Sri Bhagavata Rahasya (Secret Truths of the Bhagavatam) -4
Posted in Labels: Sri Bhagavata Rahasya (Secret Truths of the Bhagavatam) -4
tears; He is so merciful. So you should chant and remember.
This is the
process—to remember all the pastimes in such a deep way.
When you
are reading, these symptoms may manifest. For this reason
Swam…j…
came. He was very merciful. He wanted to make you all
qualified like
this. However, he saw that you had so many other desires,
jungles of
desires and misconceptions, and so he began to cut them. He
wanted
to make the ground fertile, but he left something for me in
order that
I can serve him. He left me this service and told me, “Now
you should
go and tell them. Among them, some are very qualified. If
they will
hear, they will certainly develop some qualification for
these moods.”
That is why I came. I have no desire to gain money or
prestige. I have
not come to quarrel with anyone, nor to make any disciples.
On the
other hand, if anyone accepts these views, they are
disciples.
v€co vegaˆ manasaƒ krodha-vegaˆ
jihv€-vegam udaropastha-vegam
et€n veg€n yo viaheta dh…raƒ
sarv€m ap…m€ˆ pthiv…ˆ sa iy€t
(®r… Upade€mta, 1)
“A wise and self-composed person who can subdue the impetus
to
speak, the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the
vehemence
of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the agitation of
the genitals,
can instruct the entire world. In other words, all persons
may become
disciples of such a self-controlled person.”
Sarv€m ap…m€m pthiv…ˆ sa iy€t. Such a person is actually jagat-guru—
just as Swam…j… is jagat-guru, and his Gurudeva is jagat-guru,
visva-guru.
He is guru of all the three worlds, as is ®r…la R™pa
Gosv€m…. We are
therefore so fortunate to be in this disciplic line. Try to
remember these
things. All friends and neighbors are not so dear like
this. They cannot
help. But you can help them. You can nourish and support
them,
but don’t be entangled. You can do your duty, but always
think like
this and try to develop your KŠa consciousness. Gaura-premanande!
The Glory of Govardhana
(Devotees perform a drama about Govardhana.)
This was a good drama. It reminded us of the pastimes of
that KŠa
who lifted Govardhana and saved all the gopas and
Vrajav€s…s. One
may serve so many demigods, only for worldly benefit. But
these
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
84
demigods, like Indra, Brahma and others, may have some
false ego.
And actually they are not giving the fruits. KŠa gives
all the fruits. So
why not surrender to KŠa? Girir€ja is none other than KŠa
Himself,
and he is also the servant of KŠa—both. However, we will
achieve
more benefit if we think that Girir€ja is the servant of KŠa.
If he is
KŠa, he cannot give so much; but if he is a servant, he
can give love
and affection for KŠa as the araya, the devotee,
the abode of love.
Girir€ja can give love and affection under the guidance of
the
gop…s. He can give
this, but for KŠa it is very difficult to give it. This
is because Govardhana is also a part, or manifestation of
R€dhik€—
not only KŠa. Alhough he was seen as catur-bhuja,
a four-armed
N€r€yaŠa manifestation of KŠa, actually he is a servant
and he can
give everything to anyone.
pramada-madana-l…l€ƒ kandare kandare te
racayati nava-y™nor-dvandvam asminn-amandam
iti kila kalan€rtham lagna-kastad-dvayor me
nija-nika˜a-niv€saˆ dehi govardhana! tvam
(®r…
Govardhana-V€sa-Pr€rthana-Daakam 2)
“O Govardhana! Please grant me a dwelling by your side so
that I can
easily witness and serve the youthful lovers ®r… R€dh€-KŠa
as They
perform newer and newer secret, amorous l…l€s within
your many
caves. They become completely maddened from drinking prema.
You
are present with Them, making everything possible for
Them.” (G…
ti-guccha Song-Book)
All the very secret pastimes of KŠa with the gopas and
especially with
the gop…s, and all the very beautiful kuñjas like
Tamalkuñja, Malatikuñja
and so on are there in Govardhana. Wherever KŠa and the gop…s
decorate
each other and do vil€sa (pastimes), the gop…s arrange
the kuñjas.
Govardhana is the witness to all of these very secret
things. He can
sprinkle his mercy on us so that we may also become like
the gop…s. Only
Govardhana, R€dh€-kuŠa, ®y€ma-kuŠa, Yamun€, Lalit€, Vi€kh€
and R™pa-mañjar… are qualified to give this. Sometimes they
give some
authority to Gop…vara Mah€deva so that he can also
contribute in this
way. Vnda-dev… and Yogam€y€ are also fully expert at
giving this. No
one else can give it. Therefore, if you serve Girir€ja
Govardhana, who
is witness to these pastimes, he can also reveal them to
you.
yatraiva kŠo vabh€nu-putry€
d€naˆ gh…tuˆ kalahaˆ vitene
KŠa Leaves Vnd€vana
85
ruteƒ sph€ yatra mahaty ataƒ r…-
govardhano me diat€m abhi˜am
(®r… Govardhana-€˜aka)
“Demanding a road-tax, KŠa quarreled for several hours at
Dan
Gati with the daughter of Vabh€nu Mah€r€ja. Rasika-bhaktas
visiting
Govardhana are eager to listen to that sweet prema quarrel.
May that
Govardhana fulfill my desire so that I can also hear that
verbal battle.”
(G…ti-Guccha Song-book)
KŠa was taking dana, tax, from the gop…s.
The gop…s were quarreling.
They also collected tax from KŠa, and He was bound to
give it.
In this way, there are so many pastimes witnessed by
Govardhana.
Tomorrow we will remember and worship Girir€ja Govardhana,
and
offer him many preparations. By this service he may be
merciful to
us, to sprinkle upon us the realization and service of the
pastimes of
R€dh€ and KŠa.
87
Chapter Six
The Fortune of the Gop…s The Fortune of the Gop…s
Exclusive Greed to Serve KŠa
Again, come along with me. We should go to Mathur€. KŠa
and
Baladeva are now there, invited by Kaˆsa through Akr™ra.
Kaˆsa
wanted to murder KŠa and he therefore has made an arena.
And
when KŠa came with His many cowherd boyfriends and heard
the sound of the drums, He wanted to enter that arena. The
elephant
Kuvalay€p…da tried to kill Him there, and KŠa quickly
finished that
elephant. He then entered the arena carrying its tusk,
stained with
drops of blood, on His shoulder. KŠa and Balarama
appeared very
beautiful, like two baby lions; They had no fear at all
when They
entered the arena.
C€Š™ra, Mu˜ika, and other wrestlers were waiting to fight
with
Them. C€Š™ra and Mu˜ika forcibly took KŠa and Baladeva
Prabhu
and wrestled with Them. KŠa and Balarama at once killed
the
wrestlers, and then wanted to jump up on Kaˆsa’s throne.
