A brief story of Krishna from the Mahabharata
One day there was a party of the Yadava lords
Prominent among whom were Krishna, Balram, Satyaki, Akrur and some others; they were returning from a hunting trip. By the roadside, they smelt the stomach churning smell of decay, emanating from a half rotten carcass of a dog.
“What a foul smell”- said Akrur. “These lousy city cleaners are no good, this carcass should had been removed already!
Yes, those irresponsible lazy idiots should be punished for this for the lack of sense of duty” proclaimed a fuming Balarama. “Can you see how faggots are oozing out of those decaying body parts” remarked Kritvarma. Krishna gazed at the carcass and smiled that famous beatific smile of his.
“What is so amusing about this rotting decaying thing, Kanha?” (Kanha is Krishna) asked Balrama a bit annoyingly.”
‘Look brother, what shiny teeth this dog had!’ Krishna replied. Yadava elites looked at each other be musingly.
“He is not reckoned a great man for nought, they said to each other.
“He’ll always find something beautiful about everything.
Krishna you are indeed God incarnate” mused Satyaki.
Here the deeper meaning of this story could be that: On every closed door, there is always an opening, or something new to find. Or on the other side of something bad or ugly – we always can find something good or nice, if we open our eyes.
2. Another brief story about Krishna
Krishna is not a thief
There was a teacher from Amrita Vicyalayam who was talking about a boy that was mischievous in kindergarten. The boy had a bad habit of stealing significant objects in the classroom.
First the teacher tried to lovingly tell him that it was wrong.
But the boy didn’t take her serious. So she had to be strict with him.
(the wife of Pandavas).
During Sri Krishna’s birthday celebrations the students narrated different stories about Krishna. This particular boy stood up and asked his teacher, “If it was alright for Krishna to steal, why shouldn’t I?”
Another child supported him saying, “That was why Krishna was born in prison.” The teacher was shocked to hear this.
She prayed fervently to Amma, the Holy lady from India, and felt strongly that Amma answered her from within. She replied, “Actually, the Gopis prayed to Krishna daily to visit their homes and steal their butter. Answering their prayers, Krishna came and stole their butter.”
The teacher was amazed to read such a detailed response from Amma (about this particular Leela of Sri Krishna) in the next issue of Matruvani. She thanked Amma for providing the answer to her. Amma said: ‘Shri Krishna is not a thief.’
‘Just as the Sun doesn’t need the light from a candle flame, Sri Krishna never needed anything from anyone.’
So said Amma, and she said: ‘Some of his childhood friends were poor. As Krishna and his friends went out to play, the friends complained that they were hungry. So Krishna visited the houses of different Gopis, took the butter and offered it to his friends . He didn’t do it for his own sake. ‘
Secondly, the family members of the Gopis were not fond of Krishna. They thought that Krishna was a mere cowherd boy. But the Gopis had deep devotion for Krishna. They longed to offer butter to Krishna, but were forbidden by their family members.
Even while churning the butter, the Gopis prayed to Krishna to accept the butter as their token of love. They stored some butter in pots and left to sell other milk products such as buttermilk, butter and cheese. By stealing the butter, not only did Krishna answer their prayers, but also stole their hearts.
That is why krishna is known as chitta chora, in other words: Krishna is the stealer of hearts. He is the heart stealer. Everybody loved Krishna and when the Gopis went out for business they thought constantly, ‘Will Krishna visit my house today?
Will he grabs his share of butter?’ All the time the Gopis were thinking of their devine friend and were feeling good about him. So Krishna responded to his friends by being with them most of the time and by helping them stealing the butter.
That ’s the way of Krishna, the most smart and beloved One !
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Dorien Jansen
