Power of Krishna’s energy

paìguà laìghayate girim

yat-kåpä tam ahaà vande

çré-guruà déna-täraëam

By the mercy of a spiritual master, even a blind man can see the stars in the sky, even a lame man can cross mountains and even a dumb man can speak eloquently. Since I have lost my voice, I pray for the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and all the assembled Vaishnava’s that I be given some ability to serve you by speaking, Hare Krishna. It is a miracle, in this material world,

samäçritä ye pada-pallava-plavaà

mahat-padaà puëya-yaço muräreù

bhavämbudhir vatsa-padaà paraà padaà

padaà padaà yad vipadäà na teñäm

Is the place where there is danger at every step, it’s the miracle that anybody survives moment after moments in this world. There is millions of ways in which we can be tortured or killed at any second, is there not. Knowing that there is danger at every step in this world, a devotee take shelter of Krishna because in the mercy of the Lord the vast ocean of material existences is reduced to the quantity of water contained in a hoof print of a small calf. Even great scholars, ascetics they cannot overcome the three modes of material nature but Krishna tells,

daivé hy eñä guëa-mayé

mama mäyä duratyayä

mäm eva ye prapadyante

mäyäm etäà taranti te

That the three modes of material nature which has been orchestrated by Maya, impossible to overcome, but when who surrenders to me can easily cross beyond it. How to surrender to Krishna? Could everyone hear? Haribol! Is anyone cannot hear nicely. Someone resolve this crisis taking place in the back.

Prajalpa means destruction of your devotional service

There are nine process of devotional service, in which we can express our earnest desire to surrender to Krishna, beginning with hearing and chanting. Hearing Krishna’s Lila creates a taste for loving devotional service to the Lord. Hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord cleanses the heart or the mind of all accumulated selfish egoistic attachments that are the root cause of all suffering. Hearing about Krishna kills apathy to hear about Krishna, just rock candy, rock candy or sugar candy is very bitter to one who has jaundice although actually it is very sweet but, if we just continue to taste it and tolerate the apparent bitterness gradually we become purified at that diseased and then we could taste the nectar. So the beginning the hearing and chanting the glories of the may be an austerity, why, because since time and memorial we have cultivate unconditioned the taste for hearing the topics of this mundane world. Prajalpa is such a powerful force; the whole world is speaking Prajalpa except where in Vrindavan where all the birds and animals are singing about Krishna, even insects are speaking Prajalpa, the birds are singing Prajalpa, the dogs are barking Prajalpa, the television stations, the Radio stations, the internet it’s all Prajalpa. In the nineteen seventies an achievement of technology what it called telex, before even fax. Whatever it was, it was away where it was somehow other in a very crude way all the temples could communicate with one another and they ask Srila Prabhupada can we set this system up in our temples, Prabhupada said if you do you will simply speak Prajalpa. So I wonder what Prabhupada would think about the Internet, it’s a fact the internet is nothing but Prajalpa. On September 11 2001 when the world trade centre was destroyed by terrorist, very, very sad unfortunate situations, so many lives we lost but something very revealing took place also, I read that from the time the internet was first inaugurated the number one key word search, that means the number one word that everyone was searching information about was sex. In an all the year all internets history sex has always been number one, it never ever, ever came below number five, Prajalpa. But after 9/11 the next day sex was like number hundred and fifty because when people take life little bit seriously they understand what Prajalpa is about. There is a beautiful lecture where Srila Prabhupada is explaining, how when you speak Prajalpa all your spiritual energy and your very spiritual life force is just draining out of your life, just draining out of your heart, that is the effect of gossip. Therefore Srila Prabhupada he performed so many austerities to right his books so that we have something to talk about, so that we share this information, this knowledge with us.

Importance of hearing Krishna Katha

Krishna tells in Bhagavad Gita,

mac-cittä mad-gata-präëä

bodhayantaù parasparam

kathayantaç ca mäà nityaà

tuñyanti ca ramanti ca

This is the quality of my sincere and genuine devotees, when they gathered together they take great satisfaction and bliss discussing amongst one another topics about Krishna. Rupa Goswami explains one of the principles for a sincere devotee is not to waste a moment; Krishna has given us the power of speech and as I am experiencing and Kastubha prabhu was experiencing he can take it away in a second. This power of speech is not ours it is God’s, it is his property so therefore it is sinful to use it for another purpose then his will, yes, if it is your power of speech then you have any right to use it anyway you want. But it’s been given to you by the grace of God and it can be taken away at any moment by the grace of God, everything is Krishna’s property he is the ability of man. So to reciprocate with Krishna you want always speak about Krishna, we want to always hear about Krishna and this eagerness to hear and chant the glories of the Lord is very pleasing to the Lord. Srila Prabhupada often emphasis the importance of enthusiasm eagerness in everything we do in Krishna consciousness because that gives our devotional service life, without an eagerness and enthusiasm then whatever we do whether its hearing and chanting it’s more of is Mechanical and ritualistic. What gives substances to our hearing our chanting and our service is our enthusiasm to please guru, Vaishnava’s and Krishna in what we are doing. Maharaj Parikshit was sitting at Sukdeva Goswami’s lotus feet, he only had seven days to live and by the time the tenth canto was been spoken he only had couple more days to go till inevitable death would come upon him. But he was so enthusiastic to hear, he told Sukdeva Goswami that the harikathamrita the nectar of the pastimes of Lord Hari that is flowing from your mouth is completely satisfying my heart, although so many days has gone by I have not taken drop of water or a morsel of food, I am feeling no hunger or thirst I am fully satisfied just hearing this nectar from you. Previously Maharaj Parikshit was in a forest and he was thirsty and you know what happen when he was thirsty he lost his intelligent by the arrangement of the Lord. He went to Samik Rsis prabhu’s Ashram and he asked the sage for a little water but Samik Rsis prabhu was in Samadhi, meditating on Krishna, so he didn’t hear him. So Maharaj Parikshit who’s life and soul is to honor respect and serve the great souls how did he do such a crazy thing, with his tip of his bow he put a dead snake like a garland around Samik Rsis and for that he was cursed to die in seven days by Sringi the son of the Brahman. So Maharaj Parikshit is marveling over this phenomena, a little bit of thirst where he hadn’t drunk water in just a few hours and he was so much in distress but here it’s been days and days and days with no food and no water and he was completely fresh, completely enliven and satisfied just hearing the glories of Krishna and Krishna’s holy name Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare, Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare, Hare.

Deep association with devotees develops taste in chanting and hearing

Hearing the glories of Krishna produces attachment to Krishna, äsakti and if we carry on hearing the glories of Krishna our heart become further purified and it awakens Rati or bhava and by hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord further in to more purified states it awakens prema or pure love. Vishvanath Cakravarti Thakur explains so listen carefully, at the beginning when we actually began to develop a taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord we developed very intimate friendships with the devotees that is the sign of a person who is actually making spiritual progress that deep heartfelt friendships are made amongst the devotees. When we attain this state of prema our beloved Acarya explain at that time from our heart awakens unconditional love for all living beings. Thakur Bhaktivinoda explains that love of God, real affection in the heart toward Krishna when it is directed toward the living beings of this world is manifest as compassion; compassion is an attribute of love. We may not have compassion, we may not have love but the process of gaining is describe in the Bhagvata,

çåëvatäà sva-kathäù kåñëaù

puëya-çravaëa-kértanaù

hådy antaù-stho hy abhadräëi

vidhunoti suhåt satäm

When we developed a real taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, the Lord is so pleased within the heart, he eradicates all misconception, and he annihilates all anarthas and reveals himself. But how to develop that taste,

çuçrüñoù çraddadhänasya

väsudeva-kathä-ruciù

syän mahat-sevayä vipräù

puëya-tértha-niñevaëät

By serving great souls the affinity to hear about Krishna awakens with our heart. When Srila Prabhupada asked us to be instruments of his compassion by serving his will, by serving his devotees that was the mercy that he gave us in which we can attain the highest ultimate perfection of life.

Krishna descends in Vrindavan

Maharaj Parikshit was very, very eager to hear about how Krishna appeared within this world. Sukdeva Goswami explains and also Padma Purana and our Acaryas explain from other points of view to create a fuller and fuller picture. I liked to speak briefly on this subject and some little particle from the ocean of subjects of the place we are in today. We have come to Mahavan Gokula, the eternal abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whenever Krishna appears within this world he appears and Mathura and Gokula, actually Krishna eternally existing within Gokula, he doesn’t, in one sense he descends, yes. When Lord Brahma was with Demi Gods on the shore of the ocean of milk Kshira Sagar he heard a voice, it was the voice of Lord Narayan that I am soon coming to incarnate within this world and tell the devatäs that they should incarnate as their plenary expansions within the Yadu dynasty. It was a desperate condition that brought the Demi-Gods to the shore of the ocean of milk, Kamsa and other Asura’s like Jarasanda were just plundering the earth and the earth was so much in distress that she appeared in the form of a cow weeping tears and cried for Brahma for help. So Lord Brahma proclaimed to the Demi-Gods, the Lord’s will. So Kshirodakashayi Vishnu descends but actually Krishna is always living in Vrindavan in his aprakaöa in his eternal Lila that cannot experience through mundane senses, premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena, only when our eyes are ornamented with the decoration of love can we see Krishna as he is. The scriptures and the Äcärya’s explain that Krishna añöakäléya-lélä his pastimes are always taking place in Vrindavan. When Krishna performs his prakata-lélä, his manifested pastimes people could and what he performed in his Lila is written so we could hear about it and thus he establishes his presence for the condition soul to remember him and become purified. So actually when Krishna descends he merges into his original form that’s already here in Vrindavan, Shri Krishna Bhagavän ki jai!

Appearance of Balaramji and Krishna in the womb

In Yadu dynasty there was a great king named Devamidha, he had two sons one from Vaishya wife and one from a Kshatriya wife, from Kshatriya wife his son was Surasena and he gave birth to Vasudeva, from a Vaishya wife he gave birth to Parjanya, Parjanya was given the area of Mahavan to be the ruling king of the cowherd man and cowherd ladies, this was the abode of Parjanya, Mahavan and Vrindavan. He had five sons Upananda, Abhinanda, Nanda, Sunanda, Nandan, when Vasudeva married to Devaki on that very night Kamsa with his loving brother in Law, he wanted to please his sister by taking her to her husband’s home by driving chariot taking a menial position of a servant just to satisfy his loving sister. But then the Demi-Gods spoke from the sky, Kamsa you are a fool, the eight child of your sister would be the cause of your death, so much for his loving sentiments. With his left hand he grabbed her hair, with his right he drew his sword and he was about to sever her head, Hare Krishna. Meanwhile Vasudeva was pleading, oh! Kamsa you are the pride of your entire dynasty you have such a great reputation, everyone reveres you, you will totally lose your reputation, how can you act in such a way to kill your own sister. He spoke the nice philosophy because the Bhagvatam says that it is the duty of every human being to try to protect his life or her life as far as possible within proper principle of morality and integrity. That death is certain for everyone, the real thing is how we live, if you cause this cruel deed to your sister you are going to suffer hellish consequences, don’t you know you are not this body you are eternal soul why do you want to subject your soul to such condemnation. But Kamsa could not hear philosophy because he was envious. So Vasudeva pleaded I will give everyone of my son and you can deal with them, there is no danger from Devaki, so Kamsa agreed. He killed one after another six children, meanwhile one of Vasudeva’s wife Rohini was sent to Mahavan to be under the care of Nanda Maharaj, because Vasudeva and Nanda Maharaj were the best friend and she lived very happily like an intimacy like a sister of Yashoda Mai, the queen of Braj. Balaramji is eternally the son of Rohini but Krishna’s will he entered into the womb of Devaki in the mood of Sesa because already the six demons were already killed from the womb of Devaki and it is describe that this six Asuras represents lust, envy, anger pride, greed and illusion before Krishna manifest in our heart first we have to kill this demons within us. Krishna is in our heart but he will not manifest until all these demons are slaved and how they slave, Prabhupada explains that Kamsa represents fear of material existences and Devaki represents devotion and a sincere devotee. When devotees is very serious and take shelter of Krishna knowing the dangers of material existences then the Anartha’s of our heart are destroyed. Another words we can’t take devotion service as something very light or something very mild, we must be very serious about it, there is danger is every step. When a devotees is fearless they may be fearless because they to serve the Lord they are willing to give up their body, they are willing to give up their possession, they are willing give up their possession, they are willing to give up their prestige. Devotees fear for getting Krishna they have the healthy fear of Maya because they know she is all powerful. If you don’t fear Maya unless you are Paramhamsa you will not attentively and strictly chant at least sixteen rounds every day, yes. Srila Prabhupada said that, if you are not chanting at least rounds attentively everyday at any moment you will become victim to Maya. Even Krishna arrange for Lord Brahma to appear to be the victim of Maya, what is our position? So we should fear Maya but that fear of Maya shouldn’t bring us distress like a little baby, when a baby is in a fearful situation what does the baby do,, she immediately takes shelter of and loudly cries for its mother, Hare Krishna hare Krishna, krishna, krishna Hare, Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare, Hare. So in this way and by taking shelter of Krishna in the spirit of devotion having fear of the power of Maya, never let go the Krishna mercy, the never let go of the association of devotees who are saving us at any moment we become purified and Balaram entered to prepared the heart of Devaki perfectly. He is the original that is the guru’s position to arrange the heart of a disciple for the appearance of God. He also like Sesa, he created a sitting place and a nice bed and everything within the womb of Devaki for Krishna to reside. But one night at midnight Rohini she is in Mahavan, she was also pregnant with the child, she had a dream that she has a miscarriage and then she woke up and she saw that she actually did, then Yoga Maya spoke to her and said, the child was in your womb has been transfer and then Balaram entered into her womb, actually the original Balaram. So it was here in Gokula Mahavan where we are sitting that Shri Balaramji was born to Rohini within this material world, Shri Balaramji ki jai! On Krishna ordered Yoga Maya transfer Balaram from Devaki’s womb to Rohini’s. Then Krishna entered into the mind of Vasudeva and was transferred to the heart of Devaki and she became effulgent and even the Demi-Gods were offering the prayers.

Brijväsés coronate Nanda Maharaj as Vrajendra

Meanwhile in Vrindavan Nanda Maharaj had such a good qualities, everyone loved him so much that although Upananda was the elder son he was meant to be the next king and Parjanya wanted to renounce all of his responsibilities and just completely immersed himself in Bhakti. So he offered the kingship of Mahavan to Upananda but Upananda felt in his heart that Nanada Maharaj he has such glories qualities, everyone loves him so much, I want him to be the king. You see in this world election, how people are fighting for kingship and blaspheming each other like anything, trying to get that position. People are really to hold on to their position to the Fag end of life, yes. But in Vrindavan nobody concern with position, Uddhava greatest of the devotees of the Dwaraka he wanted to be a lump of grass, a little creeper on the ground where everyone would step on his head and give dust, that is Uddhava. Brahma and Shiva their prema to become mountains so everyone would step on their heads and they will get dust, so Vrindavan is not a place where people want position or power, Vrindavan is a place where people simply want to serve. So Upananda, but Nanada Maharaj was embarrassed, but everyone said, no, no you be our king, you be our king and his older brother was saying, please you be our king, so Nanda Maharaj surrendered at the will of Brijväsés Maharaj became Vrajendra. But he had no child, although he there was another Gopa name Sumukha and he married his daughter Yashoda to Nanada Maharaj. Yashoda means, ‘one who gives fame and glory.

First glance of Krishna to Yashoda Mai and Nanda Maharaj

It was the only sorrow of all the Brijväsés that Nanada and Yashoda had no child but here in Mahavan both Nanda and Yashoda would regularly had simultaneously a dream where this beautiful child that absolutely enchanted their heart would appeared and they fell in love with this child, with such motherly and fatherly devotion they just wanted to be the mother and father of the child but the child was only in a dream. They could never be satisfied with any other child once seeing this child. So Brijväsés were performing all Yajna’s and everything to try to get the Demi-Gods and the supreme Lord Narayan to give them child. But Nanda and Yashoda they wanted that child, so they did a Dvadasi fast together and Lord Narayan appeared to them simultaneously in their hearts and revealed that, that child has stole your heart will soon become your own son, so they were very happy and just after that Yashoda Mai became pregnant. What happened is this, Krishna entered into her heart and his younger sister Yogamäyä entered into her womb and at midnight at the time that we celebrate Janmastami Krishna appeared from the womb of Devaki in the prison cell of Kamsa in Mathura with a majestic form with a crown and kaustubha and holding a conch shell and a lotus flower and Sudarshan Cakra and conch shell. Vasudeva and Devaki understood that God almighty had become our son and they offered very nice prayers. Yashoda Mai still had parental affection for God almighty Narayan. Yashoda asked in her motherly concerned, if Kamsa sees you like this he will know you are the enemy that has been prophecies then he might hurt you, so please disguised yourself as an ordinary baby that was her love. Meanwhile right here in Mahavan Yashoda Mai gave birth to a son and a daughter, Krishna and Yogamäyä. But by Yogamäyä potency she was tired that she fell asleep and forgot everything, Haribol. So Vasudeva he was told by Lord Krishna to take him across Yamuna and exchange him with the daughter of Yashoda. So as he was crossing Yamuna after all the guards fell asleep, the chains on her legs just immediately opened up and all the doors opened up, he left. As he was passing through Yamuna Prabhupada explains, that Krishna slipped from his hands and fell in Yamuna because Yamuna Mai was longing and longing to do some Seva for Krishna and then he brought Krishna up. It is explained different commentators have different explanations in detail of exactly, some say that this Krishna that was brought merged into Krishna in Mahavan, some say too merged into Mathura but when that little innocent childish baby Krishna, the Vasudeva Krishna that was born of Vasudeva merged into the original form of Gopal, the son of Nanda and Yashoda. So thus according to Srila Prabhupada and all of our Gaudiya Vaishnav Acarya’s Krishna was born here in Gokula Mahavan. Vasudeva brought Yogamäyä back to Mathura and she cried and as soon as she cried everybody woke up and Kamsa came running down and Devaki was saying no, no please don’t this is my only child, she is a daughter she won’t hurt you please let me have one child,  at least one child please just one child please. Kamsa was so cruel, although his sister was helplessly crying piteously he just pulled the little helpless infant baby out of her hands and wants to dash her stone to crush her head. But she slipped out of her hand and went it to the sky and manifested her form of Durga with many weapons and told Kamsa that you are a great fool, the child you are fearing is already has been born somewhere else and then she disappeared. But it is explained Yogamäyä was born to Yashoda but when she come Mathura, when she crossed the Yamuna and came into Mathura the original Yogamäyä expanded herself as Mahamaya because Kamsa cannot touch Yogamäyä. Yogamäyä is the personification of pure prema, it is the energy that facilitates all intimate ecstatic loving relationships in the spiritual world, and how could Kamsa possibly have any contact with Yogamäyä. Yogamäyä in bewildered a devotee to increase their love and their intimacy affection for Krishna, Mahamaya bewilders the soul to forget Krishna and be completely immersed in the concept that I am this body and I am this mind. So Mahamaya told Kamsa his destiny that the child that is to kill you is already been born. Kamsa became very sobered by this incidence and he fell at the feet of Devaki and Vasudeva and begs forgiveness, can you imagine what a non-sense, rascal, his own sister and brother-in-law is kept in a prison for years. He has murdered right in front of his eyes six of their infant children, one escaped in the form of Miscarriage Balaram, at least it appeared that way and he was about to kill this little girl even though Devaki was pleading and now he is begging forgiveness. He is saying actually everything happen by one’s Karma so please forgive me and Vasudeva and Devaki was such saints that they forgave him he said actually what you said is correct it was all meant to be, you are  forgiven. They very affectionately and graciously were kind to him and even gave him solaces and spoke very kind words to pacify his heart that is Vaishnava. Meanwhile here in Mahavan where we sit today, when Yashoda Mai woke up the first thing she saw was the beautiful moon like face of Gopal, his loving lotus eyes, his complexion like a blue lotus, his every limb which more enchanting then anything thing in all of its history, so soft, so delicate, the reservoir of sweet beauty. Yashoda Mai just looked at his face and wept incessant tears of love, the other ladies Gopis they all gathered around practically speechlessly immersed in such enchantment they could not stop gazing upon. They sent a Brahmans wife, Brahmani to give the news to Nanda Maharaj, by this time it was early morning and do the Gopas do early morning. They have no need for Sädhana they are beyond that, twenty four hours a day their pure loving devotion services is beyond all Sädhana, you cannot imitate that. We rise early in the morning and we offer obeisance’s and chanting our rounds and go to Mangal Aarti and so many studies the scriptures but they rise and milk the cows. It’s so nice today we are having this Katha in this Goshala where you are all sitting is twenty four hours a day is the place where cows are eating and resting and giving milk. Gokula, the land of cows and we are sitting in the very place where the cows are kept. In fact cows are so merciful when we came they all moved aside but they left behind the dust, when Krishna was cowherd this was one of his beautiful ornaments, is his beautiful body would be covered by the dust that was raised from the hoofs of the cows and the calf’s. So they were milking cows and the Brahmani came and when Nanda and Upananda and the other cowherd’s men saw her she was trying to tell them something but she was in so much ecstasy she could not speak, she was just trembling and she was just so happy, she was the personification of joy, she didn’t have to say anything they understood, the only thing that could bring a Brijväsé this kind of joy is Yashoda has given a birth. Then finally she had the ability to give the news and Nanda Maharaj was so happy with this news he gave her thousands of thousands cows and silks and gold and everything just because she gave him that news, that his son is born and he was in so much ecstasy he was weeping, he was crying, he was trembling, he was trying to get to the place where Krishna was but he kept falling down and getting up and falling down and getting up and falling down, falling down and getting up. He went home and took his bathe and he put on nice cloths and he came and there he had first sight of Krishna Gopal in the arms of Yashoda Mai and Rohini and the other Gopis would singing beautiful songs in love gave the child to Nanda Maharaj to embrace.

Brijväsés celebrating Nandotsava

Nanda Maharaj was so happy he declared there will be a festival Nandotsava and here this particular temple that we are at is the place of house of Nanda Maharaj. There are eighty four pillars and some of the original pillars it is said are still in this temple and it is this house Krishna performs unlimited childhood pastimes. Krishna lived here in Gokula Mahavan for three years and four month before going to Vrindavan forest. The whole of Mahavan, the whole of Braj was in such exuberant happiness that they all wore the best clothes that they have; Ladies were wearing their nice Saris and putting on beautiful ornaments and the men were putting on their nice colored turbans. Even Rohini, it is explained according to the tradition when a women husband is not at home she dresses very simple but on this day to rejoice the birth of Krishna, the son of Nanda and Yashoda, she dressed elegantly. They all came running from all directions just like rivers coming in all direction, to the house of Nanda Maharaj, all to gaze upon the beauty of Gopal. There were Brahmins performing Yajna’s to invoke auspiciousness, there were other Brahman who were chanting Vedic Mantras. Brijväsés Gopas and Gopis were composing songs about the beauty of Gopal and about the wonderful qualities of Nanda and Yashoda and they were singing this wonderful and everyone was singing and dancing and they brought Krishna and put him on a beautiful alter and perform Abhisekam with Panchagavya and Panchamrita and all auspicious articles as conch shell were been blown and wonderful Vedic instruments were being played, everyone was dancing and singing, rejoicing seeing the beauty, the sweetness of Gopal. They we so happy and celebrating Nanda Maharaj his wealth was in his yogurt and ghee and butter and milk products. So he gave so much that all the thousands of and thousands and thousands of Brijväsés very lovingly throwing yogurt and butter upon  each other, it’s an exchange of love. In this way Krishna on the very day that he appeared to eyes of the Brijväsés completely stole their hearts. From that day here in Gokula Mahavan everyone lived exclusively for Krishna’s pleasure, their bodies, mind, words and lives were twenty four hours a day offerings to Krishna that is the spontaneous nature of pure love. To the degree love awakens with our heart there is a spirit of selfless servitude being willing to sacrifice anything everything for the happiness of the object of our love, that is love. Krishna is the supreme object of everyone’s love but here in Gokula Krishna manifest the highest, the sweetest, perfection of that love in the hearts of his devotees.