Nanda B€b€
was there, and Vasudeva, Devak… and Ugrasena Mah€r€ja were
also
brought there from jail. Prior to KŠa and Balarama
killing C€Š™ra
and Mu˜ika, they had been very much afraid, thinking, “Now
KŠa
will be killed—because He is a baby boy. And Baladeva is
also like a
baby. They will both be destroyed here.”
At that time the wives of the Mathur€ Y€davas stood up and
said,
“Kali has come here, and adharma, irreligion, has
also come. We should
not be here. If we remain it means we endorse these things.
We should
not accept this, otherwise sin will also come to us. We
must give up
our seats and go from this place.
“ The gop…s are so fortunate, and we are
unfortunate. KŠa is
really the most beautiful person in the whole world—the
essence of
all beauty. All madhurya, sweetness, is in Him. But
we are unfortunate.
We see KŠa and Baladeva here, but KŠa is now wrestlng
with these
demons. He is somewhat angry, and He is in v…ra-rasa, a
chivalrous
mood. We see Him like a lion in a cage. But oh, how
fortunate are
the gop…s who see Him when He is in Vnd€vana” (like
a lion freely
roaming in the forest).
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
88
puŠy€ bata vraja-bhuvo yad ayaˆ n-li‰ga
g™hah pur€Ša-puruo vana-citra-m€lyaƒ
g€ƒ p€layan saha-balaƒ kvaŠayaˆ ca veŠuˆ
vikr…ay€ñcati giritra-ram€rcit€Šghriƒ
(SB 10.44.13)
“How pious are the tracts of land in Vraja, for there the
primeval
Personality of Godhead, disguising Himself with human
traits,
wanders about, enacting His many pastimes! Adorned with
wonderfully variegated forest garlands, He whose feet are
worshipped
by Lord ®iva and goddess Ram€ vibrates His flute as He
tends the cows
in the company of Balarama.”
PuŠy€ bata vraja-bhuvo means
that in this world Vrajabhumi is certainly
more exalted and glorious than any other place. Why?
Because KŠa
is there in Vnd€vana. This glory is not only due to KŠa.
It is due to
the gop…s, and ®r…mat… R€dhik€ is especially there
among them. She is
the essence of everything. She is the essence of KŠa’s madhurya—
His
beauty, sweetness, and all His other qualities. In all the
three worlds,
therefore, Vrajabhumi is supreme. N-li‰ga g™haƒ
pur€Ša-puruo
vana-citra-m€lyaƒ. The
Pur€Ša-purua, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, KŠa, is there; all this is written here in this
verse, in a
hidden, secret way.
…varaƒ paramaƒ kŠaƒ
sac-cid-€nanda-vigrahaƒ
an€dir €dir govindaƒ
sarva-k€raŠa-k€raŠam
(Brahma-samhita 5.1)
KŠa moves here and there, walking and playing with the
cowherdboys
like friends. He is also with the Vraja ladies in a
son-and-mother
relationship. G€ƒ p€layan means He always nourishes
and supports the
cows. G€ƒ has many meanings. One meaning refers to
all the senses,
and that is why KŠa is called Hikea. It also means
cows, Vedas, and
all kinds of religious knowledge. KŠa always supports and
nourishes
them all. Saha-balaƒ means with Baladeva Prabhu. Kvanayaˆ
ca veŠuˆ
means playing sweetly on the venu. By the sweet
sound of this venu
KŠa attracts the whole world. Vik…ay€Šcati means
that He always
plays in Vnd€vana, Gokula, Nandag€on, and Varana.
nam€m…varaˆ sac-cid-€nanda-r™paˆ
lasat-kuŠalam gokule bhr€jam€nam
The Fortune of the Gop…s
89
O, yaod€-bhiyol™khal€d-dh€vam€naˆ
par€m˜am atyaˆ tato drutya gopy€
I worship the Supreme Ivara, ®r… KŠa, whose form is
saccid€nanda,
whose fish-shaped earrings swing and play upon His cheeks,
who is
supremely splendrous in the transcendental dh€ma known
as Gokula,
who, due to breaking the yogurt pots, is very fearful of
Mother Yasoda
and jumping down from the wooden grinding mortar quickly
runs
away, and who, chased by Yaod€ running very quicky after
Him, is
ultimately caught from behind.
KŠa always plays there like a boy—not like God, not like
four-handed
KŠa of Dv€rak€ and Mathur€. Giritra means ®a‰kara.
®a‰kara,
Brahma and Ram€, Lakm… herself, want to serve the lotus
feet of
KŠa. She wants to worship KŠa, but she does not have
the chance.
She has to remain on the other side of the Yamuna, in
Belvana. There
was no entrance at all for her. Although she was charmed by
KŠa,
and although she left her husband N€r€yaŠa in VaikuŠ˜ha and
came to
Belvana with a greed that, “I must be in Vnd€vana,
playing, dancing
and singing in r€sa-l…l€,” she was stopped by
Yogam€y€. Yogam€y€
said, “O, you cannot come. First you will have to become a gop…,
marry
with a gopa, and then you can come; otherwise not.”
Lakm… replied, “This is a very big problem. I cannot
change my
husband. I’m a br€hmaŠi.”
“Then you should remain here,” Yogam€y€ declared.
®a‰kara also wanted to worship that KŠa. He was somewhat
tricky. He came to the border of Vnd€vana and worshipped
Yogam€y€. Yogam€y€ came and asked, “What do you want?”
“O mother, Yogam€y€, I want to see KŠa’s r€sa dance
in
Vnd€vana.”
“Have you performed any austerities to achieve this?”
“No, I have not done anything.”
By her causeless mercy she quickly took ®a‰kara and dipped
him
in Brahma-kunda. When he came out he was in the form of a
very
beautiful gop…, a teenager of sixteen years. Then Yogam€y€
said, “You
may remain here and watch.”
Later, when r€sa was being performed, KŠa told the
gop…s, “Today
My interest is not so great. I do not have much
enthusiasm.”
The gop…s replied, “Why? Is there some defect? A vij€tiya,
outsider,
has come?” They began to search, and at last they saw a new
gop… in
a grove.
They caught hold of her and asked, “Who are you? What is
your
name?” Yogam€y€ had never given her a name, so that new gop…
could
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
90
not give an answer. “What is the name of your husband?” She
had not
been married with any gopa, and again she could not
reply.
“Who is your father?” Yogam€y€ had not given all these
things,
and therefore the new gop… could not give any answer
to any question.
All the gop…s began to slap her. Her cheeks became
very swollen and
she began to cry, “O Yogam€y€, save me, save me.”
At once Yogam€y€ came and requested KŠa and the gop…s,
“She
is my disciple. Please be merciful.” That gop… then
became Gop…vara
Mah€deva. She was allowed to see the r€sa-l…l€ from
very far away,
but she was not allowed to participate.
KŠa is therefore so much greater than all others. Your gurudeva
has given you a relation with that KŠa,
Gop…-jana-vallabha. You are
so fortunate. Only by chanting the gop€la-mantra and
k€ma-g€yatr…,
with a mood of relationship with KŠa, can you become a gop…
and
go to Vraja. Otherwise there is no way. This was told by
®r… Caitanya
Mah€prabhu to ®r… R€ya R€m€nanda, ®r… Svar™pa D€modara, ®r…
San€tana Gosvam…, ®r… R™pa Gosvam…, and all His iyas (disciples).
