12 May 1996
Join Our Parikrama
[Hari-katha spoken by Nitya Lila Pravista Om Visnupada Astottara Sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja – Srila Gurudeva.]
To listen to the audio file of this class, please click on this link:
Srila Gurudeva: . . . a resolution was passed that, “He should not come. If he comes, we should not meet him and we should not give a chance for him to speak.”
But I must go. If they shut the door on me, I will bow my head and take the foot dust of Srila Svami Maharaja. If they open the doors of places where Svamiji stayed, then I will go to the place where Svamiji first came after he set foot in New York. I want to go to Tompkins Square park, which is situated near the sea. There, playing a pair of karatalas, Svamiji would sing, “Sri Krishna Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita Gadhadara Srivasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda.”
And everyone in the park would sing, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”
I was determined and thought, “I should surely go there and take darsana.”
And I will pray to Svamiji, “Svamiji, please give me the energy to unite all the senior devotees who have left Iskcon. They should be united again and with much enthusiasm, they should develop their bhakti. And, you should come in any form to help them.”
Sripada Madhava Maharaja: Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
Srila Gurudeva: Because Gurudeva never dies. If we are sincere, he will always be in our hearts, and everywhere, showering his blessings on us.
Despite being unmanifest to us, Gurudeva will say, “Oh don’t care for opposing forces! I am with you and I will always inspire you.”
So, perhaps Svamiji has sent me. I am so glad and happy to meet all you devotees. I am so much pleased to meet Svamiji’s first female disciple, do you know who she is? She is a very qualified devotee who is sitting in the corner of this room—Jadurani dasi. But I don’t call her Jadurani, I call her, “Shyamarani.” So, I have met many devotees who are so sincere and senior. I am so glad to have met them. I am so happy that Krishna and Svamiji are arranging for me to meet with all these devotees. I request you all to never be far away from Krishna Consciousness that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Svami Maharaja have inculcated in you. And nourish your seed of devotion with the water of harikatha. By gradually being nourished, the seed will sprout into a plant with many leaves, fruits, and flowers. This plant will grow into a tree that will give shade to the whole world.
Devotees: Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
Srila Gurudeva: I request you all to never give up your practice of devotion. Protect and nourish your devotion by listening to harikatha in sadhu sanga. And in no time, by the mercy of Krishna, you will conquer this illusory maya of Krishna. And I will see to it in my life that your bhakti progresses to bhava bhakti and culminates in prema bhakti. Do you know who the sadhaka of bhava bhakti was? It was Sri Bilvamangala Thakura. Perhaps, some of you know who he is. Prema bhakti will not be achieved in this world; it will be achieved in Vaikunta, or beyond Vaikunta—in Goloka Vrindavana. There, the stages of sneha, maan, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, and mahabhava will also be obtained.
If you follow this process, then your bhakti will be called Raganuga bhakti. In Vraja, this process is called Ragatmika. The devotees who follow this line of spontaneous devotion in this world as a sadhana (practice) are called Raganugas. In this world, Raganuga bhaktas are very rare. But our aim and object will be to attain Raganuga bhakti and not less than this. The object of your bhakti must be ascertained, and that object is called Prayojana. Prema is prayojana. But what kind of prema? Vraja prema, gopi prema. The aim and object of your sadhana should guide you like a polestar in the realm of devotion. You should think, “Being a conditioned soul, I am so wretched. But yet, I want that prema.”
So, we should follow in the footsteps of Srila Svami Maharaja. I also give my heartly honor to Srila Svami Maharaja and to you all. I think we will meet again.
Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
Kirtana should be sung.
[Maha mantra is sung]
[Break of audio]
Devotee: You are inspiring devotees to keep following the path of bhakti. And I think it is important that there have been some divisions that have exhausted all. We are trying to accomplish the exact same thing, which is to spread Vedic knowledge and Krishna Consciousness to as many people as possible. I think the divisions that are there are of really a minor importance. There will always be some differences, as you are different personalities. Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja had a particular way of presenting Krishna Consciousness to the whole world. Other people may have a slightly different way, but what is important I feel is the essence. I very appreciate the fact that you want to wherever possible; revitalize that essential knowledge of Krishna consciousness. And inspire devotees everywhere to follow Krishna consciousness. It is totally irrelevant that whatever school, division, or tradition, one belongs to, is the same Vaisnava tradition and that is really the most important thing.
