Chapter 37
Gopala, Gopas and Gopis
"Maharaja!
Parikshith! Who can describe the supreme supra-world
charm of Krishna, whose lovely Form was the very
embodiment of sweetness? How can any one describe it in
words? You want me to relate to you stories of Krishna;
but, they belong to a realm, beyond the reach of human
vocabulary. God has incarnated often and demonstrated
during each advent, many supra-worldly miracles; but, in
this Krishna incarnation, He exhibited a unique
attraction. Did He but smile once, revealing the pearly
line of teeth? Those who had the spring of love in their
hearts, those who had the spell of devotion in their
hearts, and even those who had mastered their senses and
overcome their inner reactions, felt an upsurge of
emotion rising in them, an upsurge of affectionate
adoration! Did He but touch them softly with His tender
Hand? They lost all consciousness of their bodies, they
were so immersed in bliss that thenceforward they lived
in tune with Him! Now and then, He used to make fun,
relate humorous tales. On those occasions, the listeners
felt that there were few more fortunate than they, few
superior to them in the entire world!
The Gopas
and Gopis, the men and women of Vraja, might be engaged
in their daily avocations; but, let them but see Krishna
once, while so engaged - they stood entranced by His
Loveliness, rooted to the spot, like images carved in
stone. The women of Vraja had surrendered their minds,
their very breath to Krishna, whom they recognised as
love and compassion personified. No scholar, however high
his attainments, can find language adequate to describe
their nature and experience. In fact, language has to be
dumb; it can only fail.
The devotion and
dedication of the Gopas and Gopis, filled with elevated
emotions knew no limits or bounds. No less a person than
Uddhava exclaimed on seeing them 'Alas! I have laid waste
all these years of my life, isn't it? Having been in the
cool comforting presence of Krishna-chandra so long, so
near Him in fact, I have not gained access into His Love
and His Glory. My heart is not yet illumined by even a
fraction of the devotion and love, that these Gopis have
for the Lord. Verily, if one has to take birth, one must
be born as a Gopa or Gopi! Why be born otherwise and live
a life sans meaning, sans significance? If I have no luck
to be born as a Gopa or Gopi, let me become a green
floral bower in Brindavan, or a jasmine creeper there or,
if I do not merit that fortune, let me at least grow as a
blade of grass on the lawns frequented by the Gopas,
Gopis and Krishna. Uddhava lamented thus. He yearned in
devoted anguish; his heart was filled with yearning; in
fact, he was saved by that very anguish." (See
also
Srimad Bhagavatam,
Canto 3, Chapter 2: Remembrance of Lord
Krishna)
To state that this
relationship between Krishna and the Gopis was low and
lascivious is, therefore, only to reveal that the person
is too easily led into wrong conclusions. Such statements
are not worth attention."
Maharaja! None but the
pure in heart can understand the sport of
Krishna.
Parikshith was very
happy when he heard this. He asked the sage with a smile
on his lips, "Master! When did Uddhava proceed to
Brindavan? Why did he go there? What was the reason that
prompted him to leave Krishna's presence and go? Please
describe the incident to me."
Suka began the
description, as desired "0 King! Uddhava can never be
away from Krishna, even for a moment. He can never leave
the Presence. But, Krishna Himself sent him to Brindavan,
in order to communicate his message to the Gopis; so, he
had no option. He had to go; the separation became
inevitable. But, Krishna gave him just one day to fulfill
his mission; he directed that he should not stay there
longer than a day. In spite of this, that one day of
separation seemed an age for Uddhava, when he proceeded
to Brindavan."
However, on reaching
Brindavan, Uddhava was sorry that the hours were flying
fast and that he had to leave the place so soon. "Alas,
that I have to go away from these people so quick! How
happy would I be if all my life were spent in their
company! I have unfortunately not acquired that merit" -
these were the sad thoughts that worried
Uddhava.
Did you note, Maharaja,
that there is really no difference between the Lord and
the Bhaktha?
Uddhava felt more anguish when he had to leave the
presence of the Gopis, than when he had to leave the
presence of Krishna Himself! His Ananda in both places
was the same. There is really no distinction between Gopi
and Gopala, the Bhaktha and Bhagavan.
