"Worship because you revere and revere because you love, not because you fear. Why must we perform this ritualistic Indra puja year after year? We are cowherds and farmers and our lives are taken care of by our cows, our forests and groves and the mountains that surround us. We are surrounded by divinity and yet we seek the blessings of a deity we fear, neglecting the bounty we have been endowed with!", said Krishna, standing tall, a boy of thirteen, in the center of a huddle of villagers and pandits, having mesmerized them with his passionate and persuasive speech. Yashoda looked reproachfully at Nanda, who shrugged back with an expression that acknowledged that their son's logic was unassailable. "Indra deva will get angry and punish the lot of us", she whispered angrily. "This boy of ours is getting out of hand". Nanda chuckled and said, "And I am sure Krishna will outwit Indra himself with his eloquence, if it comes to that" The gather...
