sahaja gopÄ«ra prema, — nahe prÄká¹›ta kÄma
kÄma-krÄ«á¸Ä-sÄmye tÄra kahi 'kÄma'-nÄma
sahaja - natural; gopÄ«ra - of the gopÄ«s; prema - love of Godhead; nahe - is not; prÄká¹›ta - material; kÄma - lust; kÄma-krÄ«á¸Ä - lusty affairs; sÄmye - in appearing equal to; tÄra - of such activities; kahi - I speak; kÄma-nÄma - the name 'lust.'
“It is to be noted that the natural characteristic of the gopīs is to love the Supreme Lord. Their lusty desire is not to be compared to material lust. Nonetheless, because their desire sometimes appears to resemble material lust, their transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa is sometimes described as lust.
BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura says that material lust should never be attributed to Kṛṣṇa, who is full of transcendental knowledge. Material lust cannot be engaged in the service of the Lord, for it is applicable to materialists, not to Kṛṣṇa. Only prema, or love of Godhead, is applicable for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. Prema is full service rendered unto the Lord. The lusty affairs of the gopÄ«s actually constitute the topmost love of Godhead because the gopÄ«s never act for their own personal satisfaction. They are simply pleased by engaging other gopÄ«s in the service of the Lord. The gopÄ«s derive more transcendental pleasure from indirectly engaging other gopÄ«s in the service of Kṛṣṇa than from engaging in His service themselves. That is the difference between material lust and love of Godhead. Lust applies to the material world, and love of Godhead applies only to Kṛṣṇa.
