Thief of the Soul

This poem was inspired by the Gopis speaking to Krishna when they met for the Rasa Dance and Krishna disappeared like a thief after stealing their souls. But what really churned the ink were the many slokas in the Bhagavatam and other Bhakti literature that refer to Krishna as a thief. The reader will find few of them after this intro and in the footnotes.

So the conclusion that came to the heart is that the Lord in whatever form He manifests for His devotees, among the sublime qualities He always displays, there is the one of being a thief, since He enters His devotees mind and steals it. " 

SD 10.29.34 Comm. "O king of thieves! We did not come here with any other purpose than to recover the treasure that You stole from us. You have stolen our minds, but unlike other thieves You did not have to make any great endeavor. You did this simply by blowing on Your flute."

RED DUST

- The song of the Pulindi girl of Vraja

SBB Vol.III 7.119 Purport."Seeing the kunkuma on the ground reminded them first of Krishna and then of His intimate affairs with the gopis. Thinking about these things agitated their minds [...] And how were the aborigine women relieved of this agitation?  By picking up the red powder and smearing it on their faces and breasts, which were burning with lust.  Having done this, the Pulindis felt completely satisfied."

SBB III 7.146 Purport " [...]...the aborigine women lacked the assets of knowledge, good birth, good behavior and devotion to God. They were ignorant of their own eternal identities as spirit souls, and because they had never come close enough to Nanda Maharaja's village to see Krsna with their own eyes, they were also ignorant of Krsna's all-attractive beauty.  None the less, in the forest, the aborigine women of Vraja accidentally came in contact with grass and leaves smeared with kunkuma from the bodies of the gopis   [...] even though indirect, it infused them with sublime devotion for Krishna ...[...].  Having had some contact with the gopis, the aborigine women of Vraja all attained a perfection similar to theirs, if not in this life then in the next."

SGS 1.4.56 "When they saw Him, some aborigine girls became tortured with lust."

Morning Love

 "Another gazing in his face,

sits wistfully apart,

searching it with those  

looks of love that leap from   

heart to heart;"

Her eyes afire with shy desire, 

 veiled by their lashes black, 

speak so that Krishna cannot choose 

but send the message back, ..."

                                                 from the Gita Govinda

    This poem narrates the playful exchanges of glances between Radha and Krishna during the morning pastimes. The daily pastimes of Radha and Krishna are occurring in eight sections (asta-kaliya-nitya lila) during the day and the Acharyas have sung repeatedly about them as a confidential meditation. Breakfast is part of the morning pastimes where the situation finds Radha and Krishna exchanging glances to send hidden messages.                    

 Morning Love

The bright morning rays

shone on golden plates and trays,

reflecting the hue of her face,

which he searched for and embraced

with the limbs of his gaze.

Debt of Love

CC Antya Lila 7.43 "The conjugal love of the gopīs is the most exalted devotional service, surpassing all other methods of bhakti. Therefore Lord Krishna is obliged to say, 'My dear gopīs, I cannot repay you. Indeed, I am always indebted to you."

Prema-vilas - Ch 7. Text 126-127  by Srila Nityananda Das

"Feeling separation from Me, Radha and the gopis have given up Their lives.  Now I shall also give up My life for her.  You will see me in that condition, O Lokanath."

Excerpted from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu Issue No134

"With that prema they [gopis] have given up everything. [...] By their love, Krishna's promise was broken. His pormise is -'As someone approaches me I reciprocate accordingly' {Bg 4.11} Krishna never becomes indebted, He always repays his debts. But this promise of his was broken by the gopis, because the gopis do not want anything, how will he repay them?

[...] {Bhag. 10.32.22} "I have become completely indebted to you. I cannot pay you back, because you don't want anything. What shall I do?"

To pay back his debt he became Gaura, assuming the mood of Radharani is crying and feeling acute pangs of separation from Krishna. This is Gaura. [...] As Radharani is crying, crying, crying and drowning herself in this unfathomable ocean of separation, similarly Gaura is burning himself with the fire of separations from Krishna."

I saw in a dream .....

[Gopala Campu 8.3.2 - The bhavas ⁽¹⁾ of the two were like mirrors facing each other and receiving the bhavas of the other]

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.10.26  "Just as by continuous application of the eye-ointment the eyes become clean and can see clearly those things that may be difficult to see, the constant reading of the sacred texts that relate to My pastimes, or listening to them, purify the heart and the devotee is able to see Me, who is otherwise too subtle to be seen with ordinary senses."

I walked into 
a temple of dream

silent steps on a moonbeam,

everywhere was beauty

draped in silvery cascades,

and there, Krishna, adorned with

sparkling jewels

and resplendent veils,

was sinuously bent,

and in His hand

held a long brush -

drawing black lines

around His eyes,

and mesmerized

His gaze became lost

in the mirror,

held in Radha's hand

standing on his left,

He caught a glimpse

of Her side-long glance;

She tilted her head

feigning shyness,

but secretly amused,

out of her doe-like eyes,

quickly darted an arrow of desire

to hook the reflecting

elongated petal of His eye,

and suddenly a tide

of passion swelled,

rippling the skin,

the hips, the limbs intertwined,

as the Divine couple united

in Their eternal dance of love,

and two bodies became as One, 

suddenly I could see

a golden creeper embracing

a bluish tamarind tree.

