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Bhagavata Saptah, Final Day
from Ekanath dasa

HH Lokanath Swami:

Welcome to the last day of this Katha. Krsna's pastimes are unlimited and we can try and hear a few drops from that ocean in the short time remaining.

The time of separation has passed, and today Krsna and the gopis will again meet. This beautiful song [Gopi Gita] of the gopis will actually reunite them with Krsna. By hearing about the mood of the gopis, we should be developing a resolution in us to strive also for Krsna Prema. If some of you are experiencing this determination in the heart, then this effort [Bhagavata Saptah] has been a success.

The gopis sing, "Repeatedly, You have saved us from so many dangers like the Kaliya serpent. Please now save us from the pain of this separation. Please feed us with the nectar of Your lips. Keep us alive. Wherever You are roaming now, Your soft lotus feet must be getting hurt by the sharp grasses. Come and place them on our heads and we will keep them very carefully. Please return. Our life is meant just for You. Embrace us or smash us. You are free to do as you like. You are the Lord and master of our lives."

No other scripture can take us as close to Krsna as this Srimad Bhagavatam so we should not make this hearing of Srimad Bhagavatam a once-in-a-lifetime affair. No, we need to read Srimad Bhagavatam every day. Srila Prabhupada worked hard day and night to provide us with this Srimad Bhagavatam so we could be benefited. Such a wealth of knowledge! If we can take advantage of it, definitely we will attain Krsna.

Singing in this way, having spoken their hearts out, the gopis began to cry loudly. Their eyes are full of tears. The eyes of the gopis have just two functions— to drink the nectar of His beauty and when He is not there, to shed tears.

Then that Lord, who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, returned with a smile on His face. He is wearing a garland and yellow garments. As soon as the young girls saw Him, out of affection, their eyes opened wide. They all stood up at once, just as soldiers in an army do when ordered by their captain. They were so focused, so fixed on this meeting. When the Lord returned it was like the life air of the gopis reentering into their previously dead bodies. As life returned to them, they jumped up to greet Him in unison. He was greeted by all three thousand million gopis. Krsna expanded Himself and accepted greetings from each and every one of them in their own very unique ways. One intelligent gopi took the Lord through the gate of her eyes and into her heart, where she privately, by closing her eyes, embraced and enjoyed with Him. Lord Krsna relieved them all of the sufferings they were experiencing in His absence.

Sukadeva Goswami is such an expert poet, the king of poets. All the Hollywood and Bollywood writers are stealing ideas from him. All the similes and comparisons they have stolen are meant for glorifying the Lord.

That moon, which is the king of all stars, dispelled the night sky and shone down on the Lord and His gopis as They stood on the banks of the Yamuna. The waves of the Yamuna, acting as her hands, had swept up the softest and finest sands onto the shore, providing a sitting place for Krsna and the gopis.

Krsna explained to the gopis, "When a poor man has gained some wealth and then lost it, he thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else." The Lord is always reciprocating with us, although it may sometimes seem as if He is neglecting us.

"I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshipped, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.

At the end of that night of Brahma, the Lord asked His beloved gopis to return to their homes.

Finally, at the end of telling this pastime, Sukadeva Goswami explains that anyone who hears these pastimes with faith and in turn repeats with faith, then he will get the topmost devotional service to Lord Sri Krsna. By so doing it is possible to conquer the disease of the heart, our biggest enemy— lust. To the degree that we hear with faith, to that degree we will become free from lust.

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Evening.

HH Lokanath Swami:

Our life is being reduced with every rising and setting of the sun. But when we hear the glorification of Krsna, Uttamasloka, the watch stops. In the Lord's abode, Kala, time, is not present, and that place where Krsna lila is being recited becomes a part of that spiritual abode. The Lord incarnates as Nama Avatar, in the form of His name.

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

What is this? This is the Lord. Krsna's name is itself Krsna. In the same way, Krsna Katha is non-different from Krsna. One who is born is sure to die. The Lord's name, form, pastimes, qualities, and dhama are all transcendental. By [our] hearing these lilas our term of imprisonment in this cycle of birth and death is reduced.

We call Krsna the Butter thief, but actually we are the thieves. We are constantly accumulating things that belong to who? Krsna!

Who is the thief? If Krsna were not to steal the butter of the gopis, they would be so unhappy. For their pleasure, He is stealing the butter. The elderly gopis would make so many so-called complaints, but they were relishing His activities so much. When they would hear of Krsna stealing the butter of others, the gopis would lament and pray that Krsna would come to rob and plunder their homes. They are waking early in the morning and working hard to make fresh butter, hoping He will come and take their butter. "Let me make fresh butter for Him to steal." Krsna knows the hearts of the gopis.

So, although it is said that the Lord comes to kill the demons and reestablish religious principles, His main reason for coming is to please His devotees.

SB 10-11-7 and 9 "The gopis would say, ‘If you dance, my dear Krsna, then I shall give you half a sweetmeat.’ By saying these words or by clapping their hands, all the gopis encouraged Krsna in different ways. At such times, although He was the Supremely powerful Personality of Godhead, He would smile and dance according to their desire as if He were a wooden doll in their hands. Sometimes He would sing very loudly at their bidding. In this way, Krsna came completely under the control of the gopis.... To pure devotees throughout the world who could understand His activities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, exhibited how much He can be subdued by His devotees, His servants. In this way He increased the pleasure of the Vrajavasis by His childhood activities."

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Your servant,
Ekanath dasa

© CHAKRA 23 January 2002