A Study of the Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism Part 61

_Vedic Brahmans and their wives._

Those that were under the influence of Vedic Yajnas could not easily accept the self-sacrificing path of compa.s.sion.

The students of Bhagavat Gita know very well that Sri Krishna raised his voice against Vedic karma and preached the performance of unselfish karma in its stead. The Vedic Brahmanas did not follow Him for a time.

But the tide overtook their unselfish wives who were attached to the path of unselfishness and compa.s.sion blended as it was with the path of devotion to the Lord Sri Krishna. The wives brought their husbands round and the cause triumphed in all India.

_The raising of Govardhana._

The raising of Govardhana is only a sequel to the suppression of Vedic Yajnas. Why are the G.o.ds, headed by Indra, worshipped? Because the Indriyas are their channels of communion with men and they can influence men through those channels. They are therefore called Adhi-Devas. They are also the hands of providence and through them we get all the things of the earth. But can they give us anything that is not allotted to us by our own karma? If a prolonged and unhindered connection with the manasic world or a prolonged Svarga experience is brought about by the performance of Vedic Yajnas it is on account of the superior force exerted over the Devas, acquired by such performances, and is therefore due to karma. The Devas cannot override karma.

But still men have to depend upon the G.o.ds in their everyday lives. They are the hands of the karmic dispenser. True they deal out things according to the karma of men. But they give to men the desired objects of life and in return they expect yajna-offerings to them. This is the old law of the existence of beings. The universe itself is the outcome of sacrifice and inter-dependence, the law of giving and taking.

If men broke that law, what wonder that the G.o.ds should resent it! But there was a higher law, governing men and Devas alike, the law of direct communion with the lord of all, the supreme karmic dispenser, the Adhi-yajna of Bhagavat Gita. If men placed themselves and their karma entirely at the service of the Lord, where was room left for the Devas?

Against such men the G.o.ds themselves lost all power.

The Hill Govardhana is the acc.u.mulated karma of the Gopis, which gives the pasture ground for their cows. Krishna bears the burden of His Bhaktas' karma, and He lifted up the karmic hill of his devoted band with very little effort of his own. And when Sri Krishna bears the karma of His Bhaktas, the Devas are powerless against them. It is karma that nourishes the senses and hence the hill is called Govardhana (nourisher of the cows).

_The Installation._

When the G.o.ds were displaced from their position of leadership, whom were the cows, the senses, to follow? Surabhi, the heavenly mother of the cows, said: - "Now that thou hast taken the place of Indra, we shall call thee our Indra, or GOVINDA." Sridhara says, _go_ means a cow, as well as Svarga. Govinda is one who acquires supremacy over the cows or over Svarga. So the word means Indra as well. But the peculiar significance of the word Govinda has been elaborated in the Brahma Sanhita and other works.

The plane of the first Purusha, which is the common plane of innumerable solar systems, with their sevenfold planes, has two broad aspects Vaikuntha and Goloka. Vaikuntha has reference to the solar systems as a whole. The energies that guide the Brahmandas proceed from the plane of Vaikuntha. Both Siva and Vishnu are aspects of the first Purusha, but not Brahma. Siva Loka or Kailasa is therefore included in Vaikuntha. The plane of Brahma is Satya Loka or Brahma Loka, the highest plane of the Brahmanda. The worshippers of Brahma or Hiranya-garbha reach the plane of Brahma Loka. There they remain till the Brahmanda becomes dissolved at the end of the life period of Brahman.

Vaikuntha is the plane of Vishnu as the first Purusha. He has four aspects on that plane - Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

His female aspect is Lakshmi. The worshippers of Vishnu, Preserver of the Universe, reach this plane.

Goloka is a higher aspect of the plane of the first Purusha. There Krishna is not the Lord of the Universe. He is the Lord of only His followers - those that give up everything for His sake. The highest spiritual life is on this plane. In Vaikuntha there is the majesty of power. In Goloka there is the sweetness of love. Love is a surrender which we all owe to Krishna, who makes the greatest sacrifices for us.

ishvara gives us existence, consciousness and bliss, so that we may develop new centres that approach the state of ishvara, and when we do that we have no right to keep them to ourselves, but should give them back to Him from whom we owe them. Nothing can please the Lord so much as when we pay this willing homage to Him. He has full control over the senses and experiences of the Gopas and Gopis that dwell in Goloka. He can turn them to any use He likes. They are His own property, and the dwellers of Goloka form His own household. He is one with them as they are with Him. The highest spiritual life is in Goloka. Every kalpa adds to the number of the devoted band.

Vaikuntha is represented in the Dvaraka Lila. The acts of Sri Krishna that const.i.tute the Vrindavana Lila are constant (nitya).

They are reproduced in all Kalpas and on all the Dvipas or globes for the benefit of all Bhaktas. When there is the full manifestation of Krishna in any Kalpa, the Gopas and Gopis also appear with Him. But His relations with them are meant to serve as a guide only for the initiated Bhaktas, and not for the world at large. Sri Krishna as an Avatara is different from Sri Krishna as the beloved and the lover. As an Avatara, He forces allegiance, and expects it as of right. As a lover, He seeks His Bhaktas as they seek Him.

The Lord of Goloka is Govinda. When Sri Krishna was installed as Govinda, he had a right to the company of the Gopis, and not before. The Gopis became the property of Govinda, as soon as Krishna a.s.serted himself as such. The Installation precedes the Rasa Lila. The significance of this Installation will never be lost sight of by those who want to make a critical study of the Rasa Lila, or to apply the ordinary canons of morality to this most sacred, most sublime, and most soul-enchanting act of Sri Krishna the RaSA LILa.

THE RaSA.

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 pa.s.sion 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 G.o.ds 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 pa.s.s 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 n.o.ble, 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,*