣṇa came from the room, weeping, “O Mother, O Mother, just see how they are lying. I never go to that house. They are all liars. Now, I will go and take butter.”

While Yaśodā was busy with her household chores, she pondered, “The other gopīs lovingly prepare butter for Kṛṣṇa by hand, which is why it tastes so sweet.” But I do not prepare it with my own hands. My servants and maidservants do it. From today, I will milk the cows, put the milk on the fire, and make sweet yoghurt by adding something sour to the boiling milk. Then, I will churn that yoghurt to make butter. That butter will be so sweet that Kṛṣṇa will happily take it and relish it with great pleasure.”

Do you know Dīpāvālī day in India?* On Dīpāvālī day, Yaśodā sent all her servants, maidservants, and even Mother Rohiṇī and Baladeva to Upānanda’s house. Upānanda is the eldest brother of Nanda Bābā. She sent them there because there was no one to help with the Dīpāvālī preparations at Upānanda’s place.

In the early dawn, Yaśodā was, therefore, alone, churning. She was so beautiful. If she weren’t, how could Kṛṣṇa be beautiful? If the mother is ugly, the son cannot be beautiful. Yaśodā was so beautiful. Her breasts were broad, and her waist was thin. It was as if her body would break if she bent down. And she wore very fine silk cloth. In those days, the art of making silk cloth was finely developed in India. Sārī makers at that time were so expert that they could weave ten yards of raw silk thread into a piece of cloth the width of a fingernail. Though Yaśodā was wearing such dense silken cloth for Dīpāvālī, her beauty shone through. She wore a golden chain around her neck and bangles on her wrists. She twisted some silken ropes around a pillar and churned butter with her two hands. Kṛṣṇa was so attractive. If thousands of people were to watch any of His actions, He would attract them all.

While Yaśodā was churning, she remembered Kṛṣṇa’s sweet childhood pastimes and sang, “Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhaveti.” She was partly absorbed in singing and partly absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. Her eyes were closed, tears fell, and her heart melted. A mṛdaṅga drum has two sides: a larger side that makes the sound dhik and a smaller one that makes the sound tān. Mother Yaśodā’s churning was making both these sounds, and she was singing along with the rhythm: ‘dhik tān, dhik tān.’ Her bangles sounded like very sweet karatālas (hand cymbals). The sounds from her churning meant ‘Fie on those who don’t worship or remember Kṛṣṇa.’ She was wholly absorbed in this churning.

In the meantime, Kṛṣṇa awoke. He looked here and there for His mother. “Where is Mother?” His eyes were closed, and He called, “Mother, Mother!” But His mother was elsewhere, churning. He began to weep so hard that He could not call, “O Mother!” He could only cry and rub His eyes, not with His palms, but with the back of His hands. At first, there were no tears in His eyes; only kājala, black collyrium, was there. He has such big eyes. Yaśodā had applied long kājala that extended from His eyes to His ears. When He could not find His mother, He cried, “I am so hungry, and Mother has gone elsewhere.” After some time, He realized that His mother could not hear Him. “Oh, she must be over there, churning and singing.” He began to weep louder, but still, His mother did not come.

He started to climb down from His cot, but the cot was so high. How could He climb down? He could jump across the ocean and the world, but He could not get down from His cot. Inching along on His stomach, with great labour, He got down and began to walk toward His mother.

There was still a semblance of sleepiness in Him, and He tottered as He walked. He was weeping also. Tears were in His eyes and His nose as well. His tears mixed with the kājala around His eyes and began to flow like the Ganges and Yamunā. He was already black, and this black kājala made Him even blacker. He was weeping louder and louder, but Yaśodā was so absorbed in singing and churning that she could not hear Him. At last, He came over to her and caught hold of her churning stick with His left hand, and with His right, He grabbed hold of her veil. Yaśodā wondered, “Why has my churning stopped?”

