Krishna relishes spontaneous affection for Him

Although it may sometimes appear that the liberated devotees have forgotten that Lord Krishna is God, this is actually an arrangement by Yogamaya for increasing the pleasure of the Lord and His devotees.

For example, as Vasudeva carried his baby son Krishna across the Yamuna River, the baby fell into the river. Srila Prabhupada writes, “Just to test the intense love of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna fell down into the waters of the Yamuna while His father was crossing the river. Vasudeva became mad after his child as he tried to recover Him in the midst of the rising river” (Bhagavatam 3.2.17, purport). Lord Krishna did not want Vasudeva to think, “Oh, Krishna will save Himself; He is God,” but He wanted to evoke the paternal rasa in full intensity.

In a similar way, mother Yasoda sometimes expressed her maternal love for baby Krishna by punishing Him. And when His mother came to punish Him, Krishna reciprocated by running away in fear.

Srila Prabhupada describes this apparent contradiction as follows:

The Lord’s pure devotee renders service unto the Lord out of unalloyed love only, and while discharging such devotional service, the pure devotee forgets the position of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord also accepts the loving service of His devotees more relishably when the service is rendered spontaneously out of pure affection, without any reverential admiration.

[Srila Prabhupada in Bhagavatam 1.8.31, Purport]

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