How Putana feeding poison to Krishna leads to her death?

Just a couple days after Krishna appearance Nanda Maharaj was given the news that he had to Mathura with the other sincere Gopas to pay his taxes to the king Kamsa, so he left. Meanwhile Kamsa who is so evil, so demoniac due to bad association and also Narada Muni it’s good association, he understood that actually any of these children could be Krishna; any child anywhere could be the person who is coming to kill me. So he was sending various demons to kill all children and one of them horrible cruel hearted witch named Putana. Prabhupada explains she is a particular type witch called khecaré, not khicadi but khecaré and Prabhupada said, even in Northern provinces of India they are still khecaré and you can see them flying on uprooted branches of tree in the sky, Hare Krishna. But she was so powerful she can transform herself in any way she wanted, she was gruesome Rakshasi. The Harivamsa explains that Putana took the form of a bird and flew into Vrindavan Gokula and then manifested the form of a most beautiful woman. This Putana had already slaughtered and drank the blood of thousands and thousands and thousands of helpless babies and now she wanted to kill the son of Nanda. She came to Vrindavan in a way that nobody even notice she arrived and then she assumed this form which was so beautiful that when the Brijväsés saw her they were thinking we have attain such a good fortune, is she a heavenly damsel or perhaps she is the goodness of fortune Laxmi Devi who has appeared with her lotus flower in her head just to bless the son of Nanda Maharaj. This is was their thinking, she came right here and walked right into Nanda Maharaj’s house and Rohini and Yashoda were taking care of Krishna in their arms. They put him down to greet her, they had so much faith in her because she was glancing upon them so sweetly that they felt it was a great honor and blessing that she was picking up Gopal, she looked at Gopal and saw his beauty and in her heart of heart she knew that for her was death personified. Gopal looked at her and closed his eyes because the first demon he was to kill was a woman and you are not supposed to kill women. It’s interesting because the first demon Rama killed was also a women and he wasn’t suppose to kill women either. But this shows how demoniac these people are, that the Lord is willing to even cross over all convention that He and all other living beings must observe to protect women. He closed his eyes; also he closed his eyes because he knew that she was the murderess of countless children. When she looked at Krishna she didn’t realize, she thought He was rope but actually she was picking the snake of death, Haribol. Although her heart was fierce and cruel she disguised herself in such a beautiful way that she was like a sharp dangerous sword in beautiful ornamented sheaf. She lifted Krishna and everyone was so happy to see this and in front of every bodies eyes she placed her breast in baby Gopal mouth. She has already smeared her breast with terrible deadly poison enough to kill thousands of grown man and she placed that breast in little babies Gopals mouth and the first thing Gopal did was with his little hands, his fingers were only like this, you have seen two three olds babies fingers; mothers have seen, Brahmachari’s I don’t if you look at those things. That is the most delicate things in the fourteen worlds a babies fingers, Gaurangi Devi be you have seen that noting more diligent than an infant child little fingers, those little fingers of Gopal softer than the petals of a flower. They squeezed Putana and it cause too much pain, squeezed and as he was squeezing he started sucking and he squeezed so hard and suck so deep that Putana was in horrible terrible pain, first Krishna sucked all poison then he sucks the milk, then he was sucking out her very life force and he was squeezing in such a way that it was unbearable for her, she couldn’t tolerate it. She just started screaming and she ran outside the house and ran into the pasture ground and she was just crying out child leave me, leave me, leave me, with all of his force she was trying to take Krishna off but Krishna just kept squeezing and sucking. She lost so much of her power and she couldn’t any longer maintain her disguised and all of her sudden she just manifested her original form which was twelve miles in size. Now a jet airplane only flies about eight miles high, Hare Krishna and Krishna did not expand himself, can you imagine Putana in her enormous size and Krishna squeezing and he was still squeezing like a little insect on him he was still squeezing. She was trying all of her force she was trying to pull him up and He was just squeezing and squeezing and sucking and sucking and she was pulling, she was child leave me, she was screaming. When she screamed the whole fourteen worlds were shaking, the Brijväsés were terrified hearing this scream, this roar. Ultimately Gopal sucked out her very life force and Putana and felled to the ground and destroyed trees up to twelve miles away. But by Krishna arrangements Krishna so expert he can fulfill so many purposes in any one act. Krishna causes Putana to fall in a direction that she totally destroyed Kamsa’s favored garden. He spent so much time growing this big trees for so many years and it was his pleasure grow and Putana and she was laying there and Krishna was crawling on her breast and it was like mountain, He wasn’t crying He was playing he is very smiling and playing and the Gopis had to run try to find Krishna. Putana’s body it says his thighs were like river banks, her fingers were like massive bridges, her teeth were like gigantic ploughs, her eyes were like sunken wells, her belly were like dried up lake, horrible massive creature was laying there and Krishna was playing, smiling and laughing so the Gopis ran, ran and ran they found, they brought Krishna down put him in the arms of Yashoda Mai. Then the Gopis went perform, many different Gopas and Gopis went to perform many different rituals to protect Krishna from future danger.  But they could not, they could not believe that it was Krishna that killed Putana, they were thinking because Lord Narayan always protect innocent helpless children, it is the Lord that have cause her death. She was so cruel; it was her own Karma that caused her death. But by Lord Narayan mercy our Gopal has been protected. When Nanda Maharaj returned home and saw Putana lying in the pastures, what is this, and when he finds out she try to kill Krishna he was astonished. The Gopas were afraid that Putana might come back to life, so they chopped her body up and started big fires and burnt her, that what sometimes Brijväsés do with snake, yes we have heard sometimes when you kill a snake; the snake can come back alive so they burnt. So in this way they burnt her body but because her body was touched by Krishna the smoke that emanated from her body were so sweet it was intoxicated like aguru, one of the cense that we worship the Lord with during Puja.

Beware of false Guru

Putana represents the pseudo guru, the false guru. When Srila Prabhupada came to the west he identifies so many false gurus and actually nobody knew the difference between anything, yes. When Prabhupada came to the west anybody who came from India who had long hair he was a guru, especially, if we you can say a couple words in Sanskrit or he can close his eyes peaceful, yes. So there was so many and so many thousands and thousands of people were taking lessons and teachings and giving money and so many things because they didn’t know. Prabhupada shock people, when he would say he is a cheater, he is a Rascal; what do you mean he has long hair, he has beard how he could be a cheater and Rascal, he is speaking nice thing, he is talking about how I am God and you are god and we are all God and Shanti, shanti we could be peaceful, Prabhupada says Rascal cheaters. When we put your faith in someone, if that person is not giving you the proper milk he may be giving you poison and yes so many of these guru. When Prabhupada came to India he was even stronger about this, so many are Mayawadi’s, so many are teaching that you will become God, that ultimately you are s supreme controller, you are the supreme enjoyer, that ultimately God is formless and this knowledge poisons the propensity for devotion service, so we must be very careful.

evaà paramparä-präptam

Therefore real knowledge can be understood to be perfect when it is coming through Parampara, then we are getting real nourishing milk of transcendental wisdom. Otherwise people take knowledge from Vedas which is like milk but when they give their own interpretations it’s like putting poison in that milk and it can cause great disturbance to our inclination for devotion service, so Putana represents that. When we put faith in someone they have the greatest capacity to cheat us and cause us pain. Srila Prabhupada said, my only qualification is I am simply giving what my Guru Maharaj and the great Acarya’s had given as it is, humble servant.

Killing of Sakatasura

Nanda Maharaj was so happy to see the Krishna was safe, he inspected all of his limbs to see if it is any injuries and then he embrace little Krishna and smelled his head and wept tears of love. When Krishna was three months old there is a ceremony that was performed here in Gokula Mahavan called Uthana, Uthana is the time when the Lord first begins to slant himself from his bed, it’s actually the beginning stages of a child crawling. Srila Prabhupada explains that in Vedic culture the raising of a child was such a beautiful thing that there was ceremonies for an every stage of a child’s development, not only ceremonies but festivals. Nanda and Yashoda had festival because Krishna just started to slant and he was about to start crawling, so they had Brahmin’s chanting Mantras and people were doing Yajna’s and Brijväsés were singing and chanting and they did Abhisekam for Krishna and there was so many guest and so many Brahmans coming to Nanda and Yashoda’s house to celebrate Uthana that Krishna is going to soon crawl.

So Yashoda Mai she wanted to receive the entire guest who were coming to the house, so she entered into a courtyard and there hand driven cart. Yashoda Mai layed down under the cart, prabhupada said, this is the motherly love of Yashoda Mai, she knew that Krishna would sleeps nicely if he felt protected by his mother. So whenever Yashoda Mai would put Krishna to sleep she would lay down with him in her embrace until he fell asleep then she would leave him there and go to her duties. So she was receiving Brahmans and Krishna was under this big cart, on top of the cart were so many heavy materials of ware pots of so many other things. Little Gopal woke up, when he opened his eyes he felt thirsty to the love o his mother in the form of a milk, so he cried. Yashoda Mai was taking care of Brahman and there was instruments playing and everyone was singing so she could not hear Krishna cry. So Krishna wanted to get Yashoda Mai’s attention do you remember what he did, with his little tiny foot, three month foot, that little foot he just kicked the wheel of the cart, Krishna Bhagavän ki jai! Tumultuous sound not like mine, the wheel of the cart separated from axle of the cart and all the spokes broke and the wheel went flying and the whole cart fell to the ground and the wheels fell, very loud sound. When Brijväsés heard this Nanda Yashoda they all came running to the scene, what happen? Right at midst big mess was little Gopal not even able to crawl yet. How Krishna did this, it’s incredible, Krishna’s lotus foot was softer and more tender then a new grown leaf of a Tamal tree and the cart was very hard wooden steel, Krishna just touched it. The cart was actually demon of the name Sakatasura, he was a demon who due to his sins was in the body of a ghost and he entered into that cart to kill Krishna. Krishna didn’t show any extraordinary opulence, you know Vamana Dev when he wanted to cover the planetary systems he expanded himself Trivikram so that one step can be so gigantic to fulfill his purpose. Narsimha Devotees also when Vishnu wanted to kill Hiranyakashipu to filled the purpose of kill this Hiranyakashipu he became Shri Narsimha Bhagavän, with razor sharp hard nails to tear him apart. But Krishna didn’t exhibit any opulence’s he just remained the same little baby Gopal, he didn’t need to change because Gopal is the original source of all Avatars and he didn’t want to disturb the Brijväsés love for by showing any great opulence’s he did everything just like a sweet helpless little baby. Sakatasura was killed by Krishna with absolutely no exertion, the Gopas and Gopis were struck with wonder how it is possible, how is this possible. Little children they gathered around and they saw everything, they said, we saw everything that little Gopal cried for milk but mother Yashoda didn’t come so he kicked the cart with his little foot and all broke up and the Gopas and Gopis said, how can we listen to little children, this is all impossible; they didn’t believe. Krishna was crying because he still wanted that milk, was still crying then mother Yashoda picked him up and fed him milk. It is said when a child drinks the milk of his mother in a very enthusiastic way that the sign that he is in a good health and he is protected, it’s very auspicious. Something to you mothers to understand nicely; of course I am sure you already know these things. So the Nanda Maharaj called Brahmans who he trusted so much and had them to do Yajna and chant Mantra and he gave profuse charity to them for the future protection of Gopal.

