IT WAS THEIR KARMA

Another telling detail to consider is that the first six sons of Devaki (killed by Kamsa), known as the Sad-gandarba, were also the first six sons of Hiranyakashipu (the older brothers of Prahlada in the gurukula). Here's how it happened: In the beginning of the universe Marici, one of the great sages, had several wives. One of his wives, Urna, had six sons. Due to an insult, their grandfather Lord Braham cursed them to take birth as the sons of Hiranyakashipu, then as the fated sons of Vasudev and Devaki. In that sense, one could argue that due to the curse of Lord Brahma, it was their karma to be demons, or to be killed by Kamsa. This could be the origin of the heartless statement often heard in ISKCON: "It was the kids' karma to be abused."

The purport of the story is that a mother's love is more powerful than the curse, or "karma." After Krishna and Balaram returned to Mathura, Devaki asked Krishna to find her dead sons so she could see them. Krishna and Balarama journeyed to the underworld and soon returned with six babies. Devaki held them on her lap and joyfully fed them and cared for them. By the strength of Devaki's love the babies became self-realized and spontaneously offered prayers and obeisances to Krishna, Balarama, Vasudeva and Devaki. Devaki's maternal love nullified the Brahma's curse and her six sons returned to their respective positions in the heavenly planets. Love can change abused children's karma, as Devaki proved. Instead of examining the entire story, ISKCON apologists simply took one concept, "it was their karma." This represents a twisting of the scriptures in order to deny and minimize the harm that ISKCON did.

The sad-gandarba are examples of victims who suffered because they had "bad karma." Outside of what is described in scripture, we cannot see people's karmic histories. There could have possibly been children who were cursed with bad karma, like the sad-gandarba. However, in most cases the kids were simply innocent victims. Only God can accurately sort out people's karma, so in Bhagavad-gita Krishna recommends that an advanced yogi try to regard everyone equally: "the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the pious, the sinner and those who are indifferent and impartial." When someone says, "It was their karma," they make a sweeping judgment. It shows a total disregard for the message of the scriptures.

CONCLUSIONS

Perpetrators could justify their behavior saying that Krishna was abused by Kamsa's demons, and He turned out fine; Prahlada was abused but yet he became a king. Rather than justify abuse, the stories explain that Krishna and Prahlada survived to become heroes despite their perpetrators' evil activities. Another demonic twisting of the scriptures would be to say that Mother Yasoda tied Krishna to the grinding mortar, so it was okay to tie kids up or put them in trash bins, bathrooms, closets or attics. Yet, that is basically what happened. Tying Krishna to the stone was the worst punishment Krishna ever received. Getting lost while collecting firewood was His worst experience in gurukula. Still, somehow men got away with much worse and everyone else looked the other way.

In Krishna's world, Nanda Maharaja, Krishna's father, listened to Krishna and took His ideas seriously. The story of Govardhan Hill is one example. A close look at the scriptures reveals that Krishna received constant tender loving care from His parents and extended family. The residents of Vrindavana in Krishna Book set the example for compassionate child rearing. The images of Krishna stealing butter, playing with the calves and lifting Govardhan Hill are powerful symbols of respect for innocent childhood and youth. These are universal symbols, so even someone who was never a member of ISKCON, a Hindu or a child of gurukula could experience these symbols in dreams, or become fascinated with reading the stories.

THE RADHA-KRISHNA

 
The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It's indeed hard to miss the many legends and paintings illustrating Krishna's love affairs, of which the Radha-Krishna affair is the most memorable. Krishna's relationship with Radha, his favorite among the 'gopis' (cow-herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif in North Indian paintings. The allegorical love of Radha has found expression in some great Bengali poetical works of Govinda Das, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Jayadeva the author of Geet Govinda.
Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover.
Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to, and Krishna worship is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.
One day the two most talked about lovers come together for a final single meeting. Suradasa in his Radha-Krishna lyrics relates the various amorous delights of the union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious 'Gandharva' form of their wedding in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and goddesses of heaven. The sage Vyasa refers to this as the 'Rasa'. Age after age, this evergreen love theme has engrossed poets, painters, musicians and all Krishna devotees alike.

THE BIRTH OF KRISHNA

 

The birth of Krishna is in itself a transcendental phenomenon that generates awe among the Hindus and overwhelms one and all with its supra mundane happenings.

Mother Earth, unable to bear the burden of sins committed by evil kings and rulers, appealed to Brahma, the Creator for help. Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to annihilate tyrannical forces.

One such evil force was Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura (in northern India) and his people were utterly terrified of him. On the day Kamsa's sister Devaki was married off to Vasudeva, an akashvani or voice from the sky was heard prophesying that Devaki's 8th son would be the destroyer of Kamsa. The frightened Kamsa immediately unsheathed his sword to kill his sister but Vasudeva intervened and implored Kamsa to spare his bride, and promised to hand over every new born child to him. Kamsa relented but imprisoned both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva.

When Devaki gave birth to her first child, Kamsa came to the prison cell and slaughtered the newborn. In this way, he killed the first six sons of Devaki. Even before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and theirs. Then suddenly Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said he himself was coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry him to the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after his birth, where Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter.

He was to exchange his boy and bring Yashoda's baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that "nothing shall bar your path".At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kamsa's prison. Remembering the divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and started for Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up.

While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held his baby high over his head. The rain fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter over the baby.

When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kamsa with the baby girl. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda's beautiful male child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison closed themselves.

When Kamsa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reaching the sky. She was transformed into the goddess Yogamaya, who told Kamsa: "O foolish! What will you get by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else."

In his youth Krishna killed Kamsa along with all his cruel associates, liberated his parents from prison, and reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura.