2 Gopi Gita Texts 2 – 4 Glory Of Unreciprocated Love
Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
Hare Krishna So we continue our discussion of the Gopi Geet. So as I mentioned in the morning, that this particular section is demonstrating love in separation. And each verse is indirectly a call to Krishna, Krishna, please return.
Please come back. The first verse tied the call to Vrindavan. Krishna, you have made the place glorious.
Will you make it inglorious now by abandoning us, by subjecting us to such misfortune in a place of fortune? So in this verse, now as they are thinking of Krishna, they are saying, we are longing to see you. Our eyes are searching for you. So as they are thinking of Krishna, the form of Krishna, especially his beautiful face, is flashing in front of their eyes.
And not just his face, a specific feature of his face. Sharadudasha So as they are looking around, mentioned they are sitting around the Yamuna, almost like, some acharyas say they have formed a circle, some say they have formed a semicircle. So they are facing the Yamuna.
Either way, that they are seeing, it's night time, in the dim light that is coming from the moon, they are seeing the lotus flowers. And one characteristic of love is that anything and everything can become a trigger to remind us of the object of our love. So for the gopis, as they are beholding the lotus flowers in the Yamuna and on the banks of the Yamuna, they are remembering that these are so beautiful, and yet, Krishna's eyes are even more beautiful.
Sharadudasha Sadhujaatisat So, those which arise in autumn, the flowers that are formed, now Rasleela is, often we celebrate it in Shraddha Purnima, that's the time when Krishna called the gopis, so this is Sharadudasha, that in the autumn, these lotuses have bloomed. And, while at one level, every flower is beautiful in its own way, but some flowers are even more beautiful than others. So Sadhujaatisat, the most exquisitely formed flowers, and they are saying that Sarasijodara Shreemushadrusha Sarasijodara that, in the water body, they are formed, their whirl is extremely beautiful, but the beauty of your glance, the beauty of your eyes, Shreemushadrusha, so Drusha is eyes, Shree is the beauty of your eyes, Musha, Musha is the word associated with the moustache, that is the one with the moustache, that's what, it means a thief.
So, Shreemushadrusha, that they can steal away, so the beauty of your eyes, steals away the beauty of the most exquisitely formed lotus flower in autumn. So they are remembering this exquisite beauty, and Suratnatate, that not only are you so beautiful, but, you are also the god of love, Suratnatate, you are the lord of love, and Ashulkadasika, so your looks are loving, but it's not just looks, you are actually, truly a person who is, at heart also loving, some people may have a very sweet appearance, but they may have a very manipulative heart, but Krishna, as you are attractive inside, so outside, so are you attractive inside, you look loving, and you are loving, and we, O Krishna, have come to you, out of love, Ashulkadasika, so, there is this tension between Madhurya, and Aishwarya, sometimes the gopis will refer to Krishna, as their beloved, like the previous verse, but now, they are saying, we are not your queens, we are not your princesses, we are your maidservants, Ashulkadasika, so this is in which bhava, more, Aishwarya, Krishna, you are the great being, and they are saying, you are the god of love, and we are getting no wages for coming to you, we are not seeking any wages, that means, we are coming to you out of love, so, you are outside and inside loving, we have come for the purpose of loving, and yet, what are you doing, then, so, if you are the god of love, and somebody approaches you out of love, then, you should be giving blessings, and normally, you are celebrated, as the giver of blessings, so, Varada, one of the names of the lord is Varadaraj, in South India, we have beautiful temples, so, Varada, you are the giver of blessings, and yet, instead of giving blessings to us, what are you doing, so, Neha Kimvadaha, so, instead of blessing us, you are killing us, how can you do that, oh lord, how can you act, in a way, so, contradictory to who you are, Neha Kimvadaha, so, this Kimvadaha, this is actually a rhetorical sentence, is this not murder, so, how can you murder us, is this not killing, so, rhetorical questions, are questions where, the answer, is self-evident, but, it is phrased, for greater emphasis, so, if it says, who can be so foolish, as to do something like this, and the other person says, yes, I can be, no, nobody can be, that is the meaning of that, that is a rhetorical question, means the answer is implicit, but the point is phrased as a question, for emphasis, so, they are saying, Neha Kimvadaha, so, in general, the Gopis, broadly speaking, they are making each prayer, through, appeal to incompatibility, incompatible, or in the sense of, unbecoming, Krishna, this is not who you are, this is not how, you should be behaving, so, why are you behaving like this, so, they are not, directly reproaching Krishna, but they are pointing to Krishna, please don't do this, so, generally speaking, if somebody is known to be a very calm, and composed person, and suddenly they get angry, and they just start, ranting, and exploding like a madman, what happened, this is not the way to be, so, we, there is, there is a character, there is a character, of a character, what that means is, character is a person, and character is their nature, or their behavior, so, each person, has a character, some people are more introvert, some people are more extrovert, some people are, very lavish, in appreciating others, some people are very stingy, in appreciating others, so, there are different kinds of people, everybody has their character, but here the gopis are saying, you are behaving, out of character, so, this is not who you are, say, if in a movie, there is a hero, and suddenly the hero starts behaving like a villain, hero starts, instead of protecting innocent people, the hero starts attacking innocent people, instead of, acting in virtuous ways, the hero starts acting in vicious ways, you say, what's happening, is this really a hero, why is this person acting like that, so, they are telling Krishna, you are acting out of character, so, they are doing this, in this simple words, the focus is on love over here, so, they are making four points here, that, you look loving, you are known to be loving, look loving means, from the beauty they are talking about that, you look extremely loving, you are known to be loving, you are, and, you are being approached out of love, we are coming to you, out of love, and, you are known to be, a blesser, a giver of blessings, and when all this is there, what are you doing, instead of blessing, why are you cursing us, and it's not just cursing, it's vada, it's, it's killing, that involves itself, a certain level of, malevolent intent, the urge to hurt others, but murdering, is even a harsher word, so, vada, can mean killing, but, it more specifically also means murdering, so, how can you, how can you kill us like this Krishna, so, in this way, they are actually, begging to Krishna, please Krishna, return, please Krishna, come back, so, now, and the Gopis are saying here, Ashul Kadasika, that Krishna, we are serving you, without expecting, anything in return, so, they are, they are considered, the highest devotees, and, there are many different ways, in which you can understand, why they are considered to be the greatest devotees, so, generally speaking, whenever, there is a relationship, between two people, there is some, reciprocation that is to be expected, now, I do something for you, and you do something for me, now, it can be, this reciprocation, can go in two ways, reciprocation, can be transactional, that means, it is just a transaction, like we go to a shopkeeper, and, we, give money, they give a product, and then we go our way, they go their way, it can be transactional, but, here, when it is transactional, there is practically no love over here, but that same reciprocation, can also be transformational, transformational means, that say, if, two people have some interaction, but their interaction is so pleasant, so warm, that both of them, start liking each other, both of them, become affectionate towards each other, so, the transformation at one level is, they come closer to each other, but, quite often, the transformation is, also that, they make each other better, it is, that, make each other better means, if a couple has a child, now, in taking care of the child, in raising the child, in disciplining the child, they are trying to make the child better, but in caring for the child, the parents also become better, they have to become more responsible, they have to become more aware of their actions, so, basically, parents make children, and children make parents, children make, those who have begotten a child, to become a parent, so the idea is, in a healthy relationship, there is transformation, that both, come closer and become better, at the same time, generally speaking, this is a different topic, which we will come to, about the relationship being transformational, reciprocation, so reciprocation itself, is not necessarily, a sign of, a loveless relationship, it is what kind of love is expected, what kind of, what is the, nature of the, emotions and the dynamics, in the relationship, so normally, we expect some reciprocation, if, if I do something for you, then you do something, if I am talking politely with you, and you are yelling at me, then, hey, what's going on, this is not appropriate, so, there is, reciprocation expected, and generally, when the reciprocation, goes as expected, then both come closer to each other, now imagine, in a relationship, if say, one person is doing a lot, for the other person, and the other person is barely doing anything, then, what happens is, that creates a strain, in the relationship, now, the strain is on this side, not necessarily on the other side, the other person is very comfortable, I am getting a lot, and I have to remove so little, but, if it happens that, in a relationship for a long long time, there is a lot that is given, and very little, that is got back, then we start thinking, what is the point of this relationship, why am I even here, so normally, any, any relationship, becomes tested, so love, one of the, it gets tested, when we feel there is, when the reciprocation, there is either, no reciprocation, or even there is low reciprocation, so when that happens, the relationship becomes tested, and, if, someone, say, does a lot for another person, even when there is practically no reciprocation, then that, is actually a sign of great love, say, now if, if say a parent has a child, and the child, a