Secret Truths of the Sri Bhagavata Rahasya -4

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Secret
Truths of the
Sri Bhagavata Rahasya




KŠa is therefore so much greater than all others. Your gurudeva
has given you a relation with that KŠa, 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 KŠa, 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 iyas (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 KŠa.
The Ladies of Mathur€ Glorify KŠa and the Gop…s
gopyas tapaƒ kim acaran yad amuya r™paˆ
l€vaŠya-s€ram asamordhvam ananya-siddham
dgbhiƒ pibanty anusav€bhinavaˆ dur€pam
ek€nta-dh€ma yaasaƒ r…ya aivarasya
(SB 10.44.14)
“What austerities must the gop…s have performed! With their eyes they
always drink the nectar of Lord KŠa’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
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lakhs and lakhs of births they were practicing austerities and chanting
the gop€la-mantra and k€ma-g€yatr… in DaŠakaraŠya 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 DaŠakaranya. Anyone whom ®r…
Caitanya Mah€prabhu glanced upon began to chant, “O KŠa, KŠa,
KŠa, 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
KŠa’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. KŠa 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 KŠa to
wear ornaments or beautiful garments. Nothing is needed. If there is
a spot of ink here and there on KŠa’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, KŠa’s
beauty always increases.
Dgbhiƒ pibanty. The gop…s always drink the sweetness of the nectar
of KŠa’s beauty. Dgbhiƒ pibanty anusav€bhinavaˆ dur€pam ek€ntadh€
ma yaasaƒ r…ya aivarasya. KŠa is the abode of all yaa, glories and
fame, r…ya, beauty, and aivarya, 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 KŠa’s honey-like beauty. But
here in Mathur€ we see KŠa surrounded by so many enemies, and
He is in a somewhat angry mood, wrestling with others. We are not
fortunate to see KŠa like the gop…s see Him. The gop…s are so glorious
that their minds and tongues are the chariot of KŠa.” How is this?
y€ dohane ‘vahanane mathanopalepa
pre‰khenkhan€rbha-ruditokaŠa-m€rjan€dau
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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 KŠa 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 KŠa
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 mda‰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 KŠa and do mathanopalepa, churn butter. Even if KŠa comes they
don’t notice Him. So KŠa 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 KŠa’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 KŠa. Aru 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.
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93
glorious are these gop…s.” Dhany€ƒ means very fortunate. “We are not
fortunate. We do not see KŠa in this way. We cannot be like that
here.” Urukrama-citta-y€n€ƒ. Urukrama refers to KŠa’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 KŠa’s mind. KŠa
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 KŠa. How fortunate they are.
pr€tar vraj€d vrajata €viata ca s€yaˆ
gobhiƒ samaˆ kvaŠayato ‘sya niamya veŠum
nirgamya t™rŠam abal€ƒ pathi bh™ri-puŠy€ƒ
payanti sa-smita-mukhaˆ sa-day€valokam
(SB 10.44.16)
“When the gop…s hear KŠa 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, KŠa comes out from Yaod€’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 KŠa, and they are taking
darana of Him. When He returns from cow-grazing in the evening,
they all see Him again and they are so happy. What is KŠa doing?
Sometimes He comes very nearby and touches them on their chins
with His murli or venu flute.
“Having taken all their hearts, KŠa enters Vraja. At that time
Yaod€maiy€ performs €rati. By their eyes, all the gop…s perform a better
€rati than Yaod€maiy€, and KŠa 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. KŠa only sent one of the
Mathur€vas…s, Uddhava, to see the glories of the gop…s, Nanda B€b€,
Yaod€ and all the other Vrajav€s…s.
After killing CaŠura and Mu˜ika, KŠa at last killed Kaˆsa. Then
KŠa and Baladeva came to where Nanda B€b€ was sitting on his
bullock cart in a town just outside Mathur€. While waiting for Them
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he had been thinking, “When They come I will take Them both and
we will return to Vnd€vana.”
On the first day after the killing of Kaˆsa all the Mathur€vas…s
were with KŠa 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 KŠa and Baladeva somehow came at
night. Baladeva Prabhu sat on Nanda B€b€’s right side, and KŠa 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 KŠa 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
KŠa 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 KŠa I cannot live anywhere for a
moment. I will die.”
Nanda B€b€ asked KŠa, “What should I do? What should I do?”
KŠa 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 Vivan€tha Cakravart… μh€kura puts forth a purva-paka, a
question one asks before he himself answers it. He asks, “If KŠa
is the son of Nanda and Yaod€, 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
KŠa 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
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without KŠa and Baladeva. This is true, and it is also true that KŠa
never leaves Vnd€vana. How can we reconcile this?
V€sudeva-KŠa and Vrajendra-nandana KŠa
Now you will have to reconcile it. When Nanda B€b€ was weeping,
KŠa 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€ KŠa and Baladeva were in Mathur€, but
Their aprakata-l…l€ forms returned with Nanda Bab€ to Vnd€vana. The
son of Yaod€ and Nanda B€b€, Vrajendra-nandana KŠa, returned
with Nanda B€b€. Actually, that Vrajendra-nandana KŠa never comes
to Mathur€. His manifestation, V€sudeva-KŠa, comes. So Nanda
B€b€ took KŠa 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 Vnd€vana without KŠa and Baladeva.
