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| The Stages of Bhakti |
By Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja
Bhakti has five stages or divisions. There are actually millions of divisions of devotees, but among them five are
prominent – the jnani-bhakta, suddha-bhakta, premi-bhakta, premapara-bhakta and prematura-bhakta.
You may know the history of Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva Maharaja had darsana of Lord Narayana in only six
months – by chanting the mantra “Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya”, given by Sri Narada Rsi. Still, his bhakti is
not called pure uttama-bhakti. He performed very severe austerities to please Lord Narayana. He rejected food,
water and even air. In six months he entered samadhi and saw Lord Narayana, who was carrying the wheel,
conch, lotus and club. Yet, his bhakti was not pure, because he had worldly desires (anyabilasa). In his natural
position he wanted to have vast wealth and a kingdom greater than that of his father, who was king of the world.
Lord Krsna was so merciful that Dhruva Maharaja received not only his father’s kingdom, but the kingdom of the
whole universe for 36,000 years. Still, he lamented after meeting with Lord Narayana. He considered, “I was
searching for some jewels or gold, and by luck I received a cintamani (desire stone) – but I threw it out.” He
lamented that he had not told the Lord, “I want your bhakti” – not vraja-bhakti, or bhakti of Narayana, or any
kind of bhakti.
Nowadays, many have an idea that they have attained the stage of raganuga-bhakti, but if any worldly desire is
there, that is not even pure vaidhi-bhakti. It is very hard to actually say, “I am a raganuga-vaisnava.” We can, of
course, very easily say this with thousands of mouths, but we should examine our hearts to see if in our natural
position even a touch of worldly desire is present there.
Dhruva Maharaja’s bhakti is rejected as being in the category of pure devotion. It may be after that he had the
association of Sri Narada Gosvami and taken the darsana of Narayana, so it may be that his desire vanished, but
there is no proof of this – it is not written anywhere. He still had the desire to take his mother with him to
Vaikuntha. His is not an uttama-bhakti. His was karma-misra bhakti with anyabilasa (worldly desire). Therefore,
we don’t want it.
The first category of devotees in the five kinds of pure devotion is Prahlada Maharaja, who is a jnani-bhakta.
Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara, in their first stage, were jnani-bhaktas, and Grandfather Bhisma
was also a jnani-bhakta. It is not easy to be like them. They were bhaktas, not voidists or impersonalists
(nirvisesa-vadis). They didn’t follow Sankaracaryas’s theory. They never said, “I am Brahma – I am that Supreme
Impersonal Being.” They knew that Lord Krsna is Parabrahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a
strong conception (jnana) of the opulence of Krsna in their hearts, so they are jnani-bhaktas. The four Kumaras
were even speakers of asta-kaliya-lila. Bhisma Pitama is a very exalted devotee and is one of the 12 mahajanas;
but he is not a suddha-bhakta, in the sense that he cannot render direct personal service.
Prahlada Maharaja meditated on Lord Krsna. Bhismadeva can meditate and the four Kumaras can also meditate.
But they consider that their Lord is never hungry, He has no thirst, and He never gets tired – so there is no need
for giving him a massage, for example – as Hanuman massages Lord Rama. They never render personal service.
Pure bhakti is “anukulyena krsnanu-silanam”. There must be some service. A pure devotee will serve his Lord. But
jnani-bhaktas have nothing to do, because they always think, “He is our savior, protector, and worshipable Lord.”
Now we will explain how Prahlada Maharaja is a jnani-bhakta. He had no worldly desires at all. Lord Nrsimhadeva
appeared to him and said, “You may ask any boon from me.”
Prahlada Maharaja replied, “I am not a business person. If I have any worldly desire, please take it away.” Lord
Nrsimhadeva insisted, “You must choose a boon.” Prahlada Maharaja wanted his father to be liberated, and he
also requested, “I want all non-devotees in this world to be free from the endless pain of birth and death and be
liberated; and in turn, I will suffer for them.” Lord Nrsimhadeva wept and thought, “What a glorious devotee!”
Prahlada Maharaja is a pure devotee. His jnana does not mean nirvsesa-jnana – the misconception that the
ultimate truth is impersonal. Rather, his jnana is aisvarya-jnana. We see here that there is not so much mamata
(sense of “my-ness”) towards the Lord and no service, because of knowledge of the Lord’s opulence. You can
read the pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadeva and Prahlada Maharaja in Srimad-bhagavatam if you want to know more.
Next is Ambarisa Maharaja, who was a suddha-bhakta. Ambarisa Maharaja was a sadhaka. Prahlada Maharaja
was liberated, and yet Ambarisa Maharaja’s bhakti was superior to that of Prahlada in some sense – because he
was actively engaged in serving Lord Krsna. He stayed in Vrndavana for some time, doing parikrama of Vraja-
mandala – Kesi-ghata, Vamsi-vata, Rasa-sthali, Nandagaon and Varsana. He even used to go to Radha-kunda
and Syama-kunda. Although he was a sadhaka, he had a special mamata for Krsna, the beloved of the gopis.
Prahlada Maharaja has never been to Vrndavana. Sanaka and Sanandana the other Kumara brothers were in
Haridvar. So Ambarisa Maharaja was very fortunate.
Superior to Ambarisa Maharaja is Hanuman. Hanuman is a premi-bhakta. He is liberated and is serving Rama, and
he has so much mamata for Him. He discovered Sita in Lanka and he carried Rama on his shoulders. Ambarisa
Maharaja could not do so. Ambarisa Maharaja was thinking of serving – in other words he was serving with his
internally conceived spiritual form within; but externally he was in the body of a sadhaka (practitioner), which
could serve the deity but not the Lord in His pastimes. On the other hand, Hanuman was actually serving Rama
with his body.
Hanuman serves Rama in all respects. Some knowledge of Rama’s opulence is present in his heart, but very
rarely. Hanuman has aisvarya-jnana, but not always. He considered that his Lord was sometimes hungry, so he
would bring so many fruits from the forest. When Ravana stole Sita, Hanuman jumped over the ocean and found
her. He also burnt Lanka and returned to Rama. He thought, “I am qualified to kill Ravana, but I desire that he be
killed by Lord Rama.” He wanted to take Sita on his back and bring her to Rama, but she denied to do so and
said, “Rama should come, and finish this entire dynasty of demons.”
The Pandavas are still more superior. They are called prema-para bhaktas. Hanuman can carry Rama and
Laksmana on his shoulders, but he cannot sit on their shoulders. He cannot give his food remnants to Rama,
thinking, “Oh, this is very sweet. Let me give some to Rama.” He fears to do so, because knowledge of Rama’s
opulence is somewhat present. Opulence is somewhat of an obstacle, so although he is so high a devotee, there
is some obstruction in his flow of devotion.
Lord Rama himself told Hanuman, “I am Krsna. Obey me and also help Arjuna. Always sit on top of his chariot and
continually help him to conquer Duryodhana.” So not only did Krsna become the servant of the Pandavas, but
Hanuman did as well.
Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is a sakhi (a dear friend, not in a conjugal relationship but in the mood of
reverence and as a family member) of Krsna; so they are very glorious. Still, there is something lacking in their
devotion.
Sri Uddhava is so much superior to the Pandavas.
Lord Krsna wanted to go to Vrndavana to pacify Mother Yasoda, Nanda Baba and all the other residents. He
wanted to remain in Vrndavana forever; but there was a problem. If He would go to Vrndavana, He would not be
able to pacify them. Due to their knowing that He would soon be leaving again, their feelings of separation would
double and triple and become a thousand times greater. So He did not dare to go there. He was worried for His
father and mother; not as much for His sakhas, because their feelings of separation were not as high as those of
His mother and father and the gopis. His father and mother had become blind in separation.
Those who have an intense sense of mineness also experience a strong separation mood. If there is no mamata,
there is no separation mood. Feelings of separation depend on the gradation of feelings of mineness. If the
sense of mamata is condensed, then in meeting there is so much happiness and in separation there is so much
suffering.
The gopis feel the fire of separation to the extreme point, because they love Sri Krsna more than anyone else –
even more than Mother Yasoda, Nanda Baba, Subala and Sridama. Therefore in the night, when Krsna is
supposed to be sleeping, He leaves His bed and runs from home to pacify the gopis. He takes His flute and runs.
While Mother Yasoda was sleeping, and He would go to Vrndavana – to Vamsi-vata – to play on His flute and call
the gopis.
