Shri Krishna – Gopis’s Raasa-Leela
Unison of Lord with Devotees
Raasa-Leela is considered
as the final (absolute) milestone/landmark in the field of worshipping. Raasa-Leela is Pure, Unconditional,
Unalloyed and Devoted Love / Bhakti / Prem from unadulterated (pure) devotees
for their Beloved Shri Krishna, The
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Raasa-Leela is one of the Divine
Activities (Leelas), which Shri
Krishna played in the month of Phalgun,
on the night of Sharad Purnima (Full
Moon Night), with the Gopis
(village
women) on the banks of river Yamuna in Vrindavan. Shri Krishna
was nearly around 7 to 10 years old when He performed this Divine Leela ~ Unison of
Lord with His Devotees.
Raasa-Leela is considered to be one of “The
Highest & The Most Incomprehensible Leela” of Shri Krishna's
pastimes.
The textual reference of Raasa-Leela can be found in Shrimad
Bhagavatam Purana; there are five chapters known as Raasa-PanchAdhyayi
in (Canto 10 dedicated to Shri Krishna ~ The Summum Bonum).
These five chapters describe the Raasa-Leela of Shri Krishna with the Gopis
(village women) of Vrindavan.
Raasa-Leela has got NOTHING TO DO WITH
male-female material enjoyment, which is Major Misconception. It is Divine
Connection between Shri Krishna with
His Devoted Devotees.
The
Raasa-Leela is an external expression of divine Leela, which takes place
in the heart of each and every individual, between the finite and the Universal
Soul. Unless we have unflinching love and faith, Shri Krishna and His life
would always confuse us. ~ Swami Vivekananda
The
word Raasa-Leela:
The word Raasa comes from Sanskrit word “Ras”
having different meanings, such as taste
(sweet taste), emotion, juice, nectar etc. The word Leela
describes the divine activities of Shri Krishna (that we may not understand completely). The literal meaning of word
Leela, such as act, play
and here the act is of dance. So combining both words, we
can translate Raasa-Leela as:
“Dance
of Shri Krishna with Gopis, performed with Full of Emotions, Love & Bliss”
“The
Sweet & Hearth Soothing/Pleasing act of Lord Hari”
Raasa meaning “Aesthetics” and Leela meaning “Dance”
thus Raasa-Leela is “Play of Aesthitcs ~ Dance of Divine
Love. (Anonyms)
Raasa-Leela
~ The Zenith of Divine Love:
As per Shrimad
Bhagavatam Purana,
no words can describe the Immense True Love of Gopis for their beloved Shri
Krishna in the proper way. The love Gopis
felt for the Lord Hari was not bodily
/ physically / (or what we called Modern Day Shameless Love); it was Prerna, Divine Love. The Gopis were totally merged in the love
of Shri Krishna through the practice
of constant Smaran (Remembrance) of Him all the time. In
fact these Gopis were not ordinary
women, they were the Great Rishis, Sages who went thru severe Tapas (penance) in their previous births, and they reincarnated as Gopis and were waiting to unite with
their beloved Shri Krishna in the Raasa-Leela. (Note: Some excerpt
suggests that these Gopis where Rishi Munis, who were saddened that they did
not meet Lord Rama during His exile
of 14 years in Forest, born as Gopis
to fulfill their desire, as they were promised by the Lord Himself).
Among all the Gopis, Shrimati Radharani
(Shakti)
was closest to Lord Hari. Her love
for Shri Krishna is The Complete Authority on Pure Love. Shri Krishna Radhay, together called as
Prem Puran Prishotam Prem Ananda ~ The
Pure Blissful Transcendental Love.
The Raasa-Leela took place in month of Phalgun (on Sharad Purnima night, full moon), when the Gopis of Vrindavan,
upon hearing the sound of Shri Krishna's melodious and enchanting flute,
left behind their worldly chores, households and families and went to the
forest. The Gopis were very passionately attracted towards the melodious
flute tune of Shri Krishna; they left behind all fear, bondages,
patience and above all the Shyness. They just want to go, and embrace-enjoy and
dance with their beloved Shri Krishna.
Shri
Krishna
added more divinity, more brilliance to that night to fulfill the purpose of Raasa-Leela; with the help of Yogamaya (personified illusion). It was a perfect night for the purpose –
flowers bloomed in Vrindavana, full moon shone, and gentle, cool breeze blew
from the banks of river Yamuna. Shri Krishna
supernaturally stretches the length of that night to the one Night of Brahma, approximately
4.32 billion years, comprising of all Seasons (Shad Ritu) to satisfy the all desires
of Gopis.
On the bank of Yamuna River, Gopis saw their
beloved Shri Krishna near their
familiar Cadamb Tree. Yogamaya decorated all the Gopis from tip to toe. During the Raasa-Leela Lord Krishna promised the Gopis
that He will dance with each one of them, one-to-one. So Shri Krishna stood in the center, surrounded by Gopis in the form of Circle and with the help of His YogaMaya, Shri Krishna has made each Gopis feel that He was dancing with her
also. All the demigods, like Gandharva, Yakshas were witness of
the divine dance, and they showers flowers form the heavenly abode
Humiliation
Lesson for Gopis and Kaamdeva (Cupid of Romance):
Dancing with Shri Krishna, have made Gopis
feeling proud. The Gopis would
rejoice with sheer bliss in the company of the Lord Hari and consider them fortunate. During Raasa-Leela, Shri Krishna
did the Disappearing Act to
teach a lesson of Humility to Gopis; who were considering themselves
superior to other women who were not fortunate enough to be with Lord Krishna. Not finding Lord Hari, Shri Krishna amongst them, the Gopis started feeling the pain of longing for Him. Overwhelmed with
grief, they started searching for Him and prayed Him to come back and the Gopis have realized their mistake. During
their search for Shri Krishna they
sang songs popularly known as Gopika
Gitam. Shri Krishna returned
after many pleadings (varah, jatan), and Gopis were delighted.