And again, I think it is unfortunate that there are some divisions that people make such important issue out of it. Really, it is not important at all. The main thing is that Krishna is served, and that Krishna is made well known throughout the world. People should also become acquainted with devotional service and Vedic knowledge as much as possible, and to whatever degree they can understand. Some people can understand a little bit, while some can understand more. Some other people can understand even more. I think it is natural and there is nothing wrong about it. As long as we understand that there may be different levels of understanding, and we try to adjust our knowledge, or teachings of knowledge to those different levels; then I think everything is fine and we can co-operate together. So, I think this is my personal view. I know that when you came here, there were some different opinions and I really think it is unimportant. I feel very much blessed and appreciative that you are here. You are also following the same mission as Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada, and what he was doing. I think that it is a very important and positive thing. I very much appreciate your visit and once again, I hope your mission will be successful and will inspire as many people as possible to either carry on with their Krishna Consciousness or take it up or take it to a new level.
Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
[Applause from devotees]
[Srila Gurudeva begins his class]
First of all, I offer my heartly honor to the lotus feet of my Gurudeva, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. I offer my heartly honor to the lotus feet of my Siksha guru, Sannyasa godbrother, and bosom friend Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja. My dandavat pranamas to all Vaisnavas who have assembled here. I want their help in my service of preaching and in all my activities. I have told previously in the home of Hare Krishna dasa Prabhu that I have come to Western countries to fulfill certain purposes. I want to touch the lotus foot dust of Srila Svami Maharaja, who made the whole world Krishna Conscious in a very short time. I thought that I must try to go to the places where Svamiji has given his lotus foot dust. I was determined to take that foot dust on my head. I wanted an abhiseka (bathing ceremony) performed on me with that lotus foot dust. This way, I will have energy, and I can continue giving Svamiji’s message to the whole world.
I want to meet all the senior devotees who have left Iskcon, or are bound to leave Iskcon. I want to unite them again and inspire them to not give up the mission of Svamiji. By following the way that Svamiji led us on, we should go forward. Our bhakti should not be stopped. We have come to Holland and met many senior and new devotees. They all want to continue Svamiji’s mission to serve Krishna. I am so glad to have the association of all the devotees. I think that my mission in coming to the Western countries is fulfilled. I know that if you have been deprived of good Vaisnava sanga (association), sadhu sanga, the current of your bhakti will be stopped and it will dry. It is essential for the advancing devotees to have the association of bonafide Vaisnavas. Sri Nityananda Prabhu went door to door and requested, “Please give Me bhiksa (alms).” But what was that donation?
“Only chant harinama. Chant, “Krishna Krishna.” This is the alms I seek from you,” Nityananda Prabhu would say. Going door to door, Nityananda Prabhu would say, “My brother! Please chant one time, “Haribol,” or [devotees repeat loudly] “Gaura Premanande! Haribol!”
Nityananda Prabhu would say, “yathesna re bhratau! kuru hari-hari-dhvanam anita…” [Sri Nityanandaastakam]
With upraised arms, Nityananda Prabhu would tell everyone He would meet, “You should chant harinama and you will cross the ocean of birth and death. And If it is not so, I will take the responsibility to deliver you from the ocean of material existence.” So, you should chant and you will surely go across this bhava roga, the ocean of birth and death.
This was Svamiji’s mission also. And this is also the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But the mission did not give the holy name alone; the bestowal of the holy name was secondary. Some devotees are of the opinion that this alone is the mission of Svamiji and Mahaprabhu, but it is true to the fullest extent that the bestowal of the holy name is secondary. It has been written in Sri Caitanya Caritamrita and in the books of Srila Rupa Gosvami that by chanting harinama, you will realize that there are two kinds of name (harinama)—sadhana name (chanting harinama in the stage of practice) and sadhya name (chanting harinama in the stage of perfection). By chanting regularly, you will ascend to the stage of prema, up to gopi prema, and Radha prema. If you do not have good association, or you are in the association of a mayavadi (impersonalist), then your bhakti will weaken. The mayavadis also chant Hare Krishna, and the karmis (materialists) also chant harinama. By obtaining the fruit of chanting harinama, the karmis will go to heaven and again come to this world. The mayavadis chant, “Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.” But by this chanting, they want mukti or salvation. The name will give salvation, entrance into the heavenly realm, or whatever requirements you desire to be happy in this world. The holy name will give the facility for enjoyment and vanish.
