Chitha Chora-ma
Compilation of Divine Discourses
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.
Navaneetha Choram
Bhagawan says, “Krishna is described as Navaneetha Chora (One who stole butter). What is the butter that Krishna stole? It is the heart of the devotee. The devotee offers his heart to Krishna and Krishna accepts it. How can this be described as stealing? Only when a person takes away something from another without his knowledge can he be called a thief. But Krishna asks for your love, receives it from you when you offer it. The term “thief” has been applied to Krishna by devotees out of the fullness of their love. It has no pejorative significance at all. According to the level of their understanding and devotion, devotees describe God in different ways. These are expressions of subjective experience. The Divine transcends all limitations and attributes.”
“Swami is a Stealer of Hearts”
Swami used to visit the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School on many occasions. He used to stand patiently at each model and ask the students to explain to Him what the model was all about. He came to each of the three exhibitions during the years 1994, 95 and 96. He spent hours together in each exhibition. It is in one of those exhibitions that the famous burglar alarm leela took place. The boy who was demonstrating the model of a burglar alarm to Swami requested Him to put His Hand across the model, saying that it would ring the bell. Swami kept His Hand, but the bell did not ring! Swami then asked the boy to keep his hand in it. It rang! And this mysterious thing happened twice! Then Swami commented beautifully, “I am not Chora; I am Chittachora.” (I am not a stealer, but stealer of hearts.)