NOI – Nectar of Instruction—Part 14

Giriraj Swami:

TEXT 10

karmibhyaḥ parito hareḥ priyatayā vyaktiṁ yayur jñāninas

tebhyo jñāna-vimukta-bhakti-paramāḥ premaika-niṣṭhās tataḥ

tebhyas tāḥ paśu-pāla-paṅkaja-dṛśas tābhyo ‘pi sā rādhikā

preṣṭhā tadvad iyaṁ tadīya-sarasī tāṁ nāśrayet kaḥ kṛtī

TRANSLATION

In the śāstra it is said that of all types of fruitive workers, he who is advanced in knowledge of the higher values of life is favored by the Supreme Lord Hari. Out of many such people who are advanced in knowledge [jñānīs], one who is practically liberated by virtue of his knowledge may take to devotional service. He is superior to the others. However, one who has actually attained prema, pure love of Kṛṣṇa, is superior to him. The gopīs are exalted above all the advanced devotees because they are always totally dependent upon Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental cowherd boy. Among the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the most dear to Kṛṣṇa. Her kuṇḍa [lake] is as profoundly dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa as this most beloved of the gopīs. Who, then, will not reside at Rādhā-kuṇḍa and, in a spiritual body surcharged with ecstatic devotional feelings [aprākṛta-bhāva], render loving service to the Divine Couple Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, who perform Their aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā, Their eternal eightfold daily pastimes. Indeed, those who execute devotional service on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa are the most fortunate people in the universe.

COMMENT

In the previous verse Srila Rupa Gosvami began with Vaikuntha and progressed to Mathura, Vrindavan, Govardhana, and Radha-kunda. All of the places mentioned in the verse exist within the spiritual energy in the spiritual world and without prema, one cannot attain Vaikuntha, what to speak of the other places up to Radha-kunda. But here Srila Rupa Gosvami steps back and shows a broader perspective of living entities beginning with karmis who are engaged in fruitive activity, and within the category of karma, there are two divisions. One is karma in the sense that one follows the regulative principles of karma-kāṇḍa or varnashrama-dharma or vikarma, which means activities performed against the injunctions of the scriptures, or in other words sinful activities. Then out of so many karmis, one may become jnani, one who has knowledge that I am not the body and that by trying to work and enjoy and gratify the senses of the body, I can never actually be happy because he knows that he is not the body, and that happiness cannot be achieved in relation to the senses of the body. So he wants to be liberated from the miseries of bodily existence. Out of many jnanis, one will become a devotee with knowledge or jnana of the position of the Lord; they are more dear to Krishna, but because of being overwhelmed with knowledge of the position of the Lord, they see no need to render service. They see that the Lord is perfect and complete. They do not believe that the Lord becomes hungry because He is the Lord. So what is the need to feed Him? They don’t see that the Lord becomes thirsty, so what is the need to give Him a drink? They don’t see that the Lord becomes tired, so where is the need to put the Lord to rest? and so on. So they are in śānta-rasa. Mostly, they are in śānta-rasa.

And from jnani-bhaktas up to pure devotees there is a gradual increase in service mood and a gradual decrease in consciousness of the Lord’s opulences. To render service, one has to have the sentiments of doing something for the Lord. One has to have the sentiment that the Lord wants some service, needs some service, or at least wants some service, and the mood of service increases as we discussed yesterday up to sākhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa, and mādhurya-rasa.

Among the jnanis also there are two categories. One category accepts the Personality of Godhead but gives more emphasis to the Brahman feature or the Paramātmā feature rather than to the feature of Bhagavān but they are not offensive. They are Brahmavadis; they are not offensive, but Mayavadis are offensive. They do not accept the eternal spiritual form of Sri Krishna. They think that the form of the Lord is maya, the name of the Lord is maya, the pastimes of the Lord are maya, the devotees of the Lord are in maya. Everything is maya—they see only maya. So they are called Mayavadis. So they are offenders and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has also said, “Mayavadi aparādhis,” that the Mayavadis are the greatest aparādhis.

