The highesT PerfecTion of Loving service
The highesT PeRfecTion of loving seRvice By the disciples of His Divine Grace
The eighT PRinciPal goPis
DevoTional seRvice in conjugal love Srila
The Reunion
Srila Sukadeva Goswami
Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, having thus sung and spoken their hearts out in various charming ways, the gopis began to weep loudly. They were very eager to see Lord Krishna. Then Lord Krishna, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the gopis. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment, He directly appeared as one who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary people. When the gopis
saw that their dearmost Krishna had returned to them, they all stood up at once, and out of their affection for Him their eyes bloomed wide. It was as if the air of life had reentered their bodies. One gopi joyfully took Krishna’s hand between her folded palms, and another placed His arm, anointed with sandalwood paste, on her shoulder. A slender gopi respectfully took in her joined hands the betel nut He had chewed, and another gopi, burning with desire, put His lotus feet on her breasts. One gopi, beside herself with loving anger, bit her lips and stared at Him with frowning eyebrows, as if to wound Him with her harsh
glances. Another gopi looked with unblinking eyes upon His lotus face, but even after deeply relishing its sweetness She did not feel satiated, just as mystic saints are never satiated when meditating upon the Lord’s feet. One gopi took the Lord through the aperture of her eyes and placed Him within her heart. Then, with her eyes closed and her bodily hairs standing on end, she continuously embraced Him within. Thus immersed in transcendental ecstasy, she resembled a yogi meditating upon the Lord. All the gopis enjoyed the greatest festivity when they saw their beloved Keshava again. They gave up the distress of separation, just as people in general forget their misery when they gain the association of a spiritually enlightened person. Encircled by the gopis, who were now relieved of all distress, Lord Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, shone forth splendidly. My dear King, Krishna thus appeared like the Supersoul encircled by His spiritual potencies. The almighty Lord then took the gopis with Him to the bank of the Kalindi, who with the hands of her waves had scattered piles of soft sand upon the shore. In that auspicious place the breeze, bearing the fragrance of blooming kunda and mandara flowers, attracted many bees, and the abundant rays of the autumn moon dispelled the darkness of night. Their heartache vanquished by the ecstasy of seeing Krishna, the gopis, like the personified Vedas before them, felt their desires completely fulfilled. For their dear friend Krishna they arranged a seat with their shawls which were smeared with the kunkuma powder from their breasts. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for whom the great masters of mystic meditation arrange a seat within their hearts, took His seat in the assembly of gopis. His transcendental body, the exclusive abode of beauty and opulence within the three worlds, shone brilliantly as the gopis worshiped Him. Sri Krishna had awakened romantic desires within the gopis, and they honored Him by glancing at Him with playful smiles, gesturing amorously with their eye- brows, and massaging His hands and feet as they held them in their laps. Even while worshiping Him, however, they felt somewhat angry, and thus they addressed Him as follows.
[The gopis said:] Some people reciprocate the affection only of those who are affectionate toward them, while others show affection even to those
who are indifferent or inimical. And yet others will not show affection toward anyone. Dear Krishna, please properly explain this matter to us.
[The Supreme Personality of Godhead said:] So-called friends who show affection for each other only to benefit themselves are actually selfish. They have no true friendship, nor are they following the true principles of religion. Indeed, if they did not expect benefit for themselves, they would not reciprocate. My dear slender-waisted gopis, some people are genuinely merciful or, like parents, naturally affectionate. Such persons, who devotedly serve even those who fail to reciprocate with them, are following the true, faultless path of religion, and they are true well-wishers. Then there are those individuals who are spiritually self-satisfied, materially fulfilled or by nature ungrateful or simply envious of superiors. Such persons will not love even those who love them, what to speak of those who are inimical. But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopis, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else. My dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas and of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you. Therefore, My beloved gopis, please do not harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved. 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 worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore, please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.
The seven gopis mentioned so far in this chapter are the first seven of the eight principal gopis,
whose status allowed them to immediately approach Sri Krishna upon His reappearance. The äcärya quotes a verse from the Çré Vaiñëava-toñaëé that gives the names of these seven as Chandravali, Shyamala, Shaibya, Padma, Sri Radha, Lalita and Vishakha. The eighth is understood to be Bhadra. Çré Vaiñëava-toñaëé itself quotes a verse from the Skanda Puräëa that declares these eight gopis to be the principal among the three billion gopis. Detailed information about the hierarchy of gopis is available in Srila Rupa Gosvami's Ujjvala-nélamaëi
The Padma Puräëa confirms that Sri Radha is the foremost of the gopis:
yathä rädhä priyä viñëos
tasyäù kuëòaà priyaà tathä
sarva-gopéñu saivaikä
viñëor atyanta-vallabhä
"Just as Srimati Radharani is most dear to Krishna, Her bathing pond is similarly dear. Of all the gopis, She is the most beloved of the Lord."
