Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: Adi-lila
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter 4

The Confidential Reasons for Lord Caitanya’s Appearance

In this chapter of the epic Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has stressed that Lord Caitanya appeared for three principal purposes of His own. The first purpose was to relish the position of Srimati Radharani, who is the prime reciprocator of transcendental love of Sri Krsna. Lord Krsna is the reservoir of transcendental loving transactions with Srimati Radharani. The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself, and Radharani is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish the loving mellow in the position of the object, Radharani.

The second reason for His appearance was to understand the transcendental mellow of Himself. Lord Krsna is all sweetness. Radharani’s attraction for Krsna is sublime, and to experience that attraction and understand the transcendental sweetness of Himself, He accepted the mentality of Radharani.

The third reason that Lord Caitanya appeared was to enjoy the bliss tasted by Radharani. The Lord thought that undoubtedly Radharani enjoyed His company and He enjoyed the company of Radharani, but the exchange of transcendental mellow between the spiritual couple was more pleasing to Srimati Radharani than to Sri Krsna. Radharani felt more transcendental pleasure in the company of Krsna than He could understand without taking Her position, but for Sri Krsna to enjoy in the position of Srimati Radharani was impossible because that position was completely foreign to Him. Krsna is the transcendental male, and Radharani is the transcendental female. Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of loving Krsna, Lord Krsna Himself appeared as Lord Caitanya, accepting the emotions and bodily luster of Srimati Radharani.

Lord Caitanya appeared to fulfill these confidential desires and also to preach the special significance of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and to answer the call of Advaita Prabhu. These were secondary reasons.

Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami was the principal figure among Lord Caitanya’s confidential devotees. The records of his diary have revealed these confidential purposes of the Lord. These revelations have been confirmed by the statements of Srila Rupa Gosvami in his various prayers and poems.

This chapter also specifically describes the difference between lust and love. The transactions of Krsna and Radha are completely different from material lust. Therefore the author has very clearly distinguished between them.

Adi4.1

TEXT 1

sri-caitanya-prasadena

tad-rupasya vinirnayam

balo ’pi kurute sastram

drstva vraja-vilasinah

SYNONYMS

sri-caitanya-prasadena—by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tat—of Him; rupasya—of the form; vinirnayam—complete determination; balah—a child; api—even; kurute—makes; sastram—the revealed scriptures; drstva—having seen; vraja-vilasinah—who enjoys the pastimes of Vraja.

TRANSLATION

By the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, even a foolish child can fully describe the real nature of Lord Krsna, the enjoyer of the pastimes of Vraja, according to the vision of the revealed scriptures.

PURPORT

One can ascertain the meaning of this Sanskrit sloka only when one is endowed with the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya. Lord Sri Krsna, being the absolute Personality of Godhead, cannot be exposed to the mundane instruments of vision. He reserves the right not to be exposed by the intellectual feats of nondevotees. Notwithstanding this truth, even a small child can easily understand Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental pastimes in the land of Vrndavana by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Adi4.2

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda

jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

SYNONYMS

jaya jaya—all glory; sri-caitanya—to Lord Caitanya; jaya—all glory; nityananda—to Lord Nityananda; jaya—all glory; advaita-candra—to Advaita Acarya; jaya—all glory; gaura-bhakta-vrnda—to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

TRANSLATION

All glory to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. All glory to Lord Nityananda. All glory to Sri Advaita Acarya. And all glory to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya.

Adi4.3

TEXT 3

caturtha slokera artha kaila vivarana

pancama slokera artha suna bhakta-gana

SYNONYMS

caturtha—fourth; slokera—of the verse; artha—the meaning; kaila—made; vivarana—description; pancama—fifth; slokera—of the verse; artha—the meaning; suna—please hear; bhakta-gana—O devotees.

TRANSLATION

I have described the meaning of the fourth verse. Now, O devotees, kindly hear the explanation of the fifth verse.