child also is intelligent, hardworking, child does well, and child makes the parents proud, then there is a very, sweet relationship between them, but say, if, the child is, autistic, then there is not much, the child can do, and then practically in that relationship, the parents, they have to keep giving, throughout their life practically, now of course that child may also, for them even a small reciprocation, of that child, will be very rewarding, but still, if in such a relationship, parents are taking care of the child, that is a testament to their love, now at least if the child is autistic, we understand that, the child can't reciprocate, but, if the child is deliberately, not reciprocating, deliberately defying, deliberately neglecting, or rejecting whatever the parents are saying, then, to, to still continue, loving the child, that becomes a test, that becomes quite difficult, so, sometimes, we may, if we consider, love as an obligation, or a duty, so, it may be that, I was talking with one devotee, we are talking about another devotee, actually, he was telling that, this devotee had a lot of, you can say he had a lot of difficulties, or he was creating a lot of difficulties, both ways, so, he, this senior devotee was, had been the person who brought him to, bhakti, and, he had taken care of him, so he said, I love him, but I just can't like him, now, we say, how is that possible, liking is included in loving, well, he was saying that, love in the sense that, I'll be there for him, because I introduced him, I have a sense of duty, so, I'll be there for him, I love him, but, I just, we can't really, if there is no reciprocation, the, so, it's very difficult, to have positive emotion, so, he was saying that, love in the sense of action, I will do, but, in the sense of emotion, it's very difficult, so, why are we talking about all this over here, here, the gopis, in one sense, are doing so much for Krishna, they have left everything for Krishna, and all that Krishna had to do, was just be with them, and Krishna has left them, so, this is a great test of love, when we are, when we suffer pain, because, of the very object of love, that is extremely difficult to bear, we'll talk about this pain later, more, again, but the point is, that, they have literally given everything up for Krishna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam shivanam vraja, Krishna, all that we expected from you is, you called us, and we have come, how can you abandon us, so, the gopis are considered the highest devotees, because, even when they get little or no reciprocation from Krishna, in fact, what they get is abandonment that can seem like rejection from Krishna, still, they never give up Krishna, whether it is when Krishna has abandoned them in the forest, at night, or whether it is when Krishna leaves them, and goes away, when he goes to Mathura, so, that, they stay on with him, they remain waiting for him, that is the testament to their unparalleled love, so, that is signified over here in ashul kadasika, so, in one sense, they are ready to give up everything for Krishna, but still, Krishna, we love you so much, that separation from you is just unbearable, it feels like death to us, how can you subject us to such death, neha kim vadha so, let's sing this a few more times, and then we'll go, three times you can sing this, each line, and then we'll go to the next verse, or maybe I'll just explain the next verse, then we can sing it, yeah, shara do da shaye sadhu jata sa shara do da shaye shara do da shaye sadhu jata sa shara do da shaye sadhu jata sa sarasi jodhara nim jat risha sarasi jodhara shri musha drisha ah sarasi jodhara shri musha drisha surat nathate shunk da sika surat nathate shunk da sika surat nathate shunk da sika varada neghna to neha kinvada varada neghna to neha kinvada varada neghna to neha kinvada so now continuing this theme of killing they say krishna such killing is unbecoming for you because you have done the opposite of that many many times when others came to kill us you protected us so when you were our protector why is the protector becoming the killer how is this becoming for you so they give examples visha jala pyayaad so what does this refer to the poisoned water that is kaliya vyala rakshasad what does that refer to aghas the yawning yawning wide mouth which devoured vyala rakshasad then varsha marutad varsha is rains maruta is wind vaidyunthanala vaidyun is thunder or lightning so vaidyunthanala what does this refer to govardhanila indra's fury so they are saying there are asuras who attacked us and devatas who attacked us and you protected us from both and then this is an interesting point which we will discuss more they are saying that krishna you have protected us in the past and you will also protect us in the future so that is they are talking about in future there are demons from whom you will save us risha mayatma jala so risha is the bull demon that is arishtasura rishabh rishabh rishabh is referring to arishtasura mayatma jala so mayatma jala the being who is the son of maya that is vyomasura so vyomasura comes towards the almost the end of krishnalila in vrindavan so and these were not ordinary dangers vishvatobhayat these were dangers that could terrorize the whole universe and they are saying rishabhatevayam so the gopigeet is poetry so one alliteration that you may have noticed is the first half and the second half vishya and vyala varishya