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KB 1970-1-29 / The Rasa Dance: Introduction
29 / The Rasa Dance: Introduction
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated the rasa dance took
place on the full moon night of the sarat season. From the
statement of previous chapters, it appears that the festival
of Govardhana Puja was performed just after the dark moon night
of the month of Karttika, and thereafter the ceremony of
Bhratrdvitiya was performed; then the wrath of Indra
was exhibited in the shape of torrents of rain and hailstorm,
and Lord Krsna held up Govardhana Hill for seven days, up until
the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the
inhabitants of Vrndavana were talking amongst themselves about
the wonderful activities of Krsna, and the next day, Ekadasi
was observed by Nanda Maharaja. On the next day, Dvadasi, Nanda
Maharaja went to take bath in the Ganges and was arrested by
the men of Varuna; then he was released by Lord Krsna.
Then Nanda Maharaja, along with the cowherd men, was shown the
spiritual sky.
In this way, the full moon night of the sarat season came to an
end. The full mmoon night of Asvina is called sarad-purnima. It
appears from the statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam that Krsna had
to wait another year for such a moon before enjoying the rasa
dance with the gopis. At the age of seven years, He lifted
Govardhana Hill. Therefore, the rasa dance took place during
His eighth year.
From Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical
actor dances among many dancing girls, the group-dance is
called a rasa dance. When Krsna saw the full moon night of the
sarat season, He decorated Himself with various seasonal
flowers, especially the mallika flowers, which are very
fragrant, He remembered the gopis' prayers to goddess
Katyayani, wherein they prayed for Krsna to be their husband.
He thought that the full night of the sarat season was
just suitable for a nice dance. So their desire to have Krsna
as their husband would then be fulfilled.
The words used in this connection in the Srimad-Bhagavatam are
bhagavan api. This means that although Krsna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, He has no desire that needs to be
fulfilled because He is always full with six opulences. Yet He
wanted to enjoy the company of the gopis
. Bhagavan api signifies that this is not like the
ordinary dancing of young boys and young girls. The specific
word used in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is yogamayam upasritah,
which means that this dancing with the gopis is on the platform
of yogamaya, not mahamaya. The dancing of young boys and girls
within this material world is in the kingdom of mahamaya, or
the external energy. The rasa dance of Krsna with the gopis is
on the platform of yogamaya. The difference between the
platform of yogamaya and mahamaya is compared in the Caitanya-
caritamrta to the difference between gold and iron. From the
viewpoint of metallurgy, gold and iron are both metals, but the
quality is completely different. Similarly, although the rasa
dance and Lord Krsna's association with the gopis appear like
the ordinary mixing of young boys and girls, the quality is
completely different. The difference is appreciated by great
Vaisnavas because they can understand the difference between
love of Krsna and lust.
On the mahamaya platform, dances take place on the basis of
sense gratification. But when Krsna called the gopis by
sounding His flute, the gopis very hurriedly rushed towards
the spot of rasa dance with the transcendental desire of
satisfying Krsna. The author of Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa
Kaviraja Gosvami, has explained that lust means sense
gratification, and love also means sense gratification -- but
for Krsna. In other words, when activities are enacted on the
platform of personal sense gratification, they are called
material activities, but when they are enacted for the
satisfaction of Krsna, then they are spiritual activities. On
any platform of activities, the principle of sense
gratification is there. But on the spiritual platform, sense
gratification is for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna,
whereas on the material platform it is for the performer. For
example, on the material platform, when a servant serves a
master, he is not trying to satisfy the senses of the
master, but rather his own senses. The servant would not serve
the master if the payment stopped. That means that the servant
engages himself in the service of the master just to satisfy
his senses. On the spiritual platform, the
servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead serves Krsna
without payment, and he continues his service in all conditions.
That is the difference between Krsna consciousness and
material consciousness.
It appears that Krsna enjoyed the rasa
dance with the gopis when He was eight years old. At that time,
many of the gopis were married, because in India, especially in
those days, girls were married at a very early age. There are
even many instances of a girl giving birth to a child at the
age of twelve. Under the circumstances, all the gopis who
wanted to have Krsna as their husband were already married. At
the same time, they continued to hope that Krsna would be their
husband. Their attitude toward Krsna was that of paramour love.
Therefore, the loving affairs of Krsna with the gopis is
called parakiya-rasa. A married man
or a wife who desires another wife or husband is
called parakiya-rasa.
Actually, Krsna is the husband of everyone because He is the
supreme enjoyer. The gopis wanted Krsna to be their husband,
but factually there was no possibility of His marrying all the
gopis. But because they had that natural tendency to accept
Krsna as their supreme husband, the relationship between the
gopis and Krsna is called parakiya-rasa. This parakiya-rasa is
ever-existent in Goloka Vrndavana in the spiritual sky where
there is no possibility of the inebriety which characterizes
parakiya-rasa in the material world. In the material world,
parakiya-rasa is abominable, whereas in the spiritual world it
is present in the superexcellent relationship of Krsna and the
gopis. There are many other relationships with Krsna: master
and servant, friends and friend, parent and son, and lover and
beloved. Out of all these rasas, the parakiya-rasa is
considered to be the topmost.
This material world is the perverted reflection of the
spiritual world; it is just like the reflection of a tree on
the bank of a reservoir of water: the topmost part of the tree
is seen as the lowest part. Similarly, parakiya-rasa, when
pervertedly reflected in this material world, is
abominable. When people, therefore, imitate the rasa dance
of Krsna with the gopis, they simply enjoy the perverted,
abominable reflection of the transcendental parakiya-rasa.
There is no possibility of enjoying this transcendental
parakiya-rasa within the material world. It is stated in Srimad-
Bhagavatam that one should not imitate this parakiya-rasa even
in dream or imagination. Those who do so drink the most deadly
poison.
When Krsna, the supreme enjoyer, desired to enjoy the company
of the gopis on that full moon night of the sarat season,
exactly at that very moment, the moon, the lord of the stars,
appeared in the sky, displaying its most beautiful features.
The full moon night of the sarat season is the most beautiful
night in the year. In Indian there is a great monument
called Taj Mahal in Agra, a city in the
Uttar Pradesh province, and the tomb is made of first-class
marble stone. During the night of the full moon of the sarat
season, many foreigners go to see the beautiful reflections of
the moon on the tomb. Thus this full moon night is celebrated
even today for its beauty.
When the full moon rose in the east, it tinged everything with
a reddish color. With the rising of the moon, the whole sky
appeared smeared by red kunkuma. When a husband long separated
from his wife returns home, he decorates the face of his wife
with red kunkuma. This long-expected moonrise of the sarat
season was thus smearing the eastern sky.
The appearance of the moon increased Krsna's desire to dance
with the gopis. The forests were filled with fragrant flowers.
The atmosphere was cooling and festive. When Lord Krsna began
to blow His flute, the gopis all over Vrndavana became
enchanted. Their attraction to the vibration of the flute
increased a thousand times due to the rising full moon, the red
horizon, the calm and cool atmosphere, and the blossoming
flowers. All these gopis were by nature very much attracted to
Krsna's beauty, and when they heard the vibration of His flute,
they became apparently lustful to satisfy the senses of Krsna.
Immediately upon hearing the vibration of the flute, they all
left their respective engagements and proceeded to the spot
where Krsna was standing. While they ran very swiftly, all
their earrings swung back and forth. They all rushed toward the
place known as Vamsivata. Some of them were engaged in milking
cows, but they left their milking business half finished and
immediately went to Krsna. One of them had just collected milk
and put it in a milk pan on the oven to boil, but she did not
care whether the milk overboiled and spilled -- she immediately
left to go see Krsna. Some of them were breast feeding their
small babies, and some were engaged in distributing food to the
members of their families, but they left all such engagements
and immediately rushed towards the spot where Krsna was playing
His flute. Some were engaged in serving their husbands, and
some were themselves engaged in eating, but neither caring
to serve their husbands nor eat, they immediately left.
Some of them wanted to decorate their faces with cosmetic
ointments and to dress themselves very nicely before going to
Krsna, but unfortunately they could not finish their cosmetic
decorations nor put on their dresses in the right way because
of their anxiety to meet Krsna immediately. Their faces were
decorated hurriedly and were haphazardly finished; some even
put the lower part of their dresses on the upper part of their
bodies and the upper part on the lower part.
While all the gopis were hurriedly leaving their respective
places, their husbands, brothers and fathers were all struck
with wonder to know where they were going. Being young girls,
they were protected either by husbands, elderly brothers or
fathers. All their guardians forbade them to go to Krsna, but
they disregarded them. When a person becomes attracted by Krsna
and is in full Krsna consciousness, he does not care for any
worldly duties, even though very urgent. Krsna consciousness is
so powerful that it gives everyone relief from all material
activities. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a very nice verse
wherein one gopi advises another, "My dear friend, if you
desire to enjoy the company of material society, friendship and
love, then please do not go to see this smiling boy Govinda,
who is standing on the bank of the Yamuna and playing His flute,
His lips brightened by the beams of the full moonlight." Srila
Rupa Gosvami indirectly instructs that one who has been
captivated by the beautiful smiling face of Krsna has lost all
attraction for material enjoyments. This is the test of
advancement in Krsna consciousness: a person advancing in Krsna
consciousness must lose interest in material activities and
personal sense gratification.
Some of the gopis were factually detained from going to Krsna
by their husbands and were locked up by force within their
rooms. Being unable to go to Krsna, they began to meditate upon
His transcendental form by closing their eyes. They already had
the form of Krsna within their minds. They proved to be the
greatest yogis; as is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, a person who
is constantly thinking of Krsna within his heart with faith and
love is considered to be the topmost of all yogis. Actually, a
yogi concentrates his mind on the form of Lord Visnu. That is
real yoga. Krsna is the original form of all Visnu tattvas. The
gopis could not go to Krsna personally, so they
began to meditate on Him as perfect yogis.
In the conditioned stage of the living entities, there are two
kinds of results of fruitive activities: the conditioned living
entity who is constantly engaged in sinful activities has
suffering as his result, and he who is engaged in pious
activities has material enjoyment as a result. In either case --
material suffering or material enjoyment -- the enjoyer or
sufferer is conditioned by material nature.
The gopi associates of Krsna, who assemble in the place where
Krsna is appearing, are from different groups. Most of the
gopis are eternal companions of Krsna. As stated in the Brahma-
samhita, ananda-cin-maya-rasa-pratibhavitabhih: in the
spiritual world the associates of Krsna, especially the gopis,
are the manifestation of the pleasure potency of
Lord Krsna. They are expansions of Srimati Radharani. But when
Krsna exhibits His transcendental pastimes within the material
world in some of the universes, not only the eternal associates
of Krsna come, but also those who are being promoted to that
status from this material world. The gopis who
joined Krsna's pastimes within this material world were coming
from the status of ordinary human beings. If they had been
bound by fruitive action, they were fully freed from the
reaction of karma by constant meditation on Krsna. Their
severe painful yearnings caused by their not being able to
see Krsna freed them from all sinful reactions, and their
ecstasy of transcendental love for Krsna in His absence was
transcendental to all their reactions of material pious
activities. The conditioned soul is subjected to birth and
death, either by pious or sinful activities, but the gopis who
began to meditate on Krsna transcended both positions and
became purified and thus elevated to the status of the gopis
already expanded by His pleasure potency. All the gopis who
concentrated their minds on Krsna in the spirit of paramour
love became fully uncontaminated from all the fruitive
reactions of material nature, and some of them immediately gave
up their material bodies developed under the three modes of
material nature.
Maharaja Pariksit heard Sukadeva Gosvami explain the situation
of the gopis who assembled with Krsna in the rasa dance. When
he heard that some of the gopis, simply by concentrating on
Krsna as their paramour, became freed from all contamination of
material birth and death, he said, "The gopis did not know that
Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They accepted Him
as a beautiful boy and considered Him to be their paramour. So
how was it possible for them to get freed from the material
condition just by thinking of a paramour?" One should consider
here that Krsna and ordinary living beings are qualitatively
one. The ordinary living beings, being part and parcel of Krsna,
are also Brahman, but Krsna is the Supreme --
Parabrahman. The question is, if it is possible for the
devotee to get free from the material, contaminated stage
simply by thinking of Krsna, then why not
others who are also thinking of someone? If one is
thinking of a husband or son, or if anyone at all is thinking
of another living entity, since all living entities are
also Brahman, then why are they not all
freed from the contaminated stage of material nature? This
is a very intelligent question, because the atheists are
always imitating Krsna. In these days of Kaliyuga,
there are many rascals who think themselves to be as great as
Krsna and who cheat people into believing that thinking of them
is as good as thinking of Lord Krsna. Pariksit Maharaja,
apprehending the dangerous condition of blind followers
of demonic imitators, therefore asked this question, and
fortunately it is recorded in the Srimad-Bhagavatam to warn
innocent people that thinking of an ordinary man and thinking
of Krsna are not the same.
Actually, even thinking of the demigods cannot compare with
thinking of Krsna. It is also warned in the Vaisnava Tantra
that one who puts Visnu, Narayana, or Krsna on the same level
of the demigods is called a pasanda, or a rascal. On hearing
this question of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Gosvami replied,
"My dear King, your question is already answered, even before
this incident."
Because Pariksit Maharaja wanted to clear up the situation, his
spiritual master answered him very intelligently, "Why are you
again asking the same subject matter which has already been
explained to you? Why are you so forgetful?" A spiritual master
is always in the superior position, so he has the right to
chastise his disciple in this way. Sukadeva Gosvami knew that
Pariksit Maharaja asked the question not for his own
understanding, but as a warning to the future innocent people
who might think others to be equal to Krsna.
Sukadeva Gosvami then reminded Pariksit Maharaja about the
salvation of Sisupala. Sisupala was always envious of Krsna,
and because of his envy Krsna killed him. Since Krsna is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sisupala gained salvation
simply by seeing Him. If an envious person can get salvation
simply by concentrating his mind on Krsna, then what to speak
of the gopis who are so dear to Krsna and always thinking of
Him in love? There must be some difference between the enemies
and the friends. If Krsna's enemies could get freed from
material contamination and become one with the Supreme, then
certainly His dear friends like the gopis are freed
and with Him.
Besides that, in the Bhagavad-gita Krsna is called Hrsikesa.
Sukadeva Gosvami also said that Krsna is Hrsikesa, the
Supersoul, whereas an ordinary man is a conditioned soul
covered by the material body. Krsna and Krsna's body are the
same because He is Hrsikesa. Any person making a distinction
between Krsna and Krsna's body is fool number one. Krsna is
Hrsikesa and Adhoksaja. These two particular words have been
used by Pariksit Maharaja in this instance. Hrsikesa is the
Supersoul, and Adhoksaja is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
transcendental to the material nature. Just to show favor to
the ordinary living entities, out of His causeless mercy, He
appears as He is. Unfortunately, foolish persons mistake Him to
be another ordinary person, and so they become eligible to go
to hell. Sukadeva Gosvami reconfirmed that Krsna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, imperishable, immeasurable, and free
from all material contamination.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued to inform Maharaja Pariksit that
Krsna is not an ordinary person. He is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead,
full of all spiritual
qualities. He appears in this material world out of His
causeless mercy, and whenever He appears, He appears as He is
without change. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita.
There the Lord says that He appears in His spiritual potency.
He does not appear under the control of this material potency.
The material potency is under His control. In the Bhagavad-gita
it is stated that the material potency is working under His
superintendence. It is also confirmed in the Brahma-samhita
that the material potency known as Durga is acting just as
a shadow which moves with the movement of the substance. The
conclusion is that if one somehow or other becomes attached to
Krsna or attracted to Him, either because of His beauty,
quality, opulence, fame, strength, renunciation or
knowledge, or even through
lust, anger or fear, or affection or friendship, then one's
salvation and freedom from material contamination is assured.
In the Bhagavad-gita, Eighteenth Chapter, the Lord also states
that one who is engaged in preaching Krsna consciousness is
very dear to Him. A preacher has to face many difficulties in
his struggle to preach pure Krsna consciousness. Sometimes he
has to suffer bodily injuries, and sometimes he has to meet
death also. All this is taken as a great austerity on behalf of
Krsna. Krsna therefore has said that such a preacher is very,
very dear to Him. If Krsna's enemies can expect salvation
simply by concentrating their minds on Him, then what to speak
of persons who are so dear to Krsna? The conclusion should be
that the salvation of those who are engaged in preaching Krsna
consciousness in the world is guaranteed in all circumstances.
But such preachers never care for salvation, because factually
one who is engaged in Krsna consciousness, devotional service,
has already achieved salvation. Sukadeva Gosvami therefore
assured King Pariksit that he should always rest assured that
one attracted by Krsna attains liberation from material
bondage because Krsna is the transcendental master of all
mystic power.
When all the gopis assembled, as described, before Krsna, He
began to speak to them, welcoming them as well as discouraging
them by word jugglery. Krsna is the supreme speaker; He is the
speaker of the Bhagavad-gita. He can speak on the highest
elevated subjects of philosophy, politics, economics --
everything. And He also spoke before the gopis who were so
dear to Him. He wanted to enchant them by word jugglery, and
thus He began to speak as follows.
"O ladies of Vrndavana," Krsna said. "You are very fortunate,
and you are very dear to Me. I am very pleased that you
have come here, and I hope everything is well in Vrndavana. Now
please order Me. What can I do for you? What is the purpose of
coming here in this dead of night? Kindly take your seats
and let Me know what I can do for you."
The gopis had come to Krsna to enjoy His company, to dance with
Him, embrace Him and kiss Him, and when Krsna began to receive
them very officially, showing all kinds of etiquette, they were
surprised. He was treating them as ordinary society women.
Therefore they began to smile among themselves, and they
very eagerly listened to Krsna talk in that way. When He saw
that they were smiling at Him, He said,
"My dear friends, you must know now that it is the dead of
night, and the forest is very dangerous. At this time all the
ferocious jungle animals, the tigers, bears, jackals and
wolves, are prowling in the forest. Therefore it is very
dangerous for you. You cannot select a secure place now.
Everywhere you go you will find that all these animals are
loitering to find their prey. I think, therefore, that you are
taking a great risk in coming here in the dead of night. Please
turn back immediately, without delay."
When He saw that they continued to smile, He said, "I very much
appreciate your bodily features. All of you have nice, very
thin waists." All of the gopis there were exquisitely beautiful.
They are described by the word sumadhyama; the standard of
beauty of a woman is said to be sumadhyama when the middle
portion of the body is slender.
Krsna wanted to impress on them that they were not old enough
to take care of themselves. Actually, they required protection.
It was not very wise for them to come in the dead of night to
Krsna. Krsna also indicated that He was young and that they
were young girls. "It does not look very well for young girls
and boys to remain together in the dead of night." After
hearing this advice, the gopis did not seem very happy;
therefore Krsna began to stress the point in a different way.
"My dear friends, I can understand that you have left your
homes without the permission of your guardians; therefore I
think your mothers, your fathers, your elderly brothers or
even your sons, and what to speak of your husbands, must be
very anxious to find you. As long as you are here, they must be
searching in different places, and their minds must be very
agitated. So don't tarry. Please go back and make them peaceful.
"
When the gopis appeared to be a little bit disturbed and angry
from the free advice of Krsna, they diverted their
attention to looking at the beauty of the forest. At that time
the whole forest was illuminated by the bright shining of the
moon, and the air was blowing very silently over the blooming
flowers, and the green leaves of the trees were moving in the
breeze. Krsna took the opportunity of their looking at the
forest to advise them. "I think you have come out to see the
beautiful Vrndavana forest on this night," He said, "but you
must now be satisfied. So return to your homes without delay. I
understand that you are all very chaste women, so now that you
have seen the beautiful atmosphere of the Vrndavana forests,
please return home and engage in the faithful service of your
respective husbands. Some of you must have babies by this time,
although you are very young. You must have left your small
babies at home, and they must be crying. Please immediately go
back home and just feed them with your breast milk. I can also
understand that you have very great affection for Me, and out
of that transcendental affection you have come here, hearing My
playing on the flute. Your feelings of love and affection for
Me are very appropriate because I am the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. All living creatures are My parts and parcels, and
naturally they are affectionate to Me. So this affection for Me
is very much welcome, and I congratulate you for this. Now you
can go back to your homes. Another thing I must explain to you
is that for a chaste woman, service to the husband without
duplicity is the best religious principle. A woman should be
not only faithful and chaste to the husband, but
affectionate to the friends of her husband, obedient to
the father and mother of the husband, and affectionate to the
younger brothers of the husband. And most importantly, the
woman must take care of the children."
In this way, Krsna explained the duty of a woman. He also
stressed the point of serving the husband: "Even if he is not
of very good character, or even if he is not very rich or
fortunate, or even if he is old or invalid on account of
continued diseases, whatever her husband's condition, a woman
should not divorce her husband if she actually desires to be
elevated to the higher planetary systems after leaving this
body. Besides that, it is considered abominable in society if a
woman is unfaithful and goes searching for another man. Such
habits will deter a woman from being elevated to the heavenly
planets, and the results of such habits are very degrading. A
married woman should not search for a paramour, for this is not
sanctioned by the Vedic principles of life. If you think that
you are very much attached to Me and you want My association, I
advise you not to personally try to enjoy Me. It is better for
you to go home, simply talk about Me, think of Me, and by
this process of constantly remembering Me and chanting My names,
you will surely be elevated to the spiritual platform. There
is no need to stand near Me. Please go back home."
The instruction given herein by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead to the gopis was not at all sarcastic. Such
instructions should be taken very seriously by all honest women.
The chastity of women is specifically stressed herein by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore this principle should
be followed by any serious woman who wants to be elevated to a
higher status of life. Krsna is the center of all affection for
all living creatures. When this affection is developed for
Krsna, then one surpasses and transcends all Vedic injunctions.
This was possible for the gopis because they saw Krsna face to
face. This is not possible for any women in the conditioned
state. Unfortunately, by imitating the behavior of Krsna with
the gopis, sometimes a rascal takes the position of Krsna,
following the philosophy of monism or oneness, and he very
irresponsibly takes advantage of this rasa-lila to
entice many innocent women
and mislead them in the name of spiritual realization. As a
warning, Lord Krsna has herein hinted that what was possible
for the gopis is not possible for ordinary women. Although a
woman can actually be elevated by advanced Krsna consciousness,
she should not be enticed by an imposter who says that he is
Krsna. She should concentrate her devotional activities in
chanting and meditating upon Krsna, as is advised
herein. One should not follow the men called sahajiya, the so-
called devotees who take everything very lightly.
When Krsna spoke in such a discouraging way to the gopis, they
became very sad, for they thought that their desire to enjoy
rasa dance with Krsna would be frustrated. Thus they became
full of anxiety. Out of great sadness, the gopis began to
breathe very heavily. Instead of looking at Krsna face to face,
they bowed their heads and looked to the ground, and they began
to draw various types of curved lines on the ground with their
toes. They were shedding heavy tears, and their cosmetic
decorations were being washed from their faces. The water from
their eyes mixed with the kunkuma of their breasts and fell to
the ground. They could not say anything to Krsna, but simply
stood there silently. By their silence they expressed that
their hearts were grievously wounded.
The gopis were not ordinary women. In essence they were on an
equal level with Krsna. They are His eternal associates. As it
is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, they are expansions of the
pleasure potency of Krsna, and as His potency they are
nondifferent from Him. Although they were depressed by the
words of Krsna, they did not like to use harsh words against
Him. Yet they wanted to rebuke Krsna for His unkind words, and
therefore they began to speak in faltering voices. They did not
like to use harsh words against Krsna because He was their
dearmost, their heart and soul. The gopis had only Krsna within
their hearts. They were completely surrendered and dedicated
souls. Naturally, when they heard such unkind words, they tried
to reply, but in the attempt torrents of tears fell from their
eyes. Finally they managed to speak.
"Krsna," they said, "You are very cruel! You should not talk
like that. We are full-fledged surrendered souls. Please accept
us, and don't talk in that cruel way. Of course, You are the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You can do whatever You
like, but it is not worthy of Your position to treat us in such
a cruel way. We have come to You, leaving everything behind,
just to take shelter of Your lotus feet. We know that You are
completely independent and can do whatever You like, but we
request You, don't reject us. We are Your devotees. You should
accept us as Lord Narayana accepts His devotees. There are many
devotees of Lord Narayana who worship Him for salvation, and He
awards them salvation. Similarly, how can You reject us when we
have no other shelter than Your lotus feet?
"O dear Krsna," they continued, "You are the supreme instructor.
There is no doubt about it. Your instructions to the women to
be faithful to their husbands and to be merciful to their
children, to take care of homely affairs and to be obedient
to the elderly members of the family, are surely just according
to the tenets of sastras. But we know also that
all these instructions of the sastras may be
observed perfectly by keeping oneself under the protection of
Your lotus feet. Our husbands, friends, family members and
children are all dear and pleasing to us only because of Your
presence, for You are the Supersoul of all living creatures.
Without Your presence, one is worthless. When You leave the
body, the body immediately dies, and according to the
injunction of the sastra, a dead body must immediately be
thrown in a river or burned. Therefore, ultimately You are
the dearmost personality in this world. By placing our faith
and love in Your personality, there is no chance of our
being bereft of husband, friends, sons or daughters. If a woman
accepts You as the supreme husband, then she will never be
bereft of her husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we
accept You as our ultimate husband, then there is no question
of being separated, divorced or widowed. You are the eternal
husband, eternal son, eternal friend, and eternal master, and
one who enters into a relationship with You is eternally happy.
Since You are the teacher of all religious principles, Your
lotus feet first have to be worshiped. Accordingly, the
sastras state, acarya-upasana: the worship of Your lotus feet
is the first principle. Besides that, as stated in the Bhagavad-
gita, You are the only enjoyer, You are the only proprietor,
and You are the only friend. As such, we have come to You,
leaving aside all so-called friends, society and love, and now
You have become our enjoyer. Let us be everlastingly enjoyed by
You. Be our proprietor, for that is Your natural claim, and be
our supreme friend, for You are naturally so. Let us thus
embrace You as the supreme beloved."
Then the gopis told the lotus-eyed Krsna, "Please do not
discourage our long-cherished desires to have You as our
husband. Any intelligent man who cares for his own self-
interest reposes all his loving spirit in You. Persons who are
simply misled by the external energy, who want to be satisfied
by false concepts, try to enjoy themselves apart from You. The
so-called husband, friend, son, daughter, or father and mother
are all simply sources of material misery. No one is made happy
in this material world by having a so-called father, mother,
husband, son, daughter and friend. Although the father and
mother are expected to protect the children, there are many
children who are suffering for want of food and shelter. There
are many good physicians, but when a patient dies, no physician
can revive him. There are many means of protection, but when
one is doomed, none of the protective measures can help, and
without Your protection the so-called sources of protection
simply become sources of continued distress. We therefore
appeal to You, dear Lord of all lords, please do not kill our
long-cherished desires to have You as our supreme husband.
"Dear Krsna, as women, we are certainly satisfied when our
hearts are engaged in the activities of family affairs, but our
hearts have already been stolen by You. We can no longer engage
them in family affairs. Besides that, You are
asking us repeatedly to return home, and that is a very
appropriate instruction, but unfortunately we have been stunned
here. Our legs have no power to move a step from Your lotus
feet. Therefore, if even at Your request we return home, what
shall we do there? We have lost all our capacity to act without
You. Instead of engaging our hearts in family affairs as women,
we have now developed a different type of lust which is
continually blazing in our hearts. Now we request You, dear
Krsna, to extinguish that fire with Your beautiful smile and
the transcendental vibration emanating from Your lips. If You
do not agree to do us this favor, we shall certainly be burned
in the fire of separation. In that condition, we shall simply
think of You and Your beautiful features and give up our bodies
immediately. In that way we think it will be possible for us to
reside at Your lotus feet in the next life. Dear Krsna, if You
say that if we go home our respective husbands will satisfy the
lusty flame of our desire, we can only say that that is no
longer possible. You have given us a chance to be enjoyed by
You in the forest and have touched our breasts once in the past,
which we accepted as a blessing, as did the goddesses of
fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikunthalokas by You. Since we
have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer
interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of
our lust. Dear Krsna, the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune
are always worshiped by the demigods, although she is always
resting on Your chest in the Vaikuntha planets. She underwent
great austerity and penance to have some shelter at Your lotus
feet, which are always covered by tulasi leaves. Your lotus
feet are the proper shelter of Your servitors, and the goddess
of fortune, instead of abiding on Your chest, comes down and
worships Your lotus feet. We have now placed ourselves under
the dust of Your feet. Please do not reject us, for we are
fully surrendered souls.
"Dear Krsna, You are known as Hari. You destroy all the
miseries of all living entities, specifically of those who have
left their homes and family attachment and have completely
taken to You. We have left our homes with the hope that we
shall completely devote and dedicate our lives to Your service.
We are simply begging to be engaged as Your servants. We do not
wish to ask You to accept us as Your wives. Simply accept us as
Your maidservants. Since You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead and like to enjoy the parakiya-rasa and are famous as a
transcendental woman hunter, we have come to satisfy Your
transcendental desires. We are also after our own satisfaction,
for simply by looking at Your smiling face we have become very
lusty. We have come before You decorated with all ornaments and
dress, but until You embrace us, all our dresses and beautiful
features remain incomplete. You are the Supreme Person, and if
You complete our dressing attempt as the purusa-bhusana, or the
male ornament, then all our desires and bodily decorations are
complete.
"Dear Krsna, we have simply been captivated by seeing You with
tilaka and with earrings and by seeing Your beautiful face
covered with scattered hair and Your extraordinary
smile. Not only that, but we are also attracted by Your arms,
which always give assurance to the surrendered souls. And
although we are also attracted by Your chest, which is always
embraced by the goddess of fortune, we do not wish to take her
position. We shall simply be satisfied by being Your
maidservants. If You, however, accuse us of
encouraging prostitution, then we can only ask where is that
woman within these three worlds who is not captivated by Your
beauty and the rhythmic songs vibrated by Your transcendental
flute? Within these three worlds there is no distinction
between men and women in relation to You because both men and
women belong to the marginal potency or prakrti. No one is
actually the enjoyer or the male; everyone is meant to be
enjoyed by You. There is no woman within these three worlds who
cannot but deviate from her path of chastity once she is
attracted to You because Your beauty is so sublime that not
only men and women, but cows, birds, beasts and even trees,
fruits and flowers -- everyone and everything -- become
enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves? It is, however,
definitely decided that as Lord Visnu is always protecting the
demigods from the onslaught of demons, so You have also
advented in Vrndavana just to give the residents protection
from all kinds of distress. O dear friend of the distressed,
kindly place Your hand on our burning breasts as well as on our
heads, because we have surrendered unto You as Your eternal
maidservants. If You think, however, that Your lotus-like
palms might be burned to ashes if placed on our burning breasts,
let us assure You that Your palms will feel pleasure instead
of pain, as the lotus flower, although very delicate and soft,
enjoys the scorching heat of the sun."
Upon hearing the anxious plea of the gopis, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead began to smile, and being very kind to
the gopis, the Lord, although self-sufficient, began to embrace
them and kiss them as they desired. When Krsna, smiling, looked
at the faces of the gopis, the beauty of their faces became a
hundred times enhanced. When He was enjoying them in their
midst, He appeared just like the full moon surrounded by
millions of shining stars. Thus the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, surrounded by hundreds of gopis and decorated with a
flower garland of many colors, began to wander within the
Vrndavana forest, sometimes singing to Himself and sometimes
singing with the gopis. In this way, both the Lord and the
gopis reached the cool sandy bank of the Yamuna where there
were lilies and lotus flowers. In such a transcendental
atmosphere, both the gopis and Krsna began to enjoy one another.
While they were walking on the bank of the Yamuna, Krsna would
sometimes put His arms around a gopi's head, breast or waist.
Pinching one another and joking and looking at one another,
they enjoyed. When Krsna touched the bodies of the gopis, their
lust to embrace Him increased. They all enjoyed these pastimes.
Thus the gopis were blessed with all mercy by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, for they enjoyed His company without a
tinge of mundane sex life.
The gopis, however, soon began to feel very proud, thinking
themselves to be the most fortunate women in the universe by
being favored by the company of Krsna. Lord Krsna, who is
known as Kesava, could immediately understand their pride
caused by their great fortune of enjoying Him personally, and
in order to show them His causeless mercy and to curb their
false pride, He immediately disappeared from the scene,
exhibiting His opulence of renunciation. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is always full with six kinds of
opulences, and this is an instance of the opulence of
renunciation. This renunciation confirms Krsna's total
nonattachment. He is always self-sufficient and is not
dependent on anything. This is the platform on which the
transcendental pastimes are enacted.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-ninth Chapter
of Krsna, "The Rasa Dance: Introduction."
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KB 29: The Rasa Dance: Introduction
CHAPTER TWENTY–NINE
The Rasa Dance: Introduction
In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that the rasa dance took
place on the full-moon night of the sarat season. From the
statements of previous chapters, it appears that the festival
of Govardhana-puja was performed just after the dark-moon night
of the month of Karttika, and thereafter the ceremony of
Bhratr-dvitiya was performed; then the wrath of Indra
was exhibited in the shape of torrents of rain and hailstones,
and Lord Krsna held up Govardhana Hill for seven days, until
the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the
inhabitants of Vrndavana were talking amongst themselves about
the wonderful activities of Krsna, and the next day, Ekadasi,
was observed by Nanda Maharaja. On the next day, Dvadasi, Nanda
Maharaja went to take a bath in the Ganges and was arrested by
one of the men of Varuna; then he was released by Lord Krsna.
Then Nanda Maharaja, along with the cowherd men, was shown the
spiritual sky.
In this way, the full-moon night of the sarat season came to an
end. The full-moon night of Asvina is called sarat-purnima. It
appears from the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam that Krsna had
to wait another year for such a moon before enjoying the rasa
dance with the gopis. At the age of seven years He lifted
Govardhana Hill. Therefore the rasa dance took place during
His eighth year.
From the Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical
actor dances among many dancing girls, the group dance is
called a rasa dance. When Krsna saw the full-moon night of the
sarat season, decorated with various seasonal
flowers -- especially the mallika flowers, which are very
fragrant -- He remembered the gopis' prayers to Goddess
Katyayani, wherein they prayed for Krsna to be their husband.
He thought that the full-moon night of the sarat season was
just suitable for a nice dance. So their desire to have Krsna
as their husband would then be fulfilled.
The words used in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam are
bhagavan api. This means that although Krsna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and thus has no desire that needs to be
fulfilled (because He is always full with six opulences), He
still wanted to enjoy the company of the gopis in the rasa
dance. Bhagavan api signifies that this dance is not like the
ordinary dancing of young boys and young girls. The specific
words used in Srimad-Bhagavatam are yogamayam upasritah,
which mean that this dancing with the gopis is on the platform
of yogamaya, not mahamaya. The dancing of young boys and girls
within the material world is in the kingdom of mahamaya, or
the external energy. The rasa dance of Krsna with the gopis is
on the platform of yogamaya. The difference between the
platforms of yogamaya and mahamaya is compared in the Caitanya-
caritamrta to the difference between gold and iron. From the
viewpoint of metallurgy, gold and iron are both metals, but the
quality is completely different. Similarly, although the rasa
dance and Lord Krsna's association with the gopis appear like
the ordinary mixing of young boys and girls, the quality is
completely different. The difference is appreciated by great
Vaisnavas because they can understand the difference between
love of Krsna and lust.
On the mahamaya platform, dances take place on the basis of
sense gratification. But when Krsna called the gopis by
sounding His flute, they very hurriedly rushed toward
the spot of the rasa dance with the transcendental desire to
satisfy Krsna. The author of Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa
Kaviraja Gosvami, has explained that lust means sense
gratification, and love also means sense gratification -- but
for Krsna. In other words, when activities are enacted on the
platform of personal sense gratification, they are called
material activities, but when they are enacted for the
satisfaction of Krsna, they are spiritual activities. On
any platform of activities, the principle of sense
gratification is there. But on the spiritual platform, sense
gratification is for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna,
whereas on the material platform it is for the performer. For
example, on the material platform, when a servant serves a
master, he is trying to satisfy not the senses of his
master but rather his own senses. The servant would not serve
the master if the payment stopped. That means that the servant
engages himself in the service of the master just to satisfy
his own senses. On the spiritual platform, however, the
servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead serves Krsna
without payment, and he continues his service in all conditions.
That is the difference between Krsna consciousness and
material consciousness.
As mentioned above, it appears that Krsna enjoyed the rasa
dance with the gopis when He was eight years old. At that time,
many of the gopis were married, because in India, especially in
those days, girls were married at a very early age. There are
even many instances of a girl's giving birth to a child at the
age of twelve. Under the circumstances, all the gopis who
wanted to have Krsna as their husband were already married. At
the same time, they continued to hope that Krsna would be their
husband. Their attitude toward Krsna was that of paramour love.
Therefore, the loving affairs of Krsna with the gopis are
called parakiya-rasa. The attitude of a married man who desires
another wife or a wife who desires another husband is
called parakiya-rasa.
Actually, Krsna is the husband of everyone because He is the
supreme enjoyer. The gopis wanted Krsna to be their husband,
but factually there was no possibility of His marrying all the
gopis. But because they had that natural tendency to accept
Krsna as their supreme husband, the relationship between the
gopis and Krsna is called parakiya-rasa. This parakiya-rasa is
ever-existent in Goloka Vrndavana, in the spiritual sky, where
there is no possibility of the inebriety which characterizes
parakiya-rasa in the material world. In the material world,
parakiya-rasa is abominable, whereas in the spiritual world it
is present in the superexcellent relationship of Krsna and the
gopis. There are many relationships with Krsna -- master
and servant, friend and friend, parent and son, and lover and
beloved. Out of all these rasas, the parakiya-rasa is
considered to be the topmost.
This material world is the perverted reflection of the
spiritual world; it is just like the reflection of a tree on
the bank of a reservoir of water: the topmost part of the tree
is seen as the lowest part. Similarly, parakiya-rasa, when
pervertedly reflected in this material world, is most
abominable. Therefore when people imitate the rasa dance
of Krsna with the gopis, they simply enjoy the perverted,
abominable reflection of the transcendental parakiya-rasa.
There is no possibility of enjoying this transcendental
parakiya-rasa within the material world. It is stated in Srimad-
Bhagavatam that one should not imitate this parakiya-rasa even
in dream or imagination. Those who do so drink the most deadly
poison.
When Krsna, the supreme enjoyer, desired to enjoy the company
of the gopis on that full-moon night of the sarat season,
exactly at that very moment the moon, the lord of the stars,
appeared in the sky, displaying its most beautiful features.
The full-moon night of the sarat season is the most beautiful
night in the year. In the Indian city of Agra, in
Uttar Pradesh Province, there is a great monument called
the Taj Mahal, which is a tomb made of first-class
marble stone. During the night of the full moon of the sarat
season, many foreigners go to see the beautiful reflections of
the moon on the tomb. Thus this full-moon night is celebrated
even today for its beauty.
When the full moon rose in the east, it tinged everything with
a reddish color. With the rising of the moon, the whole sky
appeared smeared by red kunkuma. When a husband long separated
from his wife returns home, he decorates the face of his wife
with red kunkuma. This long-expected moonrise of the sarat
season was thus smearing the eastern sky.
The appearance of the moon increased Krsna's desire to dance
with the gopis. The forests were filled with fragrant flowers.
The atmosphere was cooling and festive. When Lord Krsna began
to blow His flute, the gopis all over Vrndavana became
enchanted. Their attraction to the vibration of the flute
increased a thousand times due to the rising full moon, the red
horizon, the calm and cool atmosphere and the blossoming
flowers. All the gopis were by nature very much attracted to
Krsna's beauty, and when they heard the vibration of His flute,
they became apparently lustful to satisfy the senses of Krsna.
Immediately upon hearing the vibration of the flute, they all
left their respective engagements and proceeded to the spot
where Krsna was standing. While they ran very swiftly,
their earrings swung back and forth. They all rushed toward the
place known as Vamsivata. Some of them were engaged in milking
cows, but they left their milking business half finished and
immediately went to Krsna. One of them had just collected milk
and put it in a milk pan on the stove to boil, but she did not
care whether the milk overboiled and spilled -- she immediately
left to go see Krsna. Some of them were breast-feeding their
small babies, and some were engaged in distributing food to the
members of their families, but they left all such engagements
and immediately rushed toward the spot where Krsna was playing
His flute. Some were engaged in serving their husbands, and
some were themselves engaged in eating, but caring
neither to serve their husbands nor eat, they immediately left.
Some of them wanted to decorate their faces with cosmetic
ointments and to dress themselves very nicely before going to
Krsna, but unfortunately they could not finish their cosmetic
decorations or put on their clothes in the right way because
of their anxiety to meet Krsna immediately. Their faces were
decorated hurriedly and were haphazardly finished; some even
put the lower part of their clothes on the upper part of their
bodies and the upper part on the lower part.
While all the gopis were hurriedly leaving their respective
places, their husbands, brothers and fathers were all struck
with wonder to know where they were going. Being young girls,
they were protected either by husbands, elder brothers or
fathers. All their guardians forbade them to go to Krsna, but
they disregarded them. When a person becomes attracted by Krsna
and is in full Krsna consciousness, he does not care for any
worldly duties, even though very urgent. Krsna consciousness is
so powerful that it gives everyone relief from all material
activities. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a very nice verse
wherein one gopi advises another, "My dear friend, if you
desire to enjoy the company of material society, friendship and
love, then please do not go to see that smiling boy Govinda
who is standing on the bank of the Yamuna and playing His flute,
His lips brightened by the beams of the full moonlight." Srila
Rupa Gosvami indirectly instructs that one who has been
captivated by the beautiful smiling face of Krsna has lost all
attraction for material enjoyments. This is the test of
advancement in Krsna consciousness: a person advancing in Krsna
consciousness must lose interest in material activities and
personal sense gratification.
Some of the gopis were factually detained from going to Krsna
by their husbands and were locked up by force within their
rooms. Being unable to go to Krsna, they began to meditate upon
His transcendental form by closing their eyes. They already had
the form of Krsna within their minds. They proved to be the
greatest yogis; as is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, a person who
is constantly thinking of Krsna within his heart with faith and
love is considered to be the topmost of all yogis. Actually, a
yogi concentrates his mind on the form of Lord Visnu. That is
real yoga. Krsna is the original form of all visnu-tattvas. The
gopis who could not personally go to Krsna
began to meditate on Him as perfect yogis.
In the conditioned stage of the living entities, there are two
kinds of results of fruitive activities: the conditioned living
entity who is constantly engaged in sinful activities has
suffering as his result, and he who is engaged in pious
activities has material enjoyment as a result. In either case --
material suffering or material enjoyment -- the sufferer or
enjoyer is conditioned by material nature.
The gopi associates of Krsna who assembled in the place where
Krsna was appearing were from different groups. Most of the
gopis were eternal companions of Krsna. As stated in the Brahma-
samhita, ananda-cin-maya-rasa-pratibhavitabhih: in the
spiritual world the associates of Krsna, especially the gopis,
are manifestations of the pleasure potency of
Lord Krsna. They are expansions of Srimati Radharani. But when
Krsna exhibits His transcendental pastimes within the material
world in some of the universes, not only the eternal associates
of Krsna come but also those who are being promoted to that
status from this material world. So some of the gopis who
joined Krsna's pastimes within this material world were coming
from the status of ordinary human beings. If they had been
bound by fruitive action, they were fully freed from the
reactions of karma by constant meditation on Krsna. Their
severely painful yearnings caused by their not being able to
see Krsna freed them from all sinful reactions, and their
ecstasy of transcendental love for Krsna in His absence ended
all their reactions to material pious
activities. The conditioned soul is subjected to birth and
death, either by pious or sinful activities, but the gopis who
began to meditate on Krsna transcended both positions and
became purified and thus elevated to the status of the gopis
already expanded by His pleasure potency. All the gopis who
concentrated their minds on Krsna in the spirit of paramour
love became fully purified of all the fruitive
reactions of material nature, and some of them immediately gave
up their material bodies developed under the three modes of
material nature.
Maharaja Pariksit heard Sukadeva Gosvami explain the situation
of the gopis who assembled with Krsna in the rasa dance. When
he heard that some of the gopis, simply by concentrating on
Krsna as their paramour, became freed from all contamination of
material birth and death, he said, "The gopis did not know that
Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They accepted Him
as a beautiful boy and considered Him to be their paramour. So
how was it possible for them to get freed from the material
condition just by thinking of a paramour?" One should consider
here that Krsna and ordinary living beings are qualitatively
one. The ordinary living beings, being part and parcel of Krsna,
are also Brahman, but Krsna is the Supreme -- Para-
brahman. The question is, If it is possible for a devotee to
get free from the material, contaminated stage simply by
thinking of Krsna, then why should this not be possible for
others who are also thinking of someone? If one is thinking of
a husband or son, or if anyone at all is thinking of another
living entity, then, since all living entities are also Brahman,
why are all those who thus think of others not freed
from the contaminated stage of material nature? This is a very
intelligent question, because there are always
atheists imitating Krsna. In these days of Kali-yuga, there
are many rascals who think themselves to be as good as Krsna
and who cheat people into believing that thinking of them is as
good as thinking of Lord Krsna. Pariksit Maharaja, apprehending
the future dangerous condition of blind followers of demoniac
imitators, therefore asked this question, and fortunately it is
recorded in Srimad-Bhagavatam to warn innocent people that
thinking of an ordinary man and thinking of Krsna are not the
same.
Actually, even thinking of the demigods cannot compare with
thinking of Krsna. It is warned in the vaisnava-tantra
that one who puts Visnu, Narayana or Krsna on the same level
as the demigods is called a pasandi, or rascal. On hearing
this question from Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Gosvami replied,
"My dear King, your question is already answered, even before
this incident." Because Pariksit Maharaja wanted to clear up
the situation, his spiritual master answered him very
intelligently: "Why are you again asking about the same subject
matter which has already been explained to you? Why are you so
forgetful?" A spiritual master is always in the superior
position, so he has the right to chastise his disciple in this
way. Sukadeva Gosvami knew that Maharaja Pariksit asked the
question not for his own understanding but as a warning to the
future innocent people who might think others to be equal to
Krsna.
Sukadeva Gosvami then reminded Pariksit Maharaja about the
salvation of Sisupala. Sisupala was always envious of Krsna,
and because of his envy Krsna killed him. But since Krsna is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sisupala gained salvation
simply by seeing Him. If an envious person can get salvation
simply by concentrating his mind on Krsna, then what to speak
of the gopis, who are so dear to Krsna and always think of
Him in love? There must be some difference between the enemies
and the friends. If Krsna's enemies could get freed from
material contamination and become one with the Supreme, then
certainly His dear friends like the gopis can achieve such
freedom and much more.
Besides that, in the Bhagavad-gita Krsna is called Hrsikesa.
Sukadeva Gosvami also said that Krsna is Hrsikesa, the
Supersoul. Whereas an ordinary man is a conditioned soul
covered by the material body, Krsna and Krsna's body are the
same because He is Hrsikesa. Any person making a distinction
between Krsna and Krsna's body is fool number one. Krsna is
Hrsikesa and Adhoksaja. These two particular words have been
used by Sukadeva Gosvami in this instance. Hrsikesa is the
Supersoul, and Adhoksaja is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
transcendental to the material nature. Just to show favor to
the ordinary living entities, out of His causeless mercy He
appears as He is. Unfortunately, foolish persons mistake Him to
be an ordinary person, and so they become eligible to go
to hell.
Sukadeva Gosvami continued to inform Maharaja Pariksit that
Krsna is not an ordinary person but rather the Supreme
Personality of Godhead -- imperishable, immeasurable and
without any material qualities but full of all spiritual
qualities. He appears in this material world out of His
causeless mercy, and whenever He appears, He appears as He is,
without change. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita,
where the Lord says that He appears by His spiritual potency.
He does not appear under the control of the material potency.
The material potency is under His control. In the Bhagavad-gita
it is stated that the material potency is working under His
superintendence. It is also confirmed in the Brahma-samhita
that the material potency, known as Durga, is acting just like
a shadow of the substance. The
conclusion is that if one somehow or other becomes attached to
Krsna or attracted to Him, either because of His qualities
of beauty, opulence, fame, strength, renunciation or
knowledge, through affection or friendship, or even through
lust, anger or fear, then one's
salvation and freedom from material contamination are assured.
In the Bhagavad-gita, Eighteenth Chapter, the Lord states
that one who is engaged in preaching Krsna consciousness is
very dear to Him. A preacher has to face many difficulties in
his struggle to preach pure Krsna consciousness. Sometimes he
has to suffer bodily injuries, and sometimes he has to meet
death also. All this is taken as a great austerity on behalf of
Krsna. Krsna therefore has said that such a preacher is very,
very dear to Him. If Krsna's enemies can expect salvation
simply by concentrating their minds on Him, then what to speak
of persons who are so dear to Krsna? The conclusion should be
that the salvation of those who are engaged in preaching Krsna
consciousness in the world is guaranteed in all circumstances.
