A Study of the Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism Part 53

So saying, Surabhi poured her milk over Krishna's head and Indra and other Devas, by the command of the Deva mothers, bathed Him with the waters of the akasa Ganga. They all called him "GOVINDA." (He who attains (_Vinda_) as Indra the _Cows_ or _Svarga_ (Go) Sridhara.) The Ris.h.i.+s, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, Siddhas and Charanas all joined the Inauguration ceremony. The Deva girls danced and sang. The three Lokas became full of joy. The cows wet the earth with their milk. The rivers bore streams of milk and other drinks. The trees poured honey. The cereals bore grains without culture. The hills brought forth their precious stones. Even the wild animals became mild.

KRISHNA AND VARUNA, KRISHNA AND THE GOPAS.

*SKANDHA X. CHAP. 28.*

After observing the fast of the 11th Day of the Moon, Nanda went to bathe in the river Yamuna, on the twelfth day of the Moon. It was still dark. So the Asuras had possession of the hour. An Asura servant of Varuna carried Nanda to his master. The Gopas called out to Rama and Krishna. Krishna entered the water and went to Varuna. The Lokapala wors.h.i.+pped him and gave back Nanda, excusing himself for the ignorance of his servant. Nanda on returning apprised the Gopas of what he had seen. Could Krishna be any other than ishvara? The Gopas wished ardently that He might take them over to His supreme abode. The all-knowing Krishna knew this. He took the Gopas to that portion of the Yamuna called Bramha Hrada. Plunged in the waters, they saw Vaikuntha, the supreme abode of Krishna, far away from the limits of Prakriti.

THE FIVE CHAPTERS ON RaSA

(AUTUMN AGAIN.)

*SKANDHA X. CHAP. 29-33.*

Suka said: -

"Seeing those autumnal nights, gay with Mallika flowers, Bhagavan wished to enjoy Himself by resort to Yogamaya."

(It looks odd that there should be a show of conquering the G.o.d of love by enjoyment of others' wives. But it is really not so. For you have "By resort to Yoga Maya." "Enjoyed though self enjoyer," "The subduer of the G.o.d of Love Himself," "With enjoyment all self contained," and such like pa.s.sages, which show absolute self dependence. Therefore this show of Rasa play is only meant to recite the conquest of Kama Deva. This is the real truth. Moreover through this love topic, the five chapters on Rasa are calculated to bring about a complete disinclination to worldly matters. _Sridhara_).

("Those nights" _Go back to Vraja. These nights you shall enjoy with me_ - the nights promised by these words. _Sridhara_.')

At that time the moon had appeared on the horizon. As the lover reunited after long separation besmears the face of his beloved with orange coloured saffron, so he besmeared the face of the east with the most delightful orange rays which brushed away the sorrows of men (_charshani_). Krishna looked at the Moon, the lover of the k.u.mud flower, with unbroken disc, glowing like the face of Lakshmi, orange red like fresh saffron, and he looked at the forest illumined with the tender rays of the Moon and he indulged in song so sweet that it ravished the hearts of good-looking women.

Listening to that pa.s.sion-exciting song, the women of Vraja, with minds absorbed in Krishna rushed forth to where their lover was without taking notice of each other, their ear-rings moving violently about.

Some left their houses while milking the cow. Some did not wait to see the boiling of the milk. Some did not take down boiled wheat from the oven. Some had been giving food to others, some had been giving milk to their own children. Some had been serving their husbands and some had been taking their own food. But they all left their work half finished.

They gave up their household duties and, with clothes and ornaments all in disorder, they hurriedly went to Krishna, (Hearing the voice indicative of Sri Krishna, the Gopis became strongly inclined to Him, and they showed by their acts that then and there they had complete disinclination for works that had the three Vargas, Dharma, Artha and Kama for their object. They left their half finished work and went over to Krishna straight. _Sridhara_.)

Their husbands could not keep them back nor their fathers, brothers and friends. Their hearts had been completely charmed by Govinda. They did not turn back. (Obstacles cannot overcome those whose hearts are attracted by Krishna. _Sridhara_.)

Some Gopis that had been inside their houses could not make their way out. Their thoughts had been already devoted to Krishna, and now with closed eyes, they held Him fast in their minds.

