Who does not love butter? My grandchildren love it.
Our association with butter is Baby Krishna, and he is called a butter thief. Today is his Birthday, Janam Mashtmi.
Baby Krishna and even as an adult would drink the milk, eat the yoghurt and polish off the butter. The gopis and gopas were ecstatic when he did this. He would sometimes break the pots and would share his booty with the monkey brigade.
Now the interesting fact is though he stole all this butter, he shared it and hardly ate any himself. The monkey army in his next avatar of Rama, were the soldiers who assisted Rama and Hanuman, the god of Prana was his first disciple.
The Gopis, the milkmaids went to Krishna’s mother’s house and complained bitterly to her. However their complaints were like the patter of raindrops because they were full of worship. They were like mothers who fed their kids and were full of joy when they ate with gusto.
One day when baby Krishna had eaten all the butter in his mother’s house, she asked him to open his mouth. When he did, she saw the universe.
The universe is Krishna’s and therefore who is the butter thief. It is us as we take everything from him and say it is ours in a proprietorial way. From yoghurt comes the butter and it is the concentration of the inner source and it was accepted by Krishna.
Krishna accepts our unconditional love, and our pure intentions.
The work which goes into making butter is immense. It demands our full attention and involvement.
Why are we doing it? What is our objective. Is it commercial?
We accumulate Vasanas (desires) which govern our behaviour, and we accumulate Karmas. We do not wish to be rid of our desires.
However Krishna by taking away the butter is freeing us of the burden of greed and lust.
He grants us freedom and salvation.
There are three reasons for this.
- When Krishna is stealing butter, he is seeing our intention.
- He frees us of desire.
- He is not stealing milk, yoghurt or butter. In the Gita he states that he is what we perceive him as. We all ardently wait for him to steal our hearts so that we are enveloped in his compassion and love.
Aim Hrim Klim.