Two Ways Krishna Reminds His Parents Of A Higher Power

“When she saw that her dear baby Krishna was playing on the chest of the dead demonic woman, Mother Yashoda, at a loss what to do, began to walk this way and that. This is an instance of being emotional on account of seeing something ghastly.” (The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 29)

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Life changes for a first-time parent; an understatement, to say the least. What was previously important is no longer so. Now it doesn’t matter so much what others think about the President, the weather, the plight of the local sports team, or the fate of the company providing employment.

The relationship with the spouse changes, as well. There has to be a new allocation of time and attention. Nevertheless, the new way of life is totally worth it. The child makes it so. As if knowing exactly what is needed when, nature arranged it so that when the individual requires the most attention and care they give the most endearing visual, one of total innocence.

Imagine, then, if the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in your home as your child. The catch is that you are not aware. There is something special about the little one, for sure, but you don’t know exactly what. This was the case for mother Yashoda, and one effect of having Krishna in the home was that a higher power was automatically remembered.

1. His all-attractiveness

One meaning for the name Krishna is “all-attractive.” The qualifier is significant. There is not one aspect of Krishna that is lacking attractiveness. As He is God, one could make the argument that the dirty things in life invalidate the name. Death, tragedy, horror, lack of cleanliness - how are these things attractive?

In fact, they are merely the backside of spiritual life. Like the reverse end to the upper portion, the shadow to the light, the negative aspects of life are just as attractive when viewing from the purest angle of vision. This is because the negative allows the positive to shine further, and the negative also serves to show which direction to avoid in life. As the fire burning the hand coming in contact is essentially a positive reaction, used as a deterrent for the future, the life in illusion is meant to bring a person towards the Divine light that is devotional service.

Krishna’s attractiveness in the childhood form was beyond belief. A person seeing Him would naturally wonder how someone like that could appear in the world. The creator is the first person thought of, as the wise people in Vrindavana did not think that anything occurred randomly. They didn’t attribute the amazing nature and its intelligence to a thoughtless collision of chemicals. They knew the creator, Lord Brahma, to be the guiding force behind the different species.

And yet Krishna was beyond the range of even the most artistic person. It was like He was above Brahma. Yashoda did not know this for sure, but seeing her boy every day reminded her of the grace of God and how He was giving His mercy to her.

2. His surviving attacks from wicked characters

Imagine this situation. You leave your sleeping infant in the bedroom, laying in the middle of the bed, with some blankets covering. The door is open and you go to the nearby kitchen to prepare lunch. Suddenly, you hear a loud sound. Your mind immediately thinks of the worst. The child is so young that they can’t move more than a few inches. Something else must have happened. Hopefully the child is exactly where you left them.

With mother Yashoda, the sound was tremendously loud. That’s what happens when an object much larger than a tree falls straight to the ground. This object was the real form, rupa, of the witch named Putana. She had moments prior entered Gokula in a beautiful female form. Enchanting everyone, she was able to pick up baby Krishna in order to nurse Him. Her intention was to kill Him, however, by applying poison to her breast.

She was also fooled by the visual, as that seemingly innocent child was about to be her death. The poison had no effect, and the boy soon started sucking the very life out of her. Moments prior to the end, Putana expanded in size to reveal her true, hideous form. This is what fell to the ground, calling to attention everyone in the community.

Yashoda saw the dead body of the witch, and surprisingly on top was Krishna, crawling about as if nothing had happened. How was this possible? How could such a young child survive? It must be the grace of Narayana, the Supreme Lord. Yashoda was very thankful and continued to pray to the same God for the wellbeing of her son. In whatever way the Almighty comes into your home, even if as an infant, He ensures your consciousness of Him only increases.

In Closing:

Child’s safety a relief,

How survived beyond belief?

Since Putana of magical spell,

To ground her hideous form fell.

Krishna on top crawling without fear,

Thanking God, bringing to her near.

Supreme Lord reminding mother in this way,

He the reward for to Vishnu to pray.