You are so fortunate to come in this line. So don’t be
weak; never be
weak. Many problems will come, but be like the Himalayas,
Mount
Everest, and the Alps. Don’t go here and there. Always
serve KŠa.
The Ladies of Mathur€ Glorify KŠa and the Gop…s
gopyas tapaƒ kim acaran yad amuya r™paˆ
l€vaŠya-s€ram asamordhvam ananya-siddham
dgbhiƒ pibanty anusav€bhinavaˆ dur€pam
ek€nta-dh€ma yaasaƒ r…ya aivarasya
(SB 10.44.14)
“What austerities must the gop…s have performed!
With their eyes they
always drink the nectar of Lord KŠa’s form, which is the
essence of
loveliness and is not to be equalled or surpassed. That
loveliness is the
only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is
self-perfect, ever-fresh
and extremely rare.”
The ladies of Mathur€ glorified the gop…s: “The gop…s
are so fortunate.
What sacrifices and tapa, austerities, must they
have performed in their
past life? If we find out, then we must also perform them.”
Do you know what the gop…s did in the past to have
become gop…s?
Nothing. They are k€yavy™ha, bodily manifestations,
of R€dhik€. They
are not siddha-bhaktas. Some of them, however, are
not k€yavy™ha. For
The Fortune of the Gop…s
91
lakhs and lakhs of
births they were practicing austerities and chanting
the gop€la-mantra and k€ma-g€yatr… in DaŠakaraŠya
forest. When ®r…
Caitanya Mah€prabhu came to this world He said that in one
birth
you can be like this. You will not have to do so much
practice for
lakhs and lakhs of
births. That is why He sent ®r… R™pa-Raghun€tha,
®r…la Bhaktivinoda μh€kura, ®r…la Swam…j… and others. He
sent them
to teach that if you want to be like this, you will not
have to do so
many austerities, as the is did in DaŠakaranya.
Anyone whom ®r…
Caitanya Mah€prabhu glanced upon began to chant, “O KŠa,
KŠa,
KŠa, R€dhe, R€dhe.” So you are very fortunate. But be
fortunate.
Try to take advantage of your good fortune.
The Mathur€ ladies continued, “Certainly the gop…s are
the most
glorious in the whole world, because they are tasting the
honey of
KŠa’s beauty—l€vaŠya s€ram, His luster.” Even if
one is black, no
harm, but there must be l€vaŠya, luster, coming from
within, as it
does in pearls. This is beauty. KŠa is blackish, but l€vaŠya
s€ram,
the essence of beauty, was emanating from within His body.
In India
we say, mukha ka pani, meaning l€vaŠy€. There
is no need for KŠa to
wear ornaments or beautiful garments. Nothing is needed. If
there is
a spot of ink here and there on KŠa’s body, it will be
very beautiful.
In fact, it will make Him appear more beautiful. If He is
covered with
powder-like cows’ dust, He becomes still more beautiful.
And if He
is naked, oh, He is even more beautiful. In any condition,
KŠa’s
beauty always increases.
Dgbhiƒ pibanty. The gop…s
always drink the sweetness of the nectar
of KŠa’s beauty. Dgbhiƒ pibanty anusav€bhinavaˆ
dur€pam ek€ntadh€
ma yaasaƒ r…ya aivarasya. KŠa is the abode of all yaa, glories and
fame, r…ya, beauty, and aivarya, all
varieties of opulence, sweetness,
mercy and every other good quality.
You should know that your bhajan…ya, worshipable
deity, is not a
very ordinary person. The Mathur€ ladies say, “The gop…s
are the most
worshipable for us. They drink all of KŠa’s honey-like
beauty. But
here in Mathur€ we see KŠa surrounded by so many enemies,
and
He is in a somewhat angry mood, wrestling with others. We
are not
fortunate to see KŠa like the gop…s see Him. The gop…s
are so glorious
that their minds and tongues are the chariot of KŠa.” How
is this?
y€ dohane ‘vahanane mathanopalepa
pre‰khenkhan€rbha-ruditokaŠa-m€rjan€dau
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
92
g€yanti cainam anurakta-dhiyo ‘ru-kaƒ˜hyo
dhany€ vraja-striya urukrama-citta-y€n€ƒ
(SB 10.44.15)
“The ladies of Vraja are the most fortunate of women
because, with
their minds fully attached to KŠa and their throats
always choked
up with tears, they constantly sing about Him while milking
the cows,
winnowing grain, churning butter, gathering cow dung for
fuel, riding
on swings, taking care of their crying babies, sprinkling
the ground
with water, cleaning their houses, and so on. By their
exalted KŠa
consciousness they automatically acquire all desirable
things.”
Try to follow what the gop…s are doing. Y€ dohane.
When they milk the
cows they sing, “Govinda D€modara Madhaveti, Govinda
D€modara
Madhaveti.” Avahanane. When they winnow or thrash
with a mussel1
and oakle, any grain, like rice and wheat, they do it in a
rhythm. When
the mussel goes down, it sounds like a mda‰ga.
Their bracelets are very
sweet sounding like karat€las, and they sing very
sweetly, “Govinda
D€modara Madhaveti, Govinda D€modara Madhaveti.” Plenty of
milk
has been made into dahi, yogurt, and is kept in big
vessels. The gop…s
are churning and singing, “Govinda D€modara Madhaveti,
Govinda
D€modara Madhaveti.” There is no problem at all for them.
Nothing
is a problem. Absorbed in singing, they simply remember the
pastimes
of KŠa and do mathanopalepa, churn butter. Even if
KŠa comes they
don’t notice Him. So KŠa says, “O maiy€, maiy€, maiy€.
What are you
doing?” Tears fall due to love and affection, all their
bodily hairs stand
on end, and their hearts melt. All the gop…s are
like this.
Upalepa. They are
brooming their houses. Their hands are working,
but their minds are also working. What are their minds and
tongues
doing? “Govinda D€modara Madhaveti, Govinda D€modara
Madhaveti.” Some boys are weeping, “Mother, mother.” The
mothers at
once pick them up, put them on the bed, and sing, “Govinda
D€modara
Madhaveti, Govinda D€modara Madhaveti.” They were not
saying,
“You should sleep, you should sleep, you should sleep.”
They are not
telling a story or singing a lullaby. They are simply
singing KŠa’s
names. Hearing their very good tune the children fall
asleep, and then
again they begin to churn and sing, “Govinda D€modara
Madhaveti,
Govinda D€modara Madhaveti...”
Anurakta-dhiyo. Their
hearts were quite absorbed in remembrance
of KŠa. Aru means continuous tears, and kaŠ˜hyaƒ
means choked
voice. Dhany€ vraja-striya. The ladies of Mathur€
are saying, “O, how
1 A plow like tool used for separating the grains from the
husks.
