The Rasa Dance

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In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated the rasa dance took place on the full moon

night of the sarat season. From the statement of previous chapters, it appears

that the festival of Govardhana Puja was performed just after the dark moon

night of the month of Karttika, and thereafter the ceremony of Bhratrdvitiya

was performed; then the wrath of Indra was exhibited in the shape of torrents

of rain and hailstorm, and Lord Krsna held up Govardhana Hill for seven days,

up until the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the

inhabitants of Vrndavana were talking amongst themselves about the wonderful

activities of Krsna, and the next day, Ekadasi was observed by Nanda Maharaja.

On the next day, Dvadasi, Nanda Maharaja went to take bath in the Ganges and

was arrested by the men of Varuna; then he was released by Lord Krsna. Then

Nanda Maharaja, along with the cowherd men, was shown the spiritual sky.

In this way, the full moon night of the sarat season came to an end. The full

mmoon night of Asvina is called sarad-purnima. It appears from the statement of

Srimad-Bhagavatam that Krsna had to wait another year for such a moon before

enjoying the rasa dance with the gopis. At the age of seven years, He lifted

Govardhana Hill. Therefore, the rasa dance took place during His eighth year.

>From Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical actor dances among many

dancing girls, the group-dance is called a rasa dance. When Krsna saw the full

moon night of the sarat season, He decorated Himself with various seasonal

flowers, especially the mallika flowers, which are very fragrant, He remembered

the gopis' prayers to goddess Katyayani, wherein they prayed for Krsna to be

their husband. He thought that the full night of the sarat season was just

suitable for a nice dance. So their desire to have Krsna as their husband would

then be fulfilled. The words used in this connection in the Srimad-Bhagavatam

are bhagavan api. This means that although Krsna is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, He has no desire that needs to be fulfilled because He is always full

with six opulences yet He wanted to enjoy the company of the gopis. Bhagavan

api signifies that this is not like the ordinary dancing of young boys and

young girls. The specific word used in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is yogamayam

upasritah, which means that this dancing with the gopis is on the platform of

yogamaya, not mahamaya. The dancing of young boys and girls within this

material world is in the kingdom of mahamaya, or the external energy. The rasa

dance of Krsna with the gopis is on the platform of yogamaya. The difference

between the platform of yogamaya and mahamaya is compared in the

Caitanya-caritamrta to the difference between gold and iron. From the

viewpoint of metallurgy, gold and iron are both metals, but the quality is

completely different. Similarly, although the rasa dance and Lord Krsna's

association with the gopis appear like the ordinary mixing of young boys and

girls, the quality is completely different. The difference is appreciated by

great Vaisnavas because they can understand the difference between love of

Krsna and lust. On the mahamaya platform, dances take place on the basis of

sense gratification. But when Krsna called the gopis by sounding His flute, the

gopis very hurriedly rushed towards the spot of rasa dance with the

transcendental desire of satisfying Krsna. The author of Caitanya-caritamrta,

Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, has explained that lust means sense gratification,

and love also means sense gratification--but for Krsna. In other words, when

activities are enacted on the platform of personal sense gratification, they

are called material activities, but when they are enacted for the satisfaction

of Krsna, then they are spiritual activities. On any platform of activities,

the principle of sense gratification is there. But on the spiritual platform,

sense gratification is for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, whereas

on the material platform it is for the performer. For example, on the material

platform, when a servant serves a master, he is

not trying to satisfy the senses of the master, but rather his own senses. The

servant would not serve the master if the payment stopped. That means that the

servant engages himself in the service of the master just to satisfy his

senses. On the spiritual platform, the servitor of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead serves Krsna without payment, and he continues his service in all

