Krsna Book Audio Dictation - Chapter 29
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Next, Twenty-ninth Chapter. Heading: "The Rāsa Dance: Introductory."
Next paragraph.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is stated that the rāsa dance took place on the full-moon night of śarat season. From the statement of previous chapters, it appears that the festival of Govardhana-pūjā was performed just after the dark-moon night of the month of Kārttika. Thereafter the ceremony of Bhrātṛdvitīya was performed, and then the wrath of Indra was exhibited in the shape of torrents of rain and hailstorm and Lord Kṛṣṇa held up the Govardhana Hill for seven days, up to the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were talking amongst themselves about the wonderful activities of Kṛṣṇa. And then next day, the Ekādaśī day, was observed by Nanda Mahārāja, and on the next day, Dvādaśī, he went to take bath in the Ganges and was arrested by the men of Varuṇa, and he was released by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then Nanda Mahārāja, along with other gopas, were shown the spiritual sky.
In this way, the full-moon night of śarat season was finished by that time. The full-moon night of Āśvina is called śāradīya-pūrṇimā. Therefore it appears from the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kṛṣṇa had to wait for one year more before He had enjoyed the rāsa dance with the gopīs next year. So at the age of seven year, seventh year, He lifted up the Govardhana Hill. Therefore, rāsa dance took place at the age of His eighth year.
From Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical actor dances amongst many dancing girls, such group dance is called rāsa dance. Kṛṣṇa, when He saw the full night of the śarat season, decorated with various kinds of seasoned flowers, especially the mallikā flowers, which are very fragrant, He remembered the gopīs' prayers to the goddess Kātyāyanī that they wanted to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband. And in order to fulfill their desire, He thought that the full night of the season śarat was just suitable for having a nice dance amongst them so that their desire could be fulfilled to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in this connection the exact word used is bhagavān api (SB 10.29.1).
This means although Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has no want to be fulfilled because He is always full with six kinds of opulences. Still, He wanted to enjoy the company of the gopīs. This means that this is not ordinary dancing of the young boys and the girls. The specific word used in this connection in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is yogamāyām upāśritaḥ (SB 10.29.1). This yogamāyām upāśritam means that this dancing of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs were on the platform of yogamāyā, not mahāmāyā. Dancing of young boys and girls within this material world, they are in the kingdom of mahāmāyā, or the external energy. Therefore the situation is different from the rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs on the platform of yogamāyā.
The difference between the platform of yogamāyā and mahāmāyā is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta as difference between gold and iron. From the point of metallic view, the gold and iron both are metals, but the quality is completely different. Similarly, although the rāsa dance and Lord Kṛṣṇa's association with the gopīs appears like ordinary young boys and girls mixing together, but the quality is completely different, just like gold and iron. This difference is appreciated by great Vaiṣṇavas because they can understand what is love of Kṛṣṇa and what is lust.
On the mahāmāyā platform, such dance take place on the basis of sense gratification. Both the boy and the girl dancers have within themselves the desire for sense gratification. But here, when Kṛṣṇa called the gopīs by sounding His flute, the gopīs very hurriedly rushed towards the spot of rāsa dance just on the transcendental desire of satisfying Kṛṣṇa. So the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Gosvāmī, has explained that lust means sense gratification, and love means the sense gratification but it is for Kṛṣṇa. In other words, all activities when they are acted on the platform of sense gratification are called material activities. But when they are acted on the sense of satisfying Kṛṣṇa, then it is spiritual activities. On any platform of activities, the principle of sense gratification is there. But in the spiritual platform, the sense gratification is for the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, whereas in the material platform it is the sense gratification of the performer.
For example, in the material platform, when a servant serves a master, it is not on the basis of satisfying the sense of the master, but it is on the platform of satisfying the servant's senses. The servant would not serve the master when there is payment stopped. That means 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 Kṛṣṇa without any payment, and as such he continues his service in all conditions. That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and material consciousness.