So in the gradation of persons who are dear to the Lord given in the verse, it is really the karmis that follow the instructions of the Lord in the scriptures who are dear to the Lord and it’s really the jnanis who accept the Personality of Godhead but who prefer to give emphasis to the effulgence of the Lord, Brahman, or the localized aspect of the Lord, Paramātmā. They are not offensive, and therefore they are dear to the Lord, but even more dear are the jnanis who pay attention to the Personality of Godhead, but because of their knowledge, they don’t render service because they think that the Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete. He is ātmārāma and āptakāma, so He doesn’t need any service but they appreciate.

So such passive appreciation is called śānta-rasa, and śānta-rasa is on the borderline of between jnana and bhakti, and then dāsya-rasa like Hanuman, sākhya-rasa like Arjuna and Uddhava, and then vātsalya-rasa, and then mādhurya-rasa.

So a parallel description of the different gradations of living entities dear to Krishna or favored by Krishna is given by Lord Chaitanya to Rupa Gosvami in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā, Chapter Nineteen, “The Lord Instructs Srila Rupa Gosvami.”

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [3 times]

So here Lord Chaitanya gives even a broader perspective. He starts with the living entities in general.

TEXT 144

tāra madhye ‘sthāvara’, ‘jaṅgama’ — dui bheda
jaṅgame tiryak-jala-sthalacara-vibheda

TRANSLATION

The living entities can be divided into two divisions.

COMMENT

What are the two divisions? Yes, moving and non-moving. So out of so many living entities some move and amongst the moving living entities, there are birds, aquatics, and animals.

TEXT 145

āra madhye manuṣya-jāti ati alpatara

tāra madhye mleccha, pulinda, bauddha, śabara

COMMENT

Then out of so many moving living entities, some few are humans, and out of the humans so many are uncivilized. Like Lord Chaitanya has used the word mlecchas, pulindas, bauddhas, and śabaras. Uncivilized means they do not follow the Vedic system.

TEXT 146

veda-niṣṭha-madhye ardheka veda ‘mukhe’ māne
veda-niṣiddha pāpa kare, dharma nāhi gaṇe

TRANSLATION

Then out of so many civilized human beings who accept the Vedic principles, so many only give lip service to the Vedic principles and very few actually follow.

COMMENT

I had one practical experience when we first came to Juhu. The time for Janmashtami was approaching, and we realized that we had no money to celebrate. And we were struggling so much just to survive. We were thinking whether we should even try to have a big celebration of Janmashtami, but finally we decided, “Yes, we must,” and that we would go into the Juhu scheme, which was an affluent housing society behind the temple compound. So we started to go door-to-door starting from the Thirteenth road, which was nearest to the temple, then the Twelfth road and then the Eleventh road. So when we got to the Eleventh road, we came to a huge bungalow with a big compound wall and it belonged to Sri Krishna Kapoor, and I had actually met Sri Krishna Kapoor earlier, and he had become a life member. So when I saw the house, I was happy. I thought, “He’ll give some. . . He’ll receive us nicely, and he’ll give some donation.” So I walked in the gate, and I was shocked to find myself in the midst of a huge barbecue. So I was new in India. I didn’t know that there were people who only gave lip service to the Vedic principles. I thought that everyone actually followed. So I thought. . . I didn’t know what, I thought, Mr. Kapoor might feel a little embarrassed, but without any sign of shame or embarrassment, he rushed up to me and he said, “Oh Swamiji, Swamiji, come in, come in.” So I came in, and he was acting as if there was nothing wrong, and then he made me come inside the house and sit next to him on the sofa, and he said, “Swamiji, as Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā, ‘Hey Arjuna, you can eat whatever you like. You can eat whatever you like, just think of Me.’” So I had read Bhagavad-gītā, and I never read any such verse, and I knew there was no such verse in Bhagavad-gītā. So but still because somehow or other he at least identified himself as a follower of Vedic civilization, he received us; he became a life member; he did some service. So he may be considered more fortunate than those who do not accept Vedic civilization, even though he doesn’t really follow properly and although he does engage in sinful activities.