conditions. That is the difference between Krsna consciousness and material

consciousness. It appears that Krsna enjoyed the rasa dance with the gopis

when He was eight years old. At that time, many of the gopis were married,

because in India, especially in those days, girls were married at a very early

age. There are even many instances of a girl giving birth to a child at the age

of twelve. Under the circumstances, all the gopis who wanted to have Krsna as

their husband were already married. At the same time, they continued to hope

that Krsna would be their husband. Their attitude toward Krsna was that of

paramour love. Therefore, the loving affairs of Krsna with the gopis is called

parakiya-rasa. A married man or a wife who desires another wife or husband is

called parakiya-rasa. Actually, Krsna is the husband of everyone because He is

the supreme enjoyer. The gopis wanted Krsna to be their husband, but factually

there was no possibility of His marrying all the gopis. But because they had

that natural tendency to accept Krsna as their supreme husband, the

relationship between the gopis and Krsna is called parakiya-rasa. This

parakiya-rasa is ever-existent in Goloka Vrndavana in the spiritual sky where

there is no possibility of the inebriety which characterizes parakiya-rasa in

the material world. In the material world, parakiya-rasa is abominable, whereas

in the spiritual world it is present in the superexcellent relationship of Krsna

and the gopis. There are many other relationships with Krsna: master and

servant, friends and friend, parent and son, and lover and beloved. Out of all

these rasas, the parakiya-rasa is considered to be the topmost. This material

world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world; it is just like the

reflection of a tree on the bank of a reservoir of water: the topmost part of

the tree is seen as the lowest part. Similarly, parakiya-rasa, when pervertedly

reflected in this material world, is abominable. When people, therefore, imitate

the rasa dance of Krsna with the gopis, they simply enjoy the perverted,

abominable reflection of the transcendental parakiya-rasa. There is no

possibility of enjoying this transcendental parakiya-rasa within the material

world. It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that one should not imitate this

parakiya-rasa even in dream or imagination. Those who do so drink the most

deadly poison. When Krsna, the supreme enjoyer, desired to enjoy the company

of the gopis on that full moon night of the sarat season, exactly at that very

moment, the moon, the lord of the stars, appeared in the sky, displaying its

most beautiful features. The full moon night of the sarat season is the most

beautiful night in the year. In Indian there is a great monument called Taj

Mahal in Agra, a city in the Uttar Pradesh province, and the tomb is made of

first-class marble stone. During the night of the full moon of the sarat

season, many foreigners go to see the beautiful reflections of the moon on the

tomb. Thus this full moon night is celebrated even today for its beauty. When

the full moon rose in the east, it tinged everything with a reddish color. With

the rising of the moon, the whole sky appeared smeared by red kunkuma. When a

husband long separated from his wife returns home, he decorates the face of his

wife with red kunkuma. This long-expected moonrise of the sarat season was thus

smearing the eastern sky. The appearance of the moon increased Krsna's desire

to dance with the gopis. The forests were filled with fragrant flowers. The

atmosphere was cooling and festive. When Lord Krsna began to blow His flute,

the gopis all over Vrndavana became enchanted. Their attraction to the

vibration of the flute increased a thousand times due to the rising full moon,

the red horizon, the calm and cool atmosphere, and the blossoming flowers. All

these gopis were by nature very much attracted to Krsna's beauty, and when they

heard the vibration of His flute, they became apparently lustful to satisfy the

senses of Krsna. Immediately upon hearing the vibration of the flute, they all

left their respective engagements and proceeded to the spot where Krsna was

standing. While they ran very swiftly, all their earrings swung back and forth.

They all rushed toward the place known as Vamsivata. Some of them were engaged

in milking cows, but they left their milking business half finished and

immediately went to Krsna. One of them had just collected milk and put it in a

milk pan on the oven to boil, but she did not care whether the milk overboiled

and spilled--she immediately left to go see Krsna. Some of them were breast

feeding their small babies, and some were engaged in distributing food to the

members of their families, but they left all such engagements and immediately

rushed towards the spot where Krsna was playing His flute. Some were engaged in

serving their husbands, and some were themselves engaged in eating, but neither

caring to serve their husbands nor eat, they immediately left. Some of them

wanted to decorate their faces with cosmetic ointments and to dress themselves

very nicely before going to Krsna, but unfortunately they could not finish

their cosmetic decorations nor put on their dresses in the right way because of

their anxiety to meet Krsna immediately. Their faces were decorated hurriedly

and were haphazardly finished; some even put the lower part of their dresses on

the upper part of their bodies and the upper part on the lower part. While all

the gopis were hurriedly leaving their respective places, their husbands,

brothers and fathers were all struck with wonder to know where they were going.

