BG4.12

Today [1st October 2007] we are at Gokulam, near Brindavan. Gokulam means herds of cows and their calves. As a mark of His souseelyam or simplicity, He came down on this earth and mingled with ordinary people as a cowherd. He was reported to be stealing butter from other houses. This is difficult to believe. Great persons say that not realising that our atman belongs to Him, we behave as though we are independent. Are we not the greater thieves? Even great yogis find it difficult to see and so they are in constant search. Sucn a Person, descends on this earth and is searched by the Gopikas for having stolen their stock of butter! Once He was caught 'red handed' by a Gopika and she brought Him before Yasoda for punishing Him. Yasoda, embarrased at His action, wanted to bind Him to a stone grinder. We are at a place about 300 feet from Nanda bhavan or the house of Nandagopa. At about 200 feet on the other side, is the place where He killed demon Puthana, by drinking the poisoned milk from her breasts. On another side. He killed Chakatasura. Here when Yasoda wanted to bind Him, He teased her by enlarging His body and so the rope she brought was insufficient. She ordered for extra rope. Joining the two ropes she tried to bind Him and found the rope was short by two inches, says Sukhacharya in Srimad Bhagavatham. Again she demands a third rope and together the rope is again short by two inches. This process goes on and Yasoda is tired. Pitying her, the Lord allows Him to be bound. This place is called Ukalbandh vanam. We can see the stone grinder and His feet impressions on another stone. He acted in this drama superbly by pretending to cry!! Swami Desikan says in his Gopla Vimsathi sloka vrajayoshi.. Alwar wonders how simple He was to have been tied to the grinder. Tied to the grinder He dragged the stone and went in between two trees. The grinder got entangled between the trees and so Sri Krishna tries with a jerk to get it off the trees. But the two trees fell down with a great bang and the two Gandarvas who were cursed to be trees, got back their previous forms and flew away. Thus He took whatever forms the people of Gokulam desired and blessed them. This is reflected in the next 11th sloka:

ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manushyah partha sarvasah

"As all desire to worship Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone contemplates on My actions in all respects, O son of Pritha."

Manushya = all people, mama = My [Sri Krishna's], vartma = actions and pranks, anuvartante = contemplate again and again, and enjoy. Sarvasa = by all means, that is they enjoy by all their senses, they enjoy all actions and forms of the Lord. Here in Gokulam, the Lord is worshiped by changing the adornments every five minutes. They offer fresh eatables every five minutes and enjoy. What is the use of this, Arjuna seem to ask. In the last sloka itself He told that the reminiscence of His actions and pranks, relieve them of the birth cycle. Ye = the one who has no capability of practicing Bhakti yoga, yata = whichever way, prapadyante = think, mam = of Me [Sri Krishna], tam = that person, tataiva = in the same way, aham = I [Sri Krishna], bhajam= adapt. That is if a person wants to worship me in a form, the Lord adapts Himself to suit that person's imagination. This is not merely true during His avatar times, but even now when we go to various temples to worship Him. His beauty is like a river and it flows everywhere. Here itself in hundreds of places they show the spots of His pranks. This is what Alwar also says in the verse thamarugandadu evvuruvam. Persons who find it difficult to meditate on Him, find this type of worship easier and He adapts Himself to suit every person's wish.