and vaidyun rishya and vishvato so the sound is similar but here rishya and rishabh that is also a rhyme over there rishabhatevayam so oh lord that you have protected us all rakshitamuhu again and again you have protected us so you protected us in the past, you protected us in the future so why is it that you are abandoning us now why is it that you are killing us now oh lord please don't do this please come back that is the mood of the gopis over here can we sing this let's go vyalarakshasa vishajalapyayat vyalarakshasa varshavarutat vaidyutanala varshavarutat vaidyutanala varshavarutat vaidyutanala vrishamayat majad vishvato bhaya vrishamayat majad vishvato bhaya vrishamayat majad vishvato bhaya vrishabhate vayam rakshita moho vrishabhate vayam rakshita moho vrishabhate vayam rakshita moho so the bhagavatam itself is poetic and some aspects of the poetry or some sections of the poetry is much more evident than others the poetry doesn't just happen by rhymes or alliterations in general the difference between poetry and prose is that in poetry things are often spoken indirectly and so there is literal speech there is non literal speech and sometimes the indirect evokes greater emotion so here even the demons are referred to or the dangers are referred to more indirectly it's not just kalia, it's vishchala pyaar so it is not just that the snake was poisonous all snakes are poisonous but this snake had made all the water poisonous so the gravity of the danger, the immensity of the risk that was there the almost inevitability of death that was coming upon them that is what is being talked about so like that when they are referring to the danger they are not referring so much they could refer to the person who is causing the danger, the being, the creature who is causing the danger but they are focusing on the principle of the danger itself, that there is such dangers that came similarly each of the things that is described in the Govardhan Leela or in Indra's attack that came before, each one of these was enough to kill the rain itself, sometimes there is just heavy rains even if there is no winds there can be flood because of that sometimes there is just a huge wind and the wind itself can devastate so I was in America in America there are certain areas which are very tornado prone and tornado is a sudden heavy storm so something like a tornado or hurricane, whatever word we want to use but tornado is a specific kind of storm so we were one devotee was driving me from one place to another for a program and suddenly his car started beeping and I said what is this? he said this is a tornado alert so it was, the weather was suddenly very clear and suddenly it became clouded and dark and he started driving fast, he said you know, keep an eye out, he said if you see a sudden sudden storm like clouds or waves coming, any strange thing you see anywhere nearby just warn me so I said okay so I was sitting and looking and then suddenly it's like a giant if I had not known what it was, it was just like looking like a tornado, just charging towards, I pointed to him and it had also started raining and he said we have to get out of the car now I said really, should we try to rush it out, he said no no no, if it gets caught if the tornado or anything comes in its way it just gets lifted up and gets thrown away so he said immediately he pulled the car over to the side and there was a ditch nearby he helped me come out and the tornado was just charging and we just jumped into the ditch he jumped in, I said come on jump in he said okay, I can't jump I said okay, I jumped in the clutches landed firmly then he pulled me down and we lay on the ground and then we heard such a noise and I've never heard a noise so loud it was just, and then finally the noise disappeared and then we got up and we came out and we saw there was no car over there so we looked around and we saw the car was lying in the fields nearby so we were saying you know, when I came here I was told that I should get tornado insurance I was thinking it's an unnecessary waste of money but now I realise, good that I got the tornado insurance for my car so anyway, my point is that wind alone can devastate and destroy and then we all know lightning lightning would fall somewhere whole house can just be burnt so each of these can be a great danger and all three dangers came at one time so it was unbearable so they are talking about not just the person but the danger that was there that's the poetic way of expressing so the mouth was so huge so they are talking about the dangers that they have survived now interestingly among these dangers which were the danger in which the gopis were personally present it's only Govardhan Leela isn't it? so the gopis while they are themselves the dear most devotees of Krishna there is a sense of a very close bond among all the Brajwasis and if there is a danger or a risk to anyone that is a risk or danger to everyone so when the gopis had apparently died because of the poisonous water so that was a great danger they also felt the pain when the gopis had entered into the mouth of Agasur so that was the danger for the gopis but that was a danger for them also so it is the gopis are thinking not just of Krishna as someone who has protected them specifically but Krishna as a protector and a protector of Vrindavan of all Brajwasis Krishna you are by nature a protector so when you are by nature a protector