Could Laxmi enter the Rasa lila or not?

[Paramananda das]

dear Vaisnava friends

Please accept my humble obaisences

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

so 'ham yah sharanam prapto mama tasya vadanti casarvam tabhyam tad-artham hi tad-bhogyam na tu ye mama The wise say, "I surrender to Shri Shri Radha-Krishna. Whatever is mine is in truth Their property. Everything is for Their sake. Everything is meant for Their enjoyment. It is not meant for me." Sanat kumara Samhita sri-rasa-mandala jaya, jaya radha-syam jaya jaya rasa-lila sarva-manoram (9) All glories to the place where the rasa dance of Sri Krishna was performed. All glories to Radha and Syama. All glories, all glories to the divine rasa dance, which is the most beautiful of all Lord Krishna’s pastimes. C Madhya 14.122: Svarūpa Dāmodara replied, "My dear Lord, please hear the reason for this. Lakṣmīdevī, the goddess of fortune, cannot be admitted to the pastimes of Vṛndāvana. CC Madhya 14.123: "In the pastimes of Vṛndāvana, the only assistants are the gopīs. But for the gopīs, no one can attract the mind of Kṛṣṇa." There is 2 opinions given wether Laxmi could enter Krsnas Rasa lila or not. First we have to see what Lord Caitanya has spoken ,and Svarupa Damodara Goswami,and then what Garga Muni has stated. And lets pray to Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu , that we can try to understand something by Their unlimited mercy. CC Madhya 9.120: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "I know that there is no fault on the part of the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rāsa dance. We hear this from the revealed scriptures. WCC Madhya 9.121: "'When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord's arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma exactly resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?' CC Madhya 9.122: "But can you tell Me why the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, could not enter the rāsa dance? The authorities of Vedic knowledge could enter the dance and associate with Kṛṣṇa. CC Madhya 9.123: "'Great sages conquer the mind and senses by practicing the mystic yoga system and controlling the breath. Thus engaging in mystic yoga, they see the Supersoul within their hearts and ultimately enter into impersonal Brahman. But even the enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead attain that position simply by thinking of the Supreme Lord. However, the damsels of Vraja, the gopīs, being attracted by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, simply wanted to embrace Him and His arms, which are like serpents. Thus the gopīs ultimately tasted the nectar of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, we Upaniṣads can also taste the nectar of His lotus feet by following in the footsteps of the gopīs.'" CC Madhya 9.124: Having been asked by Caitanya Mahāprabhu why the goddess of fortune could not enter into the rāsadance whereas the authorities on Vedic knowledge could, Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa replied, "I cannot enter into the mysteries of this behavior." CC Madhya 9.125: Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa then said, "I am an ordinary human being. Since my intelligence is very limited and I am easily agitated, my mind cannot enter within the deep ocean of the pastimes of the Lord. CC Madhya 9.126: "You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself. You know the purpose of Your activities, and the person whom You enlighten can also understand Your pastimes." CC Madhya 9.127: The Lord replied, "Lord Kṛṣṇa has a special characteristic: He attracts everyone's heart by the mellow of His personal conjugal love. CC Madhya 9.128: "By following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of the planet known as Vrajaloka or Goloka Vṛndāvana, one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. However, in that planet the inhabitants do not know that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. CC Madhya 9.129: "There someone may accept Him as a son and sometimes bind Him to a grinding mortar. Someone else may accept Him as an intimate friend and, attaining victory over Him, playfully mount His shoulders. CC Madhya 9.130: "The inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi know Kṛṣṇa as the son of Mahārāja Nanda, the King of Vrajabhūmi, and they consider that they can have no relationship with the Lord in the rasa of opulence. CC Madhya 9.131: "One who worships the Lord by following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi attains Him in the transcendental planet of Vraja, where He is known as the son of Mahārāja Nanda." CC Madhya 9.132: Caitanya Mahāprabhu then quoted, "'The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of motherYaśodā, is accessible to those devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.' CC Madhya 9.133: "The authorities in the Vedic literature who are known as the śruti-gaṇas worshiped Lord Kṛṣṇa in the ecstasy of the gopīs and followed in their footsteps. CC Madhya 9.134: "The personified authorities on the Vedic hymns acquired bodies like those of the gopīs and took birth in Vrajabhūmi. In those bodies they were allowed to enter into the Lord's rāsa-līlā dance. CC Madhya 9.135: "Lord Kṛṣṇa belongs to the cowherd community, and the gopīs are the dearmost lovers of Kṛṣṇa. Although the wives of the denizens of the heavenly planets are most opulent within the material world, neither they nor any other women in the material universe can acquire Kṛṣṇa's association. CC Madhya 9.136: "The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, wanted to enjoy Kṛṣṇa and at the same time retain her spiritual body in the form of Lakṣmī. However, she did not follow in the footsteps of the gopīs in her worship of Kṛṣṇa. CC Madhya 9.137: "Vyāsadeva, the supreme authority on Vedic literature, composed the verse beginning 'nāyaḿ sukhāpobhagavān' because no one can enter into the rāsa-līlā dance in any body other than that of a gopī." CC Madhya 9.138: Before this explanation was given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa thought that Śrī Nārāyaṇawas the Supreme Personality of Godhead. CC Madhya 9.139: Thinking in this way, Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa believed that worship of Nārāyaṇa was the supreme form of worship, superior to all other processes of devotional service, for it was followed by the Śrī Vaiṣṇava disciples of Rāmānujācārya. CC Madhya 9.140: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had understood this misconception of Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa's, and to correct it the Lord talked so much in a joking way. CC Madhya 9.141: The Lord then continued, "My dear Veńkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, please do not continue doubting. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this is the conclusion of the Vedic literatures. CC Madhya 9.142: "Lord Nārāyaṇa, the opulent form of Kṛṣṇa, attracts the minds of the goddess of fortune and her followers. CC Madhya 9.143: "'All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of thepuruṣa-avatāras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.' CC Madhya 9.144: "Because Kṛṣṇa has four extraordinary qualities not possessed by Lord Nārāyaṇa, the goddess of fortune,Lakṣmī, always desires His company. CC Madhya 9.145: "You have recited the śloka beginning with 'siddhāntatas tv abhede 'pi.' That very verse is evidence thatKṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Lord Caitanya has given many reasons why Laxmi devi could not enter the Rasa lila: 1) CC Madhya 9.136: "The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, wanted to enjoy Kṛṣṇa and at the same time retain her spiritual body in the form of Lakṣmī. However, she did not follow in the footsteps of the gopīs in her worship of Krsna CC Madhya 9.131: "One who worships the Lord by following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi attains Him in the transcendental planet of Vraja, where He is known as the son of Mahārāja Nanda." 2) sastra states Laxmi could not enter Rasa lila and according to Lord Caitanya and the vers He quoted from Srimad Bhagavatam are both the pramans : CC Madhya 9.120: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "I know that there is no fault on the part of the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rāsa dance. We hear this from the revealed scriptures. CC Madhya 9.121: "'When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord's arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma exactly resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?' So these things are very clear now then Lord Caitanya says: CC Madhya 9.153: "There is no difference between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Nārāyaṇa, for They are of the same form. Similarly, there is no difference between the gopīs and the goddess of fortune, for they also are of the same form.