But such preachers never care for salvation, because factually
one who is engaged in Krsna consciousness, devotional service,
has already achieved salvation. Sukadeva Gosvami therefore
assured King Pariksit that he should always rest assured that
one who is attracted by Krsna attains liberation from material
bondage because Krsna is the transcendental master of all
mystic power.
When all the gopis assembled, as described, before Krsna, He
began to speak to them, welcoming them as well as discouraging
them by word jugglery. Krsna is the supreme speaker; He is the
speaker of the Bhagavad-gita. He can speak on the highest
elevated subjects of philosophy, politics, economics --
everything. And He also spoke before the gopis, who were so
dear to Him. He wanted to enchant them by word jugglery, and
thus He began to speak as follows.
"O ladies of Vrndavana," Krsna said, "you are very fortunate,
and you are very dear to Me. I am very much pleased that you
have come here, and I hope everything is well in Vrndavana. Now
please order Me. What can I do for you? What is the purpose of
your coming here in the dead of night? Kindly take your seats
and let Me know what I can do for you."
The gopis had come to Krsna to enjoy His company, to dance with
Him, embrace Him and kiss Him, and when Krsna began to receive
them very officially, showing all kinds of etiquette, they were
surprised. He was treating them like ordinary society women.
Therefore they began to smile among themselves, and though they
very eagerly listened to Krsna talk in that way,
they were surprised. Then Krsna began to instruct them:
"My dear friends, you must know that it is now the dead of
night and the forest is very dangerous. At this time all the
ferocious jungle animals -- the tigers, bears, jackals and
wolves -- are prowling in the forest. Therefore it is very
dangerous for you. You cannot select a secure place now.
Everywhere you go you will find that all these animals are
loitering to find their prey. I think, therefore, that you are
taking a great risk in coming here in the dead of night. Please
turn back immediately, without delay."
When He saw that they continued to smile, He said, "I very much
appreciate your bodily features. All of you have nice, very
thin waists." All of the gopis there were exquisitely beautiful.
They are described by the word sumadhyama; the standard of
beauty of a woman is said to be sumadhyama, when the middle
portion of the body is slender.
Krsna wanted to impress on them that they were not old enough
to take care of themselves. Actually, they required protection.
It was not very wise for them to come in the dead of night to
Krsna. Krsna also indicated that He was young and that they
were young girls. "It does not look very well for young girls
and boys to remain together in the dead of night." After
hearing this advice, the gopis did not seem very happy;
therefore Krsna began to stress the point in a different way.
"My dear friends, I can understand that you have left your
homes without the permission of your guardians; therefore I
think your mothers, your fathers, your elder brothers and
even your sons, and what to speak of your husbands, must be
very anxious to find you. As long as you are here, they must be
searching in different places, and their minds must be very
agitated. So don't tarry. Please go back and make them peaceful.
"
When the gopis appeared to be a little bit disturbed and angry
from hearing the free advice of Krsna, they diverted their
attention to looking at the beauty of the forest. At that time
the whole forest was illuminated by the bright shining of the
moon, and the air was blowing very silently over the blooming
flowers, and the green leaves of the trees were moving in the
breeze. Krsna took the opportunity of their looking at the
forest to advise them. "I think you have come out to see the
beautiful Vrndavana forest on this night," He said, "but you
must now be satisfied. So return to your homes without delay. I
understand that you are all very chaste women, so now that you
have seen the beautiful atmosphere of the Vrndavana forest,
please return home and engage in the faithful service of your
respective husbands. Some of you must have babies by this time,
although you are very young. You must have left your small
babies at home, and they must be crying. Please immediately go
back home and just feed them with your breast milk. I can also
understand that you have very great affection for Me, and out
of that transcendental affection you have come here, hearing My
playing on the flute. Your feelings of love and affection for
Me are very appropriate because I am the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. All living creatures are My parts and parcels, and
naturally they are affectionate to Me. So this affection for Me
is very welcome, and I congratulate you for this. Now you
can go back to your homes. Another thing I must explain to you
is that for a chaste woman, service to the husband without
duplicity is the best religious principle. Not only should a
woman be faithful and chaste to her husband, but she should
also be affectionate to the friends of her husband, obedient to
the father and mother of her husband, and affectionate to the
younger brothers of her husband. And most importantly, a
woman must take care of her children."
In this way, Krsna explained the duty of a woman. He also
stressed the point of serving the husband: "Even if he is not
of very good character, or even if he is not very rich or
fortunate, or even if he is old or invalid on account of
continued diseases, whatever her husband's condition, a woman
should not divorce her husband if she actually desires to be
elevated to the higher planetary systems after leaving this
body. Besides that, it is considered abominable in society if a
woman is unfaithful and goes searching for another man. Such
habits will deter a woman from being elevated to the heavenly
planets, and the results of such habits are very degrading. A
married woman should not search for a paramour, for this is not
sanctioned by the Vedic principles of life. If you think that
you are very much attached to Me and you want My association, I
advise you not to personally try to enjoy Me. It is better for
you to go home, simply talk about Me and think of Me, and by
this process of constantly remembering Me and chanting My
names you will surely be elevated to the spiritual platform.
There is no need to stand near Me. Please go back home."
The instruction given herein by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead to the gopis was not at all sarcastic. Such
instructions should be taken very seriously by all honest women.
The chastity of women is specifically stressed herein by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore this principle should
be followed by any serious woman who wants to be elevated to a
higher status of life. Krsna is the center of all affection for
all living creatures. When this affection is developed for
Krsna, one surpasses and transcends all Vedic injunctions.
This was possible for the gopis because they saw Krsna face to
face. This is not possible for any women in the conditioned
state. Unfortunately,
sometimes a rascal,
following the philosophy of monism, or oneness, very
irresponsibly takes advantage of this rasa-lila to imitate the
behavior of Krsna with the gopis, entice many innocent women
and mislead them in the name of spiritual realization. As a
warning, Lord Krsna has herein hinted that what was possible
for the gopis is not possible for ordinary women. Although a
woman can actually be elevated by advanced Krsna consciousness,
she should not be enticed by an imposter who says that he is
Krsna. She should concentrate her devotional activities in
chanting about Krsna and meditating upon Krsna, as is advised
herein. One should not follow the men called sahajiyas, the so-
called devotees who take everything very lightly.
When Krsna spoke in such a discouraging way to the gopis, they
became very sad, for they thought that their desire to enjoy
the rasa dance with Krsna would be frustrated. Thus they became
full of anxiety. Out of great sadness, the gopis began to
breathe very heavily. Instead of looking at Krsna face to face,
they bowed their heads and looked at the ground, and they began
to draw various types of curved lines on the ground with their
toes. They were shedding heavy tears, and their cosmetic
decorations were being washed from their faces. The water from
their eyes mixed with the kunkuma on their breasts and fell to
the ground. They could not say anything to Krsna but simply
stood there silently. By their silence they expressed that
their hearts were grievously wounded.
The gopis were not ordinary women. In essence they were on an
equal level with Krsna. They are His eternal associates. As it
is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, they are expansions of the
pleasure potency of Krsna, and as His potency they are
nondifferent from Him. Although they were depressed by the
words of Krsna, they did not like to use harsh words against
Him. Yet they wanted to rebuke Krsna for His unkind words, and
therefore they began to speak in faltering voices. They did not
like to use harsh words against Krsna because He was their
dearmost, their heart and soul. The gopis had only Krsna within
their hearts. They were completely surrendered and dedicated
souls. Naturally, when they heard such unkind words, they tried
to reply, but in the attempt torrents of tears fell from their
eyes. Finally they managed to speak.
"Krsna," they said, "You are very cruel! You should not talk
like that. We are full-fledged surrendered souls. Please accept
us, and don't talk in that cruel way. Of course, You are the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and can do whatever You
like, but it is not worthy of Your position to treat us in such
a cruel way. We have come to You, leaving everything behind,
just to take shelter of Your lotus feet. We know that You are
completely independent and can do whatever You like, but we
request You, don't reject us. We are Your devotees. You should
accept us as Lord Narayana accepts His devotees. There are many
devotees of Lord Narayana who worship Him for salvation, and He
awards them salvation. Similarly, how can You reject us when we
have no shelter other than Your lotus feet?
"O dear Krsna," they continued, "You are the supreme instructor.