how can you not be protecting us and then they are saying further that in the future so in this particular verse the gopis their sense of self it extends beyond themselves vayam when they are saying it is not just me vayam is not mom it is we so the we is referring as collective see we can refer to many things we can refer to a particular group of devotees we can refer to the entire community of devotees in a particular city we can refer to devotees that are spread all over India devotees community all over the world we can refer to humanity itself so the word we what all it includes that can vary from context to context so here the we that they are using vayam that includes whatever danger came to Vrindavan and then their sense of time also is it's including the past and it's including the future so now how is it that the gopis know about the future the acharya has explained that the gopis are not just cowherd girls they are certainly cowherd girls but they are also the most evolved sages they are trikalakya they know about the future they know about Krishna and when they know about Krishna they know about Krishna's past times so they are eternal associates of Krishna so they have been they have been with Krishna in the past so the point is that they know that Krishna is going to protect them in the future but at this point they are thinking Krishna where are you now how can you abandon us now please oh lord do not abandon us it is not just that those demons or those attacks can kill separation from you is like a sword that is piercing into our heart and is ripping our heart apart please Krishna return there is no explicit call for return but it is implicit that you are always the protector how can you not protect us so while this call is there the sense of time past and future for all of us we don't know the future what is going to happen for us but if we look at our own life sometimes we may feel abandoned by Krishna not in the exact same sense but we may be at a place where we just feel nothing is working the way I wanted, everything is working just the opposite so what is going on over here does Krishna even care, is Krishna here so at such times it is good to expand our frame of time so if we consider our life journey right now we feel like there is some huge danger by which we are being crushed we feel where is Krishna but if we look at our lives there have been dangers in the past and we may say that okay I used, I worked hard, I used my intelligence and I came out of it but beyond what we did there are other things also which work like right so it is actually Krishna who has brought us this far and that lord who has brought us this far, why would he have brought us this far to abandon us now so even if we feel abandoned we are not abandoned so that way sometimes faith is an act of inference inference means that okay this is how Krishna has protected me from so many dangers in the past that Krishna will protect me now so this is how when we have faith faith has many different aspects to it but faith basically among the many things it means, it means understanding that the invisible is more important than the visible the invisible matters more than the visible visibly I may see there is this problem here and this danger here and this issue there and it is there but the invisible matters more than the visible that is the essence of faith we can develop that idea what is the invisible, what is the visible but at a basic level faith means shifting our vision from the invisible to the visible to the invisible and when we remember that there are forces beyond us that have worked in our lives to protect us from danger then that can give us the faith that there are such forces that will work even now so the gopis in one side they have that confidence that Krishna will return but at the same time there is complete uncertainty when is Krishna going to return so in that sense actually faith is a combination of certainty and uncertainty so if we expect faith to be a total certainty then we may never be able to have faith, certainty that Krishna Krishna will protect but uncertainty how and when he will protect so Krishna has his how means, Krishna has his own means and when Krishna has his own timings so sometimes Krishna may let a problem go on that's why there is faith if we expect faith to be complete uncertainty then faith will become impossible but if we accept faith to be complete certainty then we will say ok this doesn't seem to be working so faith has this combination that we expect total certainty then that will be unrealistic because the world is bigger than us, Krishna is bigger than us we can't have everything clear but if we expect faith to be total uncertainty then that will be unsustainable for us no there is nothing there is nothing I can know so for us faith will be a combination of both and to some extent the certainty comes from our past not just past is our past and others past what that means is scriptures tell us many many incidents where Krishna has protected devotees and the scriptures and our own life we may have had some experiences so from the past we get that certainty but with respect to the present and with respect to the future there may be uncertainty and that willingness to accept that faith will always be certainty and uncertainty so Prabhupada is saying so he is saying Krishna you have been very merciful to me you have been very merciful