She looked behind her and found Kṛṣṇa there, weeping. She left her churning at once and put Him on her lap. Wiping His eyes with her veil, she pacified Him. She began caressing Him and placed her breast in His mouth. Kṛṣṇa had stopped weeping, but now, Yaśodā began to weep softly. She wept tears of love. All eight bodily transformations symptomatic of deep ecstasy appeared in her. She wept (aśru), the hair on her body stood on end (romāñca), and she trembled (kampa). Perspiration (sveda) appeared like pearls on her face, and all other symptoms manifested in her body, as did various profound emotions (vyābhicārī-bhāvas). In this way, while Kṛṣṇa suckled her breast milk, she was wholly absorbed in her love for Him.

After drinking for some time, Kṛṣṇa was still not satisfied. Yaśodā then saw that the pot of milk on the nearby fire had boiled and was overflowing onto the fire. She knew that this milk was a personality. [In other words, it was not ordinary milk but was conscious.] The milk was thinking, “I am not serving Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s stomach is so big the whole world can fit in it. Also, there is so much milk in the breasts of Mother Yaśodā that they can hold hundreds of thousands of milk oceans. All the milk in the limitless Kṣīrodakaśāyī Ocean is equal to very little of Yaśodā’s milk.** His stomach and appetite are so big, and Yaśodā has an endless ocean of milk. Even if Kṛṣṇa drinks her milk for a long, long time, for hundreds of thousands of years, it will not be depleted. Therefore, I will never have a chance to serve Him, so I should give up my life.” [With this mood, the milk boiled over onto the fire.]

What is the symptom of a devotee? He feels separation from Kṛṣṇa in this way: “If my body, my mind, and all my senses are not engaged in serving Kṛṣṇa, then I should die. What is the use of living?”

We do not think like this. Because the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa is not within us, we cannot be considered good spiritual practitioners (sādhakas). When this desire comes, then Kṛṣṇa will immediately appear and give us service to Him. If He does not come, then any devotee – like Yaśodā – will come to give us a chance to serve Him.

Yaśodā saw the milk falling into the fire with the desire to give up his life.

She said to the milk, “I will serve Kṛṣṇa later. First, I will engage you in service to Him.”

A real devotee, a guru, is like this, engaging new devotees in service to Kṛṣṇa. What is the job of gurudeva? He will engage qualified souls – those eager to serve Kṛṣṇa – in service to Him. But those who are not eager will not have this opportunity. Mother Yaśodā, like a guru of those who have parental affection for Kṛṣṇa, wanted to help that milk, and so she quickly put Kṛṣṇa down by her side and ran to save it. A guru’s tendency and mood are like this – to help others serve Kṛṣṇa. It is the best duty.

We know that Pūtanā had the power of thousands of elephants, yet when Kṛṣṇa was suckling from her breast, she could not rid herself of His grasp. At that time, Kṛṣṇa was only six days old. Now, He is much stronger. When He saw that Yaśodā wanted to leave Him, He caught hold of her like a monkey clings to its mother, with all four limbs. He wrapped His feet firmly around her body and suckled with great strength. All His senses were engaged. [He resolved,] “I will not leave Mother Yaśodā and her breast.”

But Yaśodā told Him, “Sit here.” Kṛṣṇa possesses immense power and opulences as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can defeat the whole world and all demons – Keśī, Agha, Baka, Pūtanā, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, and so forth – but He could not stop Mother Yaśodā from putting Him down. She defeated him. With just one hand, she very quickly and easily removed Him from her breast and said, “You should sit here.” Kṛṣṇa was helpless.

This pastime contains a good lesson for all. If anyone has such devotion to Kṛṣṇa, all of Kṛṣṇa’s power goes away by the arrangement of Yogamāyā, and He becomes helpless, like a baby. He wanted to catch hold of His mother and drink her breast milk, but she quickly put Him down. He began to weep loudly and became somewhat angry. “Although she has not satisfied My hunger, she has put Me aside and has gone to save the milk.”

In this pastime, we see that those who serve Kṛṣṇa also take care of the articles used to serve Him – the utensils, the clothes, the flute, the peacock feather – all these things. Mother Yaśodā used to give more attention to these things than to Kṛṣṇa. Why? This is the nature of pure devotion (bhakti). We do not see this so much in this world, only sometimes. When Kṛṣṇa would make His clothes dirty, Yaśodā used to slap him. “You are so naughty. I have just washed Your clothes, and now You are making them dirty.”

