Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Reflection Pastime

Once, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was deeply absorbed in his bhajana and saw another sweet pastime of Śrī Kṛṣṇa talking to His own reflection in Nandagrāma. Inspired by that pastime, he composed this verse in his Śrī Upadeṣāmṛta:

ददाति प्रतिगृह्णाति गुह्यम् आख्याति पृच्छति
भुङ्क्ते भोजयते चैव षड्-विधं प्रीति-लक्षणम्

dadāti pratigṛhṇāti guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva ṣaḍ-vidhaṃ prīti-lakṣaṇam

Upadeśāmṛta 4

Offering gifts in charity and accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence and inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared between devotees.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī beautifully describes the pastime of Śrī Kṛṣṇa talking to His reflection as follows:

Early in the morning, in the beautiful village of Nandagrāma, Mother Yaśodā was busy churning yoghurt in her palace, Śrī Nanda-bhavana. She made some freshly churned butter and gave it to her son Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa took the soft butter in his hand and began eating it happily. Yaśodā told Kṛṣṇa to eat the butter while she is going to do other household duties.

In the palace of Nanda-bhavana there are eighty-four brilliant jewelled pillars. While Kṛṣṇa was playing by Himself, He saw His reflection in one of the shiny pillars. Seeing His own reflection, Kṛṣṇa became surprised and thought, ‘Who is this beautiful, attractive boy? I have never seen a boy like this in Vraja. I should make friends with him. Although Dāū bhaiyā (Baladeva) is here in Vraja and is my friend, he’s not always here to play with me. Sometimes he goes to my uncle Upananda’s house or sometimes he stays with mother Rohiṇī. I need one friend who will always be with me’. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja are characterized by the sweetness of His human-like activities. Although Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is all-omniscient, at the same time, due to the pastimenurturing influence of His internal yoga māyā potency, He forgets His opulences. In this way, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is trying to make friends with this boy in this amazing pastime. He spoke to the reflection, ‘My mother has dressed me like this so nicely, because I am the son of a king. I have so many beautiful outfits. If you like I can give one to you and if you have anything, you can also give me a gift.’

Kṛṣṇa did not receive a reply from his new friend. He then spoke again, ‘Look! I know so many tricks and I am very expert at stealing butter with my friends.

One time, in early morning, my mother got up from the bed. She gently put a soft pillow for me to embrace and quietly went out from her bed to attend to her other services. I pretended to be asleep and as soon as Mother left the room I quickly jumped down from the bed and without making any sound, I slipped out of the house to meet my friends who were waiting for Me outside.

We went to the house of another gopī and taking her son with us, we quietly entered inside her house to steal butter. Just then that gopī caught me red-handed. She said, ‘O Kanaiyā, so early in the morning, you are up to no good!’

I replied, ‘I thought this is my own house and you are my mother’.

The gopī didn’t listen to any excuses and said, ‘Whenever we catch you doing your mischievous activities and tell your mother, she never believes us, so today I will personally take you to your mother’s house.’ Taking Me by the hand, she covered her face with a shawl which also fell over my head. She proceeded to Nanda-bhavana with all my sakhās and her son following behind.

By a hint from my eyes, I called that gopī’s son to my side and then pleaded with her, ‘O mother, my body is tender, so delicate and fragile; you are holding my hand so tightly it is hurting. Can you please switch to my other hand?’

The gopī said, ‘Yes, only if you give me your other hand first’. At that moment I gave her the hand of her own son and quickly ran behind without her noticing.

I ran to my house and lay on the bed pretending to be fast sleep.

The gopī arrived and knocked loudly on the door calling, ‘O Yaśode! O Yaśode!’

Mother opened the door and asked what was going on. ‘Why are you screaming so loud? You will disturb my son who’s sleeping.’

The gopī said, ‘Your son is not sleeping. He was stealing butter in my house!’

Mother replied how could that be, just a couple of minutes ago she had seen me on my bed.

At that moment with perfect timing, I came out of my room rubbing my eyes and weeping, ‘O Maiyā I am hungry’.

The gopī quickly removed her veil. She looked down at the hand she was holding, and to her utter astonishment, she saw that it was her own son!

I said ‘O Maiyā, just see! Your sakhīs are always making up false stories about me and this is the proof. They are so miserly they don’t even feed their children. When they are hungry they steal from their own houses’.

Mother looked at that gopī who became extremely embarrassed and for quite some time, that gopī avoided Nanda-bhavana.’

Kṛṣṇa related this most confidential pastime to his reflection and asked him if he knew of any cunning tricks. In this way he opened his heart to his new friend and inquired about his heart. The reflection gave no reply.

Kṛṣṇa thought if I am to make friends with this boy, I must feed him some delicious milk products. He offered some fresh butter to his friend, ‘Please eat this and then give me some tasty morsel in exchange.’ As Kṛṣṇa offered the butter, the reflection imitated him. Kṛṣṇa became angry, ‘I am trying to make friend with this boy but now I can see he is not at all simple hearted; he is actually quite crooked’. Kṛṣṇa then bared his teeth like a monkey at the reflection.

Mother Yaśodā was watching how her son Kṛṣṇa was playing with his own reflection and unable to contain herself, she began to laugh in delight.

Kṛṣṇa then realized his new found friend was only a reflection and feeling instantly shy, hid himself in His mother’s veil. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, seeing this charming pastime, became inspired by the heartfelt interaction of Kṛṣṇa with his reflection and thus composed a beautiful verse in his Upadeśamṛta, describing the six loving exchanges between devotees.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī saw how Kṛṣna wanted to give and receive gifts, how He revealed his heart in confidence and wanted to hear his new friend’s realizations, and how He offered prasādam and desired to taste the prasādam of his friend. When these types of loving exchanges are performed by devotees, especially between Śrī Guru and disciple, friendship develops.

Rūpa Gosvāmī instructed this is how devotees should associate together. However, if devotees associate in this way with materialistic persons, many unfavorable attachments will develop.

This pastime was taking place in Goloka Vṛndāvana and Rūpa Gosvāmī, who was present in this world doing his bhajana in his sādhakaśarīra, was witnessing that pastime in his eternal spiritual form.