Krishna's Hiding from the Gopis
When Krishna suddenly disappeared from the company of the gopis, they searched for Him everywhere. After not finding Him anywhere, they became afraid and almost mad after Him. They were simply thinking of the pastimes of Krishna in great love and affection. Being absorbed in thought of Him, they experienced loss of memory, and with dampened eyes they began to see the very pastimes of Krishna—His beautiful talks with them, His embracing, kissing and other activities. Being so attracted to Krishna, they imitated His dancing, His walking and His smiling, as if they themselves were Krishna. Due to Krishna's absence, they all became crazy; each one of them told the others that she was Krishna Himself. Soon they all assembled together and chanted Krishna's name very loudly as they moved from one part of the forest to another, searching for Him.
Actually, Krishna is all-pervasive: He is in the sky, and He is in the forest; He is within the heart, and He is always everywhere. The gopis therefore began to question the trees and plants about Krishna. There were various types of big trees and small plants in the forest, and the gopis addressed them: "Dear banyan tree, have you seen the son of Maharaja Nanda passing this way, laughing and playing on His flute? He has stolen our hearts and gone away. If you have seen Him, kindly inform us which way He has gone. Dear asoka tree, dear naga flower tree and campaka flower tree, have you seen the younger brother of Balarama pass this way? He has disappeared because of our pride." The gopis were aware of the reason for Krishna's sudden disappearance. They could understand that when they had been enjoying Krishna they thought themselves to be the most fortunate women within the universe, and since they were feeling proud, Krishna had disappeared immediately just to curb their pride. Krishna does not like His devotees to be proud of their service to Him. He accepts everyone's service, but He does not like one devotee to proudly consider himself better than others. If sometimes there are such feelings, Krishna ends them by changing His attitude toward the devotee.
The gopis then addressed the tulasi plants: "Dear tulasi, you are much beloved by Lord Krishna because your leaves are always at His lotus feet. Dear malati flower, dear mallika flower, dear jasmine flower, all of you must have been touched by Krishna while He was passing this way after giving us transcendental enjoyment. Have you seen Madhava passing this way? O mango trees, O trees of jackfruit, O pear trees and asana trees! O blackberries and bael trees and trees of the kadamba flower—you are all very pious trees to be living on the bank of the Yamuna. Krishna must have passed through this way. Will you kindly let us know which way He has gone?"
The gopis then looked upon the ground they were traversing and began to address the earth: "Dear earthly planet, we do not know how many penances and austerities you have undergone to be now living with the footprints of Lord Krishna upon you. You are very jolly; the hairs on your body are these jubilant trees and plants. Lord Krishna must have been very much pleased with you; otherwise how could He have embraced you in the form of Varaha the boar? When you were submerged in water, He delivered you, taking the whole weight of your existence on His tusks."
Written by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
http://hjbhai.blogspot.com
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