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Gopi-gita — The Gopis’ Song of Separation © Copyright 2009 Gaudiya Vedanta Publications
Excerpt
Gopi-gita is part of rasa-panca-adhyaya, the five chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam that relate rasa-lila.
The body has five kinds of life-airs (panca-prana) residing in the heart, and among these five, one is most vital. The twelve cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam are likened to twelve parts of a body. The Tenth Canto is the heart of that body. Within that heart, the five chapters that constitute rasa-panca-adhyaya are its five life-airs, and among them, Gopi-gita is the foremost.
We begin our discussion of Gopi-gita by remembering the chapter in Srimad-Bhagavatam that describes the gopis’ worship of the goddess Katyayani-devi to attain Krishna as their husband. The first verse of this chapter states:
sri-suka uvaca
hemante prathame masi
nanda-vraja-kamarikah
cerur havisyam bhunjanah
katyayany-arcana-vratam
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.22.1)
Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said, “During the first month of the winter season, the young, unmarried girls of Gokula observed the vow of worshipping goddess Katyayani. For the entire month they ate only unspiced khichri.”
The gopis who observed the vow to worship Katyayani were young and unmarried. What, then, was Sri Krishna age at this time? Krishna had left Gokula at the age of three and a half. According to Srila Vyasadeva and Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, He was seven years old when He lifted the mountain, Giriraja Govardhana, on the little finger of His left hand. After He lifted Giriraja, all the elders and their priests gathered together and told Nanda Baba, “You should not treat Krishna as if He were your son. He is actually not your son. He may be a demigod, or perhaps He is God, or someone like God. We have heard that Narayana Himself has come in the form of Krishna, and perhaps it is true. So you should not treat Him like an ordinary boy. Do not bind His hands, and do not chastise or punish Him. He is only seven years old, and yet He lifted a mountain like Govardhana. How is that possible? This is indeed mysterious.”
“Oh,” Nanda Baba laughed. “I have heard that gopas only become mature and intelligent at the age of eighty. They cannot properly decide anything before then, because their minds are not fixed. Krishna is just an ordinary boy.
“God has far more good qualities than even the perfected saints. Such saints do not become angry, and they are not disturbed by hunger, thirst, or any other material distress. They do not steal or tell lies.
“Krishna tells lies. He weeps and becomes angry. He plays tricks on people, and He is naughty in so many other ways. He sometimes cries for butter and sugar candy. If He does not get what He wants, He becomes furious and hurls all the items in our home onto the ground, and then scatters them here and there.
“This is conclusive proof that He is not God. In any case, even if you would insist that He is God, He is still my son, so I will admonish and punish Him and treat Him as a father should treat his child.”
Nanda Baba continued to laugh at the notion that Krishna is God; then Yogamaya came, and by her influence, everyone present forgot this idea.
This incident took place during the month of Kartika, when Sri Krishna was seven years old, and it was just after Kartika that the gopis worshiped Katyayani.
*****
This celebrated Sanskrit classic of India reveals the purpose of human life and the nature of pure spiritual love. Its divine poetry was originally sung by the young cowherd-maidens (gopis) of Vraja to their beloved Sri Krishna, God Himself, while searching for Him in the autumn moonlight on the banks of the sacred river Yamuna. Concealing Himself from their sight, He listened in adoration and wonder to their expression of amorous love for Him.
This exquisite and authoritative edition of Gopi-gita is yet another of Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja’s invaluable gifts to humanity. Enlightening and thoughtprovoking, it illuminates the glories of the transcendental maidens of Vraja, and especially of Srimati Radharani, the Supreme Feminine Personality and the embodiment of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna’s pleasure potency.
“I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Maharaja’s cowherd village. When these gopis loudly chant the glories of Sri Krishna, the vibration purifies the three worlds.”
— Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.47.63)
About the Author Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja took his divine birth in the village of Tewaripur near the bank of the sacred Ganges River in the state of Bihar, India in the year 1921. His birth name was Sriman Narayana Tiwari.
Being born in a very religious family of Vedic priests, from childhood he had the opportunity to regularly attend kirtans and spiritual discourses. In his early twenties he met with his divine master Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, who is one of the foremost leading disciples of the renowned Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada. Ever since that first meeting he has served his Gurudeva, who gave him the name Sri Gaura Narayana brahmacari, dedicating his entire body, mind and words to the service of the devotees of the Lord, earning the title ‘Bhakta-bandhava’ which means ‘friend of the devotees.’ | |||||||
| Service to his Gurudeva Srila Maharaja was requested by his Gurudeva to translate the books of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a contemporary master in the Vaisnava tradition, from Bengali into his native language, Hindi. He has carried out this request by translating some of the Thakura’s most prominent books including Jaiva Dharma, Caitanya-siksamrta, Bhakti-tattva-viveka, Vaisnava-siddhanta-mala and many more. These books, as well as his translations and commentaries of other prominent acaryas in the lineage are presently being translated into English and other languages by his followers and students. To date, he has translated and published over eighty books in Hindi, and over fifty books in English. Many of his English books have now been translated into other languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and several Indian languages. | ||||||
 | The Hare Krishna movement A major event in the life of Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja was his profound relationship with Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, known throughout the world as Srila Prabhupada, the famous preacher of Gaudiya Vaisnavism and Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In the early 50’s, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja came to reside at Mathura in Sri Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha, on the invitation of his god-brother, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, remaining there for some months. Sharing regular devotional exchanges and deep discussions of Vaisnava siddhanta with him, Srila Narayana Maharaja deepened his intimate relationship with Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja during this time period, regarding him as both his siksa (instructing)-guru and bosom friend. | ||||||
| When Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja went to preach in the West and succeeded in starting the first Radha-Krishna temple in America, Srila Narayana Maharaja sent him the first mrdanga drums and karatalas that he would be using for sankirtana. Toward the end of his manifest stay in this world, he requested Srila Narayana Maharaja several times to kindly give his association to his western disciples and help them to understand the deep truths of the Vaisnava philosophy in the line of Srila Rupa Gosvami. Ongoing world mission For three decades since Srila Prabhupada’s departure from the vision of this world in November 1977, Srila Narayana Maharaja has been unwaveringly carrying out this final request, by providing insightful guidance and loving shelter to all who come to him seeking it. Through the medium of his English books and extensive world touring, he is now giving his association and divine realizations to Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja’s followers and all other sincere searchers of truth throughout the globe. Although he is over 88 years of age, he regularly travels throughout India and abroad, preaching the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, and the true glory of ISKCON’s founder-acarya Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja and the entire Vaisnava lineage. In 2009, the year of the publication of his Gopi-gita discourses, Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja completed his thirtieth world preaching tour. He is recognized internationally as the spiritual leader of Vedic culture, Hindu sanatana-dharma, Vaisnava etiquette, daivi-varnasrama, and bhagavat-bhajana. Srila Maharaja continues to demonstrate and exemplify the unadulterated life of utter dedication and pure, loving service to his Gurudeva, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. As Their intimate servitor, he continues to illuminate the path for those who wish to discover and dive deeply into the ecstatic ocean of Radha-dasyam, service to the radiantly beautiful lotus feet of Sri Krishna’s dearly beloved, Srimati Radhika.
HARIBOL | ||||||
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