Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
29. The Rāsa Dance: Introduction
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In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated
the rāsa dance took place on the full moon night of the śarat season. From
the statement of previous chapters, it appears that the festival of
Govardhana Pūjā was performed just after the dark moon night of the month of
Kārttika, and thereafter the ceremony of Bhrātṛdvitīya
was performed; then the wrath of Indra was exhibited in the shape of torrents
of rain and hailstorm, and Lord Kṛṣṇa
held up Govardhana Hill for seven days, up until the ninth day of the moon.
Thereafter, on the tenth day, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were talking amongst themselves about the
wonderful activities of Kṛṣṇa,
and the next day, Ekādaśī was observed by Nanda Mahārāja. On the next day,
Dvādaśī, Nanda Mahārāja went to take bath in the Ganges and was arrested by
the men of Varuṇa; then he was released by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then Nanda Mahārāja, along with the cowherd
men, was shown the spiritual sky.
In this way, the full moon night of
the śarat season came to an end. The full moon night of Āśvina is called
śārad-pūrṇimā. It appears from the statement of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kṛṣṇa
had to wait another year for such a moon before enjoying the rāsa dance with
the gopīs. At the age of seven years, He lifted Govardhana Hill. Therefore,
the rāsa dance took place during His eighth year.
From Vedic literature it appears that
when a theatrical actor dances among many dancing girls, the group-dance is
called a rāsa dance. When Kṛṣṇa
saw the full moon night of the śarat season, He decorated Himself with
various seasonal flowers, especially the mallikā flowers, which are very
fragrant, He remembered the gopīs' prayers to goddess Kātyāyanī, wherein they
prayed for Kṛṣṇa to be their husband. He thought that the full
night of the śarat season was just suitable for a nice dance. So their desire
to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband would then be fulfilled.
The words used in this connection in
the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are bhagavān api. This means that although Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has
no desire that needs to be fulfilled because He is always full with six
opulences. Yet He wanted to enjoy the company of the gopīs. Bhagavān api
signifies that this is not like the ordinary dancing of young boys and young
girls. The specific word used in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is yogamāyām upāśritaḥ, which means that this dancing with the gopīs is
on the platform of yogamāyā, not mahāmāyā. The dancing of young boys and
girls within this material world is in the kingdom of mahāmāyā, or the
external energy. The rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa
with the gopīs is on the platform of yogamāyā. The difference between the
platform of yogamāyā and mahāmāyā is compared in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta to the difference between gold and iron. From
the viewpoint of metallurgy, gold and iron are both metals, but the quality
is completely different. Similarly, although the rāsa dance and Lord Kṛṣṇa's association with the gopīs appear like the
ordinary mixing of young boys and girls, the quality is completely different.
The difference is appreciated by great Vaiṣṇavas
because they can understand the difference between love of Kṛṣṇa and lust.
On the mahāmāyā platform, dances take
place on the basis of sense gratification. But when Kṛṣṇa called the gopīs by sounding His flute, the
gopīs very hurriedly rushed towards the spot of rāsa dance with the
transcendental desire of satisfying Kṛṣṇa.
The author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta,
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, has explained that lust
means sense gratification, and love also means sense gratification--but for Kṛṣṇa. In other words, when activities are enacted on
the platform of personal sense gratification, they are called material
activities, but when they are enacted for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, then they are spiritual activities. On any
platform of activities, the principle of sense gratification is there. But on
the spiritual platform, sense gratification is for the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, whereas on the material platform it is for the
performer. For example, on the material platform, when a servant serves a
master, he is not trying to satisfy the senses of the master, but rather his
own senses. The servant would not serve the master if the payment stopped.
That means that the servant engages himself in the service of the master just
to satisfy his senses. On the spiritual platform, the servitor of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead serves Kṛṣṇa
without payment, and he continues his service in all conditions. That is the
difference between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and material consciousness.
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It appears that Kṛṣṇa enjoyed the rāsa dance with the gopīs when He was
eight years old. At that time, many of the gopīs were married, because in
India, especially in those days, girls were married at a very early age. There
are even many instances of a girl giving birth to a child at the age of twelve.
Under the circumstances, all the gopīs who wanted to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband were already married. At the
same time, they continued to hope that Kṛṣṇa
would be their husband. Their attitude toward Kṛṣṇa
was that of paramour love. Therefore, the loving affairs of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs is called parakīya-rasa. A married
man or a wife who desires another wife or husband is called parakīya-rasa.
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Actually, Kṛṣṇa is the husband of everyone because He is the
supreme enjoyer. The gopīs wanted Kṛṣṇa
to be their husband, but factually there was no possibility of His marrying
all the gopīs. But because they had that natural tendency to accept Kṛṣṇa as their supreme husband, the relationship
between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa is called parakīya-rasa. This parakīya-rasa is
ever-existent in Goloka Vṛndāvana in the
spiritual sky where there is no possibility of the inebriety which
characterizes parakīya-rasa in the material world. In the material world,
parakīya-rasa is abominable, whereas in the spiritual world it is present in
the superexcellent relationship of Kṛṣṇa
and the gopīs. There are many other relationships with Kṛṣṇa: master and servant, friends and friend, parent
and son, and lover and beloved. Out of all these rasas, the parakīya-rasa is
considered to be the topmost.
