The name ‘Krishna’

Attraction of Krishna

He attracts every heart by His divine plays, miracle powers, and by His love and draws the mind away from sensory desires. Baba says this attitude of attraction is characteristic of Divinity and adds that the Divine attracts not to deceive or mislead us, but to transform, reconstruct, and reform us.

The cultivating aspect of Krishna

The name ‘Krishna’ also comes from the root ‘Krish’ which means ‘to cultivate, as a field, for growing crops’. The name therefore means ‘He who removes the weeds of negative tendencies from the heart of humans and sows seeds of positive traits such as faith, courage and joy’. Krishna cultivates the harvest of joy in the hearts of His devotees and makes them aware of His being Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.

Swami as Krishna

Here is the experience of a devout lady named Gali Sharada Devi. She was blessed to be a contemporary of our Bhagawan in His avatar as Shirdi Baba and she later came to Him in Puttaparthi.

Swami affectionately called her ‘Pedda Bottu’ meaning ‘Big Bindi’, referring to the big round dot of vermilion that Hindu ladies wear on their forehead. She was a very pious and noble lady and lived in Prasanthi Nilayam till the end of her days. She was very attached to Swami and He too reciprocated the love.

From her young age, she was very devoted to Lord Krishna. She was used to worshipping an idol of Lord Krishna. Throughout her life, she had several divine experiences and visions. After she came to our dear Swami, she felt the desire to see Swami as her beloved Gopala but she never asked Him for this. 

On one occasion, when Swami was talking to her, she caught hold of Swami’s feet and chanted a shloka whose essence is that Baba is the mother, father, relative, friend, knowledge, wealth and so on and that she sought refuge in He who is the indweller of the heart. What happened next? Let us hear from Pedda Bottu herself.

In her autobiography, she writes “I closed my eyes and put my head on His feet. I could see His feet up to the knees and they were covered with yellow silk. I could see six-year-old Krishna with a yellow silk robe and His little feet wearing anklets. After regaining consciousness, I said, ‘Swami, why did you do that? Why can’t you give me full darshan?’ He said, ‘That is enough. When I gave you half darshan, you were half dead. If I give you full darshan, you will be fully dead!'”

Source: Autobiography of Pedda Bottu, pg 251