To teach humiliation
lesson to Kaamdeva, Shri Krishna asked Kaamdeva to visit Vrindavana
on the night of Sharad Purnima (Full moon night), where He would be
enjoying the company of Gopis. “If He has slightest passion for any of
Gopis, then he (Kaamdeva) will win, else he will lose”.
When the Raasa-Leela
act was taking place, Kaamdeva visited Vrindavan
and he astonished to see that: Shri Krishna Himself asking to many Gopis
gathered around Shri Krishna, that: “O Gopis, the pure ones, it is
not fit for you to stay here at this hour of night. Go and serve your husbands.
Your duties must be first to your husband’s children and cows. They will be
waiting for you eagerly. Go and console them. You can gain me by hearing,
reciting, seeing etc. You need not sit here. Go to your homes.”
Gopis, however said: “Govind,
we have come to you leaving all the mundane lusts behind. Now going back is
like ruining over lives. It is the greatest misfortune if someone returns to
mundane affairs even after being at your feet.” These words that
reflected divine feelings of Gopis pleased Lord.
Kaamdeva accepted his defeat after hearing the conversation between Shri Krishna and Gopis. And he bowed down to the Divinity of Lord Hari and His devotees Un-Alloyed, Unconditional, Pure Love. Shri Krishna is the embodiment of Love, the ideal lover, householder and Sannyasi who, even while being detached, shows the world that true love is unconditional.
Raas-Leela & Three Yogas:
Raasa-Leela is the combination of Gyan Yoga (knowledge), Karma
Yoga (Work) and Bhakti Yoga (prayers). In Raasa-Leela,
Gopis praise various Divine
Activities of Shri Krishna by singing
song for Him, enhancing the glimpses of His Divinity. ~ This is Gyan Yoga.
Next
while dancing with Shri Krishna, Gopis made effort to co-ordinate the movement
of their body to the tune of the music played by Lord’s flute & Ghandharvas.
~ That’s
Effort is Karma Yoga.
While
dancing and singing, Gopis come in
harmony with Shri Krishna. Gopis singing in praise of Lord Hari, and their dancing is
attributed to Lord Shri Krishna only. ~ That’s
Bhakti Yoga.
The Divinity of Raasa-Leela ~
Eternal Dance of SuperSoul and Para-Shakti:
The
Raasa-Leela dance takes place in the formation of circle. Shri Krishna is at the center and along
with each Gopi in the circle. ~ The Gopis represents Jeeva-Aatman; Shri Krishna at center represents ParamAatman in His Absolute form. Shri
Krishna with each Gopi
represents His Antaryami form,
depicting that He is with each and every one of us. Thus entire Raasa-Leela represents
the Vishwaroopa Swaroopa of Shri Krishna.
The
Raasa-Leela performed with Gopis
(village women) ~ Depicts that Jeeva-Aatman
are feminine in nature. The only male in the entire Universe is ParamAatman Shri Krishna, Paaram Purusha. (NOTE: Considering the semantically meaning,
rather than syntax ally here)
Vrindavan forest symbolizes thoughtless mind, where no crowd of
thought is present and there are flowers of hidden desires and visions. In such
a state, the Lord (Shri Krishna) and Shakti (Shrimati Radharani) performs the Eternal Dance of Creation and Destruction.
Shri Krishna here symbolizes the Supreme Soul and Shrimati Radharani is Para-Shakti,
and the Gopis are 3 Gunas (Sattava, Rajas, Tamas), 5 tatwas (Fire, Water, Earth, Sky, Ether)
and other such elements. The Raas-Leela
is the manifestation of Entire Universe
by Shri Krishna with the help of
these Eternal Elements.
Siginificance of Raasa-Leela:
Shri
Krishna's
intellectual friend Uddhava asked
Him:
"Are all paths of spiritual
advancement equally effective or is any one of them more important than the
others?"
To which Shri Krishna answered:
"All
other paths by themselves cannot reach Me without the help of Supreme Love or Devotion.
Knowledge alone is not enough. It cannot purify the mind and without purity of
mind what results can one achieve?"
The Lord Himeself appeared in the form of Shri
Krishna to spread the Pure Love in the hearts of Gopis, and
not for enjoying any form of sensual desire Himself. Shri Krishna & Gopis
especially Shrimati Radharani spread the message of Pure Love in
its pure unalloyed form.
Only those who become "mad"
with love can understand the love of Gopis who are the Personification of Unconditional
Love. ~ Anonyms
In the Shrimad Bhagavada Purana, it is stated
that whoever faithfully hears or describes the Raasa-Leela, attains Shri Krishna's Pure Loving Devotion.
Reference:
Canto 10 Shrimad Bhagavad Purana,
Wikipedia
Google & Google Books
Note: It is next to impossible for us ~ mundane
material people to even think/imagine, the selfless love of Gopis for Lord Krishna. The Raasa-Leela
is explained in detailed manner in Shrimad
Bhagavad Puran. I
Note:
I have made a novice attempt to write an article on Raasa-Leela, tried best to
keep it simple, if any mistake please write in mail.