The Fortune of the Gop…s
93
glorious are these gop…s.” Dhany€ƒ means very
fortunate. “We are not
fortunate. We do not see KŠa in this way. We cannot be
like that
here.” Urukrama-citta-y€n€ƒ. Urukrama refers to KŠa’s
always sitting
very happily on the throne or chariot of the gop…s’
minds. It also means
that the gop…s are always sitting on the throne of KŠa’s
mind. KŠa
always remembers them. Why? He must be where the bhakta sings,
and therefore He is always there with the gop…s. The
gop…s are always
there in the mind of KŠa. How fortunate they are.
pr€tar vraj€d vrajata €viata ca s€yaˆ
gobhiƒ samaˆ kvaŠayato ‘sya niamya veŠum
nirgamya t™rŠam abal€ƒ pathi bh™ri-puŠy€ƒ
payanti sa-smita-mukhaˆ sa-day€valokam
(SB 10.44.16)
“When the gop…s hear KŠa playing His flute as He
leaves Vraja in the
morning with His cows or returns with them at sunset, the
young girls
quickly come out of their houses to see Him. They must have
performed
many pious activities to be able to see Him as He walks on
the road,
His smiling face mercifully glancing upon them.”
“O, how fortunate are the gop…s. Very early in the
morning, at about
nine, KŠa comes out from Yaod€’s house with lakhs and
lakhs of
friends and lakhs and lakhs of cows, and goes
to the forest to cowherd.
At that time the gop…s are either on the roofs of
their houses, or at
their windows, at their doors, or here and there in the
groves of their
gardens. They are very anurakta, absorbed in KŠa,
and they are taking
darana of Him. When
He returns from cow-grazing in the evening,
they all see Him again and they are so happy. What is KŠa
doing?
Sometimes He comes very nearby and touches them on their
chins
with His murli or venu flute.
“Having taken all their hearts, KŠa enters Vraja. At that
time
Yaod€maiy€ performs €rati. By their eyes, all the gop…s
perform a better
€rati than Yaod€maiy€,
and KŠa accepts it, smiling. Therefore the
gop…s are so
glorious.” Who is glorifying whom? Mathur€ is glorifying
Vraja. The gop…s have never gone to Mathur€, and
none of the ladies
of Mathur€ have ever come to Vraja. KŠa only sent one of
the
Mathur€vas…s, Uddhava, to see the glories of the gop…s,
Nanda B€b€,
Yaod€ and all the other Vrajav€s…s.
After killing CaŠura and Mu˜ika, KŠa at last killed
Kaˆsa. Then
KŠa and Baladeva came to where Nanda B€b€ was sitting on
his
bullock cart in a town just outside Mathur€. While waiting
for Them
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
94
he had been thinking, “When They come I will take Them both
and
we will return to Vnd€vana.”
On the first day after the killing of Kaˆsa all the
Mathur€vas…s
were with KŠa and Baladeva. Although They were always
thinking
about Nanda B€b€, They had no chance to meet him. So Nanda
B€b€
and the cowherd boys remained waiting. One day passed, and then
two days. On the third day KŠa and Baladeva somehow came
at
night. Baladeva Prabhu sat on Nanda B€b€’s right side, and
KŠa sat
on his left. Nanda B€b€ was weeping bitterly. He asked,
“What have
You decided? Have You decided that You the are the son of
Vasudeva
and Devak…?”
“No, father; We cannot decide that. How could We decide
that?
Even in Our dreams We cannot think like this.” Both KŠa
and
Baladeva were weeping loudly, and Nanda B€b€ was also
weeping.
At last Baladeva Prabhu said, “B€b€, I want to come to
Vraja with
KŠa and you.”
Nanda B€b€ said, “Oh, I cannot take You. I’m not so cruel.
You
must remain here for some days. All of Devak… and
Vasudeva’s sons
have been killed by Kaˆsa. Now You alone are alive, so You
should
remain here.”
Baladeva replied, “Without KŠa I cannot live anywhere for
a
moment. I will die.”
Nanda B€b€ asked KŠa, “What should I do? What should I
do?”
KŠa answered, “Father, if you request, I will remain here
for
some days with Baladeva Prabhu. If Baladeva leaves now,
then His
father and mother, Vasudeva and Devak…, and all the
Mathur€vas…s
will die. So I think it’s better that I remain with Him
here. After some
time, when everyone is pacified, I will quickly return.
They are your
friends. I have no relationship with them other than that
they are your
friends and you are My father.”
Here Vivan€tha Cakravart… μh€kura puts forth a purva-paka,
a
question one asks before he himself answers it. He asks,
“If KŠa
is the son of Nanda and Yaod€, not of Vasudeva and Devak…,
how
could He remain there in Mathur€?” Anyone would want to
live in a
place where he receives more and more love and affection,
whether
he is a person’s son or not. The question of whether one is
a son or not
is secondary. If one receives very much high-class love and
affection
anywhere, he will like to be there. Undoubtedly all the
Vrajavas…s love
KŠa and Baladeva so much more than anyone else—anywhere
else.
Yet, it has been told in ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam that
Nanda B€b€ returned
The Fortune of the Gop…s
95
without KŠa and Baladeva. This is true, and it is also
true that KŠa
never leaves Vnd€vana. How can we reconcile this?
V€sudeva-KŠa and Vrajendra-nandana KŠa
Now you will have to reconcile it. When Nanda B€b€ was
weeping,
KŠa and Baladeva each became two forms. One was for prakata-l…
l€ (manifest pastimes)
and the other for aprakata-l…l€ (unmanifest
pastimes). In prakata-l…l€ KŠa and Baladeva were
in Mathur€, but
Their aprakata-l…l€ forms returned with Nanda Bab€
to Vnd€vana. The
son of Yaod€ and Nanda B€b€, Vrajendra-nandana KŠa,
returned
with Nanda B€b€. Actually, that Vrajendra-nandana KŠa
never comes
to Mathur€. His manifestation, V€sudeva-KŠa, comes. So
Nanda
B€b€ took KŠa and Baladeva with him on his bullock cart,
but that
scene was not seen by anyone. In another bullock cart a
manifestation of
Nanda B€b€ was feeling great separation and was weeping,
weeping,
weeping. He returned to Vnd€vana without KŠa and
Baladeva.
®r…la Vivan€tha Cakravart… μh€kura has reconciled all
these very
secret truths, and only the most exalted devotees can
realize them.
Otherwise, without this reconciliation, all the gopas and
gop…s would
have died at once, in a moment, and Yaod€maiy€ also. So
there are
two lil€s or pastimes there simultaneously, apr€kata-l…l€
and prakata-l…l€.
Now I’m coming to the point. What I told over these past
six days
was only an introduction. I want to give you some nectar of
the love of
the gop…s, which even Uddhava could not taste. He
could only return
to KŠa and glorify them.
As I have already explained, KŠa went to gurukula.
