a short story
** read: 5 minutes ••
Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy
R
ama Das sat on a bench at the edge of the park, facing into the city. Across the street was a row of stores.
He started fingering his beads and murmuring the Haré Krishna mantra. A cool wind was blowing and dark clouds were gathering in the sky.
He would have to get back to the ashram and get ready for the evening services, but he wanted to sit for just a few more minutes.
Then a cold drop of rain hit Rama’s forehead. He looked up into the sky. The clouds were getting darker and thicker, and the wind was blowing colder. From across the street came the sound of something falling, blown over by the now rushing wind. Another drop of rain fell on Rama.
Then another. Then another.
Rama got up and hurried toward the street. A large dog was standing on the curb and came running toward him,
Rama smiled. “Haré Krishna, doggie. Want to cross the street with me? Come on.”
The two of them started across the street, swerving in their path to avoid a motorcycle driven by a teenager who apparently didn’t care for traffic lights or stop signs.
When they got to the other side, the dog ran off.
Rama waved. “Bye bye doggie.”
He was now standing in the entryway to a store, flanked by display windows featuring dummies of macho men wearing the latest in men’s pants and summer jackets.
The rat-tat-tat of raindrops hitting the sidewalk and the smell of freshly cleansed air drifted in.
A middle-aged man holding an umbrella came into the entryway. He twirled the umbrella to shake off the raindrops, then closed it and turned it upside-down like a cane.
He looked at Rama. “Haré Krishna?”
Rama nodded. “Haré Krishna.”
“I’m Andy,” the man said. He had a slight accent Rama couldn’t identify.
Before Rama could reply, a thick bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a loud Boom.
Rama’s body stiffened for an instant, then relaxed. “Wow! Looks like Indra just hurled some electricity.”
Andy furrowed his eyebrows. “Who? What?”
“Indra,” Rama said. “He’s the god who sends rain.”
“I thought Krishna was your God.”
“Krishna is the supreme God. No one is equal to him. But in this universe there are people much stronger than us. They manage the universe, like the sun god and the moon god and the wind god.”
“They compete with Krishna to be God?”
“No. They serve Krishna in this way. We call them demigods.”
Andy chuckled. “You are two thousand years behind the times, my boy. The ancients had that theory, but Jesus put an end to it.”
“Jesus did not speak of these demigods, but he did not deny them either. In fact, he said, ‘I have more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.’”
“It is not scientific.”
“It’s better than scientific. Look around you. Matter does not move itself. Bricks don’t jump on top of each other to make a house. Someone has to move them. The rice doesn’t jump into the pot and cook itself.”
Andy lifted his right index finger. “But the rain moves itself. It is falling down from the sky by itself. And water runs downhill by itself.”
Rama shook his head. “Nope. Krishna sometimes comes in different forms. One of these forms is named San Karshan. And he is the master of gravity. And it’s gravity that makes the rain fall and the water go downhill. Can you deny that?”
“All right, but…”
Rama looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. I have to go.”
He hurried out of the entryway onto the sidewalk, but a gust of wind blew the rain into his face and onto his clothes. He walked back into the entryway and tried to brush the water off himself.
The scent of the rain outside driftted in and mixed with the scent of Rama’s wet clothes.
Andy chuckled. “It looks like the demigods do not want you to go yet. Maybe they want you to tell me more. But I have another objection.”
“What’s that?”
“The sun evaporates water from the ocean, and that is what makes clouds, right? But it is happening by itself.”
“Wrong, my dear sir. The god of the sun and the god of the waters are working hand in hand.”
Andy shook his head. “Very quaint but not scientific.”
“Well who’s more scientific than Einstein? And he said there is order in the universe and it all seems to be running by some kind of law.”
“That still does not mean that there are gods like the ancient Greeks believed.”
“Look around you. Matter by itself produces chaos not order. It takes conscious beings to produce order.”
“Yes but—”
“No ‘buts,’ my dear sir. Darwin has convinced us that the universe is dead, but Krishna tells us that we are alive in a living universe. And this makes a lot more sense.”
“You do not believe Darwin?”
Darwin is wrong about a lot of things, especially his theory that dead matter produces life. Who has ever seen that?”
“Hmm. Well I guess you have some food for thought, but still….”
Rama looked at his watch again. “I really have to go now, but it’s still pouring rain. I guess I’ll just run through the rain.”
Boom! went a clap of thunder.
Andy held out his umbrella. “Take my umbrella.”
“What will you do?”
“I can get another one. This store sells them.”
Rama took the umbrella. “Many thanks.”
He hurried out of the entryway onto the sidewalk in the pouring rain, opened the umbrella, and and started running. After a little distance, he skidded on the wet sidewalk, flailing his arms and the umbrella to keep his balance.
He turned in Andy’s direction. “Hey!” he shouted. Nice to know you, Andy! And Haré Krishna!”
Then he kept running up the block in the rain.
⁓Umapati Swami August 6, 2026
Eternally touching my head to the floor at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
Notes:
The Haré Krishna Mantra: Haré Krishna, Haré Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Haré Haré / Haré Rama, Haré Rama, Rama Rama, Haré Haré.
The characters Rama and Andy are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Krishna, San Karshan, and the demigods are real.
The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organization or any other person.
Scriptural passages © Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Photo top: Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy (Jishnu Das)
Links:
L
ove it? Hate it? Got a question? Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com
© Umapati Swami 2026
Srila Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.
Umapati Swami
One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 89 years old, he maintains this blog to share what he has learned.