®r…la Vivan€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 Yaod€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 KŠa and glorify them.
As I have already explained, KŠa 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 KŠa alone went to the roof
and looked towards Vnd€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 KŠa was not there. Looking at all these
things, KŠa began to cry, “O Yaod€maiy€! O Nanda B€b€!” He
became immersed in separation, crying, “O gop…s, O R€dhe, O Lalite.”
In the meantime KŠa’s bosom friend Uddhava came. He had
been searching for KŠa, and now he saw Him sitting there and
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weeping very bitterly. The Bh€gavatam (SB 10.46.1) states: vŠ…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 KŠa’s prime minister. He was dayitaƒ, very near and dear
to KŠa, sakha, His friend, iya, His disciple, and bhaspateƒ s€k€d
iya, the direct disciple of Bhaspati. He is said to be like Bhaspati,
but actually he is greater than Bhaspati because Bhaspati is only the
priest of the demigods.
KŠa 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 KŠa 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 KŠa. KŠa’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?”
KŠa said: gacchoddhava vrajaˆ saumya pitror nau pr…tim €vaha gop…
n€ˆ mad-viyog€dhiˆ mat-sandeair 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 Lakm…, 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, Vnd€vana, Nandag€on, O
saumya.” Saumya means soft and pleasing like the moon.
Saumya pitror nau. KŠa 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 Yaod€ and Nanda
B€b€. KŠa 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 Yaod€, are very unhappy, feeling separation
like a fire. You must go there”. Pr…tim €vaha: “You should pacify them.”
If KŠa is the son of Vasudeva and Devak…, why would He say
this? Uddhava is now thinking, “I know that KŠa 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 Yaod€.”
®r…la Sw€m…j… has sometimes, in the beginning, written that
KŠa was the adopted son of Nanda and Yaod€. 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
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97
®ukadeva Gosv€m…, he disclosed it. All Vrajav€s…s know definitely
that KŠa is the son of Nanda and Yaod€, not Vasudeva and Devak….
At this time Uddhava became astonished. “Oh, now KŠa is
admitting that He is the son of Nanda and Yaod€. I must pacify them.”
Why has KŠa 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-sandeair vimocaya:
“You should go and take My message to the gop…s. They are feeling so
much separation—more than Nanda and Yaod€. 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-sandeair, 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.”
KŠa Glorifies the Gop…s
KŠa 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. KŠa Himself accepts and reveals this.
I think there is no one in this whole world who can glorify the gop…s
like KŠa. 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
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Mah€prabhu, He could glorify R€dhik€ and the gop…s even more than
in His form as KŠa. 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 KŠa, 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.
KŠa 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 KŠa, but her mother-in-law would not
allow her. She peeked from behind the door. KŠa 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€. 썐˜-pr€Š€ means, “I am their pr€Ša, life.”
It is for this reason that, when KŠa left Vnd€vana and went to
Mathur€, the gop…s would have died without Him. But they did not
die. Why? Because KŠa 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 KŠa’s promise. Always remember this. If you are giving
up all worldly things, always remembering KŠa 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 KŠa can save us.
KŠa is saying, “I must support and nourish them. That is why,
Uddhava, you must go there.”
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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? KŠa 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. KŠa 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 KŠa, or Yogam€y€, that Uddhava saw them.
dh€rayanty ati-kcchrena
pr€yaƒ pr€Š€n kathañcana
praty€gamana-sandeair
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 KŠa 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 KŠa comes, He will not
see us and He will also die.” Only to please KŠa, to ensure that He
would not be unhappy, they somehow keep their lives.
Therefore KŠa 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. KŠa 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 Vnd€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 Vivan€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 upadea-s€ram
(Upade€mta 8)
“While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents who possess
inherent spontaneous love for ®r… KŠa, one should utilise all his
time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in meticulous
chanting and remembrance of KŠa’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 kariye
(Vil€pa-kusum€ñjali 72)
“O R™pa-mañjar…, when golden-complexioned R€dhik€ is laying with
Her head in KŠa’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 KŠa. 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,
ghasthas 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
daŠas, 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
Vnd€vana Come with Me to Vnd€vana
Pure Happiness
Come with me to Vnd€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
payet p€ka-vipary€saˆ
mithun…-c€riŠaˆ nŠ€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 KŠa, 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 Vnd€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 KŠa’s darana?”
If you serve KŠa, that is real happiness. KŠa is the embodiment
of ananda (spiritual bliss). You may think, “I am p™rŠ€nanda, I am
brahm€. But if you do not follow KŠa, 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 KŠa, and there are many various kinds of this prema.
KŠa ‘Transforms’ into the ®€stras
Real happiness is to serve KŠa 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, KŠa 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 KŠa Himself. All
€stras state that by chanting, remembering and performing bhakti to
KŠa, to Svayam Bhagav€n KŠa, 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 KŠa. You are powerless; you will not be able
to call Him.”
All the €stras have explained that you should remember and call
KŠa. 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 Bhad-N€rad…ya Pur€Ša, ViŠu Pur€Ša and other
Pur€Šas, but not in ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam. All €stras say, “You should do
bhajana to KŠa.” But what does ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam say? “You cannot
call KŠa.” KŠa 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 Vnd€vana, Gokula or ®vetadv…pa (Navadv…pa
dh€ma in the spiritual world)? You cannot go there and call Him. But
the KŠa 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 Vnd€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
KŠa, 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 KŠa 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. KŠa 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 KŠa 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 Vnd€vana
107
Feeling Separation
vanaˆ ca tat-komala-gobhi rañjitaˆ
jagau kalaˆ v€ma-d€ˆ manoharam
(SB 10.29.3)
“Lord KŠa 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.”
