DANCE OF ILLICIT lOVE !!

[Guest guest]

My warm welcome to all those who have recently

joined our Satsang. Please share your thoughts on

Sadhna.<br><br>Dear co-sadhakas I am presenting some excerpts from

Psychology of love.<br><br><br>THE DANCE OF ILLICIT

LOVE<br><br>Krishna teases the gopis, dances with Radha and teaches

them an essential rule of the game of love; in order

to have him they must not want to possess him. What

is the Psyche behind the bliss and agony of love

?<br><br>The day people said<br>I was an unfaithful wife,<br>I

became Radha,<br>the first and the best<br>among women

in love,<br>A joy I had not

contemplated<br>dislodged all hopelessness<br>and filled my soul.<br>(by

Ramakantha Rath)<br><br> The enchanting season of autumn

arrived, when the lotuses were in full bloom. The small

safari fish sparkled in their burrows; the peacocks, no

longer animated by passion, fell silent in the woods.

The lakes started drying up, the skies were "free of

clouds like the hearts of ascetics are of desire", and

the nights were bright.<br><br>Krishna kept his

promise to the women of Vraja and with his presence

blessed each of them with his love-play, revealing the

many dimentions of love.<br><br>He played on his

celestial flute, melting their hearts. Hearing the music of

his flute made "even the rivers exhibit their

passion" and the girls could not resist its call. They

left their houses, regardless of what they wre doing.

Some left the pots of food to burn on the fire, some

left their infants half-fed on their breasts, others

did so while they were busy smearing their bodies

with sandal-paste, "their ear ornaments trembling with

excitement as they hastened to the forest".<br><br>The few

who were unable to get away began to meditate on him,

seeing themselves in his company. They were all joined

with him in unfettered love and felt free of all

bonds. Krishna then entered the waters of the Yamuna

with the maidens, playing with them. Receiving such

attention and love from God, they were filled with pride

and felt superior to all other women of the earth.

But krishna was quick to see their conceit and pride

and disappeared from their midst.<br><br>Deeply

distressed at being suddenly left alone, their hearts

totally absorbed in Krishna, the women started wandering

from grove to grove, looking for him in their mad

longing. Finally they found his footprints of a woman

alongside Krishna's. Seeing this they were torn by

jealousy, not knowing who this fortunate woman could

be.<br><br>INSIGHT: Water is the symbolic element that repeatedly

appears in dreams as in myths too, indicating that the

maidens, along with Krishna, have entered the realm of the

emotions.<br><br>(to continue..)

[Guest guest]

The unconscious is at work, Krishna plays with

their emotions, illustrating the progressive elements

of the love archetype; Receiving such attention and

love from Krishna the gopis were filled with pride.

Caught in the grips of the archetype, each gopi thinks

she is the chosen one. such attention causes Ego

boundaries to dissolve. There is no psychic stability yet.

The ego has touched the self, but there is still no

objectivity, as the gopi is unable to see Krishna as a

miror-image. In other words there is no identification between

the Self and other. This state is recognised as

hybris.<br><br>In its original usage the term refers to passion

arising from pride; in psychological terms it is know as

inflation. Those who are caught in similar life situations,

are warned through the myth, the consequences of

which lead one to a loss of discretion, almost to the

point of wanting the world to know about the new-found

love. Jealousy is the other twin force that the

unconscious unleases. The gopis illustrate this; they feel

slighted "Why her and not me ?"<br><br>The gopi with whom

Krishna disappeared, was Radha. She was filled with

conceit to have been chosen one. When she and Krishna had

gone deep into the forest she said to him," I cannot

walk further, take me wherever u wil on your

shoulders" Krishna agreed, but instead of doing so, he

disappeared, leaving her with her arms out stretched. she

lamented, " O Lord where are you? I am your slave, take me

with you, please . But Krishna was not to be

found.<br><br>the archetype of what we shall call Radha now is

distinct. The Ego development now progresses to become more

specific. she is not just any maiden of Vraja but a

particular identifiable personality; she is under the

illusion that she is the chosen one. She is flattered to

be singled out by HIM.<br><br>Love is given freely,

but she is unconscious of the fact that she can make

no legal claims as she is married to another. Radha

takes enormous risks to be with Krishna and for this

reasons, claims his exclusive attention. Krishna however

demands selfless love or elses he disappears reducing her

to tears and remorse. <br><br>It is important to

recognise that Krishna's call of the flute goes beyond

sexual attractin, it is a spiritual seduction, appealing

to man's deep-seated desire for self knowledge and

individuation. But the myth imparts the consequences of the

moment Radha loses Krishna because she is not

self-contained. to confront these forces and integrate them

within herself.<br><br>In other words, the beloved is

only a reflection of the Self that is Krishna is only

a morror, revealing her own soul and love force.

Radha thinks she is the only recipient of his love but

the fact is that Krishna multplies himself a hundred

fold, loving each of the gopis equally for what she is.

His love is inclusive, not exclusive. <br><br>(to

continue..)