The Intensity of the Gopis' Love for Krishna
In the Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada most wonderfully describes as follows the intensity of the gopis love for Krishna:
In the Tenth Canto, Thirty-first Chapter, verse 15, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the gopīs lament, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, during the daytime when You go out into the forest of Vṛndāvana with Your cows, we consider one moment to be twelve years, and it is very difficult for us to pass the time. And again when You come back at the end of the day, by seeing Your beautiful face we are so much attracted that we are unable to stop looking upon You constantly. At these times, when there is occasional blinking of our eyelids, we condemn the creator, Lord Brahmā, as a dunce, because he does not know how to make perfect eyes!" In other words, the gopīs were disturbed by the blinking of their eyes, because for the moment that their eyes were closed they could not see Kṛṣṇa. This means that the gopīs' love for Kṛṣṇa was so great and ecstatic that they were disturbed by even His momentary absence. And when they saw Kṛṣṇa, they were also disturbed. This is a paradox.
One gopī, expressing herself to Kṛṣṇa, says, "When we meet You at night, we consider the duration of night to be very small. And why speak of only this night? Even if we had a night of Brahmā we would consider it a very short time!" We get an idea of Brahmā's day from the following statement of Bhagavad-gītā (8.17): "By human calculation, a thousand yuga cycles taken together is Brahmā's one day. And such also is the duration of his night." The gopīs said that even if they could have that duration of night, it would still not be sufficient for their meeting with Kṛṣṇa.
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The love of the gopis for Krishna is so inconceivably intense and sublime. If we can taste even one tiny drop from the ocean of their loving feelings for Krishna, our lives will be inconceivably sublime.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Please accept my Humble obeisances.
Prabhu, I have a question. Did Srila Prabhupada support the concept that the jiva souls fell down from the spiritual world? And if yes/no can you explain detail why? I am asking because I've talked with some devotees about this. Everyone has a different opinion, What was Srila Prabhupada's opinion and yours?
Rudra Pise
My Dear Rudra,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
That you are asking for opinions indicates that you do not understand the process of transcendental knowledge. The acharyas do not give their opinion. They simply pass down to us what the have received from the previous acharyas. The opinions of conditioned souls who are still in the clutches of the material nature are of no value. In fact they are very dangerous. So we do not listen to such speculations lest we become misled.
According to scripture each living being has a svarupa, an original form and identity in the spiritual world. At the present moment in this material existence his svarupa is covered by his misidentification with his material mind and body. So each of us has an original identity that was fully manifested in the spiritual world before we fell into this material existence. This is why ISKCON's magazine started by Srila Prabhupada is called "Back to Godhead Magazine." Through the process of Krishna consciousness we are going back to the spiritual world from we have fallen into this material existence.
Srila Prabhupada made this very clear in a lecture he gave in Calcutta, India on 5 March 1973:
"That is our original state. Now by contact with this material nature we have forgotten. Just like I come from India. Suppose I remain here for many years, so I may forget about my home. But it is a fact that I was Indian, my home was India; therefore I am called Indian. I may forget. Similarly, actually we were with Kṛṣṇa, but we do not know when we have left our home, or that Kṛṣṇa, and come to this material contact; that is another thing. But it is a fact that we were with Kṛṣṇa.
Because we have got little independence. Just like a very rich man’s son, sometimes gives up home life, his father and mother, he loiters in the street---that is his choice. Similarly, from śāstra we can understand that originally we were in Kṛṣṇa, with Kṛṣṇa. But somehow or other we have come to enjoy this material world; therefore we have been entangled. Now get out of this entanglement and go back to Kṛṣṇa."
Those who propose that Srila Prabhupada's teachings are wrong are not devotees of Krishna. They are devotees of Maya or illusion. We are not interested in their speculations.
I hope this meets you now with clear understanding.