KŠa 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 KŠa—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 amta-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.”
KŠa 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, Upaniads, 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 KŠa?” 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 KŠa, 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 KŠa 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 KŠa. But Bh€gavatam tells that Bhagav€n wants
the j…va. All €stras have told that when KŠa went to Mathur€ the
gop…s were feeling separation. They wanted to send a haˆsa, swan, to
Mathur€, to let KŠa know how they were suffering in their mood of
separation. But ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam tells something else—KŠa was
suffering so much that He had to send Uddhava, His messenger. Do
you understand? The gop…s are not sending, but KŠa 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. KŠa is hankering for His
devotees—always. He is always calling, “O mother! Mother!” And
when Brahm€ steals KŠa’s cowherd boys He searches for them.
KŠa 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.
KŠa’s Separation from Vnd€vana
Earlier I asked five or six questions. First, Vraja, Vnd€vana, Gokula
and other places in Vraja-bhumi are filled with the highest love and
affection. Vnd€vana is itself rasa. So why did KŠa leave Vnd€vana
and go to Mathur€ and Dv€rak€? KŠa is the ocean of rasa Himself,
and Vnd€vana is also the ocean of rasa. But still He left it. Why?
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109
Second, if He left, there must have been a cause. If we go anywhere
for any special reason, then when the reason or cause is finished, we
return. Similarly, KŠa left Vnd€vana for some special reason. After
Kaˆsa was killed He should have returned to Vnd€vana. But He
never returned. Why? What is the answer?
Anyone would want to live in a place where he receives much
love and affection. He would not want to taste any lower kind of love
and affection. For example, if you are eating a rasagulla and someone
offers you Indian g™r or anything similar to eat in its place, you will
not accept it. You will want to accept the rasagulla first. So why did
KŠa, who was perfectly loved by the gop…s, mother Yaod€, Nanda
B€b€ and others, leave quickly one day and never return?
The third question is that, even if KŠa would not return with
the intention to stay forever, why didn’t He come from time to time?
What would be the harm? If someone comes to America from India to
make money, then as soon as there is sufficient money he can return.
Even in the case that he does not return permanently, he can still go to
India from time to time to meet with his relatives. So why did KŠa
not go to meet with His relatives, His father and mother? He should
have gone, but He did not go at all. He sent a messenger, but why
did He not go Himself? A messenger cannot do the same thing that
KŠa can do. KŠa knew that the Vrajav€s…s would not be satisfied.
He thought, “They will only be satisfied if I go there.” But still He sent
the messenger, and gave a letter for them. He told the messenger, “You
should give this sandea, message, to them.”
Even if there was a very important reason for KŠa’s not returning,
there must have been some way that He could have called all the
Vrajav€s…s to Mathur€ or Dv€rak€. There was no lack of space there.
There was so much space. KŠa can do anything. He can supply
all the houses, boarding, and everything else needed, just as He did
when He hosted all the Mathur€vas…s. He could have brought all the
Vrajav€s…s in the same way, and He could have remained in Dv€rak€
and Mathur€ with them. Why did He not bring them?
If you want to know all the answers to all these questions, you will
have to go deep in ®r…mad-Bh€gavatam with any self-realized devotee
who has served his gurudeva and the devotees, and who has also served
Bh€gavatam with (the person) bh€gavatam. What is the meaning? One
must serve Bh€gavatam with a bhakta-bh€gavata, because the lock and
key to its understanding is in the hands of that mah€-bh€gavata. We don’t
want to serve any mah€-bh€gavata and we don’t want to give honor to
all others, and still we want all our queries to be satisfied. How can it
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
110
be? KŠa is so merciful that He sends His various kinds of devotees(
like ik€-guru, d…k€-guru and bhajana-guru), and says to them, “O, go
and give some answers so that they may also become pure devotees.”
Why KŠa didn’t Return to Vnd€vana
Now we will explain the answers to our questions. The first question
was: Why did KŠa leave Vnd€vana? I told one reason—the l…l€ of
prema-sarovara. KŠa was very upset, thinking, “When the gop…s are
with Me, they feel an intense mood of separation in anticipation of
the future. They become as though lifeless—in mah€-bh€va, in premavaicittya”.
You cannot imagine all these feelings—how the gop…s’ hearts
were burning in the fire of separation. KŠa therefore thought, “If
I leave Vnd€vana they will also feel separation, but in that type of
separation mood they will meet with Me—in a dream, or in any other
way. They will see a tamal tree and embrace it as though they were
embracing Me. They will think, ‘Oh, we are meeting with KŠa.’ Then
they will be happy. They will eat their meals and they will decorate
themselves. Therefore I must leave.”
It is true that everyone wants to be where there is plenty of €nanda,
happiness. No one wants to go to a place where there is less happiness
and less love and affection. But this is not the nature of KŠa, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. His nature is somewhat different.