CC Madhya 9.154: "The goddess of fortune enjoys the association of Kṛṣṇa through the gopīs. One should not differentiate between the forms of the Lord, for such a conception is offensive.

Now why should we doubt that one form of Laxmi devi could enter the rasa lila at least the Maharasa lila because: Garga Muni has stated in Garga Samhita: 2 CANTO chapter 19 Text 20

tathayayau rama sakshad yuthi-bhutvarunambara candra-varna manda-hasa padmaraga-vibhushita tatha—so; ayayau—came; rama—the goddess of fortune; sakshat—directly; yuthi-bhutva—become a gopi; arunambara—wearing red garments; candra—of the moon; varna—the color; manda-hasa—with a gentle smile; padmaraga-vibhushita—decorated with rubies.

Then goddess Rama became a gently smiling, moon-complexioned, dressed in red and decorated with rubies leader of a group of gopis, and she also came there.

 We see in this chapter how Ganga and Yamunua also has headed up groups of Gopis, these are very unusual pastimes but this is the Maharasa lila .Goloka Vrindavana is divided in the part where Krsna is worshipped with some opulence aisvarya and then there is the more confidential part of Goloka Vrindavana where such asivarya is not manifested and everything is based on prema only

your servant

Paramananda das

[Paramananda das]

the question is since there is many forms of Laxmidevi, are all forms unabel to enter Krsnas Rasa lila, according to Garga Muni this is not so...so how to understand the statements of Lord Caitanya and Garga Muni?

[Paramananda das]

if the spiritual world is full of Laxmi and why then could not even one of them enter Rasa lila if She was willing to follow the footsptes of the Gopis, so Laxmidevi mentioned in Garga Samhita is an exception

[Paramananda das]

Lord Brahma says Laxmi sahasra sata ..in in Brahma Samhita..not Gopi sahasra....so if one of the unlimited Laxmidevis can not follow the footsteps of the Gopis and have Her own yuta, then Garga Muni would be a speculator and manufacturing things, he has not done so..so this Laxmidevi Rama is an exception to the rule thatno Laxmi can not enter the rasa lila

[Paramananda das]

Even Lord Caitanya is married to Laxmidevi ,so if one expansion of Laxmidevi is found in the Rasa lila(that must obviously have agreed to abandon her Aisvarya mood) is it a surprise?

[Paramananda das]

PAMHOAGTSP We had some discussion about Laxmi and her not being abel to enter the Rasa lila which is surely confirmed by Lord Caitanya.So though Garga Muni is an authority in devotional service as confirmed by Narada Muni in Narada Bhakti sutras.I read the commentaries of Srila Sridhara Swami to Bhagavad Gita 1.37 and he has stated:" As it is stated by the sage Yagnavalkya: when two scriptures differ the one whose conclusion is the most reasonable and most logical is to be considered superior. This is the understanding" So  certainly we have to accept the version of Lord Caitanya.I pray you had a nice kartika there in Vraja

ys

Paramananda das

[Paramananda das]

the entering of Godess Rama was in Varaha Kalpa