Hare Kṛṣṇa,
I find the gopīs’ question and Kṛṣṇa’s response especially meaningful and worthy of summarizing.
The gopis asked Krsna, “Some people reciprocate the affection only of those who are affectionate toward them, while others show affection even to those who are indifferent or inimical. And yet others will not show affection toward anyone. Dear Kṛṣṇa, please properly explain this matter to us.” (SB 10.32.16)
- Motivated: Those who reciprocate only to those who show them affection.
- Unmotivated: Those who reciprocate even with those who are hostile.
- Indifferent: Those who don’t show affection toward anyone.
By this apparently polite question, the gopis want to expose Lord Krsna’s failure to properly reciprocate their love. They wanted to ask Him, “O Krsna, do you have affection for us, indifferent to us, or hostility towards us?”
Krsna then explains the three categories of reciprocators. (Paraphrased from SB 10.32.18-19)
- First category – selfish, without true friendship, or dharma.
- Second category – genuinely merciful, naturally affectionate like parents, true well-wishers and followers of dharma.
- Third category – has four subcategories
- Spiritually self-satisfied (ātmārāmā)
- Materially fulfilled (āpta-kāmā)
- Ungrateful (akṛta-jnā)
- Envious of superiors (guru-druhaḥ)
We frequently observe this phenomenon in the material world. Those who show respect to others with expectations of personal gain are, in reality, concerned only with their own present and future benefits. Such respect is ultimately self-centered rather than genuinely directed toward others. True friendship, however, is free from selfish motives and rests solely on love for one’s friend.
This pure quality of friendship is evident in Kṛṣṇa’s dealings with the Pāṇḍavas and Sudāmā Vipra. Kṛṣṇa’s relationship with the jīvas, who are His parts and parcels, is never transactional. In fact, due to His supremely independent nature, Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of the three aforementioned categories.
Although Kṛṣṇa appears to act in human-like ways through His pastimes, everything He does is completely transcendental. He cannot be fully grasped by our material senses, mind, or intelligence. Reflecting on this, it becomes easier to understand why Kṛṣṇa does not fit into our limited categories, and why the reasons behind His actions are often beyond our comprehension. With this understanding, we can now look more carefully at how Kṛṣṇa explains to the gopīs why He did not immediately reciprocate with them.
Krsna says:
“But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopīs, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else.” (SB 10.32.20)
My dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas and of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you. Therefore, My beloved gopīs, please do not harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved. (SB 10.32.21)
I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahmā. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation. (SB 10.32.22)
Although the gopis were already perfect in their love for Krsna, still, to inconceivably increase their perfections and show an example for the world, Krsna acted as He did.
This is an important lesson for us. At times, I find myself tempted to wonder why Kṛṣṇa does not seem to reciprocate with my sādhana and prayers. The reality, however, is that my attachment to Kṛṣṇa is still very weak—certainly not comparable to that of the gopīs. Furthermore, as we can understand from Kṛṣṇa’s reasoning above, He does not always reciprocate immediately because He desires our attachment to Him to deepen and mature. In this way, He nurtures our longing, almost to the point that we develop an intense greed to attain Him alone.
Kṛṣṇa: “In this way I am actually merciful. It is desirable for My worshipers to have this complete attachment to Me. Thus to increase that attachment more and more, I, even though externally failing to reciprocate with them, invisibly reciprocate very much with them.
“Although you gopis are the ideal examples of those who worship even those who do not worship them, I too am actually very merciful, as much as you are, since I have given you the gift of My darsana. One should not think that only if I am present that I respond, and if I am absent I do not respond. For then My promise, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham, ‘I will respond accordingly as they worship Me’ (Bg. 4.11) would be broken.” (Sārārtha-darśini, SB 10.32.20)
The final highlighted section offers great relief and hope. It affirms that Kṛṣṇa indeed hears our chanting and prayers, even though His response may not always align with our expectations.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 