Being young girls, they were protected either by husbands, elderly brothers or

fathers. All their guardians forbade them to go to Krsna, but they disregarded

them. When a person becomes attracted by Krsna and is in full Krsna

consciousness, he does not care for any worldly duties, even though very

urgent. Krsna consciousness is so powerful that it gives everyone relief from

all material activities. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a very nice verse

wherein one gopi advises another, "My dear friend, if you desire to enjoy the

company of material society, friendship and love, then please do not go to see

this smiling boy Govinda, who is standing on the bank of the Yamuna and playing

His flute, His lips brightened by the beams of the full moonlight." Srila Rupa

Gosvami indirectly instructs that one who has been

captivated by the beautiful smiling face of Krsna has lost all attraction for

material enjoyments. This is the test of advancement in Krsna consciousness: a

person advancing in Krsna consciousness must lose interest in material

activities and personal sense gratification. Some of the gopis were factually

detained from going to Krsna by their husbands and were locked up by force

within their rooms. Being unable to go to Krsna, they began to meditate upon

His transcendental form by closing their eyes. They already had the form of

Krsna within their minds. They proved to be the greatest yogis; as is stated in

the Bhagavad-gita, a person who is constantly thinking of Krsna within his heart

with faith and love is considered to be the topmost of all yogis. Actually, a

yogi concentrates his mind on the form of Lord Visnu. That is real yoga. Krsna

is the original form of all Visnu tattvas. The gopis could not go to Krsna

personally, so they began to meditate on Him as perfect yogis. In the

conditioned stage of the living entities, there are two kinds of results of

fruitive activities: the conditioned living entity who is constantly engaged in

sinful activities has suffering as his result, and he who is engaged in pious

activities has material enjoyment as a result. In either case--material

suffering or material enjoyment--the enjoyer or sufferer is conditioned by

material nature. The gopi associates of Krsna, who assembled in the place where

Krsna is appearing, are from different groups. Most of the gopis are eternal

companions of Krsna. As stated in the Brahma-samhita,

ananda-cin-maya-rasa-pratibhavitabhih: in the spiritual world the associates of

Krsna, especially the gopis, are the manifestation of the pleasure potency of

Lord Krsna. They are expansions of Srimati Radharani. But when Krsna exhibits

His transcendental pastimes within the material world in some of the universes,

not only the eternal associates of Krsna come, but also those who are being

promoted to that status from this material world. The gopis who joined Krsna's

pastimes within this material world were coming from the status of ordinary

human beings. If they had been bound by fruitive action, they were fully freed

from the reaction of karma by constant meditation on Krsna. Their severe

painful yearnings caused by their not being able to see

Krsna freed them from all sinful reactions, and their ecstasy of transcendental

love for Krsna in His absence was transcendental to all their reactions of

material pious activities. The conditioned soul is subjected to birth and

death, either by pious or sinful activities, but the gopis who began to

meditate on Krsna transcended both positions and became purified and thus

elevated to the status of the gopis already expanded by His pleasure potency.

All the gopis who concentrated their minds on Krsna in the spirit of paramour

love became fully uncontaminated from all the fruitive reactions of material

nature, and some of them immediately gave up their material bodies developed

under the three modes of material nature. Maharaja Pariksit heard Sukadeva

Gosvami explain the situation of the gopis who assembled with Krsna in the rasa

dance. When he heard that some of the gopis, simply by concentrating on Krsna as

their paramour, became freed from all contamination of material birth and death,

he said, "The gopis did not know that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. They accepted Him as a beautiful boy and considered Him to be their