Adi4.4

TEXT 4

mula-slokera artha karite prakasa

artha lagaite age kahiye abhasa

SYNONYMS

mula—original; slokera—of the verse; artha—the meaning; karite—to make; prakasa—revelation; artha—the meaning; lagaite—to touch; age—first; kahiye—I shall speak; abhasa—hint.

TRANSLATION

Just to explain the original verse, I shall first suggest its meaning.

Adi4.5

TEXT 5

caturtha slokera artha ei kaila sara

prema-nama pracarite ei avatara

SYNONYMS

caturtha—fourth; slokera—of the verse; artha—the meaning; ei—this; kaila—gave; sara—essence; prema—love of Godhead; nama—the holy name; pracarite—to propagate; ei—this; avatara—incarnation.

TRANSLATION

I have given the essential meaning of the fourth verse: this incarnation descends to propagate the chanting of the holy name and spread love of God.

Adi4.6

TEXT 6

satya ei hetu, kintu eho bahiranga

ara eka hetu, suna, ache antaranga

SYNONYMS

satya—true; ei—this; hetu—reason; kintu—but; eho—this; bahiranga—external; ara—another; eka—one; hetu—reason; suna—please hear; ache—is; antaranga—internal.

TRANSLATION

Although this is true, this is but the external reason for the Lord’s incarnation. Please hear one other reason-the confidential reason-for the Lord’s appearance.

PURPORT

In the Third Chapter, fourth verse, it has been clearly said that Lord Caitanya appeared in order to distribute love of Krsna and the chanting of His transcendental holy name, Hare Krsna. That was the secondary purpose of Lord Caitanya’s appearance. The real reason is different, as we shall see in this chapter.

Adi4.7

TEXT 7

purve yena prthivira bhara haribare

krsna avatirna haila sastrete pracare

SYNONYMS

purve—previously; yena—as; prthivira—of the earth; bhara—burden; haribare—to take away; krsna—Lord Krsna; avatirna—incarnated; haila—was; sastrete—the scriptures; pracare—proclaim.

TRANSLATION

The scriptures proclaim that Lord Krsna previously descended to take away the burden of the earth.

Adi4.8

TEXT 8

svayam-bhagavanera karma nahe bhara-harana

sthiti-karta visnu karena jagat-palana

SYNONYMS

svayam-bhagavanera—of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead; karma—the business; nahe—is not; bhara-harana—taking away the burden; sthiti-karta—the maintainer; visnu—Lord Visnu; karena—does; jagat-palana—protection of the universe.

TRANSLATION

To take away this burden, however, is not the work of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The maintainer, Lord Visnu, is the one who protects the universe.

Adi4.9

TEXT 9

kintu krsnera yei haya avatara-kala

bhara-harana-kala tate ha-ila misala

SYNONYMS

kintu—but; krsnera—of Lord Krsna; yei—that which; haya—is; avatara—of incarnation; kala—the time; bhara-harana—of taking away the burden; kala—the time; tate—in that; ha-ila—there was; misala—mixture.

TRANSLATION

But the time to lift the burden of the world mixed with the time for Lord Krsna’s incarnation.

PURPORT

We have information from the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord appears at particular intervals to adjust a time-worn spiritual culture. Lord Sri Krsna appeared at the end of Dvapara-yuga to regenerate the spiritual culture of human society and also to manifest His transcendental pastimes. Visnu is the authorized Lord who maintains the created cosmos, and He is also the principal Deity who makes adjustments for improper administration in the cosmic creation. Sri Krsna is the primeval Lord, and He appears not to make such administrative adjustments but only to exhibit His transcendental pastimes and thus attract the fallen souls back home, back to Godhead.

However, the time for administrative rectification and the time for Lord Sri Krsna’s appearance coincided at the end of the last Dvapara-yuga. Therefore when Sri Krsna appeared, Visnu, the Lord of maintenance, also merged in Him because all the plenary portions and parts of the absolute Personality of Godhead merge in Him during His appearance.

Adi4.10

TEXT 10

purna bhagavan avatare yei kale

ara saba avatara tante asi’ mile

SYNONYMS

purna—full; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; avatare—incarnates; yei—that; kale—at the time; ara—other; saba—all; avatara—incarnations; tante—in Him; asi’-coming; mile—meet.