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From the above statement it appears that Kṛṣṇa enjoyed the rāsa dance with the gopīs when He was eight years old. At that time, many of the gopīs were married, because in India, especially in those days, girls were married at very early age and some of the girls even give birth to child at the age of twelve. There are many instances. Under the circumstances, all the gopīs who wanted to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband were already married to different husbands. At the same time, they continued the hope of Kṛṣṇa being their husband. Under the circumstances, the attitude of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa were paramourous; therefore the loving affairs of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs is called parakīya-rāsa. This parakīya-rāsa means that a married man or married wife who desire another extra wife or extra husband, this is called parakīya-rāsa.
Actually, Kṛṣṇa is the husband of everyone, because He is the supreme enjoyer. The gopīs desired Kṛṣṇa to be their husband, but factually, on the condition, there was not possibility of Kṛṣṇa being married with all the gopīs. And because still they unduly continued their natural tendency to accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme husband, the relationship between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa is called parakīya-rāsa. This parakīya-rāsa is ever-existent in the Goloka Vṛndāvana of the spiritual sky, although there is no possibility of inebriety of the parakīya-rāsa in the material world. In the material world the parakīya-rāsa is abominable, whereas in the spiritual world this parakīya-rāsa is the superexcellent relationship with Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. There are many other relationship with Kṛṣṇa: as master and servant, as friend and friend, as parents and the son, as lover and the beloved. Out of all these rasas, the parakīya-rāsa is considered to be the topmost.
This material world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world. Just like perverted reflection of a tree on the bank of a reservoir of water, with the topmost part of the tree is seen on the lowest status; similarly, this parakīya-rāsa, when pervertedly reflected in this material world, this is the lowest abominable condition. When people, therefore, imitate the rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, they simply enjoy the perverted, abominable condition of the transcendental parakīya-rāsa. There is no possibility of enjoying this transcendental parakīya-rāsa within this material world. It is stated, therefore, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that one should not even imitate this parakīya-rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa even by dream or imagination. Then they will be drinking the most venomous poison.
Next paragraph.
When Kṛṣṇa, the supreme enjoyer, desired to enjoy the company of the gopīs in that full-moon night of the śarat season, exactly at very moment, moon, the lord of the stars, appeared in the sky in its most beautiful feature, as it is known by everyone that the full moon night in the śarat season is the most beautiful night in the whole year. In India 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. And during this night of full moon night of śarat season, even many foreigners go to see the beautiful reflection of the moon on the tomb, and it takes a great fair(?) in this condition. This full moon night is celebrated for its beauty.
When the full moon rose on the eastern side of the horizon, it looks everywhere tinged with reddish color, as if with the rising of the moon the whole sky was smeared by red kuṅkuma. The example is given in this connection just like when a husband long separated from the wife comes back home, and after coming back, the system was that the husband decorates the face of the wife with red kuṅkuma. Similarly, this long-expected moonrise of śarat season was compared that the moon, just after appearing on the eastern side, smeared over the wife with red kuṅkuma. In other words, the appearance of the moon accelerated the desire of Kṛṣṇa to dance with the gopīs by many, many times.
All sides were decorated with nice flowers; the atmosphere was cooling and celebrating. When Lord Kṛṣṇa began to blow on His flute, at that time the gopīs all over the Vṛndāvana become very much enchanted, because the attraction of the vibration of the flute becomes a thousand times enchanting on account of the favorable condition rising of the full moon, making the whole horizon reddish and the atmosphere calm and cool with blooming flowers all over Vṛndāvana. All the gopīs are by nature very much attracted to Kṛṣṇa's beauty, and when they heard this vibration of His flute in this condition, naturally they also became apparently lustful for satisfying the senses of Kṛṣṇa.
