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The hearts of all the birds and beasts burned when they heard the gopis' sweet, gentle voices crying in grief. The weeping of the gopis as they glorified the good qualities of their beloved sounded like a graceful song to attract the hearts of all moving and non-moving beings. The sound of their soft crying distilled the essence of love in separation. Sympathizing with their sorrow, the musical notes, rhythms, and modulations personified to enter their hearts and produce a song. The gopis said, "0 beloved, the shelter of Laksmi, since the day You appeared You have been the center of attraction in Vrndavana. In the very place where the inhabitants became happy due to Your appearance, how can your lovers experience such persecution? Why did You abandon us after we fell in love with You and dedicated ourselves solely to You? 0 beloved! Be merciful, and please show Yourself to us." [The gopis, forlorn over not finding their beloved Krsna, held the following fanciful conversation with Him in His absence.] The gopis imagined Krsna saying, "Why didn't you search for Me and find Me by force?" Gopis: "We searched for You on every path, in every forest and bower, and under every tree and creeper until we had no more strength. Please appear before us and give pleasure to Your followers." Krsna: "What have I done to make you so sad?" Gopis: "0 beloved! You have pierced our hearts with the sharp arrows of Your glances." Krsna: "What is wrong if a witty man just glances at some women?" Gopis: "We are losing our lives at the expense of Your joking. You are killing the maidservants who have given themselves to You freely, without any price. If it is Your intention to kill us, then why did You repeatedly save us from all kinds of danger—poisoned water, forest fires, and rainstorms?" Krsna: "You were just there among all the other inhabitants of Vrndavana whom I protected from those calamities." Gopis: "Then why did You maintain our lives with the medicine of Your sweet smile, making us forget Your harsh instruction to go home? 0 independent Lord! We cannot see any reason other than Your own pleasure in doing such things. It seems the only way You can have fun is by killing us and bringing us back to life." Krsna: "Killing is easy, but reviving the dead is very difficult." Gopis: "It is easy for You to restore a person to life. For us, who are at death's door, seeing You is life! Without seeing You, we have no life. For fun You disappear from us and kill us, and then You reappear and bring us back to life. How astonishing! Though You are born in a family of cowherds, You are not afraid of killing cowherd women. Even ordinary people take care of their family members and distant relatives." Krsna: "Due to the prayers of Brahma, I have appeared as the Supreme Lord, therefore, I do not belong to any particular family." Gopis: "You should not tell lies about Your own greatness. You did not appear due to Brahma's prayers for protection of the universe. If that is true, then why don't You protect us, for we are also within the universe." [The gopis spoke like this due to the bewilderment caused by the intense pain of separation from Krsna.] Gopis: "0 Lord! You release men from the fear of material existence, and fulfill the desires of those who love You. 0 lover, please place Your soft lotus hand, which is caressed by the goddess of fortune, on our heads. You like to break the pride of Your followers. You destroy the grief of Vraja's people. Your smile shatters the false pride of Your devotees. So please accept us as Your maidservants, and show us Your beautiful moon face. "Your lotus feet destroy the sins of those who worship You. Those feet follow after the cows in the pastures and are marked with all auspicious symptoms. The effulgence of the jewels on Kaliya's hoods worships them with reverence. Please place them on our burning breasts. 0 Lord of our lives! Your sweet voice and charming words have soothed our ears and enthralled our minds. Since we have worshiped You for a long time, please pour the nectar of Your words into our hungry ears once again. 