This material world is the perverted
reflection of the spiritual world; it is just like the reflection of a tree
on the bank of a reservoir of water: the topmost part of the tree is seen as
the lowest part. Similarly, parakīya-rasa, when pervertedly reflected in this
material world, is abominable. When people, therefore, imitate the rāsa dance
of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, they simply enjoy the
perverted, abominable reflection of the transcendental parakīya-rasa. There
is no possibility of enjoying this transcendental parakīya-rasa within the
material world. It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that one should not imitate
this parakīya-rasa even in dream or imagination. Those who do so drink the
most deadly poison.
When Kṛṣṇa,
the supreme enjoyer, desired to enjoy the company of the gopīs on that full
moon night of the śarat season, exactly at that very moment, the moon, the
lord of the stars, appeared in the sky, displaying its most beautiful
features. The full moon night of the śarat season is the most beautiful night
in the year. In Indian there is a great monument called Taj Mahal in Agra, a
city in the Uttar Pradesh province, and the tomb is made of first-class
marble stone. During the night of the full moon of the śarat season, many
foreigners go to see the beautiful reflections of the moon on the tomb. Thus
this full moon night is celebrated even today for its beauty.
When the full moon rose in the east,
it tinged everything with a reddish color. With the rising of the moon, the
whole sky appeared smeared by red kuṅkuma.
When a husband long separated from his wife returns home, he decorates the
face of his wife with red kuṅkuma. This long-expected
moonrise of the śarat season was thus smearing the eastern sky.
The appearance of the moon increased
Kṛṣṇa's desire to dance with the gopīs. The forests
were filled with fragrant flowers. The atmosphere was cooling and festive.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa began to blow His flute, the gopīs all over Vṛndāvana became enchanted. Their attraction to the
vibration of the flute increased a thousand times due to the rising full
moon, the red horizon, the calm and cool atmosphere, and the blossoming
flowers. All these gopīs were by nature very much attracted to Kṛṣṇa's beauty, and when they heard the vibration of
His flute, they became apparently lustful to satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa.
Immediately upon hearing the
vibration of the flute, they all left their respective engagements and
proceeded to the spot where Kṛṣṇa
was standing. While they ran very swiftly, all their earrings swung back and
forth. They all rushed toward the place known as Vaṁśīvaṭa.
Some of them were engaged in milking cows, but they left their milking
business half finished and immediately went to Kṛṣṇa. One of them had just collected milk and put it
in a milk pan on the oven to boil, but she did not care whether the milk
overboiled and spilled--she immediately left to go see Kṛṣṇa. Some of them were breast feeding their small
babies, and some were engaged in distributing food to the members of their
families, but they left all such engagements and immediately rushed towards
the spot where Kṛṣṇa was playing His flute. Some were engaged in
serving their husbands, and some were themselves engaged in eating, but
neither caring to serve their husbands nor eat, they immediately left. Some
of them wanted to decorate their faces with cosmetic ointments and to dress
themselves very nicely before going to Kṛṣṇa,
but unfortunately they could not finish their cosmetic decorations nor put on
their dresses in the right way because of their anxiety to meet Kṛṣṇa immediately. Their faces were decorated
hurriedly and were haphazardly finished; some even put the lower part of
their dresses on the upper part of their bodies and the upper part on the
lower part.
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While all the
gopīs were hurriedly leaving their respective places, their husbands, brothers
and fathers were all struck with wonder to know where they were going. Being
young girls, they were protected either by husbands, elderly brothers or
fathers. All their guardians forbade them to go to Kṛṣṇa, but they disregarded them. When a
person becomes attracted by Kṛṣṇa and is in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he does not care for any worldly duties, even
though very urgent. Kṛṣṇa
consciousness is so powerful that it gives everyone relief from all material
activities. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has written a very nice verse wherein one gopī
advises another, "My dear friend, if you desire to enjoy the company of
material society, friendship and love, then please do not go to see this
smiling boy Govinda, who is standing on the bank of the Yamunā and playing His
flute, His lips brightened by the beams of the full moonlight." Śrīla Rūpa
Gosvāmī indirectly instructs that one who has been captivated by the beautiful
smiling face of Kṛṣṇa
has lost all attraction for material enjoyments. This is the test of
advancement in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness: a person advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must lose interest in material activities and
personal sense gratification.
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Some of the gopīs were factually
detained from going to Kṛṣṇa
by their husbands and were locked up by force within their rooms. Being
unable to go to Kṛṣṇa, they began to meditate upon His transcendental
form by closing their eyes. They already had the form of Kṛṣṇa within their minds. They proved to be the
greatest yogīs; as is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, a person who is constantly
thinking of Kṛṣṇa within his heart with faith and love is
considered to be the topmost of all yogīs. Actually, a yogi concentrates his
mind on the form of Lord Viṣṇu.
That is real yoga. Kṛṣṇa is the original form of all Viṣṇu tattvas. The gopīs could not go to Kṛṣṇa personally, so they began to meditate on Him as
perfect yogīs.
In the conditioned stage of the
living entities, there are two kinds of results of fruitive activities: the
conditioned living entity who is constantly engaged in sinful activities has
suffering as his result, and he who is engaged in pious activities has
material enjoyment as a result. In either case--material suffering or
material enjoyment--the enjoyer or sufferer is conditioned by material
nature.
The gopī associates of Kṛṣṇa, who assemble in the place where Kṛṣṇa is appearing, are from different groups. Most
of the gopīs are eternal companions of Kṛṣṇa.
