Hare Krsna,
Krsna and Balarama’s childhood pastimes are sweetest. They are the source of all transcendental bliss. I was counting the number of times Srila Prabhupada quoted ‘transcendental’ in his purports of this lesson (SB 10.8.21-31). It appears fourteen times. He mentions ‘transcendental happiness’, ‘transcendental bliss’, ‘transcendental happiness’, ‘ transcendental affection’, ‘ transcendental ecstasy’, ‘transcendental pastimes’, ‘transcendental world,’ ‘transcendental child,’ ‘transcendental loving affairs.’ No doubt, Srila Prabhupada was in transcendental bliss when writing his purports.
I was wondering how it would feel to actually experience transcendental bliss. Since I am still very much under the three modes of material nature, the flickering happiness that I experience in this conditioned world cannot be compared to the transcendental bliss that the cowherd men and women of Vraja experienced with little Krsna and Balarama. We, human beings, have a natural affection for small and sweet things – small babies, small pets and animals, etc. Even in this material world, parents derive great joy and bliss from the innocent activities of their babies. They enjoy seeing their babies crawl, uttering their first word, appearance of first teeth, trying to stand on their legs, and so on. How much more so is the transcendental bliss experienced by Mother Yasoda and Rohini who have as their child the sweetest babies of all of creation – Krsna and Balarama!
For me even to imagine how Krsna and Balarama must have crawled with their small hands and feet gives me great joy. What to speak of the joy experienced by the residents of Vraja who actually saw Krsna and Balarama crawl!! How sweet it would be to see Them running after the sounds of ankle bless! What a funny sight would it be to see Them catching the ends of the calves’ tails and being dragged everywhere! Can we even imagine how Krsna and Balarama must have looked with their bodies mixed with muddy earth, cow dung and urine?
I very much appreciate why the anonymous brahmana wrote:
śrutim apare smṛtim itare bhāratam anye bhajantu bhava-bhītāḥ
aham iha nandaṁ vande yasyālinde paraṁ brahma
“Let others, fearing material existence, worship the Vedas, the Vedic supplementary Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata, but I shall worship Nanda Mahārāja, in whose courtyard the Supreme Brahman is crawling.”
Krsna and Balarama’s childhood pastimes at Gokula are in particular very sweet, and more easily understood by the ordinary people in general. Their pastimes of stealing butter and yogurt from the houses of the cowherd ladies, and then feeding that same stolen butter and yogurt to Their friends and monkeys, or Them letting loose the gopis’ calves so they would drink all the cow’s milk, or They slaying so many demons, are just some of many childhood pastimes that can be appreciated by people of all ages. Just by hearing, narrating, and remembering these pastimes one can cross over the vast ocean of material nescience.
“Therefore Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām (Bhāg. 1.7.6). Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, under the instruction of Nārada, so that anyone can take advantage of this literature, think of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and always be liberated.” (SB 10.8.21 Purport)
These sweet pastimes of Krsna make Him all-attractive.
“Kṛṣṇa is always pure, and He is always the Supreme Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa may do anything supposedly abominable in material life, yet still He is attractive. Therefore His name is Kṛṣṇa, meaning “all-attractive.” This is the platform on which transcendental loving affairs and service are exchanged. Because of the features of Kṛṣṇa’s face, the mothers were so attracted that they could not chastise Him. Instead of chastising Him, they smiled and enjoyed hearing of Kṛṣṇa’s activities. Thus the gopīs remained satisfied, and Kṛṣṇa enjoyed their happiness. Therefore another name of Kṛṣṇa is Gopī-jana-vallabha because He invented such activities to please the gopīs.” (SB 10.8.31 Purport)
Krsna’s Kaumara lila is what makes Damodarastakam so sweet to meditate upon during Kartik. After reading this lesson I can appreciate why Satyavrata Muni said,
“O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon [which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti]. O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrindavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?” (Damodarastakam 4)
May my conditioned and restless mind also get spontaneously attracted to the sweet childhood pastimes of Krsna and Balarama!!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 