Bhakti Shastri (040) – The Nectar of Instruction Text 10

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Welcome back to Bhakti Shastri Nectar of Instruction.
Today we will be discussing the 10th verse. So this verse talks about the hierarchy of various levels of people. The previous was about various levels of places.
Now among the various levels of people, we will start right from the sinful materialists to the topmost of all devotees. So the scope of this verse is breathtaking. Let us look at the verse.
अभ्योपिसारादिका प्रेष्था तद्वदियं तदियसरसि तानाश्रेद कः कृति So, कर्मिभ्य. Better than कर्मिभ्य परिदो, than the karmis, than in all respects. हरिप्रियतया.
They have been favoured by Lord Hari. Who are those people? व्यक्तिम्, those people. ययूर, व्यक्तिम् ययूर, as it is mentioned in the Shastras.
व्यक्तिम् ययूर ज्ञानीनाज, the jnani people. So better than the karmis are the jnanis. तेभ्यो ज्ञान विमुक्त भक्ति परमहा.
Beyond that, greater than that are those who are liberated by knowledge. ज्ञान विमुक्त भक्ति परमहा. And they have become engaged in devotional service.
So better than jnanis are devotees. Then प्रेमाईक निष्ठास्तता. And among the devotees, those who have actually developed love for Krishna, प्रेमा, they are better.
तेभ्यस्ताः पशुपाल पंक जदृशास्. So पशुपाल, Krishna is called as Gopala, similarly पशुपाल, He was taking care of the animals. पंक जदृशास्.
So the Lord who is the protector of the cows, so the Gopis, they are lotus eyed and they are the beloved of that पशुपाल. ताभ्यो पिसा राधिका. So that means above the devotees who have attained love of God are the Gopis and among them, above them the highest is राधिका.
प्रेष्ठा तद्वत यं तदीय. I am very dear to her. तदीय सरसी, her lake.
ताम नश्रेत कहकृती. Who is there, who will not take shelter of that lake of Radha Kund. Who is that person? कहकृती, that fortunate person.
सुकृती, कृती means one who has done good work, one who is fortunate. Let me look at the translation. In the Shastra, as it is said that of all types of fruitive workers, he who is advanced in knowledge of the higher values of life is favoured by the Supreme Lord Hari.
Out of many such people who are advanced in knowledge, ग्यानी’s, one who is practically liberated by virtue of his knowledge may take to devotional service. He is superior to the others. However, one who has actually attained Prema, pure love of Krishna, is superior to him.
The Gopis are exalted above all the advanced devotees because they are always totally dependent upon Sri Krishna, the transcendental cowherd boy. Among the Gopis, Srimati Radharani is the most dear to Krishna. Her Kund lake is as profoundly dear to Lord Krishna as this most beloved of the Gopis.
Who then will not reside at Radha Kund and in a spiritual body, surcharged with ecstatic devotional feelings, अप्राकृत भाव, render loving service to the divine couple, Shri Shradha Govinda, who perform their अश्टकालिय लिला, their eternal eightfold daily pastimes. Indeed, those who execute devotional service on the banks of Radha Kund are the most fortunate people in the universe. So here we see the hierarchy being described in the words.
Let us look at it in the PowerPoint. So here we see that there are six levels talked about. We start from the Karmis at one end, then from there we come to Karmis, Jnanis, Bhaktas, and among the Bhaktas, the Gopis and among them the highest is Radharani.
So let us look at each one of them. Now we Karmis, what are their characteristics? They act without Vedic knowledge. And this sort of action is not appreciated by saintly persons and they take birth in animals, trees and plants.
This is what Srila Prabhupada says in the PowerPoint. So here, actually, Srila Prabhupada includes this level, which is not talked about in the translation. The translation is talking of the Karmis, but Prabhupada extends the scope to include all people in Kali Yuga also, especially in our modern times.
So here we have we Karmis. Sri Rupa Goswami starts hierarchy from the Karmis because he is talking about devotion and he wants to talk about the rarity of devotion. So he is talking about people who are within the Dharmic fold.
But most people in Kali Yuga, in the modern times especially, are not in the Dharmic fold, which is unfortunate. So most people are we Karmis today. Most people don’t follow Shastra and they live lives which are quite unfortunate, not just from a spiritual perspective, but even from a material perspective.
The scriptures, they act like a mother. Now, when the mother embraces the child. Now, the child may see the embrace of the mother as a restriction, but the intention of the mother is not restriction, it is protection.
So what the Vedic scriptures offer us is restriction, not restriction. There may be some form of restriction which we may feel, but actually the intention is not restriction, the intention is protection. So only when the child doesn’t understand the intention of the mother, then the child mistakes that protection to be restriction.
So similarly, the scriptures offer us some guidelines of how we should act and how we should not act. Now, these are not meant for restriction, they are meant for protection. When we go out of those bounds, then we create suffering for ourselves.
Just as when a person tells a child, there is a ten story building, there is a terrace, don’t lean too much off the terrace. And the child leans too much off the terrace and slips and falls. Then we cannot break the law of gravity.