paramour. So how was it possible for them to get freed from the material

condition just by thinking of a paramour?" One should consider here that Krsna

and ordinary living beings are qualitatively one. The ordinary living beings,

being part and parcel of Krsna, are also Brahman, but Krsna is the

Supreme--Parabrahman. The question is, If it is possible for the devotee to get

free from the material, contaminated stage simply by thinking of Krsna, then why

not others who are also thinking of someone? If one is thinking of a husband or

son, or if anyone at all is thinking of another living entity, since all living

entities are also Brahman, then why are they not all freed from the

contaminated stage of material nature? This is a very intelligent question,

because the atheists are always imitating Krsna. In these days of Kaliyuga,

there are many rascals who think themselves to be as great as Krsna and who

cheat people into believing that thinking of them is as good as thinking of

Lord Krsna. Pariksit Maharaja, apprehending the dangerous condition of blind

followers of demoniac imitators, therefore asked this question, and fortunately

it is recorded in the Srimad-Bhagavatam to warn innocent people that thinking of

an ordinary man and thinking of Krsna are not the same. Actually, even thinking

of the demigods cannot compare with thinking of Krsna. It is also warned in the

Vaisnava Tantra that one who puts Visnu, Narayana, or Krsna on the same level of

the demigods is called a pasanda, or a rascal. On hearing this question of

Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Gosvami replied, "My dear King, your question is

already answered, even before this incident." Because Pariksit Maharaja wanted

to clear up the situation, his spiritual master answered him very

intelligently, "Why are you again asking the same subject matter which has

already been explained to you? Why are you so forgetful?" A spiritual master is

always in the superior position, so he has the right to chastise his disciple in

this way. Sukadeva Gosvami knew that Maharaja Pariksit asked the question not

for his own understanding, but as a warning to the future innocent people who

might think others to be equal to Krsna. Sukadeva Gosvami then reminded

Pariksit Maharaja about the salvation of Sisupala. Sisupala was always envious

of Krsna, and because of his envy Krsna killed him. Since Krsna is the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, Sisupala gained salvation simply by seeing Him. If an

envious person can get salvation simply by concentrating his mind on Krsna,

then what to speak of the gopis who are so dear to Krsna and always thinking of

Him in love? There must be some difference between the enemies and the friends.

If Krsna's enemies could get freed from material contamination and become one

with the Supreme, then certainly His dear friends like the gopis are freed and

with Him. Besides that, in the Bhagavad-gita Krsna is called Hrsikesa. Sukadeva

Gosvami also said that Krsna is Hrsikesa, the Supersoul, whereas an ordinary man

is a conditioned soul covered by the material body. Krsna and Krsna's body are

the same because He is Hrsikesa. Any person making a distinction between Krsna

and Krsna's body is fool number one. Krsna is Hrsikesa and Adhoksaja. These two

particular words have been used by Pariksit Maharaja in this instance. Hrsikesa

is the Supersoul, and Adhoksaja is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

transcendental to the material nature. Just to show favor to the ordinary

living entities, out of His causeless mercy, He appears as He is.

Unfortunately, foolish persons mistake Him to be another ordinary person, and

so they become eligible to go to hell. Sukadeva Gosvami reconfirmed that Krsna

is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, imperishable, immeasurable, and free

from all material contamination. Sukadeva Gosvami continued to inform Maharaja

Pariksit that Krsna is not an ordinary person. He is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, full of all spiritual qualities. He appears in this material world out

of His causeless mercy, and whenever He appears, He appears as He is without

change. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. There the Lord says that

He appears in His spiritual potency. He does not appear under the control of

this material potency. The material potency is under His control. In the

Bhagavad-gita it is stated that the material potency is working under His

superintendence. It is also confirmed in the Brahma-samhita that the material

potency known as Durga is acting just as a shadow which moves with the movement

of the substance. The conclusion is that if one somehow or other becomes

attached to Krsna or attracted to Him, either because of His beauty, quality,

opulence, fame, strength, renunciation or knowledge, or even through lust,

anger

or fear, or affection or friendship, then one's salvation and freedom from

material contamination is assured. In the Bhagavad-gita, Eighteenth Chapter,

the Lord also states that one who is engaged in preaching Krsna consciousness

is very dear to Him. A preacher has to face many difficulties in his struggle

to preach pure Krsna consciousness. Sometimes he has to suffer bodily injuries,

and sometimes he has to meet death also. All this is taken as a great austerity

on behalf of Krsna. Krsna therefore has said that such a preacher is very, very

dear to Him. If Krsna's enemies can expect salvation simply by concentrating

their minds on Him, then what to speak of persons who are so dear to Krsna? The

conclusion should be that the salvation of those who are engaged in preaching

Krsna consciousness in the world is guaranteed in all circumstances. But such

preachers never care for salvation, because factually one who is engaged in

Krsna consciousness, devotional service, has already achieved salvation.

