Spiritual World – The World of Mirth and Merry

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So we will begin tomorrow at 10 o’clock. Today we will go a step forward and try to understand what is it that makes the spiritual world so wonderful? What is it that is so attractive about the spiritual world that we should aspire to go there? And of course this is a big topic, but part I will focus on in this is the sweetness of Krishna’s love.
And how that love as we read in the Vedic scriptures has what happened in the modern history. So what we will do is we will discuss this in three different parts. First is we will discuss the relationship of Krishna with his devotees.
Then we will discuss about the implications of that revelation with respect to life in this world. And then we will discuss about how we can aspire for learning the spiritual world. So when we talk about God, the very word God means that there are some defining attributes of God.
He is omnipotent, he is omniscient, he is omnipresent. The word Omni is related with the word Om. It is also related with the word Amen in Christianity and Amin in Islam.
So they all come from the same etymological root. And they all refer to all-pervadingism. So basically the Omniprefix means all.
So there are some fundamental universal attributes of God. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. And these are important.
But they describe more the position of God, his greatness. When you want to understand God, there are two aspects to understanding God. His greatness and his sweetness.
So his greatness inspires submission in us. And his sweetness inspires affection. His greatness inspires submission.
Oh, God is so great, he is the greatest of all people. What am I in front of him? Therefore I must submit myself to him. So submission is that in ordinary life if we understand that some person is much much more powerful than us, then we will be ready to agree to him.
That submission occurs in material life. People may agree to serve someone or submit to someone because they are also made of that person. However, that is not the connotation of submission that we talk about in spiritual life.
Because Krishna is not individual to us. Krishna does not want to harm us anyway. Krishna wants to help us.
Krishna wants to bring the best out of us. When we understand his greatness that inspires submission. And when we understand his sweetness, that inspires affection.
Affection means Oh, this person is so great but still this person is so loving, so tender-hearted, so kind. So when we understand a combination of his greatness and sweetness, then we feel both submission and affection. Now, the moment these feelings are important, because if there is no submission, then what will happen is we will take God’s relationship or relationship with Krishna very cheaply, almost like a mundane relationship.
It will be as Krishna is just another person and Radha Rani is just his female friend. Or we will think that Krishna is just a child and Annamalai Krishna and I are the parents. So there has to be the understanding of the greatness by which the appropriate submission while interacting with the Divine manifests in us.
And then there is sweetness. So that inspires affection. If we just know God’s greatness, that alone is not enough to bring out the deepest emotions of our heart.
Prabhupada gave the example of the sky. The sky is vast, it is great. And when we look up at the sky and look at its vastness, we will feel a sense of awe, a sense of reverence.
But we don’t really fall in love with the sky. You know, the great bliss is there. But along with that, we need to see the seas.
Then there is affection. So both are required. Now in the biblical literature, there is a statement, God is great.
And that is certainly the assertion of all the scriptures, the theistic scriptures of the world. But there are various scriptures which give us an indication, a demonstration of God’s greatness. So Krishna is great as is manifest in the Virata Rupa.
In the universal form of Krishna that is explained in the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. So Arjuna is describing When Krishna reveals his universal form, Arjuna is so dazzled that where is the end, where is the middle, where is the beginning? I can’t see anything. You are so effulgent that you are I cannot look at you, I cannot behold you.
He says, my dear lord, you are the Vishweshwara, you are the lord of the Vishwa, and you are also manifesting as the Vishwaroopa. I am seeing this form. So there, in scriptures like this, we see the greatness of God.
And what happens with that greatness? Arjuna gets frightened. And he asks, who are you? I am asking you. In a very respectful way, in the air.
Where is your aap? Aap is kwan. Tu is kwan. And aap is kwan.
So Arjuna respectfully asks, kwan, who is the Roopa? This ferocious form, who is it? And then Krishna replies, Time, I am the destroyer of all the worlds. So this actually inspires pure energy. So fear is also a form of submission.
And when Arjuna says that this particular Virat Roopa is manifested, so he describes that I offer obeisances to you. Where do I offer obeisances? You know, if you go to a temple, the deities are there, they will offer obeisances to the deities. But here the Virat Roopa is everywhere.
So he says, where do I offer? nama puristha, namostu te sarvate sarva He says, I offer obeisances to you from the front, from the behind, from the left, from the right, from all directions I offer you obeisances. Why? Because you are everywhere. And then in this way, this is actually one of the most mystical visions in all the world’s religious literatures.
The way Arjuna sees the Virat Roopa. So this is a very graphic demonstration of God’s greatness. All the universe with its vastness is all present within the body of Krishna.
So the scriptures do give us extraordinary consciousness-expanding descriptions of God’s greatness. But along with that, they do as many endearing descriptions of God’s sweetness. So, in the spiritual world, there are multiple planets.
There is Vaikunthaloka. In the Vaikunthaloka, there are many, many Vishnus. There are many forms of Vishnu who reside in the Vaikunthaloka and they all have their own devotees.
And with them, they reciprocate each other’s love. And above all these Vaikunthalokas, there is a topmost loka called as Krishnaloka. So Krishnaloka, in that, the most intimate abode in Krishnaloka is Kruloka Vrindavan.
There, Krishna plays the role of a cowherd. Now when we say plays the role of a cowherd means that actually it’s not that he’s hiding. He’s not doing a drama in the sense of a role.
But that is what he does in general. See, in English there is a literary device, a figure of speech called as oxymoron. Oxymoron means when two opposite words are brought together.
For example, if I say that person is a courageous cowherd. You know, you can either be courageous or you can be cowherd. How can you have a courageous cowherd? Or that person is an intelligent fool.
What does that mean? Or somebody may say that person is a chaste prostitute. How can you have a chaste prostitute? So oxymoron is a word which is a contradiction in terms but which conveys something deeper. So, we discussed a little bit about oxymorons earlier.
So, Yogamaya is an oxymoron. So, in the Vrishabhidhagavatam it is described in Krishna’s pastime. Most mantras in pastimes start, Yogamaya Parashrita Krishna takes shelter of Yogamaya.
So the word Yogamaya is an oxymoron. Why? Because maya is that which disconnects us from spiritual reality. Which makes us forget spiritual reality.
Whereas yoga is the process by which we reconnect with spiritual reality. Yoga means to connect. Let’s connect.
So, maya disconnects and yoga connects. So then what does Yogamaya do? Maya disconnects us from reality. Yoga connects us with reality.
So what does Yogamaya do? Actually, Yogamaya is a combination of what indicates a divine illusion. A spiritual illusion. The normal maya of this world disconnects us from Krishna so that we forget him entirely.
Whereas Yogamaya makes us forget Krishna’s greatness so that we focus only on his sweetness. So that is the special arrangement of Yogamaya. So in the spiritual world what happens? There is Krishna’s greatness, there is Krishna’s sweetness.
So as seekers we need to understand Krishna’s greatness so that we have the right submissive attitude towards him. But for the highest devotees who have developed love for Krishna there is no need for the constant reminder Krishna is God. No.
There is completely love in Krishna. And for those devotees Krishna’s Yogamaya covers covers them with a divine illusion. By that divine illusion the devotees who forget that Krishna is the Supreme Lord they think that Krishna is just our friend.
Gopasuddin, that is our friend, Yudhisthira Maharaj, he is our most beloved child. So like that all the devotees in Vrindavan are covered by Yogamaya. And what does this Yogamaya do? Yogamaya allows us to develop a relationship with God in various transcendental rasas.
See the word rasa is very special word. And normally in our day-to-day language the only time when we hear the word rasa is when we talk Ganna Ras or Aam Ras. You know, we talk about in terms of mango juice or sugarcane juice.
But in the spiritual vocabularies the word rasa is used to indicate an emotion of a special flavour. It is an emotion but a special flavour of emotion. And that special specially flavoured emotion comes in a distinctive relationship with Krishna.
So there are five primary rasas in the spiritual world in which devotees reciprocate love in Krishna. So there is Shantaras. That is the fundamental foundational rasa.
So Shantaras is characterised by complete detachment from matter and complete attachment to Krishna. So that person has no desire for any separate enjoyment. So in the spiritual world, the trees that are there, they often serve Krishna and Shantaras.
They are observing Krishna’s pastimes and appreciating and relishing those pastimes. So the yogis who sit in the material world in meditation are the absolute guru. They are quite likely to become the devotees of Shantaras in the spiritual world.
Shantara Shantara Shantara Shantara Shantara So that lord is Shantaha Navidur that whose antah, whose glory is so infinite that neither the devigods nor the demons Navidur Sura Sura Gana So nobody knows the extent of his glories. Yasyantara vinusura surjana Devaya dasmaina maha unto that lord I offer my obeisances. So, this is the mode in which the yogis meditate also.
Dhyana vastrita, restituted meditation. Satgatena manasa pasyanti When restituted dhyana, the eye of the mind we discussed earlier how there is the gross physical eye and the subtle eye of the subtle body and then the spiritual eye. So, pasyantiyam yogino The yogis with their inner eye see the supreme lord and they delight in meditating on him.
And then they become transported to the spiritual world and there also they delight eternally in meditating on the supreme lord. And it’s a life of great ecstasy. So, this is Shantaras.
So, the devotee is here thinking Krishna is so great that he has everything, what can I do for him? The only thing that I can do is meditate on him with appreciation. Now, slightly higher than this is the rasa of Dasya. This is Shantaras and Dasya.
In Dasya rasa, the devotee feels Yes, Krishna is so great that I can’t do anything for him but still I need to express my love for him. Therefore, let me do something for him. And therefore, the devotee says, Sir Krishna.
So, Hanumanji is the quintessential example of the devotee in Dasya rasa. But along with that, in Vrindavan Vastrita, Krita, Patra, Ravindra, says Krishna is intimate associate, so, serve Krishna in various ways. Daruka is Krishna’s charioteer.
He is also in Dasya rasa. So, that means in each of these rasas, like we have these steps over here. So, one step is above, first step is above the second, lower step.
The second step is above the first step. But it is also above the lowest step. That means second step includes what is the height that is there in the first step.
And there is further elevation also. So, like that, the characteristics of Shantaras are already there in Dasya rasa. But there is something more.
The characteristics of Shantaras is complete detachment from matter and complete detachment to Krishna. That is there and above that, there is the desire to serve Krishna. In some active way.
Desire to render some active service to Krishna. And after that, there is softness. So, in Dasya rasa, there is a feeling that Krishna is my master and I should do something for him.
But when the divine influence, the influence of Yogamaya increases further, then the devotee feels that I am Krishna is my friend and I am his friend and we should play together. And in this play, the devotees don’t consider Krishna to be superior. Therefore, Shri Rama is Krishna’s very close friend and they play together.
And when they play, then what happens? At such time when they play, they, sometimes Krishna is defeated by Shri Rama. He is supreme lord but one who is Ajita is become Jita by the love of his devotees. So, actually speaking, in all the Vedic religions, the primary thing that is talked about is the relationship of God as the master and the servant.
This idea of being a friend of God, being friendly with God, is quite an extraordinary revelation. And what to speak of people in other traditions, even people within the Vedic tradition can find this whole concept of God’s friendship at an equal level So, when Krishna was performing his pastimes in the material world 5000 years ago approximately, at that time he killed this very ferocious demon Aghasura. And when he killed Aghasura, at that time all the devotees were delighted because Aghasura was a pain for all of them.
And when Brahmaji heard that Aghasura is being killed, so he said, I should go and see who is this Krishna. So, now, when he came along, and he saw, at that time Krishna was performing pastimes with his Gopa friends and as he was performing pastimes with his Gopa friends he was sitting in the forest on the banks of Yamuna river and he was eating food with all his devotees. So, when he was eating food in this way So, we’ll just move over.
So, all this was a description of Krishna’s greatness, how he showed the Virat Rupa. So, now Krishna is the Ok, I’ll do one thing. I’ll show this BPT at the end quickly.
So, I’ll just focus on what we are discussing right now. So, now, when Brahmaji saw Krishna sitting with his Gopas taking food, they were endearing sight. But it was not exactly, you know, if you, if the Prime Minister of the country is taking food, you know, when we had our Pune temple inauguration, the President of the country went down.
So, when the President comes along, almost like a 5-star arrangement, there are tables and there are so many attendants and the whole setting is very elegant. You know, if you see in a garden somebody, a group of people are just sitting and taking food, you wouldn’t think that person taking picnic food in the garden is the President of the country. That side itself was very endearing.
But on top of that, Brahmaji saw something that shook him to his very core. What was that? Now, Krishna has a friend who is a Brahmin child. That is Madhumangal.
So, Madhumangal loves food. But at the same time, Brahmins generally are not very well. They live in charity.
So, all the Gopas, including Krishna, they bring food. They go out for picnic every day. Prabhat Kaale Varaval Nabhaubha Go.
At the beginning, Prabhat Kaale is early in the morning. Prabhat Kaale Varaval Nabhaubha depends on the Gopas. What do they do? Aakarayanasuranandamadhyam So, Govansapalan Truthavetradhanda So, Govansapa, who are taking care of the cows, Truthavetradhanda, they have a small stick.
And then they come to Krishna’s house. And when they come to Krishna’s house, what do they say? Aakarayanasuranandamadhyam They say, O Ananda, O Krishna, please come. It is time for us to go out, play and to herd the cows.
And what do they call out? Anandamadhyamati So, they call out. So, all the Gopas come out and then they come out. All of them have their small lunch bags in which they go out, have fun.
And then they go up in this way. So, they all have a lot of fun. And then they sit down for lunch.
So, this Madhumangala on this particular day had brought some chhaach with him. Chhaach is not a very often food. But at the same time, he was happy that he had got something.
But he felt that when Krishna would take food, everybody would share the food. Krishna would take a little from everyone’s lunch box. And he would also give something from the lunch box to everyone.
So, all the Gopas were sitting with Krishna. And Madhumangala thought this chhaach is so simple. I cannot offer it to Krishna.
So, he had a pot with him. So, he went away and hid behind the tree and started drinking it himself. So, he started drinking it.
So, Krishna looked around. Madhumangala is this way. Krishna went around searching.
He looked around and he saw Madhumangala behind the tree. Madhumangala, what are you eating alone? So, Krishna heard. Madhumangala panicked.
Krishna is coming. He just took the pot and started drinking it. And the Kali tree tried to finish all of it.
And he just poured everything into his mouth. Now, it’s finished. So, now, normally if you drink a liquid too hastily, then it doesn’t go very fast through the throat.
The mouth becomes full. So, he finished the pot and he thought, now I have finished it. But Krishna came running and he hit on his cheeks.
See, the chhaach came out. It fell on Krishna’s body. Some of it spilled on the ground.
And Krishna started touching his hands and eating it. Brahmaji saw it from above. He got the greatest culture shock of his life.
So, he just couldn’t digest. This is God. God taking not just a thing which has fallen down somewhere.
It’s from somebody who has come out, fallen on the body and is eating it. What is this? So, he just couldn’t digest it. That’s how the whole Brahmaji thought to himself, maybe Krishna is not God.
Maybe Krishna is just an ordinary person. And he decided to test Krishna and see whether Krishna can go fast. But then Krishna, when he tested and what Krishna did, Krishna did a bigger illusion.
Krishna manifested itself as all the Gopas. So, it’s a long story. But what it illustrates is the sweetness of this Akhyarasa is so extraordinary that even the Devatas like Brahmaji cannot understand it.
It’s extraordinary. And like this, Krishna performs various fasts when he goes out to the forest with the Gopas, with all his Gopas friends. The essential thing that he does is Malishchuka.
Malishchuka. Now to increase the excitement, there are some demons who come. And you see even the demons that Krishna delivers in Vrindavan when Krishna fights, Krishna doesn’t use any weapons.
And Krishna doesn’t use any weapons at all. Some Kishi, the horse comes in, Krishna just puts out a fist and the fist goes into the mouth of that Kishi and the fist becomes like a hot iron rod and Kishi spits and dies. Somebody else like Bakas comes along and Krishna just uses two hands and spits him out.
And he does a bisectional surgery throughout the body for him. He’s dividing him into two. So, like that, Krishna just effortlessly plays with him.
So, Kridavar, for those of you who remember Krishna’s fast, this is Mahalakridavar. This child is playing. It has all those fearsome demons who were coming.
Krishna just kills them. And how he would do it is, everyday Krishna would have a demon come just before after the boys had played for some time and just before lunch. So they would see the entertainment just like when people watch a movie.
When they watch a movie and the entertainment is coming nicely to them, they feel, oh now I’m hungry. I want to eat something. So, like that, it was like the Krishna’s playful pastimes with the demon were just like appetisers.
And after that, they would have lunch. And in this way, Krishna’s pastimes with the Gopas are all filled with fun. So, when he performs his pastimes, when Krishna wrestles with the Gopas, they don’t think of him as God.
They think of him as just our friend. And sometimes they have wrestling and Krishna gets defeated. When the punishment is there, the defeated party has to carry the victorious party on their shoulders.
So, some of the Gopas carry Krishna on their shoulders. Sorry, when Krishna gets defeated, Krishna carries some of the Gopas on his shoulders. Radhas also carry Krishna when they are defeated.
But just a play. But when Krishna carries somebody on his shoulders, then that Gopa’s feet touch the body of Krishna. Now, it becomes a deity worship.
Touching the feet of the deity is a maha aparadha. But these devotees, they are so intimate, they do not consider at all an aparadha. It’s just a reciprocation of overflowing love.
And Krishna has many, many wonderful pastimes with Gopas like this. And Krishna’s spiritual world is full of the magic of love. So, the magic of love means whatever is required for intensifying the love the most, Krishna does that.
Whatever is required. So, this is Sankhyas. Beyond that, there is the Aksaryas.
So, the idea that we can, that some souls, some devotees can be the parents of God. This is unheard of in other religions. It’s just not in other religious traditions.
In the Vedic tradition also, it’s so extraordinary. It’s a very unparalleled idea. See, Lord Shiva, he is also a great Devata.
Or Lord Ram, he is the Supreme Lord himself. And he has a Lord, he is Darshana Maharaja’s father. But, there are non-sense feet in Palalila.
But there are in Krishna. There is Krishna’s special Gopasa. So, as I said, even in the other Vishnu forms, the greatness is manifested more through the sweetness.
The sweetness is there, but it is much lesser. So, now when Krishna performs pastimes with Andhra Bhavani Nishodamayi, so, what does Krishna do? Krishna will act in whatever way is necessary to bring out the parental love among his parents the most. So, whatever is required.
Because sometimes Nishodamayi tells, Krishna, your father is going out now. So, before he goes out, please go and get his chakras. So, Krishna goes and picks up the sandals of Nanda Maharaj and he puts those sandals on his head.
And he carries them out of his room to Nanda Maharaj. So, this is how Krishna, although he is God and everybody takes the rest of his feet to be there, he takes sandals of Nanda Maharaj on his head. And Nishodamayi tells Krishna, Krishna, you go and get that pot from there.
Now, Krishna goes, it’s a big pot. So, when Krishna sees that pot, he thinks, will I be able to carry it? It’s a small baby at this time. Middle is growing up child.
And he claps his shoulders. And then he pulls the pot. Nothing happens.
And Nishodamayi and all the elderly women are watching. And they are laughing. I will pull it.
All his strength. And he just can’t budge it. And Krishna becomes shameless and he runs to his mother and hides his face in his saree and starts crying.
So, and seeing this, all the elderly women, they feel so much love. Nishodamayi embraces Krishna and says, Krishna, when you grow up, you will be able to carry it. When will I grow up? This soon.
So, Nishodamayi thinks, Krishna, then drink enough milk. So, he says, Krishna, I will drink milk regularly. Then you will grow up.
How much milk do I need to drink so that I can grow up like father? Nishodamayi says, not so fast, but you will grow up. So, then, Krishna, when he performs pastimes like this, sometimes, he goes rolling in the courtyard of Nandamaharaj. He is rolling in the courtyard.
Sometimes he goes and catches, there are cows in the courtyard. They are after all cowherds. So, he goes in the courtyard and he catches the tail of the calf.
And when he catches the tail of the calf, what happens? The calf gets scared. And the calf starts running away. And Krishna is thinking, what is this long, nice object? He has caught it.
And suddenly it starts moving. Krishna gets frightened. He holds on to it for dear life.
And he drags along in the courtyard. And the calf is scared. And Krishna is scared.
And both of them, they are just running for dear life. And all the Gopis and Gopas, they all start laughing, seeing Krishna’s pastimes. And Krishna becomes covered with all the dust of all the Gopas.
And then, Krishna sees that Krishna is just playing around in the courtyard. And he sees, there is this calf who is just playing around eating some grass. There is the courtyard.
And there is a Gopa who is playing nearby. And the calf’s tail and the Gopa’s shikha are close to each other. So, Krishna gets the idea.
So, what does he do? He says, He comes close there. And then, as his eyes become bright, you know, when children are about to plan some mischief and are excited about it, their eyes become bright. So, then he just comes there and he is catching both of them and about to tie them together.
And then, Yashodavaya comes, What are you doing? She catches Yashodavaya and Krishna comes, No, no. I was not doing anything. I was not doing anything.
He becomes very shameful. He says, Next time I will do mischief in such a way that nobody will catch me. And then, Krishna decides that as he grows up a little bit, Krishna loves cows and he loves cow products.
So, now Krishna is known as Gopa. See, in the world of love, there is only the room for the logic of love. Somebody asks Krishna, Why is Krishna Gopa? Why? If Krishna likes milk, buffalos give more milk than cows.
Why is Krishna not by his part? Why is Krishna Gopa? Krishna cares even for buffalos. But, Krishna is God. There is his distinctive personality with his own likes.
The cow is a sweet, tender animal which has motherly affection for everyone. And Krishna loves those cows. So, when Krishna decorates himself with the Gopal, all three particular distinctive characteristics of Krishna’s personality which anger the devotees heartily.
So, as Krishna grows up, he decides that, I will steal butter. So, now Krishna, he doesn’t have to steal anything. Actually speaking, what does the butter represent? The butter is very real.
And Krishna doesn’t really go and steal the butter. But actually the butter represents the love of the heart of the three Gopis. The elderly Gopis, who are Vatsala, they cook.
They actually get the milk, churn the curd, then they make butter. And their idea is, they are all making it ultimately for Krishna. So, Krishna decided, I will go and steal this butter.
When he starts going and stealing the butter, then the Gopis, they decide that, they actually are torn with love. On one side, they feel as Krishna comes, that’s the perfection of our love. Krishna is coming to accept our offers.
So, now, they can very well straight away give the offer to Krishna. Krishna come to our house and take butter from us. So, they can do that.
But, in the spiritual world, everything is done in such a way, that the ecstasy is heightened. So, to heighten the ecstasy, Krishna doesn’t come directly. Krishna comes indirectly.
What does it mean indirectly? He explains. So, actually Krishna’s not just Vatsalya Raja’s pastimes, they are Vatsalya Raja’s and Sakhya Raja’s pastimes. Because Krishna doesn’t steal butter alone.
He steals butter with his Gopas. So, there is Sakhya Raja also there. So, all the Gopas make a plan, yes, we will go and steal butter.
And then, this is the storeroom and there are big pots of butter. So, Krishna sends his first advance party to do some scouting. See, where are the windows? Where is the door? From where can we go inside? Where can we flee? Is there an emergency exit? They do all the plans.
And then, they decide, okay, that’s how we will enter. And they all silently enter. And they look around and they find the butter and they start eating the butter.
And then, as they are eating the butter, Krishna has his friend in Vrindavan. Not just the Gopas friends, there are also the monkeys of Vrindavan. So, the monkeys also come.
And the monkeys start looking at Krishna. And they start making some noise. So, you want to join the meal? Come, come.
So, then, Krishna starts giving the butter to all of them. And now, when monkeys come, you cannot have monkeys staying silent. So, even when they are stealing, they remain silent for a few moments.
But they are naturally restless. So, the monkeys start making some noise. And then, this noise attracts the Gopis.
And when the Gopis come along, Krishna and the Gopas have arranged that there is one Gopa who is kept as the watch out. As the watch guard at each of the doors. And then, they have planned.
If they come from this door, we will escape from this door. If they come from this door, we will escape from this door. And then, when the Gopis start coming, when the watch guard is there, he signals by a whistle.
And they all understand. They all start running away. And the Gopis come running in.
And Krishna is just running off from the other direction. And the monkeys start screeching. Monkeys start running away.
Krishna, are you stealing our butter? Your butter? Your butter is so third class that even the monkeys don’t need it. And they get so angry. And Krishna just runs away from there.
And then, like that Krishna makes various plans and comes along. And he makes various plans how he should steal the butter. So, then another time, the Gopis make a plan that we will create a scheme by which we will catch Krishna white handed.
White handed means with butter in his hands. So, we will catch Krishna white handed. So, they make a plan that in the butter pots, there is a bell.
So, they keep bells inside the butter pots. And they arrange it in such a way that as soon as somebody puts their hand in the butter pot, the bell will start ringing. So, now Krishna has his spies also in Vrindavan.
Some Gopis act as spies because they want to be prepared and they want to go for their adventures. So, they come to know in advance. And the Gopis have arranged to put these bells.
So, when Krishna goes along, he tells the bells. See, Krishna is in love and he doesn’t act like God normally. But whenever he is required, he will manifest his divinity.
That’s like in Govardhan Lila, he initially acts like an ordinary boy. This is how, why are you performing this sacrifice? Is it based on scripture or is it based on tradition? Whom are you trying to satisfy? And then he gives some sweet logic that you should not do this sacrifice. And then Indra becomes angry.
Suddenly, Krishna manifests his extraordinary godly power by lifting over Nandini. So, like that, it is not that Krishna is not God. But Krishna’s godhood is meant for the service of his devotees.
Krishna’s godhood is meant for the service of his devotees. So, whenever Krishna’s godhood needs to be revealed so that the rasa of the pastime can be enhanced, that godhood will be revealed. And whenever that godhood needs to be concealed for the increase of the sweetness of the pastime, that godhood is concealed.
So, here when Krishna has come to the Gopas, accompanied the Gopas, there he tells the bells. There are various things and there are devatas in charge of various things. So, Krishna tells the devata in charge of the bells.
See, now I am on a secret operation. So, don’t ring. When I put my hand in the butter pot, don’t ring.
So, okay. So, Krishna puts his hand in the butter pot and all the women think they are clever but we have outwitted them now. And I am thinking like this.
Then Krishna puts his hand in the butter and when he takes the hand out he puts the butter in his mouth. And as soon as he puts the butter in his mouth, the bells start ringing. What happened? All the Gopas get frightened and they start running away.
But Krishna is angry. So, Krishna says, how dare you rang? I told you not to ring. He says, yes, you told me not to ring.
But when you act like god, then I have to act like your servant. He says, that’s right. What do you mean then? He says, according to when you are god and when god eats, that is bhoga being offered.
So, bell has to ring at that time. So, in this way, there is a very sweet interplay of Krishna’s greatness and Krishna’s sweetness that happens in the past times. Then, another time, Krishna goes around and he tells, he goes around and he is stealing butter and some of the Gopis have arranged that they are hiding inside the same room concealed where the butter is kept.
And then they wait for Krishna to come and Krishna comes along. At that time, Krishna puts his hand in the butter pot and then the Gopis come out. Krishna, we have caught you.
And all the Gopis get frightened and run away. But the Gopis just come straight to Krishna. They know that he is the chief among the mischief mongers.
If you catch him and control him, then everybody else will get control. They just come and catch him. Earlier, when the Gopis had gone and complained to Krishna, Krishna’s mother, Yashodamayi, that your son, he steals butter.
So, Krishna, why should my son steal butter? You know, actually he doesn’t eat enough. If he is hungry, there is so much butter in our house. I will feed him.
He says, no, I didn’t steal butter. No, but we have seen him so many times coming and stealing butter. So, we call Krishna.
Krishna comes. Do you steal butter? No, I don’t steal butter. He says, you know, Yashodamayi, the butter in your house is the best.
But the best is in my house. Why should I go to somebody else’s house? So, the Gopis don’t know what to do. This guy is so sweet and so tender and so innocent looking.
So, the Gopis say, Yashodamayi, don’t get tricked by his face. His face is very sweet, but he is very cunning. You know, cunning in a sweet way.
So, they, Yashodamayi, embraces all the Gopis and, you know, gets some Chandan, puts it on their forehead, pacifies them. The Chandan when you put on the forehead, that is supposed to make the head cool. So, he just honours all the Gopis.
He says, you know, Krishna is a little child. Don’t let him commit any mischief. Don’t make him see this.
And then they come and, Krishna, have you stolen the butter? He says, no, no, no, they are all lying. Actually, they are simply angry with me. I never steal butter.
So, now the Gopis think that now we have caught Krishna. So, this one Gopi who has caught Krishna, she says, now, Krishna, I will catch you and I will drag you to Yashodamayi’s house. And then, last time you said that you don’t steal the butter, now I have caught you.
So, Krishna says, no, no, no, please. Krishna first becomes angry. He says, if you take me to Yashodamayi, you will become embarrassed.
He says, what do you mean? You are the thief, you should be embarrassed. He says, no. If you try to make me embarrassed, you will become embarrassed.
He says, what do you mean? I am going to take you right away. When she becomes very angry and serious, then Krishna appears down and says, see, you are taking me publicly along the street. You are disgracing me like this.
At least cover my face so that nobody will see who I am. Then the Gopi says, okay. She takes a cloth and she puts it on Krishna’s face.
And then the face is covered and then she is dragging Krishna along. And as they are going along, all the Gopas, they are very intelligent. Everything that is all the opulences that they are using Krishna says.
So the Gopas also have an emergency plan. So what they do is, as the Gopas are going along, the other Gopas are nearby, hiding in the bushes, watching. And they are thinking Krishna is caught.
So Krishna winks at one of the Gopas. And then what happens? Then Krishna, the other Gopa comes swinkering along without being noticed by anyone. And then Krishna tells this Gopi, You are catching my hand so tightly.
You will break my hand. No, if I loosen the grip, you will run away. I will not run away, but at least you catch my other hand.
Otherwise your grip is so tight, my hand will break. So Krishna says so sweetly that the Gopi says, Okay, give me your other hand. Don’t try to run away.
No, no, no, I will not run away. So then he gives the hand and the other hand comes. He catches the hand.
And then she goes along. And she goes along. And then Yashodamayi says, I have caught Krishna.
Yashodamayi comes out. See, the cloth is covering. And then she says, he was in my room and he was stealing butter and I caught him.
Really, just see. And she takes off the cloth. And when she takes off the cloth, she sees that boy is actually her brother-in-law.
You know, all the Gopis at home, they get married when they are quite young. So her younger sister is there and her husband is there. What happened? What happened? So at that, she just can’t speak anything.
And at that time, she hears the voice, Maya, I am hungry. And there Krishna comes out from the inside chamber rubbing his eyes as if he was just sleeping and has got up now. And he says, Maya, I am hungry.
So there Krishna comes to Yashodamayi and he looks around and this Gopi is there. Krishna was here. Krishna is there.
And then Yashodamayi just laughs. He looks very kindly at this Gopi. He says, no problem, you can go back now.
Krishna is in Yashodamayi. They are going inside. He just doesn’t know what hit her.
And she is looking at Krishna, looking at this Gopi. And Krishna looks back and he winks at her. He says, next time you try to catch me, I will become your husband.
I will take the form of your husband. And then just run away from there. So Krishna through all such pastimes, what he primarily does is just increases the love between the Gopis and himself.
So Krishna performs all these pastimes with the Gopis. They discuss about his pastimes. They remember his pastimes.
And in this way their love for Krishna increases. So in Vatsalya Raas, normally the idea is God is the father and we are his children. And we have to obey God.
But Vatsalya Raas is such an elevated level of love for God that the normal hierarchy is reversed. That instead of God being the father, God becomes the child. And the Gopis become the parent.
And they have so many loving pastimes. But he is the the Sometimes Krishna, Vishwamayi goes out. Vishwamayi goes out.
When she goes out, at that time, Krishna wakes up. Krishna is sleeping fast. Krishna comes up and he comes up and he eats as much butter and other delicious things as he wants.
And then he goes back inside. He goes and sleeps again. And Vishwamayi comes along and says, Krishna was sleeping when I came.
So where is all the butter gone? So she doesn’t understand. So Krishna in this way has all these mischievous, mysterious sleeping things which enhance the love of this Gopis for Krishna. And among these Raasas, Shantaraas, Dasya Raas, Sakya Raas means there is a desire to serve but there is a desire for friendship also in that.
The desire to act like a friend of God. In Vatsalya Raas, above the desire for friendship is also the desire to act as a protector of God. To act as a protector of God.
So Yashodamayi, when she hears that Krishna is stealing butter and she actually catches Krishna stealing butter, she decides that I have to punish him. And in the whole Dabodha Leela is there where she ties Krishna. Now what is her thought? She is thinking this Krishna is developing the reputation of being a thief.
I thought other people were lying but now I have seen him stealing and eating butter. So I have to punish him. Because if I don’t punish him, if he has a reputation of being a thief, then when he grows up then who will give their daughter in marriage to him? So there is a desire to protect Krishna.
Yashodamayi thinks that Krishna if I don’t give him food regularly, then he will become so weak that he may even die. I have to make sure that I give food to him. So this is the desire to protect Krishna.
And then above these four rasas is the highest rasa. That is the Madhuri rasa. Madhuri rasa is actually the rasa of romance with God.
Actually this is also hinted at in various traditions of the world. In the Bible there is one very mystical section where it is called the song of the songs. In the Solomon section of the Bible where the whole song seems to be very material that the person is praying to the Lord.
Praying to someone it seems to be like a princess calling out to a prince. And the Biblical commentator, they understand this something very subtle. The desire is I want to become a bride of Christ.
So actually what it is, this hint is there but the systematic description is not there. So what the scripture describes to us is that all the relationships the family relationships that are there in this world they are there because those relationships are reflections of the original pure relationships in the spiritual world. So the original pure relationship is in the spiritual world and the reflection is in the material world.
So there are the most exalted devotees of Krishna are the gopis. And these gopis they seem to be just like very beautiful, charming, innocent cowherd girls. But they are among the most exalted devotees of Krishna.
So how exalted are these devotees? They actually don’t care for anything except Krishna and Krishna’s baby. So in the Bhagavad Gita in the Rasa Leela the description, the pastimes of Krishna with the gopis is described in chapters 29 to 33 in the Vedic Tantra. And these 5 chapters are called the Rasa Pancha Adhyaya.
The 5 chapters of Rasa Leela. They are the most celebrated chapters in the Shubhadbhag, full Shubhadbhag, these 335 chapters. And at the end of this chapter after describing this pastime there is a Phalashruti.
So normally when people go and say watch a movie, which is romantic which is erotic, then people get similar sentiments similarly become lusty. But in Bhagavad, at the end of this description of Krishna and the gopis pastimes, what does it tell us? Vikritam Prajapatitam Javishno Shraddharmito Adhishunayad Gavarnayetya So Vikritam Prajapatitam Javishno Vikritam, this is a playful activity, there is a Krida. Prajapatmukhe, the gopis of Vrindavan, Javishno.
So to remind us that don’t think of this Krishna to be an ordinary person. He is the Supreme Lord of the Yagyesh who has performed and the Devatas also bow down to him. And that Lord is Vishnu.
And don’t think this is an ordinary person this is that same Vishnu. So the Krida of Vishnu in the Brajapatmukhe Shraddharmito Adhishunayad If one prays, one hears it Anushurya systematically, from the right sources from the pure hearted devotees on Vairagya India, all the things one describes in his pastimes. And what will happen? No results are described.
Rudro Bhakti Param Bhagwati Pratilabhya Kamam Rudro Gamasvapahinodya Chirenaviraha So Bhakti Param Bhagwati Param Bhakti, pure devotion to the Lord will be awakened and Pratilabhya, once it is attained then Kamam, Kamu means lust Rudro Gamasvapahinodya and the lust that is there in the heart will be destroyed. Achire Chirenaviraha, Achire, and quickly the person will become Chiren, will become super. So how is it that by hearing these extraordinary in his pastimes of Krishna with devotees which seem to be like male-female attractions, how is the Bhagavata saying that in our heart the male-female attraction will go on and devotion will awaken in the heart? So this indicates that something very extraordinary is not something which we can very easily understand.
How will it happen that by hearing some male-female interactions our desire for that male-female attraction will go away? That’s because these are transcendental objectives. So you remember that this world is like a reflection of the spiritual world. Lord Krishna describes the material world as a reflection of the spiritual world.
Now what we see in the reflection is there in the reality. So actually speaking the male-female attraction is there in the material world because it is there in the spiritual world. But the spiritual world is devoid of all selfishness.
It is pure. It is transcendental. It is selfless.
And when it reflects in the material world, it becomes body-centred. It becomes selfish. It becomes temporary.
It becomes opposite. So in the reflection, whatever is at the bottom will actually be at the top. Or rather what is at the top of the reality will appear at the bottom of the reflection.
So often the male-female interaction in this world becomes the cause of bondage and degradation for many people. So why is the attraction there? Because it is there in the original, but we have got it wrong. We have got it misdirected.
So what the Mahabharata is telling over here is when we normally see a movie, it is also a movie with male-female interactions. Then that is also in the reflection. We are in the reflection.
The material world is like a reflection. And when we see something in the reflection, we become attracted to it. And then that perpetuates, aggravates our entanglement, our undesirable passions.
But when we move up towards the spiritual reality, so when we understand that Krishna and Radharani’s pastimes, Krishna and the Gopis’ pastimes, they are pure, they are transcendental. Then the result of that is that those pastimes give us a glimpse of real love. And when there is a glimpse of real love, then that, understanding that this is real love, when I understand, okay, this is the real mango, this is the reflection.
If I know only the reflection, then I will go, I will dive into the river for the reflection mango, and then I just search within it, maybe there is underwater, there is a rock, I hit my head against the rock and break my head, I never get the mango. But when I understand that there is a real mango over here, what will happen? My attraction for the real mango will increase and my attraction for the artificial mango will decrease. So, the pastimes of Radharani and Krishna are the reality and the main different fractions of this world are the reflection.
So what this verse is telling is when we truly understand that Krishna’s pastimes with his devotees, especially Margarita’s pastimes with his devotees are the reality, then we will become attracted to them. We will get that parama, the attraction of your pastimes of Krishna and and the attraction, reflection will go away, the kama will go away. But for this, what is required? Our misfortune is that we think the reflection to be the reality.
In fact, we think the reflection not to be the reality. People think that the male-female attraction in this world is the supreme reality. In fact, you know, why supreme reality? Because for that male-female attraction, people are ready to give up everything else.
You know, when a person falls in love, when a person is ready to give up the parents, ready to give up family, ready to give up maybe the family’s fortunes, ready to give up a career, everything else. And the movies often tend to talk about this love in a very laudatory way. Actually, it’s a reflection.
So, it’s temporary and doesn’t take us to its highest spiritual reality. So this is the love of this world. We think the reflection to be the reality.
And when we see the reality, we think that is also the reflection. That means, we think Radhakrishna’s pastimes are also like our pastimes only. Actually, ours are not pastimes.
You know, ours are tragedies. You know, Krishna described in the material world that yatha dhankare amritopamam pariname vishabhiva that which seems like nectar in the beginning will become like poison in the end. So, what begins as a romance in the world ends as a tragedy.
That’s how it works out. Why? Because it can happen in various ways. Actually, there can… the pleasures of this world can end in frustration in three different ways.
So, how is it? Because actually, when we understand this, our intelligence becomes FIT. FIT is an acronym. F-I-T.
In the Acharyasantro, in the Password to Happiness, take this. The acronym FIT for happiness. Utility, Incubstantiality, Temporality.
No. So, when we try to gain happiness in this world, say in various forms of material enjoyment, then there are basically three possibilities. The first is futility.
A boy desires, I want to love this girl. And then he goes and proposes to her. And he proposes to her.
And gets a slap in the face. So, he doesn’t get lost. Then what happens? All the dreams turn to be futile.
So, first is we desire some form of enjoyment and we don’t get it all. That is futility. Second is that we get, we desire a particular kind of enjoyment.
We get that enjoyment, but it turns out to be a creepy climax. In real life, from a distance the person appears to be attractive. He appears to be the best person.