0 beloved, Your face is washed by the nectar of Your sweet smile! Without seeing You, we are drying up with grief. Please return and revive us with the nectar of Your sweet red lips. "It seems however that by taking the medicine that devotees use to counteract the severe pain of separation, our malady has become twice as bad. Every day we gopis recollect our previous conversations with You. Words spoken by You are supposed to destroy all sin. They are the elixir of life, the object of praise by the best of poets, and the savior of persons suffering from the three-fold miseries. But in our case. Your words pain our ears, increase our sorrow and suffering, and act to slowly kill us. When one becomes attracted to You, Your words bring both happiness and distress. Is this nectar or poison? Therefore, we cannot understand anything about Your words." Krsna: "You criticize, but yet you enjoy. If I am such a person, then how can you enjoy?" Gopis: "Your pastimes and speech are nectarean on the outside but sharper than the sharpest razor within. Those who love You know this well. Though they know, they have fallen under the influence of Your words. At first Your pastimes give happiness, but finally they produce sorrow. Now we understand that. 0 best of men! Your sweet, loving glances, the intimate pastimes, and the confidential talks we enjoyed with You touched our hearts. But at the same time, they have brought us misery. 0 deceiver. You are devoid of love, yet we are filled love. We have become heartbroken by Your neglectful treatment. "You do not have even a drop of love for us gopis, who are saturated with love for You. If You had any love, then You could understand our suffering. We, on the other hand, cannot tolerate seeing You suffer even a speck of grief! When You leave Nandagaon to herd the cows in the forest, our minds are disturbed with the thought that Your feet, softer and more beautiful than a lotus, will be pricked by the rough grass and plants." Krsna: "Many people walk on the forest path, so there is only pain for My feet? How to understand this? This must all be in your mind." Gopis: "What to speak of hearing about and seeing You walk into the forest, just thinking about Your feet, which are soft as fresh lotus petals, and those sharp shoots of grass makes us want to give up our lives. 0 gallant one! All day we think of Your suffering in the forest. Such thoughts afflict us with pain just like an ulcer in the heart. "At the end of the day, You repeatedly show us Your attractive lotus face, covered with dark locks of hair and thickly powdered with dust raised by the cows' hooves. Unseen, Cupid suddenly enters our hearts, arouses lusty desires in our minds and makes us go mad. Then we think that tonight our beloved will certainly come to our private chambers. All night long we dream of this, but upon waking we feel sorrow. Like this, You never give us happiness! We have always been friendly to You. But today, just for trying to invoke Your love for even a short time, we have ended up with such lamentation." "Your lotus feet are the treasure of those who surrender to You. They are the ornament of the earth, and in times of danger they are the appropriate object of meditation. Please put Your lotus feet upon our breasts. The small drops of perspiration on Your feet are like honey in a flower. Your moon-like toenails are like stamens and Your toes are like delicate petals. Please place those lotuses on the puma kumbha (full water pots) of our breasts." [In this way the gopis try to pacify the Lord, and also reveal their desire to enjoy with the Lord.] Gopis: "0 treasure of love! Let us drink the nectar of Your sweet lips, which enhances conjugal pleasure and vanquishes grief. Your flute has become famous by continually relishing that nectar which makes people forget all other attractions! One should not think the lips touched by the flute are contaminated leftovers. Honey, which is the remnants of the bees, is famous for alleviating fevers and is therefore never rejected in this world." [In contrast to this the gopis describe the intolerable pain they experience.] Gopis: "When You go off to play in the forest during the day, one fraction of a second becomes like a millenium for us because we cannot see Your beautiful, smiling lotus face. Even when we can eagerly gaze upon Your elegant face, which makes'the moon and the lotus look insignificant, the blinking of our eyes is like the destruction at the end of the yuga." [Next a complaint was spoken by the gopis who had been obstructed by their husbands, but then gave up their material bodies and received spiritual bodies to serve Krsna.] Gopis: "0 best of men! Just to see You, we have completely rejected our husbands, friends and relatives. Who but a cheater like You would act so callously, and abandon young women who come to see Him in the middle of the night? Though we are clever, you perplex us. You did not protect any of us. Our minds are repeatedly bewildered as we think of the intimate talks we had with You in secret, feel the rise of lust in our hearts and remember Your loving glances, tender laugh, broad chest, and long arms. Thus we experience intense hankering to enjoy with You. You can save our self-respect while preserving Your own spotless fame. The only purpose of Your appearance on earth is to give bliss to the inhabitants of Vrndavana. So please destroy the affliction in our minds. "With great difficulty You have rejected us, just to give us more suffering. 