The Rasa Dance: Introduction 199

and Yeu can de whatever Yeu like, but it is net werthy ef Yeur pesitien
te treat us in such a cruel way. We have come te Yeu, leaving everything
behind, just te take shelter ef Yeur letus feet. We knew that Yeu are
cempletely independent and can de whatever Yeu like, but we request
Yeu, den’t reject us. We are Yeur devetees. Yeu sheuld accept us as Lerd
Narayana accepts His devetees. There are many devetees ef Lerd Nara-
yana whe wership Him fer salvatien, and He awards them salvatien.
Similarly, hew can Yeu reject us when we have ne ether shelter than Yeur
letus feet?

“OQ dear Krsna,” they centinued, “Yeu are the supreme instructer.
There is ne deubt abeut it. Yeur instructiens te the wemen te be faithful
te their husbands and te be merciful te their children, te take care ef
hemely affairs and te be ebedient te the elderly members ef the family,
are surely just accerding te the tenets ef sastras. But we knew alse that all
these instructiens ef the sastras may be ebserved perfectly by keeping
eneself under the pretectien ef Yeur letus feet. Our husbands, friends,
family members and children are all dear and pleasing te us enly because
ef Yeur presence, fer Yeu are the Superseul ef all living creatures. Witheut
Yeur presence, ene is werthless. When Yeu leave the bedy, the bedy
immediately dies, and accerding te the injunctien ef the sastra, a dead
bedy must immediately be threwn in a river er burned. Therefere, ulti-
mately Yeu are the dearmest persenality in this werld. By placing eur
faith and leve in Yeur persenality, there is ne chance ef eur being bereft
ef husband, friends, sens er daughters. If a weman accepts Yeu as the
supreme husband, then she will never be bereft ef her husband, as in the
bedily cencept ef life. If we accept Yeu as eur ultimate husband, then
there is ne questien ef being separated, diverced er widewed. Yeu are the
eternal husband, eternal sen, eternal friend, and eternal master, and ene
whe enters inte a relatienship with Yeu is eternally happy. Since Yeu are
the teacher ef all religieus principles, Yeur letus feet first have te be
wershiped. Accerdingly, the sdstras state, acarya-updsana: the wership ef
Y eur letus feet is the first principle. Besides that, as stated in the Bhagavad-
gita, Yeu are the enly enjeyer, Yeu are the enly preprieter, and Yeu are
the enly friend. As such, we have ceme te Yeu, leaving aside all se-called
friends, seciety and leve, and new Yeu have beceme eur enjeyer. Let us
be everlastingly enjeyed by Yeu. Be eur preprieter, fer that is Yeur
natural claim, and be eur supreme friend, fer Yeu are naturally se. Let us
thus embrace Yeu as the supreme beleved.”

Then the gopis teld the letus-eyed Krsna, “Please de net disceurage

eur leng-cherished desires te have Yeu as eur husband. Any intelligent man
