Venue: Guayana , Guayana katha, dated: 2006, June 30

Hare Krishna……………… Jai Shri Krishna…………….Jai Shri Radhe………………..Jai Shri Vrindavan.  By causeless mercy of the Lord, we have this good fortune great fortune of coming together every evening, some of us were also getting together during the day time around noon time and then again evening this is Krishna’s kindness to all of us. We would not know, but punya karma what pious deeds we have performed to have this rare gift, rare opportunity to associate with Shri Krishna in the form of His name Krishna appears in form of His name and in Bhagvat He appears also in the form of katha , in the form of His past times. We are able to associate with the Lord through these manifestations of his name, His qualities, and His past times.

“brahmanda bhramete kaun bhagyavan jiva”. The Shastras say that, we had been wondering all over the universe “brahmanda bhramete kaun bhagyavan jiva”. Then Krishna makes some of those jivas, some of those souls very fortunate by bringing them in contact with the devotees and as they come in contact with the devotees naturally those devotees tries to attract those jivas to Krishna.

“guru Krishna prasade pai bhaktilata beja” Krishna prasade pai, then finally we get that beja that seed within us of Krishna of Krishna Consciousness. Krishna enters our heart, our consciousness and if we keep watering that seed then that will sprout, that will grow into seedlings and a plant, and a tree and eventually there will be fruits of Love of Godhead, Krishna prema that we could relish. So these are our beginning days but good beginning its kind of work done. We just have to stay on this path; we have been put on right path by Lord Shri Krishna by giving this opportunity of hearing his katha, directly from Bhagvatam. We would like you to carry this katha with you read this katha which is Krishna himself look after this katha, these pastimes; this is Krishna read and preserve this Katha.

“Krishna se tomara krsna dite paro, tomara sakati ache” The devotees of gaudiya sampradhya, gaudiya parampara, gaudiya line starting from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we have this mood. O! Devotee O! Vaishnava, you have Krishna and I know you are competent to give that Krishna to me “Krishna se tomara krsna dite paro, tomara sakati ache” that is why I am running after you.

“ami to kangala krsna krsna boli dhai tava pache pache” That is why I am chanting Krishna Krishna running after you begging you to this poor soul you please deliver Krishna, please give Krishna you enrich me also with Krishna.

“ohe! Vaishnaba thakura doyare sagara edase koruna kori” O! Vaisnava, O! Devotee, please have mercy upon this fallen soul, please give Krishna to me have mercy upon me. So This is the mood of devotee, one devotee gives Krishna to other devotee as he talks about Krishna he is giving Krishna as he sings about Krishna, he is giving Krishna, as he is gives prasadam to others, he is giving Krishna, as he brings him to Vrindavan he is giving Krishna, as he is giving Bhagvat –gita, Bhagvatam to read he is giving them Krishna. Krishna in all these forms giving Krishna, giving Ram, giving Parshuram, giving Narsimha , Krishna Tatvas. So Bhagvatam is merciful incarnation of the Lord and we had been serving this Avatar, Vangamai Murti in the form of Bhagvatam by reciting this Bhagvatam, by hearing this Bhagvatam, and by contemplating reflecting upon this Bhagvatam. And this is not an ordinary thing, a rare gift, there is lot more, we are just giving introduction, there is a whole ocean, full of knowledge and nectar, past times, Krishna is Ananta.

“yasantam navidhu sura suraganaha devaya tasmai namah” yasantam navidhu His anta, His end no one knows, He is just unending, Krishna is unending , unlimited ocean, all that doesn’t mean He has no form, He has form. He has ocean full of talks, topics related with Him. So we are just sharing few topics, just sampling, wishing that you develop attraction to hear about Krishna, develop attachment to Krishna read about Krishna our eternal friend. So yesterday we were in middle of that pastime of Brahma Vimohan Lila towards end of yesterday’s session.

So Krishna was in Vrindavan of course He is always in Vrindavan and He was there on the bank of river Yamuna and He was sitting there for lunch surrounded by His cowherd boyfriends and soon some of the boys noticed, where are the cows they were just now here eating green grass. But they are not in the sight anymore.  So different cowherd boys where getting up and trying to locate the cows where are the cows? Where are they?  And they are trying to locate them find them, where are they? They were getting into anxiety and Krishna could see that and some of them were getting ready to stop the lunch and go to find out the cows. But Lord Krishna He said no no my friends please you all sit down, I will go and get them why disturb your lunch you enjoy lunch prasad I will find them and He goes looking for those cows.

