Krishna Is a Person… He is also God…
and Your Best Friend
BY: GADI DAS
Jul 06, 2016 — MULBERRY, TENNESSEE, UK (SUN) —
And, He performs superhuman pastimes so as to attract the hearts of the conditioned souls. He is especially keen in the ways of amour… and gives us a glimpse of what the future holds for those who develop pure love for Him. Hence, the congruent instructions from all of our gurus to hear about, glorify, and sing about the incomparable love He has for the gopis, and the overpowering love that they have for Him. Who would not be attracted to move to that place?
Please read this carefully…
He displays His amorous ways with the direct intent of capturing our attention, that is why Srila Prabhupada writes in the introduction to Krsna Book: “There are three classes of men in this world. One class consists of liberated souls, another consists of those who are trying to be liberated, and the third consists of materialistic men. Whether one is liberated or is trying to be liberated, or is even grossly materialistic, the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are worth studying. This kṛṣṇa-kathā will also be very much appealing to the most materialistic persons because Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the gopīs (cowherd girls) are exactly like the loving affairs between young girls and boys within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling found in human society is not unnatural because this same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is called Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition. Therefore, when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the gopīs, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform. In the Bhāgavatam it is stated that if one hears the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, from authorities with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished. In other words, such hearing will counteract material sex life.”
(How can we justify not knowing this about ourselves… not reading this information is keeping us in the material world. We must know why we have these urges in us, and where they come from, and how to free ourselves from them… the ropes and knots that bind us to birth and death… this is the reality we must confront.)
As you can see, there is no mention here about the delayed process of reading the first nine cantos first… Now we know that Prabhupada has said that… but what were the circumstances, the context, and who was he speaking to, or writing a letter to? Because we have two very different instructions… which one to follow? Well, if you are content with the mundane world, and the “fun” you can have here… and you are liking the mundane sex options… well then you may very well feel like taking the GRRRAAADDDUUUAAALL choice. If however you are finished chewing that chewy thing, and becoming aware of the insanity of it… then you may very well take great refuge in the instructions above and finish off your attachment to mundane sex desire. After all, let’s get real… it is so binding and so consuming, that there will be no room in the heart for Krishna if you do not get free from it. It must be removed by simultaneously filling the heart with pastimes to purify the heart to make room for spiritual attachment to Krishna. Both things cannot live there in harmony.
Either you want Krishna, and His perfect exchanges of love… or you want the illusory representation of Krishna, mundane love and sex. And this is the center of the vortex that will separate the boys from the girls… so to speak… If the heart is full of sexual fantasies, there will be no happiness on the spiritual path. That path is pure and reserved for the serious sadhaka, who has made the commitment to become attached to the enchanting Lord of Vrindavan… only!
Why is there two opposing options, one may ask? The answer is simple: they are not opposing, but they are designed to test the eagerness of the greed of the disciple… If one is possessed of strong levels of greed, or desire for Krishna, he will not be able to resist reading the pastimes of Krishna and His beloveds. If one is not possessed of such greed, then one will be drawn to the gradual climb to finally reach that which is actually available immediately. It just depends on one’s greed for the object (Krishna). So neither are wrong, they are just meant for two different sadhakas.
So now you can make your choice… you have the two options… and both are right.
We take this very seriously here at Murari… we take Murari very seriously… and Radha-Murari even more seriously. We have dedicated 7 hours a day to hearing and chanting… it works. You must have in your life ( if you do take door #1), a homogeneous mix of vaidhi and raganuga… it is simply having a disciplined structure of life, keeping the do’s and dont’s in order, and mixing in the sweet, incomparably attractive pastimes of Sri Vrindavan. This must be done on a regulated daily routine, with all devotional service performed in an atmosphere of mercy and understanding… love and trust. As Srila Prabhupada has written, “our devotional activities must me impressive… not oppressive.” Too rigid a practice leads to niamagraha… fanaticism, and too loose a practice leads to gobbledigook.
If you go back in time, you will find this very homogenous system is how Prabhupada started… and it works just fine today. He was a little cautious in the beginning, of course, but he loved giving Krishna katha… so he gave a “summary study” of Krishna’s pastimes. But look closely, as here in Krsna Book, this is the new revised paragraph from Vedabase for chapter 45:
“Udhava visits Vrindavan…Since Kṛṣṇa had departed from Vṛndāvana and gone to Mathurā, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, especially Mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs and the cowherd boys, were simply thinking of Kṛṣṇa at every step. They were thinking, “Here Kṛṣṇa was playing in this way. Here Kṛṣṇa was blowing His flute. Kṛṣṇa was joking with us in this way, and Kṛṣṇa was embracing us like this.” This is called līlā-smaraṇa, and it is the process of association with Kṛṣṇa most recommended by great devotees; even Lord Caitanya, when He was at Purī, enjoyed līlā-smaraṇa association with Kṛṣṇa. Those in the most exalted position of devotional service and ecstasy can live with Kṛṣṇa always by remembering His pastimes. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a transcendental literary work entitled Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, which is full with Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Exalted devotees can remain absorbed in Kṛṣṇa-thought by reading such books. Any book of Kṛṣṇa-līlā, even this book, Kṛṣṇa, and our Teachings of Lord Caitanya, is actually solace for devotees who are feeling the separation of Kṛṣṇa.”
Now… this is the original Krsna Book chapter 45, as it was published in 1970. See if you can spot the difference:
“Since Kṛṣṇa had departed from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, especially mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs and the cowherd boys, were simply thinking of Kṛṣṇa at every step. They were thinking, “Kṛṣṇa was playing in this way. Kṛṣṇa was blowing His flute. Kṛṣṇa was joking with us, and Kṛṣṇa was embracing us.” This is called līlā-smaraṇa, and it is the process of association with Kṛṣṇa most recommended by great devotees; even Lord Caitanya enjoyed līlā-smaraṇaassociation with Kṛṣṇa when He was at Purī. Those who are in the most exalted position of devotional service and ecstasy can live with Kṛṣṇa always by remembering His pastimes. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākur has given us a transcendental literature entitled Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanamṛtā, which is full with Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Devotees canremain absorbed in Kṛṣṇa-thought by reading such books. Any book of Kṛṣṇa-līlā, even this book, Kṛṣṇa, and our Teachings of Lord Caitanya, is actually solace for devotees who are feeling the separation of Kṛṣṇa.”
Are we meant to be thrown off by the word “exalted”? It’s a powerful word… and properly placed creates discouragement in the heart of the reader. How it came to be added is not known to me, but I can clearly see the effect it can have on a new or even seasoned devotee… whom would never consider him or herself exalted… that would not be humble. But note that in the original text, Prabhupada just uses the general “Devotees can remain absorbed…” etc., opening the door for one and all to feel the freedom to read these books… (Can’t say whether this was a sinister change, or just a speculation of the editor, as Srila Prabhupada used the word earlier in the paragraph… but no doubt it has a profound negative impact on the aspiring reader.
This work, Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta by Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur is nothing less than explicit intimacy of Krishna and His beloved gopis, in the revolving asta kaliya … day of Krishna.… and Srila Prabhupada advises reading it, and other books about Krishna’s pastimes as well. And this should be done in the proper respectful attitude, and association.
The freedom from this material world, and all of its binding forces can be severed most easily by Harinam Sankirtan and Krishna katha… the process recommended for this age of Kali. But you have to apply yourself to the process according to the instructions given by all the acharya physicians in our perfect sampradayic line of authority.
These words are true… and you know it… because they are backed by guru, sadhu and shastra…. so dig in!
The “Essence Drinker ” is coming….
At your service, anytime… always on call… your servant because of his mercy… Gadidas
#SunEdit
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