He has lakhs and lakhs of devotees everywhere. Some of the devotees
in Mathur€ were given great suffering by Kaˆsa. In fact, Devak… and
Vasudeva had been suffering from the very day of their marriage
ceremony. Since the time of their marriage eight sons were born to
them, including KŠa. Thus, about eight years passed. After that an
additional ten years and eight months passed, because KŠa was
living in Vraja for that much time. Altogether approximately nineteen
years passed. Therefore, it may be that Vasudeva and Devak… were
being tortured by Kaˆsa for about twenty years. So many persons
left Mathur€ and scattered here and there; and those who remained
were always weeping and suffering. How can KŠa give them up?
He cannot neglect them. He must also care about them. If He does not
take care, He is not at all merciful.
The P€Šavas were also weeping; and Kunt… also cried to KŠa
so that He would come and help them. Draupad… had also called
Him, crying, “Oh, I’m going to be put to shame in front of everyone.”
Keeping her hands upraised she was bitterly calling out, “O Govinda!
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111
Now I’m dying.” Under these circumstances, how can KŠa play in r€sa-l…
l€ at Vami-vata, in Vnd€vana? He will also have to save Draupad…. If
any bhakta calls Him, anywhere in this world, He cannot remain aloof.
Otherwise He will have to give up His name, bhakta-v€tsalya— the giver
of mercy to His devotees. He will have to take care of all the devotees.
This is why, although He is tasting so much rasa in Vnd€vana, He
will have to look after all the devotees. That is also why He went to
Mathur€.
There is something more. KŠa has promised: ye yath€ m€ˆ
prapadyante t€ˆs tathaiva bhaj€my aham— “According to the service
rendered to Me by My devotees, I will have to repay them” (G…t€ 4.11).
It was only to the gop…s that He could not keep this promise; He failed
to keep His promise to them. For all others He could keep it, but for
the gop…s it was not at all possible. It is sure that there is no comparison
between any of the entire world’s devotees and the Vrajav€s…s. No one
can compare to mother Yaod€, Subala, ®r…dama, or to the gop…s like
Lalit€, Vi€kh€, and all others. There is no comparison. On the other
hand, Devak… and Vasudeva had also performed very severe austerities
in their past births as Sutapa and Pni. They kept their head down
on the ground and stood on one hand while keeping their feet high
in the air. They remained without
breathing any air or drinking any
water during the heat of summer, the cold of winter, the rainy season
and so on. They continued this for more than 60,000 years. Dhruva
had practiced his austerities for six months, and during the last month
he fasted even from air. But they did this for more than 60,000 years.
And now, in the form of Vasudeva and Devak… they were calling. Will
KŠa not hear? He must hear. This was another reason for Him to
come to Mathur€.
Now I will answer the second question. If KŠa fulfilled His
reason for coming, which was to save Vasudeva and Devak… and to
kill Kaˆsa, then He should have returned to Vnd€vana at that time.
But how could He? All the Y€duvas…s and Mathur€vas…s had scattered
due to fear of Kaˆsa, and His whole kingdom was disordered. KŠa
therefore, gave the kingdom to Ugrasena Mah€r€ja and made him
king. But Ugrasena was very old and powerless; so KŠa Himself
had to manage.
There were two wives of Kaˆsa—Asti and Pr€pti. They went to
their father Jar€sandha, a very big demon who was even more powerful
than Kaˆsa, Duryodhana and all others. Jar€sandha heard from his
daughters that his son-in-law Kaˆsa had been killed by KŠa for
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
112
no reason; he was innocent. They claimed that Kaˆsa had simply
been sitting on the throne when all of a sudden KŠa jumped up,
grabbed him and killed him without any cause. Jar€sandha became
very unhappy to hear this. He therefore took his soldiers, numbering
more than those in the Mah€bh€rata army, about 20 lakhs or crores, and
invaded Mathur€—not only once, but 18 times. Knowing this KŠa
decided, “If I go to Vraja, what will happen? Everyone there will be
killed by Jar€sandha.” So He could not go there. He wanted to go, but
He considered that if Jar€sandha became aware of this, he would think,
“All the Vrajav€s…s are truly beloved and very dear to KŠa; so I must
smash Vnd€vana.” In Vnd€vana there were no soldiers, no army,
no fort—no protection at all, and the Vrajavas…s were not warriors.
They were very innocent—simply grazing cows. In one day, therefore,
Jar€sandha would be able to come and smash all of Vnd€vana.
Nanda B€b€ knew this fact. Therefore, when KŠa met with him
after killing Kaˆsa, He whispered in his ear, “Don’t be upset. I will
come. After destroying Jar€sandha and all the other demons I will
come. I must come. But if I come now Jar€sandha will know, and
after some time his soldiers will attack the Vrajav€s…s. Everything in
Vnd€vana would be destroyed, and I would not be able to save you.
There is no fort, no army—nothing.”
There was yet another reason. Vasudeva and Devak… knew very
clearly that if a person goes anywhere for a job or duty, he will return
to his original place after that duty is completed. Similarly, KŠa
came from Vnd€vana. If He returned to Vnd€vana, He would never
come back to Mathur€ and Dv€rak€. If He were to say, “I am going
to Indraprastha, I’m going to Mithila, I’m going here and there,” they
would never object. They would say, “All right, You may go, and return
very quickly.” If, however, He requested permission from Devak…
and Vasudeva, “I want to go quickly to Vnd€vana, and then I will
return,” they would become very worried and begin to weep—not
saying anything and not giving permission. Why not? Vnd€vana is
rasamayi-bhumi (the land of loving mellow exchanges). They know
that KŠa would not be going there to complete any duty or job; and
He would become totally absorbed in rasa. KŠa is Himself rasa (the
embodiment of the mellow taste of loving affairs), and all the gopas and
gop…s are also rasa. Therefore He would not return. So if KŠa were to
ask, “May I go?” they would begin to weep bitterly. Not only Devak…
and Vasudeva, but all the Mathur€vas…s would weep, “We will die
today.” This is why, although He sometimes wants to go, He cannot.