He goes looking everywhere in the all different forest and top of mountain, Govardhan hill and the   valley here there, everywhere and they were no where to be found, disappointed as He was Lord Shri Krishna was failure in His mission. He was only returning to the same spot, where his friends were sitting and eating Krishna prasad. But as He returned to that same spot, further surprised. Aye! I didn’t find the cows and now where are my friends. And now He was looking for His friends, He was searching for them everywhere. No clues, no trace He was looking for their footprint this that, any indication He did not find them and after He was thinking what could have possibly happened to my friends? and also to those cows? And He came to conclusion, yes yes that this must be the job of Brahma.

Brahma had stolen my friends the cows also so by this time it was late in afternoon it was time to go back home, every day, every day in the evening, He would return to Vrindavan to Nandagram with hundreds and thousands of cows and His friends, Krishna playing flute good fun all the way on the back home back, back to different villages, His village Krishna’s village His friends accompanying.  But today He was thinking, oh! Today I am just by myself what to do? How could go alone? And what could I say to the thousands of parents of my friends? And what about those cows in cows sheds? May be something could be explained to the families, but what about the cows? If they did not see their calf, what could they think? How could they survive? So what to do? And off course it is not you or me, He is the Supreme Personality He came to conclusion and yes I know I know what to do and immediately He expanded and in matter no time there were as many cow herd boys as many He had that day coming with Him herding the cows. And not only friends He also had the cows same number, exact number and not just the numbers but they were just exact same replica, their forms each calf the way did their mooing each calf does it differently right. Not that each calf was sounding the same no, He became the cows hundreds and thousands, He became friends 100’s and 1000’s of friends each one as they were before.

Their looks everything their clothing, their stick the same length of sticks, same kinds of habits, same kind of likes and dislikes. Ok now everything was set no problem now they leave for homes on the way Krishna is playing His flute as usual and everyone else is playing different, different roles. But who are they today? Who is the each cowherd boy today? Who is He? Any idea, who were those boys? Krishna ya you could close your eyes and say, so all Krishna each cowherd boy was Krishna but playing role of different different cowherd boys and same thing with calf each calf was Krishna. They were all returning to their respective homes and they were, upon arriving in the village the cows are going to the different goshalas, going to their respective mothers and all the cowherd boys they also returned to their respective homes.

Cows are meeting the calves, mothers’ cows are greeting the baby calf and parents are doing greeting their children at their respective homes. But today all those cows in all those goshalas in the Vrindavan they have different feelings they are licking the bodies of their calf as the calf is drinking the milk from udders of the cows. And the mothers in their respective homes were also greeting children, bathing them, dressing new dress, feeding them food, breast milk and all those cows, and all those mothers have a great time today everyone is so blissful they never had experience anything like this before and they do not know why what is happening today.

What is a special event, occasion, what was special was they did not know they were not their own children “that was Krishna” those cows were Krishna. Well what did Brahma do was, He did in fact a favor to all the resident of Vrindavan and to the cows also may be Krishna was disappointed for a while thinking O! This is the job of Brahma that fool, I will teach him a lesson. But all this years all those cows were thinking, O! You know when Krishna is hungry He always drinks His cows, His mother’s milk directly, but you know, could He ever drink our milk like our calf drinks, could Krishna ever do that to us. O! I wish cows think I wish Krishna was my calf O! That would be wonderful could I have Krishna as my calf could He drink the milk directly from my udder from me, you know that day what happened that’s another story.

When mother Yashoda that on diwali day Radha Damodhar past time, Krishna was tied to the mortar as Yashoda was feeding Krishna her breast milk, there is a milk on the stove in the kitchen, he thought well that its end of me, Krishna is just feeling up His belly with His mother’s milk, what about me? He is not going to drink me. The milk in the pot on the stove in the kitchen, thinking O! He is not going to drink me, O! what good is my life I better finish my existence thinking so the milk overflows and jumps in the fire of that stove and because mother Yashoda heard. OH! I forgot I had put milk on the stove and its overflowing. So she dropped Krishna on the floor and she ran to the kitchen to protect that milk to save that milk but the milk was ready to give up its life (laughs). So in Vrindavan even milk is a person and wants to serve Krishna and than what to speak of those cows and their milk which they possess.