We will only break ourselves against the law of gravity. Similarly, there are God’s laws. And we can’t break the laws of God.
When we break those laws, we end up breaking ourselves. That is the misfortune of people today. That in one sense, it’s very strange the way people reason.
Now we have recognised more and more through science that nature is governed by laws. And right from the microscopic to the macroscopic level, we find that nature is governed by laws. And of course, there are some areas where there seems to be chaos.
But even that chaos follows certain patterns. And many scientists intrinsically feel that even when certain behaviour seems to be chaotic, there must be certain laws which we are not able to figure out. Those laws may be of extremely high levels of complexity.
So certain laws are just simple. Of course, even f is equal to g m1 m2 upon r square, that’s not a very simple law. But it’s relatively simple.
It describes the force with which two particles of matter, two objects attract each other as gravity. It’s a simple law. Now if you go deeper, then there are much more complex laws.
So Schrodinger’s equation describes how in quantum physics the wave function collapses. It’s a complex equation. But the point is that science, as it is researching more and more, it is discovering that matter follows laws at every level.
So now it’s peculiar that we see that matter follows laws everywhere. And wherever we don’t see the laws, even scientifically many people believe that there are laws. And scientists are researching to find out what are the laws that we have not yet figured out.
But yet, when we accept that matter follows laws, we assume that there are no laws governing consciousness. What we think about, how we let our thoughts grow into actions, what actions we choose to do, what actions we don’t choose to do. How can we say that there are no laws governing this? So it’s not reasonable to say that.
And that is why the real challenge that comes up is that we have moral relativism today. Moral relativism means, people say morality is relative. You think that is right, so it is right for you.
If you think that is wrong, then that is wrong for you, but don’t impose it on me. And now there is no relativity with respect to gravity. If somebody moves from a 10-storey building off the terrace, it doesn’t matter whether the person is a theist or an atheist, whether the person is a scientist or a non-scientist, gravity is going to act.
Similarly, there are the laws of God which will act. The only thing is, the difference is, that in the case of gravity we see the action immediately. The person just falls and breaks the limbs.
In the case of law of karma and other laws of nature, the actions will lead to consequences and the consequences will not be immediately visible to us. And how precisely the actions lead to consequences, that is something which we may not be able to figure out with our finite brains. It took us centuries and centuries of study to understand some of the complex laws of matter, laws governing matter.
So what about the laws governing consciousness? It will be much more complex. Consciousness is far more subtle than matter and consciousness itself has not been understood by science. And what to speak of laws governing consciousness? But the point is, that wherever we see in science, we assume that there are laws and we try to discover the laws.
And even chaotic phenomena also we try to find out some pattern underlying them, which we say are like laws. So the question comes up, where can we know about the laws governing consciousness? That is where the scriptures are there. The scriptures tell us ways in which we should act.
If we act in contrary ways, that will lead to harm. If we act in harmonious ways, that will lead to good for us. That is our choice, how we should act.
Now, when we talk about scriptures, scriptures are not a frozen text. Scriptures are a living text. Living text means they live in the hearts of those who have imbibed their principles.
And in one sense, if we see the Vedic scriptures, they are omniform. Omniform means that there are many, many rules given in those scriptures. And the acharyas understand which rules to apply in our current context.
And when we apply those rules, then we move forward and by that we understand that we are actually gaining deeper understanding of the universe and are able to harmonise with the universe. So just as those who do not follow the law of gravity will have to bear the consequences, similarly, when we defy the laws of nature, then we will have to bear the consequences. Now how exactly to harmonise with the laws of nature, that is given in principle in the scriptures and in practise that will be, according to time, place and circumstance, explained by the acharyas.
So that’s why we need acharyas. And Acharya Darshana Prabhupada is explaining to us how we should act in our lives. So those who reject this, they are called as vikarmis.
So karma means activity. Vikarma means v is viruddha rupena, opposite. So those who act opposite to their own good interests, actually their interests are given in the scriptures.
And Krishna describes these kind of people in the 16th chapter. He describes the divine and demoniac nature is the name of the chapter. And practically the whole chapter after the first three verses is about the demoniac nature.
And in 16.23 Krishna says that those who reject shastra, what is the result for them? यशास्त्रविदिमुच्छुरुज्यः वर्तते कामकारतः नसुद्धिमवापनोति नसुखम्नपरांगतिम् So Krishna says that यशास्त्रविदिमुच्छुरुज्यः Those who give away scripture. Those who turn away from scripture. Those who reject scripture.
And then how do they act? Naturally they will act based on their own selfish desires. वर्तते कामकारतः So there is nothing to regulate their desires. They act according to their own desires.
So what happens to them? नसुद्धिमवापनोति They don’t attain Siddhi. They don’t attain any perfection. नसुखम्नपरांगतिम् They don’t attain any happiness.
Nor do they attain the supreme destination of life. So now Krishna is talking about Sukha in this life. So actually they don’t get happiness in this life.
