krishna says in bhagavad gita that if he doesn't perform his prescribed duties then he would be the cause of unwanted population (bg. 3..24)
and he also performs the lila in which he stole the cloths of gopis
i know that this pastimes is transcendental and we cannot look at it from material perspective but if we see this pastimes from surface and what he says in bhagavad gita then both of them feels like a contradiction. (like he follows scriotures to teach us to avoid unwanted population and at the same time he performs those lilas )
How to understand??
Replies
Hare Krishna,
Krishna is giving advice to Arjuna that Oh Arjuna, you are a warrier and a duty of Kshetriya is to fight against injustice. If you don't do your duty then the corrupted people in the society would increase.. these corrupted people will kill the good men and the woman without a husband will be taken up by the corrupted people and the woman also without protection by a husband would start getting corrupted and prostitution will start and there would be unwanted progeny. So, as a duty of a Kshetriya is to fight and establish dharma you must fight and protect the society from this contamination from corrupted people and unwanted progeny.
Although, I ( Sri Krishna) has no need to get involved not has any responsiblity or duties to be performed as I am out of this material world. I still as a I am a King and a protector of my subjects .. I do my duties and perform my Swadharma. That is the duty of the Kshetriya. If I don't do my duty properly then my followers will immitate me and they will all get misguided ... So, In order to set an example I myself have to perform all the duties perfectly.. even though I am really not having any attachements to this material world nor I need anything from this material world.
Now... I understand that your query is if he is setting a good example by stealing the clothes of gopis'?
Krishna is dealing with his devotees in Vraja. These gopi's were in past sages who fell in love with Lord Shree Rama when they saw Lord Shree Rama in Dandakaranya. They all at a same time.. requested Lord Shree Rama that they wanted to serve Lord Shree Rama as His wives. Lord in that avatara is Eka Patni Vrata and said In course of time surely it will happen.. And during Dwapar yuga when Lord Shree Krishna took the form these Sages came back as gopis'.. they might not have rememberance and acted like just as if they were plain simple cowherd girls.. Lord who knows in and out and knows their internal desires gave them a chance to be His wives and do the service as Wives would do to a Husband. These gopis did Katyayani Vrata also before Rasa Leela and all of them wanted to become Lord Sri Krishna's wives internally.. So, Sri Krishna asked them all to come out their clothes ( THAT IS THEIR BODIES) and come meet Him get their CLOTHES ( SPIRITUAL BODIES).
Now for a layman at first when we read it will look absurd but you see.. here the clothes ( refer to the their external bodies) previous cloth that wore in TretaYuga was that of a Male body ( SAGES) now they are wearing a FEMALE Cloth .. So, LORD here wanted to hide their clothes and asked them to come out get their clothes and come naked to ME.
Here naked means.. IN TRUE Sense to come out of this Bodily clothing and come to HIM as a JIVA or soul.
Now that is why Krishna's activities are not so easy to understand.
You are asked not to read the book by your own self as this nighoodha artha is not understood.
Many people feel How can Krishna do us cheap things .. and ctricize Him.
Some people say don't read .. that part.. you are not ready for it.
And some people just read only BG and don't even dare to read that 10 canto.
Well All Krishna's activities.. even small mud eating and showing whole brahamanda inside the mouth or stealing butter all have some internal meaning and only a guru maharaj can explain this when you are really ready for this.
Simply reading books what is given is always misunderstood. Krishna leelas are very very profund and not easy to understand and fathom also. There may be many more meaning to it also.. we are not even capable for even understand them or giving some interpretations but.. What I heard from my guru maharaj ..I have told.
So, one must never enact or immitate Krishna's leelas as Lord's Leelas are done for the sake of devotees and devotees wanted Him to do these leelas with them. You cannot even act on them or immitate these things.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krsna Prabhu
Sri Krsna is speaking this Bhagavad-gita from the (father) point of view as He says in Bhagavad-gita that I am the father of all species of life. aham bija prada-pitah.
An unwanted population is one that doesn't follow His authority. Therefore, in the previous verse He says I carefully perform my duties because if I don't all men would certainly follow my path.
Try to understand like this. The Lord is the father of all living entities, and if the living entities are misguided, indirectly the responsibility goes to the Lord.
Hari Bol
Hare Krsna
but if we see this pastimes from surface
We should not see from surface.
How to understand??
They are same as Nimai boy stealing banana leaves from Kohla vecha Sridhar or
Sri Krsna grabbing & eating broken chipped rice from Sudama in Dwaraka or
Sri Krsna eating banana skin from wife of Vidura or
Hare Krsna
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Your question highlights a profound philosophical inquiry - how to reconcile Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s instruction in Bhagavad-gītā 3.24 about upholding dharma to prevent "unwanted population" with His playful līlā of stealing the gopīs’ garments, which seems to defy conventional morality. The resolution lies in understanding the distinction between vidhi regulated duties for conditioned souls and līlā the Lord’s divine unrestrained pastimes.
In BG 3.24, Kṛṣṇa states:
"If I did not perform prescribed duties, all worlds would perish. I would cause chaos and destroy the peace of living beings."
This verse operates within the framework of yogamāyā - the Lord’s instructional energy for guiding conditioned souls. Here, Kṛṣṇa sets an example of adhering to svadharma prescribed duties to maintain cosmic order. However, this applies only to the material realm, where souls are bound by karma and ignorance. The Lord’s adherence to duty is pedagogical, not obligatory, as He is beyond material laws.
The līlā where Kṛṣṇa steals the gopīs’ clothes is not a contradiction but a manifestation of His absolute divinity. Unlike mundane actions, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are:
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities attains My eternal abode."
Śāstra serves two functions:
Kṛṣṇa’s Gītā teachings are for jīvas entangled in karma, while His Vṛndāvana-līlā is for rasika devotees who perceive Him in pure love. As BG 9.11 declares:
"Fools deride Me when I descend in a human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord."
This verse underscores that Kṛṣṇa’s human-like form is divine sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, and only the ignorant mūḍhāḥ mistake Him for an ordinary being.
The gopīs were aware of Kṛṣṇa’s divinity but voluntarily forgot it due to yogamāyā—a divine arrangement that allows unrestrained love. "Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are like a drama where He is both actor and director, yet fully absorbed in His role."
This is why the gopīs’ love is celebrated as the highest form of devotion, despite its apparent impropriety.
To grasp this paradox, one must approach a bona fide guru and study śāstra under divine guidance. As Bhagavad-gītā 4.9 emphasizes, only those who understand Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental nature attain liberation. The gopīs’ pastimes are not to be imitated but revered as expressions of divine love beyond material logic.
In essence, the "contradiction" dissolves when we recognize:
Hari Hari!!