Note

1)  "Bhava is not lust but a variety of prema resembling lust ." Gopala Campu 24.61

The Door Ajar to Vraja

“In Vrndavana there are no Jewel trees without Jewel branches and no jewel branches without Jewel buds. There are no jewel buds without Jewel flowers and there are no jewel flowers without attractive scent. There are water basins surrounding the bases of the trees. The bases are filled with flowing streams appearing like piles of liquid Jewels arising from Jewel mountains. Jewel birds ornament the jeweled bases.”

From- Ananda-vrndavana-campu 1.117-120

"The forest of Vrndavana, which automatically nurtures good qualities within its residents, is unlimited but it appears to be only eighty-four krosas in circumference.  Its golden trees, bushes, and creepers sparkle like emeralds. Fragrant creepers cover the golden jewel inlaid footpaths.  Some places abound in crystal trees, bushes and creepers standing on earth made of rubies.  In other places ruby creepers entwine crustal houses, golden creepers embrace emerald trees, or emerald creepers surround golden trees.  One can also see crystal creepers crawling up ruby trees, or ruby creepers embracing crystal trees."
Ananda-vrndavana-campu ~ Description of Vrndavana

This poem is dedicated to Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakur, one of the great poets and Acharyas of the Gaudiya Sampradaya. He describes in some of his songs, the ecstatic visions of Vraja occurred during his meditations and samadhi.  Often, when chanting my japa, I have walked in my mind to his house in Godrum and then climbed up the staris to the tiny room where he used to chant. It is an offering of gratitude for this legacy of books and teachings. I am always praying for his blessings and guidance.

O mind ~

                        take me to Godrum                      ⁽¹⁾  

to the house of Thakur ~

at the gate side

I will humbly leave my shoes

 and bow and sit in the dark room

to chant my japa;

and you may go to Vraja

where the moon never wanes,

and liquefied love fills the lakes,

where nectar flows in the river

 and tears from the eyes spill,

 soaking the soil mixed with milk,

                     where the charming sound of              ⁽²⁾

 churning and yearning,

singing and jingling,

mingles with fragrances in the breeze;

Where women appear

                    2  from flowering vines,                   ⁽³⁾

and along with trees

 and every being with limbs,

dance ecstatically

in the wind;

birds drink nectar from the Moon,

at night, lotuses bloom

in waters of desire,

eyes turn into bumblebees - at times

stealing the pollen of the Gopis’ minds;

their dresses, the bark of desire trees,
 caress their skin

and become loose

when the note of autumn

pours from the flute;

there caves and riverbanks

are paved with gems,

and flowers and buds

are shining stones

encrusted in jewelled branches;

When seasons of pleasure unfold,

blanketing with petals

valleys and roads,

bowers and groves,

the land and the plants,

bliss oozes as sap,

diadems and garlands

bloom on the trees,

riddles make a juice

of red fruits and reddish lips,

of sweat and musk,

of dusk and dust,

of lotuses and dew,

every word tastes blue.

 Garlanded by kunds

of the liquid love of Radha
is this land of Vraja.

O Mahajana,

by the shelter of this japa

please give me darshan of Vraja,

bestow upon me this mercy ~

to take into my heart

 just one glimpse

through the door,

kept ajar 

by the Golden Avatar!

Notes

  ⁽¹⁾  "O Gurudeva! You have very mercifully given me a place in Godruma within the forest of Gaura Mandala.  You have ordered me to dwell in this place which is [non different from] Vraja and to chant the holy names of Sri Hari." ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪

" Sri Prema das Babaji, being a scholar of the scriptures, understood that Sri Godrum was like Sri Nanda-grama, that in Vrindavan, therefore he settled in this sacred area." Jaiva Dharma by BVThakur

 ⁽²⁾ SBB Vol.III 6.31 "... all about I heard wonderful songs, sung by cowherd women, and the charmin gsound of the churning of butter and the jingling of bangles."

⁽³⁾ Sri Garga Samhita 1.5.10 "Sri Hari said : In Vrindavana, at the end of Dvapara-yuga, you will become flowering vines and then you will change into women in the arena of the rasa dance.  I promise this to you."

Robbed Heart - Lyrics - ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ The song of Gadadhara Pandit♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ 

To taste Radha's love Krishna plundered her heart of love ....

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ To listen the song click :

https://soundcloud.com/mauro-auaro/robbed-heart

and see the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdhBufVlYE&t=13s

LYRICS

The Golden Moon 

            Rose and robbed my heart

Shines with the wealth 

            Of my stolen love

Like an emptied husk

            Blown by the wind

I follow now 

            The owner of my love

Emptied like a night

            Plundered of moonlight

I live like a shadow

            Of my own heart

The broken-winged bird

            Which is my heart

Unable to fly

            The moods of love

My heart ransacked

            I live exiled

Now onlooker

             Of my own love

Emptied like a night

            Plundered of moonlight

I live like a shadow

            Of my own heart

R)        I’m broken my heart was robbed of Love

            I was an ocean – now without waves

            This life had a dawn without light

            In a dark moon night.

The Golden Moon 

            Rose and robbed my heart

Shines with the wealth 

            Of my stolen love

Like an emptied husk

            Blown by the wind

I follow now 

            The owner of my love

Emptied like a night

            Plundered of moonlight

I live like a shadow

            Of my own heart

R)        I’m broken my heart was robbed of Love

            I was an ocean – now without waves

            This life had a dawn without light

            In a dark moon night.

                        In a dark moon night.

                                    In a dark moon night.