In the Tenth Canto, Thirty-first Chapter, verse 15, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the gopīs lament, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, during the daytime when You go out into the forest of Vṛndāvana with Your cows, we consider one moment to be twelve years, and it is very difficult for us to pass the time. And again when You come back at the end of the day, by seeing Your beautiful face we are so much attracted that we are unable to stop looking upon You constantly. At these times, when there is occasional blinking of our eyelids, we condemn the creator, Lord Brahmā, as a dunce, because he does not know how to make perfect eyes!" In other words, the gopīs were disturbed by the blinking of their eyes, because for the moment that their eyes were closed they could not see Kṛṣṇa. This means that the gopīs' love for Kṛṣṇa was so great and ecstatic that they were disturbed by even His momentary absence. And when they saw Kṛṣṇa, they were also disturbed. This is a paradox.
One gopī, expressing herself to Kṛṣṇa, says, "When we meet You at night, we consider the duration of night to be very small. And why speak of only this night? Even if we had a night of Brahmā we would consider it a very short time!" We get an idea of Brahmā's day from the following statement of Bhagavad-gītā (8.17): "By human calculation, a thousand yuga cycles taken together is Brahmā's one day. And such also is the duration of his night." The gopīs said that even if they could have that duration of night, it would still not be sufficient for their meeting with Kṛṣṇa.
------------end of quote -----------------
The love of the gopis for Krishna is so inconceivably intense and sublime. If we can taste even one tiny drop from the ocean of their loving feelings for Krishna, our lives will be inconceivably sublime.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Gopis Relishing the Sight of Krishna
Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom
Question: Did the Jivas Fall from Spiritual World?
Hare KṛṣṇaAll Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Please accept my Humble obeisances.
Prabhu, I have a question. Did Srila Prabhupada support the concept that the jiva souls fell down from the spiritual world? And if yes/no can you explain detail why? I am asking because I've talked with some devotees about this. Everyone has a different opinion, What was Srila Prabhupada's opinion and yours?
Rudra Pise
Answer: We Do Not Go By Opinion
From: ISKCON Austin, Texas USAMy Dear Rudra,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
That you are asking for opinions indicates that you do not understand the process of transcendental knowledge. The acharyas do not give their opinion. They simply pass down to us what the have received from the previous acharyas. The opinions of conditioned souls who are still in the clutches of the material nature are of no value. In fact they are very dangerous. So we do not listen to such speculations lest we become misled.
According to scripture each living being has a svarupa, an original form and identity in the spiritual world. At the present moment in this material existence his svarupa is covered by his misidentification with his material mind and body. So each of us has an original identity that was fully manifested in the spiritual world before we fell into this material existence. This is why ISKCON's magazine started by Srila Prabhupada is called "Back to Godhead Magazine." Through the process of Krishna consciousness we are going back to the spiritual world from we have fallen into this material existence.
Srila Prabhupada made this very clear in a lecture he gave in Calcutta, India on 5 March 1973:
"That is our original state. Now by contact with this material nature we have forgotten. Just like I come from India. Suppose I remain here for many years, so I may forget about my home. But it is a fact that I was Indian, my home was India; therefore I am called Indian. I may forget. Similarly, actually we were with Kṛṣṇa, but we do not know when we have left our home, or that Kṛṣṇa, and come to this material contact; that is another thing. But it is a fact that we were with Kṛṣṇa.
Because we have got little independence. Just like a very rich man’s son, sometimes gives up home life, his father and mother, he loiters in the street---that is his choice. Similarly, from śāstra we can understand that originally we were in Kṛṣṇa, with Kṛṣṇa. But somehow or other we have come to enjoy this material world; therefore we have been entangled. Now get out of this entanglement and go back to Kṛṣṇa."
Those who propose that Srila Prabhupada's teachings are wrong are not devotees of Krishna. They are devotees of Maya or illusion. We are not interested in their speculations.
I hope this meets you now with clear understanding.
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The Most Urgent World Deliverance Mission
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
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