From Love Universal to Bhakti Confidential – Gaudiya Vaishnavism Glories 6 – Parakiya-rasa is not immoral but trans-moral

Transcription of Summary

I spoke today about how here in Gauridia Vaisnivism the relationship between Krishna and the Gopis is in Parakhiya rasa, and what is the purpose of… how do we understand the Parakhiya rasa. So, I talked about… in the spiritual world everything is arranged for the enhancement of loving reciprocation between Krishna and His devotees. So, spiritual world is like the drama where Krishna is the central character, Yogamaya is the director, and again Krishna is the script writer. So, Krishna is in control and Krishna is not in control. It is again for the purpose of enhancing the Lila, because this lila which happens according to Krishna’s will… so Krishna is the script writer, He is the control. But because Krishna wants to relish the lila, so He wants to absorb Himself in it, so then He forgets. So, in that sense He is not in control.

So, it is drama not in the sense that it is not unreal, but drama in the sense that the setting is made for intensifying the emotional effect and the emotional reciprocations. So, time in the sense of being a controller or a destroyer is not present in the spiritual world, but time as a means of having variegated-ness, as a tool for having different pastimes at different times in different environments, time as a servant of Krishna is present in the spiritual world. Similarly, disease is not present in the spiritual world, old age is not present in the spiritual world… but it is not present in the sense that it doesn’t debilitate, but if for a particular pastime Krishna has to manifest a headache he will manifest and if for having a particular kind of relationship certain Gopas need to be old… Gopas and Gopis… they will be old, but there is not debility because of that, and same way if we consider the purpose of enhancing the sweetness of love, then Krishna arranges His Parakhiya rasa. So, in tattva, in philosophy because all living beings belong to Krishna, so even the gopis belong to Krishna.

In terms of lila… when a relationship is not formal, then the excitement, the intensity, the anticipation is much more, and what is often leading to morality in this world which is the bottom of the… mango at the bottom in a reflection, that is the highest in the reality. So, that which appears immoral in this world that is supremely moral… that is trans-moral, because it demonstrates how the devotees are ready to give up everything for Krishna’s sake.

So, the gopis… they give up even moral fetters apparently to come to Krishna and that is their selfless love for Him. So, the setting in which apparently… Radharani is married to someone else and there are her in-laws who stop her from meeting Krishna, it’s all meant to enhance the excitement, enhance the sweetness.

So, it’s like Krishna and Radharani are married couple but in a drama they are acting as if they are not married and they are having a relationship. In tattva if you understand there is nothing immoral, and in lila also actually… our acharyas are explaining that it is not immoral, because… there are four explanations and there are many others which our acharyas have given; one is that when the gopis worshipped Krishna…. gopis worshipped Katyani to get Krishna as their husband, Krishna fulfilled their desire and accepted them as their wives. Then when Krishna in the Brahma-Vimohan lila… when Krishna was… got expanded as all the gopas, at that time Krishna married all of them… all the gopis. So, in that sense He is their husband and Gopal Champu describes that Krishna actually was… came back to Vrindavan after living in Dwaraka and He married all the gopis, and of course what Prabhupada said is, Krishna at time was just seven years old old. So, there was no lust.

So, within the lila also how there is no immorality is explained our acharyas, but why at all this setting is there… it is there to intensify the reciprocation of love.
Just as when there is opposition, the elephant realizes his strength internally and expresses externally… like that the opposition through the love between Krishna and the gopis demonstrates for themselves and for the world the glory, the intensity of their love and we concluded by talking about how tattva needs to be understood before lila.
So, a surgeon may be misunderstood as a murderer by an ignorant person. Similarly Krishna may be thought of as immoral by some people, but the greatest saints they worship Krishna and not only they worship Krishna as supremely moral, but by worshipping they themselves become moral.

So, at the very least an open minded person will not dismiss it as immoral or questionable. So, there is something deeper over here which I need to understand, and if they really become open to understand then they will surely start appreciating how this is profound, this is sublime exhibition of the highest love.

Thank You very much.

Transcribed by : Sadananda Krishnaprem Das.