For those familiar with the great culture from which it springs, Rupa Goswami’s spiritual drama, A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna (aka Vidagdha Madhava), potentially raises one rather curious question, namely: is Krishna God, or isn’t He? Because, from the way the drama recounts how Krishna was treated by the cowherd girls, or how he was raked over the coals by some of the reactionary guardian-elders of the village of Gokool, (where the action of the drama takes place) He was certainly not being dealt the kind of respect and reverence one would expect would be given to the God He’s hailed as being in the time-honoured, cherished parts of written Indian lore.
Here is a sample of Krishna-praise from the very first stanza of the ancient Bhagavat Purana where the Lord is acknowledged as “the omniscient fountainhead of all existence”:
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Bhagavat Purana 1.1.1
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
Whereas, in act IV of Vidagdha Madhava by Rupa Goswami (translated from the Sanskrit into English by Arjundas Adhikari) we find Krishna not only being brazenly deceived by the cowherd girl Radharani after She skilfully deprived Him of His precious flute, but being roundly castigated by Radharani’s grandmother Mukhara:
Krishna. [Smiling.] Moment, pretty friend. [Crossing to
Radha.] Must say, You do deserve some credit;
A brilliant skill there, fair one – So, You’ve commandeered
my flute?
Radha. [Black-browed.] How dare – how very dare
You! What would I want with Your flute?
Who knows where the wretched thing is?
Lal. We gopis don’t thieve –
We’re decent – You’re so brazen it’s a hard thing to believe!
Krishna. Lalita sakhi, as a friend, please be straightforward with Me.
Lal. I am – we’ve talked enough, and now we’re going
home directly;
Far’s Your dreaded flute’s concerned, we don’t care, and
don’t know!
Radha. [Shifting to Mukhara’s side] This is what He’s
like – keeps on discrediting Me so;
Asserting I’m a thief, good lady!
Mukha. R adha – please don’t worry…
[Furious.] Slanderer, Kanhaiya – so You know, You don’t
fool me!
Madhu. That’s not fair, old thing – She’s using you to
back the fibbing;
This girl of yours did pinch the flute!
Krishna. T here is just no denying –
Mukhara – My friend’s being truthful.
Mukha. Answer him, Radhika.
Radha. Good lady, we’d not relocate a stick from this
wood – ever:
Not even for a sacrifice!
Krishna. [Smiling.] You didn’t take the flute, then?
So what’s with the dancing eyes, flushed cheeks, lighthearted
grin?
A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna, Act IV
This apparent contradiction is not as perplexing if we’re privy to the nature of Shree Krishna’s personality. Shree Krishna reciprocates like no other. The Upanishads say that the universe does not impersonally supply everyone’s innermost specific desires (as the advocates of the law of attraction would lead us to believe) , what’s going on is that we’re in receipt of God’s (Krishna’s) personal reciprocation.
nityo’nityānāṃ cetanaścetanānāmeko bahūnāṃ yo vidadhāti kāmān
Katha Upanishad 2.2.13
Happily, when it comes to beginning a relationship with Krishna in affection, there’s the same facility for individuality; Krishna is pleased for us to to relate to Him as as a friend, as a son, and even – as with the extraordinary cowherd girls of Gokool – as a lover. The prerequisite condition for such special ties is that both parties (Krishna and His lover, Krishna and His friend, Krishna and His ‘parent’) forget Krishna’s Supremacy. It won’t work if they don’t. What this magical arrangement affords are true and ever-lasting bonds imbued with what seers of old termed ananda. Ananda is the jackpot of unending bliss that those who have a loving relationship with Shree Krishna are lucky to enjoy.
ānanda-mayo ‘bhyāsāt
Spiritual life is pure happiness.
Vedanta Sutra 1.1.12
Arjundas Adhikari