So sometimes cows thinking He is drinking His mother’s milk or our milk is first so milk man comes that  is boiled , and sometimes He drinks or sometimes He don’t drink but it is possible sometimes could He directly drink our milk, would we have this opportunity. So cows had been thinking like this, so their desire was fulfilled, today although the cows were not realizing, What was going on there?The same thing was their mothers all the elderly Gopi’s of the Vrindavan. They were thinking oh! Such beautiful, wonderful, sweet, darling this Krishna is! Nanda Nandan Yashodha nandan O! Could I ever have a child like Krishna? But there is no one else is like Krishna, so Krishna had to become their child and today He was the child of all those mothers all over of Vrindavan and He was in their lap and drinking their milk and well the next day. All the cowherd boys they come in the morning to Krishna’s doors knocking at the door. Aye! Let’s go lets go, blowing their buffalos horns, they play buffalo horns the cows had come and then Krishna Balarama they got ready and they went into the forest and they had fun all the day and they returned and again next evening cows have great time, greater time than day before and mothers have greater time with their children and the next day they go into the forest and they return and the third day and the fourth day and the first month and six months past and almost one year has passed. And everyday all this time all the children cowherd boys and their Krishna and all the cows of Krishna and everyday those mothers and those cows are experiencing greater and greater bliss, happiness, joy they are becoming more and more Krishna conscious .

And they had a Bhagvatam, Sukhdev Goswami describe that you know before this particular period these mothers, ladies and their children they always had this thought that oh! This is my son and that one is my neighbor’s son, this is their son, his son, my son, oh! This is Krishna so three identity they were thinking, this is my son this one is somebody else son and this is Krishna but as during this almost 1 year period and as lot of time with passing of every day there was no more distinction, they were not able to make any distinction oh! Here is my son, here is Krishna and here is someone else’s son.

They had a thought that it’s the same person, their son and someone else son and mother Yashoda’s son there is no difference. So they were evolving with this realization its just same person although there were not talking, sharing this but they all were wondering, this thought was diminishing my child, someone’s else child, this is Krishna there was no more distinction. So like this, one year went by and Brahma who had gone taken away Krishna’s friends and cows and hide them in a cave at long distance away in his abode then he return and for him it was just matter of one moment, Brahma quickly went and returned and that was one year on this planet.

So Brahma wanted to come back and see the fun Oh! Let me see He must be by himself may be whole advertisement is going, we lost the boys, we lost cows in the newspaper, in television everywhere. In America if cat is lost they write something and they hang somewhere cat lost and they have photograph of the cat and whole thing goes on, in the newspaper that cat is lost, dog is lost. So Brahma was thinking probably lost and found the whole thing must be going on and they all must be in great stress, Krishnas all job finished He must have closed his shop by now.

This was Brahma was thinking as he was returning towards Vrindavan and as finally he was in Vrindavan, What did he see? Everything was intact as it was before, no change, zero change, nothing had altered as he had stolen all the friends and all the calves and he was surprised to see looking everybody’s there, Krishna is there, look all those boys, friends are there they are playing having great time, look at the cows and they are there grazing and they are heal and hearty no one is in anxiety, no one is bewildered , no one is lost nothing. And then Krishna knew ok! Brahmaji I know you are, I know you are looking and looking at my show here. You have taken a close look at our Lila here and as I have have your attention now please carefully. And the next scene was that each of those cowherd boys and each of the calf; they all become forehanded, forehanded Vishnu’s form, Krishna’s form. Hundreds and thousands each person is forehanded, crowns, Pitambhar, “ Kanti kaustubha mani virajita” and all beautiful features whole thing was just effulgent like a brilliant as billions of suns dazling and Brahma also noticed that whole creation is worshipping, each one of those forms is being worshipped, that was second scene. And as Brahma was further amazed and bewildered, the third scene was there was only Krishna, everyone else disappeared, Krishna withdrew all those forms, there was just only one person Krishna and in his hand there was a Yogurt and rice still wet fresh and He was holding some pickle and other things in his left hands, as per description of Sukhdev Goswami . And He was looking hey! What happened to my cows? Where are the friends? And He is searching, looking for them and Brahma is watching that one also. So at this point, bewildered and surprised and amazed and now realizing the blunter the offence that he committed by interrupting Lord’s past times in a way he interrupted and at the same time nothing was interrupted and he could see each cowherd boy was Lord himself.

