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Krsna was very pleased with the atmosphere of the forest where flowers bloomed
and bees and drones hummed very jubilantly. While the birds, trees and branches
were all looking very happy, Krsna, tending the cows, accompanied by Sri
Balarama and the cowherd boys, began to vibrate His transcendental flute. After
hearing the vibration of the flute of Krsna, the gopis in Vrndavana remembered
Him and began to talk amongst themselves about how nicely Krsna was playing His
flute. When the gopis were describing the sweet vibration of Krsna's flute, they
also remembered their pastimes with Him; thus their minds became disturbed, and
they were unable to describe completely the beautiful vibrations. While
discussing the transcendental vibration, they remembered also how Krsna dressed,
decorated with a peacock feather on His head, just like a dancing actor, and
with blue flowers pushed over His ear. His garment glowed yellow-gold, and He
was garlanded with a vaijayanti necklace. Dressed in such
an attractive way, Krsna filled up the holes of His flute with the nectar
emanating from His lips. So they remembered Him, entering the forest of
Vrndavana, which is always glorified by the footprints of Krsna and His
companions.

Krsna was very expert in playing the flute, and the gopis were captivated by the
sound vibration, which was not only attractive to them, but to all living
creatures who heard it. One of the gopis told her friends, "The highest
perfection of the eyes is to see Krsna and Balarama entering the forest and
playing Their flutes and tending the cows with Their friends."
Persons who are constantly engaged in the transcendental meditation of seeing
Krsna, internally and externally, by thinking of Him playing the flute and
entering the Vrndavana forest, have really attained the perfection of samadhi.
Samadhi (trance) means absorption of all the activities of the senses on a
particular object, and the gopis indicate that the pastimes of Krsna are the
perfection of all meditation and samadhi. It is also confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gita that anyone who is always absorbed in the thought of Krsna is the
topmost of all yogis.


Another gopi expressed her opinion that Krsna and Balarama, while tending the
cows, appeared just like actors going to play on a dramatic stage. Krsna was
dressed in glowing garments of yellow, Balarama in blue, and They held new twigs
of mango tree, peacock feathers, and bunches of flowers in Their hands. Dressed
with garlands of lotus flowers, They were sometimes singing very sweetly among
Their friends. One gopi told her friend, "How is it Krsna and Balarama are
looking so beautiful?" Another gopi said, "My dear friend, we cannot even think
of His bamboo flute--what sort of pious activities did it execute so that it is
now enjoying the nectar of the lips of Krsna?" Krsna sometimes kisses the gopis;
therefore the transcendental nectar of His lips is available only to them, and
His lips are considered their property. Therefore the gopis asked: "How is it
possible that the flute, which is nothing but a bamboo rod, is always engaged in
enjoying the nectar from Krsna's lips? Because
the flute is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord, the mother and the
father of the flute must be happy."



The lakes and the rivers are considered to be the mothers of the trees because
the trees live simply by drinking water. So the waters of the lakes and rivers
of Vrndavana were full of happy lotus flowers because the waters were thinking,
"How is it our son, the bamboo rod, is enjoying the nectar of Krsna's lips?" The
bamboo trees standing by the banks of the rivers and the lakes were also happy
to see their descendant so engaged in the service of the Lord, just as persons
who are advanced in knowledge take pleasure to see their descendants engage in
the service of the Lord. The trees were overwhelmed with joy and were
incessantly yielding honey, which flowed from the beehives hanging on the
branches.

Sometimes the gopis spoke thus to their friends about Krsna: "Dear friends, our
Vrndavana is proclaiming the glories of this entire earth because this planet is
glorified by the lotus footprints of the son of Devaki. Besides that, when
Govinda plays His flute, the peacocks immediately become mad. When all the
animals and trees and plants, either on the top of Govardhana Hill or in the
valley, see the dancing of the peacock, they all stand still and listen to the
transcendental sound of the flute with great attention. We think that this boon
is not possible or available on any other planet." Although the gopis were
village cowherd women and girls, they had knowledge of Krsna. Similarly, one can
learn the highest truths simply by hearing the Vedas from authoritative sources.

Another gopi said, "My dear friends, just see the deer! Although they are dumb
animals, they have approached the son of Maharaja Nanda, Krsna. Not only are
they attracted by the dress of Krsna and Balarama, but as soon as they hear the
playing of the flute, the deer, along with their husbands, offer respectful
obeisances unto the Lord by looking at Him with great affection." The gopis were
envious of the deer because the deer were able to offer their service to Krsna
along with their husbands. The gopis thought themselves not so fortunate because
whenever they wanted to go to Krsna, their husbands were not very happy.