Come With Me to Vnd€vana
113
If KŠa would sometimes go to Vnd€vana and meet with the
Vrajav€s…s He could then easily return, because Vnd€vana is only
a distance of two fingers from Mathur€—the two places border
each other. They are so near. Besides this, He can even go to Goloka
Vnd€vana, Mithila, or Dv€rak€ in a moment. Why then could He
not go in an hour or two to Vnd€vana? He never went. Why? If He
went for a moment, the separation mood of the gop…s and gopas would
increase lakhs and lakhs of times. It would not subside. Why? If there
is a flame in a lamp, it may be extinguished by a little wind. However,
if the fire is very big, like a forest fire, can it be subsided by the wind?
It will increase more and more.
The separation fire in the hearts of the gop…s and gopas is like this.
It is not like a very little ghee-lamp flame, which will subside. If you
put a frying pan on a stove it becomes reddish, and if at that time
you put one drop of water on it, what will happen? ‘Chhhhhhhunt.’ If
that splash touches you anywhere you will be burnt. The fire of the
separation mood in Vnd€vana is like this. If KŠa goes there for a
moment, or for one or two days, it will burn the Vrajav€s…s more. And
when He again leaves they will die at once. Therefore He does not
return to Vnd€vana.
Opposing Moods of Mathur€ and Vnd€vana
Someone may say that KŠa should bring His father, mother, and all
the gop…s, sakhas and gopas to Mathur€. But this would create a very
difficult situation. There would be some danger. What danger? Rasasankata;
the danger of overlapping rasas, or contradiction of mellows.
In Vnd€vana, KŠa is like a cowherd boy. He is only the son of
Nanda B€b€, without shoes or umbrella, and He serves all the cows,
Nanda B€b€ and Yaod€. In Mathur€ He has no flute, no stick, and
He is not a cowherd boy. There He is a very powerful katriya king.
What kind of king? He is like an emperor, or rather like an Emperor
of emperors. No one can challenge Him there. In Vnd€vana all the
Vrajav€s…s challenge Him. So what would happen if the Vrajavas…s
came to Mathur€? Would KŠa be able to keep His peacock feather
on His head and His flute in His hand? What would He say if Nanda
B€b€ comes? Whom would He address as father and mother? Devak…
and Vasudeva, or Yaod€ and Nanda B€b€? And with whom would
He spend the night? With the gop…s, or with Satyabh€m€ and Rukmin…?
They would all fight.
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
114
®r…mad-Bh€gavatam (10.43.17) states, that in Mathur€, KŠa is
para-devata, Lord of lords, for all the Y€davas. Para-devata means
vninaˆ para-devateti. He is King of kings and worshipable by all
the Mathur€vas…s. In Vnd€vana He is svajana—simply the son of
Nanda B€b€, simply the friend of the cowherd boys, and simply the
beloved of the gop…s. He is not para-devat€. No gopa would worship
Him. Yaod€maiy€ never worshipped Him, and the gop…s can only
worship Him with abuses. They say to Him, “You are k€l€, black. You
are a lampata, womanizer, a cora, thief, and You are black-hearted.”
This is their worship. If all the gop…s go to Mathur€ and abuse KŠa
in this way in front of all the Y€davas, what would happen? There
would be no solution at all.
In Mathur€, KŠa is worshipable by all the Y€davas, and even
by Uddhava, Akr™ra and King Ugrasena. But in Vnd€vana, gopas
like ®r…d€ma and Subala climb up on His shoulders and say, “O, my
horse, go on, go on,” and call out, “Eh, eh, quickly, quickly, quickly,
run!” However, if ®r…d€ma and Subala were to go to Mathur€ and
make KŠa be like a horse in front of all the Y€davas, there would
be a big problem.
Devak… and Vasudeva cannot accept praŠ€ma, obeisances, from
KŠa. Why not? They believe that He is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and therefore they have awe and reverence for Him. They
have seen His four-armed form. In Vnd€vana, on the other hand,
Nanda B€b€ tells KŠa, “O, bring my paduka (shoes)”. KŠa will put
those shoes on His head and come dancing. If Nanda B€b€ is there in
Mathur€ and, in front of all the Y€davas, orders KŠa, “O my son,
You should bring my shoes,” will He bring those shoes? He will be
confused about what to do.
Moreover, in Vnd€vana, KŠa is with all the gop…s, like R€dhik€,
Lalit€, Vi€kh€ and others. Can He sit with R€dhik€ or perform r€sa-l…l€
in Mathur€, in front of the Y€dus? Can He massage the feet of R€dhik€
in front of them? He cannot. This is rasa-sankula, a contradiction of
mellows. How would KŠa be able to reconcile all these things? He
would be in a dilemma. Therefore He does not bring anyone from
Vnd€vana.