There is no doubt about it. Your instructions to women to
be faithful to their husbands and merciful to their
children, to take care of household affairs and to be obedient
to the elder members of the family, are surely just according
to the tenets of the sastras. But we know that one may
perfectly observe all these instructions of the sastras
by keeping oneself under the protection of
Your lotus feet. Our husbands, friends, family members and
children are all dear and pleasing to us only because of Your
presence, for You are the Supersoul of all living creatures.
Without Your presence, one is worthless. When You leave the
body, the body immediately dies, and according to the
injunction of the sastras, a dead body must immediately be
thrown into a river or burned. Therefore, ultimately You are
the dearmost personality in this world. By placing our faith
and love in Your personality, we are assured of never
being bereft of husband, friends, sons or daughters. If a woman
accepts You as the supreme husband, then she will never be
bereft of her husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we
accept You as our ultimate husband, then there is no question
of being separated, divorced or widowed. You are the eternal
husband, eternal son, eternal friend and eternal master, and
one who enters into a relationship with You is eternally happy.
Since You are the teacher of all religious principles, Your
lotus feet have to be worshiped first. Accordingly, the
sastras state, acarya-upasana: the worship of Your lotus feet
is the first principle. Besides that, as stated in the Bhagavad-
gita, You are the only enjoyer, You are the only proprietor,
and You are the only friend. As such, we have come to You,
leaving aside all so-called friends, society and love, and now
You have become our enjoyer. Let us be everlastingly enjoyed by
You. Be our proprietor, for that is Your natural claim, and be
our supreme friend, for You are naturally so. Let us thus
embrace You as the supreme beloved."
Then the gopis told lotus-eyed Krsna, "Please do not
discourage our long-cherished desires to have You as our
husband. Any intelligent man who cares for his own self-
interest reposes all his loving spirit in You. Persons who are
simply misled by the external energy, who want to be satisfied
by false concepts, try to enjoy themselves apart from You. The
so-called husband, friend, son, daughter, father and mother
are all simply sources of material misery. No one is made happy
in this material world by having a so-called father, mother,
husband, son, daughter and friend. Although the father and
mother are expected to protect the children, there are many
children who are suffering for want of food and shelter. There
are many good physicians, but when a patient dies, no physician
can revive him. There are many means of protection, but when
one is doomed, none of the protective measures can help, and
without Your protection the so-called sources of protection
simply become sources of continued distress. We therefore
appeal to You, dear Lord of all lords: please do not kill our
long-cherished desires to have You as our supreme husband.
"Dear Krsna, as women, we are certainly satisfied when our
hearts are engaged in the activities of family affairs, but our
hearts have already been stolen by You. We can no longer engage
them in family affairs. Besides that, although You have
repeatedly asked us to return home, and that is a very
appropriate instruction, unfortunately we have been stunned
here. Our legs have no power to move a step from Your lotus
feet. Therefore, if even at Your request we return home, what
shall we do there? We have lost all our ability to act without
You. Instead of engaging our hearts in family affairs as women,
we have now developed a different type of lust which is
continually blazing in our hearts. Now we request You, dear
Krsna, to extinguish that fire with Your beautiful smile and
the transcendental vibration emanating from Your lips. If You
do not agree to do us this favor, we shall certainly be burned
in the fire of separation. In that condition, we shall simply
think of You and Your beautiful features and give up our bodies
immediately. In that way we think it will be possible for us to
reside at Your lotus feet in the next life. Dear Krsna, if You
say that if we go home our respective husbands will satisfy the
lusty flame of our desire, we can only say that that is no
longer possible. You have given us a chance to be enjoyed by
You in the forest and have touched our breasts once in the past,
which we accepted as a blessing, as do the goddesses of
fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikunthalokas by You. Since we
have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer
interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of
our lust. Dear Krsna, the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune
are always worshiped by the demigods. Although she is always
resting on Your chest in the Vaikuntha planets, she underwent
great austerity and penance to have some shelter at Your lotus
feet, which are always covered by tulasi leaves. Your lotus
feet are the proper shelter of Your servitors, and the goddess
of fortune, instead of abiding on Your chest, comes down and
worships Your lotus feet. We have now placed ourselves under
the dust of Your feet. Please do not reject us, for we are
fully surrendered souls.
"Dear Krsna, You are known as Hari. You destroy all the
miseries of all living entities, specifically of those who have
left their homes and family attachment and have completely
taken to You. We have left our homes with the hope that we
shall completely devote and dedicate our lives to Your service.
We are simply begging to be engaged as Your servants. We do not
wish to ask You to accept us as Your wives. Simply accept us as
Your maidservants. Since You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead and like to enjoy the parakiya-rasa and are famous as a
transcendental woman hunter, we have come to satisfy Your
transcendental desires. We are also after our own satisfaction,
for simply by looking at Your smiling face we have become very
lusty. We have come before You decorated with all ornaments and
dress, but until You embrace us, all our garments and beautiful
features remain incomplete. You are the Supreme Person, and if
You complete our dressing attempt as the purusa-bhusana, or the
male ornament, then all our desires and bodily decorations are
complete.
"Dear Krsna, we have simply been captivated by seeing You with
tilaka and with earrings and by seeing Your beautiful face
covered with scattered hair and bearing Your extraordinary
smile. Not only that, but we are also attracted by Your arms,
which always give assurance to the surrendered souls. And
although we are also attracted by Your chest, which is always
embraced by the goddess of fortune, we do not wish to take her
position. We shall simply be satisfied by being Your
maidservants. If You accuse us, however, of
encouraging prostitution, then we can only ask, Where is that
woman within these three worlds who is not captivated by Your
beauty and the rhythmic songs vibrated by Your transcendental
flute? Within these three worlds there is no distinction
between men and women in relation to You because both men and
women belong to the marginal potency, or prakrti. No one is
actually the enjoyer, or the male; everyone is meant to be
enjoyed by You. There is no woman within these three worlds who
cannot but deviate from her path of chastity once she is
attracted to You, because Your beauty is so sublime that not
only men and women but also cows, birds, beasts and even trees,
fruits and flowers -- everyone and everything -- become
enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves? It is, however,
definitely decided that as Lord Visnu is always protecting the
demigods from the onslaught of demons, so You have also
advented in Vrndavana just to give the residents protection
from all kinds of distress. O dear friend of the distressed,
kindly place Your hand on our burning breasts as well as on our
heads, because we have surrendered unto You as Your eternal
maidservants. If You think, however, that Your lotuslike
palms might be burned to ashes if placed on our burning breasts,
let us assure You that Your palms will feel pleasure instead
of pain, as the lotus flower, although very delicate and soft,
enjoys the scorching heat of the sun."
Upon hearing the anxious plea of the gopis, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead smiled, and being very kind to
the gopis, the Lord, although self-sufficient, began to embrace
them and kiss them as they desired. When Krsna, smiling, looked
at the faces of the gopis, the beauty of their faces became a
hundred times enhanced. When He was enjoying them in their
midst, He appeared just like the full moon surrounded by
millions of shining stars. Thus the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, surrounded by hundreds of gopis and decorated with a
flower garland of many colors, began to wander within the
Vrndavana forest, sometimes singing to Himself and sometimes
singing with the gopis. In this way the Lord and the
gopis reached the cool, sandy bank of the Yamuna, where there
were lilies and lotus flowers. In such a transcendental
atmosphere, the gopis and Krsna began to enjoy one another.
While they were walking on the bank of the Yamuna, Krsna would
sometimes put His arms around a gopi's head, breast or waist.
Pinching one another and joking and looking at one another,
they enjoyed. When Krsna touched the bodies of the gopis, their
lust to embrace Him increased. They all enjoyed these pastimes.
Thus the gopis were blessed with all mercy by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, for they enjoyed His company without a
tinge of mundane sex life.
The gopis, however, soon began to feel very proud, thinking
themselves to be the most fortunate women in the universe due
to being favored by the company of Krsna. Lord Krsna, who is
known as Kesava, could immediately understand their pride
caused by their great fortune of enjoying Him personally, and
in order to show them His causeless mercy and to curb their
false pride, He immediately disappeared from the scene,
exhibiting His opulence of renunciation. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is always full with six kinds of
opulences, and this is an instance of the opulence of
renunciation. This renunciation confirms Krsna's total
nonattachment. He is always self-sufficient and is not
dependent on anything. This is the platform on which His
transcendental pastimes are enacted.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-ninth Chapter
of Krsna, "The Rasa Dance: Introduction."
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