Another gopi said, "My dear friends, Krsna is so nicely dressed that He appears
to be the impetus to various kinds of ceremonies held by the womenfolk. Even the
wives of the denizens of heaven become attracted after hearing the
transcendental sound of His flute. Although they are traveling in the air in
their airplanes, enjoying the company of their husbands, on hearing the sound of
Krsna's flute, they immediately become perturbed. Their hair is loosened and
their tight dresses are slackened." This means that the transcendental sound of
the flute of Krsna extended to all corners of the universe. Also, it is
significant that the gopis knew about the different kinds of airplanes flying in
the sky.
Another gopi said to her friends, "My dear friends, the cows are also charmed as
soon as they hear the transcendental sound of the flute of Krsna. It sounds to
them like the pouring of nectar, and they immediately spread their long ears
just to catch the liquid nectar of the flute. As for the calves, they are seen
with the nipples of their mothers pressed in their mouths, but they cannot suck
the milk. They remain struck with devotion, and tears glide down their eyes,
illustrating vividly how they are embracing Krsna heart to heart." These
phenomena indicate that even the cows and calves in Vrndavana knew how to cry
for Krsna and embrace Him heart to heart. Actually, Krsna conscious affection
can be culminated in shedding tears from the eyes.

A younger gopi told her mother, "My dear mother, the birds, who are all looking
at Krsna playing on His flute, are sitting very attentively on the branches and
twigs of different trees. From their features it appears that they have
forgotten everything and are engaged only in hearing Krsna's flute. This proves
that they are not ordinary birds; they are great sages and devotees, and just to
hear Krsna's flute they have appeared in Vrndavana forest as birds." Great sages
and scholars are interested in Vedic knowledge, but the essence of Vedic
knowledge is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah.
Through the knowledge of the Vedas, Krsna has to be understood. From the
behavior of these birds, it appeared that they were great scholars in Vedic
knowledge and that they took to Krsna's transcendental vibration and rejected
all branches of Vedic knowledge. Even the river Yamuna, being desirous to
embrace the lotus feet of Krsna after hearing the transcendental
vibration of His flute, broke her fierce waves to flow very nicely with lotus
flowers in her hands, just to present flowers to Mukunda with deep feeling.

The scorching heat of the autumn sunshine was sometimes intolerable, and
therefore the clouds in the sky appeared in sympathy above Krsna and Balarama
and Their boy friends while They engaged in blowing Their flutes. The clouds
served as a soothing umbrella over Their heads just to make friendship with
Krsna. The wanton aborigine girls also became fully satisfied when they smeared
their faces and breasts with the dust of Vrndavana, which was reddish from the
touch of Krsna's lotus feet. The aborigine girls had very full breasts, and they
were also very lusty, but when their lovers felt their breasts, they were not
very satisfied. When they came out into the midst of the forest, they saw that
while Krsna was walking, some of the leaves and creepers of Vrndavana turned
reddish from the kunkuma powder which fell from His lotus feet. His lotus feet
were held by the gopis on their breasts, which were also smeared with kunkuma
powder, but when Krsna travelled in the Vrndavana forest with
Balarama and His boy friends, the reddish powder fell on the ground of the
Vrndavana forest. So the lusty aborigine girls, while looking toward Krsna
playing His flute, saw the reddish kunkuma on the ground and immediately took it
and smeared it over their faces and breasts. In this way they became fully
satisfied, although they were not satisfied when their lovers touched their
breasts. All material lusty desires can be immediately satisfied if one comes in
contact with Krsna consciousness.

Another gopi began to praise the unique position of Govardhana Hill in this way:
"How fortunate is this Govardhana Hill, for it is enjoying the association of
Lord Krsna and Balarama who are accustomed to walk on it. Thus Govardhana is
always in touch with the lotus feet of the Lord. And because Govardhana Hill is
so obliged to Lord Krsna and Balarama, it is supplying different kinds of
fruits, roots and herbs, as well as very pleasing crystal water from its lakes,
in presentation to the Lord." The best presentation offered by Govardhana Hill,
however, was newly grown grass for the cows and calves. Govardhana Hill knew how
to please the Lord by pleasing His most beloved associates, the cows and the
cowherd boys."
Another gopi said that everything appeared wonderful when Krsna and Balarama
travelled in the forest of Vrndavana playing Their flutes and making intimate
friendship with all kinds of moving and nonmoving living creatures. When Krsna
and Balarama played on Their transcendental flutes, the moving creatures become
stunned and stopped their activities, and the nonmoving living creatures, like
trees and plants, begin to shiver with ecstasy.
Krsna and Balarama carried binding ropes on Their shoulders and in Their hands,
just like ordinary cowherd boys. While milking the cows, the boys bound the hind
legs with a small rope. This rope almost always hung from the shoulders of the
boys, and it was not absent on the shoulders of Krsna and Balarama. In spite of
Their being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, They played exactly like cowherd
boys, and therefore everything became wonderful and attractive.

While Krsna was engaged in tending the cows in the forest of Vrndavana or on
Govardhana Hill, the gopis in the village were always absorbed in thinking of
Him and discussing His different pastimes. This is the perfect example of Krsna
consciousness: to somehow or other remain always engrossed in thoughts of Krsna.
The vivid example is always present in the behavior of the gopis; therefore Lord
Caitanya declared that no one can worship the Supreme Lord by any method which
is better than the method of the gopis. The gopis were not born in very high
brahmana or ksatriya families; they were born in the families of vaisyas, and
not in big mercantile communities but in the families of cowherd men. They were
not very well educated, although they heard all sorts of knowledge from the
brahmanas, the authorities of Vedic knowledge. The gopis' only purpose was to
remain always absorbed in thoughts of Krsna.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-first Chapter of Krsna, "The
Gopis Attracted by the Flute."
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