KŠa is thinking, “What should I do?” Due to circumstances,
He cannot go to Vnd€vana. However, if He sometimes sends His
messenger to pacify His father and mother, then, at the same time,
that messenger can learn something there. This is the most important
reason for KŠa’s sending Uddhava—so that he can be admitted in
Come With Me to Vnd€vana
115
the school of the gop…s. Here Lalit€ and Vi€kh€ are the teachers and ®r…
mat… R€dhik€ Herself is the principal. KŠa is thinking that Uddhava
should be admitted there and learn the truths about their prema.
Although he can only try to learn, but not realize these truths, still he
should go and be admitted. He need only know two and half letters.
He cannot know all the svara and vyۖjan (consonants and vowels) of
Vnd€vana; he can never learn that. He need only know two and half
letters—prema (prema, written in the Sanskrit alphabet, has two and a
half letters). In English there is no word like this. In the word ‘l-o-v-e,’
there are four letters. In this way, KŠa sent Uddhava so that he would
learn something about prema. KŠa considered, “When this messenger
becomes qualified, he will come back here and I will be able to share
some of My sufferings with him. Therefore he should be sent.” His main
purpose in sending Uddhava was not that He required a messenger.
He wanted Uddhava to realize a little something. “When he returns I
can weep; and he will realize why I’m weeping and why I’m suffering.
Then I can distribute some of My suffering to him.”
Understanding these Elevated Topics
We should begin from the beginning:
v€co vegaˆ manasaƒ krodha-vegaˆ
jihv€-vegam udaropastha-vegam
et€n veg€n yo viaheta dh…raƒ
sarv€m ap…maˆ pthiv…ˆ sa iy€t
(Upade€mta 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.”
dad€ti pratighŠ€ti
guhyam €khy€ti pcchati
bhu‰kte bhojayate caiva
a-vidhaˆ pr…ti-lakaŠam
(Upade€mta 4)
“Offering pure devotees items in accordance with their requirements,
accepting pr€sad… or remnant items given by pure devotees, revealing
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
116
to devotees one’s confidential realisations concerning bhajana, eating
with great love the pr€sada remnants given by devotees and lovingly
feeding them pr€sada—these are the six symptoms of loving association
with devotees”.
There are so many important principles here. Then:
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 upadea-s€ram
(Upade€mta 8)
“While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents of Vraja
who possess inherent spontaneous love for ®r… KŠa, one should
utilize all his time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind
in meticulous chanting and rememberance of KŠa’s names, form,
qualities and pastimes. This is the essence of all instruction.”
(After the lecture a drama was performed from Bhad-bh€gavat€mta. In the
drama, KŠa in Dv€rak€ was feeling so much separation from the Vrajavas…s
that He was not able to perform any of His daily duties. He fainted and was
then taken to Nava Vnd€vana (in Dv€rak€) and dressed as a gopa with
peacock feather and flute. When He regained consciousness He spoke to murtis
of the Vrajavas…s. The Dv€rak€vas…s who witnessed this were all astonished.
After the drama ®r…la Mah€r€ja expressed his appreciation and commented
on the significance of the play:)
Really, KŠa is so beautiful in Vnd€vana. By comparison He is
not beautiful in Dv€rak€. Vrajendra-nandana KŠa is lakhs and lakhs
times more beautiful than Dv€rak€dhia KŠa. Even Padm€, an old
lady of 110 years (mother of Kaˆsa and chaste wife of King Ugrasena),
was filled with lust and wanted to embrace KŠa, what to speak of
others. Satyamabh€m€, Rukmin… and all the other queens lost their
composure. KŠa is so beautiful—the essence of all the beauty. He is
manmata manmata, the Cupid of cupids.
P a r t II
Explainations of Songs by
®r…la Bhaktivinoda μh€kura
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
118
®r… N€ma K…rtana
®r… N€ma K…rtana
yaomat…-nandana, braja-baro-n€gara,
gokula-rañjana k€na
gop…-par€Ša-dhana, madana-manohara,
k€l…ya-damana-vidh€na (1)
amala harin€m amiya-vil€s€
vipina-purandara, nav…na n€gara-vara,
vaˆ…-vadana suv€sa (2)
vraja-jana-p€lana, asura-kula-n€ana
nanda-godhana-r€khow€l€
govinda m€dhava, navan…ta-taskara,
sundara nanda-gop€l€ (3)
y€muna-ta˜a-cara, gop…-vasanahara,
r€sa-rasika, kp€maya
r…-r€dh€-ballabha, vnd€vana-na˜avara,
bhakativinoda-€raya (4)
(1) KŠa is Yaod€maiy€’s beloved son and the topmost lover in
Vrajabh™mi. As K€na (an affectionate nick-name) He delights Gokula
and is the wealth of the life of the gop…s. He is an inveterate thief, stealing
the hearts of all, and He punishes the K€l…ya serpent.
(2) These spotless holy names are filled with all of KŠa’s sweet
pastimes. He is the King (purandara—Indra) of all the forests of Vraja.
He is the ever fresh and ever youthful lover, always wearing very
beautiful garments and holding the flute to His mouth.
(3) He always protects the Vrajav€s…s, destroys the demons, and tends
Nanda B€b€’s cows. As Govinda He gives pleasure to the cows, the
land, gopas, gop…s, and the senses. As M€dhava He is the husband of
the topmost Lakm…—®r…mat… R€dhik€. He’s always stealing butter
(the prema of the Vrajav€s…s) to increase their love for Him, and He is
the beautiful son of Nanda B€b€.
