Who can presume to explain Rasa! What mortal mind can approach, even in
conception, the divinity, the sublimity of the five chapters on Rasa!
The Gopis were on the field of action. They had their husbands, their
parents, their sons; they had their worldly duties to perform, some of
them arduous enough to require constant attention. When the time came,
however, for union with the Purusha of the Heart, when the signal music
was heard, every Gopi threw aside all Karma, all actions, all
attachments, all bonds and offered herself up completely to the Lord.
Where is the glory of those that give up the world, that give up all
duties in life, of those that force themselves out of all actions that
they may be devoted to the Lord within and the Lord without? And when
the Gopis approached the Lord, there was no trace of human passion in
them, no love of human flesh, no idea of material gratification. They
placed themselves entirely at the service of the Lord.
But there were those that had the yearning to do so, to free themselves
from all material obstacles in their way, to offer their individuality
to the Lord, but the Prarabdha Karma was too much for them. Their past
Karma had woven a net round them which they could not break through. It
was the yearning which the Lord looked to and not the overcoming of
obstacles in the way. And though they died with that yearning only, the
death completed what they yearned for, for then the Union was complete.
The Vrindavana Lila is Nitya or constant. The Rasa Lila is for all time,
for all Bhaktas.
The night is the time for rest but it is the rest of bodily actions.
For, towards the close of night, spiritual activity sets in. Men get
spiritual teachings and spiritual advancement without knowing it. But it
is only a few, who have a conscious union with the Lord who manifests
Himself in the heart of man.
Purusha is one. Jiva Prakritis or Para Prakritis are many. To Purusha
Jiva must be always negative, however positive it may be towards the
forms of Apara Prakriti. Purusha is always Male. And to Him, Jiva
Prakriti is always a female. As the Vaishnavas say, there is only one
male in all Vrindavana and that male is the Lord Sri Krishna. In
devotional practice, one should consider himself a female, the male
being the Lord of the universe, as reflected in the heart of every man.
The Gopis heard the music and went to Sri Krishna.
If you are of the world, go back to the world. But no, the Gopis were
not of the world. They had every right to the union. And Sri Krishna
could not deny them His companionship. Nay, it was a great thing to the
Lord Himself that Jivas should return to Him with all their spiritual
experiences that the Universe might be served and protected. The
concession was natural, the joy was mutual. But in the midst of the
union itself, there is a danger, a most subtle danger, that of Egoism,
"I am in union with the Lord." The first and the last weakness of
humanity, this I-ness is a drawback even in the highest spiritual life
of man. The Gopis thought of _themselves_ and there was an instant break
in the union. The Lord disappeared. The Lord incarnated for the good of
the Universe and not of individuals, and if individuals were dear to Him
it was for the sake of the Universe. He was no special property of the
Gopis; What did the Gopis do? They imitated his actions on the Earth.
They followed His footsteps wherever found. They approached the Lord as
much as they could in idea.
At last they broke out, "Thou art surely not the son of a Gopi. Thou art
the inmost seer of all beings. Implored by Brahma thou hast appeared, O
friend in the line of the Satvatas, for the protection of the Universe."
The Gopis now realised that the Lord they wanted to be united to was the
Lord of the Universe. His mission was the protection of the universe.
Could they share with Him? It was then and then only that they could
expect a continuity of the union. It was not for themselves only that
they had any further right. Hut the Gopis now cared not for themselves.
They cared for their Lord, whom they now knew and realised to be the
Lord of the Universe.
And lo! the Lord appeared again. This time there was union but not
individual union. Hand in hand, the Gopis formed a circle with their
Lord, not the individual Lord, but the universal Lord making Himself
many. Every Gopi held the hands of the Lord and all the Gopis
collectively formed one circle, and the circle went on dancing and
dancing. The Devas looked with wonder and envied the lot of the Gopis.
Let that wonder grow amongst us. Let us catch a glimpse of that divine
dance, that Rasa Lila, that men may become gods on the Earth.
_Sudarsana, Sankha Chuda, Arishta, Kesi and Vyoma._
The Vidyadharas and Yakshas were controlled and other obstacles
overcome. Even the barrier of Akasa, which forms the final limit of
actions and wisdom in the universe, was pushed through. Work was now
over at Vrindavana. The Bhaktas were now fitted to pass across the
limits of Brahmanda to Goloka.
_Akrura._ With the advent of Akrura, we move backwards from the heart to
the head, from the world of Bhaktas to the world at large. When Kansa
presided over Mathura, men were guided by Self in their thoughts and
actions. Jarasandha, who represented the Brahmanism of self-seeking
Yajnas, was the friend of Kansa.
Akrura was the messenger selected by Kansa to fetch Rama and Krishna
from Vrindavana. _Krura_ is cruel. Akrura is one who is not cruel. It
was not cruelty on the part of Akrura to take Rama and Krishna to
Mathura. He was no doubt seemingly cruel to the Gopis. But he was kind
to the generality of mankind, who did not live in Vrindavana.
The Gopis, followers of the path of Devotion, could not bear the sight
of him and they called him a mock Rishi. But he was really a Bhakta
himself, though he adhered to Vedic Karma. He performed the Vedic
Sandhya and recited Vedic Mantras; he was rewarded with the vision of
Rama and Krishna in meditation.
This votary of Karma Kanda was a fitting messenger from Kansa. He united
in himself the spirituality of Karma Kanda and the unselfishness of the
path of Devotion.
From Vrindavana to Mathura we proceed from the inner man to the outer
man, from the everlasting companions of Sri Krishna to His surroundings
as an Avatara.
In the Vrindavana Lila, we find Krishna in his relations to the holy
beings and to the Devas who incarnated with Him for the good of the
universe. Whenever a great Avatara appears on the Earth, his companions
also appear with him. His relations to his own companions serve as a
living example to others. They afford a lesson to all Bhaktas for all
time. This part of the Lila is based upon undying, eternal truths, upon
the permanent relations between Jiva and Ishvara. The heart of man is
the seat of this Lila, which can be reproduced at all times, in the
heart of every real Bhakta. The Gopis are the same now as they were when
Krishna sanctified the Earth. They are the preservers of the universe,
according to Gopi Chandana Upanishad. And their ranks may be increased
by devoted Bhaktas who give up all for the sake of the universe and its
Lord.
There is one point more in the relations of the Gopas and Gopis to
Krishna. Love was the one bond which united them all to Him. They sought
him in their inmost heart, they talked to him, they knew him as one of
themselves. He was a son to them, a companion, a lover. Whatever pleased
the Lord pleased them. Whatever was His work was their work too. They
abnegated themselves. They merged themselves entirely in Krishna. There
was no question of duty; no rules, no injunctions. The Vedas did not
exist for the dwellers in Vrindavana. The Smritis were not written for
them. They did not tread the path of karma. Love-bound, they gave
themselves entirely up to Krishna and they did not stop to ask the
reason why, they did not stop to cast a glance at the world they left.
But the union was hardly complete; the Gopis had scarcely embraced their
friend, their lover, than he disappeared into the regions of the
Universe. The message came that He was to be sought in the Universe.
The Lord of the Universe was not the lover of the Gopis. He could not be
the direct object of their love. But, when the Gopis knew that their own
Krishna was the Lord of the Universe, they failed not to bear the same
love to Him. But the majesty of the Universe was ill-adapted to the
sweetness of their domestic love. They were out of harmony with the
lordliness of their Lord at Dvaraka. So when the Lord finally received
them at Kurukshetra, the Gopis said that, home-bred as they were, they
could not forget the lotus feet of Krishna in their heart. They were
re-united to Krishna, as the all-pervading Purusha, the preserver of the
Universe. The veil may be lifted a little further. We have already seen
that life in the higher Lokas is purely unselfish, for, as the Bhagavata
says, the higher Lokas are transformations of Nishkama Karma. We are to
abnegate ourselves before we can go to Mahar Loka. This abnegation can
be accomplished by merging ourselves in some one who stands across the
Triloki. Love alone breaks the barrier between man and man. If we can
get an object of unselfish love, to whom we can give everything that we
have, we may easily learn the lesson of self-surrender. By the bond of
love, souls group together in Mahar Loka and they learn the first
lessons of universal life. What better object of love can one have than
one of the Avataras himself? What union will be more glorious, more
lasting, more spiritual? And Sri Krishna offered himself for such love
to those that are devoted to him. And the most fortunate amongst
humanity are those that complete the love-union with Sri Krishna. They
form an inseparable group with Him, and the plane of their union is
Goloka. The Vaishnavas place that Loka higher than Vaikuntha Itself. It
is the plane proper of Sri Krishna, where he is always at home with his
Bhaktas. There may be many centres round which souls might gather in the
higher Lokas, many types of universal life, but there is none so high,
so noble, so glorious, as the centre afforded by Lord Krishna. When
Krishna incarnates, He cannot do so singly. The Gopis appear with Him.
The Chaitanya Charitamrita, which embodies the teachings of Chaitanya,
says that the Lila of Krishna is reproduced throughout the fourteen
Manvantaras over all parts of the Brahmanda, just as days and nights are
produced over all parts of the earth. The Lila is constantly performed
in Goloka, and it is reproduced over parts of Brahmanda, according to
the will of Krishna. Vrindavana is only a reflection of Goloka.
When we go to Mathura, we find the Asura attendants of Kansa
representing all the predominating vices of the time. Pride, arrogance,
envy and malice, worldliness and anger, all that keep up the materiality
in man were to be found among the best of his followers and advisers.
They were all subdued and Kansa himself brought down from his high
platform.
When Krishna went to Mathura and Dvaraka, we find him as an Avatara,
inaugurating a new era in the spiritual history of the Universe. We find
him there in all His majesty, glory and divine lordship. Those who
follow him there follow the path of Divine Lordship. Those who follow
Him at Vrindavana follow the path of Divine Love and sweetness.
*END OF VRINDAVANA LILA,*