Sukadeva Gosvami therefore assured King Pariksit that he should always rest

assured that

one attracted by Krsna attains liberation from material bondage because Krsna is

the transcendental master of all mystic power. When all the gopis assembled, as

described, before Krsna, He began to speak to them, welcoming them as well as

discouraging them by word jugglery. Krsna is the supreme speaker; He is the

speaker of the Bhagavad-gita. He can speak on the highest elevated subjects of

philosophy, politics, economics--everything. And He also spoke before the gopis

who were so dear to Him. He wanted to enchant them by word jugglery, and thus He

began to speak as follows. "O ladies of Vrndavana," Krsna said. "You are very

fortunate, and you are very dear to Me. I am very pleased that you have come

here, and I hope everything is well in Vrndavana. Now please order Me. What can

I do for you? What is the purpose of coming here in this dead of night? Kindly

take your seats and let Me know what I can do for you." The gopis had come to

Krsna to enjoy His company, to dance with Him, embrace Him and kiss Him, and

when Krsna began to receive them very officially, showing all kinds of

etiquette, they were surprised. He was treating them as ordinary society women.

Therefore they began to smile among themselves, and they very eagerly listened

to Krsna talk in that way. When He saw that they were smiling at Him, He said,

"My dear friends, you must know now that it is the dead of night, and the

forest is very dangerous. At this time all the ferocious jungle animals, the

tigers, bears, jackals and wolves, are prowling in the forest. Therefore it is

very dangerous for you. You cannot select a secure place now. Everywhere you go

you will find that all these animals are loitering to find their prey. I think,

therefore, that you are taking a great risk in coming here in the dead of

night. Please turn back immediately, without delay." When He saw that they

continued to smile, He said, "I very much appreciate your bodily features. All

of you have nice, very thin waists." All of the gopis there were exquisitely

beautiful. They are described by the word sumadhyama; the standard of beauty of

a woman is said to be sumadhyama when the middle portion of the body is slender.

Krsna wanted to impress on them that they were not old enough to take care of

themselves. Actually, they required protection. It was not very wise for them

to come in the dead of night to Krsna. Krsna also indicated that He was young

and that they were young girls. "It does not look very well for young girls and

boys to remain together in the dead of night." After hearing this advice, the

gopis did not seem very happy; therefore Krsna began to stress the point in a

different way. "My dear friends, I can understand that you have left your homes

without the permission of your guardians; therefore I think your mothers, your

fathers, your elderly brothers and even your sons, and what to speak of your

husbands, must be very anxious to find you. As long as you are here, they must

be searching in different places, and their minds must be very agitated. So

don't tarry. Please go back and make them peaceful." When the gopis appeared to

be a little bit disturbed and angry from the free advice of Krsna, they diverted

their attention to looking at the beauty of the forest. At that time the whole

forest was illuminated by the bright shining of the moon, and the air was

blowing very silently over the blooming flowers, and the green leaves of the

trees were moving in the breeze. Krsna took the opportunity of their looking at

the forest to advise them. "I think you have come out to see the beautiful

Vrndavana forest on this night," He said, "but you must now be satisfied. So

return to your homes without delay. I understand that you are all very chaste

women, so now that you have seen the beautiful atmosphere of the Vrndavana

forests, please return home and engage in the faithful service of your

respective husbands. Some of you must have babies by this time, although you

are very young. You must have left your small babies at home, and they must be

crying. Please immediately go back

home and just feed them with your breast milk. I can also understand that you

have very great affection for Me, and out of that transcendental affection you

have come here, hearing My playing on the flute. Your feelings of love and

affection for Me are very appropriate because I am the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. All living creatures are My parts and parcels, and naturally they are

