more on selfless happiness

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Happiness, along with indestructibility and knowledge, is an intrinsic

characteristic of the jiva (sac-cid-ananda). The existence of the jiva is as

a limited part and parcel of the Supreme; thus he shares with the Supreme

(Krsna) the qualities of sac-cid-ananda. The jiva's ability to exist,

control, know, enjoy, and so on, is limited, whereas that of the Supreme is

unlimited. For instance, Krsna exists in all times and places, whereas the

jiva generally only exists at one time in one place. And as the Supreme

Enjoyer, Krsna enjoys all the facilities of all times and all places;

everything, including the jivas, exists for His enjoyment. However it is

possible that Krsna's part and parcels, especially His closest associates,

experience happiness equal to or even greater than that of the Lord. And

even ordinary jivas can experience happiness commensurate to that of the

Lord's. Were it not so then His enjoyment of pastimes would be imbalanced by

His being disproportionately happier than the devotees accompanying Him.

 

Even in pure devotional service it is accepted that a devotee desires

happiness. However in pure devotional service all desires are dovetailed

with those of the Lord. A devotee desires to be happy by seeing the Lord

happy, and is not shy to express or experience such happiness. But if such

happiness becomes an obstruction to the Lord's happiness, then the devotee

is prepared to give up his own happiness. This is exemplified by Daruka, a

servant of Krsna who used to fan Krsna. When he was engaged in such service,

he was filled with ecstatic love, but Daruka did not relish his ecstatic

feelings of love, for they caused his limbs to become stunned and thus

obstructed his service of fanning Lord Krsna. Daruka was so serious about

his service that he checked these manifestations of ecstatic love and

considered them hindrances to his engagement. Such selflessness is further

exemplified by Srimati Radharani, who expressed that if Krsna became pleased

in Her distress, then she was eager to accept such distress.

 

Such relegation of personal desires below that of the Lord's is the measure

by which a devotee's level of advancement is understood. Among all devotees

the gopis are topmost, yet they appear to be young girls lusty to enjoy with

Krsna. The mystery of the gopis' selflessness is explained is Sri

Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila Chapter Four (excerpts below).

 

Whatever affection we see the gopis show for their own bodies, know it for

certain to be only for the sake of Lord Krsna.

 

[The gopis think:] "I have offered this body to Lord Krsna. He is its owner,

and it brings Him enjoyment.

 

"Krsna finds joy in seeing and touching this body." It is for this reason

that they cleanse and decorate their bodies.

 

There is another wonderful feature of the emotion of the gopis. Its power is

beyond the comprehension of the intelligence.

 

When the gopis see Lord Krsna, they derive unbounded bliss, although they

have no desire for such pleasure.

 

The gopis taste a pleasure ten million times greater than the pleasure Lord

Krsna derives from seeing them.

 

The gopis have no inclination for their own enjoyment, and yet their joy

increases. That is indeed a contradiction.

 

For this contradiction I see only one solution: the joy of the gopis lies in

the joy of their beloved Krsna.

 

When Lord Krsna sees the gopis, His joy increases, and His unparalleled

sweetness increases also.

 

[The gopis think:] "Krsna has obtained so much pleasure by seeing me." That

thought increases the fullness and beauty of their faces and bodies.

 

The beauty of Lord Krsna increases at the sight of the beauty of the gopis.

And the more the gopis see Lord Krsna's beauty, the more their beauty

increases.

 

In this way a competition takes place between them in which no one

acknowledges defeat.

 

Krsna, however, derives pleasure from the beauty and good qualities of the

gopis. And when the gopis see His pleasure, the joy of the gopis increases.

 

Therefore we find that the joy of the gopis nourishes the joy of Lord Krsna.

For that reason the fault of lust is not present in their love.

 

There is another natural symptom of the gopis' love that shows it to be

without a trace of lust.

 

The love of the gopis nourishes the sweetness of Lord Krsna. That sweetness

in turn increases their love, for they are greatly satisfied.

 

The happiness of the abode of love is in the happiness of the object of that

love. This is not a relationship of desire for personal gratification.

 

Whenever there is unselfish love, that is its style. The reservoir of love

derives pleasure when the lovable object is pleased. When the pleasure of

love interferes with the service of Lord Krsna, the devotee becomes angry

toward such ecstasy.

 

Furthermore, pure devotees never forsake the loving service of Lord Krsna to

aspire for their own personal pleasure through the five kinds of liberation.

 

The natural love of the gopis is devoid of any trace of lust. It is

faultless, bright and pure, like molten gold.

 

The gopis know Krsna's desires, and they know how to render perfect loving

service for His enjoyment. They perform their service expertly for the

satisfaction of their beloved. (end of extract)

 

Gaudiya Vaisnavas are trained to follow in the footsteps of the gopis. This

does not mean to imitate the gopis' activities. Even hearing exclusively

about gopi-lilas is proscribed for neophyte devotees, who due to lingering

miscomprehension of the true nature of enjoyment are likely to misconstrue

the gopis' love as similar to material lust. Following in the footsteps of

the gopis is thus best done by first imbibing their mood of selflessness and

surrender, the level of which distinguishes them from even other great

devotees.

 

However if a neophyte devotee attempts to immediately negate all personal

desires, he is likely to fall down into material lust. This is because by

his nature the jiva must enjoy, either materially or spiritually. Those who

due to lingering material contamination are not ready to enjoy on the

topmost spiritual platform should recognize their situation and imbibe the

mood of selfless service to Krsna, without attempting to imitate the level

of the gopis.

 

Devotees should cultivate enjoying seeing the form of the Lord, honoring His

prasada, engaging in His service in various ways, and so on. In the

beginning such enjoyment may be mixed with polluted desires. But by

continuing to serve and by regularly hearing of Krsna's position as the

supreme and ultimately only true enjoyer, the devotee gradually becomes

freed from all personal desires. Then he can actually enjoy spiritual bliss.

As stated in the extract from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta quoted above, this is

a contradiction or paradox beyond the comprehension of the mundane

intelligence.