They say love is blind, marriage is an eye-opener. So, what happens is we start seeing the faults of the other person. When we start seeing the faults of the other person, then we realise that all my dreams, I have thought so much but it is turning out to be insubstantial.
Insubstantial means that we thought it was so great but it doesn’t turn out to be all that great. It is not necessarily the fault of anyone. Nobody in this world can actually live up to our expectations.
So, ultimately our heart is longing for Krishna here. So, that’s what happens. And then, many times what was thought to be the marriage of the dreams, then that just becomes something to be lived, to be tolerated on.
There is a… So, a couple, they say, they go to a marriage psychologist and say, we eat separately, we watch TV separately, we talk to our children separately, we sleep separately, we are doing everything to keep our marriage together. So, what happens is, just become two strangers in the same house. That happens sometimes because if one has too much expectations, nobody can live up to the expectations.
The second possibility is being substantial. Futility is the first possibility. This is the acronym, FIT.
F-I-T. If you understand this, our intelligence will become fit. So, the first possibility is futility.
The hope for happiness doesn’t work out on you. Second is the hope works, the arrangement works out, but the hope matters out. We find that actually the relationship and the happiness, they don’t live up to our expectations.
It’s anticlimactic. So, it’s insubstantial. And third is temporality.
TV is temporality. Even if things work out wonderfully, even if somehow there is compatibility and there is a satisfying relationship in this world, ultimately it’s temporality. It’s temporality.
And to the extent we are delighted in that love, to that extent we will lament with the lovings. So, this doesn’t mean that all worldly relationships are rejected. But we have to connect those relationships with Krishna.
Otherwise, the temporality will cause this great suffering. So, that’s a futility. Substantiality is temporality.
Now, you think about it, what other possible result is there when we try to get enjoyment in the world? Either we don’t get it, we get it, it doesn’t live up to our expectations, we get it, it lives somewhat to our expectations, but then it ends. In all the cases, ultimately it becomes futility. So, therefore, the relationships of this world, if they are disconnected with God, then they become causes of suffering.
And that’s why it is said that they are, that’s how they are a part of the reflection. And the real relationships are with Krishna in this material world. And to develop those relationships is the ultimate goal of life.
So, what unfortunately when we look at Krishna’s pastimes, instead of understanding that they are the reality and our activities in this world are imaginary reflections, we think that Krishna’s activities are also like this. And that’s why people sometimes ask, why does Krishna do this kind of activities, performing Rastrila, dancing with the gopis, and doing this kind of activities. Actually, they are the supreme reality.
And why we find them objectionable sometimes is because we don’t understand Krishna’s position. Krishna is God. He is the real person.
And he is simply motivated by the desire for selfless reciprocation of love. Selfless love is his primary motivation. And if you want to understand the mistake, there is this mistake by association that happens.
Once there was a horse shed in which horses were living. And one day, the owner, one night, the owner heard the horses neighing very fiercely. And as they were neighing fiercely, he ran out and saw the horse shed was on fire.
So, he just ran and somehow released the horses. And the whole horse shed just went up in flames and the horses fled from there. Later on, when he constructed the horse shed, again he found that all those horses were still very agitated.
Just as they were screaming and neighing fearfully at night, similarly, they were doing the same thing right now. He wondered, what is the matter? Why are they doing like this? And then, he thought about it. Then he called a person who was an expert in the horses.
And that person asked him, tell me the history. What are the parts about the horses? And when he heard it, he said, you don’t want to know. Now, he changed the colour of the whole horse shed into a shade of green.
So, what is the name for it? He said, you do that. And when he did that, the green shade came out of it. Horses were confused.
He said, what happened? He said, earlier, the horse shed had a red colour. Reddish, yellowish colour it had. Cross between red and yellow.
And whenever they would see it, the horses would remember the fire that had come up in that shed. And that is why, they were being so fearful. So, actually, there was no fire now.
But the horses could not understand the difference between the colour of the shed and the actual fire. So, similarly, lust is burning in the hearts of everyone. Dushpure nana le nacha.
Dushpure. Dushpure means that which is never satisfied. Ana le nacha.
Anala is like fire. So, lust is a fire that never gets extinguished. Actually speaking, even materialistic people know that lust is like a fire.
Like movies, in Bollywood movies, they have songs like, Sawan jo aad lagaye. They have songs like that. What are they saying? Lust is a flame.
But they have the idea that actually, indulgence in lust, indulgence in enjoyment, will actually extinguish the fire. But it won’t extinguish. It will accumulate.
Temporary extinction will be there. Subsiding will be there. But afterwards, it will flame further.
Na jato kama kama na ubhogena samyate. Abhisha krishna varne vabhuya deva nivartate. Na jato kama kama na.
Lust can never be pacified by indulgence. Just as when Abhisha krishna varne vabhuya deva, when there is a blazing fire and you put fuel in it, initially it will subside. But afterwards, it will go further.
Bhuya eva bhi varnate. So, it’s not good. Lust is like a fire.
And it is burning in the hearts of the conditioned souls. So now, whenever we see male females, these people are indulging in lust. The lust within our heart also starts increasing.
So, just as the horses, they were agonised by the flame within the shed, similarly, all of us are also agonised by the fire burning within the heart. The fire of lust. And later on, when there was a comfortable shed, there was no fire.
But what they thought? Because of the red colour, they thought this is also the fire only. Similarly, when we see the past tense of Krishna with the gopis, although there is nothing selfish over there, nothing self-centred, nothing mundane over there. But what happens is people start thinking, this is also selfish, this is also mundane.
Why does Krishna do such things? Actually, that is the reality. Instead of asking why does Krishna do such things, we should ask why do I do such things. Because we are doing all this in the arena of reflection.
And in the arena of reflection, we simply increase our bondage and suffering because we are not connected to Krishna. So, by understanding this reality, we can actually become detached from the illusion. But that understanding has to be with proper philosophical conviction and devotional purification.
By philosophical conviction, we will understand this is the reality, this is the illusion. And by devotional purification, we will be attracted to the reality and we will become detached from the illusion, from the reflection. Otherwise, if we read Radhakrishna’s past tense prematurely, then we will think, okay, this is also mundane, this is also mundane.
And we will get attracted to that in a wrong sense. Then because this past tense of Krishna that is most used by devotees can be so easily misunderstood. That’s why they are considered very very confidential.
And that’s why they are not very easily revealed in the scriptures. In the most confidential sections of the scriptures, these past tense are revealed. And these past tense actually reveal the selflessness, the viridia and the exaltedness, the purity, the intensity of the love of Krishna and his devotees.
So, when Krishna performs the Rasa Leela, out of the Rasa Leela, Krishna, he plays the flute and he calls all the gopis. And the gopis, when they hear the song of the flute, they understand Krishna is calling us. And they hear everything else.
Sathya Siddhanta So the gopis eat and the gopis are afraid. Krishna, you call us. with the flute, both of you hear a long etapa that sound of the flute is to point at the users and believe that they will come running towards you.