As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā,
ānanda-cin-maya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ:
in the spiritual world the associates of Kṛṣṇa,
especially the gopīs, are the manifestation of the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They are expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. But when Kṛṣṇa
exhibits His transcendental pastimes within the material world in some of the
universes, not only the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa
come, but also those who are being promoted to that status from this material
world. The gopīs who joined Kṛṣṇa's
pastimes within this material world were coming from the status of ordinary
human beings. If they had been bound by fruitive action, they were fully
freed from the reaction of karma by constant meditation on Kṛṣṇa. Their severe painful yearnings caused by their
not being able to see Kṛṣṇa freed them from all sinful reactions, and their
ecstasy of transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa
in His absence was transcendental to all their reactions of material pious
activities. The conditioned soul is subjected to birth and death, either by
pious or sinful activities, but the gopīs who began to meditate on Kṛṣṇa transcended both positions and became purified
and thus elevated to the status of the gopīs already expanded by His pleasure
potency. All the gopīs who concentrated their minds on Kṛṣṇa in the spirit of paramour love became fully
uncontaminated from all the fruitive reactions of material nature, and some
of them immediately gave up their material bodies developed under the three
modes of material nature.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit heard Śukadeva Gosvāmī explain the situation
of the gopīs who assembled with Kṛṣṇa
in the rāsa dance. When he heard that some of the gopīs, simply by
concentrating on Kṛṣṇa as their paramour, became freed from all
contamination of material birth and death, he said, "The gopīs did not
know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They
accepted Him as a beautiful boy and considered Him to be their paramour. So
how was it possible for them to get freed from the material condition just by
thinking of a paramour?" One should consider here that Kṛṣṇa and ordinary living beings are qualitatively
one. The ordinary living beings, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, are also Brahman, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme--Parabrahman. The question is,
if it is possible for the devotee to get free from the material, contaminated
stage simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa,
then why not others who are also thinking of someone? If one is thinking of a
husband or son, or if anyone at all is thinking of another living entity,
since all living entities are also Brahman, then why are they not all freed
from the contaminated stage of material nature? This is a very intelligent
question, because the atheists are always imitating Kṛṣṇa. In these days of Kaliyuga, there are many
rascals who think themselves to be as great as Kṛṣṇa and who cheat people into believing that
thinking of them is as good as thinking of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Parīkṣit
Mahārāja, apprehending the dangerous condition of blind followers of demonic
imitators, therefore asked this question, and fortunately it is recorded in
the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to warn innocent people that thinking of an ordinary
man and thinking of Kṛṣṇa are not the same.
Actually, even thinking of the
demigods cannot compare with thinking of Kṛṣṇa.
It is also warned in the Vaiṣṇava
Tantra that one who puts Viṣṇu,
Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa
on the same level of the demigods is called a pāsaṇḍa, or a rascal. On hearing this question of
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied, "My dear King,
your question is already answered, even before this incident."
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Because Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to clear up the situation, his
spiritual master answered him very intelligently, “Why are you again asking the
same subject matter which has already been explained to you? Why are you so
forgetful?” A spiritual master is always in the superior position, so he has
the right to chastise his disciple in this way. Śukadeva Gosvāmī knew that
Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked the question not for his own
understanding, but as a warning to the future innocent people who might think
others to be equal to Kṛṣṇa.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī then reminded Parīkṣit Mahārāja about the salvation of Śiśupāla.
Śiśupāla was always envious of Kṛṣṇa,
and because of his envy Kṛṣṇa killed him. Since Kṛṣṇa
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śiśupāla gained salvation simply by
seeing Him. If an envious person can get salvation simply by concentrating his
mind on Kṛṣṇa, then what to speak of the gopīs who are so dear
to Kṛṣṇa and always thinking of Him in love? There must be
some difference between the enemies and the friends. If Kṛṣṇa's enemies could get freed from material
contamination and become one with the Supreme, then certainly His dear friends
like the gopīs are freed and with Him.
Besides that, in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa is called Hṛṣīkeśa.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī also said that Kṛṣṇa
is Hṛṣīkeśa, the Supersoul, whereas an ordinary man is a
conditioned soul covered by the material body. Kṛṣṇa
and Kṛṣṇa's body are the same because He is Hṛṣīkeśa. Any person making a distinction between Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's
body is fool number one. Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa and Adhokṣaja.
These two particular words have been used by Parīkṣit Mahārāja in this instance. Hṛṣīkeśa is the Supersoul, and Adhokṣaja is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
transcendental to the material nature. Just to show favor to the ordinary
living entities, out of His causeless mercy, He appears as He is.
Unfortunately, foolish persons mistake Him to be another ordinary person, and
so they become eligible to go to hell. Śukadeva Gosvāmī reconfirmed that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
imperishable, immeasurable, and free from all material contamination.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to inform
Mahārāja Parīkṣit that Kṛṣṇa
is not an ordinary person. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full of
all spiritual qualities. He appears in this material world out of His causeless
mercy, and whenever He appears, He appears as He is without change. This is
also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. There the Lord says that He appears in His
spiritual potency. He does not appear under the control of this material
potency. The material potency is under His control. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is
stated that the material potency is working under His superintendence. It is
also confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the
material potency known as Durgā is acting just as a shadow which moves with the
movement of the substance. The conclusion is that if one somehow or other becomes
attached to Kṛṣṇa or attracted to Him, either because of His
beauty, quality, opulence, fame, strength, renunciation or knowledge, or even
through lust, anger or fear, or affection or friendship, then one's salvation
and freedom from material contamination is assured.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Eighteenth
Chapter, the Lord also states that one who is engaged in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very dear to Him. A preacher has
to face many difficulties in his struggle to preach pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes he has to suffer bodily
injuries, and sometimes he has to meet death also. All this is taken as a great
austerity on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa
therefore has said that such a preacher is very, very dear to Him. If Kṛṣṇa's enemies can expect salvation simply by
concentrating their minds on Him, then what to speak of persons who are so dear
to Kṛṣṇa? The conclusion should be that the salvation of
those who are engaged in preaching Kṛṣṇa
consciousness in the world is guaranteed in all circumstances. But such
preachers never care for salvation, because factually one who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, has already
achieved salvation. Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore assured King Parīkṣit that he should always rest assured that one
attracted by Kṛṣṇa attains liberation from material bondage because
Kṛṣṇa is the transcendental master of all mystic power.