0 Lord! Your lotus feet are so soft that we hold them gently on our hard breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Don't Your tender lotus feet feel pain from the pebbles and sprouts of grass as You roam about in the forest?" Krsna: "By touching My feet didn't your hard breasts become soft as well? The grass and gravel are also soft. I do not feel any pain from them." Gopis: "0 beloved, if You say that, it must be true. It cannot be false. By Your glance even a thunderbolt melts. But our minds are harder than a thunderbolt. So should our breasts not remain hard? You have responded to our hardness with equal hardness. Your mind is softer than a flower, but from association with our merciless minds, it has now become extremely hard." [Through false praise, the gopis speak again about Krsna's lack of compassion.] Gopis: "It is very unjust that simuultaieously You are murdering many women. Acting without reason alwyays "brings misfortune. When our life airs try to leave, You obstruct them' witt-i great force. What mercy do You show! You give more misery than i demth itself, for You make us suffer continuously without letting us die.. "We remain alive due to Your pressenc=e within our hearts. You act as an expert magician to suddenly appear t in o»ur hearts and prevent our life airs from leaving. That is Your trick. B3y disappearing externally You try to vanquish our life airs, and a momenht later You appear internally and prevent them from leaving. Still You \will not be able to save our lives. 0 Lord! Though we searched for You,i, we could not find You. Our life airs, angry with this, are now coming out t to s-earch for You. You have said, 'No one can attain Me without My sanctidon. ""What then is the use of endeavor?' If what You say is true, then we knoow v~ery well that You will never grant such sanction. Therefore stop appeeariig in our hearts, and let our life airs leave in search of You." [The gopis speak reasonably to conclude their song of lamentation, the gopi gita] Gopis: "0 Lord of our lives! When ourlife airs leave to search for You, surely they will quickly find You. It is well known that the Lord never disregards His servant." Thus having spoken in various charming ways in separation from Krsna, the doe-eyed gopis wept loudly in their desperation to reunite with their beloved. The sweetness of their voices, rivaling the song of the cuckoo, shattered the hearts of the trees and creepers. Standing nearby and pretending to be indifferent, the son of the king of Gokula could no longer tolerate their condition. The gopis loudly sang the glories of their beloved. For a moment they experienced extreme bliss; caught between the happiness of giving up their lives if Krsna did not come, and the joy of regaining their lives if He did appear. Understanding their condition. Krsna reappeared before His greatest devotees, the beloved gopis of Vrndavana. Then Krsna, a smile on His lotus face, stood in front of the gopis like a feast of enjoyment to uproot their anguish. Krsna dispelled the darkness of the gopis' anger with a merciful glance from His reddish lotus eyes and the moonlight of His gentle smile. Krsna reappeared in order to enlighten them, and make them forget the weeping and lamentation arising constantly in their hearts due to their sweetness, greatness, and gravity. Krsna came to fix their intelligence on His perfectly formed, beautiful body from the beginning of their meeting until the end. Merciful Krsna manifested before them to bathe their hearts in the ecstasy of rapturous love. Now they could regard their previous searching here and there for Him in separation to be just a dream Krsna replaced the emaciated bodies of the gopis, which had been bum by the fire of separation, with fresh, cool bodies full of pleasure. Krsna’s return put their escaping life airs back in their proper places. To make them believe they had never heard the word "separation," Krsna appeared so that He could embrace each one of the gopis simultaneously, and kiss their cheeks without even touching their sweet lips. Standing before them, the dearest friend of the gopis, wearing a swaying garland of forest flowers and a yellow garment, looked like a newly arrived Cupid. Krsna had not appeared from their hearts, from