Commentary 10.10

In this verse, the Lord says, "The highest group of My servitors (whose sentiment was described in the previous verse by the word ramanti) are those who are constantly engaged (sataka-yukta) in My service in consorthood (madhura-rasa) with heartfelt love (bhajatam priti-purvakam). Then He says that He will give them further inspiration or inner instruction "by which they can come to Him" (yena mam upayanti te). When already in this and the previous verse the devotees« service to the Lord has been described as eternal (by the words nityam and satata-yukta), Lord Krsna's statement that He will give them further inspiration by which they can come to Him appears to be redundant. Therefore, in the expression mam upayanti te ("They will come to Me"), the word upayanti must be defined as parakiya-bhavena-upapati. Pati means husband, and upapati means paramour:
"For those who have already come into divine relationship with Me as My wife (ramanti), I give them the special inspiration to come to Me as a paramour (upapati)."
In Vrndavana, Lord Krsna is not considered a lawful husband, but He is the Lord of the heart, transcendental to even the husband (parakiya-rasa). Deceiving their husbands, the gopis of Vrndavana unite with Krsna. They do not allow a second party to come between them and Krsna. They cannot allow the interception of even scriptural regulation and social law, because Krsna's position is absolute, and such a relationship is more relishable to Him. This is Vrndavana bhajana, and this is the meaning of upapati.

vikriditam vraja-vadhubhir idam ca visnoh
sraddhanvito 'nusrnuyad atha varnayed yah
bhaktim param bhagavati pratilabhya kamam
hrd-rogam asv apahinoty acirena dhirah
(Bhag. 10.33.39)

"A self-controlled, sense-controlled person who, having become endowed with sublime faith in the divine pastimes transcendentally enjoyed by Lord Krsna with the gopis (Rasa-lila), and who, having heard those divine pastimes from the lotus mouth of the bona fide guru, continuously sings or narrates their glories such a person swiftly achieves the most elevated form of pure devotion for the Lord, and is promptly able to ward off the heart disease of lust."
In his writings, Srila Jiva Goswami has laid stress on the word dhira, meaning 'self-controlled'. To hear these elevated subjects, one must enter into the culture of sense-control, otherwise he will be destroyed.

naitat samacarej jatu, manasapi hy anisvarah
vinasyaty acaran maudhyad, yatharudro 'bdhi-jam visam
(Bhag. 10.33.30)

"No one should ever even think of imitating this behavior of the Supreme Lord and the gopis. If out of gross foolishness anyone tries to imitate the pastimes of the Lord, he will be utterly destroyed, just as if he tried to imitate Lord Siva by drinking the poison which arose from the ocean." (It is described elsewhere in the Srimad Bhagavatam that once the demigods and the demons jointly engaged in churning the ocean. As a result of that churning, both nectar and poison were produced.)

"My relationship with them is independent of everything conceivable. It crosses law, society, scripture everything. It is most innate and natural, and it does not require any social or scriptural sanction. I say to them, 'You may show formal respect to all these restrictions and live in the society. But from the heart of your heart, you are Mine.' This is the special inspiration and insight I give to those devotees (yena mam upayanti te)."
"Externally there are social and scriptural demands, but My position is over and above them. Veda is My instruction for the benefit of the masses, who have deviated from Me, and the society is also under the jurisdiction of those general instructions given to the public by Me. But My divine relationship with everything is intrinsic and independent. It does not require recognition from anyone. Such a relationship is the highest. It is the constant. It supercedes all law and society which are guided by the Vedas; rather all the Vedas are searching for such a thing."
Srutibhir vimrgyam (Bhag. 10.47.61). Visesa-mrgya the Vedas are searching after this ideal divine position. In the section of the Srimad Bhagavatam which deals with Rasa-lila, the Vedas are begging forgiveness:
"We are generally supposed to give tidings of You, but we could not describe You as we now experience You here. Now we understand that we have committed an offense, because we could not distribute this Rasa-lila, this Vraja-lila, to the people."
Like signposts, all the revealed scriptures are only showing the direction; but where, how? "We don't know." Only, "In this direction He may be available."
Anywhere and everywhere, everything belongs to Him. For one who knows this, all possibilities of sensual pleasure and exploitation are uprooted. For example, an unmarried woman may have the possibility of being approached by many but there is less possibility for those who are married, because they are possessed by someone. Similarly, when we are able to know that everything is only for the satisfaction of Krsna, then we shall realize that all our exploiting tendencies have vanished forever. Nothing will remain to be utilized for the pleasure of our sensual experience. It will be very deeply felt in our hearts that everything has its existence only for His satisfaction, and there is no room for any other exploitation. And we are also included there our existence is also only for His satisfaction. Everything is meant for His divine pastimes (lila), and there is no possibility for any others' pastimes. All are included in that one lila. Encroachment will disappear when we learn the proper utility of everything. He is the owner, and His ownership is absolute. The scriptures, society, and law designate, "This is yours, that is another's, or that belongs to third party." This is something like a temporary lease, but the permanent ownership is in all respects with Him. All others possessor and property, master and servant are all relative, and only sanctioned by Him for the time being. The Absolute Owner, Possessor, and Enjoyer is He alone. When we arrive at such a conclusion, only then is complete purification of our hearts possible. Everyone is thinking of themselves as many masters of many things, but this is all heart disease (hrd-rogam). This is all conceived in a diseased state of consciousness. In a healthy state, when the heart is quite wholesome, we can see the Supreme whole, and we can see that everything is meant only for His satisfaction.


Contents | Back to Verse