TRANSLATION

When the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, all other incarnations of the Lord meet together within Him.

Adi4.11-12

TEXTS 11-12

narayana, catur-vyuha, matsyady-avatara

yuga-manvantaravatara, yata ache ara

sabe asi’ krsna-ange haya avatirna

aiche avatare krsna bhagavan purna

SYNONYMS

narayana—Lord Narayana; catuh-vyuha—the four expansions; matsya-adi—beginning with Matsya; avatara—the incarnations; yuga-manv-antara-avatara—the yuga and manv-antara incarnations; yata—as many as; ache—there are; ara—other; sabe—all; asi’-coming; krsna-ange—in the body of Lord Krsna; haya—are; avatirna—incarnated; aiche—in this way; avatare—incarnates; krsna—Lord Krsna; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; purna—full.

TRANSLATION

Lord Narayana, the four primary expansions [Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha], Matsya and the other lila incarnations, the yuga-avataras, the manv-antara incarnations and as many other incarnations as there are-all descend in the body of Lord Krsna. In this way the complete Supreme Godhead, Lord Krsna Himself, appears.

Adi4.13

TEXT 13

ataeva visnu takhana krsnera sarire

visnu-dvare kare krsna asura-samhare

SYNONYMS

ataeva—therefore; visnu—Lord Visnu; takhana—at that time; krsnera—of Lord Krsna; sarire—in the body; visnu-dvare—by Lord Visnu; kare—does; krsna—Lord Krsna; asura-samhare—killing the demons.

TRANSLATION

At that time, therefore, Lord Visnu is present in the body of Lord Krsna, and Lord Krsna kills the demons through Him.

Adi4.14

TEXT 14

anusanga-karma ei asura-marana

ye lagi’ avatara, kahi se mula karana

SYNONYMS

anusanga-karma—secondary work; ei—this; asura—of the demons; marana—killing; ye—that; lagi’-for; avatara—the incarnation; kahi—I shall speak; se—the; mula—root; karana—cause.

TRANSLATION

Thus the killing of the demons is but secondary work. I shall now speak of the main reason for the Lord’s incarnation.

Adi4.15-16

TEXTS 15-16

prema-rasa-niryasa karite asvadana

raga-marga bhakti loke karite pracarana

rasika-sekhara krsna parama-karuna

ei dui hetu haite icchara udgama

SYNONYMS

prema-rasa—of the mellow of love of God; niryasa—the essence; karite—to do; asvadana—tasting; raga-marga—the path of spontaneous attraction; bhakti—devotional service; loke—in the world; karite—to do; pracarana—propagation; rasika-sekhara—the supremely jubilant; krsna—Lord Krsna; parama-karuna—the most merciful; ei—these; dui—two; hetu—reasons; haite—from; icchara—of desire; udgama—the birth.

TRANSLATION

The Lord’s desire to appear was born from two reasons: He wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction. Thus He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all.

PURPORT

During the period of Lord Krsna’s appearance, the killing of asuras or nonbelievers such as Kamsa and Jarasandha was done by Visnu, who was within the person of Sri Krsna. Such apparent killing by Lord Sri Krsna took place as a matter of course and was an incidental activity for Him. But the real purpose of Lord Krsna’s appearance was to stage a dramatic performance of His transcendental pastimes at Vrajabhumi, thus exhibiting the highest limit of transcendental mellow in the exchanges of reciprocal love between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. These reciprocal exchanges of mellows are called raga-bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord in transcendental rapture. Lord Sri Krsna wants to make known to all the conditioned souls that He is more attracted by raga-bhakti than vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service under scheduled regulations. It is said in the Vedas (Taittiriya Upanisad 2.7), raso vai sah: the Absolute Truth is the reservoir for all kinds of reciprocal exchanges of loving sentiments. He is also causelessly merciful, and He wants to bestow upon us this privilege of raga-bhakti. Thus He appeared as His own internal energy. He was not forced to appear by any extraneous force.