the forest, from the earth, and not from anywhere. He just stood there. Out of their affection for Him the gopis stared at Him with excited, wide-open eyes All of the gopis looked as joyful as night-blooming lotuses at the sudden appearance of the full moon, or like youthful cataki birds looking at new clouds arising after a long dry spell. Their hearts swelled in happiness like deer looking at an unexpected downpour on a blazing forest fire, or like the air of life reentering a dead body. Forgetting all their pains as well as their own bodies, they stood up happily and eagerly approached Krsna. The Gopis Beckon for Pleasure One gopi grasped Krsna's lotus hands, another leading gopi placed His arms on her musk scented shoulders, and one gopi, inclined to service, respectfully took His chewed betel in her hands, which served as a golden spittoon. One leading gopi, burning with desire, put His lotus feet on her budding breasts. Decorated with the fresh young leaves of His toes, Her breasts looked like a pair of auspicious golden water pots announcing the upcoming rasa dance. Standing at a distance, one gopi, beside herself with loving anger, bit her beautiful lips and glared at Him with frowning eyebrows. While casting glances from her reddened eyes smeared with kajala, it seemed as if she shot arrows tipped with the poison of pride. Another gopi with unblinking eyes drank the honey of His lotus face, but even after deeply relishing its sweetness she did not feel satiated. Only when Krsna looked into her eyes did she become satisfied. One married gopi took the Lord through the aperture of her eyes and placed Him in the temple of her heart. Then fearing His departure, with her eyes closed and her bodily hairs standing on end, she continuously embraced Him within. Seeing Krsna standing in front of her, one gopi, like a golden flower bud, felt bashful, placed her hands down at her sides, and then shook and stretched Her body. One gopi became agitated upon beholding the pleasing form of Cupid personified standing at a distance. Then her pride took the form of a campaka bow to aim at Krsna. One cakora-eyed gopi, in order to attract Krsna, interlocked her fingers and held them over her head. Shaking off her fatigue, she stretched her body. Her two arms framed her brilliant moon-like face decorated with a mild smile. One very bold gopi moved her hand around in a circle while snapping her fingers to rid herself of shyness. The effulgence emitting from her smile provided a pathway for the shyness to pass out of her body. Taking her braid in her flower petal fingers, one doe-eyed gopi tucked it between her breasts. Then she forcibly pressed her breasts together with her two arms while closing her eyes. Her hairs stood on end as she embraced the braid in this way for some time. By this she indicated her desire to enjoy with Krsna. One lotus-faced girl, her forehead covered with perspiration due to the spread of ecstatic thrill bumps, joyfully gazed on a toy lotus flower and smelled it. Then brushing away the bees gathering about, she affectionately kissed it. [This gopi reveals the wonder, the pretense of remorse in the competition between rivals, and a request to kiss the Lord that madhurya-rasa generates.] One cakora-eyed gopi held the shoulder of a friend with her arm while casting a sidelong glance at the face of her beloved. The sidelong glance is a sign of her bashfulness in attempting to conceal her real desire. Holding the gopi's shoulder reveals her desire to embrace Krsna. One gopi undid her hair and again rebound it while her glistening golden bangles chimed sweetly. In bewilderment, she thought her anger hid in her bound up hair, and so she searched there to quell it. Her actions indicate a complaint after enjoying with the Lord, and a display of obstinacy from Her proud nature. One gopi put her little finger in her left ear and scratched it while shaking her left arm. The jingling noise from her bangles sounded like a victory cry in the battle of love. One thin gopi, her bangles tinkling, aimlessly twirled a delicate lotus with her right hand. It appeared to be a giant whirlpool in the river of fresh beauty, whose sound announced victory in the battle of love. Due to the bliss from intense desire and the ecstatic anger arising from discovering Krsna's deceit, one gopi moistened all over with perspiration. As she trembled in the wind, the edge of her upper garment swayed back Md forth. She looked like the personified flag of victory in the battle of love. One skillful gopi laughed loudly in order to catch Krsna's attention. It denied like a shower of flowers from the