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HH Lokanath Swami:

Yesterday we heard the Lord speak female dharma to the gopis. Actually, this is not for the gopis or the raganugas, but rather for us. We should not try and transcend such laws at our stage.

Hearing the words of Krsna, the gopis were lifeless. Then, after a long silence, they started sharing their hearts to their Lord and master, and after hearing their words He could not send them back. In these five chapters we can see the transcendental meditation of Radharani and the gopis. Sukadeva Goswami is our guide and he is taking us on a tour showing us the spiritual world and its residents.

The gopis compare Krsna to Lord Narayan: "Just as Lord Visnu is descending to relieve the fear and distress of the demigods, You have come to Vraja to relieve the suffering of its residents. Please relieve the burning in our hearts by placing your lotus hand on our breasts. Our heart is completely burning from the fire of separation from You."

There is a very cooling effect in the lotus hand of the Lord. "Nitai pada kamala, koti-candra-susitala...." In the same way, to get relief from the fire of this material world it is recommended we take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda. How cooling is it? Like hundreds and thousands of moons.

Hearing the pleading words of the gopis, Krsna, although self satisfied, mercifully enjoyed with them. After hearing their words He smiled. Lord is smiling. It is not like the false smiling of the air hostesses on the airplanes. His smile is from the heart. His full heart can be seen in His face.

Krsna is completely self satisfied, atmarama. He is not dependent on anyone else for His enjoyment or bliss. Still, He is going to take transcendental pleasure in the association of the gopis. Together they wandered through the forests of Vrndavana. Vrndavana is not like the forests we have today. No, it is more like a garden, a well-kept garden. Who is maintaining that garden? Vrnda devi, Tulasi devi. By wandering in the forests, Krsna and the gopis further enriched the beauty of that forest in the same way that the beauty of a golden ring is further increased by placing a gem on it.

Krsna is wearing His vaijayanti garland, which is made up of five different flowers. The gopis are singing praises of the Lord in the form of sweet songs, and Krsna in turn responds with song. There are so many love songs in this world, but whatever sentiments are being expressed by the heroine to the hero, or the hero to the heroine, they are all simply petty duplications of the sentiments felt between Krsna and His pure devotees.

Non-devotees have firm faith in the false strength of each other. The women are thinking they can take shelter and be protected by the strong arms of their lovers. But Krsna is the real mighty armed one— Maha Baho. Love stories in books are full of this illusion. Now we have the Internet and mobile phones. Previously we were going to hell on a slow train. Now it’s an express train to hell.

So, with His touch, the Lord aroused cupid in the hearts of the gopis. The Lord was one and the gopis numbered in their millions. What did He do, ask them to form a queue? No, He expanded Himself and reciprocated with each and every one of them personally. He also changed time by expanding the night to the length of one of Brahma’s nights - that is, one thousand catur yugas.

The gopis were feeling proud that they had the association of Krsna. Each was thinking that Krsna was hers only. They were thinking they were the best of women. Krsna, seeing their pride, mercifully wanting to relieve them of it, disappeared. The gopis are completely pure, without anarthas, and we should never think otherwise of them. But in order to develop and intensify the pleasure of the lila, Krsna did like this, just as He had arranged the bewilderment of Arjuna in order to instruct the world. Desiring to give special attention to Srimati Radharani, Krsna went off with Her.

Sukadeva Goswami describes the feelings of the gopis when they realized Krsna had gone. They went from being in an ocean full of bliss to being in a desert without a drop of water. When the female elephants lose sight of the lead male elephant they become mad. In the same way, the gopis became mad and absorbed themselves in thoughts and memories of Krsna.

The gopis enquired from the trees in their madness, "Have you seen Krsna, the younger brother of Balarama? He has stolen our minds with His sweet smiles."

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HH Lokanath Swami:

The Lord is very merciful to us. He has given us this rare human form, and we should be sure to use it for becoming Krsna Conscious. We were not present 5,000 years ago for Nandotsava but by the grace of the Lord and all the previous acaryas, we are able to hear about it today.

When Vasudeva returned to the prison house with Yogamaya, all the doors and shackles automatically closed again, and the cries of the baby awoke the prison guards. They had been waiting for the past eight years for the cry of that eighth child. Immediately, they went to call Kamsa, who came running to the prison house straight from his bed, hair scattered. Devaki pleaded with him not to kill her child. "The eighth child is a girl. She is like your daughter. Don’t kill her, my brother. I am your sister, give me this child as a gift." She pleaded with him piteously.

Kamsa was so cruel. Regardless of her pleas, he grabbed the small baby from Devaki, and holding her by the legs prepared to smash her head against a stone. The baby, Yogamaya, slipped from his hand and rose up into the sky. She said, "You fool! The one who will kill you has already taken birth, elsewhere."

Kamsa feeling repentant after this, lamented having killed the children of his sister. Falling at the feet of Vasudeva and Devaki, he begged their forgiveness. There was something genuine going on in the heart of Kamsa. Tears came from his eyes, crying for the first time in his life. He decided to free them from the jail.

The next morning, Kamsa met with his asura ministers and informed them of the words of Yogamaya. These ministers were envious and enemies of the demigods. With expert words they advised and convinced Kamsa to kill all recently born children. "Do not fear the demigods. None of them can stand up to you! Visnu is the fountainhead of the demigods. We will kill the Brahmans, kill the cows, persecute the Vaisnavas, and in this way we can kill Visnu."

The civilization that Kamsa promoted is being continued today: the "how to kill God" society. If we protect religion, religion will protect us.

In Gokul, Nanda Maharaja arranged a grand festival to mark the birth of his son, Krsna. He gave two million cows in charity to the Brahmans, each with a golden neck chain. He also gave seven huge hills of grain. The Brahmans chanted Vedic mantras for auspiciousness. Musicians sang and played various instruments. Nanda’s home was decorated with flags and festoons.

News spread quickly throughout Vraja, and cowherd men and women came from all over, carrying presents to greet the newborn. The ladies of Vraja dressed and decorated themselves very nicely and walked very fast, running to see the Lord. The flowers in their hair fell to the ground as they ran. In this way all the roads were decorated with flowers. The gopis and gopas were giving blessings to the Lord that He live long, for one hundred winters. They prayed to God to protect this child.

[At the end of each evening, the devotees perform a drama depicting scenes from the day’s talks.]

Your servant,
Ekanath dasa

© CHAKRA 16 January 2002