Thus immediately after hearing the vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute, they left their respective engagements everywhere and began to proceed to the spot where Kṛṣṇa was standing. And while going very swiftly, all their earrings were swinging with great acceleration. All of them thus rushed towards the place which is known as Vaṁśīvaṭa. Some of the gopīs were engaged in milking the cows, but immediately she left the milking business half finished and immediately became anxious to go to the spot where Kṛṣṇa was playing His flute. Some of them just collected the milk and put the milk pan on the oven for boiling, but she did not care that the milk would be over-boiled and fall down, but immediately left that place for seeing Kṛṣṇa. Some of them were feeding their small baby on the breast milk, and some of them were engaged in distributing foodstuff to the members of the family, but still, all of them left all such engagement and immediately began to rush towards the spot where Kṛṣṇa was playing the flute.
Some of them were engaged in serving their husband, and some of them were themself engaged in eating their foodstuff, but they did not care either for such service to the husband or eating themself, but immediately they left. Some of them wanted to decorate their face with cosmetic ointments, and some of them wanted to dress themself very nicely before going to Kṛṣṇa. But unfortunately they could not finish their cosmetic decoration or placing the dress in right place on account of their too much anxiety to meet Kṛṣṇa immediately. The decoration on the face was hurriedly and half-hazardly finished, and the dress of the lower part was put on the upper part of the body and the dress of the upper part of the body was placed on the lower part of the body.
Next paragraph.
All the gopīs thus being too much hurried and leaving their respective places, their husbands, brothers and fathers were all struck with wonder as to where they were going so hurriedly. Because young girls, they were being protected either by the husband or by the elderly brother or by father, and all of them prohibited them to go to Kṛṣṇa in that way, but they did not care for any one of them. The reason is when a person becomes attracted by Kṛṣṇa and becomes in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he does not care for any worldly duties, even though very, very urgent. In other words, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that it gives relief to everyone from all material activity.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has written a very nice verse in this connection wherein he advises the role of a gopīto another gopī. He says, "My dear friend, if you desire to enjoy in the company of material society, friendship and love, then please do not go to see the smiling figure of Govinda, who is standing on the bank of Yamunā and playing on His flute, dazzled by the glaring beams of full moonlight." Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī indirectly instructs that anyone who has been captivated by the beautiful smiling face of Kṛṣṇa has lost all attraction for material enjoyment. This is the test of advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is to say, a person advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must lose interest in the affairs of material activities or for the matter of personal sense gratification.
Next paragraph.
Some of the gopīs were factually detained not to go to Kṛṣṇa by their husbands, and by force they were locked up within the room, and being unable to go to Kṛṣṇa, they began to meditate upon the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa within the room by closing their eyes. They had already the forms of Kṛṣṇa always thinking within the body…, within the mind, and proved to be the greatest yogī, as per statement in the Bhagavad-gītā that a person who is constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa within his heart with faith and love, that person is considered to be topmost of all yogīs. Actually, a yogīs meditation is concentrating his mind unto the form of Lord Viṣṇu. That is real yoga. Kṛṣṇa is the original form of all viṣṇu-tattvas. The gopīs who could not go to Kṛṣṇa personally, they began to meditate on Kṛṣṇa as perfect yogī.
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In the conditioned stage of the living entity, there are two kinds of results of fruitive activities. The conditioned living entity who is constantly engaged in sinful activities, he has got a different result, suffering; and a conditioned living entity who is engaged in pious activities has got also separate result, namely material enjoyment. But in both the cases, either in material suffering or in material enjoyment, the enjoyer or sufferer is conditioned by the material nature.