That was a second scene each calf was Krishna himself and by now He was by himself there was no-one else just one person looking at this point Brahma descends, he rides on a swan he came down. He fell flat at the feet of the Lord touching his crowns, all the hairs with the crown, touching the feet of the Lord, he was in tears, as if he was washing the lotus feet of the Lord with his own tears and trembling, and shaking begging to the Lord for the great offence that he had committed at the feet of the Lord.  Then he managed to stand before the Lord with folded hands and he offered prayers to glorify the Lord pacify the Lord, wonderful prayers as we have heard the prayers of Kunti, there is another set of prayers in Bhagavatam of Lord Brahma 14^th chapter of the 10th canto of the Bhagavatam, please study this prayers. Then towards the end of prayers Brahma circumambulated the Lord offered obeisance to the Lord and he departed and he quickly managed to this time he did not get another year to go and come back.

So Krishna was now He was in the mood of looking for his friends. So now the cows were found and He was returning to were his friends were taking lunch Prasad and all the boys how were seating in the same place after one year they were now sitting back at the same spot, where they had sat one year ago and as they saw Krishna coming all the boys say oh! You are so fast we haven’t even finished our lunch, you came back quickly, how fast you are how smart you are Krishna? They did not realize all they had transpired. They were not there from one year; they were backed into those position after one year .But they were thinking hey! He has come back we haven’t finished our lunch. So whatever Krishna returned and He joined them, in their lunch Program and it was late afternoon towards evening time so they all returned and when they returned that evening there were all the cowherd boys, they were getting their parents hey…. Daddy sit down, come here, come here, no no I am busy no no come here you know what today what happened? Oh! What happened ok I will sit down and each cowherd boy in each home they were talking, they use to do this all the time it is everyday affair. Whatever experiences they used to have with Krishna all day in the evening that will become talk of the town just like a radio station,  good evening news, communication would reach far and wide, all Krishna’s daily pastimes communicated.

By those correspondents by their 1st hand experience, they would share these wonderful activities and that day they said you know today that serpent that Aghasura we thought he was just a statue or some kind of cave so we entered, and they explained the whole thing. But you know finally Krishna killed that demon and that’s why we were able to come back home alive. You know Krishna is such a powerful, wonderful person friend, they are glorifying, appreciating Krishna like this.

So, Sukhdev Goswami was not going to talk about this pastime this Brahma Vimohan lila, what he had mentioned to King Parikshit was in the past time that took place, when the cowherd boys were of age of 5 years old, that past time was related to all the residents of Vrindavan when the cowherd boys were six years old. He made this mention to king Parikshit and he was kind of was going to go on with the next pastime and the king Parikshit he become very curious O! what did you say for 1 year no one knew about this killing of Aghasura how is it, so what happened? Why did those cowherd boys, normally they would tell that same evening. But why did they wait for 1 year to relate this pastime with their parents and then Sukhdev Goswami deeply thought of this pastime, this confidential past time and then related, narrated that to king Parikshit. So these are some of the highlight of that pastime, please read this, hear this, discuss this further amongst yourselves this past time of Krishna. Isn’t that sweet past time? No, so so, think and then respond, it’s sweet or not sweet? very sweet, someone says very sweet, the sweeter it gets as you here next time it becomes sweeter and sweeter and it’s not only Krishna’s pastimes are sweet there is a song that says lot of things are sweet about the Lord, there are hundreds of things unlimited things or everything infact is sweet. The things in relationship with Krishna are very very sweet so we will sing this it is called madhurashtakam “madhuradhi pater akhilam madhuram”(bhajan)

“madhuradhi pater akhilam madhuram” Everything is sweet madhuradhi pater first of all Shri Krishna is pati , the master, the boss of madhurta, sweetness, everything about Him is sweet, adharam madhuram His lips are sweet, His heart is sweet, His talk is sweet, His walk sweet, His stick is sweet, His flute is sweet , dust of His lotus feet is sweet, His feet are sweet, His friendship is sweet,as He sings that is sweets, as He talks that is sweet, His form is sweet, His tilak is sweet like that goes on and on and on……..  And think this is the complete list but this is just to give an idea of sweetness of Krishna. The part which you should try to sing is, this chorus “madhuradhi pater akhilam madhuram” (by Shri Vallabhacharya) says everybody “madhuradhi pater akhilam madhuram”

HARE KRISHNA…………………………….