Baladev's Lila:
"Can We Be Friends?"

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Baladev Purnima, Dum Dum Park, Kolkata
15 August 2019, part 2

I want to tell a little bit about Baladev's lila based on what is written in Srimad Bhagavatam.

You have all heard that Kamsa sent so many demons to kill Krishna and Krishna killed them all, but the eighteenth chapter of the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam describes how Baladev killed Pralambasur.

In His pastimes, Krishna kills many demons—Balaram is always there with Him, so nothing happens to Krishna; but there was one time (the first time, actually) when Baladev did not come with Krishna, and that day the Kaliya-daman-lila happened. When Kaliya-nag (snake Kaliya) came to live in the Yamuna, the water became very poisonous, so when children, Krishna's friends, entered it, they died. However, when Krishna jumped into the Yamuna and started playing in the water, the water became pure and all the children suddenly became alive again. Krishna continued playing in the water and then danced on the head of Kaliya-nag. Everybody was very happy.

And here is Balaram's pastime—killing of Pralambasur. There are many forests near the Yamuna river, one of which is Vrindavan. 'Vrindavan' (Vrinda-van) means Vrinda Devi's forest, or vana (Vrinda Devi is Tulasi Devi, a dearmost of Krishna). It happened in summer—in those days the summer season was not so hot as now, and Sri Krishna and Balaram always played in the fields, with Their cows and friends.

One day, when Krishna and Balaram were singing and dancing, suddenly a demon (asura) named Pralamba came there disguised as a cowherd boy. He came to Sri Krishna and asked Him, "Can You make me Your friend?"

(There are many saffron-clad sadhus in our society, but there are also many disguised demons among us. Some time ago, somebody came to me with folded palms asking, "Please, let me mix with you, I will be your friend!" What kind of friend are they? Before I knew it, that friend robbed me stealing everything from me—my shoes, books, even my towels! [His Divine Grace laughs.])

So, Pralamba also came at that time and asked Krishna if they could be friends. And Krishna knows everything—He is all-knowing, so He knows who it was, He knew that Pralamba was a demon coming to Him in disguise. At first, Krishna thought, "I will kill him!" but then He decided, "No, better I first make him My friend, otherwise how can I kill him?" So, having thought about it, Krishna answered, "Yes, from now on you are My friend! No problem!"

Then, Krishna divided all the boys into two groups. There were boys of different age (some of His friends were ten years old, some eight, twelve, six, nine, and so on), so Krishna divided them into two groups based on their age and made a younger group and an elder group. Krishna told Balaram, "You will be the leader of the elder side, and I will be the leader of the younger side! We are going to fight each other, and those who lose will carry the winner on their shoulders—this will be the punishment!" Pralamba was a small boy, so he joined Krishna's side, and Krishna ordered him, "Pralamba, you will fight with Balaram!" Then, Balaram won the fight, and Pralamba had to carry Balaram on his shoulders. Suddenly, Balaram became so very heavy that he could not carry Him. Pressed under the weight of Balaram, Pralamba showed his demon form, and then Balaram gave him a big punch and killed him.

So, Balaram is most important for our spiritual life. He gives shelter. He serves the Lord. He is Gurudev.

Jay Sri Balaram Prabhu ki jay
Sri Baladev Prabhu's appearance day ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

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