So, when Krishna called the gopis they are sweet in their actions, in their dance and singing and then at one time just to heighten the love of the gopis, Krishna disappears from there. When Krishna disappears from there the gopis are mindfully searching where is Krishna? They ask the trees, have you seen Krishna? They ask the deer, have you seen Krishna? They ask the goose, have you seen Krishna? Searching fanatically they go deep into the forest as deep as they can go it is night at that time and there the forest becomes so thick that they can’t even see their own hands ahead of them. They are not able to find Krishna their heart broke they decide to turn back and go on the banks of Yamuna and they decide we will go there and we will pray to Krishna we will call out to him desperately to come back and there they see the gopis and this way they call out to Krishna so at one particular time when the gopis are performing fast time like this suddenly one of the the gopis see somebody there in the distance and the gopis start running in that direction so as they are running Krishna is hiding over there so Krishna decides that I want to go next to the gopis so he is standing there and by his yoga maya suddenly two more hands vanish and Krishna becomes Vishnu and Krishna becomes Vishnu at that time the gopis initially Krishna and Vishnu their complexion is similar but Krishna is there and they run and they see Vishnu the gopis are Krishna is disappointed heart broken actually to get a darshan of Vishnu is the greatest goal of the yogis and when Dhru Maharaj sees Vishnu his heart overflows with joy swami krutarthas imara naya chen krutarthas completely satisfied my dear lord so that same Vishnu whose darshan is the highest aspiration of the yogi the gopis their love for Krishna is so great that when they see Vishnu they feel disappointed they feel disappointed and they offer obeisances to Vishnu oh lord Vishnu please tell us where is our Krishna where is our Krishna now when Krishna sees the love of the gopis the despair that comes out in their words and their eyes and their expression Krishna is through the jewels and Krishna can’t speak so Krishna is pointing the finger where is Krishna? Krishna is in that direction the gopis again hold their hand and they run away and they run away and among all the gopis the most distraught the most heart wrenched is Radharani and Radharani comes along and she sees Vishnu and she also holds her hand and offers obeisances and where is Krishna Krishna please tell me see the utter despair anxiety fear the utter anxiety that is pervading the being of Radharani Krishna cannot kill Radharani Krishna was poised with his hand back but his two hands disappear and Vishnu becomes Krishna and there Shatrani sees her beloved Radharani so that is the pure intensity of the gopis’ love for Krishna they just don’t want they are not interested in God they are simply interested in Krishna they don’t care whether Krishna is God or not Krishna is Krishna and we love him because he is our beloved so the gopis and Krishna is separate from them they break Krishna has gone away from them and they break so when Krishna has gone away from the gopis this of course was the gopi gita and the gopis realise that actually we had become very proud and we had thought Krishna is staying with us he is not with anyone else so that we have become proud Krishna has gone away from us because of our love and while they are pointing towards it they are saying we know Krishna we know certainly that you are not Gopika Nandini you are not the son of Vishwamitra then who are you? so you are saying that you are the individual super soul and the heart of all living beings and they further understand that for the protection of the whole world out of the prayer of Brahma Vishwamitra when Brahma was distressed he has come to this world so the gopis Krishna is not an ordinary person Krishna is a ten dwelling super soul he is the supreme Vishnu who has been called by the plants of Brahmaji but in the same words they know it but they don’t care about it they refer to Krishna as Sakha you are our Sakha you may be Vishnu, you may be super soul but you are our Sakha oh Sakha please come back so the gopis know but they don’t know that fact that Krishna is God that is there in the background of their awareness but that doesn’t register so even when they say even when they say he was the ten dwelling super soul in the hearts of all living beings what is their objective in saying this Krishna if you are in the heart of all living beings you must be in our heart also if you have come to do the well being of this world then we are also a part of the world if you are in the heart of all living beings you should see our suffering if you have come to do the well being of the world we are also a part of the world so please we are sinking in a bottomless ocean of separation and misery please come and rescue us from this ocean oh Sakha please come so the gopis know that Krishna is God but they are concerned Krishna we want to love you please come please give us your Krishna without you we say that so they describe in the day time when you go to the forest at that time you will be one small moment one fraction of a second it appears to be a like it is because the yuga cannot tolerate that separation from you And even when you come back, at that time, when we want to behold your beautiful form, at that time, this Brahma, who is the creator, he is so stupid.
He has created eyes with eyelids that blink. He has created eyes that blink. And when our eyes blink, and for that limitation, for that fraction of a moment, when we are not able to see your beautiful form, we feel as if our whole world has got devastated.
So, how much can you tolerate separation from me? All day we can’t see you, and even when you come back, because of these stupid blinking eyes, we can’t see you. So, this, this is actually, this seems very much like the intense love that might sometimes be expressed in movies or novels. But the love is so selfless, and that selflessness, that awareness of Krishna’s greatness, Krishna’s divinity is there, but there is a higher love.
That is demonstrated in Adarbha’s time. At one time, Naradu came to meet Krishna, and Krishna was just holding his head, holding his head and rubbing his forehead. Krishna was asked, what is the matter, O Lord? Krishna said, I have got a headache.
I have got a splitting headache. Now, Krishna’s body is transcendental. So, Krishna’s body never becomes sick.
But, in this spiritual world, whatever is required for a particular pastime is manifest. So, for this pastime, see, Krishna manifests and everything becomes sick. So, Naradu says, should I get a doctor? Should I get a medicine? What can I do? I cannot tolerate the Lord’s suffering.
So, Krishna doesn’t agree. He says, only one thing will cure me. And that is, the dust on the feet of my devotees.
And Naradu says, please go. You know, there are so many devotees of mine. Please go and ask them for that dust.
So, Naradu goes along. And he goes to all the devotees on earth, in the heavens, in the higher planets. All the devotees are there in different parties.
Maybe you give me your dust. Our dust? Are you kidding? Actually, it is. In India, there is a tradition that whenever a sadhu is there, he touches feet.
So, the idea is that if we touch the feet of someone, we get that person’s blessings. And that person gets our karma. So, people want to escape from their karma by touching the feet of somebody else.
It’s not so simplistic. But the idea is that it’s a way of expressing respect. So, common people may want to touch the feet of a sadhu.
But a true sadhu doesn’t think that I am a sadhu. He thinks I am also a very small person. So, normally they don’t allow.
You know, advanced sages, they don’t allow us to touch their feet. So, the devotee is naturally embarrassed. What do you want from the dust of our feet? Krishna has got a headache.
And it’s really his headache. And he has said that we meet the dust on the feet of his devotees. What do you mean? Horrified.
He said that all the devotees just started saying, Krishna is gone. We should take the dust of his feet on our head. Not that.
How can you even conceive the idea that the dust from our feet will go to their head? It’s blasphemous. We don’t do it. How can we? How can we do it? So, he goes to all the devotees everywhere.
And nobody agrees. Finally, Krishna comes to Vrindavan. So, Narad Muni comes to Vrindavan again.
And Narad Muni is feeling disappointed. Krishna had a headache. He gave me a service.
But I couldn’t do the service. As Narad Muni is walking along crestfallen like this, suddenly the devotees pass him by. And the Gopis offer their respects to Narad Muni and say, Oh, Narad Muni, what’s the matter? So, Narad Muni says, Krishna will go to Vrindavan.
The Gopis hear that Krishna has got a headache. And they feel as if a thunderbolt has fallen on their heart. And the Gopis say, Krishna, what are you doing? Are you doing something to cure the headache? Can’t we do something? Krishna, the Gopis are also amazed.
Krishna has sent the medicine for his headache. The dust comes loose. Can you give the dust? So, immediately the Gopis, they run to the Yamuna.
They put their feet in the Yamuna. They move their feet around. They come out on the coast.
They put their feet in the mud. And they bring a big cloth. And all the mud that has stuck to their feet, they start taking it out.
And they take it in a big cloth. And they say, if this is the medicine, take as much as you need. Go quickly.
So, Narad Muni starts yelling. These Gopis are very sensitive cowherd girls. They probably don’t know what they are doing.
So, Narad Muni says, do you know what you are doing? And he said, just from your feet, as Krishna has said, you have to go to the Yamuna. And the Gopis say, we are already in a situation worse than hell. To think that Krishna is having a headache, that’s the worst suffering that we can ever imagine.
Our very existence is to give Krishna happiness. Of course, we know that if the dust from our feet touches Krishna’s head, we will go to the Yamuna. But, if anything that we can do can relieve Krishna from suffering for even a moment, then we are ready to go to hell for all of eternity, just to give Krishna relief from that pain.
Now, don’t waste even one moment. Go immediately to Krishna. Take this dust.
And Narad Muni understands how it is about him. He says, the love of the Gopis for Krishna has nothing to do with selfishness. It’s pure.
It’s transcendental. It has got nothing of the selfishness of this world. So, another time, Krishna and the Gopis were going pastimes like this.
So, Krishna played his flute. And all the Gopis came along, Radharani first among the Gopis. And then, Krishna started teasing the Gopis.
He said, how Gopis? What are you doing? You are all having your families. And when you have your families, how can you leave your families and come here like this? Actually, it is sometimes said that the Gopis are married. That is actually just a part of the deal.
The Gopis are not married to anyone else. The Gopis’ eternal relationship is with Krishna. So, the idea is that whatever is required to intensify love, that is done in the spiritual world.
So, in this world, imagine that there is a husband and wife, a couple who are very happily, stably married. But then they play a role in a drama. And in that drama, the wife appears, plays a role as if she is married to somebody else.
And then, the husband is there. Her real wedded husband is there. But that husband plays a role as if he is not married to her.