The hearts of the Gopis had got transformed into altars
where He was installed. Their inner cravings were
satiated by drinking the nectar of Krishna-rasa. Uddhava
was able to realize their agony at the separation from
Krishna, the sincerity of their affectionate attachment
to Him, their eagerness to hear about Him, their anxiety
about Him, and their earnestness to hear and obey His
Message. The Gopas and Gopis never for a moment allowed
their attention to wander away from stories of Krishna,
from descriptions of the sport of Krishna and from the
narratives of His activities and achievements. The
splendour of the sweetness of Krishna cast such powerful
influence on Vraja that the living appeared lifeless and
the lifeless appeared living! Uddhava saw with his own
eyes the boulders of Govardhana-giri melt in tears of
joy. He saw also the Gopis transfixed like stone images,
when their hearts were filled with Divine joy. He took
these experiences of his as wonderful and
illuminating.
While describing these
characteristics of the devotion of the Gopis, the sage
Suka was so overcome with joy that tear-drops fell from
his eyelids and he lost awareness of all external things
and entered Samadhi
so often, that the holy men and rishis
who were listening to him and watching him were filled
with ecstasy and an irrepressible yearning to visualize
the Krishna-chandra who thrilled Suka so
deeply.
Meanwhile, Suka opened
his eyes. He said "Maharaja! How lucky was this Uddhava!
While showing him the places where they sported with
Krishna, the Gopis took him to Govardhanagiri also. When
he saw the place the wonder of Uddhava increased even
more. For, he could see on the rocks and the hard ground
the footprints of Krishna, the Gopas and the Gopis, as
clear as when they walked long ago in that area. When
they neared the Govardhanagiri, the Gopis felt the agony
of separation from Krishna, so poignantly that they broke
into sobs. They were aware of Him only; they merged in
thoughts of Him only. When all of them called out in one
voice 'Krishna!', the trees that stood around were
thrilled into exhilarated horripilation. They swayed
their arms and began to moan in sadness. Uddhava observed
with his own eyes how separation from Krishna had
affected and afflicted, not only the Gopas and Gopis of
Brindavan, but, even its hills and trees. Maharaja! What
shall I say more? Uddhava saw scenes that transcend
belief. He was overwhelmed with amazement; he was also
humbled."
At this, the King was
eager to know further, He said, "Master! How did that
happen? If there is no objection, please enlighten me on
that point also". When he prayed thus, Suka answered,
"Raja! The awareness of the Gopis had become one with the
consciousness of Krishna; so, they noticed nothing else,
none else. Every stone, every tree they saw, they saw as
Krishna; they held on to it calling out Krishna, Krishna.
That made the stones and trees feel the agony of
separation from Krishna, and they too melted in the heat
of that grief, so that tear-drops fell from the points of
the leaves. The stones softened with the tears they
exuded. See, how amazing these scenes must have been! The
axiom, 'All is alive' (Sarvam Sajivam) was proved true,
in this manner, to him. The stones and trees of Brindavan
demonstrated to Uddhava that there is nothing that is
devoid of consciousness and life.
Those who are unable to
grasp the glory of the Gopis, the Bhakthi that melted
stone and drew sobs of grief from the trees, have no
right to judge and pronounce a verdict; if they do, they
only reveal that their intelligence is more inert than
rocks and boulders. Inert minds can never grasp the
splendours of the Krishna-chandra, who is the sovereign
of the Universe, who captivates the Universe by His
Beauty and Power. Only the clearest and the purest
Intelligence can grasp it.
Similarly, Uddhava
noticed at Brindavan that evening a novel feature. As
Brahmins
and the other twice-born persons engage at sunset in the
worship of Fire through ceremonial ritual, the Gopis lit
the hearths in their homes, bringing cinders or live
flames from neighbouring houses in shells or plates of
clay. But, Uddhava noticed that the first house to light
the lamp and hearth was the house of Nanda, the house
where Krishna grew and played; he saw that as soon as the
light shone in Nandas house, the Gopis went to that
place, one after the other, with lamps in their hands, to
have them lit auspiciously there from. They carried the
lamps thus lit, to their own homes. Uddhava sat on the
step of the Village Hall and watched the lamps go
by.
Meanwhile, one Gopi
took too long a time to light her lamp at the house of
Krishna; the others who came behind her got impatient;
they had no chance to have their lamps lit. Yasoda who
was in the inner apartments came out and seeing her,
cried out, '0, what calamity is this!' and tried to
awaken her with a pat on the back. But, she did not open
her eyes. Those around her dragged her gently away from
the lamp and laid her down so that she may rest a while.
Her fingers had got badly burnt and charred. With great
effort, she was brought back into consciousness. On
inquiry, she revealed that she saw Krishna in the flame
of the lamp, and in that joyful experience, she did not
know that her fingers were in the flame and were being
burnt; she felt no pain at all.
Uddhava was astounded
at this incident, which was another wonderful instance of
the devotion of the Gopis."
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