creeper of desire growing within her, which had fallen down due to the force of the tempest of longing. Simply by seeing Krsna, one very young, doe-eyed gopi cried profusely n seemed her mind said, "0 eyes, you have seen Krsna. The other senses such as the ears are not deriving such bliss. So I consider you fortunate." Then her mind, melting in love, pressed the two eyes of Krsna firmly in her embrace, causing her eyes to overflow with tears. One gopi, stunned by the sight of Krsna, stood like a golden statue. She defeated Krsna by having more good qualities than the best of lovers in the three worlds. The whole body of one gopi broke out in goose bumps like a kadamba tree blossoming from top to bottom. It seemed as if the arrows of Cupid that had entered her heart during separation from Krsna were extracted by a special mystic jewel known as Krsna's kiss. One doe-eyed gopi, perspiring in all Her limbs, appeared like a golden lotus covered with drops of dew. It appeared that upon seeing the moon face of Krsna, the Lord of afflicted life airs, the moonstone of her mind had become liquid and oozed out from reflecting that moon light. One gopi, her eyes darting hither and thither like a cakora bird and her body continually trembling from the sight of Krsna, looked like a campaka vine blowing in the wind. It seemed as if the elephant king of desire had entered her body to shake the earth of her heart with his mad rampage. One moon-faced gopi with a voice sweeter than a cuckoo suddenly lost her voice upon seeing Krsna. She resembled a melodious vina gone outfit tune due to damp weather. One doe-eyed gopi pulled her crooked hair braid over her shoulder. While moving her eyes as if in fear of a snake, her eyebrows frowned. Then she threw back her braid with her veil and ran away. By this she hinted that Krsna should place His arms on her shoulders. Seeing some bees flying in front of her, one gopi waved her hands playfully to shoo them away, and then gracefully covered her lips with the edge of her veil. This revealed her desire for Krsna's kiss. On seeing the face of Her beloved, one lotus-eyed gopi did not speak, move away, nor show any signs of bliss. She bent her head to indicate; "I know who You are." Being angry that Krsna had come to give her more suffering, she peered at Him with reddish eyes. Feeling jealous, she placed her folded hands above her head as an offering of respect before leaving Him. One gopi looked furtively at Krsna as if to ignore Him, while placing her left arm near the shoulder of her companion. To prevent Krsna from understanding her desire, she did not put her arm directly on her friend s shoulder. With a maudlin smile and her moving eyebrows shining in anticipation, she mumbled monosyllables. Though meaningless, these sounds held great meaning. The sounds indicated her pride, insult, jubilation, and yearning. In a mood of humility and adoration, one gopi, her bangles tinkling, fanned the lord of her life with the edge of her upper garment. Due to experiencing ecstatic emotions, the cloth fell from her hand, yet she continued to wave her empty hand. "Lord of my life! How can You walk in the forest with Your tender feet, which are softer than lotus buds?" Saying this, one gopi took Krsna's feet in her hands and massaged them. In these verses, the gopis display all the natural emotional states such as trembling, being stunned, scratching the ear, stretching the body, embracing braided hair, and smelling a toy lotus to indicate their desires for conjugal enjoyment. Being submerged in the joyous lake of eternal elegance, the gopis, though having bodies made of spiritual love, became even more beautiful on seeing Krsna. Even Sarasvati, what to speak of the less intelligent Brhaspati, could not describe their natural attractiveness, which was filled with a powerful, variegated, and worshipable swelling sweetness. Revealing itself in delicious emotional states, this nectarean sweetness easily brought Krsna under its control. For harvesting His highest enjoyment, the son of the king of Vrndavana broadcast a sweet mood in all directions. Then Krsna, the delightful crown jewel of all lovers, arrived on the bank of the Yamuna. The pleasurable sparkling sands and the streams of soothing moonlight, resembling the brilliance of liquid silver, provided the perfect setting. The bees hummed a gentle tune. The soft southern breeze, like a virtuoso, taught the blue and red lotuses how to dance. Krsna looked like the full moon surrounded by the stars of the blissful gopis, who displayed the height of noble character. Completely imbued with all attractive qualities, the