TEXT 147

dharmācāri-madhye bahuta ‘karma-niṣṭha’

koṭi-karma-niṣṭha-madhye eka ‘jñānī’ śreṣṭha

TRANSLATION

“Among the followers of Vedic knowledge, most are following the process of fruitive activity and distinguishing between good and bad work. Out of many such sincere fruitive actors, there may be one who is actually wise, jñani.

COMMENT

He knows the futility. Srila Prabhupada quotes in the purport parābhavas tāvat—that the fruitive workers are always defeated. Actually without bhakti, everyone is defeated. The karmis are defeated, and the jnanis are also defeated, and because their consciousness is colored with fruitive desires, they are called karmātmaka. And as long as they remain engaged in fruitive activities, they’re defeated. How are they defeated? Because they have to take birth again and again, and as long as they take birth, they are defeated. They have to suffer disease, old age, death, and rebirth.

Srila Prabhupada felt very compassionate for the poor souls who were defeated by the illusory energy. I remember once in Madras we were riding in the car and Srila Prabhupada noticed a long queue of people standing in line, waiting for the bus, and he commented that, “Oh, they have to wait for so long for the bus,” and tears were in his eyes, and he was thinking that they have to suffer so much.

TEXT 148

koṭi-jñāni-madhye haya eka-jana ‘mukta’

koṭi-mukta-madhye ‘durlabha’ eka kṛṣṇa-bhakta

TRANSLATION

“Out of many millions of such wise men, one may actually become liberated [mukta], and out of many millions of such liberated persons, a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to find.”

COMMENT

Like Srila Prabhupada.

TEXT 149

kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’

COMMENT

So only the devotees of Krishna are peaceful because only they are desireless but karmis, jnanis, and yogis who desire bhukti, mukti, and siddhi are not peaceful because they have selfish desires. If one has selfish desires, he cannot be happy. He is wanting something. He is lacking something, and he is wanting something. So whether one wants material facilities for sense gratification or liberation from material bondage or mystic perfections, he still has selfish desires, and he cannot be peaceful, and therefore he cannot be happy. Without peace there is no question of happiness.

TEXT 150

muktānām api siddhānāṁ

nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ

sudurlabhaḥ praśāntātmā

koṭiṣv api mahā-mune

TRANSLATION

“‘O great sage, out of many millions of materially liberated people who are free from ignorance, and out of many millions of siddhas who have nearly attained perfection, there is hardly one pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa. Only such a devotee is actually completely satisfied and peaceful.’

COMMENT

Then after describing the superior position of the devotee, Lord Chaitanya explains the process of devotional service,

TEXT 151

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva

guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

COMMENT

Which begins with sraddha and advances to bhāva and then prema. So to become a devotee is not easy, and to be a devotee is quite rare. It’s actually quite rare, and since Srila Rupa Gosvami has mentioned different grades of devotees going all the way up to the gopīs and among the gopīs, Srimati Radharani, we can know something in a theory at least about the highest position of pure love of Godhead.

Now yesterday, one devotee raised the question that if one has the desire to serve in a particular relationship, is the desire sufficient?

So here there are actually two considerations. One is that every soul has an eternal relationship with Krishna in seed form and by watering the seed, by hearing and chanting and remembering, the seed sprouts and grows. So if we do not have the seed of a particular type of love for Krishna, we cannot manifest it. The other consideration is that there is a process to manifest it, and one should follow the process. So one should have the desire; first one should have the desire, and one should have the seed or the innate capacity, and one should follow the process. For example, if I’m in Bombay and I want to come to Delhi. First, I should have the desire to come then I should have the capacity. Suppose the ticket costs two thousand rupees so I should have two thousand rupees, but besides having the desire and the capacity to pay I should get on the right train. Even if I have the desire to go to Delhi, and I have the money to spend on the ticket, if I get on the wrong train, I won’t end up in Delhi. So in the gradations of devotees favored by Krishna, although one may think that Lakshmi is especially favored by the Lord because she is always on the chest of Lord Narayana, but she doesn’t feel that she is most favored by the Lord.