What to speak of next? So why not happiness in this life? Because when desires become unregulated then people suffer even in this life. At an extreme level we see this in addictions. Where people think that I’ll drink to enjoy, I’ll smoke to enjoy.
But then they take a drink first and then they become drunk. And first they catch the drink and then the drink catches them. And the drink catches them in a vicious grip that finally chokes out their life many times.
So that is an extreme example. But even in general when desires go out of control then people suffer terribly. And today we see so many psychological problems people are suffering from.
Actually the mental problems society is suffering from today are far more than ever before in human history. And the reason for this primarily is that people are having so many wild desires. And the desires are like the fuel for the mind.
And the more the desires, the greater will be the fuel for the mind. And of course if the desires are spiritual then the mind goes in the direction of Krishna. But if the desires are material then the mind goes in the direction of so many material objects.
And the mind is hyper-energised. And our body’s capacity to enjoy are limited. Our resources are limited.
We have some limitations because of our social culture. And because of all this the mind’s fantasies are frustrated. So then the mind goes wild when its desires are not fulfilled.
So the vikarmis suffer even in this life. They suffer because of an uncontrolled mind. Then that’s why the scriptures say that we should at least become karmis.
We discussed earlier how in today’s parlance often it’s common to use the word karmis to refer to materialists. But in the Vedic context and even here the word karmi refers not to be karmis. It refers to karmakandis.
Karmakandis are religious materialists. So let us look at these religious materialists. So karmis act according to Vedic knowledge.
They are superior to vikarmis. They are elevated to higher planets like the moon. And they return to martiloka.
So the karmis, what do they do? They primarily focus on material enjoyment only. So vikarmis and karmis both are interested in material enjoyment. But there is a huge difference between the two.
The difference is that karmis are focussing on getting material enjoyment within the precincts of dharma. They follow scripture to get material enjoyment. So this is definitely better because they are not going into sin.
And by this they will, this path of gradual elevation. So the Vedic programme is that it will provide for both our spiritual and our material needs. It is not that the Vedic scriptures tell us that because you have to go back to Godhead, so just forget your body, starve.
No. They provide us not just a philosophical understanding of how, what all sadhana we should do to go back to Godhead. But they also give us a programme of how to live in this world.
In fact, varnashram is a systematic social arrangement to facilitate people to live spiritually. And actually, the Vedic culture is as far as history goes, even from the modern historical perspective, the only example where a comprehensive social model has been recommended and established for the sake of facilitating a spiritual journey. This is something which has not been there in other religions.
For example, there are other major religions of the world, like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Buddhism, of course, was an offshoot from Hinduism only. So many of the social models of Hinduism are still there.
It is an offshoot of Vedic culture, basically. The name Hinduism was not there at that time, but as per today’s Roman culture. But if you see, in Islam, they have, after the prophet came, and then based on his teachings, they have made the Sharia.
And they have certain laws, every religion has certain laws, for how it should conduct its people. But organising the whole society according to an arrangement that will facilitate spiritual advancement, that is a massive, massive endeavour. In fact, nobody has been able to do that.
So varnashram was that model, and that was implemented in Vedic culture. So it was understood that people will take time to make spiritual advancement. At the same time, everybody should be kept on the progressive spiritual path.
So these two factors, giving people time, at the same time making sure they stay on the right track, that is arranged through varnashram. Those who want to make rapid spiritual advancement, those who want to devote themselves to Krishna, they can just devote themselves. And Krishna says that, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja Just surrender unto me.
That is the highest, as far as the Bhagavad Gita is concerned. But the varnashram helps people, when they are not on sarva-dharman parityajya platform, then they can practise varnashram, by that they can make spiritual advancement also. So this whole karmakand system, we sometimes dismiss it as karmakand, we should give it up.
Sometimes we will quote Narottam Das Thakur saying, karmakand gyanakand keval visherakand So, that karmakand and gyanakand, they are simply poison. Actually, this is from a pure devotional perspective. That a pure devotee feels that, apart from devotional service, everything is undesirable.
Because pure devotional service alone will satisfy the heart. Nothing else will satisfy. Now that is definitely true.
At the same time, not everybody is capable of aspiring for pure devotional service. So, the Vedic scriptures, the very broad Vedic scriptures don’t say that, if you cannot surrender to God, then you have to go to hell. No, if you can’t surrender to God, there are other levels at which you can practise spiritual life also.
So, karmakand is one of those intermediate arrangements. So, from the Bhagavatam’s perspective, from the pure devotional perspective, Bhagavatam calls even karmakand as kaitava dharma, and this sort of kaitava dharma is kicked out of the Bhagavatam. So, dharma projita kaitavatra.
So, from the Bhagavatam’s point of view, it is projita, it is to be given up. It is focused on pure devotional service. But, from the point of view of people in general, who are not at the level of practising Bhagavatam, for them, the karmakand is important.
It provides a social arrangement by which they can progress materially and also progress spiritually. So, what is this karmakand? We have discussed this in Ayesha Upanishad classes. There is dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
So, actually, when one starts seeking moksha, one goes to the level of a jnani. Dharma, artha, kama is what a person seeks for when a person is a karmi. So, they follow Vedic regulations.
And their idea is that they understand that things don’t happen automatically. There is God in control and God acts through his various agents. So, when they want grains, they understand that human beings have to work for it.
But along with that, higher sanction is also required. So, they will go and plough their fields, they will sow their grains and they will take care of the farm. But along with that, they understand the rains, fertility of the soil, multiple other factors, absence of pests, the proper presence of rains and everything.
So many other factors are there which are required for the proper harvest that are not in our hands. And they don’t think that simplistic things are all happening by chance. Sometimes there is a good harvest because the weather was good.
Sometimes there is a bad harvest because the weather was bad. They don’t see things like that. They are much more informed.
Where the modern eye sees simply dead matter moving according to impersonal laws and mechanical forces. Cloud is a dead matter and it is moving according to impersonal laws and mechanical forces. Wind is making it blow.
Temperatures change and rains fall. So, where the material eye sees only matter moving according to impersonal forces and mechanical laws, there itself, the spiritual eye sees the Supreme Lord acting in association with his agents coordinating the movements of the material nature. So, yes, this is a material phenomenon when clouds come in a particular area and temperatures change and the rains happen.
But how does all this happen? This happens under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. And that supervision of the Supreme Lord is being referred to by the karmis. So, karmis understand that if we want something in life, we have to satisfy the Supreme Lord and through whom he is satisfying his agents.
So, for that the karmis do karmakandha. And by that they make gradual advancement. Slowly, slowly, slowly they move forward in the spiritual life.
So, the Bhagavad Gita describes that those who do like this, they are also receiving Krishna. But they do it indirectly. Sri Sri It is described that they perform yajnas.
Some of the yajnas mention tri-vidya, tri-veda. So, they drink the somaras and they become purified of sin and they are worshipping me only, very indirectly. They perform yajna desiring swarga and they get swarga by that.
As they are doing punya because of the performance of yajna, they go to surendra loka, the abode of Lord Indra. Prabhupada says various heavenly abodes, like abode of the moon god and other abodes. And there, they enjoy immensely the divi-deva-bhogan, the bhogas, the delights of the devatas.
And then after what happens, they enjoy this, but then, So, they attain that heaven, but once they have enjoyed their new karmic fruits, they got the result of the punya, then they fall back. They fall back to the material world. And even their best wishes can’t do much about it.
That’s how. This is also temporary. So, karmis are better than the non-devotees, materialists.
But still, they are far away from the highest. And after that are the jnanis. So, jnanis, you see that they come to the platform of jnana, atma-tattva.
They know fruitive activities bind. And they are superior to karmis. They are unrealistic to devotional service.
They are still in avidya. So, who are the jnanis? In this four-point sequence, karma, dharma, artha, kama, moksha, those who start seeking moksha, they are the jnanis. So, not many people seek moksha, unfortunately.
Most people get caught up in dharma, artha, kama itself. And although moksha is in the same continuity, moksha often goes far away. Because most people don’t think so far as to think of moksha.
But still, there are a few who do that. And they are far superior. Because they have understood that this world is temporary.
And if I want happiness, I need to go beyond this world. And they start exploring in a serious way, what is that which is beyond. So, their practise often is just contemplation, meditation.
So, they want to empty their mind of all sinful, all materialistic thoughts. And they simply want to focus on the thought of atma-tattva. So, when they want to think about atma-tattva like this, actually, the whole idea is, by such thinking of atma-tattva, they realise aham brahmasmi, aham brahmasmi, aham brahmasmi.
And when they think like this, they think that just by repeating like this, they will get realisation. Aham brahmasmi. And when they get that realisation that aham brahmasmi, then, by that realisation, they are able to go further.
And come to understanding that I am not just a soul. I am a soul who is a part of God. And I am meant to serve God.
That is when they come to the level of bhaktas. Let us look at bhaktas. The bhaktas perform devotional service under regulatory principles.
And in this practise, they become pure devotees. And then they develop love of God. And among them, examples are Narada, Sanaka, Sanatana, and others.
So now, in this hierarchy, Prabhupada included the devotees who are seekers and devotees who are seers, together. So devotees are seekers and devotees are seers. So seekers means they are practising devotional service as sadhana.
But by the practise of sadhana, when they become siddha, they develop love of God. So those devotees who develop love of God are extremely rare. Even those devotees who are practising devotional service are also rare.
Because the devotional service is su-durlabha. The bhaktas, Sambar, Sindhu, well described, the six characters of devotional service describe that it is durlabha. It is very rare to obtain it, the devotional service.
So in that sense, even the devotees are rare. So most people are weak karmis. Among them, few are karmis.
Among the karmis, very few are jnanis. And among the jnanis, very few are devotees. So if there is a pyramid, and the pyramid moves, moves up, up, up, up, and when it comes to the top, at the bottom, the pyramids seem to be giant.
But by the time the pyramid reaches the top, it is narrowed down, tapered down. It is almost like a spot only now. So that way, that’s what happens with respect to transcendentalists also.
Those who are at the bottom level, vikarmis, they are very large in number. But those who are pure devotees, they are extremely few in this world. And there is another reason why devotees become anxious when they find that actually the people practising devotional service are so less.
Why do devotees feel anxious because of this? Because they understand that human life is so precious, and devotional service is such a treasure. Human life and devotional service are made for each other, in a sense. But those who defy the purpose of human life by engaging not in devotional service but in sense gratification, they are cheating themselves.
They are depriving themselves of spiritual advancement and they are also depriving others because others when they see those who are devotees engaging in materialistic activities, then they or others become discouraged and others also give up the practise of devotional service at times. This is their concern. Now, among these devotees who develop love of God, there are devotees who are the highest and they are the gopis.
So, gopis, what are their characteristics? They only know about satisfying Krishna. They don’t care for anything else. And then they expect no return from Krishna.
They cannot forgive Krishna. They are the most excellent of devotees. So, what are the speciality of the gopis? We have to understand we have to understand that the gopis are engaged in the most selfless form of devotion.
We have to be careful that we don’t think of the gopis simply as women. If we think of Krishna as a man and the gopis as women, then immediately we will reduce their transcendental relationship down to the mundane level. We will start thinking, oh, a man is attracted to a woman, a woman is attracted to a man.
What is going on? However, the gopis, yes, they have female forms, but as we practise spiritual life, the first thing we have to understand is we are not our bodies. In Times of India, once I wrote an article, Is God male or female? The first thing I said, before we can understand whether God is male or female, we have to understand that we are neither male nor female. We are neither male nor female, because we are souls.
And as souls, the soul doesn’t have any gender. Sometimes it may be said that the soul is female and God is male. So that is not in the sense of the gender that we use at present.
It is more in the sense of the nature of the relationship that the Lord is the enjoyer and the soul is the enjoyed. Lord is Purusha and the soul is Prakriti. But it’s not in the gender sense literally.
Actually, the Lord is transcendental and we also are transcendental. So we as souls may have Swarupa which may be different in gender. Some of us may be Gopas, some of us may be Gopis.
So we may have different gender. That doesn’t matter right now for us. We don’t know what the gender is.
And right now what we have to focus on is becoming free from our bodily identification. That means becoming free from our mistaken conflation. Conflation is mixing up of our identity with our current bodily identity.
So how do we avoid that mixing up? That is by education and purification. We educate ourselves in the philosophy and then we purify ourselves. So now when the Bhagavatam takes us through its ten cantos, nine cantos before it brings us to the tenth canto, where we see the Rasa Leela, where we see Krishna interacting with the Gopis, the previous nine cantos, they teach us two important things.
Firstly, they tell us that God can manifest in so many different forms. God can manifest as a ferocious lion whose roaring causes elephants to tremble. The Lord can manifest as a giant hog, a boar, who can lift the whole earth on the tusk.
The Lord can manifest as a Brahmana who becomes enraged and goes around killing people. Like that, the Lord can manifest in many, many ways. So the Lord can manifest as an obedient son and some, that means as Lord Ram manifests as an obedient son and He teaches how one should follow the Father.
So in this way, actually speaking, anybody can put on any audition. Anybody can put on any sort of situation by which they can still serve Krishna in that situation. So the Lord can manifest in any form, the devotees can manifest in any form.
We see in the first canto, there is Kunti Maharani who is an elderly, gentle, regal, dignified woman. And then we have the same Bhagavatam in the sixth canto of Vritrasura. And Vritrasura was he was a person who created terror in the hearts of people who saw him.
When we were saying Vritrasura’s prayers, he says a sweet prayer. Just as a recently born bird longs for its mother to come back and give it some food. Just as a calf longs for its mother to come and give milk.
Just as a baby longs for a mother. So like that, may be a lot of wrong for you. Such a tender, sweet prayer.
But actually the description of Vritrasura was blood-curdling. When he roared, he was so giant that he just crushed the demigod soldiers under his feet. So we do not think of that as devotional at all.
But it is described that in heart, Vritrasura expressed sentiments that were exactly similar, largely similar to those expressed by Kunti. So the Bhagavatam enables us to go to the substance of things. That means the Lord can manifest in any form and the devotees can manifest in any form.
So the devotees can be as an elderly lady, the devotees can be as a terrible Rakshasa. But still it’s a devotee. And the Lord can be in a bow-building majestic form as a king.
Or the Lord can be in a ferocious form as a lion out to rip apart the stomach of the opponent. Whichever way it is, the Lord is perfect. And the possibility of love between the Lord and the devotee always remains.
And that can be explored by anyone who wants to. So the Lord can have different relationships with his devotees. And among all these different relationships, there are hierarchies.
So among the topmost is where the Lord manifests as a simple, sweet, cowherd boy. And his topmost devotees manifest as very sweet, endearing beloved gopis. So when we see the Bhagavatam’s 10th canto, after going through the 7th, 8th, 9th cantos, then we don’t just see Krishna and the gopis as men and women, as boys and girls.
We see them as the Lord and the devotees. So for Krishna, embracing the gopis and embracing Hanumanji is same, because they are both his devotees. In Tattva he loves both of them in a similar way.
In Rasa, of course, there is a difference, but in Tattva it is the same. So the Lord is attracted to both of them, because both of them have devotion. Now beyond this, when we understand the gopis first and foremost as devotees, not as women, not as females.
Yes, they have a female form. When you say they have a female form, actually the gopis and their bodies are not separate. The gopis are eternally the same gopis.
In the spiritual world, the soul, the mind and the body are all the same. Everything is spiritual. But the point is, the soul could have manifested in many forms.
Why is the soul manifested in a gopi form? Because the Lord wants to have the most intimate pastimes. And whatever we see, the intense attraction between males and females in this world, that is manifested in its original and pure form in the relationship between Krishna and the gopis. The female form is best suited for service.
And that’s why the Lord arranges that His topmost devotees, who want to serve Him the most, manifest the form that is best suited for service. And that form is the female form. So, in this way, the gopis and the Lord perform the topmost reciprocations of love.
And that’s why they are so much appreciated by great devotees. Now, Rupa Goswami himself was a sannyasi. He renounced the world.
When he was in the world, he had fabulous amounts of money and power and position to enjoy. But he turned away from it all and focused on service to the Lord. Single-pointed, determined service to the Lord.
And when he did this, how did he do this? He surrendered to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him, go to Vrindavan. And in Vrindavan, he focused simply on living in extraordinary simplicity and austerity.
One-pointedly serving the Lord. So, here, that person utterly renounced the world. Although he had prospects for enjoying the world far better than most of us will be having it.
But still he renounced it. He just absorbed Radha, Krishna, and actually singing the glorious songs of Radha and Krishna, goes mad in that. That’s what the Goswamis were.
So, that means they have got a higher treasure over there. So, he is glorifying the Gopis’ love for Krishna. This is the Gopis’ love for Krishna has been glorified here.
Similarly, the Gopis’ love is glorified in the Puranas also. And there are many great saints who have talked about the Gopis’ love. So, when we want to understand the Gopis’ love, we have to be very careful.
We should always understand it to be male-female. It’s a very exalted level of pure love between the Lord manifesting himself as an enduring, three-fold-bending cowherd boy and the Gopis’ Lord’s topmost devotee manifesting in a perfectly matching female form and having intimate pastimes over there. Now, among all the Gopis, Radharani is the highest.
Now, why is Radharani considered the highest? Because her love for Krishna is the highest. She loves Krishna more than anyone else. She cares for Krishna so much that seeing the intensity of her love for Krishna, other Gopis start trembling.
Krishna Das Kabiraj Goswami has written Radhika Ashtakam and Mahiyam Atmapad Padma Dasya Dastu Radhika So, each line of that song ends with Mahiyam Atmapad Padma O Radharani, please give me service to your lotus feet. Dastu Radhika O Radhika, please give me the service of your lotus feet. So, what is Radharani doing over here? Radharani actually thinks of nothing except Krishna.
She is so absorbed in thoughts of Krishna, in serving Krishna, in pleasing Krishna that she forgets everything else. And all the other Gopis, they also all have extraordinary love for Krishna but none of them, their love can match Radharani’s love. Now, Radharani’s love for Krishna is seen in many beautiful pastimes.
Especially it is seen in the Raas Leela. In the Raas Leela, we know that, we will discuss two pastimes now. Krishna, as we know, disappeared.
And so, we have that chapter 29 to 33 is called the Raas Panchadhyay. 29th chapter, Krishna calls the Gopis by playing this flute. 30th chapter, Gopis come and the Gopis have a brief talk.
Krishna tells them, go back. The Gopis say, how can we go back? We have come for you. And then, they are about to start the rasa dance.
At that time, the Gopis become somewhat proud. And then, Krishna disappears from them. We will discuss that a little bit later again.
We will come back. But the 31st chapter is the Gopis’ songs of separation. Gopi Geet.
Tabakatham Ritam. Jayati Teetikam Janmanavraja Glorious is that land where you are born. That is the fortunate land of Vrindavan.
Beautiful songs they sing. And Jiva Goswami actually based on a very profound insight into the meaning of each song and into the rasa of various Gopis tells that this verse is actually recited by Vishaka. This verse is recited by Lalita.
This verse is recited by this Gopi. And now, after that, then in 32nd chapter, Krishna reappears. And Krishna and Gopis have a discussion.
And then, the Gopis try to chastise Krishna for having left them and gone away. But they also love Krishna and they are afraid that if we chastise him, he will go away. So they are guarded.
But Krishna understands their heart and he says, how much I love you. And he says, that you have sacrificed everything for my sake. I cannot repay you.
And therefore, you should be satisfied with the service that you have rendered. There is nothing that I can do for you. This is actually, normally, the soul says, my dear lord, you have done so much for me.
I cannot do anything for you. But it is so extraordinary. The lord is saying, what you have done for me, I cannot repay you.
