muṣṇanto 'nyonya-Å›ikyÄdÄ«n
jñÄtÄn ÄrÄc ca ciká¹£ipuḥ
tatratyÄÅ› ca punar dÅ«rÄd
dhasantaś ca punar daduḥ
muṣṇantaḥ - stealing; anyonya - from one another; Å›ikya-ÄdÄ«n - lunch bags and other belongings; jñÄtÄn - having been understood by the proprietor of the bag; ÄrÄt ca - to a distant place; ciká¹£ipuḥ - threw away; tatratyÄḥ ca - those who were in that place also; punaḥ dÅ«rÄt - then again threw farther away; hasantaḥ ca punaḥ daduḥ - when they saw the proprietor, they threw it farther away and enjoyed laughing, and when the owner sometimes cried, his bag was given to him again.
All the cowherd boys used to steal one another’s lunch bags. When a boy came to understand that his bag had been taken away, the other boys would throw it farther away, to a more distant place, and those standing there would throw it still farther. When the proprietor of the bag became disappointed, the other boys would laugh, the proprietor would cry, and then the bag would be returned.
This kind of playing and stealing among boys still exists even in the material world because this kind of sporting pleasure is present in the spiritual world, from which this idea of enjoyment emanates. JanmÄdy asya yataḥ (VedÄnta-sÅ«tra 1.1.2). This same enjoyment is displayed by Kṛṣṇa and His associates in the spiritual world, but there the enjoyment is eternal, whereas here, on the material platform, it is temporary; there the enjoyment is brahman, whereas here the enjoyment is jaá¸a. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to train one how to transfer oneself from the jaá¸a to the Brahman, because human life is meant for this purpose. AthÄto brahma jijñÄsÄ (VedÄnta-sÅ«tra 1.1.1). Kṛṣṇa comes down to teach us how we can enjoy with Him on the spiritual platform, in the spiritual world. Not only does He come, but He personally displays His pastimes in Vá¹›ndÄvana and attracts people to spiritual enjoyment.