So in the Fifth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam different devotees offer prayers to their worshipable Lord, like Prahlada Maharaja offers prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, Lakshmi devi offers prayers to Lord Narayana, Hanuman offers prayers to Lord Rama. So what does Lakshmi pray to Lord Narayana?

Canto Five, Chapter Eighteen, Text 23.

sa tvaṁ mamāpy acyuta śīrṣṇi vanditaṁ

karāmbujaṁ yat tvad-adhāyi sātvatām

bibharṣi māṁ lakṣma vareṇya māyayā

ka īśvarasyehitam ūhituṁ vibhur iti

TRANSLATION

O infallible one, Your lotus palm is the source of all benediction. Therefore Your pure devotees worship it, and You very mercifully place Your hand on their heads. I wish that You may also place Your hand on My head, for although You already bear my insignia of golden streaks on Your chest, I regard this honor as merely a kind of false prestige for me. You show Your real mercy to Your devotees, not to me. Of course, You are the supreme absolute controller, and no one can understand Your motives.

PURPORT

In many places, the śāstras describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead as being more inclined toward His devotees than toward His wife, who always remains on His chest. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.15) it is stated:

na tathā me priyatama

ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ

na ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr

naivātmā ca yathā bhavān

Here Kṛṣṇa plainly says that His devotees are more dear to Him than Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa (the original cause of creation), the Goddess of fortune or even His own Self.

COMMENT

Then there are other references, and finally Srila Prabhupada quotes word for word a whole section from Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the section from Caitanya-caritāmṛta is very relevant to the verse because it shows how the Lord is more pleased by the residents of

Vrindavan, by the love of the residents of Vrindavan than by the love of devotees in other places who have more knowledge of the Lord’s opulences.

In Lord Chaitanya’s instructions to Rupa Gosvami, there He explains that there are two moods in devotional service, one is called aiśvarya-jñāna-yukta that means one is overwhelmed by knowledge of the Lord’s opulences that He is God. In other words that He is God, He has all strength, all knowledge, and so on; and the other is called kevala which means that one simply loves the Lord for the sake of loving the Lord, not because one thinks, He is the Lord, but out of spontaneous attraction.

Like one time in Bombay, because I heard so many times unconditional surrender, unconditional devotional service, so I asked Srila Prabhupada, what is unconditional devotional service or unconditional surrender? So Srila Prabhupada replied, “Spontaneous.” So at the time, I could not really understand the answer because I thought unconditional devotional service meant that one should not place any conditions in his service that, “I will do this service, and I will not do that service.”

Like once in 1977, when Srila Prabhupada was in his new quarters in Bombay, Tamala Krishna Goswami wanted me to go to the bank but at the time I thought, Why should I go to the bank? There are so many others who can go to the bank, why is he asking me? So there was some discussion outside of Srila Prabhupada’s room. He couldn’t have heard it, I’m sure, He couldn’t have heard it but anyway after a few moments, he rang the bell and asked us to come in and he started to preach. And then he said that, if the spiritual master asks the disciple to go to the bank and the disciple doesn’t want to go, that is not surrender. So I thought unconditional surrender meant that one should be prepared to do whatever the spiritual master or Krishna want without any conditions that I will do this service, but I won’t do that service. So when Srila Prabhupada said, “Unconditional devotional service means spontaneous,” I was surprised but later I understood the significance of Prabhupada’s statement.

Srila Prabhupada himself always gave the example of the gopīs as unconditional servants of Krishna. They didn’t place any condition that they should get anything in return for their service. They only serve Krishna for the sake of pleasing Krishna. Srila Prabhupada used to give the example in a somewhat humorous way that in the evening when Krishna would return home from the pasturing grounds, the gopīs wouldn’t look in Krishna’s pocket that, Oh what have you brought from the pasturing grounds for me today? I think, indirectly, Srila Prabhupada might have been alluding to the materialistic householders where the husband goes to work all day, and in the evening the wives want to know what he is brought for her and the children.

So they don’t make any conditions that they will do one service and not another service. They don’t make any condition that I will serve if I get this much in return, and if I don’t get that much in return, I won’t serve, but where is spontaneous? Where is spontaneous? So then I realized that pure devotees like the gopīs of Vrindavan serve the Lord without any condition that Krishna should be God. They don’t make any condition that If Krishna is God, I will serve Him, and if He is not God, I will not serve Him. But serving without condition means serving spontaneously, without condition even that He is God, but they serve Him only for the sake of His happiness, for the sake of pleasing Him.

But of course that is a very high stage. There are two kinds of maya. You know? What are the two kinds of maya? Mahā-māyā and yoga-māyā, and what are the functions of mahā-māyā and yoga-māyā?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, mahā-māyā is material and yoga-māyā is spiritual. Mahā-māyā makes us forget Krishna, yoga-māyā helps us to remember Krishna more, but she may help us to forget that He is God, but just remember Him as a friend or a son or a lover. Mahā-māyā conceals the Lord, but yoga-māyā partially conceals the Lord, His grandeur, but she partially reveals the Lord and His attractive features. One feature is called aiśvarya that the Lord has all strength, all knowledge, all fame, and so on. And mādhurya means the sweetness of the Lord which is relished in intimate relationships with the Lord where the devotee is not conscious that Krishna is the Lord and even if the residents of Vrindavan know that Krishna is God but they become so absorbed in their loving service to Krishna, they forget. It goes out of their mind altogether. And they don’t particularly care. If they know, it only becomes a matter of pride for them in their relationship with Krishna. Like when Krishna lifted Govardhana hill, all the residents of Vrindavan could see the opulence of Krishna, could see the power of Krishna, and Mother Yasoda also [saw], but she only felt the pride of a mother that, My son is so wonderful, He could lift Govardhana hill. She didn’t give up her idea or her mood that Krishna is my son, and if someone said that that Krishna is no ordinary child, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then she would feel proud that Oh, my son is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, like some mother might be proud that, My son is the President, but still the conception that He is my son is more prominent, that he is the President or the Lord, is secondary. It goes out of her mind. She doesn’t think.

Whereas even in Mathura like when Krishna showed His power in killing Kamsa, Vasudeva and Devaki gave up their mood of being Krishna’s mother and father. They said, “Oh, He is not our son, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So in Mathura there is some conception of mādhurya [vātsalya],  but there is also aiśvarya and outside Vrindavan, when the devotees are confronted by the opulence of the Lord, they can give up the idea that Krishna is my son or Krishna is my friend. Like when Arjuna saw the universal form, he said, “Oh, I thought You were my friend, and I disrespected You calling You friend, lying with You, joking with You and so on, but actually You are the Supreme Personality of God.”

So tomorrow we will read how Lakshmi devi tried to enter the pastimes of Vrindavan and failed, and we will learn why, why she could not succeed, and then we’ll also discuss about aprākṛta-bhāva, how one can actually reside at Radha-kunda and serve Radha and Krishna. Then Monday if there is anything left from Text Ten and Eleven, we’ll finish and then we’ll have some review, and then Tuesday we will have an exam, but the exam will mainly be based on the texts—on the texts in the book.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, there will be questions on the texts. Definitely you should know the contents of every text, and there will be some questions on the purports, and some questions based on the discussions in the class, but I think the emphasis will be on the. . . Well, anything, any question could come and you have to know at least three verses—Sanskrit and English, and the definition of pure devotional service—Sanskrit and English.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are six points in the definition in Sanskrit say at least—anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ—there should be no other desire. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam—should not be covered by karma or jnana. So say one point for karma, one point for jnana. Then ānukūlyena—it should be favorable Krishna, it should be in relation to Krishna, and what is the meaning of kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ—it should be a continuous cultivation. So these six elements should be in the answer.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Our desire, we can desire anything. We can desire the highest also, but unless we have the seed of the highest within us, we won’t be able to manifest the highest.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: No, if one wants to merge into Brahman and he follows the process. For every achievement, there is some process. So one must follow the process and there should be some touch of devotional service because without bhakti, one cannot get the goal of jnana or yoga or karma. So if one has the desire, and he seriously follows the process including some touch of devotional service, and he gets the mercy of Krishna, he can merge into impersonal Brahman.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: But if he has the seed of service to Krishna, but the seed will lay dormant, it never fructifies.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: He serves the brahmajyoti. He adds his little bit of light to Krishna’s effulgence. He adds to the effulgence of Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, very few people can actually merge into the brahmajyoti and most of them fall down before they actually reach the brahmajyoti, but if one actually merges into the brahmajyoti, he could stay there for a long time. Well, we can’t say, but there is, you could stay for a long time.

Giriraj Swami: Vimukta-māninas means they think they’re liberated. So generally it applies to aspirants of impersonal liberation within the material world. They imagine that they’re liberated, but they’re not actually liberated and they fall down. But it has been used to suggest that people who actually do merge into impersonal Brahman fall down, but usually refers to people in the material world who imagine that they’re liberated, just because they think they’re liberated. Because they think that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, so they think they are liberated.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, like in bhakti there are sādhaka and Siddhas. There are maybe hundreds and thousands of sādhakas and one Siddha. So in jnanis or impersonalists, there are so many aspirants or practitioners, but they’re trying to be liberated, and most of them fall down because they neglect the lotus feet of Krishna, the service of the lotus feet of the Lord.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: She says mahā-maya is the energy of Krishna. So why does the energy of Krishna take us away from Krishna?

Because she doesn’t want you to disturb Krishna. She is the servant of Krishna. So if anyone wants to approach Krishna, she will test the person, how sincere the person is really to serve Krishna or whether the person really wants something else and will just disturb Krishna. So she presents so many reasons, so many opportunities to leave Krishna so that if we are not really sincere to serve Krishna, we will be led away from Krishna, and so Krishna will be saved from us. But if we are really sincere to serve Krishna whatever temptation maya gives us, we don’t take it. We only want to serve Krishna or whatever difficulty maya puts, we don’t run away from Krishna consciousness, we stay in Krishna consciousness, then we show that we are sincere, and after we pass the tests of maya, she will allow us to come closer to Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: I’ll read it for the sake of the others on the microphone. Can you give the text? She is quoting one verse from the songs of the gopīs.

na khalu gopīkā-nandano bhavān

akhila-dehinām antarātma-dṛk

vikhanasārthito viśva-guptaye

sakha udeyivān sātvatāṁ kule  

TRANSLATION

You are not actually the son of the gopī Yaśodā, O friend, but rather the indwelling witness in the hearts of all embodied souls. Because Lord Brahmā prayed for You to come and protect the universe, You have now appeared in the Sātvata dynasty. [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.31.4]

Giriraj Swami: So after Krishna left the rāsa dance and the gopīs became mad in separation, they sang the songs of the gopīs called gopī-gīta. So of course as we discussed different gopīs have different moods. So in the previous verses the gopīs had one way or another criticized Krishna for leaving them. Like in the previous verse,

TEXT

viṣa-jalāpyayād vyāla-rākṣasād

varṣa-mārutād vaidyutānalāt

vṛṣa-mayātmajād viśvato bhayād

ṛṣabha te vayaṁ rakṣitā muhuḥ

TRANSLATION

O greatest of personalities, You have repeatedly saved us from all kinds of danger — from poisoned water, from the terrible man-eater (Agha), from the great rains, from the wind demon, from the fiery thunderbolt of Indra, from the bull demon and from the son of Maya Dānava.

Giriraj Swami: So here, the gopīs say, “You protected us from so many dangers, from so many calamities, but now we are in the worst calamity of separation from You. So why are You not saving us now?”

And on a deeper level, one can say that they are accusing Krishna. That by saving us from so many calamities, we put our faith in You, but now after putting our faith in You, You are betraying our faith.

So then the gopīs begin to fear in their mood. They begin to fear that Krishna may become angry with them, and Krishna may say that, “You say that I’m this, and I’m that, and that I’ve betrayed your faith in Me. Well, if I’m so bad then good, you can be away from Me forever. You’ll never have to see Me again.” So fearing that Krishna might become angry, the gopīs speak the next verse to pacify Krishna.

So because different gopīs have different moods especially two main moods—favorable and contrary. So each verse can be read in a favorable way and in a contrary way. So in the favorable way, they are saying that, “You are not actually the son of the gopī Yasoda, oh friend, but rather the indwelling witness in the hearts of all embodied souls. You are impartial to everyone and You give everyone what they deserve, so if we are suffering, it’s not Your fault, it’s our fault.” That’s the simple meaning. But the other meaning which will come in the mood of contrary gopīs like Srimati Radharani will be—

na khalu gopīkā-nandano bhavān—You are not actually the son of the gopī Yaśodā because Mother Yasoda is so kind and compassionate that if she sees anyone suffering even the slightest distress, she will do everything she can to help relieve the person’s distress. But we see that although we are suffering so much distress, You are not doing anything to relieve our suffering. So You cannot be the son of Yasoda. She has so many good qualities, and You have no good qualities at all, so how could You be her son? Then akhila-dehinām antarātma-dṛk—You are actually the indwelling witness in the hearts of all embodied souls because the Supersoul lives in the heart of the living entity, but He is completely indifferent to the pains and pleasures of the living entity. If the living entity is suffering the most agonizing pain, if the living entity is about to die and is experiencing unbearable distress, You are not affected. The Supersoul is not affected, He remains neutral. So you are just like the Supersoul. You can watch others suffer, and You remain in your own position. You don’t care if they’re suffering and You don’t do anything to help them. Then if someone asks or if Krishna asks that, “If I am neutral and I have nothing to gain and nothing to lose from anyone else, then why have I come in the world?” And the answer is that “You have come that Lord Brahma prayed for You to come.”

So here there are some very subtle meanings that have been derived that the purpose of Lord Brahma is to populate the universe with living entities. So although Krishna is the Supersoul. . . Actually they don’t believe that Krishna is the Supersoul, but in a manner of criticism or in a manner of sarcasm, they’re calling Him the Supersoul, so then why should the Supersoul come in the world at all? Because Brahma prayed for You to come because Brahma wants that the universe should be full of living entities, and if people render devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they become liberated and therefore the universe will become empty. So to keep the universe full of fallen conditioned souls, Brahma prayed for You to come. Because when people see Your character and Your activities, how bad You are, that You lie, You steal butter, steal other men’s wives, You cheat, and You have no mercy for those who love You. When they see how bad You are, they will criticize You, they won’t render devotional service to You, but they will criticize You and by criticizing You, they will become further entangled in material existence. So Lord Brahma’s purpose of keeping the world populated with fallen conditioned souls will be served. So people say that Krishna is God and the gopīs and other residents of Vrindavan hear the statements. So sometimes in a sarcastic way to criticize Krishna or to taunt Krishna, they will say, “You are not the son of Mother Yasoda, You are the Supersoul,” but they don’t really believe it.

Just like suppose people say that you are a great devotee, but I know you are not a great devotee. But suppose you become angry with me so I may say, “Oh, you are such a great devotee, and you are becoming angry,” but I don’t think you are a great devotee, only I’m saying it. So like that they say, “Oh, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Okay, time for Damodar ārati. Sri Sri Radha-Damodar ki jaya!