(4) Roaming along the banks of the Yamun€, He stole the clothes
of the very young gop…s. He is the enjoyer of the r€sa dance and the
®r… N€ma K…rtan
119
embodiment of mercy. He is most beloved to ®r…mat… R€dhik€ and is
the most expert dancer in Vnd€vana. Bhaktivinoda wants to take
shelter of this KŠa!
Sweet Names of KŠa
When you sing, try to understand the meanings. Among all k…rtanas,
®r…la Bhaktivinoda μh€kura’s Yaomat…-Nandana and vibh€var… ea
aloka-pravea nidr€ ch€ri’ u˜ho j…va, bolo hari hari mukunda mur€ri r€ma
kŠa hayagr…va are very elevated. At the time of Prabhupada ®r…la
Bhaktisiddh€nta Sarasvat… μh€kura, not everyone was allowed to
sing these k…rtanas. Only very advanced devotees used to sing them,
otherwise they were not sung. The moods are so high.
Yaomat…-Nandana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, KŠa,
covered with m€dhurya (sweet human-like pastimes). Here He is not
addressed as the Supreme Personality; only Yaomat…-Nandana. He
is not even addressed as Nanda-nandana. Nanda-nandana is such a
sweet name, but I think that Yaomat…-Nandana is more sweet. Why?
The devotion and vatsalya love of Yaod€ is superior to that of Nanda
B€b€. The two cannot actually be compared, but when we are in ta˜astha
(the neutral position), we can compare them. From the point of view
of every associate in Vraja, their specific rasa is most superior.
Who is Yaomat…-Nandana? He is that KŠa who is controlled by
Yaod€, and always weeping for butter and chapatis. Although He
weeps, sometimes Yaod€ says, “I will not take You in my lap, and I
will never give You milk.” KŠa throws Himself down, rolls on the
earth and cries, “Mother, mother, maiyeri maiyeri. Main duda piyunga.
I will drink milk”. Yaod€ replies, “Oh, You cannot come in my lap. I
will never take You in my lap and I will never give You milk. You have
now become a thief, a robber. I will never give You milk.”
KŠa is bitterly weeping. Sometimes N€rada comes, sees this
scene and thinks, “Oh, how fortunate is Yaod€. Even though KŠa is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she thinks He is her own son.”
She takes hold of KŠa and warns Him, “You should not do that.”
Chastising Him she says, “I will not give You milk.”’ In ®r… N€rada’s
eyes, KŠa is not Yaod€-nandana. He is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, sarva-k€rana-k€ranam, the cause of all causes. N€rada has
never seen this in his life, and now he is seeing it in Vraja.
Sometimes Yaod€ binds KŠa to a grinding mortar. And
afterwards, she weeps for hours and hours.
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
120
It is due to Yaod€ that ®r…mat… R€dhik€ comes to the house of
Nanda B€b€ to, cook and she engages R€dhik€ in that service. When
R€dhik€ comes to her house, she supports and nourishes Her even
more than she does KŠa. Sometimes Yaod€ gives Her something to
eat and R€dhik€ becomes shy. Yaod€ asks, “O, why are You shy? You
are my daughter. You are just as dear to me as KŠa. Don’t think there
is any difference. I love You even more than Your mother, K…rtik€.”
Do you know that Yaod€ is more than K…rtik€? K…rtik€ loves
R€dhik€, but not as much as Yaod€ does. Yaod€ always loves Her—
not as a daughter, but as a newly married daughter-in-law. Yaod€
wants R€dh€ and KŠa to marry, and that is why she has so much love
for Her. I think that if we do a comparative study we will see that she
loves R€dhik€ even more than she loves KŠa. Without Yaod€ there
could be no sweet pastimes. She arranges Their meeting, as though she
does not know anything and is not aware of Their loving exchanges.
Vraja-baro-n€gara. Who is He? Yaod€-Nandana. N€gara and
n€gari, lover and beloved. KŠa played everywhere and He is the
topmost beloved of all the gop…s.
Gokula-rañjana-k€na. Gokula, gopa kula samuha. Samuhe means
all groups: groups of all gopas, groups of all gop…s, groups of all
cows, groups of all cowherd boys, and groups of all the calves. What
transpires in Gokula? Everywhere KŠa plays and performs vil€sa. He
goes cowherding, but why does He go? There is some ulterior motive.
He considers, “If I go this way everyone will be sure that I’m going
to herd cows.” But why is He actually going? Only to meet with the
gop…s. To meet directly, as in Western countries, is not very good. But
meeting in a stealthy way, hiding and meeting, makes KŠa so happy.
The gop…s come with much struggle and great difficulty, not caring at
all for their fathers, mothers, fathers-in-law, neighbors and so on. In
this way KŠa meets them. He performs r€sa with them, and that is
why He is n€gara. Who is k€na? Kanhaiy€ is KŠacandra Himself.
Gop…-par€Ša-dhana. Gop…-pr€Ša-dhana. KŠa is the life and soul
of the gop…s, and the gop…s are also the life and soul of KŠa. Both are
true. Without KŠa the gop…s cannot remain alive. Do you know what
became of the gop…s when KŠa went to Mathur€? We can touch upon
only a little of this confidential subject matter. I want to tell more but I
cannot. I will keep it for future years. I can’t fully explain it in one year.