to me that you have brought me here and you must have some purpose for me you must have some plan for me and so in one sense Prabhupada had complete confidence we say that Prabhupada's faith was such that I see temples, I see devotees only time is separating us but Prabhupada also didn't know how much time was separating isn't it and Prabhupada also didn't know exactly how it is going to happen see Prabhupada said when he landed on the Boston pier he said I didn't even know whether to turn left or right he said it was not that Prabhupada had some direct personal hotline with Krishna in which Krishna was dictating turn this way now, talk with this person this person is going to become a devotee this person is not going to become a devotee, don't spend time on this person Prabhupada was a person in his own right and so I am guessing that there you must have some plan and then Prabhupada is also making an inference what is the inference based on otherwise why would you have brought me to this dangerous place this terrible place now Prabhupada worked very hard he talked with whoever he could find who seemed to have some contacts with America to get the opportunity to come to America but eventually Prabhupada's coming to America was a miracle was an act of God practically Mr. Agarwal who asked his son to give a sponsorship letter for Prabhupada Prabhupada just met him just casually and Prabhupada mentioned and said yeah I will do that, I will ask my son and he had not seemed to be like a very ardent follower and many people had made similar promises to Prabhupada and at that time Prabhupada didn't even have a home so that particular letter which from the American embassy it came to him saying that your sponsorship has been approved, that letter was actually forwarded six times because Prabhupada's address was changing so much so it's a miracle of the Indian postal system also that actually the letter got forwarded so many times that it came so now of course it's ultimately Krishna controlled the Indian postal system also so Prabhupada is saying yes he endeavored but there is so much more that Krishna did and that's how naahe ke nohani bhena e yugrasthane how could I have come why would you have brought me over here so now among millions of people, billions of people in the world, millions here itself in this city, there are a few hundred of us who have come to Krishna's lotus feet, now we may have done quite a few, we may have been spiritually interested we may have been spiritually searching some of us may not have been I was not really searching for God I never went out searching for God, devotees came out searching for me but the fact that we have come this far it is definitely Krishna's role over here otherwise how would we have been introduced to the path of bhakti and the path where there is serious sadhana the relationship with Krishna is a serious relationship and we have come as far as we have come we can see Krishna has brought us this far, he won't abandon us now so that is the gopis have that faith Krishna is going to protect us so that certainty is there but still how is Krishna going to protect when is Krishna going to come back they are begging Krishna, please return so that certainty and uncertainty that is what faith is, the mysterious combination of maybe we can recite it once now because I think we will have to move forward or we can do it later we have till what time 8.30 then we can take one more yeah you can go ahead three times Vesha Jala Piyaya Vyaal Rakshasa Vesha Jala Piyaya Vyaal Rakshasa so now as the gopis are contemplating how Krishna has protected them from extraordinary dangers, from the kind of dangers that would have terrorized the whole universe so they start contemplating more on Krishna's identity and they start dwelling Krishna who are you? Nakalu Gopika certainly you are not Nandanobhavan that you are not the son of Yashoda so the gopis are thinking of Krishna in terms of how they know him so in in most traditional cultures if we know each other this is the son of so and so, this is the daughter of so and so this is how we know each other the gopis have grown up with Krishna and for him they were always the son of Yashoda of course the son of Nanda Maharaj they are females, they are thinking of Krishna in terms of the son of Yashoda so you are certainly not that Nandanobhavan then who are you? they are saying Akhiladehinam in all living beings Antaratmadruk in the deepest core of their beings you are the seer so you reside within and you see from within you are an indwelling seer among all living beings then the question may come if somebody is indwelling then why are they outdwelling now? is it? so the lord is inside everyone but why has he come outside? so that is Vikanasarthito Vishvaguptaye so Vikanasarthito Vikanas is Brahmaji Arthito that he asked for you to come he begged you, he says you are the means for our deliverance so Vishwa now exactly the same position the previous line Vishvatobhayat so the poetic symmetry is not just within a verse it is also between verses Vishvatobhayat Vishwa here the same word is coming Guptaye nowadays the word we are familiar with is secret or hidden but Gupta Guptaye is to protect in Indian history there was a famous Gupta dynasty of kings Gupta is those who protect protect us Vishvaguptaye you have come you were within at the request of Brahma you have descended to protect the universe Sakha Udaya.