With sins all removed by the acute pain of unbearable separation from the dearest one, the Karmic effects of good works taken away by the absolute pleasure caused by the embraces of Krishna in meditation, with their bonds completely severed at that very moment, those Gopis gave up their bodies composed of the Gunas, even though they united with Krishna as their paramour. (How could they give up their bodies composed of Gunas while they did not know Krishna as Parama atma, but knew him only as their paramour, a relation caused by the Gunas? "Even though they &c." A thing is not dependent for its properties upon what another thinks of it. Drink nectar without knowing it is so. The effects are there. There is another difficulty. The Gopis had their Prarabdha Karma, or Karma that brought about the present birth and its surroundings, and Prarabdha is exhausted only after being worked out. So with the bonds of Prarabdha, how could they give up their body? "With their bonds completely severed at that very time." But Prarabdha cannot be exhausted without suffering and enjoyment. Where were the suffering and enjoyment in this case? "With sins all removed &c." The greatest suffering caused by separation removed all demerits and the greatest enjoyment caused by the embraces of Krishna removed the bonds of merits. Therefore when Parama atma was attained by intense meditation, the suffering and enjoyment of the time completely eradicated Karma and the Gopis gave up their bodies composed of the Gunas. _Sridhara_.)

Asked Raja Pariks.h.i.+t: -

"O Muni, they knew Krishna as only one enjoyable and not as Brahma. The Gunas were mixed up in their understanding of Krishna. How could there then be a cessation of the flow of the Gunas?"

(Husbands, sons and others, even they themselves were Brahma in essence.

But a devotion to them could not cause Moksha as they were not known as Brahma. How could union with Krishna cause Moksha, when he was not known as Brahma? Therefore this doubt. _Sridhara_.)

Suka replied: -

"O King, I have said before how Sisupala attained Siddhi even by bearing enmity to Hris.h.i.+kesha (controller of the senses, Krishna.) What of those to whom Krishna is dear? (The purport is that Brahma-hood is eclipsed in the Jiva. But Krishna is controller of the senses. Brahma-hood is manifest in him. He does not require to be known. _Sridhara_). Bhagavan manifests himself for the Moksha of men though in reality, He is without end, without measure, void of all Gunas and their controller." (Krishna being a manifestation of Bhagavan, there is no comparison between Him and other embodied men. _Sridhara_.)

"Bear any feeling _constantly_ towards Hari, whether it be a feeling of love, anger, fear, affection, kins.h.i.+p or devotion and you become full of Him. Do not wonder at this. For Krishna is the Lord of all Lords of Yoga. All (even the lowest life forms) attain Mukti from him. When the women of Vraja drew near, Krishna addressed them thus: -

"'Welcome, ye great ones! What good can I do for you? Is it all safe in Vraja? Tell me the object of your coming here. The night is fearful and dangerous animals are treading round. Go back to Vraja. This is not a place for women. You have got your mothers, fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands. They are seeking you. Do not cause pain to your friends. What more, you have now seen this forest adorned with flowers and illumined by the tender rays of the full moon, where the trees and their tender branches, gently moved by the breeze from the Yamuna, stand in all their beauty. Now go back, O virtuous girls, speedily to your homes and look after your husbands. The calves and your children are weeping. Go and let them have their drink. Or if you have come here, forced by your love for me, it is only meet and proper, for all people have their love for me. Devotion to husband is the one great religion for women. They are to seek the well being of their friends and to bring up their children. The husband may be wicked, old, diseased or poor. But those who wish for higher Lokas should not give up their husbands. The connection with one not the husband is disreputable and unbecoming. You may bear love to me in other ways than by such a near approach. Therefore go back to your houses.'"

"The Gopis were struck dumb for a time. They became overcome with sorrow. They had given up every thing for the sake of Krishna and they could ill bear to hear these unkind words. At last they broke forth: - 'O Lord, it is not for Thee to utter these unkind words. We have given up all objects and sought Thy feet. O Thou difficult to be reached, do not forsake us but please think of us, even as the First Purusha thinks of those that seek Moksha. Thou speakest, O love, of our duties to husbands, sons, and friends as if thou wert a religious teacher, but thou art thyself the goal of those religious injunctions. So let them rest in thee. Thou art the greatest friend of all beings, for thou art verily their own self. What do they care for husbands or sons, sources of misery as they are, who are attached to thee, the constant source of happiness?

"'Therefore do thou show favor to us and permit us to serve Thee.' Moved by their piteous appeal, Krishna gave his company to the Gopis. Proud of that company, the Gopis deemed themselves superior to all other women on the earth. To put down this loss of mental balance, caused by good fortune and this pride, Krishna suddenly disappeared from amongst them.

The Gopis became disconsolate. Their hearts had been too much taken up by the gestures and movements of Krishna. So they imitated his deeds and even called themselves Krishna. They all sang loudly together and madly searched for Krishna from forest to forest. They asked the trees if they had seen their lover. They enquired of the creepers, the earth and the deer. Fatigued at last, they again took to reproducing the deeds of Krishna. Some played the part of Putana or some other Asura, some played the part of Krishna in connection with some of his manifold deeds. They again made enquiries from the plants. They then found out the footsteps of Krishna marked by the divine symbols (flag, the lotus, the thunder-bolt and the goad). Tracing those steps a little further, they found they were mixed up with the footprints of a girl. The Gopis exclaimed: -

"'Surely this girl had made _aradhana_ (devout prayer for the Lord).

Govinda left us that he might take her to a secret retreat. Sacred are the dust particles of Govinda's feet; even Brahma, Siva and Lakshmi hold them on their head for the extinction of sins. Look here we no longer see the foot marks of that girl. It seems Krishna carried her here on his back and his footprints are therefore deeply marked. Here He placed her down to pluck flowers and touched the earth with his toes only, for the steps are not fully marked. Surely he placed the girl on his lap here and adorned her hair with flowers.' And what of that girl? She deemed herself very fortunate that Krishna should shew particular attention to her. With this sense of superiority she spoke to Krishna.

'I can not walk. Take me to where I like on thy back.' Krishna said, 'Get up on my back.' But when she would do so, Krishna had already disappeared. The girl was loudly lamenting, when the other Gopis joined her. They heard her story and became very much surprised. (It is necessary to draw the special attention of the readers to the girl, who had made aradhana of Hari. She is the Radhika of Narada Pancharatra and of later day Vaishnavism. Radhika means literally one who makes Radhana or aradhana. But I shall not touch upon her in a study of the Bhagavata Purana. The study of this Purana is incomplete without a study of Chaitanya's teachings. And if I succeed in taking up those teachings, I shall consider the lofty ideal of Radhika).

"The Gopis all returned to the forest and searched for Krishna as long as there was moonlight. They gave up their search when it was dark. With thoughts all directed to Krishna, with conversations all about Him, with gestures and movements all after Him, with songs all about His deeds, the Gopis, all full of Krishna, they did not think of their homes. They went to the banks of the Yamuna, and all sang in a chorus about Krishna, ardently praying for his return. (I shall not touch with my profane hand the songs of the Gopis. They are far too sacred for any rendering into English and they baffle any attempt to do so. Sweet as nectar, the melody of those songs is inseparable from their very essence, and he would be murdering Bhagavata who would attempt to translate those songs.

For the continuity of our study it is only necessary to translate the fourth sloka.)

"'Thou art not surely the son of Yasoda. Thou art the inmost seer of all things. Implored by Brahma thou hast appeared, O friend, in the line of the Satvats, for the protection of the Universe.' While the Gopis were thus bewailing in melodious tunes, Krishna appeared with a smiling face.

They formed a circle round Him and were so pleased to see Him that they reached the very limit of their joy. The Gopis spread out their outer garments as a seat for Sri Krishna, on the river bank. When Krishna sat down, they addressed him thus: -

"'Some seek those only that seek them; some do the contrary, (_i.e._ seek those even who do not seek them), others seek neither those that seek them nor those that do not seek them. Please tell us, what is all this.'

"Said Sri Krishna: - 'Those that seek each other are guided in their efforts by selfishness. There is neither friends.h.i.+p nor virtue in that mutuality. It is all for a selfish end. (Even the beasts seek mutual good. _Sridhara_. And do not the Utilitarians and the evolutionists do so)? Those that seek the unseeking are either kind-hearted men or they are guided by affection like the parents. It is pure virtue in the former case and friends.h.i.+p in the latter.

"'Those that do not seek the people that seek them and far less those that do not seek them fall under one of the following four cla.s.ses: -

"'(1) Those that seek pleasure in self (and not in the outside world), (2) those that are satiated, (3) the ungrateful and (4) the treacherous.

But I do not belong to any of these cla.s.ses, I do not seek those that seek me in order to make them seek me continually and constantly. For when a poor man gains wealth and then loses it, he becomes so full of that loss that no other thought can enter his mind (_i.e._ to help the continuity and constancy of the devotional feeling, I do not show open favor to a devotee. This is an act of supreme kindness and friends.h.i.+p).

You have given up for my sake all worldly concerns, the Vedas and even your own relations. I seek you from behind, being out of sight.

Therefore you ought rightly to be angry with me. Even with the life of a G.o.d, I cannot make any return for your devotion to me, for you have burst asunder the ever fresh chains of home life, in order to seek me.

So let your own goodness be the only recompense for your devotion.'"

THE RaSA.

Govinda commenced Rasa with his devoted band. (Rasa is a kind of dance in which many dancing girls take part.) The Gopis formed a circle, and Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, was between every two of them and he pressed them all unto his shoulders, and each of them thought that Krishna was near to her. (How could one Krishna stand between every two of them and how could each Gopi think that he was near to her only, when he was near to them all? Therefore "the Lord of Yoga" _i.e._ of unimaginable powers.

_Sridhara_.) The sky became filled with hundreds of chariots of Devas and Deva girls, eager to witness the scene. Drums beat and flowers rained. The Gandharva kings with their wives sang the pure glory of Krishna. Loud was the clash of the Gopis' ornaments. They danced and sang in great excitement. The moon lingered on with amazed look and the night became prolonged. So the dance continued till at last the Gopis became fatigued. Krishna wiped off their sweat and went with them to bathe in the Yamuna. After the bath they most reluctantly took leave of Krishna.

In these enjoyments Krishna was self-contained.

Asked Raja Pariks.h.i.+t: -

"The Incarnation of isvara is for the spread of Dharma and the putting down of Adharma. What is this enjoyment of others' wives, contrary to all injunctions and hateful in itself, by one who is at once the originator and preserver of all Dharma?"

Suka said: - Even the great are seen to violate what we call Dharma and the G.o.ds become over bold. But this does not bespeak any evil of them, as they have got superior force, even as fire eats everything but is ever pure. But he who is not capable (_i.e._ who is a slave to his body and its attributes) is not to perform such acts even in mind. If he does such acts through ignorance, he is sure to be ruined. It is only Siva that could drink the poison that appeared from the ocean of milk. The words of the Lords (isvara) are true. Their deeds are only sometimes true, (_i.e._ their exceptional life, which is governed by extraordinary consideration and unusual conditions, is not meant always as an example for ordinary beings. But what they say is always for the good of the universe and is to be followed as a teaching. What is given as their life is also sometimes allegorical and has to be understood in another sense). The wise man therefore follows such of their deeds as are consistent with the other words of the great ones. They have nothing to gain or lose by good or bad deeds. For they have no Egoism in them. What is good and what is bad to him who is the Lord of all beings? By devotion to His feet and by power of Yoga, even Munis are freed from the bonds of good and evil. The Lord did only a.s.sume a body at will. Whence could there be any bondage in His case? (And was there really an enjoyment of others' wives? No for He dwells in all beings, even the Gopis and their husbands. He is the manifestor of all the senses. The a.s.sumption of the body is only a playful fancy. It is for the good of all beings that He became a man. His indulgences are such as are likely to make one devoted to Him, when heard of. Even the minds of those that are very much turned away from isvara are attracted towards isvara, by means of Sringara Rasa or love topics. Hence the love matter of Sri Krishna. This is the purport. _Sridhara_) The people of Vraja, deluded by the Maya of Krishna, thought that their wives were by their side.

They bore no ill-feeling towards Krishna. (It follows that those who perform such acts without such powers are sinners. _Sridhara_.)

When it was Brahma Muhurta, (the part of the night immediately preceding the dawn), the Gopis, with the permission of Sri Krishna, reluctantly left Him and went home.

He who hears or recites this play of Vishnu with the women of Vraja acquires supreme devotion to Bhagavat and shakes off in no time that disease of the heart called Kama or pa.s.sion for women.