After this, one
day He was sitting on the roof of His palace. Devak… and
Vasudeva and
all of His other relatives were there, but KŠa alone went
to the roof
and looked towards Vnd€vana, north of Mathur€. He became
so sad
and began to weep bitterly. He saw through the eyes of His
emotions
that His mother was also weeping so bitterly that she had
become
blind. All the cows were dying, and so many were just on
the verge
of death. None of the calves were taking milk from the
udders of their
mothers. Now the cuckoos were not singing, and even the
peacocks
were not dancing, because KŠa was not there. Looking at
all these
things, KŠa began to cry, “O Yaod€maiy€! O Nanda B€b€!”
He
became immersed in separation, crying, “O gop…s, O
R€dhe, O Lalite.”
In the meantime KŠa’s bosom friend Uddhava came. He had
been searching for KŠa, and now he saw Him sitting there
and
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
96
weeping very bitterly. The Bh€gavatam (SB 10.46.1)
states: vŠ…n€ˆ
pravaro. Uddhava was
the highest in rank, the best in every respect,
in all of Mathur€. He was the most intelligent of all the
Y€davas.
He was KŠa’s prime minister. He was dayitaƒ, very
near and dear
to KŠa, sakha, His friend, iya, His
disciple, and bhaspateƒ s€k€d
iya, the direct disciple of Bhaspati. He is said to be
like Bhaspati,
but actually he is greater than Bhaspati because Bhaspati
is only the
priest of the demigods.
KŠa took Uddhava’s hands and put them in His own hands.
Uddhava wanted to pacify Him, but he had no words to pacify
Him.
“Why is KŠa weeping? For whom is He weeping?” At that
time he did
not know the glories of the gop…s. Therefore he could not
realize what
was the virah€nala, separation fire, in KŠa. KŠa’s
heart was burning
and no one was qualified to save Him. So He was burning,
burning
and burning. Uddhava asked, “Why, friend, are You weeping?”
KŠa said: gacchoddhava vrajaˆ saumya pitror nau pr…tim
€vaha gop…
n€ˆ mad-viyog€dhiˆ mat-sandeair vimocaya—(SB 10.46.3)
“Uddhava,
you are My friend, you are My prime minister and you are My
all in
all. In some respects you are more dear to Me than Baladeva
Prabhu,
what to say of Lakm…, and others more dear. You are My
heart, I am
your heart, and I don’t know anyone but you. So I’m telling
this secret
thing to you only. You should go to Vraja, Vnd€vana,
Nandag€on, O
saumya.” Saumya means soft and pleasing like the moon.
Saumya pitror nau. KŠa says, pitror nau, meaning ‘our
father.’ He
may say, ‘My father’, but why would He say, ‘our father?’
It is because
He thinks that Uddhava is His brother. And who is their
father? Pitror
here means both mother and father, and is used for Yaod€
and Nanda
B€b€. KŠa is in Mathur€, in the palace of Vasudeva and
Devak…, and
they are present there. But still He is telling Uddhava,
“My father and
My mother, Nanda and Yaod€, are very unhappy, feeling
separation
like a fire. You must go there”. Pr…tim €vaha: “You should
pacify them.”
If KŠa is the son of Vasudeva and Devak…, why would He
say
this? Uddhava is now thinking, “I know that KŠa is the
son of
Vasudeva and Devak…, but why is He speaking like this? It
may be
that He is only partly the son of Vasudeva and Devak…, but
fully the
son of Nanda and Yaod€.”
®r…la Sw€m…j… has sometimes, in the beginning, written that
KŠa was the adopted son of Nanda and Yaod€. But after
that he
has explained this understanding. He is a follower of ®r…
®ukadeva
Gosv€m…. He knew this fact from the beginning, and
gradually, like
The Fortune of the Gop…s
97
®ukadeva Gosv€m…, he disclosed it. All Vrajav€s…s know
definitely
that KŠa is the son of Nanda and Yaod€, not Vasudeva and
Devak….
At this time Uddhava became astonished. “Oh, now KŠa is
admitting that He is the son of Nanda and Yaod€. I must
pacify them.”
Why has KŠa first mentioned His mother and father? He
wanted
Uddhava to know, “My mother and father are so dear to Me.
But a
greater secret is that My most dear are the gop…s.” This is
why He
spoke in this way. Gop…n€m mad-viyog€dhiˆ mat-sandeair
vimocaya:
“You should go and take My message to the gop…s. They are
feeling so
much separation—more than Nanda and Yaod€. So you should
go
and pacify them—not with your logic, not with your tattva,
not with
your intelligence. By what? One can pacify someone else
only by giving
them My words, mat-sandeair, My message. You should repeat
it as it
is, as I’m telling it, not mixing it with anything else,
and not missing
a single word. Go to the gop…s and give them My message.
Then they
may be pacified.”
KŠa Glorifies the Gop…s
KŠa is admiring and glorifying the gop…s with His own
mouth:
t€ man-manask€ ˜˜-pr€Š€
mad-arthe tyakta-daihik€ƒ
m€m eva dayitaˆ prestam
€tm€naˆ manas€ gat€ƒ
yetyakta-loka-dhara ca
mad-arthe t€n bibharmy aham
(SB 10.46.4)
“The minds of those gop…s are always absorbed in Me, and
their very
lives are ever devoted to Me. For My sake they have
abandoned
everything related to their bodies, renouncing ordinary
happiness in
this life, as well as religious duties necessary for such
happiness in
the next life.”
Here is the glory of the gop…s. KŠa Himself accepts and
reveals this.
I think there is no one in this whole world who can glorify
the gop…s
like KŠa. Only He can glorify them. But even He cannot
aptly glorify
them. That is why He took the beauty and mood of R€dhik€—to
understand their glories. He made Vi€kh€-dev… His ik€-guru
and
through her He learned something. Then, in His form of ®r…
Caitanya
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
98
Mah€prabhu, He could glorify R€dhik€ and the gop…s even
more than
in His form as KŠa. Only ®r… Caitanya Mah€prabhu could do
this. If
Caitanya Mah€prabhu had not descended to this world, no one
would
have any idea how to glorify KŠa, the gop…s, and
especially R€dh€.
®r… Caitanya Mah€prabhu gave this gift, and we are so lucky
to have
come in His line.
KŠa describes all the gop…s as t€ man-manask€. “They have
engaged
their entire minds. They are totally absorbed in Me and
nothing else,
throughout the day and night, twenty-four hours.”
How? You should tell the story in brief.
(A devotee relates this story which appears in Nectar of
Govinda-L…l€. A
newly married gop… wanted to see KŠa, but her
mother-in-law would not
allow her. She peeked from behind the door. KŠa arranged
a calf to run in
her direction. He followed that “stray” calf, came close to
the gopi and stole
her heart. After that she was out of her mind. When she was
asked to churn
yogurt, she churned mustard seeds. When she was asked to
fetch water and had
a small baby to look after, she was going to put the baby
in the well, thinking
the baby was the water pot; but someone stopped her.)
