THE BLESSINGS OF HEARING KRISHNA’S PASTIMES
Krishna’s name and Krishna’s pastimes are not mundane
things of this mortal world; they are transcendental. Hearing
Krishna’s pastimes is not an ordinary activity; it is also
transcendental. There is a vast difference between the mortal
world and the transcendental world. When we glorify
Krishna’s qualities and pastimes, or chant His holy names, the
transcendental sound vibration is extremely auspicious.
Even if one is covered with ignorance, and his heart is full
of unwanted material thoughts and desires, still, if he has a
little honour — just a very little — these transcendental
vibrations will come through his ears to his heart. These are
not words in the common sense; Krishna Himself comes in
these transcendental sound vibrations. how? His
transcendental world comes into the heart of any person who
has a slight fraction of faith (Sraddha).
THE GLORIOUS FRUIT-SELLER
ATTRACTED BY NANDA-NANDANA
At the same time as Sri Krishna was performing His pastimes
in Vrndavana, there was a lady in the nearby city of Mathura
who used to sell very, very sweet fruits. She would go to the
country villages where small children lived, and she would
walk through the narrow lanes calling out, “Mangos! Oranges!
Bananas! Guava!“ She had such lovely, ripe fruits, that many
children would run to her, and ask for them in a beautiful
way. They would all collect around her, and watch her with
greedy eyes, saying, “Mother, mother! I want to take that
fruit.“ She was very popular with the children.
One day, this fruit-seller lady heard the name Nandanandana,
which means ‘the son of Nanda’, and she became
very much attracted. Someone told her, “Yasoda has given
birth to a very lovely boy, and His name is Krishna. He is so
beautiful and so attractive, that anyone who goes to Gokula
and sees Him just once cannot return his mind to his
business. If he does return, it is without his mind and without
his heart.“ When the fruit-seller heard this, she wanted to see
that boy.
CALLING OUT TO KRISHNA
One day she took a basket full of fruits, and with some
difficulty crossed the river Yamuna in a makeshift boat made
of branches and banana trees. Then she set off for Gokula,
which was only seven miles from where she had crossed the
Yamuna.
(When we first came to Gurudeva, we used to walk there
on foot. Now, they have invented taxis, cars and so many
things, that hinder us from going there.)
The fruit seller went to Gokula, and she began calling out
to attract people to buy her fruits. She wanted to call out,
“fruit! Bananas! Mangos! Oranges! Guava!“ but she was just
thinking of Krishna, so instead she called out,
Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda, Damodara, Madhaveti
She began to cry out more loudly, “Govinda! Damodara!
Madhava!“ as she walked along with her basket on her head.
(Indian ladies can carry baskets on their heads without
touching them with their hands. They can carry two, three, or
even four pots of water on top of each other on their heads
without holding them. Vraja gopis are expert in this. Even
today, you can see them doing it in Vrndavana.)
The fruit-seller went on calling like this, and her heart was
crying, “Krishna! Govinda! Damodara!“ The whole of that
day, she made the rounds in Nandagrama, where Krishna
lived with His parents, but Krishna did not come. She
returned the next day, and the next, but she still did not see
Him.
THE FRUIT-SELLER’S VOW
After the third day, she vowed, “If Krishna does not allow
me to see Him today, I will not return. I will just give up my
life.“ With this conviction, she was so absorbed in singing,
“Govinda! Damodara! Madhava!“ that Krishna could not
check Himself when he heard her calling. He was sitting in
Mother Yasoda’s lap, but He quickly jumped up to go to the
fruit-seller. Krishna had seen adults bartering, and He knew
that the fruit-seller would give Him some fruit, if He gave
Her something in return. On the way out, He saw a sack of
grains, and He picked some up in his little hands, and ran into
the courtyard. “Oh, I want some fruits, I want some! Give
Me fruits!“
This fruit-seller was from a lower caste, so she was waiting
outside the gate; she could not come into Mother Yasoda’s
house, or even into the courtyard. Although Krishna had
tried to bring some grains for bartering, His little hands
would not hold many, and most of the grains that He had
picked up fell to the ground as He ran out. There were only a
very few grains left, but Krishna did not notice this; He
thought that His hands were so full of grains that the fruitseller
would give Him plenty of fruit.
THE SUPREME LAPFUL
When the fruit-seller saw Krishna, she became completely
absorbed in the wonderful sight. She just sat looking and
looking at Him. In a moment, she had given her heart to
Krishna.
