sábado, 19 de outubro de 2024

Shri Krishna Gopis and Wives: Pastimes in Shrimad Bhagavatam (part I)

 

Figure 1 - On the banks of Yamuna, where gopis and Krishna live forever.
 

A Summary from the Book Madhurya, the Rasa of Sweetness

 

The multiplicity of ways of love in Radhe Shyam is manifested through numerous expressions. Shrimad Bhagavatam describes Krishna's conjugal experiences in two distinct phases of His life: Vraja - Gopis with elements of extra marital life; and Dwarka- Wives with elements of marital life.

This work brings into one unit these different elements of Krishna's life. Conjugal love is driven by: Vishaya - Krishna the beloved object; and Ashraya- Krishna's consorts.

Through this the Lord radiates to the world the deepest sense of loving reciprocity. By understanding the intention of Krishna's enjoyment, we can perceive its purity. He uses His unlimited power to give pleasure and donates Himself when He relates with His pleasure potency Shri Radha, enjoying such donation He proposes to multiple forms of Shri Radha who donate Herself in deep prema bhakti.

This loving interchange and Krishna's appearance makes the planet more beautiful and makes the Lord visible to humans. Those who have receptive hearts and delicate eyes can contemplate the bliss a soul gets with His association but this transcendental life drawing cannot be seen from the field of material experiences.

These expressions can be found in Krishna's pastimes and their narratives, songs, poems, drawing, paintings, deities, and His holy cities (Vrindavan, Mathura, Dwarka).

This association is through the Gopis and Krishna's queens. When Gopis try to describe Krishna's loving gestures they fail to do so as their mind gets distracted due to intense absorption in Krishna and they embrace Him mentally being captivated by His flute. Similarly, Krishna's wives being absorbed in thoughts of their Lotus eyed Lord gets speechless.

Gopis sings His praises and searches for Him in madness into the forest asking for trees about Krishna. They think about flute good fortune as it freely tastes nectars from Krishna's lips. Krishna's wives abruptly break their silence with incoherent talks like a lunatic. They used to feel intense virah (yearning) even in Krishna's presence and gives into delirious talks.

 

Questions/Answers

 Dialogue between V d and Guru Ma Shri

 

1. By understanding the intention of Krishna's enjoyment we can perceive its purity, what exactly is the Lord's intention?

The Lord wants to feel intense, eternal and profound pleasure when He feels that He causes intense, eternal and profound pleasure to His intimate associates. He is therefore spreading waves of sat-cit-ananda through His merciful love.

 

2. How can a soul who aspires to be one of Lord's consort have such exalted feelings of Gopis and wives of Krishna?

A soul that aspires to be among the Lord's consorts needs to seek within him or herself the unity in multiplicity that exists in Shri Radha Consciousness, from which Krishna propagates the waves of sat-cit-ananda described in the answer to question 1.

 

3. How is a soul able to become one of Lord's consort?

No one becomes something eternal from temporary carnal experience. Someone can awaken from the temporary linear experience to the eternal and transcendental reality of being His consort. Consorts exist forever integrated in the unity of Shri Radhe's Consciousness, and in some cases they can live a temporary experience in linearity for a particular purpose. When they have finished their tasks around Madhurya Lila in the external world, they return to the eternal divine conjugal sphere with their visaya.

 

4. What shall a soul do to have a state of mind in deep and unconditional surrender to God? How does Krishna help the soul in reaching this state of mind?

Krishna teaches the soul how to achieve this state of mind when He dialogues with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. It is important to follow His advices perfectly in order to attain an unconditional state of surrender. In addition, the self-realized Guru (Ma) can help the soul to become self-realized, as long as he or she has sincerity, devotion, persistence, courage and fidelity to the Guru (Ma)'s goals.

 

5. Is love granted to the soul through grace of Divine Couple externally or love is intrinsic to a soul being part of God?

The soul in sat-cit-ananda lives external and internal experience as a unified existence. In such a state of consciousness, he or she experiences the grace of unity with (in) the Divine Couple, living the love that is intrinsic to him or her as a part of God.

 

Figure 2 - On the seashore of Dwarka, where wives and Krishna live forever.

 

Nenhum comentário:

Postar um comentário

Apresentação Geral

Madhurya é a vida se expressando como fluência amorosa, doce e linda. ...