(Commentary – Sri Bhagavân is bliss personified and love offers the highest bliss. As a result, Sri Bhagavân is ever-anxious to relish the sweet ras of His devotee’s prem and bhakti. This suprememost love is not present anywhere other than in Brijdhâm. Consequently, Sri Krishna is considering His pastimes in Mathurâ and Dwârakâ as dream. We see in Srimad-Bhâgavatam that “bhagavân bhakta-bhaktimân”. This means that Sri Bhagavân is devoted to His devotee. Although all devotees love Him, yet He loves the devotee according to the type and amount of love the devotee has for Him. Sri Bhagavân’s love can be classified into two –

• sopâdhik (with attributes)
• nirupâdhik (without any attribute)

The love with attributes means it has contamination. It is not all-pure. As a result, it cannot give pure relish. On the other hand, when the love is without attributes, or contamiantion, it is pure. It gives a pure relish. A devotee’s love may have many hidden impurities; however we can categorize them into two main points.

• 1. a desire for self-pleasure
  2. the love of Sri Bhagavân ecause of His majesty. For example, we may love a singer because he sings very well. This indicates that we don’t love the singer as a person, but His ability to sing. So we love the talent and not the person. Similarly if we love Sri Bhagavân because He is almighty, your love is adulterated.

The love of the Brijwâsis is absolutely unadulterated in all respects. They do not contain even a whiff of the above two contaminations. Their love is crystal clear and it is also greatest in amount. Therefore their love is the topmost and this love controls Sri Bhagavân absolutely. Sri Krishna has stated in Bhagavad-Gita –

“ye yathâ mâm prapadyante tânstathaiva bhajâmyaham”

Meaning – “The Brijwâsis have forgotten everything else and are entirely engrossed in Sri Krishna. However, it is Sri Krishna’s inherent nature that even though He may get a great love, He cannot ignore a small love. If He ignores the love of Devaki and Vasudev, it goes against His quality called ‘bhakta-vâtsalya’^[1]. This is why He left Brijdhâm although it is the inexhaustible source of love-ras; He wanted to rid the Yâdavs form the torture inflicted on them by asurs such as Kamsa. However, in spite of living in Mathura, when He reminisces about the pastimes of Brijdhâm, then the leelâs He has performed in Mathurâ and other places fade in comparison with the dazzling love-ras of Brijdhâm. Then He feels He is just dreaming. This is how the pastimes in Dwaraka etc. differ from the especially pure pastimes of Brijdhâm that drip with love-ras.)

(contd…….)

^[1] One Who loves his devotee.