Srimad Bhagavatam – day 601
Symbolism contained in churning yoghurt
Narayana Krishna
We have discussed earlier that the pot represents our body which is filled with mixed emotions of good, bad, positive, negative and the like. The churning rope is our breath. When churning is undertaken through the process of Pranayama, all inner impurities are flushed out.
Here, Mother Yashoda who is churning yoghurt, is actually performing a supreme Yoga sadhana. It was not a mere household chore. A true devotee should practice Yogic tools known as śravana (listening to divine stories), manana (recapitulating these lessons) and mathana (churning i.e. deliberating upon the topics learnt).
The process of mathana is explained as churning yoghurt to obtain butter. A true devotee should sit in solitude, recapitulate the lessons learnt that day while deliberating upon its inner meaning (churning). “What is the meaning of this? Why did events take place in this order in this story?” In this way he should reason out. As he thus churns, his hidden suspicions rise to the fore-front. In other words, hidden sins come up and get eliminated. Just as the butter emerges from the yoghurt when it is churned, sins emerge.
In reality, our entire body has deep spiritual significance. Right from action of inhalation and exhalation, every action and every limb of the body has a deep significance. In every moment and movement, the individual is actually practising Yoga sadhana. Through each movement he is energizing a different nerve.
The Pranayama (surya-chandra naḍi bhedana or alternate nostril breathing) wherein we inhale through one nostril and exhale through another is the churning of the yoghurt. When this Yogic practice is relentlessly carried on for certain period of time, some heat is generated within the body. This heat burns down sins.
Why do Yogis prefer to sit in Himalayas by the banks of Ganga? This is because their continuous Yoga-sadhana, generates heat from within their bodies. They seek colder places to off-set this unbearable heat generated. However, sitting in air-conditioned rooms to offset the heat generated is not recommended. The person has to undertake Yogic practices only in natural surroundings. Anyway, for beginners like us it will need intense practice of Pranayama for many births before we reach the stage wherein we need to offset our inner heat with the external coolness of the Himalayas.
When Yashoda vigorously churned the yoghurt, the ornaments on her body vibrated so forcefully that it appeared as if mountains were vibrating. It was as if rivers were gushing speedily or as if water was falling down the mountains at rapid force. 32 musical beats could be simultaneously heard when the ornaments jingled.
Within our body are the seven musical notes. Each ornament has a unique power. Each limb has a special power. When Yashoda māta was churning yoghurt, each ornament was moving vigorously in a different rhythm creating different type of sounds. Wouldn’t ornaments make such melodious sounds when, after all, the curd was being churned to prepare butter for little Krishna?
This Lord gulps down all the butter at one go. He eats away your sins and impurities and blesses you with increased devotion. He doesn’t steal butter; He steals your sins.
“Due to this exertion, drops of perspiration began to form on her face”.
The sweat drops on her face resembled pearls, for after all, she was a celestial in human form.
“The jasmine flowers that had adorned her braid, began to gradually slip and fall”.
What wonderful ornamentation is being described. After all, Yashoda who was churning the yoghurt appeared like Mother Goddess.
“Exactly when she was busily churning the yoghurt, little Krishna wanted to be fed milk”.
Exactly at the moment when his mother was immersed in her chores, Krishna wanted to disturb her. Often it would happen that after putting her son to bed, Yashoda would complete all pending chores and would sit to enjoy her meal peacefully, when Krishna would cry seeking her attention. Setting aside her plate she would run to attend to him. Or just as she would lie down for a nap, he would wail loudly. How could the mother sleep peacefully then? Neither could she complete her work properly, nor eat properly nor sleep comfortably. Despite this erratic schedule, she would complete all her tasks without leaving anything amiss. On this day when she was totally engrossed in churning the yoghurt, Krishna was adamant that he should be breast-fed.
“He came running towards her in order to cause happiness to her. Seeing her son’s pleasant face, Yashoda was filled with bliss. Every moment in his presence was blissful to her. In order to ensure that she stops churning, he caught the churning rod forcefully”.
Narayana