gopis were embodiments of Krsna's internal potency. The pleasurable minds of the gopis swelled with currents of pride, greed, and jubilation arising from the waves of their youthful exuberance. With a keen desire to have Krsna as their husband, the fortunate sruti-cari gopis, acquiring bodies suitable for that enjoyment, finally attained the fulfillment of their desires. Their heartache vanquished by the ecstasy of seeing Krsna, the nitya-siddha gopis like Radha acted as if unaware of their own eternally exalted positions and thought of themselves in the same way. The soft breezes cooled the bank of the Yamuna and artistically swayed the lotus petals, which were embraced by their lovers, the bees. The gopis, who are expert in amorous pastimes, arranged a seat for their friend Krsna ^th their shawls that were as white as milk droplets or jasmine flowers, &nd fragrant with the kunkuma powder from their breasts. While smiling gently they said, "Let us sit here." Krsna happily sat on those attractive asanas. They far surpassed the seats banged within the lotus hearts of the great masters of mystic meditation. Those seats defeated the opulence of the costly jeweled throne offered by the goddess of fortune of the three worlds, or the base created by Ananta Sesa, the turtle incarnation, or any other supporting energies. Sitting on those cloth seats spread on the sands of the Yamuna, Krsna, with His broad chest, appeared like a prince enthroned by the goddess of fortune in the kingdom of enchanting pastimes made from the rarest jewels in the three worlds. While sitting on the bank of the Yamuna, which flowed by with waters as black as ink, Krsna and the gopis looked like the moon encircled by the stars. One group of gopis, adept at inducing the zenith of ecstatic msa, massaged Krsna's hands and feet with their loving lotus hands. Their soft hands showed drops of perspiration produced by the blows of sorrow caused by their unfathomable attachment. The fear, pride, and madness that recently attacked their hearts had disturbed their life airs. So while massaging Krsna's feet the gopis sought relief by asking Him some intimate questions. Speaking in sweet gentle voices, they indirectly referred to their condition though a series of questions and answers. The Word Play of Krsna and the Gopis [In this section the married gopis ask questions and Krsna answers.] Gopis: "Who has spotless intelligence (ke amala buddhi)?" Krsna: "He who has a soft mind (ye komala buddhi)." Gopis: "Who is the greatest (ke mahita)?" Krsna: "One who is expert in love (ye kamahita)." Gopis: "What is wasteful (Id apacaya)?" Krsna: "Intense anger (kopacaya)." Gopis: "What is sweet (madhura ki)?" Krsna: "The full moon in spring is sweet (madhuraka)." [Hearing Krsna's clever answers, the gopis became disturbed. So squinting their eyes, they continued the dialogue.] Gopis: "Although we are overcome by love, Your answers reveal that You have a harsh mind and are filled with anger. We can plainly see that in Your dealings. When Radha just said something trivial, You went away in anger. Today's full moon of the autumn season is much brighter than the full moon in spring." Gopis: "Who is strong (ke balabhaja)?" Krsna: "The person who just worships (kebala bhajah)." Gopis: "Who is peaceful (ke santa eva)?" Krsna: "Those who are not disturbed and remain happy always (ke santah)." Gopis: "Who can enjoy the highestrosa (ka sararasa vilasa vilasati)?" Krsna: "The lotus which stays in the lake (kasara rasa vilasa eva)." [In this series, Krsna asks questions and thegopis answer.] Krsna: "Who is to be worshipped?" Gopis: "He who is filled with rasa." Krsna: "Who is filled with rasa'?" Gopis: "He who is the shelter ofprema." Krsna: "What is premaT' Gopis: "That which knows no separation." Krsna: "What is separation?" Gopis: "That by which one can no longer live. In separation from us, You did not show any grief at all. Therefore You must be without prema. Because You are without prema. You are without rasa." Krsna: "What is sorrow?" Gopis: "Separation from a dear one." Krsna: "What is the dearest thing?" Gopis: "That which is rare and desired." Krsna: "What is the rarest thing?" Gopis: "What cannot be achieved even by any practice." Being the rarest, most desired, and hardest to attain, Krsna is the dearest object for the gopis. The gopis felt sorrowful in separation from Krsna. In this way, by playing with the various meanings of words, the gopis wove a fantastic fabric of bright syllables (colors) by moving the shuttle of clever questions and answers. Still even while worshiping Krsna, they felt somewhat angry due to the intoxication of love. So very carefully they revealed their minds to the breaker of the cart. The gopis said, "0 joy of our eyes, now please give us answers on one topic. Some people reciprocate the love only of those who show love toward them, while others show love even to those who are indifferent or inimical. Yet others will not show love toward anyone. What person is being described in these three statements? 