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'GOpikA geetham and GOpikA manOharan'

From the Bhakti List Archives

Subadra Vasudevan • February 23, 1999 


Dear bAghavadhOthamAls,
                                      My humble obeisance to the
devotees of Sriman NArAyana.  There are ways and ways of enjoying the
Alps.Travel brochures tell tantalizingly about the Alps.V isitors talk
vividly about it.Still, to enjoy the  Alps you have to be in the
Alps.Similarly to know who these Gopis are, what they did/did not, why
SriAndAl chose the stance of  the Gopasthrees, how SriKrishnA
transformed Himself into a simple cow-herd boy, we have to transport
ourselves  to the land of the GOpis.BhAghavatha PurAnA  or Srimad
BhAgavadam is our destination.
In Bhakthi Sruthi Sage NAradhA is asked 'who is the real devotee, who
has the supreme devotion and bhakti-'parama prEma roopA'.NAradhar had
said 'yathA vraja gOpikAnAm'-like the GOpis of the BrindAvan.On another
occasion ,He is asked 'what are the ways of attaining the Lord'.He
says'gOpyaha kAmAthu bhayAth kasmsa: dvEshAth
jhaitAthnayOnrupA'.SishubAlA and JarasandhA-through hatred,PAndavAs
through  friendship, the GOpis through worship, adoration, venerance,
devotion and invocation.(sometimes,less than a few amongst us, skip
reading the original Sanskrit versions.I catch myself doing this.It
really never hurts anybody to read sankrit.As we read them we can see
the magic of SriShukAchAryA's words weave the fabric of this PurAna
thilakam)
What can these GOpis  possess, even SriKrishnA would say to UDhavA 'for
unalloyed bhakti go to the Gopis and learn from them'.But in
SriKrishnA's words 'among the bhAghavathAs I am you the UDhavA'.To
Arjuna was given the Bhagawad GitA- to UDhavA is given the UDhava
GitA.There is a lot of difference between the two-ArjunA was made to go
into the world to perform his duties.UDhavA is asked to rise above the
world to perform his spiritual duties.ArjunA is confused, UDavA is
enlightened.UDhavA is not the confused, perturbed, doubting Thomas like
ArjunA.ArjunA falls at the feet of SriKrishnA and says,'save me' whereas
UDhavA says'exalt me'.UDhavA is a sage of excellent qualities and goes
to the gOkulam as advised by SriKrishnA.After his sojourn ,UDhavA would
tell'
'vandhE nanda vrajasthreenAm pAdha rEnum abeeksh*nasaha:
yAsAm hari kathOth geetham punahAdhi bhuvanathrayam'
'I bow down to the Gopis, at the feet of the GOpis,to the dust at the
feet of the GOpis'
If the UDhavA has such a conviction why would SriKrishnA doubt even for
a moment's trice to give these Aachiyars the 'parai'(andha NArAyananE
indha AachiyarkE  EN tharakoodAdhu 'parai')
Sarvam SriKrishnArpanamasthu,
With highest regards,
Subadra