Old habits are dangerous to our devotional service

Sakatasura represents carrying the load of old and new bad habits, sometimes when we come to Krishna consciousness especially at the beginning there is great enthusiasm because it’s so new and it’s so different so wonderful and it’s so exciting. But then after sometime some of those old bad habits that we haven’t yet purified from our heart come back haunt us like the ghost of Sakatasura,  Sakatasura you can’t see ghost, some people can but most people cannot see ghost. So similarly our old habits from material enjoyment are like ghost that want to haunt us infatuate us and kill our Krishna consciousness, kill Krishna within our heart. Srila Prabhupada even explain, generally when a devotee no matter how long that devotee is in Krishna consciousness, if they leave the path of Bhakti they usually go back to doing the same thing they did before they became devotees. That means the ghost of this bad habits are still there coming to haunt us and take us away from Krishna. The old songs we used to like to listen to, sometimes like ghost they stared haunting our minds, yes and enticing us, or the old television shows or the old friends or the old sentimental relation, old bad habits. We know what habit is? Habit is something is very difficult to give up, person is addicted to smoking or addicted to drinking or addicted to drugs, there is always anonymous organizations people are addicted to sex, people are addicted to gambling, so many addictions. Even, if you try to give it up it’s very, very, very difficult because we have conditioned our self to depend on these things for a mental or physical state of peace or happiness, that’s a problem. The more you find happiness in anything in this material world or anyone you conditioned yourself to be dependent on that thing or that person for your happiness, you become addicted to it, it’s very hard to give up. Even advanced devotees, if they have any traces of desires those habits are still there and until we are very, very advance devotees those habits can by and haunt us like a burden these old and new habits that we have bad habits are like a burden of all the utensils on the cart of Sakatasura within our heart and it is waiting to just crash down on us and destroy our Bhakti, hare Krishna. So prabhupada explain that the only way that we can stay out of Maya is we have to replace with Krishna and that means we have to be engage. Prabhupada said idle mind is the devil workshop; the idle mind is the Sakatasura’s workshop. He was a devil; as soon as our mind is idle then all the conditioning and the habits of the past start coming back like a ghost to haunt us. Therefore we should be very enthusiastic and careful to always be engage in some positive devotional service, prabhupada said we have to busy for Krishna. satataà kértayanto mäà and most of all we have to learn at every moment to not only busy for Krishna but to take shelter of the holy name, Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare, Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare, Hare. One of the greatest bad is lethargy, laziness for Krishna consciousness or false pride. So everybody just fight against this lethargy and with great enthusiasm loudly chant the holy name Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare, Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare, Hare.

Initiation ceremony of Krishna and Balaram

It was around that time that Garga muni came to Mahavan Gokula, Vasudeva sent him because he was really concerned about Krishna and Balaram, and he wanted him to get them the blessings of this great sage. When Garga Rsis approaches Nanda Maharaj’s house Nanda Maharaj welcomed him with so much respect and honor because he was a Brahmin and a sage. He said Sages like you come to the house of householders because we are naturally very much affected and diverted by so many worldly considerations in our life but you come just to remind us of the real goal and purpose of life. You take the guise of a beggar just to come into our house but you are actually you are not coming to take anything you are really coming to give us something the most precious of all wealth, wisdom. It was decided Garga Muni wanted to do the name giving ceremony for Krishna and Balaram but the problem was if they did it like all other festivals Kamsa may hear about, so they decided to do a very secret name giving ceremony in Goshala, the place where the cows were kept and there Garga Muni revealed that this child because he is bringing together the dynasties of Vrishni and the Yadu’s his name should be Sankarshan and because in the future he will take great pleasure in exhibiting supreme natural strength his name will be Baladeva or Balaram and this child he has appeared in this world in many ways, he comes to annihilate the miscreants, reestablish the principles of religion and protect the devotees, he has appeared in white form in Satya Yuga, he has appeared in a red form in Treta Yuga, he has appeared and the previous Kaliyuga’s in a golden form and now he is appeared in this beautiful dark bluish form. This child he will have powers like that of Lord Narayan, always protect all the Brijväsés from all dangers place take nice care of him. Should I continue, did you like this place? This is true opulence; materialistic people when they want have a conference they went on a ball room in a five star hotel in down town of Bombay Oberio or Marriott or Taj Mahal, yes. They have nice seats and Marble floors and beautiful gold leafs sealing ornaments, chandeliers, yes and they think that’s opulence but this is opulence sitting under the kalpavåkña tree of Braj, breathing and laying in the sacred dust of Vrindavan and please understand the nature of this dust, there is been tones of cow dung and cow urine merging into the dust, very sanctified and very pure. We have seen these cows they just, they eat the grass and they pass the dung and cow dung is very sacred, very pure. Prabhupada said, it is antiseptic; in fact the Brijväsés would bathe Krishna and Balaram with cow dung and cow urine that is how pure and they picked it up and they make paddies and they cook with it, prabhupada said first class fuel for cooking is cow dung, first class, second class is wood, third class is gas and fourth class is electricity. But cow dung is the top most cooking fuel, it actually smell sweet have you ever, very sweet and it makes mosquitoes go away also. So this is opulence, sitting in the cow dung or cow urine and the dust of Vrindavan under trees. If you are attached to the Oberio or Taj Mahal then, if do purify your heart you may go to Vaikuntha. Unless you develop a taste for rolling in the dust of Vrindavan you will not understand what the highest happiness could be.

Krishna having ride with Trinavarta

So Krishna in his first year one day Yashoda Mai had Krishna on her lap and she wanted to make Krishna have nice fun, so she was lifting Krishna up throwing him up in the air, have you ever seen mothers do like that. She was just little baby Krishna, she was just lifting and throwing lifting and throwing, she was laughing and smiling and the Gopis were watching and they were laughing and smiling and was Krishna laughing and smiling. Then Krishna was thinking that my mother she can only lift me a little bit but I want to play in the sky, my mother can lift me little bit but I want to play in the sky and he knew that there was a demon sent by Kamsa named Trinavarta who exclusively wanted to kill Yashoda and Krishna. So Krishna did not want Yashoda to be implicated in this painful situation, so he became very heavy like a mountain. Yashoda Mai, what happening this is too much, all of her sudden the little baby who is she lifting up is become so heavy she can’t even hold him anymore. So she sat’s him down and she calls Brahmins to come and chant Mantra’s and because she didn’t know what else to do she focused her mind in remembering Lord Narayan. Krishna was sitting on the ground of Braj when the mighty Asura Trinavarta came on the order of Kamsa. He was really powerful and deadly, he manifested the form of a whirlwind and his blowing made such roaring sound that threatened everyone’s ears. Blowing a wind with such force that the dust rouse from the sky and made the entire Gokula black with dust, nobody could even see the hand in front of their face and Yashoda Mai her only concern was Gopal. She was running and looking for Gopal but she couldn’t see anything, she was crying out Gopal, Gopal, Gopal, Gopal where are you, Gopal; she couldn’t see anything, the winds were blowing, trees were falling down massive Roar and she can’t find Gopal anywhere, helplessly she fell unconscious to the ground like a cow that just loss her calf. Meanwhile Krishna by his Aishwarya Shakti became wider than the widest just to facilitate Trinavarta plan. Trnavarta picked up little Gopal and went higher and higher and higher and higher and higher in to the sky into the sky. As he was going higher and higher into the sky the dust cleared Krishna way, way up practically in Swarga Loka. Yashoda Mai there was no Krishna anywhere so was just laying in the ground piteously crying and all the Gopis just gathered around her weeping and crying and loudly chanting Krishna pastimes to somehow other try to pacify her but ultimately they were all feeling so much separation they could only cry, they were helpless, their life was taken from them. Meanwhile Krishna was enjoying the ride after he fulfilled his desire of playing into the sky and he fulfilled the ladies of the Swarga loka’s desires to see him he assumed the weight of a massive mountain, he was so heavy that Trinavarta could not longer go any higher. Then Krishna accepted the role of an ordinary little boy. Are you are awake? Haribol! Krishna looked down and he was so high in the sky that he became afraid so he grasped on the Trinavarta’s neck and squeezed it real hard because he was afraid of falling and as he was squeezing Trinavarta’s neck he was chocking the demon and the demon with his all of his might and with his hands was trying to pull Krishna up and Krishna was just looking down and he was squeezing his neck and squeezing his neck and squeezing his neck, he squeezed him so much that Trinavarta’s eyes puffed out, he couldn’t breathe. He was trembling, he was perspiring and ultimately Krishna blocked his air and chocked him to death and Trinavarta fell way, way, way down and crash on to a slab of stone and all of limbs were dislocated, Shri Krishna Bhagavän ki jai!

Trinavarta represents false pride

When the Gopi’s saw Krishna laying on Trinavarta’s obliterated body they became very much afraid and Krishna was just joyfully smiling and laughing and playing. The Gopis were amazed they came to the conclusion that Trinavarta was killed by his own sins and Narayan saved our little Krishna, why, they were speculating amongst themselves, it may be because of our pious deeds or it may be because of our austerities, may be because we worship the supreme personality of Godhead. But the power of Yogamäyä would not allow them to even conceive of the thought that Krishna may have killed him, why, because then they could not love him so intimately, so freely. Yogamäyä preserve the Madhurya, the sweetness of the loving relations between the devotees and Lord Krishna. Trinavarta represents the Anartha the demon plagues the heart in the form of false pride due to scholarship. Krishna has six opulence’s one is knowledge, when we get a little speck of that opulence in our own heart, just the little infinitesimal speck and we become learned its very attractive and people start to listen to us and then they start respecting us, and then they start honoring us and they may even touch our feet. In this way we began to that think I know more than others, I am better than others and we start enjoying that position. In the Christian scriptures St. Poul said, pride come before the fall, it is very important to cultivate transcendental knowing but Maya is so clever and so powerful even, if we are cultivating knowledge of scriptures she can make us proud of that and  the very knowledge we are trying to cultivate to overcome Maya overcomes us,

prakåteù kriyamäëäni

guëaiù karmäëi sarvaçaù

ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä

kartäham iti manyate

The bewildered spirit soul thinks him or herself to be the doer of the activity but actually it is all being done by nature and Krishna is the controller of nature, Krishna is sarva-käraëa-käraëam he is the cause of all causes. It is said do not be proud of borrowed plumes, whatever knowledge we have its Krishna’s it is not ours. So yes, we have seen people learn a lot and then they start thinking themselves superior to others and then Krishna is not pleased with anything you do or speak, it’s all just superficial external without substances. Especially for devotees this is very, very important we should never be falsely proud of our scholarship. Rupa and Sanatan Goswami we are discussing them over the last few days, they were the greatest scholars but yet they were more humble than a blade of grass, they never consider themselves to be better than anyone. Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami is such a scholar, Rupa and Sanatan Goswami and Raghunath Das Goswami they awarded him the title ‘Kaviraj’, the king of poets, can you imagine getting a title from them and then he is thinking he is lower than the worm in stool, more fallen than Jagai and Madhai. If we know by memory all the Vaishnav scriptures, if we really understand what we have learnt then we will never consider ourselves better than even the illiterate sweeper of the street who is doing for Krishna, that is realization, that is the Goswami’s, that is the foot step we must follow. There were devotees living in Vrindavan one particular person, he was a scholar of Sanskrit studying so many literatures and he actually told prabhupada, I want to go to somebody else who can teach me something higher can I have your blessing and prabhupada with all humility told him the reality. He said, you are asking me to give you a blessing to go to hell, what is the use of all this scholarship and that person left and went to somebody else and now he is an atheist, he was an Sanskrit scholar and studying profusely the literature of Goswami’s but he thought he knew better than his guru, yes he learned more and more and more and more, now he is a professor of Sanskrit in the a major university of America but he is an atheist, he doesn’t believe in Krishna. So we cannot be falsely proud. The more we know, the more that demon of Trinavarta makes us think that were becoming higher and higher and higher, the more we know we think we are getting higher and higher and higher but that’s Trinavarta taking of us our pride, its our humility our dedication our devotion that bring us higher and higher and higher and knowledge is meant to facilitate that. Therefore prabhupada wanted us to study his books and really learn this philosophy; he wanted us to master the philosophy for our own sake and for the sake of others but at the same time he taught us we must always be in a spirit of the menial humble servant of the servant of the servant and in this way we can achieve perfection when we chant the holy name Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare, Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare, Hare. When Krishna kills these demons in Vrindavan he did in such a sweet and intimate way that he did not disturb the prema or the love of the Brijväsés. In fact due to anxiety that these demons created in the hearts of Brijväsés their love increase, Krishna allows these demons, it was actually Lila Shakti that allowed this demons to come into Vrindavan because every time a demon came and Krishna was in a danger the ocean of prema increased and expanded within the hearts of the devotees. Should I continue, Haribol!