When all the gopīs assembled, as
described, before Kṛṣṇa, He began to speak to them, welcoming them as
well as discouraging them by word jugglery. Kṛṣṇa
is the supreme speaker; He is the speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā. He can speak on
the highest elevated subjects of philosophy, politics, economics--everything.
And He also spoke before the gopīs who were so dear to Him. He wanted to
enchant them by word jugglery, and thus He began to speak as follows.
"O ladies of Vṛndāvana," Kṛṣṇa
said. "You are very fortunate, and you are very dear to Me. I am very
pleased that you have come here, and I hope everything is well in Vṛndāvana. Now please order Me. What can I do for
you? What is the purpose of coming here in this dead of night? Kindly take your
seats and let Me know what I can do for you."
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The gopīs had come to Kṛṣṇa to enjoy His company, to dance with Him,
embrace Him and kiss Him, and when Kṛṣṇa
began to receive them very officially, showing all kinds of etiquette, they
were surprised. He was treating them as ordinary society women. Therefore
they began to smile among themselves, and they very eagerly listened to Kṛṣṇa talk in that way. When He saw that they were
smiling at Him, He said, "My dear friends, you must know now that it is
the dead of night, and the forest is very dangerous. At this time all the
ferocious jungle animals, the tigers, bears, jackals and wolves, are prowling
in the forest. Therefore it is very dangerous for you. You cannot select a
secure place now. Everywhere you go you will find that all these animals are
loitering to find their prey. I think, therefore, that you are taking a great
risk in coming here in the dead of night. Please turn back immediately,
without delay."
When He saw that they continued to
smile, He said, "I very much appreciate your bodily features. All of you
have nice, very thin waists." All of the gopīs there were exquisitely
beautiful. They are described by the word sumadhyamā; the standard of beauty
of a woman is said to be sumadhyamā when the middle portion of the body is
slender.
Kṛṣṇa
wanted to impress on them that they were not old enough to take care of
themselves. Actually, they required protection. It was not very wise for them
to come in the dead of night to Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa also indicated that He was young and that they
were young girls. "It does not look very well for young girls and boys
to remain together in the dead of night." After hearing this advice, the
gopīs did not seem very happy; therefore Kṛṣṇa
began to stress the point in a different way.
"My dear friends, I can
understand that you have left your homes without the permission of your
guardians; therefore I think your mothers, your fathers, your elderly
brothers or even your sons, and what to speak of your husbands, must be very
anxious to find you. As long as you are here, they must be searching in
different places, and their minds must be very agitated. So don't tarry.
Please go back and make them peaceful."
When the gopīs appeared to be a
little bit disturbed and angry from the free advice of Kṛṣṇa, they diverted their attention to looking at
the beauty of the forest. At that time the whole forest was illuminated by
the bright shining of the moon, and the air was blowing very silently over
the blooming flowers, and the green leaves of the trees were moving in the
breeze. Kṛṣṇa took the opportunity of their looking at the
forest to advise them. "I think you have come out to see the beautiful Vṛndāvana forest on this night," He said,
"but you must now be satisfied. So return to your homes without delay. I
understand that you are all very chaste women, so now that you have seen the
beautiful atmosphere of the Vṛndāvana forests,
please return home and engage in the faithful service of your respective
husbands. Some of you must have babies by this time, although you are very
young. You must have left your small babies at home, and they must be crying.
Please immediately go back home and just feed them with your breast milk. I
can also understand that you have very great affection for Me, and out of
that transcendental affection you have come here, hearing My playing on the
flute. Your feelings of love and affection for Me are very appropriate
because I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living creatures are My
parts and parcels, and naturally they are affectionate to Me. So this
affection for Me is very much welcome, and I congratulate you for this. Now
you can go back to your homes. Another thing I must explain to you is that
for a chaste woman, service to the husband without duplicity is the best
religious principle. A woman should be not only faithful and chaste to the
husband, but affectionate to the friends of her husband, obedient to the father
and mother of the husband, and affectionate to the younger brothers of the
husband. And most importantly, the woman must take care of the
children."
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The instruction given herein by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the gopīs was not at all sarcastic. Such instructions should be taken very seriously by all honest women. The chastity of women is specifically stressed herein by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore this principle should be followed by any serious woman who wants to be elevated to a higher status of life. Kṛṣṇa is the center of all affection for all living creatures. When this affection is developed for Kṛṣṇa, then one surpasses and transcends all Vedic injunctions. This was possible for the gopīs because they saw Kṛṣṇa face to face. This is not possible for any women in the conditioned state. Unfortunately, by imitating the behavior of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, sometimes a rascal takes the position of Kṛṣṇa, following the philosophy of monism or oneness, and he very irresponsibly takes advantage of this rāsa-līlā to entice many innocent women and mislead them in the name of spiritual realization. As a warning, Lord Kṛṣṇa has herein hinted that what was possible for the gopīs is not possible for ordinary women. Although a woman can actually be elevated by advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness, she should not be enticed by an imposter who says that he is Kṛṣṇa. She should concentrate her devotional activities in chanting and meditating upon Kṛṣṇa, as is advised herein. One should not follow the men called sahajiyā, the so-called devotees who take everything very lightly.