Kṛṣṇa is weeping, and Yaśodā has put Him aside to save the milk. There are two considerations here: the milk and Kṛṣṇa. For whom does Mother Yaśodā have the greatest affection, Kṛṣṇa or the milk? The milk exists to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. We should give our whole attention to satisfying Him, but we see the opposite in Yaśodā. She thought, “Kṛṣṇa is weeping, no harm,” and put Him aside to run and save the milk. Why? Sometimes, she gives Kṛṣṇa a slap for making His clothes dirty. These clothes are for the service of Kṛṣṇa. Why is she slapping Him for having dirty clothes?

This is the nature of pure devotion. This is why Kṛṣṇa does not have as much affection for those who serve Him directly as for those who serve His devotees or the servant of the servant of the devotee. Kṛṣṇa becomes so happy with them. Do you understand what I am saying?

Govinda-bhakata Brahmacārī: Are you saying that Kṛṣṇa will not be as pleased with those who serve Him directly as He will with those who serve others who are related to Him, specifically His devotees?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If one person is directly serving Kṛṣṇa and another is serving Rādhikā, with whom will Kṛṣṇa be more pleased?

Govinda-bhakata Brahmacārī: Whoever is serving Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why?

Govinda-bhakata Brahmacārī: Because he is serving that person who is dearest to Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: And if someone is serving Rūpa Mañjarī, who is serving Śrīmatī Rādhikā, then with whom will Kṛṣṇa be more pleased?

Govinda-bhakata Brahmacārī: With the servant of Rūpa Mañjarī.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Therefore, if anyone is serving Rūpa Mañjarī, Kṛṣṇa will say, “You are a servant of Rūpa Mañjarī? I shall give you everything. What do you want?”

This is the nature of bhakti, devotion. Yaśodā went to save the milk. That milk was for Kṛṣṇa. Yaśodā was thinking, “My breast milk alone will not be enough to satisfy Him. Sweet butter cannot be prepared from my milk, so it is essential to save that milk.” And so she went to do that, even though Kṛṣṇa was weeping.

What is to be understood by Kṛṣṇa’s weeping? Is He angry or not? Externally, it may seem that He is angry, but internally, He is very happy. Kṛṣṇa thought, “My mother has gone, having put Me here without satisfying Me. I will teach her a lesson.” He stood up and tried to upturn a vessel containing butter, but He was not strong enough; He saw that He could not do it. He had killed Pūtanā, but now He was so weak that He could not move this pot. He could not even shake it. He began to think, “What should I do?” He forgot all His majesty and opulence (aiśvarya). Where there is love, Kṛṣṇa can forget all His aiśvarya. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa forgot all His aiśvarya, became ignorant and weak, and wondered what to do.

In the meantime, He saw a ‘son of a stone.’ What is a ‘son of a stone’? In India, it is a piece of flat stone used to grind many spices, masālā, and other things.

Govinda-bhakata Brahmacārī: A grinding stone.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. Now, there are machines for this, but at that time, the householder’s wife used to do it by hand so beautifully. It was like exercise. They did not go for walks or do various exercises. There was so much exercise in household work then, like grinding wheat on a wheel, pounding grains with a mortar and pestle, washing here and there, and so much other work.

There was a piece of stone lying nearby. Kṛṣṇa took the grinding stone in His hands and tried to break the pot at the top, yet because it was so thick, it did not break. But He was intelligent. He saw that the pot’s base was fragile and thought, “If I try to break this pot from the top, butter will not come out. I should make a hole in the bottom of the pot.” He made a tiny hole, and gradually, all the buttermilk poured out. He looked on happily, clapping and saying, “How beautiful!”

He had forgotten about His opulence and majesty. He thought, “Mother will come and chastise Me, and she may beat Me with a cane, so what should I do? I should quickly run away from here and hide.”

There were two doors, one leading to another room inside and the other leading outside to the main path. Kṛṣṇa went into the adjacent room and closed the door. Seeing pots of butter hanging from the ceiling, He climbed on top of the grinding mortar and began to eat some of that sweet butter. In the meantime, some monkeys and crows came. As Kṛṣṇa was taking the butter, they jumped over to Him and took it from His hand.