Man-manask€ ˜˜-pr€n€. μ˜-pr€Š€ means, “I am their
pr€Ša, life.”
It is for this reason that, when KŠa left Vnd€vana and
went to
Mathur€, the gop…s would have died without Him. But they
did not
die. Why? Because KŠa was their life. Mat-pr€Š€ also means,
“All
the gop…s are My life, My priya, dear ones.” Mad-arthe
tyakta-daihik€ƒ.
“For Me they have given up all their deha and
daihik€ƒ—their bodily
conception of life and all those things in relation to
their bodies, like
their decorations, their taking of food, and all other
activities.” M€m
eva dayitam: “I am their only beloved; no one else.”
Prestam: “I am their
dearmost.” Manas€ gataƒ: “They are totally absorbed in Me.”
Yetyaktaloka-
dharm€ ca mad-arthe t€n bibharmy aham: “They have given up
all
their shyness, dharma, varŠ€rama-dharma, husbands, and
everything
else for Me. Therefore I must support and nourish them. I
must nourish
and serve at all times those who have left everything for
Me.”
This is KŠa’s promise. Always remember this. If you are giving
up all worldly things, always remembering KŠa and
remaining
absorbed in Him, you should not be in any doubt that He
will surely
support and nourish you. Therefore do not be worried about
your
support, nourishment or anything else. We depend on our relatives,
but at the time of death they cannot save us. Only KŠa
can save us.
KŠa is saying, “I must support and nourish them. That is
why,
Uddhava, you must go there.”
The Fortune of the Gop…s
99
mayi t€ƒ preyas€ˆ pre˜he
d™ra-sthe gokula-striyaƒ
smarantyo ‘‰ga vimuhyanti
virahautkaŠ˜hya-vihval€ƒ
(SB 10.46.5)
“My dear Uddhava, for those women of Gokula I am the most
cherished
object of love. Thus, when they remember Me who am so far
away, they
are overwhelmed by the anxiety of separation.”
The gop…s are here and there, feeling so much separation
mood. They
cannot perform any household duty and they do not even take
any
remnants of pras€da. They are always waiting. For what? KŠa
has
promised, “I’m coming the day after tomorrow.” They are all
waiting
only for that. They think, “Oh, the day after tomorrow, the
day after
tomorrow. KŠa has said that when the day after tomorrow
comes...
tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.” None of the gop…s enter
their houses
in Vraja. Where are they? In the forest of Nandag€on,
Kadamba Ter,
Kadamba-kyari or Uddhava-kyari. No one can see them there.
It was
only by the grace of KŠa, or Yogam€y€, that Uddhava saw
them.
dh€rayanty ati-kcchrena
pr€yaƒ pr€Š€n kathañcana
praty€gamana-sandeair
ballavyo me mad-€tmik€ƒ
(SB 10.46.6)
“Simply because I have promised to return to them, My fully
devoted
cowherd girlfriends struggle to maintain their lives
somehow or other.”
The gop…s are keeping their life only because KŠa has
promised
to come. They know that He must come. But when will He
come?
Tomorrow, tomorrow. That is why they are waiting and
remaining
alive. They consider, “If we die, then, when KŠa comes,
He will not
see us and He will also die.” Only to please KŠa, to
ensure that He
would not be unhappy, they somehow keep their lives.
Therefore KŠa said to Uddhava, “You should go there.” He
gave him His vaijayant…-m€l€ garland, along with His golden
crown,
garments, saffron cloth, and also the golden chariot of
Kaˆsa. He
walked along the way with Uddhava, talking about the gop…s,
Nanda
B€b€ and other topics. Uddhava saw that it was becoming late,
however, so he got up on the chariot, sat there, whipped
the horses
and rode off. KŠa was still standing there, looking
towards the ratha,
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
100
chariot. After that, when the ratha was out of sight, He
looked towards
the dust which came from the wheels. When the dust also
subsided, He
was only thinking of the gop…s. Then someone came and took
Him away.
Tomorrow we will discuss how Uddhava went to Vnd€vana,
what
dialogue transpired, and what he saw there. You only have to
hear
and try to remember all these topics about the glories of
the gop…s, and
especially the glories of ®r…mat… R€dhik€. ®r… Caitanya
Mah€prabhu
came only to give this teaching. He gave it to ®r… R™pa
Gosv€m… and
®r… R™pa Gosv€m… explained it to J…va Gosv€m…. Mah€prabhu
also
explained it to ®r… San€tana Gosv€m…, and Vivan€tha
Cakravart…
μh€kura also received it. Then they expressed it in their
explanations
of ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam. Try to remember all these things.
This is called
bhajana.
Take These Teachings with You
(Devotees perform a drama about®r…la Raghun€tha d€sa
Gosv€m…’s life)
I think that our coming here to New Vraja, our classes, and
very
sweet dramas, have been successful. These classes and
dramas,
especially about the teachings of ®r…la Raghun€tha d€sa
Gosv€m…,
his life and his process of doing bhajana, will touch all
pure devotees’
hearts. Take everything with you when you return to your
homes. You
must return, but take this powerful nectar of hari-kath€.
Remember
it all, and try to do bhajana in the process of ®r…la
Raghun€tha d€sa
Gosv€m…. You can read his Manaƒ-ik€, along with the
explanation of
®rila Bhaktivinoda μh€kura, and follow the instructions of
®r… R™pa
Gosv€m…:
tan-n€ma-r™pa-carit€di-suk…rtan€nusm
tyoƒ krameŠa rasan€-manas… niyojya
ti˜han vraje tad-anur€gi jan€nug€m…
k€laˆ nayed akhilam ity upadea-s€ram
(Upade€mta 8)
“While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal
residents who possess
inherent spontaneous love for ®r… KŠa, one should utilise
all his
time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in
meticulous
chanting and remembrance of KŠa’s names, form, qualities
and
pastimes. This is the essence of all instruction.”
®r…la Raghun€tha d€sa Gosv€m… followed this loka, and you
saw in
the drama how he prayed to ®r… R™pa-mañjar…:
The Fortune of the Gop…s
101
r…-r™pa-mañjar…-kararcita-pada-padmago
thendra-nandana-bhujarpita-mastak€y€ƒ
h€ modataƒ kanaka-gauri pad€ravindasamv€
han€ni anakais tava kiˆ kariye
(Vil€pa-kusum€ñjali 72)
“O R™pa-mañjar…, when golden-complexioned R€dhik€ is laying
with
Her head in KŠa’s lap, and Her feet are in your lap, and
when you are
massaging Her feet, will you, by the corners of your eyes,
give me your
mah€-pras€dam sev€ of gently massaging Her feet while you
fan Her?”
®r…mat… R€dhik€ was keeping Her head in the lap of KŠa.
In their
siddha-deha, spiritual forms, ®r…la R™pa Gosv€m… as ®r…
R™pa-mañjar…
and ®r…la Raghun€tha d€sa Gosv€m… in the form of ®r…
Rati-mañjar…,
were there. R™pa-mañjar… called and gave Rati-mañjar… the
remnants
of her service. How glorious this is.