When Kṛṣṇa spoke in such a discouraging way to the gopīs, they became very sad, for they thought that their desire to enjoy rāsa dance with Kṛṣṇa would be frustrated. Thus they became full of anxiety. Out of great sadness, the gopīs began to breathe very heavily. Instead of looking at Kṛṣṇa face to face, they bowed their heads and looked to the ground, and they began to draw various types of curved lines on the ground with their toes. They were shedding heavy tears, and their cosmetic decorations were being washed from their faces. The water from their eyes mixed with the kuṅkuma of their breasts and fell to the ground. They could not say anything to Kṛṣṇa, but simply stood there silently. By their silence they expressed that their hearts were grievously wounded.
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The gopīs were not ordinary women. In
essence they were on an equal level with Kṛṣṇa.
They are His eternal associates. As it is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā, they are expansions of the pleasure potency
of Kṛṣṇa, and as His potency they are nondifferent from
Him. Although they were depressed by the words of Kṛṣṇa, they did not like to use harsh words against
Him. Yet they wanted to rebuke Kṛṣṇa
for His unkind words, and therefore they began to speak in faltering voices.
They did not like to use harsh words against Kṛṣṇa
because He was their dearmost, their heart and soul. The gopīs had only Kṛṣṇa within their hearts. They were completely
surrendered and dedicated souls. Naturally, when they heard such unkind
words, they tried to reply, but in the attempt torrents of tears fell from
their eyes. Finally they managed to speak.
"Kṛṣṇa,"
they said, "You are very cruel! You should not talk like that. We are
full-fledged surrendered souls. Please accept us, and don't talk in that
cruel way. Of course, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You can
do whatever You like, but it is not worthy of Your position to treat us in
such a cruel way. We have come to You, leaving everything behind, just to
take shelter of Your lotus feet. We know that You are completely independent
and can do whatever You like, but we request You, don't reject us. We are
Your devotees. You should accept us as Lord Nārāyaṇa accepts His devotees. There are many devotees
of Lord Nārāyaṇa who worship Him for salvation, and He awards
them salvation. Similarly, how can You reject us when we have no other
shelter than Your lotus feet?
"O dear Kṛṣṇa," they continued, "You are the
supreme instructor. There is no doubt about it. Your instructions to the
women to be faithful to their husbands and to be merciful to their children,
to take care of homely affairs and to be obedient to the elderly members of
the family, are surely just according to the tenets of śāstras. But we know
also that all these instructions of the śāstras may be observed perfectly by
keeping oneself under the protection of Your lotus feet. Our husbands,
friends, family members and children are all dear and pleasing to us only
because of Your presence, for You are the Supersoul of all living creatures.
Without Your presence, one is worthless. When You leave the body, the body
immediately dies, and according to the injunction of the śāstra, a dead body
must immediately be thrown in a river or burned. Therefore, ultimately You
are the dearmost personality in this world. By placing our faith and love in
Your personality, there is no chance of our being bereft of husband, friends,
sons or daughters. If a woman accepts You as the supreme husband, then she
will never be bereft of her husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we
accept You as our ultimate husband, then there is no question of being
separated, divorced or widowed. You are the eternal husband, eternal son,
eternal friend, and eternal master, and one who enters into a relationship
with You is eternally happy. Since You are the teacher of all religious principles,
Your lotus feet first have to be worshiped. Accordingly, the śāstras state,
ācārya-upāsanā: the worship of Your lotus feet is the first principle.
Besides that, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, You are the only enjoyer, You
are the only proprietor, and You are the only friend. As such, we have come
to You, leaving aside all so-called friends, society and love, and now You
have become our enjoyer. Let us be everlastingly enjoyed by You. Be our
proprietor, for that is Your natural claim, and be our supreme friend, for
You are naturally so. Let us thus embrace You as the supreme beloved."
Then the gopīs told the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, "Please do not discourage our
long-cherished desires to have You as our husband. Any intelligent man who
cares for his own self-interest reposes all his loving spirit in You. Persons
who are simply misled by the external energy, who want to be satisfied by
false concepts, try to enjoy themselves apart from You. The so-called
husband, friend, son, daughter, or father and mother are all simply sources
of material misery. No one is made happy in this material world by having a
so-called father, mother, husband, son, daughter and friend. Although the
father and mother are expected to protect the children, there are many
children who are suffering for want of food and shelter. There are many good
physicians, but when a patient dies, no physician can revive him. There are
many means of protection, but when one is doomed, none of the protective
measures can help, and without Your protection the so-called sources of
protection simply become sources of continued distress. We therefore appeal
to You, dear Lord of all lords, please do not kill our long-cherished desires
to have You as our supreme husband.
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"Dear Kṛṣṇa, as women, we are certainly satisfied when our
hearts are engaged in the activities of family affairs, but our hearts have
already been stolen by You. We can no longer engage them in family affairs.
