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----- bhagap314.html
From Vrindavana to Mathura we proceed from the inner man
to the outer man, from the everlasting companions of Sri Krishna
to His surroundings as an Avatara.
In the Vrindavana Lila, we find Krishna in his relations to
the holy beings and to the Devas who incarnated with Him for the
good of the universe. Whenever a great Avatara appears on the
Earth, his companions also appear with him. His relations to his
own companions serve as a living example to others. They afford a
lesson to all Bhaktas for all time. This part of the Lila is based
upon undying, eternal truths, upon the permanent relations between
Jiva and Isvara. The heart of man is th^ seat of this Lila, which
can be reproduced at all times, in the heart of every real Bhakta.
The Gopis are the same now as they were when Krishna sanctified
the Earth. They are the preservers of the universe, according to
Gopl Chandana Upanishad. And their ranks may be increased by
devoted Bhaktas who give up all for the sake of the universe and its
Lord.
There is one point more in the relations of the Gopas and
Gopis to Krishna. Love was the one bond which united them all
to Him. They sought him in their inmost heart, they talked to him,
they knew him as one of themselves. He was a son to them, a com-
panion, a lover. Whatever pleased the Lord pleased them. What-
ever was His work was their work too. They abnegated themselves.
They merged themselves entirely in Krishna. There was no question
of duty; no rules, no injunctions. The Vedas did not exist for the
dwellers in Vrirtdavana. The Smritis were not written for them.
They did not tread the path of karma. Love-bound, they gave
themselves entirely up to Krishna and they did not stop to ask the
reason why, they did not stop to cast a glance at the world they left.
But the union was hardly complete; the Gopis had scarcely
embraced their friend, their lover, than he disappeared into the re-
gions of the Universe. The message came that He was to be sought
in the Universe.
The Lord of the Universe was not the lover of the Gopis.
He could not be the direct object of their love. But, when the Gopis
knew that their own Krishna was the Lord of the Universe, they
failed not to bear the same love to Him. But the majesty of the
Universe was ill-adapted to the sweetness of their domestic love.
They were out of harmony with the lordliness of their Lord
at Dvaraka. So when the Lord finally received them at Kuru-
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