Hare Krishna ! Pranaams !
It is said that the Ashta Sakhis of Shrimati Radharani are more exalted than the manjaris still why don't they take part in the rasa dance like the manjaris ? One reason I understand is that since the age of the sakhis is the same as that of Radha and Krishna so Radha Krishna can feel shy if the sakhis will take part where as the manjaris are younger than Radha Krishna so they can take part without making Radha and Krishna shy. However even the Sakhis have a desire to serve Krishna in the mood of a lover as they are also in madhurya rasa so how do their desires of conjugal mood get fulfilled ?
Sincerely,
Mihir.
Replies
Q. May ISKCON devotees read, write about and discuss confidential narrations of the
madhurya-lila of Krsna and the gopis from authorized rasika scriptures?
A. Yes. But we have to be cautious. In this regard, Srila Prabhupada instructed his
disciples in 1969 as follows.
Prabhupada: The policy should be that the people may not understand gopis like ordinary
girls or like that. You should be careful to present the gopis. It does not mean that "We shall
not utter even the name of gopis. We have taken vow to boycott the gopis." No. They are
our worshipable devotees. How we can avoid them?
Satsvarupa: What about writing down "kissing the lips of Krsna"?
Prabhupada: No. That we should avoid. That we should avoid. But that is not abominable.
According to time and circumstances... That thing I have described. The fact is fact. Just
like when I am describing Krsna's lila--I writing Krsna's life--so I cannot give up that portion
of His life, when Krsna is actually kissing the gopis in rasa dance.
Satsvarupa: But that's in the books. Not in the public...
Prabhupada: Yes. So in such circumstances, of course, we can give.
But as far as possible, very cautiously and very rarely we shall present. Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's life we see that in public He never discussed about Krsna's lila with the
gopis. That was very confidential discussion amongst His own circle, Raya Ramananda,
Svarupa Damodara, like that. And He inquired... Even a learned scholar, He discussed
about the philosophy, that Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. But when there was a great devotee
like Ramananda Raya, He relished gopis', I mean to say, intimate behavior with Krsna. So
we should remember this, that public may misunderstand this. Therefore we have to
present these things very cautiously, not very openly. They may misunderstand.
Srila Prabhupada's concern was that "The public may misunderstand this." Therefore the
topic of Krsna's lila with the gopis is not to be preached openly. Even within ISKCON, we
have our own "public" of neophyte devotees whose discrimination is sometimes found to be
wanting. Either they may themselves misunderstand the pastimes, or they may inexpertly
present them to outsiders who will surely misunderstand them. This topic is therefore not to
be propagated throughout ISKCON and the public in general. It is confidential.
In 1976, Srila Prabhupada expressed great displeasure with a group of devotees in Los
Angeles who met regularly to discuss the loving pastimes of Krsna and the gopis. These
devotees were not strong in sadhana-bhakti and performance of sankirtana, and were
under the influence of so-called babajis of Vrndavana. Thus they became victims of
misconceptions about rasa. One thing that angered Prabhupada in particular was their
attitude towards krsna-katha that does not directly pertain to gopi-bhava. They considered it
of lesser importance. Thus Prabhupada rebuked them for thinking that "Mother Yasoda is
less than the gopis."
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 4.42 and 43 states--
"Four kinds of devotees are the receptacles of the four kinds of mellows in love of God,
namely servitude, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love. Each kind of devotee
feels that his sentiment is the most excellent, and thus in that mood he tastes great
happiness with Lord Krsna."
In his purport to Text 44 of this chapter, Srila Prabhupada writes--
"No one is higher or lower than anyone else in transcendental relationships with the Lord,
for in the absolute realm everything is equal. But although these relationships are absolute,
there are also transcendental differences between them. Thus the transcendental
relationship of conjugal love is considered the highest perfection."
The madhurya-rasa is considered to be the best of all relationships because it includes all
the other rasas and yet is the sweetest of all. The gopis are so attached to Krsna that they
consider all of His pastimes in any relationship to be nectar for their ears. So addicted are
they to hearing and chanting Krsna's glories that they are unable to stop even if the pastime
under discussion gives them pain--for instance, Krsna's leaving Vrndavana for Mathura (vid.
Srimati Radharani's famous talk with the bumblebee).
So how can a devotee aspiring for madhurya-rasa not care to hear about Krsna's activities
with His mother and father, or with His cowherd boyfriends, or with Arjuna? Srila
Prabhupada said, "That is called sahajiya. The sahajiyas will never read Bhagavad-gita.
[Sarcastic] Because they have been elevated to the mellows of conjugal love. Therefore
they have no interest in Bhagavad-gita. Or when you discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam on the
philosophical point, janmadyasya, they also do not attend."
A Bengali academic named Manindra Mohan Bose has written a well-researched book
entitled The Post-Caitanya Sahajiya Cult of Bengal (Gian Publishing House, Delhi, 1986).
He identifies the difference between the Sahajiyas and the Vaisnavas thusly: "Up to this
limit the Vaisnavas and Sahajiyas are in perfect agreement, but beyond this the Sahajiya
doctrine has separated from the main current, and hence this is the turning point of the
Sahajiya doctrine. The Vaisnavas have not discarded the other three emotions [viz. dasya,
sakhya and vatsalya], though they lay special stress on Madhura, for it is maintained by
them that a devotee may adopt any of the four in his attempt to realize God...But the
Sahajiyas have adopted the Madhura Rasa only, asserting that the mystic doctrine of love
rests on the foundation of that emotion. With this conception they have separated from the
parent stock, and working on this principle, they have turned their thoughts to a new
channel." (Pg 174-176)
It has previously been explained that Lord Caitanya's followers primarily aspire for a dasya
relationship with the Lord in His pastimes of sankirtana. This primary aspiration does not
forestall discussion of Krsna's pastimes with the gopis. But without serving Lord Caitanya,
entrance into Radha-Krsna madhurya-lila is impossible. However, the prakrta-sahajiyas are
so "devoted" to the madhurya-bhava that they even try to approach Lord Caitanya in that
mood (vid. the Gauranga-nagari sect). The so-called devotion of the prakrta-sahajiyas is
therefore really only an offensive obsession with sex.
There's an old English saying: "Fools rush in where angels dare to tread." Impelled by lust,
the foolish sahajiyas attempt to force their way into madhurya-lila heedless of their own
anarthas. One device they've invented to intrude into Krsna'spastimes is the siddha-pranali
initiation, in which the guru "reveals" to his thoroughly neophyte disciples their siddhasvarupas
(eternal spiritual identities) in Krsna-lila. The disciples receive a mantra that they
use to meditate upon their supposed eternal identities, and then continue in their ordinary
worldly affairs proudly thinking, "I am a gopi" or "I am Radha's pet bird." The siddha-pranali
initiation is just a trap of maya, and it serves as an example of the danger that awaits
unqualified persons who prematurely try to understand Krsna's confidential pastimes.
So, in conclusion, though Srila Prabhupada writes in Cc Adi 4.30, "If one is a sincere and
pure devotee, the material lust in his heart is completely vanquished as he discusses the
lusty feelings between the gopis and Krsna, and he makes quick progress in spiritual life,"
the cautions mentioned above should always be remembered.
Ashta Sakhis indeed dance with Krishna. But Manjaris just look to their dance. They do not participate in that dance.
Your servant,