Adi4.17

TEXT 17

aisvarya-jnanete saba jagat misrita

aisvarya-sithila-preme nahi mora prita

SYNONYMS

aisvarya jnanete—with knowledge of majesty; saba—all; jagat—the universe; misrita—mixed; aisvarya-sithila—weakened by majesty; preme—in love; nahi—there is not; mora—My; prita—pleasure.

TRANSLATION

[Lord Krsna thought:] "All the universe is filled with the conception of My majesty, but love weakened by that sense of majesty does not satisfy Me.

Adi4.18

TEXT 18

amare isvara mane, apanake hina

tara preme vasa ami na ha-i adhina

SYNONYMS

amare—Me; isvara—the Lord; mane—regards; apanake—himself; hina—low; tara—of him; preme—by the love; vasa—controlled; ami—I; na ha-i—am not; adhina—subservient.

TRANSLATION

"If one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and himself as a subordinate, I do not become subservient to his love, nor can it control Me.

Adi4.19

TEXT 19

amake ta’ ye ye bhakta bhaje yei bhave

tare se se bhave bhaji,--e mora svabhave

SYNONYMS

amake—Me; ta’-certainly; ye ye—whatever; bhakta—devotee; bhaje—worships; yei—which; bhave—in the mood; tare—him; se se—that; bhave—in the mood; bhaji—I reciprocate; e—this; mora—My; svabhave—in the nature.

TRANSLATION

"In whatever transcendental mellow My devotee worships Me, I reciprocate with him. That is My natural behavior.

PURPORT

The Lord, by His inherent nature, reveals Himself before His devotees according to their inherent devotional service. The Vrndavana pastimes demonstrated that although generally people worship God with reverence, the Lord is more pleased when a devotee thinks of Him as his pet son, personal friend or most dear fianci and renders service unto Him with such natural affection. The Lord becomes a subordinate object of love in such transcendental relationships. Such pure love of Godhead is unadulterated by any tinge of superfluous nondevotional desires and is not mixed with any sort of fruitive action or empiric philosophical speculation. It is pure and natural love of Godhead, spontaneously aroused in the absolute stage. This devotional service is executed in a favorable atmosphere freed from material affection.

Adi4.20

TEXT 20

ye yatha mam prapadyante

tams tathaiva bhajamy aham

mama vartmanuvartante

manusyah partha sarvasah

SYNONYMS

ye—all who; yatha—as; mam—unto Me; prapadyante—surrender; tan—them; tatha—so; eva—certainly; bhajami—reward; aham—I; mama—My; vartma—path; anuvartante—follow; manusyah—all men; partha—O son of Prtha; sarvasah—in all respects.

TRANSLATION

" ’In whatever way My devotees surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.’

PURPORT

In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna affirms that formerly (some 120 million years before the Battle of Kuruksetra) He explained the mystic philosophy of the Gita to the sun-god. The message was received through the chain of disciplic succession, but in course of time, the chain being broken somehow or other, Lord Sri Krsna appeared again and taught Arjuna the truths of the Bhagavad-gita. At that time the Lord spoke this verse (Bg. 4.11) to His friend Arjuna.

Adi4.21-22

TEXTS 21-22

mora putra, mora sakha, mora prana-pati

ei-bhave yei more kare suddha-bhakti

apanake bada mane, amare sama-hina

sei bhave ha-i ami tahara adhina

SYNONYMS

mora—my; putra—son; mora—my; sakha—friend; mora—my; prana-pati—lord of life; ei bhave—in this way; yei—those who; more—unto Me; kare—do; suddha-bhakti—pure devotion; apanake—himself; bada—great; mane—he regards; amare—Me; sama—equal; hina—or lower; sei bhave—in that way; ha-i—am; ami—I; tahara—to him; adhina—subordinate.

TRANSLATION

"If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him.

PURPORT

In the Caitanya-caritamrta three kinds of devotional service are described-namely, bhakti (ordinary devotional service), suddha-bhakti (pure devotional service) and viddha-bhakti (mixed devotional service).

When devotional service is executed with some material purpose, involving fruitive activities, mental speculations or mystic yoga, it is called mixed or adulterated devotional service. Besides bhakti-yoga, the Bhagavad-gita also describes karma-yoga, jnana-yoga and dhyana-yoga. Yoga means linking with the Supreme Lord, which is possible only through devotion. Fruitive activities ending in devotional service, philosophical speculation ending in devotional service, and the practice of mysticism ending in devotional service are known respectively as karma-yoga, jnana-yoga and dhyana-yoga. But such devotional service is adulterated by the three kinds of material activities.

For those grossly engaged in identifying the body as the self, pious activity, or karma-yoga, is recommended. For those who identify the mind with the self, philosophical speculation, or jnana-yoga, is recommended. But devotees standing on the spiritual platform have no need of such material conceptions of adulterated devotion. Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim for love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Krsna consciousness, solely to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Those who are spontaneously devoted to the Lord and have no aims for material gain are called attracted devotees. They are spontaneously attracted to the service of the Lord, and they follow in the footsteps of self-realized souls. Their pure devotion (suddha-bhakti), manifested from pure love of Godhead, surpasses the regulative principles of the authoritative scriptures. Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regulative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Krsna is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service.

Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuntha planets. By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikuntha planets. But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Krsnaloka alone.

Adi4.23

TEXT 23

mayi bhaktir hi bhutanam

amrtatvaya kalpate

distya yad asin mat-sneho

bhavatinam mad-apanah

SYNONYMS

mayi—to Me; bhaktih—devotional service; hi—certainly; bhutanam—of the living beings; amrtatvaya—the eternal life; kalpate—brings about; distya—by good fortune; yat—which; asit—was; mat—for Me; snehah—the affection; bhavatinam—of all of you; mat—of Me; apanah—the obtaining.

TRANSLATION

" ’Devotional service rendered to Me by the living beings revives their eternal life. O My dear damsels of Vraja, your affection for Me is your good fortune, for it is the only means by which you have obtained My favor.’

PURPORT

Pure devotional service is represented in the activities of the residents of Vrajabhumi (Vrndavana). During a solar eclipse, the Lord came from Dvaraka and met the inhabitants of Vrndavana at Samanta-pancaka. The meeting was intensely painful for the damsels of Vrajabhumi because Lord Krsna had apparently left them to reside at Dvaraka. But the Lord obligingly acknowledged the pure devotional service of the damsels of Vraja by speaking this verse (Bhag. 10.82.44).

Adi4.24

TEXT 24

mata more putra-bhave karena bandhana

atihina-jnane kare lalana palana

SYNONYMS

mata—mother; more—Me; putra-bhave—in the position of a son; karena—does; bandhana—binding; ati-hina-jnane—in thinking very poor; kare—does; lalana—nourishing; palana—protecting.

TRANSLATION

"Mother sometimes binds Me as her son. She nourishes and protects Me, thinking Me utterly helpless.

Adi4.25

TEXT 25

sakha suddha-sakhye kare, skandhe arohana

tumi kon bada loka,--tumi ami sama

SYNONYMS

sakha—the friend; suddha-sakhye—in pure friendship; kare—does; skandhe—on the shoulders; arohana—mounting; tumi—You; kon—what; bada—big; loka—person; tumi—You; ami—I; sama—the same.

TRANSLATION

"My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship, saying, ’What kind of big man are You? You and I are equal.’

Adi4.26

TEXT 26

priya yadi mana kari’ karaye bhartsana

veda-stuti haite hare sei mora mana

SYNONYMS

priya—the lover; yadi—if; mana kari’-sulking; karaye—does; bhartsana—rebuking; veda-stuti—the Vedic prayers; haite—from; hare—takes away; sei—that; mora—My; mana—mind.

TRANSLATION

"If My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind from the reverent hymns of the Vedas.

PURPORT

According to the Upanisads, all living entities are dependent on the supreme living entity, the Personality of Godhead. As it is said (Katha Upanisad 5.3), nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman: one eternal living entity supports all the other eternal living entities. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead maintains all the other living entities, they remain subordinate to the Lord, even when joined with Him in the reciprocation of loving affairs.

But in the course of exchanging transcendental love of the highest purity, sometimes the subordinate devotee tries to predominate over the predominator. One who lovingly engages with the Supreme Lord as if His mother or father sometimes supersedes the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, His fianci or lover sometimes supersedes the position of the Lord. But such attempts are exhibitions of the highest love. Only out of pure love does the subordinate lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead chide Him. The Lord, enjoying this chiding, takes it very nicely. The exhibition of natural love makes such activities very enjoyable. In worship of the Supreme Lord with veneration there is no manifestation of such natural love because the devotee considers the Lord his superior.

Regulative principles in devotional service are meant for those who have not invoked their natural love of Godhead. When natural love arises, all regulative methods are surpassed, and pure love is exhibited between the Lord and the devotee. Although on such a platform of love the devotee sometimes appears to predominate over the Lord or transgress regulative principles, such dealings are far more advanced than ordinary dealings through regulative principles with awe and veneration. A devotee who is actually free from all designations due to complete attachment in love for the Supreme exhibits spontaneous love for Godhead, which is always superior to the devotion of regulative principles.

The informal language used between lover and beloved is significant of pure affection. When devotees worship their beloved as the most venerable object, spontaneous loving sentiments are observed to be lacking. A neophyte devotee who follows the Vedic instructions that regulate those who lack pure love of Godhead may superficially seem more exalted than a devotee in spontaneous love of Godhead. But in fact such spontaneous pure love is far superior to regulated devotional service. Such pure love of Godhead is always glorious in all respects, more so than reverential devotional service rendered by a less affectionate devotee.

Adi4.27-28

TEXTS 27-28

ei suddha-bhakta lana karimu avatara

kariba vividha-vidha adbhuta vihara

vaikunthadye nahi ye ye lilara pracara

se se lila kariba, yate mora camatkara

SYNONYMS

ei—these; suddha-bhakta—pure devotees; lana—taking; karimu—I shall make; avatara—incarnation; kariba—I shall do; vividha-vidha—various kinds; adbhuta—wonderful; vihara—pastimes; vaikuntha-adye—in the Vaikuntha planets, etc.; nahi—not; ye ye—whatever; lilara—of the pastimes; pracara—broadcasting; se se—those; lila—pastimes; kariba—I shall perform; yate—in which; mora—My; camatkara—wonder.

TRANSLATION

"Taking these pure devotees with Me, I shall descend and sport in various wonderful ways, unknown even in Vaikuntha. I shall broadcast such pastimes by which even I am amazed.

PURPORT

Lord Krsna in the form of Lord Caitanya educates His devotees to develop progressively to the stage of pure devotional service. Thus He appears periodically as a devotee to take part in various wonderful activities depicted in His sublime philosophy and teachings.

There are innumerable Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky, and in all of them the Lord accepts the service rendered by His eternal devotees in a reverential mood. Therefore Lord Sri Krsna presents His most confidential pastimes as He enjoys them in His transcendental realm. Such pastimes are so attractive that they attract even the Lord, and thus He relishes them in the form of Lord Caitanya.

Adi4.29

TEXT 29

mo-visaye gopi-ganera upapati-bhave

yoga-maya karibeka apana-prabhave

SYNONYMS

mo-visaye—on the subject of Me; gopi-ganera—of the gopis; upapati—of a paramour; bhave—in the position; yoga-mayayogamaya, Lord Krsna’s internal potency; karibeka—will make; apana—her own; prabhave—by the influence.

TRANSLATION

"The influence of yogamaya will inspire the gopis with the sentiment that I am their paramour.

