sakhÄ« vinÄ ei lÄ«lÄya anyera nÄhi gati
sakhÄ«-bhÄve ye tÄá¹…re kare anugati
rÄdhÄ-kṛṣṇa-kuñjasevÄ-sÄdhya sei pÄya
sei sÄdhya pÄite Ära nÄhika upÄya
sakhÄ« vinÄ - without the gopÄ«s; ei lÄ«lÄya - in these pastimes; anyera - of others; nÄhi - there is not; gati - entrance; sakhÄ«-bhÄve - in the mood of the gopÄ«s; ye - anyone who; tÄá¹…re - Lord Kṛṣṇa; kare - does; anugati - following; rÄdhÄ-kṛṣṇa - of RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa; kuñja-sevÄ - of service in the kuñjas, or gardens, of Vá¹›ndÄvana; sÄdhya - the goal; sei pÄya - he gets; sei - that; sÄdhya - achievement; pÄite - to receive; Ära - other; nÄhika - there is not; upÄya - means.
“Without the help of the gopÄ«s, one cannot enter into these pastimes. Only one who worships the Lord in the ecstasy of the gopÄ«s, following in their footsteps, can engage in the service of ÅšrÄ« ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-Kṛṣṇa in the bushes of Vá¹›ndÄvana. Only then can one understand the conjugal love between RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa. There is no other procedure for understanding.
The means for returning home, for going back to Godhead, is devotional service, but everyone has a different taste in the Lord’s service. One may be inclined to serve the Lord in servitude (dÄsya-rasa), fraternity (sakhya-rasa) or parental love (vÄtsalya-rasa), but none of these can enable one to enter into the service of the Lord in conjugal love. To attain such service, one has to follow in the footsteps of the gopÄ«s in the ecstasy of sakhÄ«-bhÄva. Then only can one understand the transcendental mellow of conjugal love.
In the Ujjvala-nÄ«lamaṇi (SakhÄ«-prakaraṇa 1), ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« advises:
prema-lÄ«lÄ-vihÄrÄṇÄá¹
samyag vistÄrikÄ sakhÄ«
viÅ›rambha-ratna-peá¹Ä« ca
One who expands the conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa and His enjoyment among the gopīs is called a sakhī. Such a person is a confidential gopī in the conjugal affairs. Such assistants are like jewels in the form of Kṛṣṇa’s confidantes. The actual business of the sakhīs is described thus in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Sakhī-prakaraṇa 88-91):
mithaḥ prema-guṇotkÄ«rtis tayor Äsakti-kÄritÄ
abhisÄro dvayor eva sakhyÄḥ kṛṣṇe samarpaṇam
narmÄÅ›vÄsana-nepathyaá¹ há¹›dayodghÄá¹a-pÄá¹avam
chidra-saá¹vá¹›tir etasyÄḥ paty-Ädeḥ parivañcanÄ
Å›iká¹£Ä saá¹…gamanaá¹ kÄle sevanaá¹ vyajanÄdibhiḥ
tayor dvayor upÄlambhaḥ sandeÅ›a-preá¹£aṇaá¹ tathÄ
nÄyikÄ-prÄṇa-saá¹raká¹£Ä prayatnÄdyÄḥ sakhÄ«-kriyÄḥ
In the conjugal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is the hero (nÄyaka), and RÄdhikÄ is the heroine (nÄyikÄ). The first business of the gopÄ«s is to chant the glories of both the hero and the heroine. Their second business is to gradually create a situation in which the hero may be attracted to the heroine and vice versa. Their third business is to induce both of Them to approach each other. Their fourth business is to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, the fifth is to create a jovial atmosphere, the sixth to give Them assurance to enjoy Their pastimes, the seventh to dress and decorate both hero and heroine, the eighth to show expertise in expressing Their desires, the ninth to conceal the faults of the heroine, the tenth to cheat their respective husbands and relatives, the eleventh to educate, the twelfth to enable both the hero and heroine to meet at the proper time, the thirteenth to fan the hero and heroine, the fourteenth to sometimes reproach the hero and heroine, the fifteenth to set conversations in motion, and the sixteenth to protect the heroine by various means.
Some materialistic sahajiyÄs who cannot actually understand the pastimes of RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa manufacture their own life-styles without referring to authority. Such sahajiyÄs are called sakhÄ«-bhekÄ«, and sometimes they are called gaura-nÄgarÄ«. They believe that the material body, which is fit to be eaten by jackals and dogs, is enjoyable for Kṛṣṇa. Consequently they artificially decorate the material body to attract Kṛṣṇa, thinking themselves sakhÄ«s. But Kṛṣṇa is never attracted by the artificial grooming of the material body. As far as ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī and Her gopÄ«s are concerned, their bodies, homes, dresses, ornaments, endeavors and activities are all spiritual. All of these are meant to satisfy the spiritual senses of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, they are so pleasing and endearing to Kṛṣṇa that He is subjugated by the influence of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī and Her friends. They have nothing to do with anything mundane within the fourteen planetary systems of the universe. Although Kṛṣṇa is attractive to everyone, He is nonetheless attracted by the gopÄ«s and ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī.
One should not be misled by mental concoctions, supposing his material body to be perfect and deeming oneself a sakhÄ«. This is something like ahaá¹…grahopÄsanÄ, that is, a MÄyÄvÄdī’s worship of his own body as the Supreme. ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« has cautioned mundaners to abstain from such conceptions. He also warns that thinking oneself one of the associates of the Supreme without following in the footsteps of the gopÄ«s is as offensive as thinking oneself the Supreme. Such thinking is an aparÄdha. One has to practice living in Vá¹›ndÄvana by hearing about the talks of the gopÄ«s with Kṛṣṇa. However, one should not consider himself a gopÄ«, for this is offensive.