The associate gopīs of Kṛṣṇa who assembled in the place where Kṛṣṇa appeared from different groups. Most of the gopīs are eternal companions of Kṛṣṇa, as it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, ānanda-cin-maya-rāsa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs 5.37). This means that in the spiritual world, the associates of Kṛṣṇa, especially the gopīs, they are manifestation of the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That means they are expansion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. But when Kṛṣṇa exhibits His transcendental pastimes within the material world in some of the universes, at that time not only the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa gopīs come, but others also who are being promoted to that status from this material world, they also join. Under the circumstances that the gopīs who join Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes within this material world and coming from the status of ordinary human being, if they had any torrents of resultant fruitive action, their meditation on Kṛṣṇa purified them fully from the reaction of karma by constant meditation. Their severe painful feelings on account of not being able to see Kṛṣṇa made them free from all sinful reactions, and their ecstasy of transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa in the absence of Kṛṣṇa was to end their all reaction of material pious activities.
The conditioned soul is subjected to birth and death, either by pious activities or sinful activities, but the gopīs who began to meditate on Kṛṣṇa, they transcended both positions and became purified as good as the gopīs already expanded by pleasure potency. In this way, all the gopīs having concentrated their minds on Kṛṣṇa in the spirit of paramourous love became fully uncontaminated by all fruitive reactions of material nature, and some of them immediately gave up their material bodies developed under the modes of three material nature.
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When Mahārāja Parīkṣit was hearing Śukadeva Gosvāmī explaining the situation of the gopīs in the matter of their assembling with Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa dance, and when he heard that some of the gopīs, simply by concentrating on Kṛṣṇa as their paramourous lover, became freed from all contamination of material birth and death, he inquired, "The gopīs did not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They accepted Kṛṣṇa as a beautiful boy and considered Him as their paramour, and still how it was possible to get free from material conditions thinking of a paramour?"
The idea is that Kṛṣṇa or any ordinary living being, qualitatively they are one. The ordinary living beings, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, they are also Brahma, but Kṛṣṇa being the Supreme, He is Parabrahma. If it is possible to get free from the material contaminated stage simply thinking of Kṛṣṇa for them, why not others who are also thinking of somebody, either husband or son or somehow or other thinking of another living entity, and the living entities being also Brahma, why they are not freed from the contaminated stage of material nature?
This is very intelligent question, because there are always atheist class of men imitating the position of Kṛṣṇa. Especially in these days of Kali-yuga, there are many, many rascals who think of themselves as good as Kṛṣṇa and mislead people that thinking of him is as good as thinking of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Parīkṣit Mahārāja, appreciating the future dangerous condition of blind followers of rascal imitation Kṛṣṇa, put this question, and fortunately it is recorded in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to warn innocent people that thinking of ordinary man and thinking of Kṛṣṇa is not on the same level. What to speak of ordinary man, even thinking of the demigods cannot be equivalent with the thinking of Kṛṣṇa.
This is also warned in Vaiṣṇava tantra, that anyone who puts Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa or Kṛṣṇa on the same level of the demigods, such person is called pāsaṇḍa, or the person rascal number one. So on hearing this question of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī also replied him as follows: "My dear King, this question is already answered to you before this incidence."
Next paragraph.
As Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to clear the situation very intelligently, similarly, his spiritual master answered him also very intelligently that “Why you are asking again the same subject matter which is already explained to you? Why you are so forgetful?” The spiritual master is always on the superior position, so he has the right to chastise his disciple in this way, although Śukadeva Gosvāmī knew the mind of Mahārāja Parīkṣit that he did not put the question for his understanding; he simply put that question for warning to the future innocent people that they should not think of others equal to Kṛṣṇa.
He reminded Parīkṣit Mahārāja about the salvation of Śiśupāla. Śiśupāla was always envious of Kṛṣṇa, and even on account of his enviousness he was killed by Kṛṣṇa. But on account of Kṛṣṇa's being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he also got salvation simply by seeing Kṛṣṇa. Then what to speak of the gopīs, who are so dear to Kṛṣṇa? If the envious person can get salvation simply by concentrating his mind on Kṛṣṇa, then what to speak of others who are always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in love. There must be some sort of difference between the enemies and the friends. If Kṛṣṇa's enemies could get freed from material contamination and become one with the Supreme, then what to speak of so much dear friends like the gopīs of Kṛṣṇa.