What happened next? [To Prema-prayojana dāsa] Can you speak something?

Prema-prayojana dāsa: As Kṛṣṇa was standing on the mortar and feeding butter to the crows and monkeys, He saw that they were so happy. He thought, “Yes, I must feed them.” Why? Because in Kṛṣṇa’s previous incarnation, He was Rāmacandra. At that time, many monkeys helped Him in His conquest of Laṅkā to bring Sītā back to Ayodhyā. They worked hard, but Rāma had no decent food to give them. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa was thinking, “I will feed them nicely now because they previously underwent many difficulties for Me.” As He fed them, He saw how happy they were becoming. Kṛṣṇa also thought, “These crows have appeared in the dynasty of My very dear servant Kākabhuśuṇḍi, who helped Lord Rāmacandra in His pastimes.”

Kṛṣṇa was joyfully feeding the crows and monkeys and looking here and there, being a little afraid that His mother may come. In the meantime, Mother Yaśodā came and saw the broken pot. She looked on the ground and saw many small footprints belonging to Kṛṣṇa, who had run through the buttermilk. Kṛṣṇa had thought, “I am so intelligent, I will run and hide,” but He was not intelligent enough to realize that He was running through the buttermilk and leaving footprints that led to where He was hiding.

Seeing these footprints, Mother Yaśodā followed them and came to the door. Kṛṣṇa had closed the door so that no one could see Him. She opened it and peered in to see Kṛṣṇa taking butter and feeding it to the monkeys as He looked here and there in fear of her. Mother Yaśodā began to sneak up on Kṛṣṇa, holding a stick in her hand. A cat can walk with such soft steps that even if it treads on dry leaves, the leaves will not make any noise. Just like a cat, Mother Yaśodā began to sneak up on Kṛṣṇa. As she drew closer, the monkeys and crows saw her, and becoming afraid, they began to scatter and fly away in many different directions.

When Kṛṣṇa saw the birds and monkeys leaving, He thought, “Where are you going?” Then He realized, “Someone else is here.” Just as Mother Yaśodā was about to catch him, He saw her. He quickly jumped down from the grinding mortar and ran away.

Yaśodā ran after Him, shouting, “You friend of the monkeys, You come here!” Kṛṣṇa was running in a zig-zag way. Mother Yaśodā was a little plump and could not run so fast.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: And she was quite aged.

Prema-prayojana dāsa: She was a little older as well, not so young. Therefore, it was difficult for her to run and catch Kṛṣṇa. He was so nimble. As Kṛṣṇa ran, sometimes Mother Yaśodā had to stop and catch her breath. She shouted, “Kṛṣṇa, come here! You are a thief.” Kṛṣṇa cheekily said, “Why are you saying I am a thief? There is no thief in My dynasty. In the dynasty of Nanda Bābā, there is no thief, but perhaps there is a thief in your dynasty.” And then He quickly ran away. Why did He say this? Because He had heard Mother Yaśodā and Nanda Bābā talking previously about family matters. In the family of Mother Yaśodā, some generations before, there was a personality named Cora Ghoṣa. Cora means ‘thief.’ Therefore, Kṛṣṇa said to His mother, “I think that in My dynasty, the dynasty of Nanda Bābā, there is no cora, but there is a Cora in your dynasty.” After saying this, He ran away, and Yaśodā chased after Him.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Kṛṣṇa asked, “Why are you chastising Me? What offence have I done?”

Prema-prayojana dāsa: Kṛṣṇa asked, “Why are you chastising me? What did I do? I have not done anything.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: “Who has broken this vessel?”

Prema-prayojana dāsa: Then Kṛṣṇa explained, “O Mother when you were going to get the milk, your heavy ankle bells hit the pot and broke it.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: “I have not done it.”

Prema-prayojana dāsa: Kṛṣṇa said to His mother, “You are a liar.” In this way, many sweet arguments were going on. Kṛṣṇa finally understood what to do. He thought, “I will not run around the room. I will go outside.”

Why?

