Verse 37

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 37:

आनन्द-चिन्मय-रस-प्रतिभाविताभिस्
ताभिर् य एव निज-रूपतया कलाभिः
गोलोक एव निवसत्य् अखिलात्म-भूतो
गोविन्दम् आदि-पुरुषं तम् अहं भजामि

ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis
  tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto
  govindam ādi-puruṣaṃ tam ahaṃ bhajāmi

aham bhajāmi—I perform bhajana; tam—of that; ādi-puruṣam govindam—original Supreme Person, Śrī Govinda; yaḥ—who; eva—certainly; nivasati—resides; goloke—in Goloka-dhāma; akhila-ātma-bhūtaḥ—as the original complete intrinsic form; pratibhāvitābhiḥ—for all of His dear associates who act as His counterparts; ānanda—in enjoying transcendental, blissful; cinmaya-rasa—spiritual mellows; eva nija-rūpatayā—with none other than His own internal pleasure potency Śrī Rādhā, who has the bhāva of amorous rasa; tābhiḥ kalābhiḥ—together with the expansions of Śrī Rādhā’s body (kalās), who act as Her sakhīs.

“Śrī Govinda, who is all-pervading and who exists within the hearts of all, resides in His Goloka-dhāma along with Śrī Rādhā, who is the embodiment of His pleasure potency and the counterpart of His own spiritual form. She is the epitome of transcendental rasa, and is expert in sixtyfour arts. They are also accompanied by the sakhīs, who are expansions of Śrī Rādhā’s own transcendental body, and who are infused with blissful, spiritual rasa. I worship that original personality, Śrī Govinda.” (37)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s Ṭīkā commentary (bhāvānuvāda):

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

It is true that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa continually performs His playful loving pastimes with His own eternal associates. Now the verse yad-bhāva-bhāvita-dhiyaḥ uses the logic of inferential partial illustration (kaimutikī-nyāya){GL_NOTE::} to describe how generous and merciful He is to His practicing devotees in this world. The residents of Vraja render various types of intimate service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa by virtue of their intrinsic qualities that are similar to His, such as their disposition, age, playfulness, attire and so on. In this way they sport and enjoy along with Him. Śāstras such as the Vedas and Purāṇas give this account of their position being on the same level with Śrī Kṛṣṇa as His associates. Just as those eternal associates enjoy pastimes along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, similarly the sādhakas under the guidance of those eternal associates follow their respective service moods, and taste the happiness of eternal service to Kṛṣṇa along with them.

If one can attain Kṛṣṇa by constantly thinking of Him as one’s enemy, then those who are devoted to Kṛṣṇa must definitely attain Him–how can there be any doubt about it?

वैरेण यं नृपतयः शिशुपाल-शाल्व-पौण्ड्रादयो गति-विलास-विलोकनाद्यैः
ध्यायन्त आकृति-धियः शयनासनादौ तद्-भावम् आपुर् अनुरक्त-धियां पुनः किम्

vaireṇa yaṃ nṛpatayaḥ śiśupāla-śālva-pauṇḍrādayo gati-vilāsa-vilokanādyaiḥ
dhyāyanta ākṛti-dhiyaḥ śayanāsanādau tad-bhāvam āpur anurakta-dhiyāṃ punaḥ kim

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.48)

Kings such as Śiśupāla, Pauṇḍraka and Śālva used to think about Śrī Kṛṣṇa in an inimical mood even while they were sleeping, eating and performing all their duties. If they attained nearness in the form of impersonal liberation simply by being absorbed in thoughts of His activities, movements, sporting and glancing, then those eminent personalities who are deeply attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa must definitely attain equality with Him. What is the necessity of reassurance in this regard? Without doubt they will all attain perfection in their respective bhāvas.