Besides that, Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, and in this connection Śukadeva Gosvāmī also said that Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa, the Supersoul, whereas an ordinary man is conditioned soul, he is covered by material body. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's body are the same, because He is Hṛṣīkeśa. Any foolish person making a distinction between Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's body is also fool number one. Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa and Adhokṣaja. These two particular words have been used by Parīkṣit Mahārāja in this connection. Hṛṣīkeśa is the Supersoul and Adhokṣaja 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 person, they mistake Him as ordinary person and they become eligible for being pushed into the hell. Śukadeva Gosvāmī reconfirmed the position of Kṛṣṇa that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, imperishable, immeasurable, free from all material contamination of…
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Kṛṣṇa, tape number twenty-nine, dated 31st August, 1969. Chapter Twenty-nine continued.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to inform Mahārāja Parīkṣit that Kṛṣṇa is not ordinary person. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, imperishable, immeasurable, without any material qualities but full of spiritual qualities, and He appears on this material world out of His causeless mercy. But whenever He appears, He appears as He is, without any change. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Lord says that "I appear in My spiritual potency." He does not appear under the control of this material potency. The material potency is under His control. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, that the material potency is working under His superintendence. This is also confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the material potency, known as Durgā, is acting just like a shadow moves with the movement of the substance.
Therefore, the conclusion is that somehow or other if you become attached to Kṛṣṇa or attracted by Him either on account of His beauty or quality or opulence or fame or strength or renunciation or knowledge, or even by lust, even by anger, even by fear or affection, friendship, everyone should somehow or other be attracted by Kṛṣṇa; then his salvation and freedom from this material contamination is assured.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Eighteenth Chapter, it is also stated by the Lord that anyone who is engaged in the preaching work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very dear to Him. Because the preacher has to face so many difficulties and obstacles for preaching pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and sometimes he has to suffer bodily injuries, and sometimes he has to meet with death also. So all these things are taken as great austerities on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa therefore said that such preacher is very, very dear to Him. If Kṛṣṇa's enemies can expect salvation simply by concentrating his mind on Him, then what to speak of persons who are so dear to Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore the conclusion should be that those who are engaged in the preaching work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the world, their salvation is guaranteed in all circumstances, although such preachers never care for such salvation because factually anyone who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness or devotional service, their salvation is already achieved. Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore assured King Parīkṣit that he should not be astonished how it so happened. He should always be rest assured that anyone attracted by Kṛṣṇa must attain liberation from material bondage because Kṛṣṇa is transcendental and the master of all mystic power.
Next paragraph.
When all the gopīs assembled in this way before Kṛṣṇa, He began to speak to them, welcoming them, as well as discouraging them by jugglery of words. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme speaker. He is the speaker of Bhagavad-gītā. He can speak the highest elevated subject matter of philosophy, politics, economics and everything. And what to think of His speaking before the gopīs, who were so dear to Him? He wanted to enchant them more by jugglery of words, and thus He began to speak as follows.
"O the ladies of Vṛndāvana, you are very fortunate and you are very dear to Me. I am very much pleased that you have come here. I hope everything is well in Vṛndāvana. So please order Me, what can I do for you. What is the purpose of coming here at this dead of night? Kindly take your seat and let Me know what can I do for you."
In this way, when Kṛṣṇa began to receive them very officially, showing all kinds of etiquette, the gopīs who came to Kṛṣṇa for a different purpose of enjoying His company, dancing with Him, embracing Him and kissing Him, they felt surprised that Kṛṣṇa was treating them as ordinary society woman. Therefore they began to smile amongst themselves and, very eagerly and surprisingly, was hearing Kṛṣṇa talking in that way. Then Kṛṣṇa began to instruct them: "My dear friends, you must know now it is dead of night, and the appearance is very fearful. It is fearful…
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(What Follows is Out of Sequence).