Page 47 - Shri Venkateswara Book

and reverence as in Vaikuntha for Lord Narayana. Or
one can aspire to be a gopa, a cowherd boy who is
a close companion of Krishna and engage in taking
the cows and calves to pasture in Vrindaban. The
gopas do not see Krishna with awe and reverence.
They have a playful and intimate relationship with
the Lord who they consider their peer. In order to
experience such a close relationship with the Lord,
they must be under the influence of Krishna’s
spiritual illusory energy called Yogamaya. There is
Mahamaya (represented by Durga devi) who puts
people into illusion so that they can go away from
Krishna and engage in material life. Then there
is Yogamaya (represented by Subhadra, Krishna’s
sister) who puts devotees into illusion so that they
can intimately associate with the Lord in loving
relationships without any strict formalities. This is
the case of Arjuna. One can evolve to the pinnacle
of rasa by becoming the conjugal consorts of the
Lord like the gopis or cowherd girls. This is called
madurya rasa, which is the very intimate relationship
of conjugal love between Lord Krishna and His most
cherished female devotees.

Each rasa has a particular flavor of love for the Lord
that can be experienced with the different expansions

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