Commentary:

The gopīs, with whom Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa resides in that world, are Mahā-Lakṣmīs, original goddesses of fortune. In this context, what does it mean to say that those beloveds of Śrī Kṛṣṇa have the mood of complete unity with Him? To demonstrate the preeminence of the gopīs, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda explains here that Śrī Kṛṣṇa only stays in that place where the gopīs live. This is the message loudly proclaimed by this verse. Consequently, the planet of the gopīs is called Goloka-dhāma.^[1] To establish this conclusion, Brahmājī is revealing the unique distinction of those gopīs in the verse beginning ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. The residents of Goloka, such as Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s bosom friends, His brother, close relatives, mother, father and other well-wishing superiors, are all the recipients of His extreme affection, and they are as dear to Him as His very self. Nevertheless, nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ means that the function of His own pleasure potency in the form of His beloved gopīs is non-different from His intrinsic form and nature. Thus the gopīs are manifestations of His personal potency, and they are embodiments of the most elevated amorous mellow. The purport is that they are naturally His beloveds because they are infused with the complete transcendental bliss. Therefore, the topmost excellence of the gopīs has been established by stating that Śrī Kṛṣṇa resides in Goloka with his beloveds, who are the direct embodiments of the transcendental, blissful mellow (ānanda-cinmaya-rasa).

The gopīs and their unique distinction have been described by the word prati-bhāvitābhiḥ. The gopīs are infused by the most elevated and radiant mellow of amorous love (ānanda-cinmayarasa). “You reside always and forever with those gopīs” means that Śrī Kṛṣṇa has inspired them all with prema-rasa, and that the gopīs love Him with hearts totally saturated with that astonishing mellow of love. This is clearly stated by the word prati. For example, if it is said of someone, praty-upakṛtaḥ saḥ, it should be understood from the word prati that first he performed some beneficial work, and afterwards he attained the benefit. The word pratibhāvita should be accepted in the same way. 

Thus the meaning in this context becomes, 

“Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa inspired the gopīs with the transcendental, blissful mellow (ānanda-cinmayarasa), the gopīs also caused Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is absorbed in the most resplendent mellow, to drink that very rasa. In this way the gopīs also catered to His highest welfare.”

Here the word nija-rūpatayā reveals an even more confidential meaning of the verse. Since the gopīs are the embodiments of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency, they are His parts, and are therefore non-different from Him. Hence, it is not possible for the gopīs, who are all Mahā-Lakṣmīs, to be the wives of others in the unmanifest pastimes of Goloka in the same way that they appear to be the wives of others in the manifest pastimes. In Goloka they are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s own beloved wives. Just as a wife is sometimes impelled by playful curiosity to arouse some special eagerness in her husband by using her veil to conceal her face, similarly Yogamāyā crafts the experience of paramourship in the manifest pastimes of Vṛndāvana^[2] in order to intensify the feeling of eagerness.

Goloka eva—Here the word eva emphasizes that in Goloka Śrī Kṛṣṇa resides eternally with the gopīs as His wives, and not as His paramours. 

The Gautamīya-tantra also confirms this in its explanation of the ten-syllable mantra for realization of the eternal unmanifest pastimes:

अनेक-जन्म-सिद्धानां गोपीनां पतिर् एव वा

aneka-janma-siddhānāṃ gopīnāṃ patir eva vā

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the husband of the gopīs who have attained perfection after many lifetimes.” 

Therefore, the purport emphasized by the word eva after the word goloke is that in the Goloka pastimes, the gopīs are only related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as His wives, and not in any other way.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (tātparya):

Although the potency (śakti) and the possessor of the potency (śaktimān) are both one soul, by the action of the pleasure potency They exist eternally and separately in the forms of Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

The inconceivable amorous mellow is resplendent only in that ānanda as Śrī Rādhā, the personification of the pleasure potency, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of the knowledge potency (cit-svarūpa). There are two types of cause (vibhāva) of this rasa, namely the support (ālambana), in whom the rasa appears, and the cause of awakening (uddīpana). The support aspect is also of two types, namely the object of rasa (viṣaya) and the abode of rasa (aśraya). Śrī Rādhikā and the gopīs, who are Her bodily manifestations, are the abode of rasa, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the object. That Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of Goloka, Govinda. The gopīs are fully infused with this rasa (pratibhāvita āśraya), and Śrī Kṛṣṇa performs His eternal pastimes in Goloka with them.

The expression nija-rūpatayā indicates that the functions of the pleasure potency are manifest in the form of different arts, of which there are sixty-four types:

(1) gīta—the art of singing;
(2) vādya—the art of playing on musical instruments;
(3) nṛtya—the art of dancing;
(4) nāṭya—the art of theatricals;
(5) ālekhya—the art of painting;
(6) viśeṣaka-cchedya—the art of painting the face and body with colored unguents and cosmetics;
(7) taṇḍula-kusuma-balī-vikāra—the art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers;
(8) puṣpāstaraṇa—the art of making a covering of flowers for a bed;
(9) daśana-vasanāṅga-rāga—the art of applying preparations for cleansing the teeth and clothes, and painting the body;
(10) maṇi-bhūmikā-karma—the art of arranging jewels on the ground;
(11) śayyā-racana—the art of arranging bed coverings;
(12) udaka-vādya—the art of playing music on water;
(13) udaka-ghāta—the art of splashing water;
(14) citra-yoga—the art of applying an admixture of colors;
(15) mālya-grathana-vikalpa—the art of weaving garlands together;
(16) śekharāpīḍa-yojana—the art of setting the coronet on the head;
(17) nepathya-yoga—the art of dressing backstage in the green room;
(18) karṇapātra-bhaṅga—the art of decorating the part of the external ear that partly covers the ear-hole;
(19) sugandha-yukti—the art of practical application of aromatics;
(20) bhūṣaṇa-yojana—the art of applying or setting ornaments;
(21) aindra-jāla—the art of jugglery;
(22) kaucumāra—a kind of decorative art;
(23) hasta-lāghava—the art of sleight of hand;
(24) citra-śākā-pūpa-bhakṣya-vikāra-kriyā—the art of preparing varieties of salad, bread, cake and delicious food;
(25) pānakarasa-rāgāsava-yojana—the art of preparing palatable drinks and tingeing draughts with red color;
(26) sūcī-vāya-karma—the art of needlework and weaving;
(27) sūtra-krīḍā—the art of playing with thread;
(28) prahelikā—the art of making and solving riddles;
(29) pratimālā—the art of reciting a verse-sequence as a trial of memory and skill;
(30) durvacaka-yoga—the art of practicing language to which others find it difficult to respond;
(31) pustaka-vācana—the art of reciting books;
(32) nāṭikākhyāyikā-darśana—the art of enacting short plays and anecdotes;
(33) kāvya-samasyā-pūraṇa—the art of solving enigmatic verses;
(34) paṭṭikā-vetra-bāṇa-vikalpa—the art of preparing shield, bow and arrows;
(35) tarku-karma—the art of using a spindle to spin thread;
(36) takṣaṇa—the art of carpentry;
(37) vāstu-vidyā—the art of engineering;
(38) raupya-ratna-parīkṣā—the art of testing silver and jewels;
(39) dhātu-vāda—the art of metallurgy;
(40) maṇi-rāga-jñāna—the art of tingeing jewels;
(41) ākara-jñāna—the art of mineralogy;
(42) vṛkṣāyurveda-yoga—the art of practicing herbal medicine;
(43) meṣa-kukkuṭa-lāvaka-yuddha-vidhi—the art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds;
(44) śuka-śārikā-pralāpana—the art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female parrots;
(45) utsādana—the art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes;
(46) keśa-mārjana-kauśala—the art of combing hair;
(47) akṣara-muṣṭikā-kathana—the art of talking using letters and fingers;
(48) mlecchita-kutarka-vikalpa—the art of fabricating barbaric or foreign sophistry;
(49) deśa-bhāṣā-jñāna—the art of knowing provincial dialects;
(50) puṣpa-śakaṭikā-nirmiti-jñāna—the art of preparing toy carts using flowers;
(51) yantra-mātṛkā—the art of mechanics;
(52) dhāraṇa-mātṛkā—the art of using amulets;
(53) saṃvācya—the art of conversation;
(54) mānasī-kāvya-kriyā—the art of composing verse mentally;
(55) kriyā-vikalpa—the art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy;
(56) chalitaka-yoga—the art of deception;
(57) abhidhāna-koṣa-cchando-jñāna—the art of lexicography and the use of poetic meters;
(58) vastragopana—the art of concealment of cloths;
(59) dyūta-viśeṣa—the art of specific gambling;
(60) ākarṣa-krīḍā—the art of playing with dice by using magnets;
(61) bālaka-krīḍanaka—the art of using children’s toys;
(62) vaināyikī vidyā—the art of enforcing discipline;
(63) vaijayikī vidyā—the art of gaining victory; and
(64) vaitālikī vidyā—the art of awakening one’s master with music at dawn.

All these types of knowledge are embodied and eternally manifest in the form of the ingredients of rasa in Goloka-dhāma, and in the mundane universe they are beautifully manifest in the Vraja pastimes by the spiritual potency, Yogamāyā.

Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated:

सदानन्तैः प्रकाशैः स्वैर् लीलाभिश् च स दीव्यति
तत्रैकेन प्रकाशेन कदाचिज् जगद् अन्तरे
सहैव स्व-परिवारैर् जन्मादि कुरुते हरिः
कृष्ण-भावानुसारेण लीलाख्या शक्तिर् एव सा
तेषां परिकराणां च तं तं भावं विभावयेत्
प्रपञ्च-गोचरत्वेन सा लीला प्रकटा स्मृता
अन्यास् त्व् अप्रकटा भान्ति अदृश्यस् तद्-अगोचराः
तत्र प्रकट-लीलायाम् एव स्यातां गमागमौ
गोकुले मथुरायां च द्वारकायां च शार्ङ्गिनः
यास् तत्र तत्राप्रकटास् तत्र तत्रैव सन्ति ताः

sadānantaiḥ prakāśaiḥ svair līlābhiś ca sa dīvyati
tatraikena prakāśena kadācij jagad antare
sahaiva sva-parivārair janmādi kurute hariḥ
kṛṣṇa-bhāvānusāreṇa līlākhyā śaktir eva sā
teṣāṃ parikarāṇāṃ ca taṃ taṃ bhāvaṃ vibhāvayet
prapañca-gocaratvena sā līlā prakaṭā smṛtā
anyās tv aprakaṭā bhānti adṛśyas tad-agocarāḥ
tatra prakaṭa-līlāyām eva syātāṃ gamāgamau
gokule mathurāyāṃ ca dvārakāyāṃ ca śārṅginaḥ
yās tatra tatrāprakaṭās tatra tatraiva santi tāḥ

Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (5.436–40)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is eternally resplendent in Goloka with His display of unlimited pastimes. Sometimes He descends to this world and, along with His associates who appear with Him, manifests pastimes such as His birth and so on. In accordance with Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s desire, the pastime potency also infuses His associates with their individual bhāvas. The pastimes that are perceived in the material world are collectively called the manifest pastimes, and the pastimes of Goloka that cannot be perceived in the material world, and that remain unmanifest to the world, are called unmanifest pastimes. In the manifest pastimes, Kṛṣṇa travels to and from Gokula, Mathurā and Dvārakā. However, the pastimes that are not manifested in these three places during Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on this Earth remain eternally manifest in the transcendental abodes such as Goloka Vṛndāvana. By these conclusive statements it is understood that there is no difference at all between the manifest and unmanifest pastimes.

Our honorable ācārya-caraṇa Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has explained in his commentary on this verse of Brahma-saṃhitā, in his commentary on Śrī Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, in Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha and in other places as well that Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes are arranged by Yogamāyā. Because of their connection with the illusory realm, they appear to have assimilated some mundane features that cannot exist in the intrinsic fundamental reality (svarūpa-tattva). Examples of such pastimes include killing the demons, associating with the wives of others, taking birth and so on. It is an established truth that the gopīs are extensions of Kṛṣṇa’s personal intrinsic potency. Hence, since they are unquestionably His own consorts, how can there be any possibility of their being anyone else’s wives? Still, we see that in the manifest pastimes the gopīs do appear to be the wives of others, but this is only an implicit conviction created by māyā.

There is a secret meaning in Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s explanation, which, if brought to light, will automatically dispel all types of doubt. The revered Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, the foremost follower of Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, is the ācārya of essential truth and reality (tattva-ācārya) of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. Furthermore, he is Śrī Rādhā’s confidential assistant in kṛṣṇa-līlā. Therefore, there is no secret truth that is unknown to him. Those who do not understand his profound intentions raise arguments for and against his ideas by presenting their own concocted interpretations.

According to Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana’s vision, there is no difference between the manifest and the unmanifest pastimes. The only distinction is that one manifestation is beyond the material domain, and the other is seen within it. In the region beyond the mundane sphere, everything–the seer and the seen–is transcendentally pure. Fortunate people, on receiving the extraordinary mercy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, relinquish all material connections and enter the spiritual domain. If during the performance of sādhana they attained perfection in savoring the extraordinary varieties of rasa, they can then see and take delight in all the supremely pure pastimes of Goloka. Such recipients of mercy are very rare.

On the other hand,^[3] those who attain perfection in bhakti, and experience the nectar of spiritual rasa by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, witness the pastimes of Goloka in the pastimes of Gokula which are manifest in this world, even while remaining in the material universe. There are some gradations of qualification in both categories of sādhaka. As long as one has not attained vastusiddhi (birth from the womb of a gopī in Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes), the influence of māyā maintains some restriction in one’s vision of the Goloka pastimes. On the other hand, realization of one’s svarūpa varies according to the level of one’s attainment of svarūpa-siddhi. It must be accepted that a devotee’s darśana of Goloka will vary according to the degree that he has realized his intrinsic form and nature. Jīvas who are tightly bound by māyā have no spiritual vision. Some of them are trapped by the variegated charm of māyā, and some, having taken shelter of impersonal knowledge of the formless aspect of the Absolute, which is opposed to the reality of Bhagavān’s personality, proceed toward the path of total destruction. Even after seeing Bhagavān’s manifest pastimes, both types of bound jīvas view such pastimes as mundane activities, having no connection with the unmanifest pastimes. Thus, there is gradation in one’s darśana of Goloka depending upon one’s qualification.

There is a subtle point to note here. Just as Goloka is the completely pure, divine truth beyond the illusory realm, the Gokula which is manifest on this Earth is similarly always pure and uncontaminated, even though it appears in the material world by Bhagavān’s knowledge potency, Yogamāyā. There is not even the slightest touch of material defect, degradation or imperfection in either the manifest or the unmanifest pastimes. Different people perceive the pastimes differently, depending on their qualification. Defect (contamination), foulness, designation, illusion, ignorance, impurity, falsity, loathsomeness and grossness are all perceived through the conditioned living entities’ intelligence, false ego and eyes that have been dulled by the material nature. They do not belong to the object of their perception, Gokula. The more one is free from defects, the more one is granted vision of the transcendental truth. The truth is revealed in śāstra, but the purity of realization for those who deliberate on these tattvas will depend upon their qualifications.

According to the views of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana, whatever pastimes are manifest in Bhauma-Gokula are also present in Goloka, also in their pure form without a tinge of māyā. That is why the mood of transcendental paramourship is also certainly present in some form or another in Goloka in its inconceivably pure state. All the manifestations created by Yogamāyā are immaculate. The transcendental mood that Yogamāyā creates of being the wife of someone other than Kṛṣṇa, or of being His paramour, is therefore based on the pure absolute reality. But what is this pure absolute reality? This should be discussed.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writes (Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 1.9–10, 2.21, 5.2):

पूर्वोक्त-धीरोदत्तादि चतुर्भेदस्य तस्य तु
पतिश् चोपपतिश् चेति प्रभेदाव् इह विश्रुतौ
पतिः स कन्यायाः यः पाणि-ग्राहको भवेत्
रागेणोल्लङ्घयन् धर्मं परकीया-वलार्थिना
तदीय-प्रेम-सर्वस्यं बूधैर् उपपतिः स्मृतः
लघुत्वम् अत्र यत् प्रोक्तं तत् तु प्राकृत-नायके
न कृष्णे रस-निर्यास—स्वादार्थम् अवतारिणि तत्र नायिकाभेद-विचारः,
“नासौ नाढ्ये रसे मुख्ये यत् परोढा निगद्यते
तत् तु स्यात् प्राकृत-क्षुद्र-नायिकाद्य्-अनुसारतः.”

pūrvokta-dhīrodattādi caturbhedasya tasya tu
patiś copapatiś ceti prabhedāv iha viśrutau
patiḥ sa kanyāyāḥ yaḥ pāṇi-grāhako bhavet
rāgeṇollaṅghayan dharmaṃ parakīyā-valārthinā
tadīya-prema-sarvasyaṃ būdhair upapatiḥ smṛtaḥ
laghutvam atra yat proktaṃ tat tu prākṛta-nāyake
na kṛṣṇe rasa-niryāsa—svādārtham avatāriṇi tatra nāyikābheda-vicāraḥ,
“nāsau nāḍhye rase mukhye yat paroḍhā nigadyate
tat tu syāt prākṛta-kṣudra-nāyikādy-anusārataḥ.”

After deep deliberation on these verses of Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī establishes that the transcendental paramour mood, like the pastime of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, is a divine delusion created by Yogamāyā. 

तथापि पतिः पुर-वनितानां द्वितीयो व्रज-वनितानाम्

Tathāpi patiḥ pura-vanitānāṃ dvitīyo vraja-vanitānām

“It is understood that the mood of being married exists in Dvārakā, while the vraja-sundarīs have the transcendental paramour mood.” 

According to the conclusions of Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, the delightfully deceptive pastimes are also accepted as the contrivance of Yogamāyā. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has established that there is no difference between the pastimes of Goloka and Gokula, and it must be accepted that the original principle of all pastimes is manifest in Gokula.^[4]

One who accepts the hand of a virgin girl according to the sacred rites of marriage is called a husband. And he who, being overcome by passion, violates conventional morality in order to win another’s wife is called a paramour. Now, the religious obligation binding one within matrimonial regulation does not exist in Goloka. Even the concept of husbandhood within the bounds of matrimony does not exist there. Therefore the gopīs, who are Kṛṣṇa’s own potency, cannot be married to any other person, and can never be the wives of other men. In that realm of Goloka it is not possible for the paramour (parakīyā) and married (svakīyā) conditions to exist separately from each other. In the manifest pastimes within the illusory realm, the strictures of marriage do exist, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa is beyond their jurisdiction. Therefore, the form of dharma (righteous prescription) found in the sweet realm of Vraja is a creation of Yogamāyā. Kṛṣṇa transgresses this dharma and enjoys the transcendental paramour mellow. Only a person with mundane vision in the material world will see this as a violation of the dharma created by Yogamāyā. In reality, there is no such degradation in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

The paramour mellow is the very essence of all rasas, so a denial of its presence in Goloka would minimize that realm. It is not possible that the highest delight in rasa could be absent from the topmost abode of Goloka. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the source of all incarnations, relishes this rasa in one way in Goloka and in another way in Gokula. 

Thus, even though there appears to be a transgression of dharma according to material vision, this truth must also exist in some form in Goloka.

आत्मारामोऽप्य् अरीरमत्

ātmārāmo'py arīramat 

(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.29.42)

“Kṛṣṇa performed amorous pastimes, although He is self-satisfied (ātmārāma).” 

आत्मन्य् अवरुद्ध-सौरतः

ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ 

(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.25)

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose every desire comes to fruition, keeps in His heart the hāva, bhāva and other anubhāvas arising from His amorous diversions.” 

रेमे रमेशो व्रज-सुन्दरीभिर् यथार्भकः स्व-प्रतिबिम्ब-विभ्रमः

reme rameśo vraja-sundarībhir yathārbhakaḥ sva-pratibimba-vibhramaḥ 

(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.16)

“Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who gives pleasure to the supreme goddess of fortune Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, enjoyed with the beautiful Vraja maidens just as an innocent child plays with his reflection without undergoing any transformation.”

It is understood from these statements of śāstra that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s constitutional nature is to be self-satisfied. In those spiritual planets predominated by opulence, He manifests His own potency as Lakṣmī, and consorts with her in the mellow of wedded conjugal love. There, with the sense of wedlock prevailing, rasa only goes up to the stage of servitorship (dāsya). But in Goloka, Kṛṣṇa manifests millions and millions of gopīs and enjoys with them continuously, oblivious to any sentiments of wedded love. In the svakīyā conception, rasa does not remain extremely inaccessible as in the parakīyā mood, where the obstacles to meeting make union all the more precious. Hence, from beginningless time, the gopīs are naturally imbued with an innate conception of being other men’s wives. Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore reciprocates with their mood, and naturally assumes the identity of their paramour, taking the help of His flute, which is His dearly beloved intimate companion, to accomplish the rāsa dance and other pastimes.

Goloka, which is eternally perfect and free from illusion, is the abode of divine rapture. Thus, the flow of rasa in the conception of paramourship finds its perfection there. Even the parental mellow is not found in Vaikuṇṭha because of the sense of awe and reverence there. However, in the fountainhead of ultimate sweetness, which is the Vraja situated in Goloka, there exists nothing but the original conception of this rasa. Nanda and Yaśodā are present there, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s birth does not actually take place. In reality, parenthood does not exist in the absence of birth, so Nanda and Yaśodā only have the self-conception (abhimāna) of being parents. 

This is substantiated in the verse—

जयति जन-निवासो देवकी-जन्म-वादः

jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādaḥ

This abhimāna is eternal for the sake of perfect rasa.

By the same logic, there is no fault or transgression of scriptural prohibitions in the amorous mellow, since the bhāvas of being the wife of another and of being a paramour are simply eternal self-conceptions. When the essential reality of Goloka appears in manifest Vraja, both of these conceptions (being another’s wife and paramourship) are seen in a tangible form by worldly vision. This is the only difference. In the mellow of parenthood, Nanda and Yaśodā’s mood of being parents becomes apparent in a concrete way through birth and other pastimes; and in the amorous mellow, the idea of the Vraja maidens being the wives of others takes on a perceptible shape in the form of their marriages with Abhimanyu, Govardhana Malla and others. In reality there is no such thing as the gopīs having husbands, either in Gokula or in Goloka.

Śāstra therefore proclaims: 

न जातु व्रज-देवीनां पतिभिः सह सङ्गमः

na jātu vraja-devīnāṃ patibhiḥ saha saṅgamaḥ

“The vraja-devīs never had union with their husbands.” 

Thus, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the master of the truths of rasa, has written: 

पतिश् चोपपतिश् चेति प्रभेदाव् इह विश्रुतौ

patiś copapatiś ceti prabhedāv iha viśrutau

“In the resplendent mellow of amorous love, there are two types of heroes: husband and paramour.”

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has written in his commentary on this śloka: 

पतिः पुर-वनितानां द्वितीयो व्रज-वनितानाम्

patiḥ pura-vanitānāṃ dvitīyo vraja-vanitānām

“The hero of Dvārakā-purī’s young women is called a husband, and in Vraja, the hero Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the paramour of the young women of Vraja.”

This passage shows that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the husband in Vaikuṇṭha and Dvārakā, and as the eternal paramour in Goloka-Gokula. The characteristics of a paramour are exhibited to their full extent in the Lord of Goloka-Gokula. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is completely self-satisfied, transgresses His natural state of self-satisfaction. The cause for this transgression is His intense passion to meet with the Vraja damsels, who are others’ wives. The state of being another’s wife is nothing but the eternal self-conception (abhimāna) of the gopīs. Even though the gopīs do not factually have real husbands, their transcendental paramour mood is fulfilled just by having the sentiment of being the wives of others. Therefore, transgressing the rules of dharma out of their intense attachment and all other such symptoms are eternally present in the arena of the super-excellent amorous mellow. In Bhauma-Vraja, this bhāva is partially visible in a tangible form to people with mundane vision.

Therefore, the simultaneous divergence and non-distinction between the transcendental mellows of wedlock and paramourship in Goloka is inconceivable by material intelligence. It can be said that there is no difference between them, and it can also be said that there is difference. Why? The essence of paramourship is loving enjoyment outside of the sanction of wedlock, and the essence of wedlock is abstention from unlawful connections. Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s loving enjoyment with svarūpa-śakti (His own personal potency) can also be understood as svakīyā by this definition.^[5] Although these two, paramourship and wedlock, are one rasa, they exist eternally as its dual variations. Furthermore, although the form of rasa in Gokula is the same, mundane observers view it otherwise.

Śrī Govinda, the hero of Goloka, exhibits His qualities of being the pati (meaning “husband” or “shelter”) of the gopīs as well as being their upapati (meaning “paramour”). Both qualities shine forth brilliantly in their pristine splendor, beyond all piety and impiety. These same characteristics also exist in the hero of Gokula, but with some diversity created by the agency of Yogamāyā. One may raise the following point: whatever Yogamāyā manifests is the Absolute Truth, so the sentiment of paramour love would similarly have to be accepted as absolutely true. To dispel this doubt, it is said that conviction in the paramour conception can exist in the relishing of rasa, and there is no fault in that, because it is not unfounded. However, whatever base convictions exist in mundane consciousness are faulty. They are not present in the pure, transcendental world.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has indeed given the correct, perfect philosophical conclusion, while the opposing conclusions are also inconceivably true. Simply arguing in vain about the conclusions of paramourship and wedlock is a fruitless exhibition of word jugglery. There is no possibility of any type of skepticism rising in the hearts of those who make a thorough and impartial study of the commentaries by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and the “opposing party.” Whatever is spoken by pure Vaiṣṇavas is true and utterly free from any bias or party spirit, but there is a mystery surrounding their apparent verbal disagreements. Those whose intelligence is materialistic and lacks the spirit of devotion cannot fathom the deep secrets of the loving controversies between śuddha Vaiṣṇavas, and thus they wrongly conceive of such great personalities as philosophical adversaries. 

The great devotee Śrīla Cakravartipāda has wholeheartedly and with the utmost reverence supported the opinion that Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī has given in his Vaiṣṇava-toṣanī commentary on the śloka from Rāsa-pañcādhyāya (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.35): 

गोपीनां तत्-पतीनां च

gopīnāṃ tat-patīnāṃ ca

“The gopīs and their husbands.”

When contemplating any opinion connected with the divine pastimes of Goloka and other transcendental realms, we should keep in mind the invaluable advice given by Śrīman Mahāprabhu and His followers, the Six Gosvāmīs. The Supreme Personality and Absolute Truth is never without form and attributes. Rather, He is full with variegated qualities and pleasurable engagements, which lie completely beyond the material plane.

The supremely relishable and splendid form of the mellows of transcendental service to Bhagavān, tasted through the four types of transcendentally variegated ingredients—vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika and vyabhicārī^[6]—is eternally present in Goloka and Vaikuṇṭha. By the agency of Yogamāyā, this very rasa of Goloka manifests in the material realm as vraja-rasa for the benefit of the devotees. One should know that all the rasas seen in this Gokula must surely be found also in Goloka in their radiantly pure state. That is why the wonderful varieties of hero and heroines (Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs), the diversity of rasa in them, and all the surroundings and paraphernalia of Gokula, including the land, rivers, mountain, residences, gateways, bowers (kuñjas), cows and so on, collectively exist in the same form in Goloka.

Only the worldly beliefs of those who are imbued with mundane intelligence are missing in Goloka. In the variegated pastimes of Vraja, different visions of Goloka are realized according to one’s level of qualification. It is difficult to establish a fixed standard to determine which aspects of those varieties of visions are illusory and which are pure. A clear vision gradually arises within the heart as the eyes of devotion become cleansed through being anointed with the salve of prema. Therefore, there is no need to argue and counter-argue over this matter, because it will not elevate one’s qualification. The truth of Goloka is filled with inconceivable bhāva, and any attempt to investigate this inconceivable reality by the mind would prove as unproductive as threshing empty husks. Hence, one should disregard the method of empirical knowledge, and strive for realization through the practice of unalloyed bhakti.

On the path of bhakti, it is crucial to renounce any subject matter whose acceptance would ultimately give rise to an impersonal impression. The pure paramour mellow described in the Goloka pastimes is free from all mundane conceptions, and is very rarely attained. Devotees on the path of bhakti following Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates in Goloka (rāgānuga-bhakti) should adopt this concept and perform sādhana. By doing so, they will realize this highly auspicious fundamental truth upon attaining perfection. When persons of gross worldly intellect endeavor for bhakti in the paramour mood, they generally end up engaging in immoral activity in the material sphere. Our tattva-ācārya Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī took this into consideration and presented his line of thought out of great concern. The spirit of pure Vaiṣṇavism is to accept the essence of his statements. It is an offense to disregard the ācārya by attempting to establish another theory.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

One meaning of the word go is gopī, therefore Goloka may also be understood to mean “the planet where the gopīs reside.”

[2]:

In Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes, there is an actual situation of paramourship wherein the gopīs are apparently married to others, but in the unmanifest pastimes of Goloka Vṛndāvana, only the self-conception of being married to others exists in order to nourish the mood of transcendental paramourship.

[3]:

What is the difference between these two types of sādhaka? The first type makes very rapid progress by extraordinary mercy, galloping through the various stages due to giving up all material relationships and attachments, whereas the second makes progress in a more gradual manner.

[4]:

In this context, Gokula refers to the manifestation of the divine abode in this world rather than to the inner section of Goloka.

[5]:

The word svakīyā refers to a married relationship where there is a sense of propriety and proprietorship (mamatā): “This is my wife; this is my husband.” Taken literally, it also means “one’s own.” Therefore it is not at all incorrect to describe Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the possessor of all potencies, as having a svakīyā relationship with the gopīs, who are His very own potency. The concept of proprietorship that exists between sarva-śaktimān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs is far above and beyond any conception of mundane matrimony.

[6]:

Vibhāva—causes for tasting bhakti-rasa; anubhāva—actions which display or reveal spiritual emotions situated within the heart; sāttvika-bhāva—symptoms of spiritual ecstasy arising exclusively from viśuddha-sattva; vyabhicāri-bhāva—transitory spiritual emotions.