And then they have attraction to each other. And then they hide their attraction from the world. And then they secretly try to meet.
And they try to have what is called paramour love. So, now, in the drama, this is done so that there is actually increase of excitement. But it’s not immoral because in fact, they are husband and wife only.
So, Krishna and Gopis, they are eternally related as the Lord and the devotee. As the husband and the wife. They are eternally related like that.
But just to enhance the rasa of the pastimes, it is sometimes said that the Gopis are married to somebody else. Actually, that relationship is completely illusory. That means, the Gopis are not married to anyone else.
Gopis are married only to Krishna. And in the Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, this is elaborately analysed in Jiva Swamita. Gopal Chopra also explains that actually, when the Gopis are married to somebody else, that is just an illusion created by Yoga Maya by which all the Gopis, just like when Sita was kidnapped, the real Sita was not kidnapped, there was a replica of Sita, there was a Maya Sita, who was kidnapped and real Sita was actually under the protection of the Deva Tadana, the Deva’s protection.
So, like that, the real Gopis are not touched by anyone else. But this whole situation of the Gopis apparently being married and and it appears as if they are married to anyone else. The point is, it is all very subtle and exalted and there is not a trace of immorality.
It is just for the reciprocation of love. Krishna is not married to anyone else. The Gopis are not married to anyone else.
But still, for the sake of pleasure, for increasing ecstasy, it appears as if it is like that. So, when there are obstacles to love, then the intensity of love becomes more. It is like an elephant.
It is strong. But when the elephant wants to go somewhere, and then there are shackles to check the elephant. When the elephant is strong, but when the shackles are there, then the elephant realises.
Elephant wants to go, pull against the shackles and go. Then the elephant internally realises, Oh, I have so much strength and I can strip these shackles apart. There is greater internal realisation of the strength and there is greater external expression of the strength.
The shackles are tied to some tree and the elephant is desperate to go somewhere. Then he summons up all the strength from within and pulls. And those trees get uprooted.
And the elephant runs. So, like that, when there is opposition in love, then there is greater internal realisation of the love. How much we are separated from Krishna.
How much we can’t live without Krishna. And there is more intense external expression of the love. So, whatever obstacles are there, the Gopis go beyond the obstacles to meet Krishna.
So, all these obstacles, they are created just so as to increase the reciprocation of love. It’s not that the Gopis are married to anyone else. But Krishna is just joking over here.
He is teaching the Gopis. You have anger, relatives, you have responsibilities. How can you teach the other one? And come like this at night to meet me in a lonely place.
He says, it is not proper for you, dignified woman. This is very ill. This is not a good activity.
So, Radharani becomes angry. Krishna, we are not culpable for what we have done. Your flute is culpable.
When you play this very sweet intoxicating sound of flute, then, with the spiritual eye, lips shall like bubbles, Om Nithyame Natham That sweet Natham, it plays the sound of the flute. When we have this flute, we have this sweet sound, we become helpless. We just can’t do anything but come to you.
If we have done anything wrong, the blame for that is not on us. The blame for that is on the flute. And then, Krishna is looking at Radharani and says, You think that we are not sound? If we had a flute like you, then we would also make you mad.
Oh really? Krishna says, you can never make me mad like that. What you have done? Radharani says, you give me your flute. So then, Krishna says, ok.
They have a challenge. Then, Radharani takes Krishna’s flute. And then they decide to change their forms.
So, Radharani takes the form of Krishna. And Krishna takes the form of Radharani. And then, again the same past tense starts from the beginning.
So then, Radharani, who is now in the form of Krishna, she takes the flute and starts playing the flute. And she starts playing the flute. Now Krishna, who is in the form of Radharani, he is in the house doing the household duties.
And then, she hears the flute. Then what happens? Oh Vaishnava, helplessly, it’s as if there is some invisible rope, which just drags along. So, Radharani just forgets everything.
The gopis coming to Krishna, forgetting everything else is an example of what 18.66 is. So, everything else, the gopis forget, just come to Krishna. So, like that, the same thing happens.
Krishna, in the form of Radharani, forgets everything and starts charging towards the household duties. And then, Krishna and Radharani have a talk. Of course, here Radharani is Krishna and Krishna is Radharani.
They have a talk. And then Radharani is Krishna and Krishna is Radharani. And then, after some time, Radharani is playing the flute and she disappears.
And she disappears without their past tense coming to their culmination, attain their climax. And Krishna, who is playing the flute, Radharani becomes extremely agitated, devastated. Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Where are you? Trying to search in all directions, trying to find out where is Krishna.
You can’t find him anywhere at all. This is a heartbroken experience. And that time, Radharani, who is playing the role of Krishna, she is thinking, how can I let him suffer like this? And then, she disappears.
I am here. I am here. And they see each other.
And then, the yogama has fell frozen. And then, Radharani now says, see, this is the magic of this flute. You cannot leave us.
And Krishna quietly comes and takes the flute. Yes, I agree. But I will never give this flute to you again.
So, the point is that this past tense, there is nothing like the selfish sensuality that is there of the world. The pure transcendental. Krishna takes Radharani’s form, Radharani takes Krishna’s form.
And basically, they have a pure relationship of love. And in this kind of thrilling past tense, are going on eternally in this spiritual world. And that is meant to belong to.
And when you understand this past tense, when you understand this exalted level, this is the spiritual world, the world of world humanity. The eternal happiness is there. Eternal happiness is the happiness of constant remembrance of Krishna.
Even when they go to the separation of Krishna, they seem to be like suffering. Because they are crying out, Krishna, Krishna, where are you? Tears are coming out from their eyes. But, even when that is happening, because they are experiencing intense love for Krishna, that remembrance of Krishna, loving remembrance, is the source of greatest happiness.
So, actually remembrance of Krishna is like nectar. So, when there is the union with Krishna, when there is the interaction with Krishna, that is like sweet nectar. And when there is separation from Krishna, that is like bitter nectar.
So, it may seem bitter, but it is nectar. It nourishes the soul. So, that is the union.
So, Bhaktivinoda Thakur says, in your service, whatever misery is there, that is supreme happiness. Why? Because, what this does is, when we are serving Krishna, that service to Krishna takes away our attraction to this world. Emotions, spiritual emotions, takes us out of becoming drowned in material emotions.
And that’s how the material emotions, in material life also there is some pleasure. So, that pleasure, material emotions in general are like poison. So, at the material level, when there is suffering, that is like bitter poison.
And material level, when there is enjoyment, that is like sweet poison. But it is poison. So, all material emotions are like poison.
And all spiritual emotions are like nectar. So, everything that we experience in the spiritual world, is the supreme happiness. And that same exalted pastime with Krishna, which Krishna revealed 5000 years ago, those same pastimes are explained further.
And we read further what is said in the Mahabharata, that we came 500 years ago. And those same pastimes, in that same beautiful Krishna Purushila, was shared by Shri Prabhupada all over the world 50 years ago. And that same spiritual opportunity to enter into this eternal world of world and life, that is available for all of us.
By chanting Hare Krishna, by cultivating Krishna consciousness, and by purifying our heart, we awaken our natural love for Krishna. And when the natural love of Krishna awakens, then we return back to Him. Be eternally happy.
So, I will summarise. We started by discussing about the spiritual world, per se. And that we discussed about.
First, the greatness of God. And it is to the Virat Gopal, so great. So, the knowledge of the greatness awakens submission.
The sweetness awakens affection. So, we discussed the greatness, and then we discussed the beautiful, the extraordinary Virat Gopal. So, this sweetness, we discussed the five rasas.
Shantaras, the yogis and the queens, Rasaras, Hanumanji, Chitrata, then, especially the focus on Saksaras, and Krishnaliti, the Patramans coming out from the maus of Madhavangala, then Vatsaleras, Patrasiddhi pastimes, and finally, Mauryanadas, which are the most exalted pastimes of conjugal attraction. And there we discussed philosophically how whatever is in this world is a reflection, whatever is there is a reality. And, rather than getting attracted to the reflection, we get attracted to the reality.
And by hearing about the exalted pastimes of the spiritual world, what happens is our heart slowly becomes detached from the reflection, and becomes attached to the reality. You know, ultimately we enter into that reality. So, thank you very much.