Gopastami: 'into a full-fledged cowherder' (fwd)

[Guest guest]

An appropriate reflection for the holy day, this essay by H.H. Tripurari

Swami seems to be largely based on that of Gopala-campu.

 

MDd

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 04:58:11 +0000

Sanga <sadhusanga

 

RE: Gopastami: 'into a full-fledged cowherder'

 

 

Gopastami occurs on the eighth day of the bright fortnight in the month of

Karttika. On this day, as Krishna entered the pauganda age he was initiated

as a cowherder. Normally the pauganda age begins as a child enters his

sixth year. Five years are allotted for youth (kaumara), five years for

boyhood (pauganda), and on the eleventh year adolescence begins (kaisora).

However, Krishna, being an extraordinary child in every way, passed through

these ages quickly such that by the time he was seven he had entered

adolescence. Even in ordinary human society we find that some children are

mature for their age, and Krishna was such that he was one-and-one-half

times as mature as his actual age. At four, he was six years in terms of

maturity.

 

The first hint of Krishna's maturity is given in the Bhagavata, wherein

Sukadeva tells Maharaja Pariksit that Krishna began crawling very soon

after Gargamuni performed the name-giving ceremony for Nanda's sons,

Krishna and Balarama. At this time, Krishna was only a few months old, yet

he began crawling about, 'kalena vrajatalpena gokule rama-kesavau janubhyam

saha panibhyam ringamanau vijahratuh.' Soon thereafter he very quickly

began walking. Sukadeva said, 'kalenalpena rajarse ramah krsnas ca gokule,'

'within a very short time (kalenalpena) both Balarama and Krishna while

still in Gokula', 'aghrsta-janubhih padbhir vicakramamatur anjasa,' 'very

easily began walking on their legs without having to crawl.'

 

Soon after Krishna began walking it was decided by the elders that the

community of cowherd people should move to Vrindavan, 'vanam vrndavanam

nama. . .tat tatradyaiva yasyamah.' Once in Vrindavan Krishna soon

developed the desire to herd the calves. Before he was initiated into

cowherding, he was initiated into calf herding. This is first mentioned in

the Bhagavata in connection with Krishna's killing Vatsasura, 'sva kalena

vatsa-palau babhuvatuh.'

 

At this time Krishna had left his mother's breast and his curiosity

increased. He was in the final portion of infancy, 'sesa kumara.' When

Nanda Maharaja would go to the forest to herd cows, Krishna would go along

with him. They would play at cowherding themselves, and when this news

reached Yasoda she chastised Nanda baba thinking her son to be too young to

be grabbing the horns of bulls and cows. Her motherly affection did not

allow her to see that Krishna was actually growing literally and growing

within in terms of his dharma or nature.

 

What was Krishna's dharma? Herding cows, 'surabhir abhipalayantam.' When

mother Yasoda tried to restrain him, he stole away and mixed with the older

boys who were already in charge of the calves. After all, it is difficult

to change one's nature. This, however, is our task as sadhakas, to retire

our nature born of material identification and awaken to our eternal

nature, 'sva-dharma.' We are to awaken to 'paro dharma,' that which is

'ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati.' This is Krishna-dharma.

 

'Ahaituki' means without cause. This dharma is not a product of the world

of cause and effect. In this sense it has no beginning, as it belongs to

the timeless realm. Accordingly it is without end, 'apratihata.' Nothing

can stop it, and those involved in it will stop at nothing to satisfy the

supreme atma, 'yayatma suprasidati.' His satisfaction is the criterion for

successful action. In Vrindavan, this principle guides all movement. This

is real dharma, 'samsiddhir hari tosanam.' That it would express itself as

cowherding is appropriate, for herding cows represents the protection of

innocence, and innocence is faultless even when faults appear. Gather your

innocence, your purity of purpose for the cause of truth, for 'Oh what a

web we weave when at first we choose to deceive.'

 

Our nature is faulty. We are prone to illusion. Even though we are by

nature souls, we are defective and thus prone to our present condition. Our

good fortune lies in the fact that Krishna's nature is affectionate. By

measure of affection he has been acknowledged as the highest conception of

divinity, 'akhila rasamrita murti, raso vai sah.' What could be more

relevant to us in our search for Godhead? His nature is his svarupa-sakti

that comes to surround us and make us fit for entering the forest of love.

His is not ordinary cowherding. It is his svarupa-sakti facilitating the

joy of the Absolute. During the Govardhana-lila all of the gods named him

Govinda, he who gives pleasure to the cows. It is he who gives pleasure to

the world (go) as well, a world governed by the senses. He does so by

manifesting his eternal lila, initiating the opportunity for us to join him

in aesthetic rapture. Such is his unrestrained love for all souls.

 

When Yasodamayi realized that she could not restrain him, she and Nanda

Maharaja reasoned that it would be best to allow Krishna to care for the

young calves in the immediate vicinity of the village. Consulting with the

other elders Nanda arranged for the initiation ceremony. From the tantrics

he determined the proper time and with others he arranged for the

appropriate mantras to be given. Krishna along with Rama and many other

young lads were then given ropes, sticks, flutes, and horns to carry.

 

However, when sandals were brought, Krishna rejected them. In

Govinda-lilamrta, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes Krishna's

unwillingness to wear shoes while herding in the forest, even at the loving

insistence of mother Yasoda. We should learn from this that we can not go

to Vrindavan with our shoes on. We must leave the dirt collected for

endless lifetimes behind us, if we are to enter there. In innocence and

spiritual purity of heart, fearless, barefoot, and care free having ceased

from caring for our selfish interests we can approach Vrindavana.

 

When our approach is proper, we will have no necessity to watch out for

ourselves. Our mind will become Vrindavan, as Mahaprabhu said, 'mora mana

vrndavana.' Vrindavana will embrace us and all will be provided

automatically, accomodation at every step. When Krsna refused to wear

shoes, the cows began to stump their hooves and soften the ground to

accommodate his tender soles, and the sharp stones melted in anticipation

preparing the ground to receive his lotus feet.

 

All these events preceded Gopastami, which took place during Krishna's

pauganda-lila. Krishna's pauganda-lila commenced at the beginning of his

fifth year. Although his kaumara-lila lasts only three years as opposed to

the normal five, it nonetheless lasted for a full four years due to

Brahma's intervention that caused Krishna's friends to miss an entire year.

For their sake Krishna continued his kaumara-lila for a fourth year.

Because his kaumara-lila extended itself a full year, his pauganda-lila

lasted only two years. The speed with which the pauganda-lila passed was

also due in part to the enthusiasm of Krishna and his friends resulting

from their reunion after one year of separation. The pauganda-lila's

beginning and end are described in the fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavata's

tenth canto, wherein Krishna killed Dhenukasura and first exchanged glances

with the gopis. In this chapter, Krsna became a full cowherder on

Gopastami, 'babhuvatus tau pasu-pala sammatau.'

 

As the pauganda-lila began, Krishna refused to allow Yasoda to bathe him

due to the onset of bashfulness that accompanies this age. Although she

consoled herself by rationalizing his behavior as childishness, she knew in

her heart that he was maturing. This caused her grief, for she could

understand that soon he would insist upon herding cows. The consequences of

this for Yasoda were grave: Her son would be in the forest for the entire

day! Thus she avoided thinking about it for as long as she could.

 

At the same time Nanda Maharaja had been noticing that Krsna was spending

more time with his uncles, while he avoided his father, casting him only

occasional inhibited glances. Nanda saw Krishna repeatedly asking his

uncles for something with a look of delightful anxiety and thus he

questioned them about his son's behavior. The king's youngest brother

knowing Nanda Maharaja's inhibitions nevertheless replied, 'He wants to

take care of the cows.' The next eldest of Parjanya's five sons, Sananda,

then elaborated such as to soften the blow to his beloved older brother 'He

and Rama said that since their infancy has passed it is now improper for

their respected father to have to take the cows to pasture by himself.'

 

The wise and judicious Nanda Maharaja then consulted with his wife and

together they decided to seek an auspicious day and time to hold the

initiation ceremony through which Krishna would become a full-fledged

cowherder. In the meantime, all of Nanda Maharaja's cows refused to step

one foot into the pasture without Krishna. Thus Nanda was forced to act

without any further delay.

 

For three days announcements were made to the beat of kettledrums

everywhere throughout the settlement. All of the arrangements made

belittled that which had been arranged previously in connection with

Krishna's calf herding initiation. This event should be envisioned as

follows: Accompanied by musical instruments and singing, Krishna approached

the cows and priests before him. He then greeted them by washing their

feet, offering them praise, and feeding them sweet fodder from his hand.

After the cows were quite satisfied, he bowed before them in respect. Then

he satisfied the priests with gifts and came before his father with folded

hands along with Balarama. Nanda baba then placed a jeweled cowherd's staff

in his son's hand and Yasodamayi, the queen of Vraja, anointed Krishna's

forehead with tilak, saying 'Rama you stay in front of Krishna; Subala you

stay behind him; Sridama and Sudama stay by his side, and the rest of you

gather around him, for he is your dear friend.' She did and said this while

drenching her son and his friends with her tears of love.

 

With the completion of the ceremony, Rama and Krishna called to the cows,

'hyah, hyah, jihi' expecting the cows to move. Not prepared to move in

front of him for fear of losing sight of his beautiful form, they remained

motionless until he went to the front of the herd and led them into the

forest. Even the gopis admit that to see this is the perfection of the

eyes, 'aksanvatam phalam idam na param vidamah sakhyah pasun anuvivesyator

vayasyaih.'

 

We can only imagine this scene, yet doing so with a pure mind we can enter

there as well. Those interested in Krishna's eternal friendship will hanker

to herd cows with him through the initiation ceremony of Gopastami.

 

About Krishna's love for the cows and theirs for him, the gods have said

the following through Jiva Goswami's pen in Gopala Campu:

 

'Whenever they are satisfied, so too is he; whenever they are hungry, he is

as well. He calls them near again and again, and pressing against them he

relishes their scent and further embraces them, examining them closely and

feeding them. Without him their hearts are empty and they stand motionless

as if they were painted. Only when they are reunited with him do they

recover, smelling, seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching him.'