He knew that His mother would not run out onto the road because, in Vedic culture, ladies do not go outside alone in the street. He knew that if she ran outside, it would be very embarrassing for her. Kṛṣṇa, therefore, thought, “I will run outside, and she will not come after Me.”

He ran outside, and Mother Yaśodā came to the door and thought, “What to do?” She looked left and right and saw that no one was watching, and then ran outside, chasing after Him. Finally, she caught Him. With her left hand, she grabbed hold of Kṛṣṇa’s right hand, and in her right hand, she held a stick. Kṛṣṇa was so afraid. He was going this way and that, running around her legs and trying to get away from the stick.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Here, there is a teaching. Kṛṣṇa is the goal (sādhya), and the devotee is the practitioner (sādhaka) to attain that goal. Kṛṣṇa, the sādhya, is the practitioner’s object of love.

Kṛṣṇa is running, and Mother Yaśodā is running after Him to catch hold of Him. Yaśodā will have to run faster than Kṛṣṇa otherwise, she will be unable to catch Him. If a thief is running away and a policeman follows him, the policeman cannot catch the thief if he cannot run faster than him. Here, Kṛṣṇa is running, and Yaśodā is running. Although no one can run faster than Kṛṣṇa, she must run faster; otherwise, she will not be able to catch Him. Similarly, a devotee should practice bhakti in such a way that he has more love and affection for Kṛṣṇa than Kṛṣṇa has for him.

Kṛṣṇa has some affection for His devotees, and devotees have some affection for Krsna, the object of their love. If the love between them is equal – that is, if Kṛṣṇa’s love is equal to the devotee’s love – then Kṛṣṇa will not be controlled. But if the devotee has more love and affection for Kṛṣṇa than Kṛṣṇa has for him, then what? Kṛṣṇa comes under the control of that devotee. Kṛṣṇa has so much love and affection for His mother, yet Mother Yaśodā’s love and affection for Him is much more than His. That is why she was able to run faster than Kṛṣṇa. This is the hidden conclusion.

If anyone wants to conquer Kṛṣṇa by practising vaidhī-bhakti (the path of devotion performed out of concern not to break scriptural regulations), Kṛṣṇa cannot be controlled by that. The conception ‘Kṛṣṇa is superior, and I am inferior’ can never control Him. Kṛṣṇa does not have much love for a devotee who thinks like this. But when a devotee has great love and affection for Kṛṣṇa, more than Kṛṣṇa has for him, it is called either rāgānugā-bhakti or rāgātmikā-bhakti. The gopīs have much more love for Kṛṣṇa than Kṛṣṇa has for them, and that is why they control Kṛṣṇa, and He says, “I cannot repay you for this love, for I have no such love.”

That is why He wants to serve them. He takes their foot dust and puts it on His head. That foot dust is also what Uddhava has asked for in his prayer:

āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā
bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.61)

[The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana because the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.]

[Uddhava thought,] “I want to serve the dust of the gopīs’ lotus feet. But how? I am not qualified to touch that dust. I should offer my obeisance to the direction of that dust.” That is why Uddhava is also praying:

vande nanda-vraja-strīṇāṁ
pāda-reṇum abhīkṣṇaśaḥ
yāsāṁ hari-kathodgītaṁ
punāti bhuvana-trayam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.63)

[I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Mahārāja’s cowherd village. When these gopīs loudly chant the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the vibration purifies the three worlds.]

“I pray at the lotus feet of the gopīs for one particle of dust.” Which dust particle? A particle of foot dust from only one person. And who is that one person? Śrīmatī Rādhikā. “I pray, from very far away, for just one particle of the dust from Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s lotus feet. That dust can immerse one in the ocean of rasa.”

The foot dust of the gopīs is very powerful. Kṛṣṇa can only be controlled if someone has love and affection like that of His mother or the gopīs, not otherwise. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in Vraja, He becomes an ignorant baby. This love is the highest object of all. This object, the love the gopīs of Vraja have for Kṛṣṇa (vraja-gopī-prema), is most supreme. Tomorrow, I will explain further.

* The festival of lamps (dīpa) ushering in auspiciousness.

** The ocean of milk in the upper portion of the universe, as described in the Vedic scriptures.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)