“Give Me fruits! Give Me fruits!“ Krishna told her.
“What will You give me in return?“
“I’ve brought lots of grains with Me.“
The fruit-seller smiled and said, “Oh boy, there are no
grains in Your hands.“
Krishna looked at His hands, and was surprised to see
that all the grains were gone. He still wanted the fruits,
though.
The fruit-seller looked at Krishna’s face, and said, “If you
call me ‘Mother’ and sit in my lap, I will give You all the fruits
You want.“
Krishna looked up and down, this way and that, to see if
anyone was watching. He is very affectionate to all His
devotees, and is not even slightly concerned what caste or
class they are born in. Still, He was playing the part of the son
of the Icing of Vraja. “I don’t know what will happen if My
mother or anyone in Vraja sees Me sitting in the lap of this
lady,“ He thought. “And what would My friends say if they
found out that I had called Her ‘Mother’?“ That’s why He
was looking here and there, to see if anyone was watching.
When He saw that no one else was around, He quickly
jumped into the lady’s lap and said, “Mother!“ Then just as
quickly, He jumped out of her lap and demanded, “Now, you
should give He some fruits.“
The fruit-seller lady was delighted, for Krishna had
fulfilled all of her desires. She wanted to give Him everything
— all of her fruits — but His hands were so small that He
could only take two mangos and a banana. He held the fruits
against His chest with both hands, and went off dancing, as
small boys do.
Krishna went to his mother and put all the fruits in her
veil. She began to distribute them to her friends, and she
became so happy, for they provided an endless and
inexhaustible supply. She gave fruits to all the gopis. and when
everyone had received fruits, there were still fruits left.
And what happened to that fruit seller? When Krishna sat
in her lap and called her. ‘Mother!’ she was overcome with
transcendental sentiments and emotions. She had given her
whole heart and mind to Krishna.
She didn’t move for a long time, but sat there outside the
gate, motionless in disbelief. When anyone came and asked.
“Why are you just sitting here?“ she did not reply; she
couldn’t.
A BASKET OF JEWELS
Eventually, towards evening-time, the fruit-seller took her
basket on her head, and started for home. When she came to
the banks of the Yamuna River, she thought, “My basket is
very heavy. What is in it?“
When she put the basket down and looked into it, she was
amazed at what she saw. The basket was full of countless
wonderful jewels, each one equal in value to the whole of
King Kamsa’s treasury.
The fruit-seller was completely fixed in her determination.
Standing on the bank of the Yamuna, she cried out, “What is
the use of all these jewels?“ Then she threw them all into the
Yamuna, and with her hands above her head, she began to
sing like a mad woman,
Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti
She had no veil — it had come off. She collapsed, and fell
on the earth, weeping. She had no sense — only the sense
that Krishna was there. Tears were pouring from her eyes,
and her heart was melting.
No one knew where she went after that, for she never
returned to her house. Where had she gone? Can anyone tell?
Krishna knew her heart completely, and He thought. “Oh,
she would like to be My mother!“ He gave her a very
beautiful spiritual body, and quickly took her to His supreme
abode, Goloka Vrndavana, where she could be like His
mother eternally.
Only her body was left lying on the banks of the Yamuna,
and someone came and gave it to fire.
SINGING FROM THE HEART
It is very wonderful to follow that fruit-seller lady, if you want
to. Gurudeva has come to give you this, to sprinkle this
mercy. You cannot repay him with wealth, or reputation, or
anything of this world. You have nothing to give to
Gurudeva to repay him.
You should meditate on Srila Gurudeva’s glory, and try to
understand who he is. He wants to give you the same wealth
that Krishna gave to that fruit-seller, so try to take what he
wants to give you. Don’t waste your valuable time, and don’t
waste this valuable human body. At once, from this moment,
you should try to be like that, always absorbed in that way
and always singing,
Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti
Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti
How should you sing? Not as if you are singing an
ordinary song. You should pray to Krishna with all your
heart, and then Krishna will hear. Otherwise, you may be
singing like a professional, but Krishna doesn’t need so much
music. He already knows many songs. He wants your heart.
An inferior devotee may be able to sing expertly, but Krishna
wants more.
Try to pray like this — with your full heart — and
Krishna will hear. However you chant, whatever kirtana you
sing, you should be absorbed in it. If you are singing just to
make music, Krishna will not hear, but if you are chanting
and hearing in a heartfelt way, Krishna will come at once, and
give you His wealth.
Gaura-premanande! Haribol!
Pranam
Hare Krishna !!
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