0 wearer of yellow garments! You are the most knowledgeable among all moving and non-moving entities. Please consider and give Your reply." The son of the king of Vrndavana, amazed at the gopis' effulgence and the respect they had given Him, understood that this question, which revealed their great pride, had arisen from the jealousy caused by their unbroken love. Knowing this, Krsna looked at them very sweetly with sidelong glances. Then just to satisfy them, He gave a humorous answer imbued with a special taste that could revive a person from death. Krsna said, "0 dear slender-waisted gopis. People who show affection for each other only to benefit themselves are actually selfish. They have no true friendship. Indeed, if they did not expect benefit for themselves, they would not reciprocate. Some people are compassionate toward all souls, or like parents, naturally affectionate. They lovingly serve even those who fail to reciprocate with them. 0 women with beautiful eyebrows! There are individuals who are self-satisfied (atma-rama), materially fulfilled (apta-kama), or by nature ungrateful (akrta-jnah), or simply envious of superiors (guru-dnihah). Such persons will not love even those who love them." After saying this, Krsna laughed when He saw the gopis casting looks of disbelief at each other, rather than looking directly at Him. Then Krsna said, "0 greatly intelligent ones, filled with pure friendship! What kind of upside-down questions are you asking? I cannot have offended anyone by My answers. 0 doe-eyed gopis\ Because I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of those who worship Me, nor do I show compassion to those who are indifferent, your first two clever questions do not apply to Me. I am also situated beyond the four types of people given in My answer to your third question. I am not atma-rami, completely self-satisfied and absorbed in meditation, for I have been attracted by your piteous conversations. Because of this I am also not apta-kami, free from any desires. For the above reason as well, I am not a guru-druhi, a cruel person hating those who help Me. For this reason too, I am not an akrta-jnah, an ungrateful person. "If you want to know why I did not respond to you when you worshiped Me, then please listen attentively to My answer and hold it in your hearts forever. I do not immediately respond or show Myself to those who worship Me, because I want to intensify their loving attachment to Me. They then become absorbed in remembering Me, just like a poor man, who has gained some wealth and then lost it, can think of nothing else." As the lotus flower does not fade in the sunlight, the gopis did not wither in the presence of Krsna's statements. Being bound in love by the wearer of the flower garland, the lotus-eyed gopis with pure faces just stood there without revealing a speck of their hearts' pain. Lotus-eyed Krsna said, "What We have spoken is for the ordinary person. It does not apply to you who are worshipable by all. One who has already achieved the limit of perfection cannot possibly go further. There is no one superior to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And there is no love greater than yours. 0 doe-eyed gopis. Just as rock candy is the final and finest product from processing sugar cane juice, similarly, can there be anything higher than the attraction that you have attained for Me? Though separated from your vision, I always remained within you. If that had not been so, then your life airs, which desired to leave your bodies, would not have been appeased. "Please excuse whatever faults I have committed by acting too boldly. If sometimes the cloud does not serve the lightning (clouds sometimes appear without lightning), does that mean that the lightning will disrespect the cloud? Sometimes, the obstacles created by the lover produce anew, more favorable situation for the beloved. Though the intense heat of the sun produces sweat, the lotuses always feel bliss to their very core by the same heat." Krsna delivered a dexterous display of words simply to cover His own defeat. Then in a choked voice, Krsna spoke the highest truth, "O gopis. I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your remuneration."