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Unscrupulous people go at once to the Tenth Canto, especially to the five chapters which describe the Lord's rasa dance. However, this portion of Srimad-Bhagavatam is the most confidential part of that great literature. Unless one is thoroughly accomplished in the transcendental knowledge of the Lord, he is sure to misunderstand the Lord's worshipable transcendental pastimes in the rasa dance and the Lord's love affairs with the gopis. This subject matter is highly spiritual and technical, and only liberated personalities who have gradually attained the stage of paramahamsa can transcendentally relish the worshipable rasa dance. (More...) Prabhupada: Anyway, this kind of literature... Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to read Gita-Govinda, Candidasa, amongst with His confidential devotees. The Gita-Govinda, the loving affairs of Radha and Krsna, it is not for the neophyte student. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu... You'll find Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaching... Generally, He was talking with Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, He was talking with Prakasananda Sarasvati, He was talking with Ramananda Rayabut the subject matter was not the same. When He was talking officially with the Prakasananda Sarasvati, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, there is no talk about Krsna's pastimes with Radharani. Simply on the basis of Vedanta He was talking. But when He was talking with Ramananda Raya, He talked about Krsna's pastimes with Radharani. So we should be very careful that from the very beginning... Just like the professional Bhagavata readers. The Bhagavata reading means describing rasa-lila. Whenever you find there is Bhagavata reading, they are describing. I have seen one big Gosvami. He was professional Bhagavata reader, and whenever... He would speak very nicely on rasa-lila, and after describing rasa-lila, Bhagavata reading, he would come for recreation and smoke cigarette. I have seen it. (More...) In the sloka No. 30 it is forbidden that a mundane person should not indulge in hearing Rasalila or one should not hear Rasalila from a mundane person. In your organization both the audience and the lecturer are mundane persons and their indulgence in the matter of Rasalila out of sheer foolishness will result in imitating Rudra who swallowed up an ocean of poison. There is nothing immorality in the transcendental activities of the lord neither it requires to be defended by any immoral man because simply by remembering the holy name of Krishna or by serving His lotus feet one can at once become a liberated person. (Bhag. 10/33/34) Besides that the result of reading or hearing the Rasalila in the devotional mood is stated (Bhag. 30/33/39) to become culminated in complete disappearance of the devotee's lust disease in the heart. Persons who are not pure devotees and must have therefore an impure heart full with dirty things of mundane affairs will not only try to defend Rasalila by interpretations or decry the dealings but also shall be ruined as by drinking poison a man goes to hell. (More...) Topics like the rāsa-līlā are meant for the liberated souls and not for the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls, therefore, must hear with appreciation and devotion the Lord's pastimes in relationship with the external energy, and such acts are as good as the hearing of rāsa-līlā in the liberated stage. Some of them think that to hear about the pastimes of the Lord means to hear about His activities with the gopis or about His pastimes like lifting the Govardhana Hill, and they have nothing to do with the Lord's plenary expansions as the purusavataras and Their pastimes of the creation, maintenance or annihilation of the material worlds. But a pure devotee knows that there is no difference between the pastimes of the Lord, either in rasa-lila or in creation, maintenance or destruction of the material world. Rather, the descriptions of such activities of the Lord as the purusavataras are specifically meant for persons who are in the clutches of the external energy. Topics like the rasa-lila are meant for the liberated souls and not for the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls, therefore, must hear with appreciation and devotion the Lord's pastimes in relationship with the external energy, and such acts are as good as the hearing of rasa-lila in the liberated stage. A conditioned soul should not imitate the activities of liberated souls. Lord Sri Caitanya never indulged in hearing the rasa-lila with ordinary men. (More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=882 Previous: [none] Next: [none]
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