Lord Krishna – A Great Friend

Once upon a time in a village lived a boy called Govind. He was 10 years old. His parents were very nice and pious people. They were devotees of Lord Krishna. There was a small beautiful Krishna temple near Govind's house.

One day, while returning home after playing with his friends in the evening, Govind heard the sound of bells and musical instruments from the temple. The evening worship was going on. He went inside. In the place of the idol, he could actually see Lord Krishna himself, smiling at him. He could actually see the God like anyone else.

Govind thought, 'If I get him as my friend, it would be so nice. I can play with him. He looks so nice.'

After the puja, everyone went home. The temple was closed. But Govind stayed back outside the temple. He looked around and made sure that no one was around. Then he peeped inside the temple and called out, 'Friend, will you not come out and play with me? I feel like playing with you. Let's go to the playground and play. I promise you, I will never fight with you.'

But the Lord was not coming out. Govind started weeping, tears started rolling down his cheeks. He started leaving. Suddenly, a sweet voice was heard from inside, 'Wait, friend. I am coming out. Let's play.'

Lord Krishna likes children a lot. Do you know he used to play around a lot with his friends in Gokula when he was young? They used to take cows and calves for grazing in the forest, play there, share their food, everything.

The Lord came and stood near Govind. There was no limit to his happiness. They both came to the moonlit ground and played.

This continued day after day. After the temple closed, Govind would go there. Lord Krishna would come out from the temple, and they both would go to the playground and play. Before morning, the Lord would return to the temple, and Govind would return home.

One day, suddenly, the Lord left the playground and ran back to the temple. He was just teasing Govind. Friends do that with each other, right? Before Govind could catch him, the Lord disappeared into the temple. The temple gate was closed, and Govind could not get inside. He stood there outside, scolding Lord Krishna.

When the pujaris came and opened the temple in the morning, Govind was so angry that he went inside and started hitting the Lord's idol with a stick, shouting, 'How dare you do that, leaving me alone there in the night? You are such a bad boy.'

The pujaris were shocked seeing the boy hitting the idol. They caught him and threw him out of the temple. 'Don't ever come back here.'

Govind went near the village pond and sat there crying. Here, the pujaris prepared naivedya for the Lord and took it to him. A voice was heard, 'I will not take it unless you get my friend here. You go and say sorry to him on my behalf.'

The pujaris went looking for Govind. They found him and asked him to come back to the temple. Govind asked them, 'Did he say sorry? Then only I will come.' They said, 'Yes, he said sorry.'

Govind went back and went near the Lord. He said, 'You must be hungry. Why don't you take your food?' The Lord said, 'You have also not eaten anything. Let's have it together.'

The pujaris were surprised to see Govind sitting near the idol and sharing food with the Lord. Sometimes, he would take some food near the Lord's mouth, telling him to eat. Sometimes he would do like that and then put it in his own mouth, teasing the Lord.

This is how our dear Lord Krishna is with children, like a close friend.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi