Contents
Gita Govinda -Shri Jayadeva Gosvami
INTRODUCTION
Practical realization of Shri Gita-govinda
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It is not by chance that Shri Jayadeva Gosvämé has employed a female confi dante (sakhé) in the role of a mediator to arrange Krishna’s meetings with Rädhä. The purport is clear. Unless one is under the personal guidance of such a sakhé and until one attains the help of the sakhés, one cannot attain Shri Krishna. All devotional scriptures proclaim this conclusion. The help of a sakhé and the help of guru are one and the same. To be guru one must take shelter of the disposition of the sakhés, and to attain Shri Krishna one must accept the shelter of a spiritual master who is perfectly situated in the transcendental mood of a sakhé. Herein lies the essential message of the Vedas: To know the Absolute Truth, one must take shelter of a perfect guru who is fixed in devotion to the Absolute. When Shri Suta Gosvämé began to narrate Shrimad-Bhägavatam in the sacred forest of Naimiñäraëya, he called it the essence of the Vedas; and the essence of Shrimad-Bhägavatam itself is the räsa-lélä. Shri Jayadeva Gosvämé has the ability to comprehend the essence of everything. Therefore he condensed the räsa-lélä even further, just as one might perform the impossible feat of confining the ocean within a jar. He was compelled by compassion to manifest the nectar of immortality in the form of this poem for the upliftment of all living beings in this age of Kali. In answer to the inquiries of Parékñit Mahäräja, Shri Çukadeva Gosvämé replied: Shri Krishna performs the räsa-lélä to bestow mercy upon his devotees. Yet the non-devotees are also naturally fond of romance or çåìgära-rasa. Therefore, when they hear the räsa-lélä they also gradually become absorbed in thoughts of Shri Krishna. Bhagavän performs apparently erotic pastimes on the surface of the earth out of compassion for everyone – the devotees and the non-devotees. |
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