Krishna’s Kumar Lila

Krishna began to crawl in Gokula, so beautiful on the ground of Braj that was mixed with cow urine and cow dung actually made muddy Krishna and Balaram would crawl around and they would crawl with their arms and they looked like two little snakes crawling through the mud of Braj. In fact this mud of the dust, the cow urine and the cow dung was like a beautiful ornamentation which was always dressing Krishna and Balaram and mothers put little bells on their ankles so their mothers could easily find them. They were very, very restless, sometimes they would see an older Gopi walking and Krishna Balaram would that this is Rohini, this is Yashoda and they crawl, crawls, crawl through to muddy crawl, crawl, crawl  get to their mother and they hear ankle bells of the Gopis and they are thinking this is my mother and they are coming, coming and coming and  then the Gopi would see and looked and they see it’s not their mother and they become very much afraid and cry and crawl the other direction until they find the Yashoda and Rohini and they would pick them up and embrace them and pacify them with their love. When they would be looking at Krishna and Balaram’s beautiful faces they would see little tiny teeth that look like drops of milk just starting to form in their lotus like mouth. Yashoda and Rohini would their finger they would count the teeth and discuss with each other. Krishna Kumar Lila, a little calf would be laying on the ground actually two calf’s, two calf’s laying sitting next to each other on the ground sleeping and then little Krishna Balaram they would crawl after the calf because they have don’t know how to walk yet they would crawl up to the calf and Krishna would grab the tail of one and Balaram would grab the tail of the other and then the calves become very afraid and they get up and start running and Krishna and Balaram would be so afraid they would holding on and holding on and crying and crying and the calves be running and children would be crying holding on the Gopis would drop everything they were doing, they would just leave behind all the responsibility and watch Krishna and Balaram being dragged through the mud and the cow dung and the cow urine of braj by the calves and they all being laughing and laughing and laughing, this was the life and soul. Hundreds and billions and trillions of time better than the best Hollywood film, just seeing and hearing and hearing about Krishna and Balaram beautiful pastimes and the Gopis would save Krishna and stop the calves and take Krishna and Balaram and bring them to Yashoda and they fed them milk and they be satisfied. Sometimes the cowherd man would test Krishna’s intelligence to see how he was becoming learned and Nanda and Upananda the uncles of Krishna especially they would like to do this, Upananda, Abhinanda they would say, oh! Gopal point to your head, He will point to his head, point to your leg, he point to his leg, Krishna was very proud he knew all these things, point to your nose and Krishna very proudly point to his nose, point to your ears and Krishna wanted to show how he has learned so much he would point to his ears and they would say point to your teeth and Krishna would say but I don’t have any teeth yet.

Difference between spiritual anxiety and material anxiety

In this way Krishna would give so much happiness to the residence of Vrindavan but Yashoda and Rohini were always in anxiety, transcendental anxiety because they were always thinking when Krishna and Balaram are crawling around Braj there is horns of the cows and the bulls that may stab them and there is teeth of dogs and there is thorns and the bushes in the ground and there is nails of the monkeys. Day and night Yashoda and Rohini were in anxiety about Krishna and Balaram welfares and Krishna and Balaram went every possible effort to increase their anxieties by their naughtiness. Now this material world is ‘kuntha’ the place of anxiety and beyond this material existences is Vaikuntha which means no anxiety, so how is that the highest planets of all Vaikuntha, the highest people Yashoda and Rohini are always in anxiety, this is not material anxiety. The anxiety of Yashoda and Rohini was their total absorption in Vatsalya Rasa, in their parental loving affection for Krishna and Balaram and the more the anxiety the more increased the intensity of their love. This is absorption on the spiritual platform; it is trillions and billions unlimitedly more blissful state then ‘om shanti, shanti, shanti hin’. Sometimes I see our devotees chanting this during fire Yajna’s and I understand that part of their ceremony ‘om shanti, shanti, shanti hin’ especially in marriages I hear this, it doesn’t make sense to me, if they really want om shanti, shanti, shanti then why are they getting marry. Living with a wife or a husband so much anxiety and then they had children too much anxiety and all the parents are always thinking there is so much anxiety with this child I loved my child but it’s so much anxiety until they grow up a little and they would more less anxiety. Now I have to hold when they start to crawl then less anxiety, then when they start to walk there would be less, then they go to school but actually illusory energy we are always thinking tomorrow shanti, shanti, shanti. At every stage of child development there is more intense complex anxiety, yes, now the anxiety if they want milk they cry its a little anxiety, but wait till they start becoming teenagers, Haribol! So yes, when the object of our anxiety is Krishna out of love that is ecstasy, prabhupada taught us that we should put our self in the situation where we are in great anxiety for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that will bring out the purification and ecstasy. After all of our happiness in pleasing Krishna and Krishna happiness, his happiness in our absorption in serve him, to please him. We have here Guru Charan prabhu who is the president of prabhupadesh Italy so many anxieties I have seen and we have Radheshyam prabhu the president of Pune, Jai, Jai Shri Radheshyam! Jai, Jai Shri Radheshyam! So many anxieties he has to deal with, they don’t have to take these responsibilities. So Samik Rsis is president of Towaco temple in New Jersey, so many of devotees here have accepted position’s were anxieties are just constantly piling upon them but that anxiety is so pleasing to the Lord because its being tolerated and accepted in his service, it’s an expression of love. So Yashoda and Rohini were always in great anxiety worrying for Krishna protection at every moment.

Krishna learn walking to steal butter from the Gopis house

Krishna would try to walk, this is very important pastimes; Krishna is the ability in man but in his original form in Gokula he is learning how to walk. He gets up right here in the dust of Braj in Mahavan Krishna would somehow stand up with his own leg and he take a step and fall down and cry and then he try to get up and take another step and fall down and cry and Yashoda Mai she wanted to help Krishna to learn to walk, she would hold him by his little finger and she help him get up and she walked with him and because he was only touching with little finger like this holding above, Krishna was thinking that he was walking but he understood he was completely depending on the help of his mother. Then that beautiful face which was wilted lotus from his crying blossomed into a most beautiful smile as he looked upon his mother who was helping to teach him, how to walk. The first thing Krishna did when he learned the art of walking was began his pastimes of stealing his butter, shall I continue. One day the Gopis came together to approached mother Yashoda, their purpose was just to hear and speak about beautiful Gopal’s glories pastimes. One Gopi complained to Yashoda that before dawn little Gopal and his friends they inspect the village of Braj just to see where the butter and Yogurt is so that they can steal it later in the day. Another Gopi said, early in the morning before we milk the cows Krishna and his friends they let go of all the calf’s, they untie them from the ropes and the calf’s go running outside and we go running chasing after them come back, come back, come back and while everyone in our families and all of our homes are out chasing the calf’s they run into homes and steal all of our butter and when we come back the pots are broken and all the butter is gone or all over the floor. Another Gopi said, sometimes he unties the calf before we milk the cows and bring the calf’s to cow to drink all the milk so when our husbands go to milk the cows they come back to empty buckets because it’s all gone. A few Gopis came together and lodge this complaint, this was serious we found Krishna in our house he crapped open the clay pot that held the butter and he was eating the butter, we caught him and we said, we are going to beat you, we are going to tie you up and Krishna smiled at us, when Krishna smiled upon us our hearts melted we were so captivated,  so charmed, so spelled on by his smile that we stood like motionless statue unable to move right in front of our eyes Krishna and his cowherd boys just ate all of our butters and all of our yogurt, we had no power to even take a step, what is the power of your sons smile. Yashoda Mai asked, so why don’t you just feed him if you think he is hungry, if his belly is empty just give him some food. Gopis replied, that if we do give him food he doesn’t want it, if we give him butter he won’t accept it, your son has a taste for stealing. One day your Gopal before he ate the butter himself was feeding it to all the monkeys in our house and he fed so much butter to monkeys the monkeys became so full they went away and then Gopal said, I don’t want to eat this butter all alone my friends of all left me, I haven’t eaten yet monkeys come back and the monkeys went onto the trees. So Krishna became very angry, it’s no fun eating butter all alone and he broke all of our pots and threw all the butter on the floor in anger. Sometimes to protect our butter from Gopal and his friends we keep it hanging from the rope from the rafters and our ceiling but they would boxes and they would climb on top of those or sometimes they would climb on top of box and then climb on each other shoulders to somehow reach that butter and if we put it in such a way that doesn’t work, krishna has a special stick that has a pointed metal end and he would get on the top of his friends shoulders and poke the bottom of butter pot, make a hole and the butter would start flowing from that butter pot and then he would take his friends and put hill with his hands put their face and open their so the butter falls right into their open mouths. Sometimes when we see Krishna stealing our Yogurt and butter we say Krishna you are a thief and Krishna looks at us in dignity and say no you are a thief. Sometimes when we hide our butter so nicely that Krishna cannot find it, he will pinch our babies and make them cry or sometimes he will go into the cleanest place in our house where we do our worship and he will pass stool and urine but now look at him he is hearing this lodging of complaint, he appears so innocent and fearful that we may punish him, just look that we know what’s in his bind he is only planning the next strategy of how to steal our butter and yogurt. When Krishna understood that he was caught he would smile and when Krishna would smile Yashoda Mai and the Gopi’s could not possibly chastise him, all they could do they smiled.

Cleverness of Krishna in stealing butter

Here in the house of Nanda Maharaj Krishna was once in a secluded place with his hand in butter pot and he saw there was jeweled pillar and in the jewels was the reflection of himself but Krishna was thinking that someone watching him, so he became very much afraid he trembled and he said, my dear brother, my dear brother please do not tell my mother, if you don’t tell my mother I will share my butter with you and it is very good you will enjoy a lot and then he would continue eating the butter, eating the butter meanwhile mother Yashoda was watching the whole thing, she was so pleased to hear the broken words of her son. She very innocently and slowly walked forward and when Krishna saw mother Yashoda he became very much afraid there was butter in his mouth, there was butter in his hand, there was butter in the floor and Krishna said, I didn’t steal the butter, I didn’t steal it; it’s that greedy boy over there and he pointed to its reflection. He said, he is very greedy, he came here to steal this butter and I told him no you cannot steal my mother’s butter and we had an argument but he stole it any way I became angry at him and he became angry at me, but I am not greedy for butter mother. Another time Yashoda Mai came and there was butter on his face and his hand was stuck right in the butter pot and Krishna said, mother, mother I am not stealing butter, she said, then what are you doing? He said, you put this bangles on my hands that have rubies and the heat of the Rubies are burning my hands, burning them and it’s unbearable and I stuck them in the butter just to relieve the pain. Mother Yashoda took his hand and looked she was so enchanted by his cleverness, she said oh! Gopal looked your hands really are burnt I will never put this ruby bangles on you again; she kissed his hands with great motherly affection.