affectionate to Me. So this affection for Me is very much welcome, and I

congratulate you for this. Now you can go back to your homes. Another thing I

must explain to you is that for a chaste woman, service to the husband without

duplicity is the best religious principle. A woman should be not only faithful

and chaste to the husband, but affectionate to the friends of her husband,

obedient to the father and mother of the husband, and affectionate to the

younger brothers of the husband. And most importantly, the woman must take care

of the children." In this way, Krsna explained the duty of a woman. He also

stressed the point of serving the husband: "Even if he is not of very good

character, or even if he is not very rich or fortunate or even if he is old or

invalid on account of continued diseases, whatever her husband's condition, a

woman should not divorce her husband if she actually desires to be elevated to

the higher planetary systems after leaving this body. Besides that, it is

considered abominable in society if a woman is unfaithful and goes searching

for another man. Such habits will deter a woman from being elevated to the

heavenly planets, and the results of such habits are very degrading. A married

woman should not search for a paramour, for this is not sanctioned by the Vedic

principles of life. If you think that you are very much attached to Me and you

want My association, I advise you not to personally try to enjoy Me. It is

better for you to go home, simply talk about Me, think of Me, and by this

process of

constantly remembering Me and chanting My names, you will surely be elevated to

the spiritual platform. There is no need to stand near Me. Please go back

home." The instruction given herein by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to

the gopis was not at all sarcastic. Such instructions should be taken very

seriously by all honest women. The chastity of women is specifically stressed

herein by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore this principle should

be followed by any serious woman who wants to be elevated to a higher status of

life. Krsna is the center of all affection for all living creatures. When this

affection is developed for Krsna, then one surpasses and transcends all Vedic

injunctions. This was possible for the gopis because they saw Krsna face to

face. This is not possible for any women in the conditioned state.

Unfortunately, by imitating the behavior of Krsna with the gopis, sometimes a

rascal takes the position of Krsna, following the philosophy of monism or

oneness, and he very irresponsibly takes advantage of this rasa-lila to entice

many innocent women and mislead them in the name of

spiritual realization. As a warning, Lord Krsna has herein hinted that what was

possible for the gopis is not possible for ordinary women. Although a woman can

actually be elevated by advanced Krsna consciousness, she should not be enticed

by an imposter who says that he is Krsna. She should concentrate her devotional

activities in chanting and meditating upon Krsna, as is advised herein. One

should not follow the men called sahajiya, the so-called devotees who take

everything very lightly. When Krsna spoke in such a discouraging way to the

gopis, they became very sad, for they thought that their desire to enjoy rasa

dance with Krsna would be frustrated. Thus they became full of anxiety. Out of

great sadness, the gopis began to breathe very heavily. Instead of looking at

Krsna face to face, they bowed their heads and looked to the ground, and they

began to draw various types of curved lines on the ground with their toes. They

were shedding heavy tears, and their cosmetic decorations were being washed from

their faces. The water from their eyes mixed with the kunkuma of their breasts

and fell to the ground. They could not say anything to Krsna, but simply stood

there silently. By their silence they expressed that their hearts were

grievously wounded. The gopis were not ordinary women. In essence they were on

an equal level with Krsna. They are His eternal associates. As it is confirmed

in the Brahma-samhita, they are expansions of the pleasure potency of Krsna,

and as His potency they are nondifferent from Him. Although they were depressed

by the words of Krsna, they did not like to use harsh words against Him. Yet

they wanted to rebuke Krsna for His unkind words, and therefore they began to

speak in faltering voices. They did not like to use harsh words against Krsna

because He was their dearmost, their heart and soul. The gopis had only Krsna

within their hearts. They were completely surrendered and dedicated souls.

Naturally, when they heard such unkind words, they tried to reply, but in the

attempt torrents of tears fell from their eyes. Finally they managed to speak.

"Krsna," they said, "You are very cruel! You should not talk like that. We are

full-fledged surrendered souls. Please accept us, and don't talk in that cruel

way. Of course, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You can do

whatever You like, but it is not worthy of Your position to treat us in such a

cruel way. We have come to You, leaving everything behind, just to take shelter

of Your lotus feet. We know that You are completely independent and can do

whatever You like, but we request You, don't reject us. We are Your devotees.