The Båhad-gautaméya-tantra also names Srimati Radharani as Krishna's foremost consort:
devé kåñëa-mayé proktä
rädhikä para-devatä
sarva-lakñmé-mayé sarva
käntiù sammohiné parä
"The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord." (This translation is Srila Prabhupada's English rendering of Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi 4.83.)
Additional information about Sri Radha is given in the Åg-pariçiñöa (the supplement to the Åg Veda):
rädhayä mädhavo devo mädhavenaiva rädhikä/ vibhräjante janeñu. "Among all persons, it is Sri Radha in whose company Lord Madhava is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His."
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 10: The Summum Bonum » Chapter 32 » Verse 7 » Särärtha-darçiné of Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur
The highesT PeRfecTion of loving seRvice
By the disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gétä, ye yathä mäà prapadyante täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham: [Bg. 4.11] "As people approach Me, I reciprocate with them accordingly." Yet even if the Lord is approached by someone with devotion, to intensify the devotee's love the Lord may not immediately reciprocate fully. In fact, the Lord is truly reciprocating. After all, a sincere devotee always prays to the Lord, "Please help me to love You purely." Therefore the Lord's so-called neglect is actually the fulfillment of the devotee's prayer. Lord Krishna intensifies our love for Him by apparently separating Himself from us, and the result is that we achieve what we really wanted and prayed for: intense love for the Absolute Truth, Krishna. Thus Lord Krishna's apparent negligence is actually His thoughtful reciprocation and the fulfillment of our deepest and purest desire. According to the äcäryas, as Lord Krishna began to speak this verse the gopis looked at one another with squinting eyes, trying to hide the smiles breaking out on their faces. Even as Lord Krishna was speaking, the gopis had begun to realize that He was bringing them to the highest perfection of loving service.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (Bhägavata Puräëa) » Canto 10: The Summum Bonum » Chapter 32 » Verse 20 » by Disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
DevoTional seRvice in conjugal love
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Association with saintly persons is so powerful that it eradicates even the most abominable impurities from one's heart and elevates the
spirit soul to the level of complete perfection. Unfortunately, such saintly association is not always available, and thus the following instructions are given to us in this verse. Humbly pray to Radha-Krishna to overcome deceit A humble plea indicates a mood of sincere surrender and devotion, particularly when the devotee feels that he is the most wretched person with out any shelter to protect him. Srila Rupa Gosvami writes in his Sri Gandharva-samprathana-astakam:
“O Radharani! You and Lord Krishna are constantly relishing Your ambrosial amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrindavana like the intoxicated king of elephants sporting with his queen elephants. Please be compassionate upon this soul, and thus being pleased, allow me to behold Your two lotus-like faces.
“Alas, Sri Radha, O Gandharvika! Wretched and miserable, I throw myself to the ground like a stick and implore You with a choking voice to hear my plea that You kindly be pleased with me and consider me as one of Your maidservants.
“O Srimati Radharani! Your beloved Shyamasundara, Krishna, is much more charming than Lord Narayana. His beauty enchants the entire creation. You are always present on His left, embraced by His arm, and Your exquisite beauty far surpasses the beauty of Laksmidevi. Oh, when will I be able to see this Divine Couple and serve Them with all my heart?
“O my worshipable mistress, Radharani! I yearn to become Your maid-in-attendance and to dress Your transcendental form in a blue sari and to remove the ankle bells from Your lotus feet, and in this way to dress You appropriately for Your nocturnal rendezvous with Your beloved Krishna, the beautiful young son of Nanda Maharaja. I want to send You off to Your lover's tryst in the amorous groves where Your paramour awaits. O Radha, when will this wonderful opportunity be available to me?
“O Srimati Radhika! You and Lord Krishna are the finest adornment within all creation. In groves of love You lie on a bed of flowers and exchange dalliances of love. Oh, when will I be blessed to serve You and Your beloved's lotus feet?
“O Queen of Vrindavana! When will I be able to fan You with a cämara? When You and Your beloved Krishna come to relax under the tree on
the banks of Radha-kunda after becoming fatigued from Your amorous pastimes, pearls of perspiration decorate Your bodies. I wish to find You in this condition and soothe away Your weariness.