A strong desire or greed for the goal of life may come only
by this
association. It will never come by regulative bhakti. So
try to come in
the process of ®r… R™pa Gosv€m… and ®r… Raghun€tha d€sa
Gosv€m….
Try to follow like my brahmac€r…s here and in India. I am
proud of
them, and I will be proud if you will be ideal brahmac€r…s,
sanny€s…s,
ghasthas and lady devotees. Try to take and follow this
for your whole
life. Never deviate. Take it with you in your hearts forever.
Be very
strong. If you are weak, remember ®r… Raghun€tha d€sa
Gosv€m…, ®r…
R™pa Gosv€m… and your gurudeva, and remember how powerful
your
gurudeva is. In this way you will never deviate.
Don’t make any problems for anyone. Try to always give many
daŠas, bamboo sticks, to your mind. This mind is the root
of all evils.
Try to control the horse of the uncontrolled mind. Then
everyone will
be so happy and you will be good devotees.
103
Chapter Seven
Come with Me to
Vnd€vana Come
with Me to Vnd€vana
Pure Happiness
Come with me to Vnd€vana and Mathur€. Concentrate your
minds.
Among all human beings in the world, no one is happy or
satisfied. You
may be living in America, you may be today’s richest person
and you
may be making so much money. Your house may be full of all
kinds of
comforts and opulent paraphernalia. You may have a very
beautiful
wife and perhaps, after you were married for one or two
years, you
could pick up a new wife. You may also have very good and
qualified
children, as well as two, three, four or five dogs.
Everything may be okay—but still there are so many
problems.
Everyone is suffering, and those who are rich suffer more
than anyone.
This life is full of miseries, problems, difficulties,
sorrows, sufferings
and so many rogas, diseases. No one is free from tasting
the varieties.
I think that among you there are so many rich persons. But
can any
of you raise your hand and say, “I have never had any
problem, I’m
without problems and I’m always happy”? I remember this
morning
one of you told me, “I’m sick.” In this world, no one is
happy, whether
he is king, prime minister, president or anything else.
All j…vas want pure happiness, but it is absurd in this
m€y€-saˆs€ra
(material world). That is why all the Vedas say: sukham mai
bura, dukham
ma bhuta. We always want to be happy. We want happiness to
always
come to us, but the ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam states:
karm€Šy €rabham€Š€n€ˆ
duƒkha-hatyai sukh€ya ca
payet p€ka-vipary€saˆ
mithun…-c€riŠaˆ nŠ€m
(SB 11.3.18)
“Accepting the roles of male and female in human society,
the
conditioned souls unite in sexual relationships. Thus they
constantly
make material endeavors to eliminate their unhappiness and
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
104
unlimitedly increase their pleasure. But one should see
that they
inevitably achieve exactly the opposite result. In other
words, their
happiness inevitably vanishes, and as they grow older their
material
discomfort increases.”
Everyone in the world tries for happiness, alone, or by
mixing with
wife, husband or a whole family, and sometimes they mix
with an
assembly of united nations. However, although they try,
they cannot
check war. Because they themselves have so many problems,
they
cannot check anything. If they have so many problems, how
can they
solve others’ problems? It is therefore said that although
we try for
happiness, our sufferings are so strong that they come and
keep their
feet on our head, and we are forcibly bound to taste them.
Can you
have any remedy to escape from old age? Never. From death?
Never.
Everyone wants to be happy, but will mere wanting do?
At the same time it cannot be said that people are always
unhappy,
without even a little happiness. They may have some
happiness,
but that happiness is very small. It passes away at once,
and again
sufferings and problems come like waves. We think, “We will
solve
this problem and then we will be happy.” In the meantime,
however,
we see that even bigger problems come.
On the day of marriage you see your new bride and think,
“Oh,
very beautiful, very beautiful.” On the next day, however,
you see that
she wants ornaments and many other things. Moreover, she
will try
to control you by saying, “You should not love anyone. You
cannot
have any girlfriends. Oh, you cannot do anything.” In this
way so
many problems arise.
So in this world there is no pure happiness. Somehow we
want pure
happiness, and there is happiness, but not in this world.
That happiness
which is beyond this world is called brahm€nanda, that
which a j…va can
taste within himself. If he attains salvation he can taste
brahm€nanda,
wherein there is no distress at all. But brahm€nanda is
also not pure.
It is not an affirmative condition; it is negative. What do
I mean by
negative? If one man catches hold of another and is going
to choke
him, that captive person cries, “Save me! Save me!” When he
is about
to die, someone may come and save him. He stands up, takes
several
deep breaths and gasps, “Now I’m saved. Now I’m saved.”
This is like salvation and like brahm€nanda. It is nothing
positive.
Only if one is a devotee surrendered to KŠa, may he be
happy. But
even then he will say, “I’m not happy.” He will never say
that he is
Come With Me to Vnd€vana
105
happy. What will he say? “Oh, I have a very big problem.
Why am I
alive? Why am I not dying due to being bereft of KŠa’s
darana?”
If you serve KŠa, that is real happiness. KŠa is the
embodiment
of ananda (spiritual bliss). You may think, “I am
p™rŠ€nanda, I am
brahm€. But if you do not follow KŠa, if you are not
serving, chanting
and remembering Him, you cannot be happy in any way. This
positive
happiness is not called brahm€nanda. It is called prema,
love and
affection for KŠa, and there are many various kinds of this
prema.
KŠa ‘Transforms’ into the ®€stras
Real happiness is to serve KŠa with the love and
affection of the gop…s.
By serving Him they have so much pure €nanda. Really, it is
this love
and affection that we want, but we don’t know what it is.
For those who
want to be happy, KŠa has “transformed” into €stra. In
other words,
He has manifested Himself as €stra. In €stra it is
written that, “If you
follow My instructions you can have that kind of love and
affection.”
Among all €stras, ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam is amala-€stra (the
pure,
spotless scripture), the €stra upon which you can rely and
believe in.
It cannot cheat you because it is the embodiment of KŠa
Himself. All
€stras state that by chanting, remembering and performing
bhakti to
KŠa, to Svayam Bhagav€n KŠa, He will be happy. Then
certainly
you will also be happy.
But ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam tells something that appears
different.
It states, “O j…vas, you have no power. You will never have
the
qualification to serve KŠa. You are powerless; you will
not be able
to call Him.”
All the €stras have explained that you should remember and
call
KŠa. Harer n€ma harer n€ma harer n€maiva kevalam kalau
n€sty eva
n€sty eva n€sty eva gatir anyath€—”There is no other way,
there is no
other way, there is no other way but chanting the holy
names.” This
has been stated in Bhad-N€rad…ya Pur€Ša, ViŠu Pur€Ša and
other
Pur€Šas, but not in ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam. All €stras say,
“You should do
bhajana to KŠa.” But what does ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam say?
