TEXT 249
krsna-nama na lao kene, krsna-nama--dhanya
'gopi' 'gopi' balile va kiba haya punya
SYNONYMS
krsna-namathe holy name of Lord Krsna; nanot; laoYou take; kenewhy; krsna-namathe holy name of Lord Krsna; dhanyaglorious; gopi gopithe names "Gopi, Gopi"; balileon saying; vaor; kibawhat; hayathere is; punyapiety.
TRANSLATION
"Why are You chanting the names 'Gopi, Gopi' instead of the holy name of Lord Krsna, which is so glorious? What pious result will You achieve by such chanting?"
PURPORT
It is said, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijneha na bujhaya: no one can understand the activities of a pure devotee. A student or neophyte devotee could not possibly understand why Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was chanting the name of the gopis, nor should the student have asked the Lord about the potency of chanting "Gopi, Gopi." The neophyte student was certainlv convinced of the piety in the chanting of Krsna's holy name, but this sort of attitude is also offensive. Dharma-vrata-tyaga-hutadi-sarva-subha-kriya-samyam api pramadah: to chant the holy name of Krsna in exchange for the achievement of piety is an offense. This, of course, was unknown to the student. Thus he innocently asked, "What piety is there in the chanting of the name Gopi?" He did not know that there is no question of piety or impiety. The chanting of the holy name of Krsna or the holy name Gopi is on the transcendental platform of loving affairs. Since he was not expert in understanding such transcendental activities, his question was merely impudent. Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, apparently greatly angry at him, reacted as follows.

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