You should accept us as Lord Narayana accepts His devotees. There are many

devotees of Lord Narayana who worship Him for salvation, and He awards them

salvation. Similarly, how can You reject us when we have no other shelter than

Your lotus feet? "O dear Krsna," they continued, "You are the supreme

instructor. There is no doubt about it. Your instructions to the women to be

faithful to their husbands and to be merciful to their children, to take care

of homely affairs and to be obedient to the elderly members of the family, are

surely just according to the tenets of sastras. But we know also that all these

instructions of the sastras may be observed perfectly by keeping oneself under

the protection of Your lotus feet. Our husbands, friends, family members and

children are all dear and pleasing to us only because of Your presence, for You

are the Supersoul of all living creatures. Without Your presence, one is

worthless. When You leave the body, the body immediately dies, and according to

the injunction of the sastra, a dead body must immediately be thrown in a river

or burned. Therefore, ultimately You are the dearmost personality in this

world. By placing our faith and love in Your personality, there

is no chance of our being bereft of husband, friends, sons or daughters. If a

woman accepts You as the supreme husband, then she will never be bereft of her

husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we accept You as our ultimate

husband, then there is no question of being separated, divorced or widowed. You

are the eternal husband, eternal son, eternal friend, and eternal master, and

one who enters into a relationship with You is eternally happy. Since You are

the teacher of all religious principles, Your lotus feet first have to be

worshiped. Accordingly, the sastras state, acarya-upasana: the worship of Your

lotus feet is the first principle. Besides that, as stated in the

Bhagavad-gita, You are the only enjoyer, You are the only proprietor, and You

are the only friend. As such, we have come to You, leaving aside all so-called

friends, society and love, and now You have become our enjoyer. Let us be

everlastingly enjoyed by You. Be our proprietor, for that

is Your natural claim, and be our supreme friend, for You are naturally so. Let

us thus embrace You as the supreme beloved." Then the gopis told the lotus-eyed

Krsna, "Please do not discourage our long-cherished desires to have You as our

husband. Any intelligent man who cares for his own self-interest reposes all

his loving spirit in You. Persons who are simply misled by the external energy,

who want to be satisfied by false concepts, try to enjoy themselves apart from

You. The so-called husband, friend, son, daughter, or father and mother are all

simply sources of material misery. No one is made happy in this material world

by having a so-called father, mother, husband, son, daughter and friend.

Although the father and mother are expected to protect the children, there are

many children who are suffering for want of food and shelter. There are many

good physicians, but when a patient dies, no physician can revive him. There

are many means of protection, but when one is doomed, none of the protective

measures can help, and without Your protection the so-called sources of

protection simply become

sources of continued distress. We therefore appeal to You, dear Lord of all

lords, please do not kill our long-cherished desires to have You as our supreme

husband. "Dear Krsna, as women, we are certainly satisfied when our hearts are

engaged in the activities of family affairs, but our hearts have already been

stolen by You. We can no longer engage them in family affairs. Besides that,

You are asking us repeatedly to return home, and that is a very appropriate

instruction, but unfortunately we have been stunned here. Our legs have no

power to move a step from Your lotus feet. Therefore, if even at Your request

we return home, what shall we do there? We have lost all our capacity to act

without You. Instead of engaging our hearts in family affairs as women, we have

now developed a different type of lust which is continually blazing in our

hearts. Now we request You, dear Krsna, to extinguish that fire with Your

beautiful smile and the transcendental vibration emanating from Your lips. If

You do not agree to do us this favor, we shall certainly be burned in the fire

of separation. In that condition, we shall simply think of You and Your

beautiful features and give up our bodies immediately. In that way we think it

will be possible for us to reside at Your lotus feet in the next life. Dear

Krsna, if You say that if we go home our respective husbands will satisfy the

lusty flame of our desire, we can only say that that is no longer possible. You

have given us a chance to be enjoyed by You in the forest and have touched our

breasts once in the past, which we accepted as a blessing, as did the goddesses

of fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikunthalokas by You. Since we have tasted

this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer interested in going to anyone

but You for the satisfaction of our lust. Dear Krsna, the lotus feet of the

goddess of fortune are always worshiped by the demigods, although she is always

resting on Your chest in the Vaikuntha planets. She underwent great austerity

and penance to have some shelter at Your lotus feet, which are always covered

by tulasi leaves. Your lotus feet are the proper

shelter of Your servitors, and the goddess of fortune, instead of abiding on

Your chest, comes down and worships Your lotus feet. We have now placed

ourselves under the dust of Your feet. Please do not reject us, for we are

fully surrendered souls. "Dear Krsna, You are known as Hari. You destroy all

the miseries of all living entities, specifically of those who have left their

homes and family attachment and have completely taken to You. We have left our

homes with the hope that we shall completely devote and dedicate our lives to

Your service. We are simply begging to be engaged as Your servants. We do not

wish to ask You to accept us as Your wives. Simply accept us as Your

maidservants. Since You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and like to

enjoy the parakiya-rasa and are famous as a transcendental woman hunter, we

have come to satisfy Your transcendental desires. We are also after our own

satisfaction, for simply by looking at Your smiling face we have become very

lusty. We have come before You decorated with all ornaments and dress, but

until You embrace us, all our dresses and beautiful features remain incomplete.