“You cannot
call KŠa.” KŠa has descended to call you. He is so
merciful. Out
of mercy He has descended to this world. You cannot go
there and
serve. Can you go to Vnd€vana, Gokula or ®vetadv…pa
(Navadv…pa
dh€ma in the spiritual world)? You cannot go there and call
Him. But
the KŠa of ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam is so merciful that He took
His flute
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
106
and descended to this earth in Vnd€vana. And He was
calling to all,
“Come on, come on, come on.”
The real guru says, “You need only give your ears to me. I
don’t
want your wealth or anything else. I only want to purify
your ears. By
the medium of your ears I will put something in your heart
that will
make you happy forever. Transcendental happiness will come
to you.
Besides this there is no other process to be happy. You are
crying for
KŠa, but your crying has no power.” In what way are you
crying? I
am giving an example by the following story.
There was a very beautiful, powerful ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam
class in
process, and many devotees were present. The speaker of
hari-kath€
had a long beard and long hair, which had become quite
white. He was
telling this and that, and everyone was attentively hearing.
An old lady
was also sitting there, and she was weeping. Her tears
constantly fell.
When the s€dhu-b€b€ had finished the class, all the hearers
gradually
left, but that lady remained there. He called her, “O
mother, you are a
very high-class devotee. My hari-kath€ has touched your
heart. Why
you are weeping so bitterly?” The lady’s weeping increased
and she
replied, “B€b€, what can I say? I had a male goat. He was
so strong,
and he had a long beard just like yours. Sometimes I would
give him
something to eat and he happily ate in a way similar to the
movements
you make when you speak. So, B€b€, when you tell hari-kath€
I always
remember that goat, and because he was stolen from me, I
don’t know
what to do. I am weeping for that goat.”
Our calling to KŠa is like this. It may be like a
semblance, but it
is actually not even a semblance. It is a pratibimba,
reflection. Our arthi
should be pure. At this stage we cannot have that kind of
arth…, sincere
prayer. Our prayers should be in a mood of separation, from
the core
of the heart. KŠa has this mood koti (ten million) times
more than us.
He is weeping for us. He is the father of the father of all
fathers, the
beloved of the beloved of all beloveds. With much love and
affection
for us He thinks, “They are greatly suffering by forgetting
Me. They
cannot come to Me, they cannot even call Me by weeping
bitterly
and their hearts are not melting. Therefore I must go to
them.” This is
why KŠa descended with His flute and all His beauty. He
took the
essence of all beauty and descended. He is calling us, but
we do not
hear Him. Try to realize this.
Come With Me to Vnd€vana
107
Feeling Separation
vanaˆ ca tat-komala-gobhi rañjitaˆ
jagau kalaˆ v€ma-d€ˆ manoharam
(SB 10.29.3)
“Lord KŠa saw the unbroken disk of the full moon glowing
with
the red effulgence of newly-applied vermillion, as if it
were the face
of the goddess of fortune. He also saw the kumuda lotuses
opening in
response to the moon’s presence and the forest gently
illumined by its
rays. Thus the Lord began to play sweetly on His flute,
attracting the
minds of the beautiful-eyed gop…s.”
KŠa took His flute and called the gop…s by playing kl…ˆ.
We are not so
qualified, however. We cannot hear this sound; nor can we
call Him.
This is why He came in the form of ®r… Caitanya Mah€prabhu
who is
both R€dh€ and KŠa—only to call us. For this reason ®r…
Caitanya
Mah€prabhu went here and there, and took sanny€sa.
®r…mad-Bh€gavatam has thus stated:
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaˆ phalaˆ
uka-mukh€d amta-drava-saˆyutam
pibata bh€gavataˆ rasam €layaˆ
muhur aho rasik€ bhuvi bh€vuk€ƒ
(SB 1.1.3)
“O expert and thoughtful men, relish ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam, the
mature
fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated
from the lips
of ®r… ®ukadeva Gosv€m…. Therefore this fruit has become
even more
tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already
relishable for all,
including liberated souls.”
KŠa became like a fruit, a nigama-kalpa-taror, the fruit
of the desire tree
of Vedic literature, with no skin, no pit and no strings,
nothing—only
rasa. He was brought by ®r… ®ukadeva Gosv€m… through the
guruparampar€.
He has descended to this world to call us, “Don’t suffer.
Be
happy. Be blessed by transcendental happiness.” But we are
not even
qualified to desire transcendental happiness.
®r…mad-Bh€gavatam questions all the other Vedas, Upaniads,
Pur€Šas,
Mah€bh€rata, R€m€yaŠa and so on, kaˆ va dayaluˆ aranaˆ
vrajema.
“How shall I take shelter of anyone more merciful than KŠa?”
None
reply, and therefore ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam itself says:
aho baki yaˆ stana-kala-kutaˆ
jighaˆsayapayayad apy asadhvi
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
108
lebhe gatiˆ dhatry-ucitaˆ tato ‘nyaˆ
kaˆ va dayaluˆ aranaˆ vrajema
(SB 3.2.23)
“Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than
He who
granted the position of mother to a she-demon (P™tan€),
although
she was unfaithful and prepared deadly poison to be sucked
from
her breast?”
The demon P™tan€ was accustomed to take the flesh and fresh
blood
of babies everywhere. When she went to kill baby KŠa,
however, He
gave her a spiritual body and sent her to Goloka, which is
greater even
than VaikuŠ˜ha. Therefore we should try to serve KŠa and
hear about
Him. We should become qualified by taking shelter of any
qualified
devotee or guru. Without such a guru we cannot make
advancement.
The €stras have told that all humans want happiness, and
they
want to meet with KŠa. But Bh€gavatam tells that Bhagav€n
wants
the j…va. All €stras have told that when KŠa went to
Mathur€ the
gop…s were feeling separation. They wanted to send a haˆsa,
swan, to
Mathur€, to let KŠa know how they were suffering in their
mood of
separation. But ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam tells something else—KŠa
was
suffering so much that He had to send Uddhava, His
messenger. Do
you understand? The gop…s are not sending, but KŠa is
sending—
because He is so merciful. Generally we hear that the
bhakta is always
suffering, weeping, feeling separation and hankering for
Bhagav€n.
But ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam tells the opposite. KŠa is
hankering for His
devotees—always. He is always calling, “O mother! Mother!”
And
when Brahm€ steals KŠa’s cowherd boys He searches for
them.
KŠa is searching for us, but we are so unqualified that
we cannot
hear His flute and we cannot call Him with our hearts.
Although we
should try, we can only really try when our hearts are
empty and we
have taken the shelter of any exalted devotee.
KŠa’s Separation from Vnd€vana
Earlier I asked five or six questions. First, Vraja, Vnd€vana,
Gokula
and other places in Vraja-bhumi are filled with the highest
love and
affection. Vnd€vana is itself rasa. So why did KŠa leave
Vnd€vana
and go to Mathur€ and Dv€rak€? KŠa is the ocean of rasa
Himself,
and Vnd€vana is also the ocean of rasa. But still He left
it. Why?
Come With Me to Vnd€vana
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
Post a Comment