At the time of meeting Krsna, the gopis would become maddened in love. Then, if Krsna would vanish for a
moment, their separation would increase to such a stage that they sometimes identified themselves with Sri
Krsna Himself. When Krsna disappeared from the Rasa dance arena, some gopis would think themselves Krsna’s
associates like Mother Yasoda, and others would think themselves Krsna Himself playing on His flute. There would
be no flute, but still they would think themselves playing His flute. They were fully absorbed in a fire of
separation. We cannot explain the gopis situation, and even Srila Sukadeva Gosvami and Srila Vyasadeva could
not explain their stage. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed something of it in his Gambira-lila. Sometimes His
hands, legs and head would all enter within His body, just like the withdrawn limbs of a tortoise. Sometimes He
would jump in the ocean and remain floating there for 24 hours. At that time the joints of His hands and legs
would sometimes become separated by eight inches, and they remained connected only by the skin.
This must also have taken place in the bodies of the gopis. We cannot even imagine how glorious they are.
There are two situations; first meeting and then separation. Srimad-bhagavatam has explained the gopis
meeting with Krsna in the arena of the Rasa-dance. At that time Sri Krsna would sing up to the fifth note, “sa re
ga ma pa”, and the gopis would sing higher, up to the eighth, “da ni sa”(vedic octave). Krsna would then glorify
them by saying, “Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu”, meaning “You have done marvelously”. Krsna could not sing so high.
At that time He would embrace the gopis neck and say, “You should not vanish from rasa; or else I will not be
able to survive.” Especially, He would embrace the neck of Srimati Radhika and say, “Please don’t leave the rasa
dance, and please don’t have any maan (transcendental loving jealous anger) and thus neglect Me.”
There are so many truths that have not been told openly in Srimad Bhagavatam, but Srila Jiva Gosvami, Srila
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura have explained something in their commentaries and left some service in this
regard for others. In their meditation Lord Brahma, Lord Sankara and others pray to serve Laksmi-devi, and
Laksmi-devi herself is sweeping in Vrndavana for Sri Krsna. Brahma, Sankara and all others pray to be able to see
a glimpse of the light coming from Krsna’s toenail, but they are not successful. On the other hand, the gopis are
so glorious that they openly took the lotus feet upon which Brahma meditates and they kept them on their
breasts. Why did they do so? Not for their satisfaction, but for the satisfaction of Krsna. They bound Krsna with
their love and affection, whereas no one else could bind Him – including Uddhava, Uddhava’s father, and
Uddhava's forefathers.
Krsna Himself glorifies the gopis. All the Vrajavasis were burning in the fire of separation for Him, and especially
the gopis. Among the gopis, this separation fire was felt especially by Candravali and Srimati Radhika, and also by
Lalita, Visakha, Citra and all others like them. Krsna wanted to go to Vrndavana but He did not dare to go,
because He thought their separation mood and suffering would increase.
He told Uddhava, “Don’t think I am in Mathura. Perhaps you are afraid; you don’t want to give up My association.
But I am partly here and fully in Vrndavana. When you will go to Vrndavana, you will realize that I am fully there. I
want to be where love and affection is in the highest stage; therefore I remain fully in Vrndavana.”
ta man-manaska trst-prana
mad-arthe tyakta-daihikah
mam eva dayitam prestham
atmanam manasa gatah
ye tyakta-loka-dharmas ca
mad-arthe tan bibharmy aham
“The minds of those gopis are always absorbed in Me, and their very lives are ever devoted to Me. For My sake
they have abandoned everything related to their bodies, renouncing ordinary happiness in this life, as well as
religious duties necessary for such happiness in the next life. I alone am their dear most beloved and, indeed,
their very Self. Therefore I take it upon Myself to sustain them in all circumstances.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.46.4)
Sri Krsna told Uddhavaji, “Tan man-manaska – the gopis are the soul in My heart. If their mind was present in
their body, they would have died. But they have fully deposited their mind, soul and everything they possess in
My heart, and so they remain alive.
An example can be given in this connection: Once a newly married girl came to Nandagaon. She had heard of Lord
Krsna’s glories, beauty and attractive qualities. She had heard about Him from her neighbors, but she had never
actually seen Him. She wanted an occasion to meet Krsna and said, “Can I see Krsna? Can I meet Krsna? Her
mother-in-law was against and told her, “Don’t go to that snake. Krsna is a poisonous snake. If He will bite you,
the fever resulting from the poison of that bite will never come down. Remain in the house. Don’t go to that black
snake.” She asked, “Why is your daughter going to see that black snake, and why are you going? You are an old
lady, so why are you going to see that black snake? Even blind people go. Why should I not go? Even if you try to
keep me in the house, I will must go and see Him.”
Krsna knew that this newly married girl wanted to meet Him, and so He could not check Himself. Along with
thousands of millions of calves and cowherd friends, He passed her door while playing His flute. As that girl
waited at the door and peeped out, He touched the tail of a new calf that jumped up and ran right to the door.
He followed the calf, and when He reached the girl, He took His flute and touched her chin. He took her mind and
heart and ran away – and she was left standing like a statue.
Her mother-in-law then approached her and said, “What are you doing? I warned you, but you would not heed
my warning. Now go and churn yogurt.” The girl took what she thought was a pot of yogurt, but because her
mind was not with her, she did not realize that it was actually a pot of mustard seeds. As she began churning the
mustard seeds while thinking of Krsna, her mother-in-law came and said, “What nonsense are you doing? I
warned you, but you are not hearing or obeying me. Go and take water from the well.” Her mother-in-law gave
her a bucket, a rope, two pitchers on her head, a pitcher in one hand and a baby boy in the other arm. She
arrived at the well that was somewhat far from her house, as she was accustomed to go daily, and she began to
make a knot around the neck of the baby instead of the pitcher.
Horrified, all the ladies taking water from the well took the baby from her and called out, “A ghost has caught her
– not a ghost – the son of Nanda Maharaja has caught her.” Somehow she returned to her mother-in-law’s
house, but her mind never returned. She continued always thinking of Krsna. This is called man-manaska.
You will have to be like this – and then Krsna will allow you to see Him and meet with Him. You cannot give your
heart at present, so pray to Him that He will take it.
So Krsna told Uddhava, “The gopis are My life and soul, I am the life and soul of all the gopis. For Me, they have
forgotten to take prasadam, to decorate themselves, to drink water or to do anything regarding their bodies.
They have fully given their soul to Me; I am their most beloved. They have given up children, father, housework,
husbands and everything else, and they don’t care for Vedic religiosity that would prohibit their meeting with Me.
“I must care for them and nourish them; so I am sending you to Vrndavana. They are waiting for Me, because I
told them, ‘I will return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, just after killing Kamsa.’ The gopis have full faith in
My words. They think, ‘Krsna never tells a lie. We have faith in Him that He will come today or tomorrow.’
“They are keeping their life and soul together because they are waiting for Me. They think, ‘if Krsna will return and
see that we have died, He will lament and also give up His life.’ Due to this they are not giving up their bodies.
“Uddhava, go and pacify them at once; otherwise they will die. All the calves, friends, trees, creepers and
everything of Vrndavana are remembering Me. Go and pacify them. Be there for some time, because you will not
be able to pacify them in one day.”
Why did Lord Krsna send Uddhava to Vrndavana? There are thousands of reasons. One reason is that Krsna
thought, “The gopis are feeling separation from Me and I am also feleling separation from them. There are none
here to whom I can open My heart and share My separation mood. Uddhava should therefore be trained in the
school of the gopis. He should be trained there. If he can understand their love, then I will be able to explain my
heartache to him and My feeling of separation can be somewhat pacified.”
Krsna considered, “I have learned something about their prema, which includes sneha, mana, pranaya, raga,
anuraga, mahabhava and beyond. I have even learned something of madanakya bhava. Love (prema) lives in the
gopis’ heart, because they are the abode of love.” Krsna wanted Uddhava to go to the school where Srimati
Radhika is the principal and Visakha and Lalita are the department heads.
He had told Uddhava, “You should sit on the chariot and go to Vrndavana.” He sent him on the same chariot that
Akrura rode on when he went to Vrndavana to take Sri Balarama and Lord Krsna to Mathura. That chariot was
made of gold and jewels.
By the mercy of Paurnamasi (Yogamaya) Uddhava was able to reach Vrndavana. When he first arrived he saw
that Lord Krsna was fully present there, and the next morning he approached the college of love and affection.
Some gopis came and gave him an interview, to see if he was qualified to be admitted into that college or not.
They tested him, after which they refused him admission. He had failed the examination, so He was only allowed
to see the school building. He saw the principle, Srimati Radhika, and others like Lalita and Visakha (the
department heads), but he was not granted admission. What he saw, however, was enough for him, and then he
returned to Mathura.
When he once again saw Krsna he told Him, “You must go there immediately. No one but You can pacify them.”
“Uddhava should be trained about love in the gopis’ school,” Krsna thought. That was the reason He sent him –
so He would be able to discuss His own love for the gopis with Uddhava.
TOP
Bhakti has five stages or divisions. There are actually millions of divisions of devotees, but among them five are
prominent – the jnani-bhakta, suddha-bhakta, premi-bhakta, premapara-bhakta and prematura-bhakta.
You may know the history of Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva Maharaja had darsana of Lord Narayana in only six
months – by chanting the mantra “Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya”, given by Sri Narada Rsi. Still, his bhakti is
not called pure uttama-bhakti. He performed very severe austerities to please Lord Narayana. He rejected food,
water and even air. In six months he entered samadhi and saw Lord Narayana, who was carrying the wheel,
conch, lotus and club. Yet, his bhakti was not pure, because he had worldly desires (anyabilasa). In his natural
position he wanted to have vast wealth and a kingdom greater than that of his father, who was king of the world.
Lord Krsna was so merciful that Dhruva Maharaja received not only his father’s kingdom, but the kingdom of the
whole universe for 36,000 years. Still, he lamented after meeting with Lord Narayana. He considered, “I was
searching for some jewels or gold, and by luck I received a cintamani (desire stone) – but I threw it out.” He
lamented that he had not told the Lord, “I want your bhakti” – not vraja-bhakti, or bhakti of Narayana, or any
kind of bhakti.
Nowadays, many have an idea that they have attained the stage of raganuga-bhakti, but if any worldly desire is
there, that is not even pure vaidhi-bhakti. It is very hard to actually say, “I am a raganuga-vaisnava.” We can, of
course, very easily say this with thousands of mouths, but we should examine our hearts to see if in our natural
position even a touch of worldly desire is present there.
Dhruva Maharaja’s bhakti is rejected as being in the category of pure devotion. It may be after that he had the
association of Sri Narada Gosvami and taken the darsana of Narayana, so it may be that his desire vanished, but
there is no proof of this – it is not written anywhere. He still had the desire to take his mother with him to
Vaikuntha. His is not an uttama-bhakti. His was karma-misra bhakti with anyabilasa (worldly desire). Therefore,
we don’t want it.
The first category of devotees in the five kinds of pure devotion is Prahlada Maharaja, who is a jnani-bhakta.
Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara, in their first stage, were jnani-bhaktas, and Grandfather Bhisma
was also a jnani-bhakta. It is not easy to be like them. They were bhaktas, not voidists or impersonalists
(nirvisesa-vadis). They didn’t follow Sankaracaryas’s theory. They never said, “I am Brahma – I am that Supreme
Impersonal Being.” They knew that Lord Krsna is Parabrahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a
strong conception (jnana) of the opulence of Krsna in their hearts, so they are jnani-bhaktas. The four Kumaras
were even speakers of asta-kaliya-lila. Bhisma Pitama is a very exalted devotee and is one of the 12 mahajanas;
but he is not a suddha-bhakta, in the sense that he cannot render direct personal service.
Prahlada Maharaja meditated on Lord Krsna. Bhismadeva can meditate and the four Kumaras can also meditate.
But they consider that their Lord is never hungry, He has no thirst, and He never gets tired – so there is no need
for giving him a massage, for example – as Hanuman massages Lord Rama. They never render personal service.
Pure bhakti is “anukulyena krsnanu-silanam”. There must be some service. A pure devotee will serve his Lord. But
jnani-bhaktas have nothing to do, because they always think, “He is our savior, protector, and worshipable Lord.”
Now we will explain how Prahlada Maharaja is a jnani-bhakta. He had no worldly desires at all. Lord Nrsimhadeva
appeared to him and said, “You may ask any boon from me.”
Prahlada Maharaja replied, “I am not a business person. If I have any worldly desire, please take it away.” Lord
Nrsimhadeva insisted, “You must choose a boon.” Prahlada Maharaja wanted his father to be liberated, and he
also requested, “I want all non-devotees in this world to be free from the endless pain of birth and death and be
liberated; and in turn, I will suffer for them.” Lord Nrsimhadeva wept and thought, “What a glorious devotee!”
Prahlada Maharaja is a pure devotee. His jnana does not mean nirvsesa-jnana – the misconception that the
ultimate truth is impersonal. Rather, his jnana is aisvarya-jnana. We see here that there is not so much mamata
(sense of “my-ness”) towards the Lord and no service, because of knowledge of the Lord’s opulence. You can
read the pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadeva and Prahlada Maharaja in Srimad-bhagavatam if you want to know more.
Next is Ambarisa Maharaja, who was a suddha-bhakta. Ambarisa Maharaja was a sadhaka. Prahlada Maharaja
was liberated, and yet Ambarisa Maharaja’s bhakti was superior to that of Prahlada in some sense – because he
was actively engaged in serving Lord Krsna. He stayed in Vrndavana for some time, doing parikrama of Vraja-
mandala – Kesi-ghata, Vamsi-vata, Rasa-sthali, Nandagaon and Varsana. He even used to go to Radha-kunda
and Syama-kunda. Although he was a sadhaka, he had a special mamata for Krsna, the beloved of the gopis.
Prahlada Maharaja has never been to Vrndavana. Sanaka and Sanandana the other Kumara brothers were in
Haridvar. So Ambarisa Maharaja was very fortunate.
Superior to Ambarisa Maharaja is Hanuman. Hanuman is a premi-bhakta. He is liberated and is serving Rama, and
he has so much mamata for Him. He discovered Sita in Lanka and he carried Rama on his shoulders. Ambarisa
Maharaja could not do so. Ambarisa Maharaja was thinking of serving – in other words he was serving with his
internally conceived spiritual form within; but externally he was in the body of a sadhaka (practitioner), which
could serve the deity but not the Lord in His pastimes. On the other hand, Hanuman was actually serving Rama
with his body.
Hanuman serves Rama in all respects. Some knowledge of Rama’s opulence is present in his heart, but very
rarely. Hanuman has aisvarya-jnana, but not always. He considered that his Lord was sometimes hungry, so he
would bring so many fruits from the forest. When Ravana stole Sita, Hanuman jumped over the ocean and found
her. He also burnt Lanka and returned to Rama. He thought, “I am qualified to kill Ravana, but I desire that he be
killed by Lord Rama.” He wanted to take Sita on his back and bring her to Rama, but she denied to do so and
said, “Rama should come, and finish this entire dynasty of demons.”
The Pandavas are still more superior. They are called prema-para bhaktas. Hanuman can carry Rama and
Laksmana on his shoulders, but he cannot sit on their shoulders. He cannot give his food remnants to Rama,
thinking, “Oh, this is very sweet. Let me give some to Rama.” He fears to do so, because knowledge of Rama’s
opulence is somewhat present. Opulence is somewhat of an obstacle, so although he is so high a devotee, there
is some obstruction in his flow of devotion.
Lord Rama himself told Hanuman, “I am Krsna. Obey me and also help Arjuna. Always sit on top of his chariot and
continually help him to conquer Duryodhana.” So not only did Krsna become the servant of the Pandavas, but
Hanuman did as well.
Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is a sakhi (a dear friend, not in a conjugal relationship but in the mood of
reverence and as a family member) of Krsna; so they are very glorious. Still, there is something lacking in their
devotion.
Sri Uddhava is so much superior to the Pandavas.
Lord Krsna wanted to go to Vrndavana to pacify Mother Yasoda, Nanda Baba and all the other residents. He
wanted to remain in Vrndavana forever; but there was a problem. If He would go to Vrndavana, He would not be
able to pacify them. Due to their knowing that He would soon be leaving again, their feelings of separation would
double and triple and become a thousand times greater. So He did not dare to go there. He was worried for His
father and mother; not as much for His sakhas, because their feelings of separation were not as high as those of
His mother and father and the gopis. His father and mother had become blind in separation.
Those who have an intense sense of mineness also experience a strong separation mood. If there is no mamata,
there is no separation mood. Feelings of separation depend on the gradation of feelings of mineness. If the
sense of mamata is condensed, then in meeting there is so much happiness and in separation there is so much
suffering.
The gopis feel the fire of separation to the extreme point, because they love Sri Krsna more than anyone else –
even more than Mother Yasoda, Nanda Baba, Subala and Sridama. Therefore in the night, when Krsna is
supposed to be sleeping, He leaves His bed and runs from home to pacify the gopis. He takes His flute and runs.
While Mother Yasoda was sleeping, and He would go to Vrndavana – to Vamsi-vata – to play on His flute and call
the gopis.
At the time of meeting Krsna, the gopis would become maddened in love. Then, if Krsna would vanish for a
moment, their separation would increase to such a stage that they sometimes identified themselves with Sri
Krsna Himself. When Krsna disappeared from the Rasa dance arena, some gopis would think themselves Krsna’s
associates like Mother Yasoda, and others would think themselves Krsna Himself playing on His flute. There would
be no flute, but still they would think themselves playing His flute. They were fully absorbed in a fire of
separation. We cannot explain the gopis situation, and even Srila Sukadeva Gosvami and Srila Vyasadeva could
not explain their stage. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed something of it in his Gambira-lila. Sometimes His
hands, legs and head would all enter within His body, just like the withdrawn limbs of a tortoise. Sometimes He
would jump in the ocean and remain floating there for 24 hours. At that time the joints of His hands and legs
would sometimes become separated by eight inches, and they remained connected only by the skin.
This must also have taken place in the bodies of the gopis. We cannot even imagine how glorious they are.
There are two situations; first meeting and then separation. Srimad-bhagavatam has explained the gopis
meeting with Krsna in the arena of the Rasa-dance. At that time Sri Krsna would sing up to the fifth note, “sa re
ga ma pa”, and the gopis would sing higher, up to the eighth, “da ni sa”(vedic octave). Krsna would then glorify
them by saying, “Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu”, meaning “You have done marvelously”. Krsna could not sing so high.
At that time He would embrace the gopis neck and say, “You should not vanish from rasa; or else I will not be
able to survive.” Especially, He would embrace the neck of Srimati Radhika and say, “Please don’t leave the rasa
dance, and please don’t have any maan (transcendental loving jealous anger) and thus neglect Me.”
There are so many truths that have not been told openly in Srimad Bhagavatam, but Srila Jiva Gosvami, Srila
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura have explained something in their commentaries and left some service in this
regard for others. In their meditation Lord Brahma, Lord Sankara and others pray to serve Laksmi-devi, and
Laksmi-devi herself is sweeping in Vrndavana for Sri Krsna. Brahma, Sankara and all others pray to be able to see
a glimpse of the light coming from Krsna’s toenail, but they are not successful. On the other hand, the gopis are
so glorious that they openly took the lotus feet upon which Brahma meditates and they kept them on their
breasts. Why did they do so? Not for their satisfaction, but for the satisfaction of Krsna. They bound Krsna with
their love and affection, whereas no one else could bind Him – including Uddhava, Uddhava’s father, and
Uddhava's forefathers.
Krsna Himself glorifies the gopis. All the Vrajavasis were burning in the fire of separation for Him, and especially
the gopis. Among the gopis, this separation fire was felt especially by Candravali and Srimati Radhika, and also by
Lalita, Visakha, Citra and all others like them. Krsna wanted to go to Vrndavana but He did not dare to go,
because He thought their separation mood and suffering would increase.
He told Uddhava, “Don’t think I am in Mathura. Perhaps you are afraid; you don’t want to give up My association.
But I am partly here and fully in Vrndavana. When you will go to Vrndavana, you will realize that I am fully there. I
want to be where love and affection is in the highest stage; therefore I remain fully in Vrndavana.”
ta man-manaska trst-prana
mad-arthe tyakta-daihikah
mam eva dayitam prestham
atmanam manasa gatah
ye tyakta-loka-dharmas ca
mad-arthe tan bibharmy aham
“The minds of those gopis are always absorbed in Me, and their very lives are ever devoted to Me. For My sake
they have abandoned everything related to their bodies, renouncing ordinary happiness in this life, as well as
religious duties necessary for such happiness in the next life. I alone am their dear most beloved and, indeed,
their very Self. Therefore I take it upon Myself to sustain them in all circumstances.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.46.4)
Sri Krsna told Uddhavaji, “Tan man-manaska – the gopis are the soul in My heart. If their mind was present in
their body, they would have died. But they have fully deposited their mind, soul and everything they possess in
My heart, and so they remain alive.
An example can be given in this connection: Once a newly married girl came to Nandagaon. She had heard of Lord
Krsna’s glories, beauty and attractive qualities. She had heard about Him from her neighbors, but she had never
actually seen Him. She wanted an occasion to meet Krsna and said, “Can I see Krsna? Can I meet Krsna? Her
mother-in-law was against and told her, “Don’t go to that snake. Krsna is a poisonous snake. If He will bite you,
the fever resulting from the poison of that bite will never come down. Remain in the house. Don’t go to that black
snake.” She asked, “Why is your daughter going to see that black snake, and why are you going? You are an old
lady, so why are you going to see that black snake? Even blind people go. Why should I not go? Even if you try to
keep me in the house, I will must go and see Him.”
Krsna knew that this newly married girl wanted to meet Him, and so He could not check Himself. Along with
thousands of millions of calves and cowherd friends, He passed her door while playing His flute. As that girl
waited at the door and peeped out, He touched the tail of a new calf that jumped up and ran right to the door.
He followed the calf, and when He reached the girl, He took His flute and touched her chin. He took her mind and
heart and ran away – and she was left standing like a statue.
Her mother-in-law then approached her and said, “What are you doing? I warned you, but you would not heed
my warning. Now go and churn yogurt.” The girl took what she thought was a pot of yogurt, but because her
mind was not with her, she did not realize that it was actually a pot of mustard seeds. As she began churning the
mustard seeds while thinking of Krsna, her mother-in-law came and said, “What nonsense are you doing? I
warned you, but you are not hearing or obeying me. Go and take water from the well.” Her mother-in-law gave
her a bucket, a rope, two pitchers on her head, a pitcher in one hand and a baby boy in the other arm. She
arrived at the well that was somewhat far from her house, as she was accustomed to go daily, and she began to
make a knot around the neck of the baby instead of the pitcher.
Horrified, all the ladies taking water from the well took the baby from her and called out, “A ghost has caught her
– not a ghost – the son of Nanda Maharaja has caught her.” Somehow she returned to her mother-in-law’s
house, but her mind never returned. She continued always thinking of Krsna. This is called man-manaska.
You will have to be like this – and then Krsna will allow you to see Him and meet with Him. You cannot give your
heart at present, so pray to Him that He will take it.
So Krsna told Uddhava, “The gopis are My life and soul, I am the life and soul of all the gopis. For Me, they have
forgotten to take prasadam, to decorate themselves, to drink water or to do anything regarding their bodies.
They have fully given their soul to Me; I am their most beloved. They have given up children, father, housework,
husbands and everything else, and they don’t care for Vedic religiosity that would prohibit their meeting with Me.
“I must care for them and nourish them; so I am sending you to Vrndavana. They are waiting for Me, because I
told them, ‘I will return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, just after killing Kamsa.’ The gopis have full faith in
My words. They think, ‘Krsna never tells a lie. We have faith in Him that He will come today or tomorrow.’
“They are keeping their life and soul together because they are waiting for Me. They think, ‘if Krsna will return and
see that we have died, He will lament and also give up His life.’ Due to this they are not giving up their bodies.
“Uddhava, go and pacify them at once; otherwise they will die. All the calves, friends, trees, creepers and
everything of Vrndavana are remembering Me. Go and pacify them. Be there for some time, because you will not
be able to pacify them in one day.”
Why did Lord Krsna send Uddhava to Vrndavana? There are thousands of reasons. One reason is that Krsna
thought, “The gopis are feeling separation from Me and I am also feleling separation from them. There are none
here to whom I can open My heart and share My separation mood. Uddhava should therefore be trained in the
school of the gopis. He should be trained there. If he can understand their love, then I will be able to explain my
heartache to him and My feeling of separation can be somewhat pacified.”
Krsna considered, “I have learned something about their prema, which includes sneha, mana, pranaya, raga,
anuraga, mahabhava and beyond. I have even learned something of madanakya bhava. Love (prema) lives in the
gopis’ heart, because they are the abode of love.” Krsna wanted Uddhava to go to the school where Srimati
Radhika is the principal and Visakha and Lalita are the department heads.
He had told Uddhava, “You should sit on the chariot and go to Vrndavana.” He sent him on the same chariot that
Akrura rode on when he went to Vrndavana to take Sri Balarama and Lord Krsna to Mathura. That chariot was
made of gold and jewels.
By the mercy of Paurnamasi (Yogamaya) Uddhava was able to reach Vrndavana. When he first arrived he saw
that Lord Krsna was fully present there, and the next morning he approached the college of love and affection.
Some gopis came and gave him an interview, to see if he was qualified to be admitted into that college or not.
They tested him, after which they refused him admission. He had failed the examination, so He was only allowed
to see the school building. He saw the principle, Srimati Radhika, and others like Lalita and Visakha (the
department heads), but he was not granted admission. What he saw, however, was enough for him, and then he
returned to Mathura.
When he once again saw Krsna he told Him, “You must go there immediately. No one but You can pacify them.”
“Uddhava should be trained about love in the gopis’ school,” Krsna thought. That was the reason He sent him –
so He would be able to discuss His own love for the gopis with Uddhava.
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