You are the Supreme Person, and if You complete our dressing attempt as the

purusa-bhusana, or the male ornament, then all our desires and bodily

decorations are complete. "Dear Krsna, we have simply been captivated by seeing

You with tilaka and with earrings and by seeing Your beautiful face covered with

scattered hair and Your extraordinary smile. Not only that, but we are also

attracted by Your arms, which always give assurance to the surrendered souls.

And although we are also attracted by Your chest, which is always embraced by

the goddess of fortune, we do not wish to take her position. We shall simply be

satisfied by being Your maidservants. If You, however, accuse us of encouraging

prostitution, then we can only ask where is that woman within these three

worlds who is not captivated by Your beauty and the rhythmic songs vibrated by

Your transcendental flute? Within these three worlds there is no distinction

between men and women in relation to You because both men and women belong to

the marginal potency or prakrti. No one is actually the enjoyer or the male;

everyone is meant to be enjoyed by You. There is no woman within

these three worlds who cannot but deviate from her path of chastity once she is

attracted to You because Your beauty is so sublime that not only men and women,

but cows, birds, beasts and even trees, fruits and flowers--everyone and

everything--become enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves? It is, however,

definitely decided that as Lord Visnu is always protecting the demigods from

the onslaught of demons, so You have also advented in Vrndavana just to give

the residents protection from all kinds of distress. O dear friend of the

distressed, kindly place Your hand on our burning breasts as well as on our

heads, because we have surrendered unto You as Your eternal maidservants. If

You think, however, that Your lotus-like palms might be burned to ashes if

placed on our burning breasts, let us assure You that Your palms will feel

pleasure instead of pain, as the lotus flower, although very delicate and soft,

enjoys the scorching heat of the sun." Upon hearing the anxious plea of the

gopis, the Supreme Personality of Godhead began to smile, and being very kind

to the gopis, the Lord, although self-sufficient, began to embrace them and

kiss them as they desired. When Krsna, smiling, looked at the faces of the

gopis, the beauty of their faces became a hundred times enhanced. When He was

enjoying them in their midst, He appeared just like the full moon surrounded by

millions of shining stars. Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded

by hundreds of gopis and decorated with a flower garland of many colors, began

to wander within the Vrndavana forest, sometimes singing to Himself and

sometimes singing with the gopis. In this way, both the Lord and the gopis

reached the cool sandy bank of the Yamuna where there were lilies and lotus

flowers. In such a transcendental atmosphere, both the gopis and Krsna began to

enjoy one another. While they were walking on the bank of the

Yamuna, Krsna would sometimes put His arms around a gopi's head, breast or

waist. Pinching one another and joking and looking at one another, they

enjoyed. When Krsna touched the bodies of the gopis, their lust to embrace Him

increased. They all enjoyed these pastimes. Thus the gopis were blessed with

all mercy by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they enjoyed His company

without a tinge of mundane sex life. The gopis, however, soon began to feel

very proud, thinking themselves to be the most fortunate women in the universe

by being favored by the company of Krsna. Lord Krsna, who is known as Kesava,

could immediately understand their pride caused by their great fortune of

enjoying Him personally, and in order to show them His causeless mercy and to

curb their false pride, He immediately disappeared from the scene, exhibiting

His opulence of renunciation. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always full

with six kinds of opulences, and this is an instance of the opulence of

renunciation. This renunciation confirms Krsna's total nonattachment. He is

always self-sufficient and is not dependent on anything. This is the platform

on which the transcendental pastimes are enacted. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta

purport of the Twenty-ninth Chapter of Krsna, "The Rasa Dance: Introduction."