Gopi Gita 1 – “Whoever you are – Lord or lover – please come back”

[Congregation program on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.1-6 at Pittsburgh, USA]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Talk on Janmashtami So we will be celebrating Janmashtami I believe on Friday. So I will speak about Krishna based on the prayers offered to Krishna by His topmost devotees.
This is section in the Srimad Bhagavatam called the Gopi Gita. This is the 10th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, chapter 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33. These 5 chapters are called as the Ras Panchatya.
These are the 5 chapters which describe the pastime of the Ras Neela. And in this pastime, the sweetest part is the part of the Gopis begging to Krishna to reappear. So the overall, can we just remove this cushion? So the 5 chapters basically are considered the zenith of the Srimad Bhagavatam, the highest part.
And 29th chapter describes how Krishna calls the Gopis to perform Ras Neela. And then 30th chapter describes how after the Gopis come, Krishna and the Gopis have a conversation. And after that they start performing the Rasa dance.
And then apparently the Gopis become proud and Krishna disappears. And the Gopis are shattered. They desperately start searching for Krishna.
And in the madness of love, they start enacting Krishna’s various pastimes. Trying to relieve themselves of the agony of separation from him. And they rush deeper and deeper into the forest.
And they go so deep inside, it’s so dark that they can’t even see their hand ahead of them. Then they realise we can’t find Krishna here. So they come out of the forest of Vrindavan to the banks of the Yamuna.
Where they have performed many sweet pastimes with Krishna. And there they start praying to him. And the prayers that they offer are the 31st chapter.
That’s the Gopi Gita. And the result of this Gopi Gita is that Krishna reappears. And when he reappears, the Gopis are delighted that he has reappeared.
At the same time, they are angry. How could you leave us and go away like this? So, sometimes if we have a person who is a little unpredictable, we are angry with that person, we want to express our anger. But at the same time, we are afraid that if we express our anger, that person may get also angry and may go away.
They don’t want Krishna to go away. So they indirectly express their anger to Krishna. And Krishna responds to them.
They say, do you not reciprocate with those who love you? How could you abandon us and go away like this? So Krishna says, I abandoned you to heighten your love for me. And Krishna explains very beautifully the glory of how love is heightened in separation. And the Gopis are satisfied.
And the last chapter, 33rd chapter describes the Rasa dance. Gopis and Krishna perform pastimes. And then the Gopis return home.
So here, this particular section of the 31st chapter is described by our Acharyas as very much embodying the mood of the whole Srimad Bhagavatam. And at one level, it is very exalted. Our Acharyas are very cautious that we don’t trespass into the Ras Neela.
Because we tend to impose our conceptions. That we have a particular conception of the nature of male-female relationships. And we may superimpose that conception on the Lord and His topmost devotees.
So if that happens, then we may actually become sensually agitated by hearing about Krishna’s pastimes with the Gopis. But if we see them not as just a man and a woman, but we see them as the Lord and the devotee, then we can appreciate the profound mood of devotion of the Gopis and the sweet reciprocation of the Lord. So we will focus on the mood of separation that the Gopis embody and how Krishna reciprocates and rewards their intense prayer in their mood of separation.
Actually this is also the mood of the entire Srimad Bhagavatam. The Srimad Bhagavatam is spoken after Krishna has departed from the world. So it is like a backward glance at the world or at the times when Krishna was present.
So the Suta Goswami and the sages of Naimisharanya, they are remembering the times when Krishna was there and Krishna has departed. And Parikshit Maharaj also, he knows that Krishna acted in his life once when he was a child. But after that he never had any interaction with Krishna.
So his relationship with Krishna is also in separation from Krishna. And for us also as sadhakas, we are also separated from Krishna. So in this mood of separation if we try to appreciate these prayers, then we can learn many valuable lessons that can help us in our practical devotion.
While also we appreciate the exalted devotion of the Gopis. So I will recite each of the prayers. And maybe in future sessions we can all recite collectively if we have the prayers with us.
But today I will recite. So this is 10th canto, 31st chapter, 1st verse. जयति तेधिकं जन्मनावरजाः श्रयत इन्दिराशाष्वदत्रहे दैतद्रिष्यतां दिख्षुतावकां त्वैद्रतासवस्तॉंबिछिवते So the Gopi Gita is not just exalted devotion that is being expressed through it.
But it is also very beautiful poetry. So in poetry there are different literary ornaments. Literary ornaments means sometimes we may speak in a particular way which involves say certain ways in which words are constructed.
So one poetic ornament is called alliteration. Alliteration means the same sound is repeated. So for example if I say dedication deepens devotion.
So now this is a statement, it is a meaningful statement but also say each of these starts with D. Dedication deepens devotion. So the D, D, D sound comes in each of this. This is called alliteration.
So in the Gopi Gita all the lines that are there they have this alliteration. So for example, जयति तेधिकं जन्मनावरजा So the first line, first word of each of this, first sound of each of this is ज. श्रयत इन्धिराशाष्वदत्रहि It is श. दैतद्रिष्यतां दीक्षुतावकां It is द again. त्वाइध्रितासवस्त्वामिचिन्वते So तु, तु.
So like this in almost all the verses of the Gopi Gita there is the same number of syllables so that it becomes a poetic metre and it also starts with the same letters. So the Bhagavatam is emotion expressed through composition. It’s a poetic composition that expresses profound emotion.
So what are the Gopis saying? Our Acharyas, Jiva Goswami especially explains that each of these verses is spoken by one particular Gopi. There are many Gopis who are there and they are all offering prayers. So actually the Gopi Gita starts with a plural evocative.
It is श्री गोप्या उच्छु Now व is singular, उच्छु in Sanskrit is plural. श्री गोप्या उच्छु So when it is said the Gopis said this. Now is it that sometimes if the National Anthem is to be said everybody has memorised the National Anthem and they all say it together.
So is it that all the Gopis have memorised this Gopi Gita and they are all collectively reciting it? No, it’s not like that. श्री गोप्या उच्छु, it is the Acharya, Jiva Goswami explains that each of the Gopis when she speaks, she speaks as an individual and she also speaks as a representative of the collective. So she expresses her heart separation to Krishna and she is requesting Krishna, please return and she is also as a representative of the group she is speaking.
So that’s why the श्री गोप्या उच्छु it is said over there. So based on the Jiva Goswami’s analysis based on the analysis of each of the verses what is the mood of that verse then he analyses which Gopi has which mood and he says therefore this verse is said by this Gopi this verse is said by this Gopi like that he identifies various verses and the speakers of those various verses. So we will not go into that, that is a very exalted subject.
But here, each of these verses is actually a call to Krishna, please come back. That is the underlying theme of each of these verses. जयति ते धिखं जन्मनाब्रजा The Gopis say that, O Krishna, after you appeared over here जन्मनाब्रजा, after you took birth over here then what happened? जयति ते धिखं the glory of Raja increased.
Now actually it is a very interesting paradox that the Brajwasis never accept that Krishna is the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. They always think that Krishna is Nandaneshwara’s son. Even when they come to know about it they actually say no.
They say yes, he may have fulfilled that prophecy that Kamsa was killed by the eighth son of Devaki but still he is our son. That is their love. They are saying that he is born in Raja.
So जन्मनाब्रजा We will talk in this mood about how there is love and there is facts and how actually love trumps facts. The word Trump now has some particular connotation so maybe I should use that. But the reality of the love supersedes whatever factuality that is.
I will talk about this a little later. But जन्मनाब्रजा Krishna, since you appeared in Raja since you took birth in Raja जयति ते धेकं this land was glorious became even more glorious. What is the special glory that happened? श्रयत इन्दिरा शाष्वनत्रहे Indira is another name for the goddess of fortune.
So the goddess of fortune she came and perpetually started residing here. So here it indicates at a certain level the gopis are saying that you are Vishnu and the goddess of fortune is Lakshmi. So wherever Vishnu is, Lakshmi will be there.
At another level it says that just wherever you are, that is where the fortune is. So you appeared, the glory of Raja increased and it is not that they are not saying that because the goddess of fortune came, the glory of Raja increased. No, it is saying because you came, so the goddess of fortune came there.
So it is not that the goddess of fortune is the source of fortune. It is rather you are the source of such fortune that even the goddess of fortune is attracted over there. And she is considered only fickle.
Wealth is present in one person’s hands for some time and then it just leaves and goes to someone else. So Lakshmi is considered chanchala. But at the Lord’s feet she is achala, she is fixed.
So you came and made your eternal residence over here. And O Daith, O Lord, O you who are our lover. Drishyatam means we long to see you, we need to see you, we cannot live without seeing you.
Our lives are devoted to you. We always think of you, we live for you. We cannot live without you.
Therefore, O Lord, please appear before us. So the mood here is that they are saying Krishna, you you bring fortune wherever you appear. You bring such fortune that even the goddess of fortune becomes attracted and comes over there.
And yet, how is it that we are suffering the misfortune of being separated from you. We are afflicted by the agony, by the unbearable misery of being far away from you. So Krishna, this is uncharacteristic of you.
You bring fortune wherever you come. So please bring fortune in our life. And please appear before us.
Please appear before us. So actually for all of us, we may get different kinds of fortune in our life. Sometimes we may get wealth, sometimes we may get fame, sometimes we may get power.
But all this fortune, it will come and it will go. And if we get captivated by this fortune, we may miss out the supreme fortune. Sometimes we get, if everything in our life is going on very happily, we start thinking Krishna is very merciful.
But does that mean if things start going wrong in our life, Krishna is very merciless? No, it is not like that. Krishna is always merciful. So sometimes his mercy may manifest at the material level.
And we may think, oh now Krishna is merciful. Yes, if things are wonderful, if things are going well at the material level, that’s good. But Krishna’s mercy is not just that he makes things right in the material level.
Krishna’s mercy is that he reveals himself in our hearts. He grants us fixed devotion to him. And through that devotion, no matter what happens, we always stay peaceful, we always stay steady, we always stay joyful.
So the gopis are saying, yes, this Vraja forest is so beautiful, but without you, it is of no use to us. As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also says, Krishna, without you everything is void. So we may get fortune in our lives, but even if we get it, we have to understand that without Krishna, Krishna is the ultimate fortune.
So whether we have some material things in our life, we don’t have. It is Krishna who is our greatest treasure. So sometimes when Krishna is not present in our life also, if material things are going on, it’s okay.
If Krishna is not there, what is the big difference? But no, Krishna is the one who makes all the difference. He is the person who is going to elevate us. He is the person who is going to liberate us.
So Krishna is our greatest fortune. That is the theme that this verse stresses on. He is such a great fortune, that even the goddess of fortune is attracted to him.
When the goddess of fortune longs for his association. So the gopis go on and then they start remembering that actually this is, they start reminding Krishna rather, that actually causing us such misfortune is uncharacteristic of you. Because in the past, you have already relieved us of much misfortune.
Because in the past, you have relieved us of much misfortune. So they talk about how Krishna is so beautiful. They describe his beauty and they describe his loving nature.
So this is, as Jigo Swami has explained, this is another gopi speaking now. And she says, शरदुदास ये सादु जात साथ, सरसि जोधरः श्रीमशाद्रशा, सुरतनात ते अशुन्क लासिका, वर्धनीगनतो नेह किमधा, So she says, शरदुदास ये सादु जात साथ, They are now describing the beauty of Krishna, that if we consider Sharada, in the autumnal season, there is a beautiful lotus that comes, सादु जात साथ, which is very beautifully formed, and that lotus, सरसि जोधरः श्रीमशाद्रशा, O Krishna, your glance, your eyes, when you look upon us, the beauty of your glance exceeds, even the most beautiful lotus flower, which may also, which is in its fullest bloom, So Krishna, you are so beautiful, Normally, when we see somebody is very beautiful, if they have beautiful looks, we also assume, it’s almost a conscious human tendency, we assume they also have a beautiful heart, Sometimes we think that somebody looks good, they must also be very good people, and they may or may not be, So they are saying, Krishna, you are so exquisitely beautiful, but how is your heart so heartless? So what is your heartlessness? सुरत नात ते, Actually, you are so beautiful, that you are the god of love, सुरत नात ते, that you master even Cupid, Cupid is considered the god of love, but you master even Cupid, Krishna is named as Madan Mohan, Madan is Cupid, he actually captivates people, and he makes people dance to his tunes, but Krishna’s beauty is such that, he captivates even Cupid, so you are the god of love, the supreme god of love, सुरत नात ते, So somebody who functions on love, we also approach you with love, He said, we offered ourselves to you, we have come to serve you, and how are we serving you? अशुलक दासिका, We are your daasis, we are your servants, and we ask nothing from you, we are not asking for any शुलक, we are not asking for anything from you, all that we want is to serve you, and we have come here to serve you, but you have left us and gone away, So, वरद नीगनतो नेहा किम्वधा, He says, O Lord, you are वरद नीगनत, you are the giver of benedictions, so he says, even if somebody approaches you, with some material motivation, still you give benedictions to them, there are so many people who go to temples, and they say, O God, please solve this problem, please do this for me, he says, you give benedictions even to them, वरद नीगनतो, you who are the giver of benedictions to everyone, what are you doing to us? नेहा किम्वधा, why are you killing us, O Lord? They say that Krishna’s separation from you, is more unbearable than death for us, therefore, by imposing this separation on us, you are actually causing us death, you are subjecting us to a misery that is worse than death, O Krishna, you who are so beautiful, O Krishna, you who are known as the giver of benedictions, O Krishna, you who are celebrated as the God of love, O Krishna, you whom we have approached with such selfless love, how can you do this to us? How can you kill us? This is the Gopi’s mood in which they are begging Krishna, please come back, please come back, so devotion is not about rejecting our emotions, sometimes when we go through our life, some things may go wrong, we want things to work at a particular way, and things go wrong, we may get angry, we may feel upset, we may get irritated, so is it that we are meant to suppress our emotions, now why is this happening? So is it that whatever is happening, that is Krishna’s plan, and whatever is Krishna’s plan, we are simply meant to accept, without any emotion at all, no, bhakti doesn’t mean that we become like stones, yet the Gopis are actually expressing their emotions, so even when Abhimanyu is killed, Arjuna gets shattered, and he expresses his emotions, so bhakti is not about suppressing our normal emotions, it is about transcending our normal emotions, we suppress our emotions, then we will become like stones, then we don’t experience anything at all, but when we transcend our emotions, transcend our normal human emotions, that means we do experience the emotions, but there is some higher emotion that we are experiencing, and because that higher emotion is so much important for us, is so enriching for us, that we are able to transcend the lower emotion, so for example, say a mother of a newborn baby, she may have worked hard throughout the day, and she is very tired, and suddenly the baby starts crying in the middle of the night, and the mother wakes up, it is not that she is not going to feel tired, if she is not rested enough, she will feel tired, and she feels that tiredness, she doesn’t deny that tiredness, but still there is a higher emotion, there is love for the child, love for her baby, that’s why she wakes up, fondles the baby, caresses the baby, maybe sings some lullabies, puts the baby to sleep, and then she goes to sleep, so it is not that she is not feeling tired, she feels the tiredness, but still she has a normal emotion, but when there is a higher emotion, then the normal emotion is subordinated, so in devotion, in bhakti we don’t deny our normal human emotions, rather we don’t suppress or reject them, rather we transcend them, so yes, that means, if something goes wrong in our life, it is not that we are going to say, nothing has gone wrong, everything is alright, no, things are wrong, but still we have a higher purpose, and we will stay fixed in our purpose to serve Krishna, Gopikar here is strongly expressing their emotion, Krishna, separation from you is killing us, how can you do this to us, how can you kill us, they are expressing it, but still they are saying, but still we see that they are fixed in their devotion to Krishna, so we, when we are practising bhakti, we will go through various emotions, when in the early days of our movement, not in the early days, in the first decade of our movement, when the devotees were trying to build a temple in Juhu, in Mumbai, so at that time they faced a lot of problems from the land owner, who was conspiring to take the money and not give the land also, so the Malkrishna Maharaj was the leader at that time, and one of the leaders, and he came to Prabhupada and said, Prabhupada, these land dealings are causing me so much anxiety, that my chanting is getting disturbed, my japa is getting disturbed, and Prabhupada replied, my chanting is also getting disturbed, so Malkrishna Maharaj didn’t know what to say, and then Prabhupada said that, actually, your anxiety for serving Krishna will take you back to Krishna, so it is not that we can say that, oh, I have faith in Krishna, so I have no anxiety, no, Prabhupada was serving Krishna, but for Krishna’s sake he wanted to do some things, and naturally there was anxiety, but he was still fixed in his service to Krishna, and that anxiety, we experience the emotion, but just because there is so much anxiety I give up, no, we do that service, and so the point is, there are normal human emotions which we experience, but we don’t deny, we don’t deny them, we don’t suppress them, but at the same time, by our purpose of serving Krishna, we transcend those emotions, the gopis are expressing their emotions, but still they are not rejecting Krishna, Krishna, you abandoned us, we did so much for you, and what have you done for us, you left us, so we will also leave you, no, they are begging Krishna, Krishna, please come back, please come back, so how can you, how can you kill us, and now, so each of these prayers, as I said, all of them are having the same mood, Krishna, please come back, so now they remind Krishna, Krishna, how can you kill us, when you have actually saved our life in the past, and they now recollect, all the times when Krishna has saved their lives, vishajalapyayad vyalarakshasad varsamarutad vajantanalad vishamayatmajad vishvatobhayad vishabhatevayam rakshitamuhu so the gopis are praying, that vishvatobhayad, there were all these occasions, which would have caused, fear all over the universe, rakshitamuhu, and you rescued us, amongst all those occasions, so vishajalapyayad, vishajala, what does this refer to, kalia, the poison water, so kalia was, so dangerous, so deadly, that even if birds would flow, above that lake, they would fall and die, and now, in one sense, did Krishna rescue the vrajavasis from kalia, did Krishna rescue the vrajavasis from kalia, how, the vrajavasis were not in danger, it was Krishna who was in danger, isn’t it, it was Krishna who was caught in the clutches of kalia, so how were the vrajavasis in danger, because the water is poison, yeah, but they had, kalia had been living for quite some time over there, and the vrajavasis had water in other places, they had decided, no one would go near that kalia, yeah, by surviving the encounter, yes, by surviving the encounter, yes, so, actually, if Krishna had been killed, then the vrajavasis would have been killed also, they would not have been able to live, in fact, Krishna, it is described that, Krishna could have actually, overcome kalia immediately, but Krishna waited, he got caught, in the clutches of kalia, and then, Ananda Anjum describes, that when the vrajavasis heard, that, he was caught by kalia, then all of them, just ran out, leaving, just like the gopis left everything, and ran when Krishna played the flute, like that, all the vrajavasis left, whatever they were doing, and, says that, even elderly men, 100 years old, who couldn’t walk without sticks, they forgot that they couldn’t walk without sticks, and they ran out, what has happened to Krishna, and, small, one year old children, who have not even learnt to walk, their mothers forgot them and ran to Krishna, and, the children forgot that they don’t know how to walk, and they also ran, so, everybody came running to see Krishna, and, you know, Krishna was waiting, and Shuddamai said, you know, Nandamaharaj was shocked, Shuddamai, she was so agonised, that she said, I’ll jump in and save him, no, they stopped her, you cannot jump in like this, and Krishna was just waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and then, it is described that, the Rajivasis were almost on the verge of leaving their lives, at that time, Krishna came, so, actually, why did Krishna wait, you know, Krishna was waiting for a special person to come, who was that, yes, Krishna was waiting for Radharani to come, now, Vrindavan is close by, Barsana is a little far away, so, the news went to Barsana also, then Rishi Bhanu also came, and, Kirtibha came, and Radharani came, and when Radharani came, then Krishna danced on Kaliya, for Radharani’s pleasure, so, Krishna waited, and he saved the lives of the Rajivasis, he saved his own life, but if anything had happened to him, they themselves would have died, so, Vishajalapayag, he saved them, Vyala Rakshasaad, Vyala, Vyala is, the serpent, this is referring to, which demon, serpent, Aghas, so, now again, when the Rajivasis are referring, the Gopis are referring to themselves, they are referring to themselves collectively, not just we alone, see, the Gopas, they are also among us, they are also Rajivasis, so, Vyala Rakshasaad, you saved us, from the terrible demon Agha, who had killed us, Varsha Marutaad, Varsha Marutaad, rain and thunderstorm, what does this refer to? Yes, Indira, Govardhan Leela, so, at that time, there was such devastation that happened, that nobody could have survived, Varsha Marutaad, so, now, whatever, hurricanes and storms and rains we are experiencing, now, that is just one, one fragment of material nature, exhibiting its terrible prowess, but Indira is the controller of all of rain and he exhibited his wrath, and not just his wrath, his fullest energy along with that wrath, sometimes we get angry, but we don’t express our anger, fully, but he expresses full anger, so, what happened? Krishna protected him from them also, nothing happened to even one of the Rajivasis, not only were not one of the Rajivasis hurt, but it is, now, it is like, say, if you are fighting with someone, and that person has got, a very powerful person is beating somebody else, and that person is wearing a very strong armour, so, then the armour protects the person from the blows, hitting, hitting, keep hitting the armour, now, eventually the armour breaks, eventually the armour breaks, like Arjuna, he had this very formidable chariot, which had been given by the gods to him, and at the end of the Kurukshetra war, what happened? Every day, Krishna would get off the chariot first and Arjuna would get off, but on the last day after the war got over, Krishna told Arjuna, you get down first, Arjuna said, no, Arjuna said, no, no, you get down first, Arjuna got down, and Krishna jumped off, and as soon as he jumped off, the chariot just exploded, so Krishna said, this chariot had been attacked by so many enemies, it would have been destroyed long ago, it was only because I was there that it was survived, so the point is, that something which is our, which is a weapon, which defends us, if somebody is attacking it ferociously, at least that will get damaged, even if the person doesn’t get wounded, but Krishna was so miraculously omnipotent, that the Govardhan was protecting the Rajvasis, not only did not one of the Rajvasis get hurt, but even Govardhan did not get hurt, not even one blade of grass on Govardhan was hurt, so not only was the person defended, but even the armour was not hurt, so what happened, Krishna thoroughly protected the Rajvasis, so, Varshya Marutad, Vaidyanthanalad, Vishyamayatmajad, Vishvatobhayat, so, Vishyamayatmajad, so, this is referring to demons which are going to come later, Vyomasur, Vishyamayatmajad, so now how can the Rajvasis, how can the Gopis know that Krishna, that the demons are going to come in the future, so actually, the Gopis are eternal associates of Krishna, and they know Krishna’s pastime, so this I’ll come to, Gopis know and they don’t know, I’ll come to it in the next verse, but, because the Rajvasis are exalted devotees who have participated in Krishna’s pastimes, at certain times they do come to know, that Krishna is there, that Krishna’s pastimes are going to happen in the future, Vishyamayatmajad, Vishvatobhayat, all those who cause such great fear, Vishabhadevayam, Rakshitamuhu, and in all of these, you lord protected us, so the idea is, that, Krishna you protect us in all these occasions, please protect us now also, how can you not protect us now, you protected us all those times, you protected us from demons who were out to kill us, and now, are you going to kill us, what is the use of protecting us now you are going to kill us, you saved us so that we could have loving pastimes with you, so that we could love you, we could serve you, and now how can you kill us, so throughout all the mood is, please Krishna come back, come back, reappear, so actually, in the path of Bhakti, our memory is our treasure, our memory is our treasure, what this means is, that we will all face difficulties in our life, and even when we are practising Bhakti, we will face difficulties, and if we just focus on the present difficulty, and we expect why is this problem not going away, I am praying to Krishna why is this problem still there, then we may feel that Krishna is not helping me, so we need to look back at our past, and we need to look back at the times when we faced problems and Krishna helped us in those problems, so if we look back thus, because in the, from a moment to moment basis, we all face problems in life, whether we are devotees or whether we are non devotees, the difference between devotees and non devotees is not that devotees life is problem free, and non devotees life is problem filled, the difference is that a devotee’s life is purposeful, not necessarily problem free, whereas a non devotee’s life is actually having no positive purpose, so to give an example to illustrate this, say there are two people who are in a hospital and they are sick, and both of them are in pain, one of them has not been diagnosed and is not yet being treated, the other has been diagnosed and is being treated, in the present moment, both of them are in pain, and they may think, oh I am in this hospital, I am taking this treatment, what is the use of this doctor, I am still in pain, but the patient needs to remember, how much was the sickness in the past, how much I was suffering earlier, and how much I have been healed, now a moment of pain has come up, but still overall I am in the path of recovery, so nowadays there is a slogan of mindfulness, just live in the present, live in the present, yes it’s good to live in the present in the sense that we shouldn’t be absent minded, we shouldn’t worry about the future or lament about the past, the present is the opportunity for us to do service, but sometimes the present is very difficult to tolerate, then remembering the past will give us the strength to face the present, so here we have to consciously we have to consciously cultivate devotional memories, that means that see whenever we enjoy any material pleasures, the memories automatically get imprinted within us, and even if we enjoyed something 20 years ago, we may have heard some movie song 20 years ago, and now if we hear that song somewhere, immediately the whole scene comes up in our mind, so our mind gravitates towards sensual memories, but devotional memories it doesn’t naturally cherish, so there are times when Krishna has helped us, when we have faced problems and we have overcome the problems, we need to consciously remember that, maybe write it down, maybe talk it with others, and this recollecting the past dangers through which Krishna has rescued us, that will give us strength, that will give us faith, that will give us hope to face whatever problems we are going through, because otherwise if we don’t consciously cherish those memories, then even if we even if Krishna has saved us many times in the past, now he is not saving us, what is the use of Krishna bhakti, what is Krishna doing for us, so we need to remember this, so actually many times devotees ask each other, how did you come to Krishna consciousness, now we may tell the story to others, but if we, I wrote an article about share your story, share your story is S-H-A-R-E was an acronym, you know, five reasons why we should share our story of how we came to Krishna, so one of the reasons is that actually that enters into our heart, the way Krishna has acted in our life, the memory of that goes deeper into our heart when we write it down and share it with others, so it’s important for us to consciously cherish the memories of the times when Krishna has acted in our life, either it is in terms of he has saved us from trouble or he has made some other arrangement by which we experienced some very deep devotional shelter at times, we had some sweet spiritual experiences, these we need to cherish them and that’s how we can move onwards in our life, so now the gopis take it from another perspective as they are thinking about how Krishna, he protected us from these demons, he protected us from the devatas, from the king of the gods, Indra’s anger, so they think, how could he have done this, you know, who is he, so then their thoughts go to his divinity and then they say nakhalu gopika nandanobhavan akhila dehinam antaratmadruk vikamsarthito vishvaguptaye sakhaudehiban sattvatam kule so they start saying nakhalu gopika nandanobhavan nakhalu gopika nandanobhavan you are certainly not the son of gopika who is gopika over here yeshudamayi you are not the son of yeshudamayi so the gopis are female, so they refer to Krishna in terms of his female relationship, his mother, so they say you are not you are not the son of yeshudamayi certainly not and who are you? akhila dehinam antaratmadruk you are god you are the indwelling super soul in the hearts of all living beings and from there you see everyone’s situation akhila dehinam, all living beings antaratmadruk you are the indwelling seer in the hearts of all living beings if you are that supreme being who resides in the hearts of all living beings then how is it you have appeared over here vikhanasarthito vishvaguptaye vikhanasarthito vikhanasarthito they say that, actually vikhanas refers to brahmaji so brahmaji, he was in distress because the demons were creating so much trouble and he beseeched you to appear and therefore vishvaguptaye for the protection of the universe oh lord, you have appeared sakha udayivan sattvatam kule oh sakha, oh friend udayivan you have appeared like suryoday means sunrise plus you have arisen sakha udayivan, where have you appeared? sattvatam kule, you have appeared in the sattvata dynasty that is the anu dynasty so here the gopis reveal understanding of krishna earlier they said janmanavraja in the first verse, but now they are saying not janmanavraja they are saying actually you are sattvatam kule udayivan, so you are actually not taking birth you are simply appearing so you are the supreme lord who like the sun appears and disappears rises and sets so you appeared in the sattvata dynasty and now the gopis love for krishna is so great that in the same verse that they are saying that you are the indwelling super soul, you are the one who is prayed to by brahma you are the one who descends to protect the universe you are the one who is the prince of the sattvata dynasty still after describing krishna in all these glorious ways after describing krishna’s glory in all these ways, still they say sakha, sakha is you are our friend so the gopis love for krishna is so great that even when they know his greatness, still they relate with him in their personal relationship with him actually the gopis they, the brajwasis at one level they know and they don’t know that krishna is god when gargamuni comes first to perform the nindriya ceremony for krishna at that time he has to tell about, he is an astrologer also, he has to tell about this child so now at one level he sees so much love nandamaha and ishoda have for krishna he doesn’t want to break their heart and say that he is not your son so what he says to them is very curious he says, very clever actually he says, in a previous life he was the son of vasudev now that previous life was just a different phase of this life but he says he was the son of vasudev in a previous life and then because the mood of raja is such that he that the devotees don’t think of krishna as god so what he says is, actually your son is just like narayan he doesn’t say he is narayan he is just like narayan and therefore even when krishna performs extraordinary activities the vrajivasis they wonder, how did krishna do this and they think, oh he is just like narayan that means he must be blessed by narayan special power is given by narayan that’s how they see krishna’s superhuman activities but still they think krishna is one among us now here the gopis what is their mood again they are saying to krishna actually each of these lines whatever thread of thought the gopis are having all of it is just culminating that one prayer krishna please come back please come back so here what are they praying oh krishna you, you are not the son of gopis you are you are the indwelling seer of all living beings so if you are the seer of all living beings then you can see our suffering too oh lord therefore you come back, please come back oh lord then he says oh brahmaji saw that the world was afflicted and he asked you to descend to protect the world and we oh lord are also a part of this world so please to fulfil the purpose of your descent please come back and protect us we too are distressed and sattvata amkule if you are the king of the sattvata dynasty you are the member of the royal dynasty we brajivasis are subjects in that dynasty so therefore it is the duty of a king to protect the citizens we are in such great distress please come back please appear so this way the thoughts of the gopis they go in different directions but all comes back to the same point through so many different frames of analysis it is coming to the same point krishna please come back please come back please come back so this is actually this was actually shila prabhupada speciality also shila prabhupada commented on a wide variety of scriptures but he always returned back to the basics what we need to know we need to chant hare krishna we need to purify ourselves we need to learn to serve krishna he did not get caught in scriptural technicalities he did not get caught in many esoteric aspects of scriptures he just focused in the first canto there is a section where krishna leaves hastinapur and goes to dwarka so the 9th chapter of the first canto is bhishma’s departure the 10th canto is krishna’s leaving hastinapur and the 11th chapter is arriving at dwarka so now when he is leaving hastinapur so at that time the path that he takes is described he went to this place this place this place this province and then eventually he comes to dwarka so prabhupada describes in one of the purports over there that that some scholars try to retrace the path that krishna took which exact path krishna took to come to dwarka and he says but this is a very difficult task because the surface of the earth is that it always keeps changing and it may not be possible to retrace the exact path as far as we are concerned we are simply satisfied that krishna has reached dwarka and is going to perform pastimes with his devotees there so prabhupada was very clear about his purpose the bhagavatam can talk about hundreds of subjects yes if we have some curiosity we have the capacity then we can understand so if we have the curiosity and the capacity we can study diverse subjects but we should not lose track of the essential purpose that is krishna vedasya sarvair aham eva vedyo by all the vedas it is I who am to be known so sometimes we may just get caught in the cosmology of the bhagavatam we may get caught in the chronology of the bhagavatam we may get caught in so many other things how can this be like this, how can this be like this no the point of it all is to serve krishna no especially when we are when we get introduced to bhakti most of us what happens for us is we understand the philosophy we understand the principles of bhakti and then we adopt the practises of bhakti so when we want to help our children grow up in bhakti and what happens for the children they get first introduced to the practises of bhakti and then because they are small children and then if at all they get introduced to the principles so you know if we first look at the principles then look at the practises then we can understand the purpose of the practises because we understand the principles but if we see the practises first and then we, these practises don’t make sense then we are not interested in the principles this is all dogmatic, this is all irrational, this is all I don’t care for this so you know if somebody is getting too caught in the practises we have to help them just don’t worry about the practises right now not that the practises are not important but first understand the principles you know in any activity that we do, suppose now a new iPhone has come now in the advertisement of the iPhone the first thing they are going to show is not that okay it costs $900 or whatever the cost is first they will tell all the features oh this is here, this feature, this feature, this feature and then we will probably have to search what is the cost isn’t it sometimes when we, so like that when we are actually sharing bhakti we have to talk about the glory of bhakti, sometimes we very proudly say you know we follow, no meat eating, no intoxication, no gambling no 16 round chanting so what a waste of time why do it so we need to first actually tell what the product is we have to tell the glory of bhakti we have to talk about the rationality of the principles of bhakti, so it has to make sense if we present the practises, the culture is attractive the culture can be presented but specific practises which we seem to restrict people’s freedom you know those, we need to be highlighted first it’s not, it’s a basic principle of marketing first sell the product then tell the price isn’t it, but sometimes we very proudly tell the price first and then people say, why should I I don’t want to pay this price forget it so Prabhupada was an expert he always brought everything down to the universal principles of bhakti and Prabhupada was very accommodating also there is one, on the way to Krishna one of his books, he says that somebody cannot give up drinking he says that such a person let that person think that the taste of wine is Krishna Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita rasoham apsu kaunteya that the taste of water is Krishna and water is ultimately present in wine also let that person remember Krishna remember that the taste of wine is Krishna he says by remembering by remembering Krishna in this way one day that person will become a great devotee by drinking wine that person won’t become a great devotee but by remembering Krishna while drinking wine will become a great devotee so Prabhupada is clear we have to connect people with Krishna so that purpose if we keep in mind even when we are studying Bhagavatam or we are sharing Bhagavatam we keep that purpose how can I connect this person with Krishna sometimes a person may be at such a level that the only connection with Krishna that is possible for them is that yes, we just take some prasad that’s fine, that is their connection with Krishna so if we have this purpose then we will always be able to help people come closer to Krishna at least one step forward from where they are sometimes we may tell them the full picture of bhakti and if they are not interested then bang, we slam the door in their face you don’t have to do that the purpose has to be very clear so the gopis, they are talking about Krishna’s divinity, Krishna’s dynasty but it’s all Krishna please come back please come back the diversity of the specifics should not make us lose track of the commonality of the purpose the gopis talk about diverse specifics but the commonality of the purpose remains always for them then they move on so they said at this point that Krishna, you please protect us because you have come to protect the world and now they continue this way so they pray so they pray they are talking about Krishna at two levels Krishna you are a hero so at one level he is a Kshatriya now Kshatriyas are meant to be heroic and if somebody is in danger Kshatriyas are meant to protect them so Krishna, they are saying Krishna if you consider that you are born in the Vishnu dynasty then because you are a Kshatriya you are meant to protect those who are afflicted and similarly so we are afflicted Krishna please protect us, please relieve us of these afflictions and come back so that is, they talk about Krishna’s identity as a member of the Vishnu dynasty but then they are also aware of Krishna’s identity as the divine being and they say they say if somebody surrenders to you oh lord, then what happens from the whole fear of material existence you free them you rescue them from that entire fear of material existence itself and what happens when we are freed from the fear of material existence how are we freed? when we are reunited with Krishna so when we are reunited with Krishna then we no longer meet material existence Kunti Maharani says that bhavato darshanam yaksad apnar bhava darshanam when we have darshan of you oh lord then we won’t have to take darshan of this material existence so when they are saying Krishna you liberate those who surrender to you and what are they saying we are surrendering to you oh lord, we have surrendered everything to you we have come to you giving up everything we have come to your lotus feet therefore please free us from the misery of material existence and there may be many different miseries in material existence but the greatest misery for a devotee is not the misery of old age, of deceit, of poverty of loneliness for a devotee the greatest misery is the misery of separation from Krishna and that’s why devotee Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that he says my dear lord, because of my past karma I have to take many births again and again, I don’t mind it as long as I am absorbed in devotion to you I have unmotivated devotion if our devotion is motivated then it will be interrupted why is that? devotion that is motivated will be interrupted because when we have a particular motive either that motive is not fulfilled and we think what is the point of serving Krishna if I want wealth and I come to Krishna and pray to Krishna and get some wealth if I don’t get it then I think what is the point of serving Krishna if I pray to Krishna and I get some wealth, I think Krishna thank you I got my wealth now, bye bye so either way if our devotion is motivated then it will get interrupted so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is praying for unmotivated devotion he is essentially praying for uninterrupted devotion so for a devotee some of the gopis are saying Krishna you free them from the misery of material existence they are implying by that please free us from the misery of this from the misery of separation from you from the misery of separation from you so Krishna your lotus hand kanta o lover kamadam you are the person who fulfils desires so your lotus hand shirasidhena shrikaragraha shrikaragraha please place this hand on our head so here the gopis are approaching Krishna in a reverential mood the gopis mood will change in different verses here just like we have an image of Narasimhadeva placing his hand on Prahlad and Prahlad appreciates my dear lord that not to Shiva not to Brahma not to Lakshmi you gave this blessing that you have given to me so like that the gopis in a very devotional mood are praying to Krishna they are seeing that Krishna is the lord he is the supreme being you please place your hand shrikaragram that your hand is the holder of Lakshmi Devi all auspiciousness all fortune resides in you so that hand which bestows fortune please place it on our head now again the implication is what if Krishna has to place the hand on their head Krishna has to come back so Krishna please come back please appear before us please don’t subject us to this agony of separation from you shrikaragram shrikara actually there will be repeated references in this section to the goddess of fortune and how Krishna is the lord of the goddess of fortune as devotees sometimes when we seek protection from Krishna now we have a problem and we feel Krishna please free me from this problem and yes Krishna can free us from the problem he will in due course but we don’t we can’t make our bhakti conditional to the freedom from the problem now there is there is release from problem and there is relief amidst problems so bhakti can provide us Krishna can provide us not just release from problems yes there is some some job instability is there some health problem is there some relational issue is there all these issues are there and sometimes we just have something troublesome in our life and just why doesn’t this why doesn’t this change in my life sometimes we have adi bhautik klesh so adi bhautik klesh is the what does it mean adi bhautik is bhuta means living being so people around us so what is the adi bhautik klesh so one devotee was explaining that adi bhautik klesh means mosquitoes, mujahideen and mother in laws so there can be different degrees of problems so actually when we have this adi bhautik klesh why doesn’t this person change actually yes krishna can make that person change also and they may change but the important thing is that krishna wants us to change krishna wants us to be his only shelter so we may get relief release from problem the problem goes away but then we stay in material consciousness, another problem will come krishna releases us from that another problem will come but what krishna wants us to do is he wants us to give us relief amidst the problem relief amidst the problem means although the problem stays by taking shelter of krishna our consciousness rises upwards when our consciousness rises upwards then we don’t feel so troubled even amidst the problem say for example now if now i just came from florida against will where this irma has caused havoc so suppose there is a two story building and there is flood on the first floor on the ground level why doesn’t this flood go away why doesn’t this flood go away yes the flood is there so if somebody just climbs to the first floor from the next higher level from the first floor to the second floor then the second floor of the flood water is not there one will get relief so like that sometimes flood may come into our life at the material level of consciousness so now our existence is bidimensional, is material and spiritual but most of the times we live as if the spiritual is just nominal yes i am a soul but practically i have a body and practically this world is what matters to me so sometimes when the flood comes at this level, Krishna can remove the flood but Krishna doesn’t remove it that forces us to go to the upper floor that forces us to take shelter of Krishna to absorb ourselves in Krishna and when we do that then we get the conviction that this upper floor is also for real that the spiritual relief that i get it is not just some philosophy it is not just something reserved for great saints even i can by taking shelter of Krishna experience relief amidst my problems so the problems they are not just meant for solution they are meant for realisation the problem comes in our life the solution of the problem goes away yes that will happen in due course but the purpose of the problems is not just that Krishna provides the solution but that Krishna provides the realisation that we can rise to a higher level of consciousness by taking shelter of Krishna we can experience relief amidst the problems see all of us have a sense of identity which can vary from person to person so for example i may define myself as the father of so and so person i may define myself as the son or daughter of so and so person i may define myself as the husband of so and so person as the wife of so and so person now all these relationships are important but our most important relationship is our relationship with Krishna so whenever we face any problem in any of these relationships we feel shaken we feel shattered also but what we have to understand is all these relationships are important and they will work out in their own course but our defining identity is our relationship with Krishna i am first and foremost a servant of Krishna as a servant of Krishna i am the father of someone i am the mother of someone i am the husband of someone i am the wife of someone i am the daughter of someone i am the son of someone all these relationships are services so sometimes when we face too much agitation in a particular relationship that indicates that we are identifying too much with that relationship it doesn’t mean we reject that relationship but we have to subordinate that relationship to our relationship with Krishna if any person’s behaviour is troubling me too much then that means i am identifying too much with that relationship yes this person can trouble me and i have to deal with how they trouble me but if i identify myself as a servant of Krishna and then i see okay dealing with this person is a service some services are easy some services are difficult and some people may be reasonable some people may be unreasonable but if we define ourselves in terms of our relationship with that person then we get inordinately agitated sometimes the agitating behaviour of the other person is ultimately meant to help us deepen our relationship with Krishna so here the gopis are praying to Krishna oh Krishna they are taking that reverential mode please place your hand on us and bless us so i will take one more verse then i will stop chanting oh Krishna you are known as the destroyer of the distress of the vrajavasis and especially you are a hero for all of us gopis so please come and rescue us chanting chanting chanting saying that Krishna if you think that we have become proud and because of this pride you have left us and gone away then actually the solution to that pride is simply that you come and you smile at us so it is said that nijjana, nijjana is devotees smile, smile is pride chanting so Krishna’s smile destroys the pride of his devotees now how does that happen what does it mean how does Krishna’s smile destroy the pride of his devotees actually now pride promises some pleasure oh i am so intelligent i am so powerful i am so wealthy and through that we want admiration, we want revolution and through that we get some pleasure and if you are not getting any higher pleasure then this pleasure is the greatest pleasure oh so many people respect me so many people appreciate me, so many people praise me therefore i am worth someone ultimately all of us we have very deep insecurity within us, do i really count does my life matter so does my existence count at all and when others praise us, our insecurity is counted a little bit yes you count, people value you but then what happens is we all want this respect ultimately we want recognition because we want love and we think that the more famous i become the more glorious i become the more glories i acquire then the more people will be attracted to me the more people will respect me the more people will love me but then what happens is if i acquire a lot of wealth, yes people are attracted to me but are they attracted to me or attracted to my wealth that’s we don’t know how are our real friends and who are the friends of our wealth we don’t know that so our insecurity it our insecurity we cannot relieve by popularity we can relieve it only by spirituality so what happens is when a devotee sees that Krishna is smiling at him or her, what that means is that the devotee feels Krishna loves me Krishna cares for me and out of his loving care Krishna is smiling at me when the devotee sees this then whatever pride is there whatever we are proud of by which we think we will attract the world’s attention and the world’s admiration we feel, this is nothing this is not worth it this is not worth it the pride of the devotee is shattered by the smile of the Lord about 20 years ago when I first started giving classes, I started speaking I was very conscious how many people are hearing that attentively how many people are appreciating the class so after the class people would come and praise then I would think oh now my class is successful people come and praise so that was what I would look forward to and one time I gave a very good class at least I thought I gave a good class all the points went from next to next to next and all the examples came out nicely and after that class nobody appreciated everybody just walked away I was feeling a little agitated and it struck me that actually while I was giving the class I was quite absorbed I was happy and before giving the class I was preparing for the class that time I was absorbed, I was happy and then now I am agitated why am I speaking about Krishna I am speaking about Krishna to remember Krishna and to help others remember Krishna so if I focus on if the people should praise me for my class I am simply shifting my focus from remembering Krishna to something else and even if somebody praises me how long is that going to last that is for a few moments but if I can develop attraction for Krishna if I can develop absorption in Krishna then that can be a much more lasting fulfilment now it is not that all praise is undesirable or we should never praise each other the point is there can be at a human level also reciprocation the important thing is sometimes we will not get that reciprocation so Krishna’s reciprocation is that he gives us absorption so how do we know that Krishna is reciprocating with us when we serve him actually the absorption in the service itself is his reciprocation because when we are absorbed that means we are connected with Krishna we are getting some taste because of which we are being absorbed and sometimes we may worry how do I know that Krishna is reciprocating is that Krishna will come in our dream and tell me I am very pleased with you or is it that during chanting my hair will stand on end these things can also happen but we don’t have to expect that we are just getting absorbed absorption in itself is Krishna’s reciprocation so this when we ourselves experience the joy of serving Krishna then we feel pride I don’t need it it destroys Krishna’s pride Krishna’s smile destroys our pride so the gopis are saying Krishna if at all you think that you are proud of our beauty we are so beautiful that Krishna has left everyone else and come to be with us if you think that is the pride which made us go away from you that is what made us proud then Krishna you just come before us when we see your beauty when we see your smile realise our beauty is nothing in comparison with that and thus our pride will be destroyed Krishna we are simply your servants so even if you have committed a mistake a master the master corrects the servant so please come back and correct us oh lord jala ruhananam charudarshaya darshaya please reveal your face to us the desire of the gopis till now they have not expressed and they explicitly express it jala ruhananam charudarshaya anana is a face jala ruha is that which is born from the jala that is lotus your lotus like face oh god please display it before us this has been the common thread of all the prayers but here it comes out explicitly charudarshaya charu is very sweet Krishna your sweet lotus like face please display it before us please reveal yourself to us by which our pride will be destroyed as it is and the gopis are fervently praying to Krishna Krishna please come back and in the future verses we will discuss how the gopis continue this mood of intense prayer so I will summarise I spoke today about the Gopi Gita how this is always an exalted prayer and an exalted pastime which we can’t rush in prematurely but seeing Krishna as male and gopis as female we see Krishna as the lord and the gopis as the devotees and with that devotional mood we approach and we can get enriching realisations from this Gopi Gita so the gopis are offering these prayers in separation from Krishna the whole bhagavatam is in that mood of separation from Krishna Krishna has just departed Parishad Maharaj is also feeling separation from Krishna and we souls in this material world are also separated from Krishna so the gopis different gopis are offering prayers each one one prayer and they are speaking individually as well as on behalf of the group so that’s why it is plural plural form of it so the first prayer’s mood is that Krishna you are so fortunate that you attract the goddess of fortune also then why is it that you have brought misfortune in our life by going away by subjecting us to the torment of separation from you so we discussed how whether there is fortune or misfortune at the material level for us Krishna is our greatest fortune and sometimes if there is fortune at the material level it may make us forget that Krishna is our greatest fortune and if there is misfortune that may remind us so Krishna is the treasure that we look for in our life as the most important treasure and the second prayer they beg to Krishna that Krishna you are so beautiful so we have dedicated our life to you and Krishna please you are the god of love, you are the giver of benedictions and we have given ourselves without asking anything from you so how can you kill us so the idea is the gopis are expressing their agony we are not meant to deny our human emotions in bhakti we are meant to transcend our human emotions by having a higher purpose the lower emotions we experience but we don’t let them shape our actions the third prayer the gopis remember all the times when Krishna has saved them from great dangers and thus they pray Krishna please save us now also so in bhakti our memory is our treasury if we just live in the present we are feeling what is Krishna doing for me I am having so much problems but if we consciously recollect the times when Krishna has acted in our life and protected us has given us sublime spiritual experiences then we will know that Krishna is there with us in pain a patient who is being treated and the patient not being treated may appear the same both of them are having pain when the patient remembers oh this is the treatment it has helped me so much then the patient will be able to better tolerate the pain and the fourth prayer the gopis remember Krishna who did such wonderful things he is the supreme being who has descended for the protection of the world at the prayer of Brahmaji and there also they pray Krishna we are also part of the universe so please protect us so we Krishna he is always seeing whatever we are going through and if we just stay focused Krishna will reveal himself to us and we will be able to rise above whatever problems we are facing so there is relief from problems and there is release from problems and the release amiss problems so rather than demanding solution we can seek realisation towards problems and then in the next prayer the gopis said Krishna you have descended you are a hero who protects those who are in danger and you are the supreme lord who frees people from material existence therefore please bless us with your hand on our head so Krishna for a devotee the greatest separation greatest misery is not old age disease or death it is separation from Krishna and the relief from that misery is always available if we try to remember him and then the last prayer if we discussed the gopis are praying Krishna if at all you think you are proud then you appear before us and smile before us that will destroy our pride so similarly we may we may want to become proud or want to exhibit our glories because we feel that will attract others and give us some recognition and relieve our fear of insecurity and inconsequentiality but the best way to get relief from that is connecting with Krishna so when we get Krishna’s reciprocation through the absorption in him then we realise that whatever recognition or admiration or adulation I may get in this world that is not worth getting distracted from that absorption and thus by focussing on Krishna we can overcome whatever pride we may have so thank you very much Hare Krishna Hare Krishna so are there any questions or comments do we have time ok yeah Ramji thank you for wonderful class I had one question regarding birth of Krishna I don’t remember the source of where I heard this but I heard that when Yashodamayi gave birth she gave birth to a daughter and a son and then Vasudev brought Krishna from from the jail to where Yashodamayi was and he kept Krishna down that time those two babies they actually merged into one single baby and he took the female baby with him and went back is that true because I have heard other stories where it’s not explained this way it’s just like a female daughter is born so can you just so is it true that actually Yashodamayi had two children and then one boy and one girl and what what exactly happened in Krishna’s birth Krishna’s pastimes are having multiple levels of revelation that means his leela is revealed at a particular level in a particular book and then it’s revealed at another level in another book it is revealed at another level in another book in the same pastime we come to know more and more from different sources so the Bhagavatam specifically does not talk about Yashodamayi having two children or anything like that but the Puranas do contain the well known statement that Vrindavan parityajya padam ekam nagachchati Krishna never leaves Vrindavan now how is this to be understood that we see that Krishna doesn’t leave Vrindavan that in fact the whole the 40th chapter the 10th chapter of the Bhagavatam are 90 chapters and after the 40th chapter is Krishna leaving Vrindavan so 50 chapters of Krishna leela are outside Vrindavan so now the acharyas give a different higher level of revelation or that another level of revelation which basically reconciles contradictory statements this is a form of acquiring knowledge called as Arthapatti Arthapatti means postulation so for example there are two statements Devadatta does not eat food throughout the day that’s one statement second statement is Devadatta’s weight is increasing now if both logically speaking both statements can’t be true if you are not eating food throughout the day your weight can’t increase but if both statements are true then we have to have a third statement which is a postulation which reconciles both the statements what is that? Devadatta eats secretly at night now this is not said in any of these statements but these two statements if they are true then this third statement is to be there which will balance both the statements so like that our acharyas they often do Arthapatti to reconcile apparent contradictions in scriptures so one statement is Krishna never leaves Vrindavan the other is that actually Krishna Krishna leaves Vrindavan Krishna is born outside Vrindavan so the acharyas explain Vishwanath Chakra Thakur is the primary person who explains specifically but Jiva Goswami also gives elaborate analysis for this so Jiva Goswami is called a Siddhanta Acharya of our tradition he is very philosophically astute and in Gopal Champu every point of the past time like this past time of Krishna born 1 or 2 all this he gives elaborate quotation from different scriptures and specific detailed analysis of specific word from the Bhagavatam what does this word actually mean it can literally mean this but it can also mean this so the point which he is making over here is that Krishna never leaves Vrindavan how is this true because Krishna appears in Vrindavan itself and there are two manifestations of Krishna there is one Vrindavan Krishna and there is Vasudev Krishna so Vrindavan Krishna is born in Vrindavan and he always stays in Vrindavan Vasudev Krishna is the Krishna who is born to Vasudev and he actually as always he actually doesn’t directly manifest in Vrindavan but he manifests when required so basically what happens is that when Krishna when Krishna appears Krishna appears as Vasudev Krishna to Devaki Vasudev Krishna appears as Vrindavan Krishna to to Yashodamayan and then the Maharaj and then along with that a girl appears and when Vasudev Krishna comes the Vasudev Krishna and Vrindavan Krishna get united and at that time when they get united then whenever Krishna is performing Leela Vrindavan Leela is simply play but even in that play sometimes he has to kill demons so killing is not something which Krishna likes to do therefore Krishna leaves that task to Vasudev Krishna so Vrindavan Krishna does not kill so much and when when Krishna departs actually it is not Vrindavan Krishna who departs it is only Vasudev Krishna who departs so this is indicated at even in the Bhagavatam there is some specific verse in the Jiva Goswami says and he gives further quotations from other scriptures also but the point is that we don’t have to say that the Bhagavatam that the traditional narrative which is known about Krishna Leela that Krishna was born in born in Mathura and he came to Vrindavan and he left Vrindavan we don’t have to say that is wrong that is also correct but there is another layer of narrative to it so it is an embellishment there is a well known narrative which is true but there are layers of truth so there is another layer of truth which is revealed by the Gaudiya Vaishnavacharyas based on Shastra itself but also through the Artha Pakti that they are doing based on Shastra ok so we will stop here thank you very much Shri Krishna Bhagavan ki Jai Shri Prabhupada ki Jai Gaur Bhakta Vrindaki Jai Jai Jai Jai