Besides that, You are asking us repeatedly to return home, and that is a very
appropriate instruction, but unfortunately we have been stunned here. Our legs
have no power to move a step from Your lotus feet. Therefore, if even at Your
request we return home, what shall we do there? We have lost all our capacity
to act without You. Instead of engaging our hearts in family affairs as women,
we have now developed a different type of lust which is continually blazing in
our hearts. Now we request You, dear Kṛṣṇa,
to extinguish that fire with Your beautiful smile and the transcendental vibration
emanating from Your lips. If You do not agree to do us this favor, we shall
certainly be burned in the fire of separation. In that condition, we shall
simply think of You and Your beautiful features and give up our bodies
immediately. In that way we think it will be possible for us to reside at Your
lotus feet in the next life. Dear Kṛṣṇa,
if You say that if we go home our respective husbands will satisfy the lusty
flame of our desire, we can only say that that is no longer possible. You have
given us a chance to be enjoyed by You in the forest and have touched our
breasts once in the past, which we accepted as a blessing, as did the goddesses
of fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas
by You. Since we have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer
interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of our lust. Dear Kṛṣṇa, the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune are
always worshiped by the demigods, although she is always resting on Your chest
in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. She underwent great austerity and
penance to have some shelter at Your lotus feet, which are always covered by
tulasī leaves. Your lotus feet are the proper shelter of Your servitors, and
the goddess of fortune, instead of abiding on Your chest, comes down and worships
Your lotus feet. We have now placed ourselves under the dust of Your feet.
Please do not reject us, for we are fully surrendered souls.
"Dear Kṛṣṇa, You are known as Hari. You destroy all the
miseries of all living entities, specifically of those who have left their
homes and family attachment and have completely taken to You. We have left our
homes with the hope that we shall completely devote and dedicate our lives to
Your service. We are simply begging to be engaged as Your servants. We do not wish
to ask You to accept us as Your wives. Simply accept us as Your maidservants.
Since You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and like to enjoy the
parakīya-rasa and are famous as a transcendental woman hunter, we have come to
satisfy Your transcendental desires. We are also after our own satisfaction,
for simply by looking at Your smiling face we have become very lusty. We have
come before You decorated with all ornaments and dress, but until You embrace
us, all our dresses and beautiful features remain incomplete. You are the
Supreme Person, and if You complete our dressing attempt as the puruṣa-bhūṣaṇa, or the male ornament, then all our desires and
bodily decorations are complete.
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"Dear Kṛṣṇa, we have simply been captivated by seeing You
with tilaka and with earrings and by seeing Your beautiful face covered with
scattered hair and Your extraordinary smile. Not only that, but we are also
attracted by Your arms, which always give assurance to the surrendered souls.
And although we are also attracted by Your chest, which is always embraced by
the goddess of fortune, we do not wish to take her position. We shall simply
be satisfied by being Your maidservants. If You, however, accuse us of
encouraging prostitution, then we can only ask where is that woman within
these three worlds who is not captivated by Your beauty and the rhythmic
songs vibrated by Your transcendental flute? Within these three worlds there
is no distinction between men and women in relation to You because both men
and women belong to the marginal potency or prakṛti. No one is actually the enjoyer or the male;
everyone is meant to be enjoyed by You. There is no woman within these three
worlds who cannot but deviate from her path of chastity once she is attracted
to You because Your beauty is so sublime that not only men and women, but
cows, birds, beasts and even trees, fruits and flowers--everyone and
everything--become enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves? It is, however,
definitely decided that as Lord Viṣṇu
is always protecting the demigods from the onslaught of demons, so You have
also advented in Vṛndāvana just to give the residents protection
from all kinds of distress. O dear friend of the distressed, kindly place
Your hand on our burning breasts as well as on our heads, because we have
surrendered unto You as Your eternal maidservants. If You think, however,
that Your lotus-like palms might be burned to ashes if placed on our burning
breasts, let us assure You that Your palms will feel pleasure instead of
pain, as the lotus flower, although very delicate and soft, enjoys the
scorching heat of the sun."
Upon hearing the anxious plea of the
gopīs, the Supreme Personality of Godhead began to smile, and being very kind
to the gopīs, the Lord, although self-sufficient, began to embrace them and
kiss them as they desired. When Kṛṣṇa,
smiling, looked at the faces of the gopīs, the beauty of their faces became a
hundred times enhanced. When He was enjoying them in their midst, He appeared
just like the full moon surrounded by millions of shining stars. Thus the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded by hundreds of gopīs and decorated
with a flower garland of many colors, began to wander within the Vṛndāvana forest, sometimes singing to Himself and
sometimes singing with the gopīs. In this way, both the Lord and the gopīs
reached the cool sandy bank of the Yamunā where there were lilies and lotus
flowers. In such a transcendental atmosphere, both the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa began to enjoy one another. While they were
walking on the bank of the Yamunā, Kṛṣṇa
would sometimes put His arms around a gopī's head, breast or waist. Pinching
one another and joking and looking at one another, they enjoyed. When Kṛṣṇa touched the bodies of the gopīs, their lust to
embrace Him increased. They all enjoyed these pastimes. Thus the gopīs were
blessed with all mercy by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they
enjoyed His company without a tinge of mundane sex life.
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The gopīs,
however, soon began to feel very proud, thinking themselves to be the most
fortunate women in the universe by being favored by the company of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Keśava, could
immediately understand their pride caused by their great fortune of enjoying
Him personally, and in order to show them His causeless mercy and to curb their
false pride, He immediately disappeared from the scene, exhibiting His opulence
of renunciation. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always full with six
kinds of opulences, and this is an instance of the opulence of renunciation.
This renunciation confirms Kṛṣṇa's total nonattachment. He is always self-sufficient and is not
dependent on anything. This is the platform on which the transcendental
pastimes are enacted.