Be satisfied with your own glorious service. And then in the 33rd chapter, Gopis and Krishna perform Rastila. So the past tense we are discussing are before the 31st chapter, that is.
So Krishna has disappeared from the Gopis and the Gopis are frantically searching. As the Gopis are searching, then there are two different incidents. First, when the Gopis are searching, and Krishna, he is there, but he is invisible.
He sees everyone, but no one sees him. And finally, Krishna decides to have some fun. So he manifests himself in the form of Vishnu.
And now Vishnu and Krishna both have a huge complexion. So Krishna is standing far away in the form of Vishnu. So the Gopis are looking everywhere, where is Krishna, where is Krishna, where is Krishna, frantically searching.
And they suddenly see that bluish form. And they are so delighted. They say, run towards that form.
And run, run, run. And finally when they reach there, their hearts reach there a bunch earlier than thinking of Krishna is there. We will serve him, we will embrace him, and we will talk sweet words with him.
Their heart reaches that far before their body. But when they reach there, their hearts sink deep down. They feel utterly disappointed because they see there is Vishnu over there.
Now they are shocked. Without Krishna, how come Vishnu is there? Normally, if the yogis get a darshan of Vishnu, that is the greatest ecstasy of their life. But the Gopis’ love for Krishna is so great that seeing Vishnu is a disappointment for them.
Seeing Vishnu is the greatest appointment that a soul can set up with anyone. It is the ultimate achievement for a soul to be able to see Lord Vishnu. But here, the Gopis are disappointed.
That is the exalted nature of their single-pointed love for Krishna. They don’t want their love to be distracted even to Vishnu. So the Gopis see Vishnu, then they say, Oh, Vishnu is God.
They offer obeisances to Vishnu. They say, Oh, Lord Vishnu, have you seen Krishna? Please tell us where is Krishna? So Krishna decides to continue to have fun. He points at his finger this way.
And all the Gopis thank Vishnu and they run away. Krishna as Vishnu. They run away.
And then, as all the Gopis have been searching and they come along, Radharani has fallen behind. Because Radharani is most frantic in her search for Krishna. And she is searching everywhere.
Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna? She is searching. She is the last to come. And then she sees Vishnu.
And she comes. Where is my Krishna? Have you seen him? Please tell me. Radharani asks with such a despair, seeing how intense, how fervent, how urgent, how earnest, how desperate her love is.
Now Krishna cannot maintain his guise. He wants to point his finger that way. But the love of Radharani is so great that Krishna’s two extra hands disappear.
Krishna and Radharani have two forms. There are four hands. But now Krishna wants to point this way.
But his two hands disappear. And Radharani sees her beloved lord in front of her. And that is how Radharani and Krishna are united again.
So this is Radharani’s love among all the Gopis. For all the Gopis, seeing Vishnu is a disappointment. But for Radharani, actually her love for Krishna is so great that Vishnu’s Vishnu form disappears and Krishna form manifests.
Or rather Krishna’s Vishnu form disappears and Krishna form manifests. So the consorts of lord Vishnu, they are Lakshmi. Lakshmi is goddess of fortune.
All the Gopis are super goddesses of fortune. Because every Gopi, her love for Krishna is so great. The intensity, the purity, the fervency is so great that it’s extraordinary.
You know, now there is a place, Belwan, where when Lakshmi Devi comes to perform tapasya, to be able to enter into Krishna’s pastimes and perform and be a part of the Rasa Leela. And she has to do austerity. After doing austerity, she is not able to enter.
That is the exalted nature of the love of the Gopis and their position. Lakshmi Devi is the goddess of fortune. The Gopis are the super goddesses of fortune.
And Radharani is not the super goddess of fortune. She is the supreme goddess of fortune. Devi Krishna Mai Prakta Radhika Paradevata Sarva Lakshmi Mai Sarva Kanti Sammohini Para Chaitanya Chaitanya Chaitanya Parama, the course is quoted from the Puranas, where it is said that Devi Krishna Mai Prakta Radharani is Krishna Mai.
She is filled with Krishna. Devi Krishna Mai Prakta Radhika Paradevata She is the supreme goddess of fortune. And Sarva Lakshmi Mai Sarva Sarva Lakshmi Mai All fortune is there in her.
She is the supreme goddess of fortune. Kanti Sammohini Para Kanti Sammohini. She is the beloved of the Lord.
She is Sammohini. She deludes everyone. She deludes everyone because she conquers the heart of even Krishna.
Krishna is Madan Mohan, Radharani is Madan Mohan Mohini. Kanti Sammohini Para Para The transcendental bewilderer of everyone actually. And bewilderer of Krishna also.
Who is the bewilderer of the bewilderer of everyone? Bewilderer of everyone Krishna is the bewilderer of Madan. Bewilderer of everyone is Madan. Madan is Kamadev.
He bewilders everyone. People get attracted and they forget everything because of that. So when people get attracted to Kamadev what happens is Sarva Dharman Parityaja Maya Mekam Sharanam Raja.
