9. What Krishna Teaches Us

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  • There are many stories about Krishna. He was very clever, but a little bit naughty as well.
  • Sometimes, he would take butter and cream from the fridge and eat it.
  • He would feed it to the monkeys. When the monkeys were very full, he would say “This butter isn’t good; look, even the monkeys won’t eat it!”
  • When Krishna was at school, he had a good friend called Sudama. They both helped their teacher collect firewood. Once they got lost in the woods and it got dark. Sudama has a little food and he shared it with Krishna. Later on, when they were older, Sudama was very poor. He visited Krishna, who remembered the kindness of his friend. He gave Sudama lots of money. Hindus believe that if we do good to others, then God will look after us. And if we are selfish, we are never happy.
  • Once Indra, the god of rain, sent thousands of clouds to Vrindavan. There were big floods. Krishna lifted up a hill as if it were a giant umbrella.
  • Krishna teaches us that we should not be proud, like Indra. Sometimes people who are very rich or very strong become proud. But God can take away our money or our strength at any moment!
  • Later Krishna grew up to be a powerful king. He built a city – like a fortress – in the middle of the ocean.
  • Krishna taught his friend, prince Arjuna. He taught the Bhagavad Gita (this means, “The Song of God”). Today the Bhagavad Gita is a very important holy book for Hindus.
  • Hindus treat their holy books in special ways. They may wrap them in silk cloth. They do not touch them with dirty hands, or with their feet. They don’t put sacred books on the floor.
  • The Hindu holy books are often written in Sanskrit, a very old Indian language. The oldest are called ‘the Vedas’.
  • Some books, called the Puranas, contain many of the Hindu stories. Other books tell us what Hindus believe about the world.
  • In his book, Krishna taught that the body is always changing. You and I do not change. We are the same. It is only the body and the mind that change.
  • Different people and animals have different bodies. For example, people’s skin colour may be different. But still, we should respect everyone. We should be kind to all other people, and to animals as well.
  • Hindu people today try to follow Krishna’s teachings. Some don’t eat meat because they want to be kind to animals.