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."

Krishna Katha

SB 2.2.37 "Those who drink the sweet pastimes of the Lord and his devotees held in the cups of their ears clean their hearts of all contamination and attain the lotus feet of the Lord for service."

SBMM 20.59 "O great hero, kindly allow us to drink the nectar of Your lotus lips This nectar increases one's love for You, destroys one's lamentation, is constantly relished by Your enchanting flute, and it transforms the living entities' material attachments."

This poem was inspired by the following excerpt from a commentary of Srimad B. Narayana Goswami Maharaja where he explains about the adharamrita or the nectar from Krishna's lips.

"The deer and cuckoos are indeed fortunate, but the most fortunate are the gopis, who can directly taste Krishna's original adharamrita.  The deer and the cuckoos cannot relish this adharamrta directly, but they can listen to Krishna's flute-song.  And there are others, who can hear about Krishna's pastimes.  They hear that Krsna is playing His flute and that all human beings, animals, birds and other creatures in Vrindavana are hearing His flute-song. As a result of listening to narrations of His pastimes, these persons, too, develop the ambition to hear His flute." Gopi Gita commentary by Srimad B. Narayana Goswami Maharaja.

GOPINATH

Another gopi said “ Yes! Let us see, touch, hear and smell Krishna……” Sarartha Darsini 10th Canto pg228

The Gopis met Krishna in Kurukshetra and expressed their trouble hearts in seeing Him dressed like a King, and therefore they tried to remind Him of Vraja because they wanted to attract Him to come back.

Dressed like a King,

encircled in this town by royal kin,

what you hide now 

we have seen ~

your true crown

of flowers, feathers and leaves.

We touched your skin,

smelled the fragrance

in the nocturnal breeze,

when cooling sandal paste 

covered your limbs,

streaked by rolling pearls of sweat

 like scented dew,

the colorful garland on Your chest

crushed against the blue.

We heard you sing to the moon

in the moonlight of that autumn night,

 your flute exhaling your desire;

we heard you cooing

like a cuckoo in the forest of Vraja

after tasting honeyed fruit,

so to attract again to a love tryst, 

your Radha;

we heard your laughs, your jokes

your herding calls

your persuading and your loving words,

we have touched your hands,

and with our faces, your chest,

your feet we placed on our laps,

our earring grazed your earring,

our cheek touched your cheek,

our limbs against your limbs

in a love dance.

We have seen your throne

when you sat on the soft sand

on our shawls, ⁽¹⁾

we know you

as the King of groves,

of lakes, of seasons, 

of the night skies,

of the forest, of dancers, 

of our minds;

We've seen you dressed in pollen,

in cow dung, 

in dust in the light of dusk,

and whirling among the trees,

with the peacocks, 

surrounded by honeybees,

playing in the pastureland,

the air filled with your scent,

and inebriated by mellows of love

on the riverbank.

Lotus among the lotuses

in a night without end,

Your reign is our land

o King of Rasa,

Dwarka is your solitude,

there is no kingdom of love

superior to Vraja.

(1)  Krishna sat twice on the shawls of the Gopis.  The first time just before the Rasa Dance, to which is referring this stanza, but also during the meeting in Kurukshetra where this poem is taking place.  Manohar Das in his book in Bengali "Vaidagdha-vilasa" reports that this Lila of sitting on the Gopis' shawls happened also in Kurukshetra to recall that intimacy. ( this Lila was also mentioned in a seminar of Madhavananda Prabhu on Kurukshetra) 

Krishna Delights Everyone's Eyes

SB 10.21.7 {Venu Gita} "[...] For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision."

Another gopis said : “Oh Sakhis! We intensely desire to relish Krishna’s dancing, singing and flute playing and to see all those beasts, deer, doves and birds assembled on the hill slopes who become stunned in bliss.”  Sarartha Darsini Pg230

“All the cranes and swans in the water are being enchanted by the melodious song of Krishna’s flute. They have approached and are worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full attention. Alas, they are closing their eyes and are becoming completely silent.” SB 10.35.11

"Seeing Him, the cows birds, bushes, creepers and trees all became ecstatic." SBB Vol. III 5.109 

"Seeing His beauty, people would curse Brahma, the creator of eyelids, and praise Indra who has a thousand eyes, and hanker for all their senses to become eyes." SBB Vol. III 5.110

MIMING UNDER THE HILL

It is the night of the Rasa dance and Krishna has suddenly disappeared. 
The Gopis are desperate and search for Him in the forest asking the plants, the trees, the deer, who has seen the beautiful son of Nanda Maharaja, He has run away after stealing their hearts.

 SB 10.30.6[The gopis said] O asvattha tree, O plaksa, O nyagrodha have you seen Krishna? That son of Nanda Maharaja has gone away after stealing our minds with His loving smiles and glances.”

Some gopis start to mime His pastimes and one of them raises the shawl over her head simulating the Govardhan Hill and remembering this pastime when Krishna raised the Hill. 

SB 10.30.20“Don’t be afraid of the wind and rain” said one gopi “I will save you” And with that she lifted her shawl above her head."

MURALI VADANA

Gopala Campu : “ He would sit in Vraja or the forest nourishing his joy and longing while playing the flute.”

“Krishna stood on pleasing Govardhan with a strong desire for rasa pastimes.”

"When the song of Krishna's flute spread out with a heart- touching raga, an indescribable confusion subdued the inhabitants of Vraja and produced obstacles (increase in desire)." Gopala Campu 17.73


Radha is remembering Krishna dressed as a cowherd boy and the blowing of His flute, which is the irresistible attraction for all the living entities. In another verse of the Caitanya Caritamrita 2.15 Caitanya speaks like Radha, overcome by Her love in a rasa of separation :

"Where is the Lord of My life, who is playing His flute [Murali Vadana]? What shall I do now? Where should I go to find the son of Mahārāja Nanda?"

So, Radha remembers Krishna when he plays the flute, and Krishna remembers Radha when playing His flute - He calls Her, He desires Her, He dreams to meet Her....

In the taste of water
is Krishna,
His blue skin
mirrors His infinity
in the oceans
and in the enveloping skies ~
for all rests in Him,
while in His mind
dwells beauty, pleasure and rasa.                                    
But only in Vraja