30. Kṛṣṇa's Hiding from the Gopīs
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When Kṛṣṇa
suddenly disappeared from the company of the gopīs, they began to search for
Him in every place. After not finding Him anywhere, they became afraid and
almost mad after Him. They were simply thinking of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in great love and affection. Being absorbed in
thought, they experienced loss of memory, and with dampened eyes they began
to see the very pastimes of Kṛṣṇa,
His beautiful talks with them, His embracing, kissing, and other activities.
Being so attracted to Kṛṣṇa, they began to imitate His dancing, His walking
and smiling, as if they themselves were Kṛṣṇa.
Due to Kṛṣṇa's absence, they all became crazy; each one of
them began to tell the others that she was Kṛṣṇa
Himself. Soon they all began to assemble together and chant Kṛṣṇa's name very loudly, and they moved from one
part of the forest to another searching for Him. Actually, Kṛṣṇa is all-pervasive; He is in the sky, and He is
in the forest; He is within the heart, and He is always everywhere.
The gopīs therefore began to question
the trees and plants about Kṛṣṇa.
There were various types of big trees and small plants in the forest, and the
gopīs began to address them. "Dear banyan tree, have you seen the son of
Mahārāja Nanda passing this way, laughing and playing on His flute? He has
stolen our hearts and has gone away. If you have seen Him, kindly inform us
which way He has gone. Dear aśoka tree, dear nāga flower tree and campaka
flower tree, have you seen the younger brother of Balarāma pass this way? He
has disappeared because of our pride." The gopīs were aware of the
reason for Kṛṣṇa's sudden disappearance. They could understand
that when they were enjoying Kṛṣṇa,
they thought themselves to be the most fortunate women within the universe,
and since they were feeling proud, Kṛṣṇa
disappeared immediately just to curb their pride. Kṛṣṇa does not like His devotees to be proud of their
service to Him. He accepts everyone's service, but He does not like one
devotee to be prouder than others. If sometimes there are such feelings, Kṛṣṇa ends them by changing His attitude toward the
devotee.
The gopīs then began to address the
tulasī plants: "Dear tulasī, you are much beloved by Lord Kṛṣṇa because your leaves are always at His lotus
feet. Dear mālatī flower, dear mallikā flower, dear jasmine flower, all of
you must have been touched by Kṛṣṇa
while He was passing this way after giving us transcendental enjoyment. Have
you seen Mādhava passing this way? O mango trees, O trees of jack fruit, O
pear trees and āsana trees! O blackberries and bael trees and trees of
kadamba flower--you are all very pious trees to be living on the bank of
Yamunā. Kṛṣṇa must have passed through this way. Will you
kindly let us know which way He has gone?"
The gopīs then looked upon the ground
they were traversing and began to address the earth, "Dear earthly
planet, we do not know how many penances and austerities you have undergone
to be now living with the footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa
upon you. You are very jolly; the hairs on your body are these jubilant trees
and plants. Lord Kṛṣṇa must have been very much pleased with you,
otherwise how could He have embraced you in the form of Varāha the boar? When
you were submerged in water, He delivered you, taking the whole weight of
your existence on His tusks."
After addressing the innumerable
trees and plants, they turned their faces toward the beautiful deer who were
looking on them very pleasingly. "It appears," they addressed the
deer, "that Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Nārāyaṇa Himself, must have passed through this way
along with His companion, Lakṣmī, the goddess of
fortune. Otherwise, how is it possible that the aroma of His garland, which
is smeared with the red kuṅkuma from the
breast of the goddess of fortune, can be perceived in the breeze blowing
here? It appears that they must have passed through here and touched your
bodies, and thus you are feeling so pleasant and are looking toward us with
sympathy. Will you kindly, therefore, inform us which way Kṛṣṇa has gone? Kṛṣṇa
is the well-wisher of Vṛndāvana. He is as kind to you as to us; therefore
after leaving us, He must have been present in your company. O fortunate
trees, we are thinking of Kṛṣṇa,
the younger brother of Balarāma. While passing through here, with one hand
resting on the shoulder of the goddess of fortune and the other hand whirling
a lotus flower, He must have been very pleased to accept your obeisances, and
He must have glanced at you with great pleasure."
Some of the gopīs then began to
address their other gopī friends, "Dear friends, why don't you question
these creepers who are so jubilantly embracing the big trees as if the trees
were their husbands? It appears that the flowers of the creepers must have
been touched by the nails of Kṛṣṇa.
Otherwise, how could they feel so jubilant?"
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After searching for Kṛṣṇa here and there, when the gopīs became fatigued,
they began to talk like madwomen. They could only satisfy themselves by
imitating the different pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
One of them imitated the demon, Pūtanā, and one of them imitated Kṛṣṇa and sucked her breast. One gopī imitated a hand-driven
cart, and another gopī lay down beneath the cart and began to throw up her
legs, touching the wheels of the cart, as Kṛṣṇa
did to kill the demon Śakaṭāsura. They imitated
child Kṛṣṇa, lying down on the ground, and one gopī became
the demon Tṛṇāvarta and carried the small child Kṛṣṇa by force into the sky; and one of the gopīs began
to imitate Kṛṣṇa while He was attempting to walk, ringing His
ankle bells. Two gopīs imitated Kṛṣṇa
and Balarāma, and many others imitated Their cowherd boy friends. One gopī
assumed the form of Bakāsura, and another forced her to fall down as the demon
Bakāsura did when he was killed; similarly, another gopī defeated Vatsāsura.