PURPORT

Yogamaya is the name of the internal potency that makes the Lord forget Himself and become an object of love for His pure devotee in different transcendental mellows. This yogamaya potency creates a spiritual sentiment in the minds of the damsels of Vraja by which they think of Lord Krsna as their paramour. This sentiment is never to be compared to mundane illicit sexual love. It has nothing to do with sexual psychology, although the pure love of such devotees seems to be sexual. One should know for certain that nothing can exist in this cosmic manifestation that has no real counterpart in the spiritual field. All material manifestations are emanations of the Transcendence. The erotic principles of amorous love reflected in mixed material values are perverted reflections of the reality of spirit, but one cannot understand the reality unless one is sufficiently educated in the spiritual science.

Adi4.30

TEXT 30

amiha na jani taha, na jane gopi-gana

dunhara rupa-gune dunhara nitya hare mana

SYNONYMS

amiha—I; na jani—shall not know; taha—that; na jane—will not know; gopi-gana—the gopis; dunhara—of the two; rupa-gune—the beauty and qualities; dunhara—of the two; nitya—always; hare—carry away; mana—the minds.

TRANSLATION

"Neither the gopis nor I shall notice this, for our minds will always be entranced by one another’s beauty and qualities.

PURPORT

In the spiritual sky the Vaikuntha planets are predominated by Narayana. His devotees have the same features He does, and the exchange of devotion there is on the platform of reverence. But above all these Vaikuntha planets is Goloka, or Krsnaloka, where the original Personality of Godhead, Krsna, fully manifests His pleasure potency in free loving affairs. Since the devotees in the material world know almost nothing about these affairs, the Lord desires to show these affairs to them.

In Goloka Vrndavana there is an exchange of love known as parakiya-rasa. It is something like the attraction of a married woman for a man other than her husband. In the material world this sort of relationship is most abominable because it is a perverted reflection of the parakiya-rasa in the spiritual world, where it is the highest kind of loving affair. Such feelings between the devotee and the Lord are presented by the influence of yogamaya. The Bhagavad-gita states that devotees of the highest grade are under the care of daiva-maya, or yogamaya: mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah (Bg. 9.13). Those who are actually great souls (mahatmas) are fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness, always engaged in the service of the Lord. They are under the care of daivi-prakrti, or yogamaya. Yogamaya creates a situation in which the devotee is prepared to transgress all regulative principles simply to love Krsna. A devotee naturally does not like to transgress the laws of reverence for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but by the influence of yogamaya he is prepared to do anything to love the Supreme Lord better.

Those under the spell of the material energy cannot at all appreciate the activities of yogamaya, for a conditioned soul can hardly understand the pure reciprocation between the Lord and His devotee. But by executing devotional service under the regulative principles, one can become very highly elevated and then begin to appreciate the dealings of pure love under the management of yogamaya.

In the spiritual loving sentiment induced by the yogamaya potency, both Lord Sri Krsna and the damsels of Vraja forget themselves in spiritual rapture. By the influence of such forgetfulness, the attractive beauty of the gopis plays a prominent part in the transcendental satisfaction of the Lord, who has nothing to do with mundane sex. Because spiritual love of Godhead is above everything mundane, the gopis superficially seem to transgress the codes of mundane morality. This perpetually puzzles mundane moralists. Therefore yogamaya acts to cover the Lord and His pastimes from the eyes of mundaners, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.25), where the Lord says that He reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone.

The acts of yogamaya make it possible for the Lord and the gopis, in loving ecstasy, to sometimes meet and sometimes separate. These transcendental loving affairs of the Lord are unimaginable to empiricists involved in the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore the Lord Himself appears before the mundaners to bestow upon them the highest form of spiritual realization and also personally relish its essence. The Lord is so merciful that He Himself descends to take the fallen souls back home to the kingdom of Godhead, where the erotic principles of Godhead are eternally relished in their real form, distinct from the perverted sexual love so much adored and indulged in by the fallen souls in their diseased condition. The reason the Lord displays the rasa-lila is essentially to induce all the fallen souls to give up their diseased morality and religiosity, and to attract them to the kingdom of God to enjoy the reality. A person who actually understands what the rasa-lila is will certainly hate to indulge in mundane sex life. For the realized soul, hearing the Lord’s rasa-lila through the proper channel will result in complete abstinence from material sexual pleasure.

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