Gopal assumed moon as the freshly churned condensed butter

It was a full moon night, on this full moon night mother Yashoda was with her Gopi friend and little Gopal came out to the court yard and cried, he was crying with hunger, hunger for his mother’s love. So mother Yashoda she entrusted Krishna to the other Gopis and the Gopis asked Gopal why are you crying, what is the problem? He pointed to the full moon and cried out I want to eat that freshly churned condensed butter and Gopi’s said but that is not freshly condensed butter, so what is it? The Gopi said, it is Rajhamsa, it is the king of swans that is swimming across the sky and Krishna just point on and said, I want Rajhamsa, I want to play with him, give him to me, give him to me, I want him, give him to me, now I want to play with him. He kept crying, they said, it’s not Rajhamsa, its Chandra, it’s the moon; he said, I want to play with him give it now, now. They couldn’t pacify him, and then Yashoda Mai came and placed little Gopal on her lap and she said, yes Krishna what that is in the sky is freshly churned condensed butter but you cannot eat it, Gopal said, why can’t I eat it, I want it. She said, because it is covered with spots of poison, he said, why is that? She said, I will tell you about this freshly churned butter; it has come from the Kshira Sara the ocean of milk. Krishna asked mother, how many cows did it take to fill an ocean of milk? Yashoda Mai replied, that one who gave cow the ability to give milk is the one who fill the ocean, he doesn’t need cow, and Gopal ask, who is that mother, who is that? And she said, the Lord of creation. She said long ago the Demi-gods and the demons came together to this ocean of milk to churn it, and Krishna became very excited, did they churned in the same way you and the Gopis churned milk and she said, yes they churned it the same way with the churning rod. As they churned it out from it kälaküöa , a deadly poison, Krishna said, poison, poison that would snakes have and Yashoda Mai said, the reason why snakes are poisonous is because they drank the few drops of that deadly poison. Krishna said, please tell me more mother, please tell me more and Yashoda Mai said, this poison was so bad that it was going to destroy everyone and then Mahadeva Lord Shiva came and he drank that poison just to save humanity but a few drops spilled out and this freshly churned condensed butter that is in the sky it is spotted with that poison, therefore you cannot take it Gopal, better you take the freshly churned condensed butter that I have made for you today. Krishna was convinced and he took his mother butter and then late at night very peacefully fell asleep.

Gopal made Prabhavati Gopi bewildered

One day the wife of Upananda Prabhavati she came to Yashoda Mai and complained that Gopal is always stealing our butter, he is always stealing our Yogurt, he is always creating messes in our houses, what we should understand is this, that the only reason that the Gopi’s churned the butter, milk the cows or did anything was the hope that Krishna would come to steal it that was their life and soul, their life should be empty and meaningless, if Krishna didn’t come to their houses to steal their offerings. Krishna is the supreme proprietor of everything that exists, he is not a thief like an ordinary thief in this world, if you steal somebody else’s property you are sinful and you have to pay Karma. But Krishna owns everything; anybody who thinks anything is theirs is a thief because everything belongs to Krishna, sarva-loka-maheçvaram. Only because the Gopi’s hearts are completely pure with the exclusively motivation of giving pleasure to Krishna, does Krishna come to accept their love in the form of their butter and yogurt. He is stealing from the house of the Gopis was their ultimate joy in life and just to completely immersed their consciousness in remembering this day and night they would complaint. So Prabhavati Devi, she said to Yashoda how Krishna regularly comes to my house and does this stealing, Makhanacora and Yashoda Mai said, next time he does it you catch him and you bring him home to me, she said, all right I will do that. So Krishna came to her house, the very next day and she caught him by the hand and said, I am going to bring you to your mother and little Gopal in his very sweet broken voice said, you will regret this if you do. She said, no, no I am going to report you to your mother I caught you red handed come and she is pulling Krishna very lovingly and Krishna and as they came before Yashoda Krishna hid under the cloth of her Sari, and Prabhavati Devi said, I caught Krishna today with my own hands and eyes I have caught him he was stealing our butter and I had brought him to you. Yashoda Mai said, oh! My Gopal had stolen butter where is he, she said he is right here, but where and she saw Krishna was hiding under her Sari and she lifted her Sari and she said, here he is. Yashoda Mai looked and said, that not Gopal and Prabhavati looked down and it was her own son, no, no the son is very nice. She saw her own son, she was absolutely bewildered and Yashoda Mai said, I think just like you are expecting me to discipline, I think you should learn to disciple your own son, she didn’t what to do, she was speechless? She just said to her son lets go home and she was walking home holding the hand of her son and they were just down the road and she felt a pulling and she looked down and it was Krishna, he was smiling and Krishna said, you should never do that again. He said, if you ever do this again, try to report me to my mother like this next time I will take the form of your husband.

Yashoda Mai saw whole universe in Krishna’s little mouth

Closed to this place is Brahmanda Ghat, it was there at Brahmanda Ghat that wonderful pastimes took place. The Vatsalya fault finding of the Gopis have now been concluded, so now the friends of Krishna were coming to Yashoda to complaints against him. Now Krishna friends could not complain about his stealing butter because they were helping him in those pastimes. So one day the Gopas and Balaramji came before mother Yashoda and lodged a very, very serious complained, we have seen Krishna in a secluded pace eating dirt, oh! Yashoda Mai’s heart was so disturbed, so frightened with the welfare of her child; with her right hand she held Krishna hand so that he couldn’t run away and chastised him, why are you eating dirt, why are you eating dirt? Don’t you know that dirt is not good for your health? I am feeding you so many nice things, why are you doing like this? Krishna said, “That I have not eaten dirt. Now this scolding of mother Yashoda to Krishna is something so wonderful, Yashoda Mai is scolding that person who Brahma, Shiva, Indra, all the Demi-gods and all the scriptures and all the saints of all the religion throughout all the universes they are all praising and glorifying and him and mother Yashoda is scolding him, that scolding is not a fault because mother Yashoda scolding Krishna nourishes the Prema, the love in her heart and in Krishna heart. Krishna became very fearful, his eyes were very restless and this fear in Krishna’s eyes was an ornament cause by the love of Yashoda. Krishna said, I did not eat any dirt mother and mother Yashoda said, then why are all your friends complaining that you did, even Balaram is saying that you ate dirt. If Balaram and all your friends are telling me then it must be true, why would they tell lie against you? Krishna said, they are liars my mother, they are liars; if you don’t believe me then you look in my mouth. Now for children to tell lies like this is very natural and when Krishna speaks this lies it nourishes the love, the Vatsalya Bhava of his mother. Vatsalya bhava and all other Rasa’s spring from Prema or from pure love, that prema rest within the heart of a devotee and it arises because of Krishna’s intimate affection for his devotees. This is a very, very deep secret of what Bhakti really is! When Krishna manifest his affection for the devotee then that cause the love on his devotee to rise, to increase and to manifest in extraordinary ways. Krishna affection for his devotees is why he is called Bhaktavatsal and our beloved Acaryas explained of all Krishna qualities, his quality of Bhaktavatsal is the greatest, it is the crest jewel of all qualities because it is his affection for his devotees that brings about the pleasure of all of their loving exchange, because Krishna lying manifestation of his Bhaktavatsal, Krishna lies is the crest jewel of all great qualities, Shri Krishna Bhagavan ki jai!

Yashoda Mai said, Gopal open your mouth, now this is the difficult situation because the fact is Krishna did eat dirt and he was thinking in his mind, if I open my mouth Yashoda Mai is going to see dirt in it, so I have to see something fast. So while Krishna was thinking like this his Aishwarya Shakti entered into his body and he opened his mouth and Yashoda Mai looked inside through his mouth and into his belly she saw the universal creation. Mother Yashoda saw the mountains and oceans and planets and Demigods, she saw all living beings, she even saw herself looking in Krishna mouth, and she saw the entire universal creation both inside Krishna’s belly and mouth as well as outside. When Yashoda Mai saw this she became very worried, she was thinking is Krishna sick, is it some illness, what’s happening to him. Then she looked deeper into it she became very much perplexed, she thought am I dreaming, no I can’t be dreaming because eyes are opened or I am under illusion, no why would be Demi-Gods put an insignificant person like me into an illusion or is my mind, am I having some mental disorder, she is saying no mind is quite stable. I know I know what the solution to this mystery is that child has mystic potencies. Garga Muni has told that he would have great powers like that of Narayan but then she contemplated how this possible mystic potency like Narayan is. When he is hungry he cries, when he is thirsty he cries, when there is lightening in the sky and thunder he would come running to me crying and unless I embrace him and give him shelter he would find no hope. He is naughty, he is innocent and in this way she completely rejected this non-sense propaganda of Garga Muni that Krishna has powers like Narayan. So therefore mother Yashoda seeing the universe in Krishna’s mouth had no answer, so does a great devotees do when they cannot understand the particular situation she just completely immersed her heart in prayer to Lord Narayan please protect my child. she prayed, she prayed that Lord Narayan let me surrender to you, you are the cause of all causes, you are the very source of all that exist, everything is emanating from you and ultimately you are the only Maintainer of all living beings; due to Maya, due to illusion I have been thinking that I am the wife of Nanda Maharaj, due to Maya I am thinking that I am the Vrajeshwari that I am the queen of Vrindavan and all the Gopis and all the Gopas and all the cows and all the calf’s are under my care. Due to illusion I am thinking that all of these my, all these nine hundred thousand cows are my property but actually they all belong to you Lord Vishnu; everything is yours, you are the only proprietor, you are the only Maintainer and you are the only shelter of everyone please I am under the illusion that Krishna is my son, I am under the illusion that I can protect Krishna. But Lord Vishnu it is only your mercy that can protect him please, please protect him. When Krishna saw mother Yashoda in this mood he was unhappy, he thought in his heart, if she is thinking like this that Vishnu is my protector and the Vishnu is my shelter then who will cuddle me, then who will embrace me and who will kiss me and protect me. As soon as he thought like this mother Yashoda became so overwhelmed with parental affection that she completely forgot everything that she saw in Krishna mouth, just you have a dream at night and when you make up in the morning you completely forget your dream. Krishna closed in mouth and smiled upon Yashoda Mai and she just embraced, kissed him and gave him the milk from her breast, if I do not feed Krishna who will he lives, Shri Krishna Bhagavän ki jai! Mother Yashoda was blinded by prema by pure love.

Äcärya’s commentaries

Actually Vishvanath Cakravarti Thakur explains, that one of the reasons that Krishna manifest the universal form in his mouth was because there was also dirt in it, so he had to do something so incredible to make his mother forgot about the dirt that was actually in his mouth too because not only was the dirt in his mouth from Brahmanda Ghat but the whole universe was in his mouth. So in this way mother Yashoda forgot all about looking for the dirt and thus Krishna did not get any trouble on that day. Sukdeva Goswami explains he who the three Vedas worshiped as Yajna Purusha, he who the sankya–shastra’s worshiped as Purusha, he who the Yoga sutra’s worshiped as Paramatma, he who the Pancharatra scriptures worship as Bhagavan mother Yashoda considered as an ordinary child, she was thinking by the mercy of Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is my son. People think that because Garga Muni said, that he would have great powers like Narayan and people think that because he has killed some demons, that he is some great personality but I know better, if Krishna doesn’t see me even for a moment he is greatly disturbed he is so much depending on me, if I don’t see Krishna for even a moment as his mother I am greatly disturbed, experienced is the proof that Krishna is the ordinary child and my son completely dependent on my motherly love, Shri Krishna Bhagavan ki jai!

Krishna could not fully reciprocate with mother Yashoda selfless pure love therefore Krishna remained debtor and in that position where he was happily a debtor he remained completely dependent on mother Yashoda and would cry for her milk.