“O beautiful-eyed Radha! Sometimes You hide in a well-concealed spot within the forest groves, but Krishna somehow comes to know Your exact hiding place and naturally catches You. You suddenly suspect me of revealing Your place of concealment and begin to question me. I begin to stutter, 'It wasn't me! Chitralekha tattled on You. So please do not frown and chastise me so!' Oh, when will I be able to speak entreating words like these to You in the presence of Sri Krishna?
“When you defeat Krishna in a playful bouts of words You laughingly boast about Your victory to your girlfriends, Your sakhis. They appreciate Your victory very much and cheer You on with 'Jaya Radhe! Jaya Radhe!' Oh, When shall I become fortunate enough to participate in Your victory chorus?
“Anyone who reads this prayer with faith and love, glorifying the superexcellent character of Srimati Radharani, the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, will surely attract Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna to appear before him in person, being very much pleased with him.”
The cure for all pretentiousness, whereas the pure soul is inherently simple and honest, deceit is the living entity's overriding contamination. As soon as the jiva comes in contact with ignorance and nescience he becomes dishonest, arrogant, and yearns for worship and status, seeking deceitful ways and ever endeavoring in transient material activities. He thus distances himself from his original spiritual consciousness, or Krishna consciousness. But if that same unfortunate soul realizes that his true position is to feel himself humbler than even the straw in the street, and therefore develops the intelligence to respect others according to their positions, simultaneously taking complete shelter of the holy names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then surely he will receive the mercy of Lord Sri Krishna and concomitantly the grace of all the saintly personalities.
Devotional service in conjugal love
Srila Rupa Gosvami describes conjugal srngara-rasa in the following way:
“The fifth mellow, namely conjugal love, is the crown jewel of all spiritual mellows. First comes deep loving attraction for Krishna, which is known as madhura-rati. When this attraction
intermingles with the four ecstatic feelings of vibhava, anubhava, sattvika and vyabhicari, one can then actually taste the conjugal mellow.” For example, in the mellows of servitorship, friendship, and parenthood, a deep and steady attraction known as sthayi-bhäva mingles with the four ecstatic feelings and produces rasa, or mellow. In the conjugal mellow, Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani are the alambana principle, or the support, and Their qualities are uddipana, or stimulants to the madhura-rasa. While participating in their pastimes, the gopis and sometimes even Lord Krishna Himself manifest the eight varieties of ecstatic symptoms known as the asta-sattvika-vikaras and the thirty-three devotional sentiments known as vyabhicäri-bhävas. Thus these churn the ocean of rasa
Development of rasa
When sadhana-bhakti, or devotional service in the stage of practice, matures into bhava-bhakti, or spontaneous devotional service, it is automatically transformed into sthayi-bhava, or permanent spiritual sentiment. Later, when it intermingles with the four ecstasies of vibhava, anubhava, sattvika, and vyabhicari, rasa is produced and bhava-bhakti is transformed into prema-bhakti, or devotional service in pure love of Godhead. This is sometimes called bhakti-rasa. All of Krishna's pastimes in Vrindavana, particularly His activities with the gopis, are perfect examples of this rasa. Unalloyed devotees who are fortunate enough to be elevated to the platform of prema-bhakti-rasa first become assistants to the gopis and intensely implore Srimati Radharani to bestow Her causeless mercy. Then, a ray of hladini-sakti, Radharani's own potency, enters their hearts and the buds of prema-rasa, or loving mellows, begin to blossom. No other process for attaining prema-rasa is effective.
Paramananda, the highest happiness
By means of jnana the living entity may sometimes experience brahmananda, or the bliss of brahman realization, and thus become situated in self-realization. But without the mercy of Radharani he can never experience paramananda, or the highest spiritual happiness. For this the jiva has to pray very sincerely and humbly to attain the devotional sentiments of a resident of Vraja and become intensely greedy for such ecstasy. He then takes shelter of the sakhis, or girlfriends of Radharani, or
of their assistants, the manjaris. By serving them he gradually increases his eligibility of becoming ever more intimately connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri-Sri Radha-Krishna, and thereby his chances of rendering further direct and confidential service increase.
Obtaining the mercy of the gopis
One obtains this special grace of Srimati Radharani by receiving the mercy of Her girlfriends, and as the mercy increases, the hladini-sakti matures, eventually engaging the spirit soul in the Divine Couple's personal ecstatic service, bestowing sublime spiritual joy upon him. It is very important to note that as long as the jiva considers himself as male, he is barred from participating in such intimate devotional mellows. This realm is far beyond any bodily conception, for in the primeval spiritual state the soul receives a female form for participating in this rare mellow that has absolutely nothing in common with mundane forms, male or female. If one tries to interpolate the mundane onto the spiritual, the ensuing result is spiritual suicide, disastrous for real transcendental life.
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