For several years—two, four, six, eight years—it will be continued.
Yaod€ is also a gop…. All cowherd women, both young and old, are
gop…s. However Lalit€, Vi€kh€ and all others like them are especially
®r… N€ma K…rtan
121
referred to in this context. What is the meaning of gop…? One who can
keep KŠa so secretly in her heart. She who cannot take KŠa out of
her heart is a gop….
Madana-Manohara. KŠa is the Cupid of cupid of cupid of cupid.
He is manmata manmatah. ®r…mat… R€dhik€ is cupida. Cupida means one
who is many l€khs times more enchanting than the Cupid of cupids.
K€l…ya-damana-vidh€na means the punisher of the K€l…ya serpent.
It is curious why ®r…la Bhaktivinoda μh€kura has brought this k€l…yadamana-
vidh€na. Previously he was only referring to sweet pastimes,
so why has he brought poison here? Actually it is not poison. In this
pastime KŠa was able to trick the gop…s and bring them near for the
first time. This was the first occasion. The gop…s were six or seven and
KŠa was eight years old. KŠa desired, “O, you should see how
brave I am.” He danced on the hoods of K€l…ya only to show them,
“How qualified and brave I am”. Therefore k€l…ya-damana-vidh€na is
not a very dangerous or harsh pastime.
Amala harin€m amiya-vil€s€. Why has ®r…la Bhaktivinoda
μh€kura brought in this harin€ma? What is the use? KŠa has invested
His full power, sweetness and all His nectarean pastimes in His name.
If you chant harin€ma, Yaomat…-Nandana will come, braja-baro-n€gara,
gokula-rañjana, k€na, and gop…-par€Ša-dhana will all come. They are all
present in harin€ma if you are chanting pure name with a relation to
KŠa. What relation? “KŠa is my pr€na-dhana, the wealth of my
life”—with that relation. Then all the pastimes that I explained will be
very quickly manifested in your heart. This is the process.
Amala harin€ma. You should not think that these are only words.
Amala means pure, amiya means €mta, nectar, and vil€s€ means dancing
and singing in r€sa, playing on swings while everyone sings m€l€-
r€ga and so many other tunes. Sometimes KŠa controls the swing
Himself. R€dhik€ is sitting on the swing and He takes Her very high
without supporting Her. She becomes afraid and cries out, “Oh, stop!
Stop! Stop!” But KŠa does not stop. Her veil and garments begin
to fly, and in Her fear She embraces KŠa very tightly. KŠa wants
this. This is amiya-vil€s€. There are many kinds of vil€s€, as they are
written in Govinda-l…l€mta and other books, and all these amiya-vil€s€
are invested in harin€ma.
Vipina-purandara nav…na n€gara-vara. Vipina-purandara. KŠa is
the Indra of Vnd€vana. Indra here means superior. One of the names
of KŠa is Indra, and He has given this name to the demigod Indra.
KŠa’s name is also R€ma, and He has distributed it somewhat to
Secret Truths of the Bh€gavatam
122
Balar€ma and D€arathi R€macandra. All the names in the entire
world belong to KŠa. Who is dharan…-dhara? KŠa, and He has given
it to šnantadeva. Whose name is Baladeva? It is KŠa’s. But He has
distributed that and all His names to many others.
Vipina-purandara nav…na n€gara-vara. KŠa is ever-fresh and
new. Therefore R€dhik€ tells Lalit€, “O Lalite, can you tell Me who is
that black person? I’ve never seen Him before in My whole life. Who
is that person now playing on the flute? And who is the boy in that
picture painted by Citra? Oh, now I want to commit suicide. Surely I
will commit suicide because Indian ladies are very chaste, but I have
divided My love and affection among three persons. One person is He
who plays sweetly on His flute, another is that black person I have just
seen, and the third is the one in this picture. In this way there are three
personalities. So I must die. I must die.” Lalit€ told Her, “You should
not die. The black person, the one who plays on His flute and the
person who is in this picture are one and the same. So You should not
die.” KŠa is therefore nava-navaya m€na—always nav…na n€gara vara.
Vaˆ… vadana suv€sa. Vaˆ… vandan. There is always a flute on
KŠa’s lips. Even when He sleeps it is close by. Or He may put it in His
sash and then sleep. From His birth to the time He left Vnd€vana, He
could not give up His flute for a moment. When He went to Mathur€
He kept His flute with ®r…mat… R€dhik€. Weeping and weeping He told
Her, “When I return, You should give My flute back to Me.”
Suv€s€. KŠa wears a peacock feather on His head, His form is
three-fold bending, His eyes are very crooked and His cheeks are very
beautiful, very beautiful. There is no comparison to His beauty. KŠa
can only be compared to Himself.
Vraja-jana p€lana. KŠa supports all Vrajav€s…s. How? He kills
P™tan€, Agh€sura, B€kasura, Kaˆsa and all other demons. He also
supports everyone with love and affection. Asura-kula-n€ana. He
destroyed all the demons, by His sweet pastimes. Nanda-godhanar€
khov€l€. He always protects nanda-godhana, the cows of Nanda B€b€
and others.





Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...)

(My humble salutations to  the lotus feet of  Swami jis great Devotees , Philosophic Scholars, Purebhakti dot com       for the collection)

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