They forget everything and they just succumb to Maya. Kamadev bewilders everyone but above Kamadev is Krishna who Kamadev can’t bewilder. In fact Krishna bewilders Kamadev.
But Radharani bewilders even Krishna. So this is Radharani’s position. And her love for Krishna is so exalted that actually there are no parallels to it.
And that Radharani whose love is so supreme, so sublime, so selfless that there is no parallel that there is no parallel. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. It is that Radharani whose has her own personal kunda.
So Radharani is the highest among all the devotees. So when the Gopis are serving Krishna Let us look at this. We will look at Radharani more in our next class also.
So the Gopis we discussed are they only are satisfying Krishna. They don’t care for anything else. They expect no return from Krishna.
Their only return was that we want more and more service. They cannot forget Krishna at all. They are most exalted of all devotees.
So we know their pastime in the Priyad Bhagavatam where Radharani goes and searches and he realises that the Gopis are the highest devotees. They are serving in Vipralambha Seva. What is Vipralambha Seva? It is a mood of separation.
So let’s understand this mood of separation a little bit more but we will do that in the next class. But here the whole idea of the mood of Vipralambha Seva is that actually you can’t take the Lord for granted. So there is Vipralambha and there is Vilana.
So there is service in union, service in separation. So when there is service in separation then there is anxiety. Will I attain Krishna? Will I attain Krishna? If I don’t attain Krishna then what? And then because of that anxiety the intensity of the love is far greater and when there is union the joy is also far greater.
So in this way the love of the Gopis rises to far far greater heights. Rupa Goswami has made a compilation of verses called Padhyavali. So he has taken great prayers written by great Vaishnavas at various times and he has compiled them in the Padhyavali.
So in one of the prayers Radharani says that this is the prayer of Radharani as revealed by one of the Acharyas. He says that Radharani feels that actually I consider separation from Krishna higher than union with Krishna. Why? Because when there is separation from Krishna at that time when there is union with Krishna I see Krishna only in one place.
But when there is separation from Krishna I see Krishna everywhere. Everywhere Krishna is here, Krishna is here, Krishna is here, Krishna is everywhere. And the intensity of the love for Krishna becomes far greater.
because in Vipralambha Seva there is humility. Of course there are many reasons why Vipralambha Seva is higher. One reason is there is always humility.
There is always a sense of incompleteness. Not incompleteness in the material sense but incompleteness in the sense oh I have to attain the Lord I have to attain the Lord. And because of that the remembrance of Krishna, the longing for Krishna, the love for Krishna rises to such high levels that it is unparalleled.
This is the love of the Gopis. And this love is so great that Lord Chaitanya himself came to taste that love. So now Radharani is the highest of all the Gopis.
And what is her speciality? She cannot be excelled. None of the Gopis can love Krishna as Radharani can. Even Krishna cannot understand her love.
And Radha Kund is her personal Kund. So Laghubhagvata Amrit describes that actually this Radha Kund is the topmost place as Prabhupada also quotes. Laghubhagvata Amrit is a play, is a book written by Rupa Goswami himself.
Brihad Bhagavata Amrit is written by Sadhana Goswami. Laghubhagvata Amrit is written by Rupa Goswami. And both of them wrote these books and different books.
Bhagavata Amrita, Nectar of Bhagavata. There he glorifies Radha Kund further. Now at the transcendental level everything is not amorphous.
Everything is tangible. Not materially tangible but spiritually tangible. And Radha, Krishna they have places where they perform pastimes.
And the nature of love is if we love someone, we see something about that person that reminds us of that person and floods us with love. So for example a baby, a mother sees the small shoe of her baby and immediately the mother starts thinking where is my baby? Will she be okay? Is somebody taking care of her? I hope she is well fed. So the mother may be in office working or mother may have gone somewhere but she sees some small tiny shoe and immediately her thoughts go towards the Lord, towards her baby.
So like that the nature of love is that whenever there is any stimuli in that, it triggers the love. So in the past time of Radha and Krishna whatever triggers their love that is called Uddhipan. Uddhipan is that which triggers love.
Of course there is an elaborate subject which we will be able to discuss partially in Bhakta Samva Sindhu at the end of our course. But at this stage suffice it to say that the Uddhipan is that the trigger is very special. Anything that triggers the love of the Lord for his devotee or the devotee for the Lord, that becomes integral part of the past times.
And Vrindavan is Vrindavan itself transcendental and is filled with so many transcendental triggers which remind the devotee of Krishna. And Radha Kund is much much more than just a Uddhipan. We discussed yesterday how Radha Kund is actually a manifestation of Radharani’s love for Krishna in a liquefied form.
So it is that Radharani who is the topmost of all devotees, her love for Krishna is manifest in Radha Kund. And by serving in Radha Kund in proper devotional consciousness, one can attain the highest spirituality in life. That is the joining in the most intimate past times of the Lord’s highest manifestation, Krishna’s past times with his gopis.
That is the ultimate aspiration of a Gaudiya Vaishnava. And it is in that path that Rupa Goswami is leading us through the Upadesha Amrit. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna.