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January 27, 2002 VNN7124 Related VNN Stories Comment on this storyAbout the AuthorOther Stories by this Author
What Krsna Never Told Before
BY SRILA BHAKTIVEDANTA NARAYAN GOSVAMI MAHARAJA
 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, Jan 27 (VNN) — Dec. 20, 2001 (eve)
Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja
Now we will explain about the goal of life. We must have a relation with Krsna, but He is not the goal of life. He is the object of sambhanda, our relationship, and service to Him is abhideya, the process. But actually our goal is krsna-prema, premamayi-seva, love-filled service to Krsna. Krsna is the Supreme Lord. He is very beautiful and brilliant, more so than thousands of moons. He is very qualified and merciful, and He is unlimited. All qualities are in Him, and even contradictory qualities are in Him. There are no words in the entire universe that can give a proper description of His glory.
Krsna is the lord of lords. Ramacandra, Narayana and all other incarnations are also lords, and they have 60 qualities in full. These qualities are 
Krsna has not said anything like this about anyone but the gopis.
| | complete in bhagavata-tattva, but Krsna has four additional qualities, namely rupa-madhuri, a beautiful sweet form, lila-madhuri, sweet pastimes, venu-madhuri, His flute-playing, and parikara-madhuri, His relationship with His sweet associates. None of the manifestations of Krsna, even Ramacandra, Narayana, or Nrsimha, can play in rasa with so many gopis, and even Dvarakadhisa Krsna cannot do so. Regarding Krsna's quality of venu-madhuri, others may fight with bow and arrows, but Krsna can conquer anyone's heart by His very sweet, melodious flute-playing. In this way Krsna is supreme, and the prema of anyone towards Him is prayojana, the goal of life.
Arjuna has so much love and affection for Krsna that Krsna served Arjuna. All are serving Krsna, Rama, and Nrsimha, but Krsna is so sweet that He wants to serve His devotees. He has promised, "Ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham. For those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form, I carry what they lack and preserve what they have." (Bhagavad-gita 9.22) Uttama-bhakti, the life of pure devotees, finds them wholly engaged in the service of Sri Krsna. Because their senses, their moods, and their desires are fully absorbed in consciousness of Krsna, no time is wasted in thoughts for bodily maintenance. Thus, Krsna personally comes to see how to maintain them. He says, "I somehow discover a way, and then I maintain them. Carrying all their needs on My head and shoulders, I personally go to them. I do not go through others."
Arjuna had no time to look after his wife and children, and therefore Krsna personally taught archery to his son, Abimanyu. Krsna became the charioteer of Arjuna, who then gave Him orders, and He followed those orders. Arjuna commanded Krsna, "Bring my chariot in the midst of both armies," and Krsna did it. When Arjuna said, "My horses are now tired," Krsna gave water to the horses and massaged them. What to speak of His serving Arjuna personally, He massaged the HORSES of Arjuna. Even if there were a dog who was related to Arjuna, Krsna would have served that dog. Krsna cannot repay Arjuna.
When Hanuman was serving Rama, Rama was pleased, but not pleased enough to be controlled by him. Arjuna was so pleasing, however, that Krsna became his charioteer, messaged his horses and made them feel refreshed. In addition, Krsna went to Sankara Mahadeva and told him, "You must help Arjuna, because he will have to fight in a great war and come out victorious. You should give him all archery, all qualities, all astra-sastra, and all weapons." And Mahadeva did so. Krsna also ordered Hanuman, "You should always remain with Me on Arjuna's chariot, by sitting on its flag."
He received a chariot and four horses from Agnideva, and gave them to Arjuna. Krsna also blessed Arjuna: "Your quiver of arrows will not be empty at any time. Whenever you empty it, it will again be full." Other warriors continually required cartloads of arrows and quivers, but not Arjuna. Krsna saved Arjuna many times in the Mahabharata Battle. By the first arrow of Bhisma, both Arjuna's chariot and horses were finished, but Krsna kept them alive. Then, when the war was over and there was no longer need for the chariot, Krsna told Arjuna, "Get down, and then I will get down." Arjuna asked, "Why?" Krsna said, "You will be destroyed. Quickly get down." Arjuna asked, "Why do You say that?" Krsna replied, "Follow my order now." Arjuna then got down from the chariot, Krsna also got down, and one second later the chariot was automatically destroyed by fire. When Arjuna then asked, "What happened?" Krsna replied, "Your chariot and horses were destroyed by the first arrow of Bhisma, but I kept them intact. I also kept Hanuman on the chariot, and he repeatedly saved you."
Krsna gave his own sister in marriage to Arjuna. He became Arjuna's brother-in-law, taking meals on the same plate, and sleeping on the same bed. Still, Krsna was not fully controlled by him. When He showed His universal form, Arjuna began to pray, "O Prabhu, I have made a mistake. I will never again call you 'sakha.' I have committed so many offenses." He folded his palms and continually prayed.
When Krsna was in Mathura, He told Uddhava, "Please go to Vrndavana. My father and mother are weeping bitterly. They have become blind, and they are practically only skeletons. Perhaps their lives will last for only one or two days more. They may die at once, at any time, at any moment. Please go and pacify them. Also, go to the gopis. I know that My father and mother are weeping bitterly, they are blind, and they may die· but I don't know what is the condition of gopis. They are feeling the topmost separation for Me. I don't know whether they are alive, or if they have already died. Go at once. Quickly. They are always remembering Me, keeping Me on the chariots of their minds, without any selfish interest.
"They know that in Mathura there are none who know My heart." The gopis know that Krsna is very shy. He cannot ask for bread and butter from anyone. Yasoda Maiya is not present in His palace, nor is Rohini Maiya. Who will pacify Him? Who will serve Him? It is for this reason that the gopis feel so much separation. Krsna told Uddhava, "Mat prana. The gopis are My life and soul." He did not say this about His father and mother. He said it only about the gopis. Krsna continued, "The gopis have left everything for Me. They don't care for their bodies. They've forgotten all duties connected to their bodies for Me. I am their only beloved, and they are My most beloved. They are My soul. They are My life. They've left their shyness, and they have left their loka-dharma, worldly responsibilities. Not only this, they've left all social etiquette for Me, they disobey their parents for Me, and they've left their source of maintenance for Me. I must somehow save them and maintain them. They are now far away, thinking, 'Somehow, Krsna will come tomorrow. If we die, then Krsna will also die when he finds out.' For this reason they are not dying, and somehow they maintain their lives.
"The gopis think, 'Krsna has promised. He cannot break His promise. He must come. Tomorrow He will come. Tomorrow He will come.' That is why they continue their life. I think that they have not kept their own life. Because their life rests in Me, I am maintaining them; otherwise they would have been finished. Go at once and see whether they have died or not. If not, then pacify them." Uddhava at once carried out Krsna's order.
Krsna has not said anything like this about anyone but the gopis. He has never spoken in this way about the Pandavas, nor about Arjuna, nor about the queens, Satyabhama and Rukmini. The gopis alone have their boundless and causeless love and affection for Krsna. That is our highest object; the love of Krsna that was in the gopis, and especially the love in Radhika. Gopis like Lalita, Visakha, Citra, Campakalata and Rupa Manjari were serving Radhika at the time of Her separation, and trying to pacify Her. But who could actually pacify Her? She was totally mad, with no external sense at all. The others were pacifying Her because they were in somewhat functional consciousness. Their love is so high, millions of times higher than that of Uddhava, Satyabhama and Rukmini. It was even greater than that of the other sakhis of Vrndavana, but it was not as high as the love of Radhika.
Radhika was totally mad, and Uddhava saw this when he witnessed her talk with the bumblebee. That bumblebee was actually Krsna. Krsna had gone to Vraja in the form of a bumblebee, and He also saw Radhika totally mad. Radhika was lying on a bed of rose petals which, upon the touch of Her body, had become dried. So much candana, sandalwood, had been given to cool Her, but it had now become fried. Uddhava could not imagine whether She was dead or alive.
She was sometimes in a very angry mood toward Krsna. She criticized and abused Him, calling Him an ungrateful cheater. Even Satyabhama and all the other queens cannot speak to Krsna like this, and even Mother Yasoda and Nanda Baba cannot speak to Him in this way. But here Radhika told Krsna, "You ungrateful cad. You are like a six-legged bumblebee. You have more legs than an animal. A human has two legs and an animal four, but a bumblebee has six legs, and so they are more ignorant than any animal. We don't want to have any relation that black person who has a black-heart - black like a bumblebee. Rama was also black. He cheated Surpanaka and cut her nose and ears."
Srimad Bhagavatam is actually an explanation of the glory of Radhika's love. Her love is topmost, and it is the goal of all living beings. We can never receive its breadth, but a drop of it can be tasted, and even one drop is able to sink the whole universe. Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave that drop of the endless ocean of nectar, bhakti-rasa, to Srila Rupa Gosvami. If we can serve these gopis, and especially Radhika, we can also have love and affection for Krsna, and then we can feel separation. Otherwise, it will never be possible.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the six Gosvami's, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Sukadeva Gosvami declare this conclusion: our goal is krsna-prema, that prema which the gopis have for Krsna. Uddhava had heard that the gopis have so much love and affection for Krsna, but he had no experience. He had heard that the gopis are the most beloved of Krsna, and Krsna is their most beloved. He knew this fact, but he could know neither its height nor its manner. Uddhava has love for Krsna. He thinks, "Krsna is my prabhu, He is like my brother, and He is, oh, so many things to me." However, Krsna did not say anything about Uddhava's love. Rather, He told him to go to Vraja and learn. Krsna told him, "You should go and realize what is the nature of prema. In Mathura there is no one like these gopis."
By Hs mercy, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sprinkled a drop of that love:
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah
"May that Lord, who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi, be trancendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no avatara ever offered before - manjari-bhava, the service of Srimati Radhika as Her confidential maidservant." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.4)
I have explained about Uddhava's visit to Vraja in order to make the goal clear. First make a goal, and then perform the process. If there is no goal, how can there be a process?
It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam:
nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam
suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah
"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of the Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls." (SB 1.1.3)
This third verse reveals the object of Srimad Bhagavatam, and the rest of Srimad Bhagavatam is only an explanation of the first three slokas. Especially the tenth canto explains how Krsna is an ocean of rasa. Our object is to attain love and affection for that Krsna, like that of the gopis, and to serve Radhika as the gopis do.
Gaura Premanande.
Transcriber: Srimati Revati devi dasi
Editor: Sripad Rsabhadeva dasa Adhikari
Ass't editor: Srimati Syamarani devi dasi
Proofreader and typist: Srimati Radhika devi dasi
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