Just as Kṛṣṇa used to call His cows by their different names,
so the gopīs imitated Him, calling the cows by their respective names. One of
the gopīs began to play on a flute, and another praised her the way Kṛṣṇa's boy friends praised Him while He played on His
flute. One of the gopīs took another gopī on her shoulders, just as Kṛṣṇa used to take His boy friends. Absorbed in
thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, the gopī who was carrying her friend began to
boast that she was Kṛṣṇa herself: "All of you just see my
movement!" One of the gopīs raised her hand with her covering garments and
said, "Now don't be afraid of torrents of rain and severe hurricanes. I'll
save you!" In this way she imitated the lifting of Govardhana Hill. One
gopī forcibly put her feet on the head of another gopī and said, "You
rascal Kāliya! I shall punish you severely. You must leave this place. I have
descended on this earth to punish all kinds of miscreants!" Another gopī
told her friends, "Just see! The flames of the forest fire are coming to
devour us. Please close your eyes, and I shall immediately save you from this
imminent danger."
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In this way all the gopīs were madly
feeling the absence of Kṛṣṇa.
They enquired for Him from the trees and plants. In some places they found
the imprints of the marks on the sole of His feet--namely the flag, the lotus
flower, the trident, the thunderbolt, etc. After seeing those footprints,
they exclaimed, "O here is the impression of the marks on the sole of Kṛṣṇa. All the marks, such as the flag, the lotus
flower, the trident and the thunderbolt, are distinctly visible here."
They began to follow the footprints, and shortly they saw another set of
footprints beside them, and immediately they became very sorry. "Dear
friends, just see! Whose are these other footprints? They are beside the
footprints of the son of Mahārāja Nanda. It is certainly Kṛṣṇa passing through, resting His hand on some other
gopī, exactly as an elephant goes side by side with his beloved mate. We
must, therefore, understand that this particular gopī served Kṛṣṇa with greater affectionate love than ourselves.
Because of this, although He has left us, He could not leave Her company. He
has taken Her along with Him. Dear friends, just imagine how the dust of this
place is transcendentally glorious. The dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is worshiped even by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva,
and the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī.
But at the same time, we are very sorry that this particular gopī has gone
along with Kṛṣṇa, for She is sharing the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's kisses and leaving us aside to lament. O
friends, just see! At this particular spot we do not see the footprints of
that gopī. It appears that because there were some pin-pricks from the dried
grass, Kṛṣṇa took Rādhārāṇī
on His shoulder. O, She is so dear to Him! Kṛṣṇa
must have picked some flowers in this spot to satisfy Rādhārāṇī, because here, where He stood erect to get the
flowers from the high branches of the tree, we find only half the impression
of His feet. Dear friends, just see how Kṛṣṇa
must have sat down here with Rādhārāṇī
and tried to set flowers in Her hair. You can be certain that both of Them
sat together here." Kṛṣṇa
is self-sufficient; He has nothing to enjoy from any other source, yet just
to satisfy His devotee He has treated Rādhārāṇī
exactly as a lusty boy treats his girlfriend. Kṛṣṇa
is so kind that He always tolerates the disturbances created by His girl
friends.
In this way, all the gopīs began to
point out the faults of the particular gopī who had been taken alone by Kṛṣṇa. They began to say that the chief gopī, Rādhārāṇī, who was taken alone by Kṛṣṇa, must be very proud of Her position, thinking
Herself the greatest of the gopīs. "Yet how could Kṛṣṇa take Her away alone, leaving all of us aside,
unless She be extraordinarily qualified and beautiful? She must have taken Kṛṣṇa in the deep forest and told Him, 'My dear Kṛṣṇa, I am now very tired. I cannot go any further.
Please carry Me wherever You like.' When Kṛṣṇa
was spoken to in this way, He might have told Rādhārāṇī, 'All right, better get on My shoulder.' But
immediately Kṛṣṇa must have disappeared, and now Rādhārāṇī must be lamenting for Him, 'My dear lover, My
dearest, You are so fine and so powerful. Where have You gone? I am nothing
but Your most obedient maidservant. I am very much aggrieved. Please come and
be with Me again.' Kṛṣṇa, however, is not coming to Her. He must be
watching Her from a distant place and enjoying Her sorrow."
All the gopīs then went further and
further into the forest, searching out Kṛṣṇa,
but when they learned that actually Rādhārāṇī
was left alone by Kṛṣṇa, they became very sorry. This is the test of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the beginning they were a
little envious that Kṛṣṇa had taken Rādhārāṇī
alone, leaving aside all other gopīs, but as soon as they knew that Kṛṣṇa had also left Rādhārāṇī and that She was alone lamenting for Him, they
became more sympathetic to Her. The gopīs found Rādhārāṇī and heard everything from Her, about how She
misbehaved with Kṛṣṇa and how She was proud and was insulted for Her
pride. After hearing all this, they became actually very sympathetic. Then
all the gopīs, including Rādhārāṇī,
began to proceed further into the forest, until they could no longer see the
moonlight.
When they saw that it was getting
gradually darker, they stopped. Their mind and intelligence became absorbed
in the thoughts of Kṛṣṇa; they all imitated the activities of Kṛṣṇa and His speeches. Due to their heart and soul
being completely given to Kṛṣṇa,
they began to chant His glories, completely forgetting their family
interests. In this way, all the gopīs assembled together on the bank of Yamunā,
and expecting that Kṛṣṇa must return to them, they simply engaged in the
chanting of the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa--Hare
Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa,
Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
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Om
Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
dot com and Hinduism online dot com for
the collection)
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