“Sometimes the naughty babies would crawl up to the cowshed, catch the tail of a calf and stand up. The calves, being disturbed, would immediately begin running here and there, and the children would be dragged over clay and cow dung. To see this fun, Yashoda and Rohini would call all their neighboring friends, the gopis. Upon seeing these childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna, the gopis would be merged in transcendental bliss. In their enjoyment they would laugh very loudly.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 8)

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1. Letting Him near cows and calves

“Why do people worship mother Yashoda? She let young children be around cows and calves. When Shri Krishna happened to hold on to the tail of a calf and subsequently go along for a ride resembling waterskiing, but over dirt instead, Yashoda and the other mothers thought it was great fun. What is wrong with them? Kids can get seriously injured.”

2. Breastfeeding for so long

“Why do people worship mother Yashoda? She breastfed her child for way too long. It is supposed to be up to six months, maximum. That’s what the books on parenting say. We have stories of Krishna demanding to be breastfed. What a terrible example to set. You don’t want your children to grow up spoiled. At some point, you have to cut the cord. You know what I mean?”

3. Threatening with a whipping stick

“Why do people worship mother Yashoda? She ran around threatening a young child. She held up a whipping stick. She then tied her child to a mortar, earning Him the name Damodara. You should never do that to a child. They should never be threatened, with anything. They are so innocent and nice. Whatever they want, they should get. They should never hear the word ‘no.’”

4. Letting Him run on the fields

“Why do people worship mother Yashoda? There is that pastime where Krishna’s friends accused Him of eating dirt. Yashoda became concerned and then looked into Krishna’s mouth. Well, why do you think that happened in the first place? She let a young child run around on the fields all day. You can’t do that. Kids should be at home, learning manners and etiquette. Definitely don’t give them any sugar. They shouldn’t be allowed to run around, without supervision. That is craziness.”

5. Allowing Him to hold up a hill

“Why do people worship mother Yashoda? She allowed a young child to pick up a massive hill. That is without wearing one of those weightlifting belts. You can easily get injured doing that. A hernia is nothing to be taken lightly. The mother then let Krishna hold up that same hill for seven days. What was she thinking? That will surely stunt the growth of a child.”

…

The material world is full of duality. One man’s food is another man’s poison. One person thinking parenting should be done a certain way, and then the traditions within society thousands of years ago were entirely different.

“I gave you the benediction that I would take birth as your son three times. The first time I was known as Prishnigarbha, born of Prishni and Sutapa, the next birth I was Upendra born of Aditi and Kashyapa, and now for the third time I am born as Krishna from you, Devaki and Vasudeva. I appeared in this Vishnu form just to convince you that I am the same Supreme Personality of Godhead again taken birth.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 3)

We do know that the placement of Shri Krishna in Gokula was not an accident. At the time of birth, the baby born to Vasudeva and Devaki showed the form of Vishnu in order to convince the parents. Vishnu appearing as Krishna was a boon to the birthparents, and the same applied to the soon-to-be foster parents, Nanda and Yashoda in Vrindavana.

The childhood went the typical way, but with extraordinary interactions here and there. Krishna reciprocated the attachment that others showed to Him. He allowed Yashoda to be a loving mother. He behaved in ways that warranted constant attention and concern. The burden of taking care of the all-attractive one became a transcendental blessing, one that others can accept at any time, due to the Absolute Nature of that lifter of Govardhana Hill.

In Closing:

The miserable and the displeased,
On criticism opportunity to seize.

That Yashoda mothering wrong,
Spoiling and breastfeeding too long.

But Supreme final word to give,
Choosing in Gokula to live

And everyone’s attention inviting,
As the ideal son delighting.

Categories: crawling to the cowshed, the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, krishna lila, parenting, poem, poems, poetry, religion, yashoda