God in Vrndavana - The Sweetness of the Supreme Abode
The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests in countless forms and abodes, but His most original and intimate residence is Goloka Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while the Lord is worshiped with great awe and reverence in the opulent Vaikuṇṭha planets, in Vṛndāvana, He is loved with unalloyed, spontaneous affection by His most confidential devotees.
The Spiritual Nature of Vṛndāvana
There is absolutely no material contamination within the Lord's supreme abode. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that Vṛndāvana is identical to the Lord's eternal form and that the only distinction between Vṛndāvana and Vaikuṇṭha is the intensely sweet, affectionate mood of the devotees.
- Essentially there is no material difference between Goloka and Vaikuntha, but in Vaikuntha God is served in unlimited opulence, whereas in Goloka God is served in natural affection. This love of God is awakened by the association of pure devotees of God.
- The pastimes of the Lord there (in Vrndavana-dhama) are also spiritual. None are material.
- Since the Supreme Lord is absolute, the form within the heart of a devotee, the form in the temple and the original form in Vaikuntha, Vrndavana-dhama, are all the same; they are nondifferent from one another.
- Goloka eva nivasati: although He is perfectly and eternally present in Goloka Vrndavana in Vaikuntha, He is nevertheless all-pervading (akhilatma-bhutah). The all-pervading feature of the Lord is called the Supersoul.
The Sweetness of His Pastimes
Out of boundless compassion, the Lord brings the reality of the spiritual sky to the material universe. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa descends to the earthly Vṛndāvana specifically to exhibit His sweetest pastimes, aiming to attract the conditioned souls back to their eternal home.
- The Absolute Personality of Godhead, out of His limitless and causeless mercy, descends from the spiritual kingdom and displays His personal pastimes at Vrndavana, the replica of the Krsnaloka planet in the spiritual sky.
- The Lord Himself comes to display His transcendental pastimes, typically represented at Vrndavana, Mathura and Dvaraka. He appears just to attract the conditioned souls back to Godhead, back home to the eternal world.
- Some may argue, why not relish the transcendental lila of the Lord as exhibited in the land of Mathura and Vrndavana, which are sweeter than anything in the world.
- O King Pariksit, when Rama and Krsna saw Vrndavana, Govardhana and the banks of the River Yamuna, They both enjoyed great pleasure - SB 10.11.36.
The Ecstasy of the Inhabitants
In Vṛndāvana, consciousness is fully spiritualized across all species of life. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how even the supposedly inanimate elements like trees, hills, rivers, and flowers are actually exalted living entities participating in the Lord's pastimes with ecstatic affection.
- By the grace of God the spiritual consciousness of every species of life can occupy its proper place, and these species can express their spiritual affection for God in the santa-rasa, as displayed by the land, water, hills, trees, fruits, and flowers of Vrndavana.
- When the Lord entered the forest of Vrndavana, all the inhabitants of the forest, both animate and inanimate, were eager to receive Him. He saw that the flowers of the forest, all fully blossoming, were weeping in ecstasy, honey flowing down their petals.
- The Lord reciprocated the feelings of the inhabitants of the forest of Vrndavana. When there was rainfall, the Lord took shelter at the feet of the trees or in the caves and enjoyed the taste of different fruits with his eternal associates the cowherd boys.
- Krsna said, "It appears that they are trying to get out of the darkness that has obliged them to accept the form of trees. The trees born in the land of Vrndavana are not ordinary living entities."
The Topmost Devotees
The devotion found in Vṛndāvana is the absolute zenith of spiritual realization. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights that the inhabitants of Gokula—especially the gopīs, Nanda, and Yaśodā—exhibit a level of unalloyed love and devastating separation that establishes them as the greatest devotees in all creation.
- Unalloyed devotional service in favor of the Supreme Lord was displayed at Vrndavana when the Lord descended there, and thus the yoga exhibited by the gopis of Vrndavana is the highest unalloyed love of Godhead, the perfection of bhakti-yoga.
- Uddhava informed Krsna, "Your servants in Vrndavana cannot sleep at night thinking of You, so now they are all lying down on the bank of the Yamuna almost paralyzed. And it appears that they are almost dead, because their breathing is very slow."
- Vasudeva and Devaki are confidential devotees of the Lord in the mood of parental love. Even greater than them are Nanda and Yasoda, His foster parents in Vrndavana.
- The conclusion of Sri Rupa Gosvami is that the devotees who are attracted by the pastimes of the Lord in Gokula, or Vrndavana, are the topmost devotees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda definitively establishes that Goloka Vṛndāvana is the supreme, unmatched abode of the Personality of Godhead. While the Vaikuṇṭha planets are characterized by unlimited opulence and reverential service, Vṛndāvana is saturated with the unparalleled sweetness of spontaneous, natural affection. Out of His limitless, causeless mercy, Kṛṣṇa descends to the earthly Vṛndāvana, bringing an exact replica of the spiritual sky to manifest His eternal pastimes. These pastimes are completely devoid of material contamination and serve to enchant the conditioned souls, drawing them back to Godhead. In Vṛndāvana, the consciousness of Kṛṣṇa is absolute; even the trees, hills, and fully blossoming flowers are exalted living entities weeping in ecstatic śānta-rasa. The supreme glory of this land, however, lies in its inhabitants. The parental love of Nanda and Yaśodā, and the paralyzing, unalloyed devotion of the gopīs, represent the absolute perfection of bhakti-yoga. Therefore, as concluded by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, those who are captivated by the incredibly sweet pastimes of the Lord in Vṛndāvana are undoubtedly the topmost devotees in all of creation.
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