Mehera’s Tour of Baba’s Room, Part 3
A Tale of Naughty Krishna

One of my favorite memories is hearing Mehera tell the story of how mischievous Krishna was as a boy. She would giggle and laugh as she told us delightful tales of his pranks. Sometimes Mehera, pausing, would shyly add that Baba had told her, “I, as Baba, love you, as Mehera, more than I, as Krishna, loved Radha.”

In the early years when Mehera personally took us into Baba’s room, she would point out the brightly painted picture of Krishna as a little boy, hanging on the south wall. In this picture his mother Yashoda is scolding him.

Mehera telling a story in Baba’s bedroom in 1974. The picture
of Krishna and his mother, Yashoda, is behind her.
(Photo courtesy of MN Publications)

Mehera would then tell us the story behind the picture:

“This is Lord Krishna when he was five or six years old. He was very naughty and would steal butter, curds and milk from the neighbors’ homes. In those days they didn’t have refrigerators to keep their food fresh and safe from the cats or children, so the housewife would place the pot of butter in a basket that hung from the ceiling with four strings.

“Most of the housewives would leave home every morning to sell their milk and butter in the market, and while they were gone, Krishna and his friends would slip inside. If the door to the house was locked, the boys would break in through the window. Krishna would climb on the backs of his friends to reach the hanging basket. Then he would steal the butter pot, passing it down to share with his companions. When the housewife returned, she would find all the butter had been eaten and she would know it could only be Krishna who stole it. Naturally, all the women would complain to Yashoda: ‘Please, Yashoda, tell him not to steal our butter again.’

“Krishna would be gone all day minding the cows and this would happen in the morning, so Yashoda would think, ‘When Krishna comes home I will scold him.’ But her love for Krishna would make her forget. Every day she would think, ‘Today I must tell him,’ but as soon as she would see his beautiful face she would forget. Finally, one evening she remembered and caught hold of him by his ear. Krishna was looking at her with such innocence, asking for her forgiveness. ‘I won’t do it again,’ he said. “But,” laughed Mehera, “in his eyes you could see that he will do it again. He was sweet and naughty together—just like Baba.” As Mehera walked around Baba’s bed, she stopped when she came to the little alcove in the western wall.

 

Pointing to a small frame of Jesus with Mary Magdalene, Mehera said, “This was a postcard. It had a letter on the back that I read out to Baba. When I showed Him the picture of Jesus forgiving Mary, He put His hand to His mouth and made a kiss, then, touching the figure of Jesus in the photo, gestured to me, ‘I was Jesus.'”

—Davana Brown for Avatar Meher Baba Trust, 30 July 2015