Uneducated aborigine women attained the supreme perfection of life

One day a fruit vendor came here to Gokula Mahavan and she had a basket of fruits which she would carry from place to place and she cried out very loudly, is anyone want to buy any fruit I am selling fruit today, anyone who would like fruit please come. So little Gopal he was very eager to get fruit so he took a handful of grains to barter for the fruit from his mother’s stock of grains and he went running, running through the dust of Vraj and he came to the fruit vendor. She looked at him, his beauty, his charm the merciful glance that he gazed upon her, completely captivated her heart. Krishna held out and because his fingers were so small practically every single grain already had fallen from between his fingers there was only one or two grains left and he just smiled and in a very sweet innocent voice cried out please give me some fruits. The fruit vendor fell in love with this child and filled his hands with his many fruits as he hold and although Krishna’s hands were so small because she was offering this fruits with pure somehow other those little tiny hands were able to hold a lot of fruits. She turned around and looked into her basket and it was over flowing with diamonds and pearls and rubies and emeralds and gold but most of all her heart was over flowing with the crest jewel of all valuable gold’s Prema Bhakti. This ordinary fruit vendor received the highest gift which is unavailable even to the great Yogi’s, ascetics and the Devatas simply because she gave a few little fruits with love and devotion.

patraà puñpaà phalaà toyaà

yo me bhaktyä prayacchati

Bhagavad Gita explains to us in this way that one who offers to me a flower, a fruit, or a little water or a leaf with a devotion I will accept it, that is the ultimate success of all endeavors that Krishna will accept our offering. Krishna accepts the purpose in which everything is offered to him. Duryodhana offered a magnificent feast with gifts of gold silver jewels on silver plates all ready to offer to Krishna but he did not even look in that direction. But Vidhura and his wife even a Banana peel Krishna accepted as the most ambrosial nectar because of the purpose in which it was offered and what is that purpose, saàsiddhir hari-toñaëam to please Krishna that is the only goal of our life.

na dhanaà na janaà na sundaréà

kavitäà vä jagad-éça kämaye

mama janmani janmanéçvare

bhavatäd bhaktir ahaituké tvayi

These temporary frivolous things of the world are of no real importance, we will accept whatever we can use in the service of the guru and the Vaishnav otherwise we don’t have any concern for anything else. We don’t want wealth, we don’t want position, we don’t want power, we don’t want recognition, we don’t want sex, we don’t want any of these things; they are all just a disturbance, distraction unless they can be utilize in Krishna’s service. If we please Krishna our live is perfect, if we don’t please Krishna we have wasted, we have wasted our life. This simple fruit vendor attained the supreme perfection simply by giving her fruit with simple love. It is explained in Bhagvatam that this fruit vendor was a Pulinda that means she was an uneducated aborigine, she was not one of the Gopas or Gopis, she was just an outcast forest dweller aborigine women, no caste, no education, no prestige nothing but she attained the ultimate goal of life simply because she offered the fruit of her love to Krishna, Shri Krishna Bhagavan ki jai!

Yashoda Mai caught Gopal while stealing butter

Today is Dipavali, so now I will begin the class we have thus concluded the introduction of today’s class, shall I began class, Haribol! One day on the day of Dipavali Yashoda Mai rose very early in the morning, the reason is before Krishna woke up she wanted to have very nice delicious butter for him to eat. Yashoda Mai went to great efforts so that Krishna would have the most delicious and nutritious possible milk, yogurt, ghee and butter. Nanda Maharaj had nine hundred thousand cows; you could say countless cows of them there were seven or eight which was best of all Kamadhenu cows. Yashoda Mai would personally grow a very, very delicious nutritious soft tender grass called ‘Padmagandha’ and these seven or eight best cows would only be feed this Padmagandha grass. This grass had fragrances so sweet that it intoxicated one who even smell. With that Padmagandha milk Yashoda Mai would make yogurt and that morning she was personally churning the Padmagandha yogurt for Krishna. Previously she had some of her assistance to churn because it’s a very simple job but she was thinking my Gopal is not satisfied with the butter in our house somehow he is always going to neighbor house to steal butter. So with all of her love and devotion she was churning the butter. As she was churning she was feeling deep separation from Gopal and thus just to pacify her separation in great sang beautiful songs about Gopal’s Lila’s. In Vrindavan everyday whatever pastimes Krishna did the Gopis and Gopas would put it in the poetry and song so that they could remember it all day long. Prabhupada explains this is the traditional and every effective way of remembering things to put it into song and poetry because after all sitting too long lectures like today very difficult to keep your attention, is it not? I am sorry about that! But singing and dancing everybody enjoys and when we want to remember something very nicely, even with children this is the universal principle, how did we learn the alphabet, I don’t know how you did it but when I learned alphabet I was smaller than I am now actually I don’t even know but I still remember the alphabets but they put it into song, yes because children remember song a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j, k, l, m, n o, p. you know, if the teacher say A children will say A, B children will say B, C children will say C, D then children will not say anything, but they teach it in a fun happy way a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j, k, l, m, n o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z put it into song and you will learn very nicely easy to remember.So the Brijväsés everything Krishna did they would make beautiful poetry, beautiful songs so they can day and night always remember Krishna. So Yashoda Mai was singing beautiful songs about Krishna’s Lila as she was churning the butter and because she was singing so sweetly the bangles on her wrist were like Karatals keeping in time with Kirtan, as she was singing Krishna glories. Yashoda Mai had a beautiful saffron yellow color Sari and as she churning she began to perspire and the Malati flower which were in her hair they were thinking that Yashoda Mai had so much love, so much love what are we doing on her head we should fall at her feet so thus the flowers fell from her head and fell unto her feet and as she was churning the butter, singing the glories of Krishna in her motherly love her breast began to offer profuse milk. Now milk started coming from Yashoda Mai and she chanting his names Krishna who was in the next room sleeping woke up, he woke up hungry for his mother’s love. Krishna came and with one hand he held the churning rod to tell his mother enough with this churning I will not allow you to continue and with the other hand he pulled on her Sari and looked at her to tell her that he was hungry for her milk. Mother Yashoda smiled upon him and she embraced him placed him on her lap and feed him the milk of her love. At that time that on the stove the milk was boiling over that was not ordinary milk that was Padmagandha milk from the best of the cows and she was preparing a nice preparation for Krishna’s breakfast, so she put Krishna down and ran to save the milk for Krishna pleasure. But Krishna became very angry and with his upper teeth he bit his lower lip, Jiva Goswami explains that his white teeth represents the mode of Goodness and red lip represents passion so we must curved our passionate mood with the mode of goodness. Not that Krishna is like that but he is teaching us a lesson he bit his lip and he was angry and he wanted to demonstrate his angry to his mother. So while his mother was awake Krishna picked up a stone and cracked the pot of Yogurt that Yashoda Mai has churned and then ran into the next room. He went into the next room and he saw hanging from the ceiling by ropes was a pot of butter so he took that butter, took that butter and then he went just outside and there was turned over wooden grinding mortar and he sat on that mortar with the pot of butter and he was feeding it to the monkeys and eating it simultaneously.

Yashoda Mai after saving the milk she came back and there was no Gopal but there was big mess the clay pot was broken, there was a stone there and then she smiled I know who had done this, this is the work of my son. So she followed the butter foot prints of Gopal, she followed one butter foot print after another after another after another then she saw from Rasters the pot was gone and she continued followed the footprints and there she saw from a little distance Gopal on the top of an upside down wooden grinding mortar feeding butter to monkeys but while he was doing it his eyes were moving around very fearful terrified that his mother might catch him. Yashoda Mai picked up a stick and very quietly walk suddenly the monkey saw her they all started jumping out windows and running out doors and Krishna was looking very, very what’s happening and he looked back and there he saw his mother right behind him holding stick. Gopal whose eyes were very, very restless jumped off the wooden grinding mortar and ran away, he was running and she chased after him but he was running so speedy that she was not able to catch him but she would not give up her effort because after she must teach her child proper manners and she must protect him from all dangers. She kept running and Krishna was running and she kept running. Even the greatest Yogis through their Tapasya and their meditation cannot catch Krishna, even the greatest scholars; Gyani’s cannot catch Krishna by their high learning. As Yashoda Mai was running she was perspiring and the flowers on her hair started jumping off, there were two different groups of flowers one was on Yashoda Mai side and one was on Krishna’s side. Those on Yashoda Mai side thinking that Yashoda Mai out of her motherly love wants to catch Krishna but she can’t him may be because of the access weight of us on her head, we are slowing her down so they jumped off her head just to make her lighter and faster. But those flowers that were on Krishna side they were thinking she wants to catch Krishna, she wants to bind up Krishna I am not going to be the part of this conspiracy, so they jumped off. Ultimately Yashoda Mai caught Krishna; Yashoda Mai chastised him she said, oh! Friend of the monkeys, oh! Breaker of pots, oh! Butter thief today I am going to teach you are good lesson and I am going to bind you up. Then she showed Krishna a stick, she was holding Krishna’s hand and she wouldn’t let go; Krishna was trying to get away but it couldn’t get away. Krishna became more and more and more afraid and he admitted he said, mother, mother, mother please don’t hit me with that stick please don’t hit me with that stick. Now mother Yashoda would never touch Krishna with stick, just to teach him a lesson she would raise it and show to him, Krishna said, please put down that stick, please put down the stick. Yashoda Mai said if you don’t to be beaten with the stick then why did you steal butter? Gopal said, I promise I did it, yes I did it, I have done this bad thing but I promise you mother I will never ever, ever again do it again, I will never do it again, mother I will do it again but please put down that stick. So when Yashoda Mai saw that Krishna was trembling of the stick of Yashoda she threw the stick away. Meanwhile Krishna was crying, profuse tears were flowing from his eyes and they were mixing with the black Kajal and making beautiful ornamental strips of black on Krishna lotus like face. His breathing was very quick, his lips were trembling, and in fact all of his limbs were trembling in fear of mother Yashoda.

Teachings of Queen Kunti

Queen Kunti remembered this incident many years later when Krishna was Dwarkadish, the king of Dwarka. He was about to leave Hastinapur back to his own home after coronating Yudishtir Maharaj as the king. Queen Kunti was praying, praying for Krishna to never leave

vipadaù santu täù çaçvat

tatra tatra jagad-guro

Whenever we were in Calamities you are always were there to save us, let those calamities happen again and again and again so we could always remember you because in remembering you we never have to death. Queen Kunti was remembering on that occasion the inconceivable glory of Krishna how he is conquered by the love of his devotee. Krishna although you are feared by fear personified you are afraid of your mother, you are weeping and trembling and heart beating very quickly out of fear of Yashoda. Please understand that Krishna is not just pretending to be like this to put on a nice show for us to speak about at Mahavan, Krishna was actually in that state under the control of the love of his mother that is his supreme opulence, that although he is all mighty he is control by the love of his devotee.

Damodar Lila

So mother Yashoda threw away the stick and she said to Krishna that now I must teach you a good lesson, I have other things to do in the house today I am going to bind you to this wooden grinding mortar and mother Yashoda took this rope which was meant to tie the calf she was going to tie her own calf. How could you bind Krishna because the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and he has no end, the Supreme Personality of Godhead he is inside and outside of everything, there is no external or internal, there is no front or rear, he is all pervading, he is in and out of everything. The Supreme Personality of Godhead keeps everyone within the entire material existences bound by the ropes of the three modes of material nature. So how could Yashoda Mai bind Krishna with her little rope, bind that person who has everyone bound by the ropes of three Gunas but out of her motherly affection she rapped the rope around Krishna’s waist and she found that it was two finger too short, so she tied more rope to that original rope it was two fingers too short, more rope and more rope, she was tying all the rope in her whole house and it was still two fingers too short, why was it happening. Krishna was thinking as his mother was trying to tie him up, he was thinking I cannot be bound by this ropes today I must do my daily duties of stealing butter from the Gopis houses and want to play with my friends therefore I will not allow her. So every time she took rope and tied it to the original group of ropes it was always two fingers too small. This is Krishna’s Vibhuti Shakti he was manifesting his opulence’s and his Satyasaìkalpa Shakti which is the energy that he has that fulfills all of his desires, it was not his desire to be bound by Yashoda. Therefore the Vibhuti Shakti created such a situation that even though she got more and more and more rope and his waist was not growing in any way, it was always two fingers too short. Meanwhile Yashoda Mai and all the Gopis were smiling watching this was absolutely amazing more rope, more rope, what was so amazing about it Yashoda Mai was presenting to her Gopi friends, what is so amazing about it that right now this is over a hundred and fifty feet of rope and my son’s waist is only the size of my fist and I can’t get the rope around it. What even more amazing it however much rope is always exactly two fingers too short. Mother Yashoda was perspiring it was very, very serious labor whatever remaining flower were on her hair was falling and the Gopis finally told Yashoda Mai, can’t you see what’s happening due to the good fortune that is upon Gopal today you will not be able to bind him. Yashoda Mai she would not accept that, they said, just give up you can’t do it you can’t see every rope in your house is tied together just give this attempt. Yashoda Mai with great determination she said, now it is early morning even it takes till evening or night, even if I have to gathered every rope in all of Vrajabhumi I am going to find out the extent of my son’s waist and besides that I must teach him a lesson. Mother Yashoda efforts melted Krishna’s heart. What filled the gap of those two fingers too short, two fingers and what are those fingers? Vishvanath Cakravarti Thakura explains that the one finger is pariçrama, pariçrama means the devotees sincere endeavor, the devotees determination to serve the lord and please the lord.

vyavasäyätmikä buddhir

ekeha kuru-nandana

bahu-çäkhä hy anantäç ca

buddhayo ‘vyavasäyinäm

Krishna says in Gita those who are on this path are resolute and purpose and their aim is one, those who are not, those who’s mind are irresolute their intelligence is many branch. So if we want to make progress in spiritual life we must have determination, we must endeavor with Bhaktinistha with faith in the association of devotees, hearing and chanting the glories of the lord, avoiding offenses, hearing and chanting sincerely we develop faith, faith in the process of bhakti. With that faith no matter what obstacles, no matter what difficulties we will endeavor like mother Yashoda. It seemed impossible to bind Krishna even all of her friends were saying it’s impossible but she did not give up because of her love for Krishna, I need to do this for Krishna. So that is the first requirement, the first finger is the devotees very sincere endeavor and what happens when Krishna sees our endeavor he reciprocate with Krishna Kripa, his mercy. The endeavor of a devotee and the mercy of the lord can make us successful to overcome all obstacles and attain the true goal. By the devotees endeavor and Krishna mercy which is the most super excellent of all of his qualities is his mercy upon his devotees, Krishna is conquered by that combination. Upon seeing mother Yashoda fatigue Krishna showed the whole world that only pure love can bind him. This highest reality that Krishna is bound and controlled by the love of his devotee is the lord most beautiful ornament. Krishna controls the whole universe including Brahma, Shiva Indra all the planets but yet Krishna is under the control of his devotees love. Krishna is ätmäräm which means he is completely self-satisfied but yet he is hungry for the milk of Yashoda. Krishna is Aptakäma which means all of his desires are always fulfilled but Krishna always desires the Prema, the love of his devotees. Krishna is the personification of peace but we find this story Krishna become very angry, Krishna is the master of Laxmi, the goddess of fortune but here we find that he is stealing butter like a beggar, Krishna is death personified, fear personified but yet he is crying and trembling in fear of his mothers stick, Krishna can travel faster than the speed of mind but yet he is caught by mother Yashoda. Krishna is bliss personified but he is crying uncontrollably in sorrow, Krishna is all pervading but he is bound by the rope of Yashoda Devi. Thus Krishna reveals that he is controlled by bhakti and this is not an imitation that is why it is so astonish, Krishna was tied to the grinding mortar by mother Yashoda to teach the highest lesson to the entire world for all time to come.

bhaktyä tv ananyayä çakya

aham evaà-vidho ‘rjuna

It is only by un-divided devotional service that I can be understood as I am. Yashoda Mai went to perform her duties.

Nalakuvera and Manigriva got the mercy of Krishna

Krishna wanted to do another naughty activity so he crawled and little child Krishna who is only time about three years and four months old he was crawling and with the rope to his belly Damodar, the wooden grinding mortar was dragging behind him and he saw two huge Arjuna trees that seems to be reaching to the sky. These trees were thousands and thousands of years old Krishna crawled right between the trees the grinding mortar became stuck and Krishna made one little pull a tumultuous sound as these trees fell to the ground and two Demi-Gods Nalakuvera and Manigriva appeared from these trees, Haribol! Beautiful effulgent personalities they offered prayers to Krishna. The story of Nalakuvera and Manigriva you know these sons of Kuvera that means at a very high birth, son of the treasure of the Demi-Gods. They had beautiful bodies, youth, very intelligent,

janmaiçvarya-çruta-çrébhir

edhamäna-madaù pumän

Queen Kunti said, this four material opulence’s that are great disqualification for spiritual life, high birth, physical beauty, knowledge and wealth, yes wealth Sanyasi’s we forget this thing, wealth. So they were the sons of treasure, they had wealth, they had beautiful Demi-Gods bodies, they were the sons of Kuvera they were very learned in the scriptures and everything. What happens if you have these qualities, tendency is to become proud and when you become proud you cannot have feelings to call out the names of the God? So Narada Muni saw their saw their pride, they were in a lake near Kailash bathing with beautiful ladies showing off so nicely and the ladies got out when they saw Narada Muni and dressed themselves but Nalakuvera did not even respect the saintly person because they were so proud, so Narada Muni out of sympathy for them cursed them, if you like the naked then stand naked as trees. When they realize they were in trouble they beg forgiveness, so Narada Muni his curse was a blessing they were trees here in Gokula Mahavan, we are going to that place in a few minutes, if I ever end this class. Narada Muni put them in a place where they could personally witnessed Krishna’s Lila, they were standing there in a miserable situation thousands and thousands and thousands of years but ultimately they became purified through the process  and got to see Krishna’s pastimes in courtyard of Nanda Maharaj and became completely purified. Knowing that Narada Muni has bestowed his mercy upon these two Krishna delivered them, whenever devotee is favorable upon someone Krishna gives special mercy to that person and like Nalakuvera and Manigriva we may not recognize the fruits of that mercy for sometime but we must have faith. So they surrendered to Krishna in pure devotion and Krishna sent them back to their abode. Meanwhile the Gopas and the Gopis came running they see Krishna right in between this massive tree, each one is inches away from his body. Nanda Maharaj picked up Krishna, beautiful site.

Brijväsés moved to Govardhan hill along with Krishna and Balaram

After this it is explained Upananda and the cowherd men met together where they would love to discuss the topics of Krishna, love to discuss the topics of Krishna, constantly talking about the topics of Krishna. But Upananda was saying that this is the dangerous place this Gokula Mahavan for the past three years since we lived Putana, Sakatasura, Trinavarta, now these big trees are falling, I think we should move to another place where Krishna and Balaram would be more happy and protected. Just across the river Yamuna is the forest of Vrindavan where there is Govardhan hill and beautiful, beautiful forest trees and rich pastures for our cows. Thus so loving offering to Krishna and Balaram, the Brijväsés departed from Mahavan to cross Yamuna to the forest of Vrindavan, these are just a few particles one drop from the unlimited ocean of wonderful historical pastimes that Krishna performs here in Mahavan, yes this is the place of his Bal Lila, his Kumara Lila. How we have come here is inconceivable, sitting on the dust of the cowherd pastures of Mahavan let us bow our heads, offer our thanks to Srila Prabhupada and pray that by his mercy and the mercy of his devotees that we could genuinely become deeply attached to hearing Krishna’s names, his teachings, his pastimes and his glories, that can be truly absorb in Krishna Consciousness, absorb in hearing and chanting, absorb in offer our love and service because to the degree we become absorb in Krishna we become free from shackles of illusions, let this be our prayer. Satyavrata Muni in his Damodarastakam he has prayed I do not want liberation, mystic powers or even elevation to Vaikuntha, my only prayer is let the childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna be forever enacted in my mind no other benediction is of any use to me, let offer this prayer, on this holy day of the Damodar Lila.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu love for Sanatan Goswami

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu told you could go to Vrindavan but only stay for a short time and stay always in the association of Srila Sanatan Goswami. Prabhupada explains very strongly that if we remain in Vrindavan for long time especially without very advance association then we will take Dham to be ordinary, you will take the Brijväsés to be ordinary and you will make offenses and instead of making progress by staying in the Dham you will actually disturb the spiritual progress. So it is recommended unless one is very, very advance one should only come to Vrindavan for a short time and always stay in the association of very sincere and advance devotees, unless we have a very specific service to our guru Maharaj in Holy Dham then in that association even then with great caution we can make great spiritual advancement.

Lord Chaitanya told this to Jagadananda Pandit, what is our position, so Jagadananda Pandit came and he was staying here in Mahavan with Sanatan Goswami. He would everyday go out and do some begging, Madhukari and bring back and share with Sanatan Goswami, in fact he would even cooked for Sanatan Goswami do Seva. So one day when he was just finishing his cooking Sanatan Goswami came into the room and he had a turban on and Jagadananda oh! It was a saffron turban he thought he is wearing Mahaprabhu’s Turbans, he is wearing Mahaprabhu’s cloth on his head, he was thinking it was thinking it was Mahaprabhu’s Kaupin and he is wearing on it head oh! So he wanted hear the glories of Lord Chaitanya he said, oh Sanatan who gave you this turban and Sanatan Goswami said Mukundananda Sarasvaté. Jagadananda Pandit got so angry he picked up a pot and attack Sanatan, how dare you put on somebody else beside Lord Chaitanya remnants on your body and Sanatan Goswami became very humble and his heart melted to see the faithfulness and the love that Jagadananda had for Lord Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sanatan Goswami in his humility prayed that I wish I would have that type of intensity of love for Lord Chaitanya as you. When he said this Jagadananda Pandit very ashamed, embarrassed, should I continue, Haribol, I am going to do it anyway. Previously Jagadananda Pandit told Sanatan Goswami that you should go to Vrindavan because Sanatan Goswami had all these itchy horrible pussy bloody sore on his body and every day Lord Chaitanya would come to embrace him and Sanatan Goswami said to Jagadananda Pandit, he said I have come here for my purification but I am becoming ruined, I am making offense, every day Lord Chaitanya embraces me I can’t stop him and puss and blood and smelly substances just go on his body I making too many offenses, what should I do? The Lord already said, he wanted you to go to Vrindavan so just go now. So the next time Lord Chaitanya came to Sanatan Goswami and Sanatan Goswami tried to run and Lord Chaitanya, you can’t run away from the Lord he embraced him and the blood and puss was on his body. Jagadananda said, why do you keep doing this? Jagadananda Pandit gave me good information he told me that I should go to Vrindavan, Lord Chaitanya was not happy, he said who this Jaga, this impudent neophyte instructing you, you are fit to be my Guru and he is instructing you this impudent. Besides that the puss and blood that smears on my body because of my love for you its smells to me like a mixture of Sandal wood, Saffron, musk and aguru. Then Lord Chaitanya went to embrace him again and then his entire disease disappeared and became Golden, healthy and beautiful. Haridas Thakur said, this is your pastime my Lord you are the one who him the diseased, you are the one who kept him in that diseased condition and now you have cured him just to glorify your devotee. So the place where Sanatan Goswami’s heart and melted and he praised Jagadananda Pandit that I wish I would I had such love for Lord Chaitanya as you do, Jagadananda Pandit became very embarrassed, he said no, no you are my guru but still you shouldn’t wear somebody else’s turban, so this Lila and so many others. I told this story yesterday how Sanatan Goswami was living here in Mahavan and just over there is bank of Yamuna, he used to see beautiful boy playing with the other neighboring children. One day this little boy just enchant his heart the whole day he just watch this little child playing with all the little kids of the neighborhood and in the end of the day the boy was going home and he wanted to see where the boy live, the boy went right into the Madan Mohan’s temple which used to be here and Sanatan followed him and there was no one in the temple except the deity, for the pleasure of Sanatan Goswami Madan Mohan used to play like a little cowherd boy in the forest of Mahavan, thank you Srila Prabhupada to bringing us here. So now you can make your line to the temple and see the beautiful deities of mother Yashoda, Nanda Maharaj Krishna and Balaram, you could even swing Krishna may be and from there we will go to the place of the Damodar Lila and from there we will go to from Krishna and Balaram’s birth place we will go to Srimati Radharani’s birth place in Raval and then we will go back to Krishna Balaram temple for Damodarastakam.

Thank you very much!

Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

Jai, Jai Shri Radhe Shyam!