But, if you have the association of Vaisnavas like Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and the Vaisnavas of our disciplic order, then the name we chant in their association will take us to Goloka Vrindavana. But if the association is not good, and there is the absence of a qualified, rasik Vaisnava; then we will not have that prema. I have explained this in the class where I delineated the meaning of the slokas:
satam prasangan mama virya-samvido
bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah
taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani
sraddha ratir bhaktir anukramisyati
—Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.25
[In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.]
krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih
kriyatam yadi kuto ‘pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam
janma-koti-sukrtair na labhyate
–Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 8.70
[‘Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price-that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.’]
Do you know what sukriti is? It is good activities, but not just any good activities. Sukriti constitutes those activities of service rendered to Krishna and His parikaras (associates). As a result of service rendered to Tulasi-devi, Yamuna, Govardhana, or any bhakta (devotee) for thousands and thousands of births, in a regulated manner; you will have real sadhu sanga. Otherwise, by lack of sukriti, even the association of a bonafide guru or Vaisnava will be in vain. Due to lack of sukriti, you will say, “He is an ordinary person.” Like how Kamsa thought that Krishna was an ordinary person. Sukriti accrued for many births is of the essence here.
I will give an example to explain what sukriti is:
There was a pigeon sitting on the branch of a tree. Nearby, there was a temple of Radha and Krishna. Lack of unassuming prey made a hunter take aim at the pigeon. The arrow pierced the heart of the pigeon, and the pigeon fell flat on the branch of the tree. The pigeon was not in its senses, and it was languishing in its piteous state. In that state, it circumambulated the temple in a haphazard manner. What was the result of flying around the temple? The temple was a Sri-mandir of Sri Radha and Krishna. So by this unintentional action, sukriti was accrued. In its next life, the pigeon became a devotee and a pure, bonafide guru was arranged for him. And thus, his bhakti flourished.
What have Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Raya Ramananda Prabhu said?
krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih
Raganuga bhakti is rarely practiced. And a Raganuga Vaisnava is extremely rare in this world. By the sukriti accrued for lakhs and lakhs of births, you cannot have the association of a rasik bhakta like Sri Raya Ramananda Prabhu. His association is topmost. To have the association of Svamiji again seems improbable. I don’t know after undergoing how many births, you will have the association of Svamiji.
Real rasika Vaisnavas very rarely descend to this world. Their association is not gained by the fruit of your sukriti. Instead, their association is received by only the unconditional mercy of an Uttama mahabhagavat or that of Krishna Himself. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said this. To have the association of a rasik Vaisnava, sukriti will not work; Krishna bhakti rasa bhavita matih. Have you seen a rasagulla? It is a famous Indian sweet. It is permeated with rasa (liquid sugar). Every inch, nook, and corner of this rasagulla is saturated with rasa. Devotees of the highest grade have their hearts immersed in that ocean of rasa (devotional mellows). The devotee’s body, senses, mind, and soul have become saturated with rasa. Such devotees are rarely found in this world. If by your greatest fortune or by the unconditional mercy of Krishna or His associates, you know of the presence of such Vaisnavas, then you should at once “buy” this Krishna bhakti rasa. But how can you buy it? There is a process. What is the process? You should approach, serve, and hear from this highest class of devotees. In their powerful association, you can listen to Krishna’s innumerable pastimes. And those pastimes will take us to Krishna’s abode—Goloka Vrindavana, where there is no birth, death, old age, and disease. In that abode, an ocean of ananda (ecstatic bliss) continuously flows.
What kind of harikatha is spoken in this assembly of sadhus? Who are these sadhus? They are Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis. They were brothers from a social perspective, but who were they really? They were Rupa-manjari and Lavanga-manjari. But in their sadhaka forms, they are Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami. They are brothers and they also share a deeper relationship of guru and disciple. Can you tell who the guru is and who the disciple is? Who is the guru?
Devotees: Srila Sanatana Gosvami.
Srila Gurudeva: But I think Srila Rupa Gosvami is the guru. Srila Sanatana Gosvami has himself admitted, “I am the disciple of Rupa Gosvami. He is my guru.” And Srila Rupa Gosvami says, “Sanatana Gosvami is my beloved guru. And I am his disciple.” Who should we decide on as being the guru and disciple? In the eternal world, they are sakhis. But in this world, Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami identify themselves as being the disciple of each other. Whose side will we take? In whose favor will you decide?
Devotee: Both.
Srila Gurudeva: I will try to follow Srila Rupa Gosvami. Why? He is both—guru and disciple. But yet, Srila Narottama das Thakura has said:
sri-caitanya-mano-’bhishtam
sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam
dadati sva-padantikam
—Prema-bhakti-candrika [Srila Narottama Das Thakura]
[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?]
We will favor Srila Rupa Gosvami as the disciple of Srila Sanatana Gosvami. We will also try to serve and obey Srila Rupa Gosvami.
Envision yourselves to be sitting in Nandagaon. But where in Nandagaon? Near Ter Kadamba. Those who have done parikrama with me have seen this pastime place. Otherwise, you have not seen this place. I would also take many Iskcon devotees along with me and I would show them this pastime place. In my life, I have done parikrama more than fifty times. Every year, parikrama is organized. If you will join us in Vrindavana, during the kartika month, you may see these sacred, confidential pastime places. I am inviting you all to Sri Vraja Mandala parikrama.
Devotees: Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
Srila Gurudeva: Join our parikrama, and see all the holy places of Vraja.
Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami were sitting and talking to each other under the shade of a kadamba tree. Those who are most lucky and fortunate will follow this hari-katha. What was the nature of the hari-katha being spoken between the two brothers?
tasmin mahan-mukharita madhubhic-caritra-
piyusa-sesa-saritah paritah sravanti
ta ye pibanty avitrso nrpa gadha-karnais
tan na sprsanty asana-trd-bhaya-soka-mohah
–Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.40
[“My dear King, in the place where pure devotees live, following the rules and regulations and thus purely conscious and engaged with great eagerness in hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in that place if one gets a chance to hear their constant flow of nectar, which is exactly like the waves of a river, one will forget the necessities of life – namely hunger and thirst – and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation and illusion.”]
When Vaisnavas meet together, sweet, marvelous harikatha (pastimes of Krishna) are discussed. Srila Sanatana Gosvami asked Srila Rupa Gosvami, “Do you know why Brahma came and stole the cowherd boys and calves?
Srila Rupa Gosvami humbly replied, “I know a little of the underlying reasons behind Brahma’s actions. But I don’t know the details as you do. But you have ordered me to speak, so obeying your order, I will speak.”
There are many siddhantas (philosophical conceptions) behind this pastime that you can learn in your lives and strengthen your commitment to the path of bhakti. By the strength of this commitment, your sadhana bhakti will bloom into bhava bhakti. And bhava bhakti will blossom into prema bhakti. This prema bhakti is our goal. Chanting harinama, without ascertaining the goal, will lead to bhakti being stopped. And you will be of nothing. The result will be zero. So, you should first determine the goal of your devotion. Keeping the goal in mind, practice sadhana bhakti. What is the goal?
“Oh you are not qualified to select a goal,” foolish people say.
Before a student enrolls in a college, he will decide on the best course to attain his goal. He will choose a course and college depending on what he wants to become—a doctor, architect, scientist, or a businessman. Making the right decision, the student duly proceeds to choose the best course and college, otherwise he will not be successful in achieving his goal. So, you must have a goal of your sadhana bhakti. And what is the goal? It is Krishna prema. In Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, in the books of our Gosvamis, and in the message of our Guruvarga, the goal is clearly ascertained—it is Krishna prema. Krishna prema is prema prayojana. Prayojana means the ultimate goal. Any blind person who will read Sri Caitanya Caritamrita will realize that Madana Mohana is sambhanda (relationship), bhakti is abhideya (process), and prema is prayojana (goal). By adopting the practices of bhakti (sadhana), you will attain bhava bhakti and prema bhakti respectively. Without practicing sadhana bhakti, you can never have love and affection to Krishna. So, the object of your bhakti is Krishna prema.
Higher than Krishna prema is Gopi prema.
Higher than Gopi prema is the service of Srimati Radhika; to be the maidservant (palya-dasi) of Srimati Radhika.
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah
–Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 1.4
[May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Saci-devi (Sacinandana), be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.]
What is unnata-ujjvala rasa? It is the service rendered to Krishna by Srimati Radhika and the gopis. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to give a sprinkle of this mood. If a devotee does not know that the object, or the ultimate goal of his bhakti is to serve Srimati Radhika, or to serve Krishna like the gopis, or to serve Krishna by serving under the guidance of the Vrajavasis; then this lack of insight will spoil his bhakti. Bhakti is like a current, if you try to control this flow by many dams and other barricades, bhakti will disappear. And you will end up being a controller like Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, Kamsa, and other demons. These demons always tried to control devotees and bhakti.
Now I will return to the mainstay of our harikatha—the discussion between the two brothers—Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami. They were sitting under the shade of Ter-kadamba. What is this place, Ter-Kadamba? At Ter-Kadamba, Krishna would call all His cows—Shayamali, Dhavali, Yamune, Gange, and Pisangi. All of Krishna’s cows have the most enchanting names! If out of lakhs and lakhs of cows, a single cow is absent, Krishna will count on His fingers or His mala (a string of beads), and on missing the count of a cow, He would anxiously think, “Oh a cow is missing! Where is she?”
Taking His flute, He would climb on top of a kadamba tree and call out, “Oh Gange! Where are you! Come on! Come on!” Listening to Krishna’s calls, the cow-Gange would come running to Krishna. Hence, this place is called Ter Kadamba—to call.
Another section of pastimes take place at Ter Kadamba. At midnight, having His beloved flute in His hands, Krishna would climb to the top of a Kadamba tree and call, “Radhe! Lalite! Visake!”
On listening to Krishna’s calls, all the gopis would come running to Him, and they would all think, “I am alone.” All the gopis would come. So, this place is called Ter Kadamba. When we go there and sit under the shade of the kadamba tree, all these sweet pastimes manifest in our hearts as a chain. Even if you don’t want them to manifest, they will, such is the potency of this sacred place.
So, which pastime was being discussed between Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami? It was the pastime of the cowherd boys and calves being stolen away by Brahma.
As a disciple would duly answer to his Gurudeva’s questions, Srila Rupa Gosvami prayerfully said, “In Vraja, all the gopis who were like Krishna’s mothers, wanted that Krishna drink their breast milk.” They were hankering to serve Krishna as their own child. The married and unmarried girls of Vraja wanted Krishna to be their beloved, like a husband.
Each of these girls thought, “I should be married to Krishna.”
All the cows wanted Krishna to be their calf and drink milk from their udders. All the Vrajavasis—gopis, gopas, cows, and calves, they all wanted to serve Krishna in their own particular way.
Krishna thought, “How can all their desires be fulfilled?”
“I will be the calves of all the cows in Vraja. I will be the husband of all the gopi girls of Vraja. And I will be the child of all the elderly gopis of Vraja.” In one pastime of Krishna’s, many purposes are fulfilled. When Krishna entered the mouth of Aghasura, Aghasura’s good fortune knew no bounds. How lucky and fortunate Aghasura was! He has not performed any devotional service, yet, Krishna went in his mouth and heart. Many sacred yogis are unable to call Krishna in their hearts. These yogis are very sacred and they have been engaged in austerities for lakhs and lakhs of years. Brahma and Sankara are examples of such yogis, but despite their severe austerities, Krishna does not enter their hearts for even a moment.
Yet, we see that Krishna, with all His cowherd boys and calves entered the mouth of Aghasura. How did Aghasura become so fortunate that Krishna Himself entered His mouth? After that, Krishna gave Aghasura salvation (sarupya mukti). Brahma and all the demigods watched this pastime unfold, this pastime especially caught Brahma’s attention. Brahma thought, “Oh how wonderful this is! This demon wanted to swallow Krishna. But yet, Krishna has given him salvation (sarupya mukti). So why did Krishna benedict this demon?”
“Krishna is the Lord of lords. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I should try to see more pastimes of Krishna.”
Brahma was not going to test Krishna. Ordinary people think that Brahma was testing to see if Krishna was God or not. But this is not the truth. Brahma is our Adi-guru (the first guru), so he cannot do like this.”
Instead, Brahma thought, “I should do something, by which I will see other pastimes of Krishna.”
So, Brahma did not pray, but he tried to have darsana (audience) of Krishna by himself. Trying to attain Krishna’ darsana by one’s own endeavors or becoming a devotee will not be fruitful if Krishna’s mercy is not there. Your endeavors will be fruitful if there is the mercy of a devotee or of Krishna. You will especially have Raganuga-premamayi bhakti, bhava bhakti by this unconditional mercy. Without this mercy, all your efforts will go in vain. Despite all her unrelenting efforts, Yasoda Maiya was unable to bind Krishna. When Krishna was happy, Yasoda automatically bound Krishna. So, mercy is needed and this mercy is causeless and unconditional.
Here, Brahma wanted to see many pastimes of Krishna, but by his own efforts. With this intention in mind, Brahma stole the cowherd boys and calves. He wanted to see what Krishna would do in the absence of the cowherd boys and calves. If Brahma would have prayed to Krishna to have audience of His pastimes, Krishna would have assented. But Brahma did not wish to pray and he tried to see the pastimes by himself.
Why did Brahma steal the cowherd boys and calves? Because Krishna wanted to be the calves, cowherd boys, and the husband of the gopis. To achieve this purpose, Brahma was summoned from Brahmaloka. After summoning Brahma, Brahma was shown the deliverance of Aghasura. After Aghasura’s salvation, a desire was created in Brahma, “I want to see many more pastimes of Krishna.” Brahma thought, “I will steal the cowherd boys and calves away,” where did this desire come from? It came from Krishna Himself, through the agency of Yogamaya. After this desire was manifest in Brahma, he came under the false impression that he was the active doer, he thought, “I am doing so.” But actually, he was not doing so. Krishna had many roles to play, so He summoned Brahma and manifested this desire in him.
When Brahma stole the cowherd boys and calves, Krishna performed a miracle. In a moment, He became all the lakhs and lakhs of cowherd boys and calves. He also expanded Himself and became their sticks and blankets. He expanded Himself into all the paraphernalia. Krishna also manifested the exact nature, voice, and characteristics of the cowherd boys like their flute and clothes. But this pastime of Krishna, escaped everyone’s notice. Even Baladeva Prabhu was unaware of this pastime for a year.
In the meantime, in Vraja, Krishna was present in everyone’s house as the calf of every cow, and as the son of each gopi. Before this pastime manifested, the gopis loved Krishna more than their own sons. But now, equal love and affection was shown to Krishna and their sons. This was so, because Krishna had become all their sons. Similarly, the cows also loved Krishna more than their calves, but now, equal love and affection was shown to the calves and Krishna. Baladeva Prabhu noticed this.
Another miracle was performed. Gargacharya, the priest of Vasudeva declared to the parents, “This year is a very good year to get your daughters married. They should be married even if they are little. You should have them married this year.” So, the gopis were married. Those who were matured, and those who were not matured, were all married. Who were they married to? All the cowherd boys, the gopis were married to, were Krishna Himself. So, automatically, all were married to Krishna. When the separated cowherd boys and calves returned to their homes, the gopis still had the conception of being married to the particular cowherd boy, Krishna had expanded Himself into. But the gopis had no love and affection for them, their love was entirely for Krishna. But they did not consider Krishna to be their husband and this mood is called Parakiya bhava (mood of a paramour). In the realm of the devotional universe, this love for Krishna is topmost. Without the gopis and Vrindavana, this love cannot be found in Mathura, Dvaraka, Ayodhya, or Vaikunta. Krishna only tastes this love of the gopis in Vrindavana.
Everything was done miraculously—Krishna became the husband of all the gopis, married and unmarried. He became the calf of each cow. He also became the sons of all the gopis, and played with them for a year.
When Brahma returned to his abode- Brahmaloka, the sentry demanded an answer on seeing Brahma, “Who are you?” asked the sentry.
“You don’t know? You don’t recognize me? I am Brahma!”
“I am unable to recognize you. Our Brahma is sitting on the throne and controlling everything. Who are you? Where has this “Brahma” come from?”
Brahma saw what had happened in his mind. He realized, “Krishna has taken my place and is seated on the throne. Oh! I have committed an offense at the lotus feet of Krishna.” Repentantly, he immediately returned to earth. But according to human calculations, a year of this earth had already passed. In the meantime, Baladeva Prabhu saw that the cows were grazing on Govardhana. Their new born calves were also present, but the cows were not caring for them. Instead, their gaze was fixed on their elder calves that were grazing under the watchful eye of Krishna in Madhuvana. Leaving their new born calves behind, the cows ran towards the direction of Madhuvana.
[End of audio file]
[Transcribed by the Bhaktabandhav Team]