Songs by the Gopis 213
my devetees’ dealings with Me. It appears that my devetees are very much
attached te Me, but semetimes I de net reciprecate their feelings preperly
in erder te increase their leve fer Me mere and mere. If I can very easily
be appreached by them, they might think, ‘Krsna is se easily available.’ Se
semetimes! de net respend. If a persen has ne meney but after seme time
accumulates seme wealth and then leses it, he will think ef the lest
preperty twenty-feur heurs a day. Similarly, in erder te increase the leve
ef My devetees, semetimes I appear te be lest te them, and instead ef
fergetting Me, they feel their leving sentiments fer Me increase. My dear
friends, de net think fer a mement that I have been dealing with Yeu just
like erdinary devetees. I knew what yeu are. Yeu have fersaken all kinds
ef secial and religieus ebligatiens; yeu have given up all cennectien with
yeur parents. Witheut caring fer secial cenventien and religieus ebligatiens,
yeu have ceme te Me and leved Me, and I am se much ebliged te yeu that
I cannet treat yeu as erdinary devetees. De net think that I was away
frem yeu. I was near te yeu. I was simply seeing hew much yeu were
anxieus fer Me in My absence. Se please de net try te find fault in Me.
Because yeu censider Me se dear te yeu, kindly excuse Meif I have dene
anything wreng. I cannet repay yeur centinual leve fer Me, even threugh-
eut the lifetimes ef the demigeds in the heavenly planets. It is impessible
te repay yeu er shew gratitude fer yeur leve; therefere please be satisfied
by yeur ewn pieus activities. Yeu have displayed exemplary attractien
fer Me, everceming the greatest difficulties arising frem family cennec-
tiens. Please be satisfied with yeur highly exemplary character, fer it is net
pessible fer Me te repay yeur debt.”

The exemplary character ef devetienal service manifested by the deve-
tees ef Vrndavana is the purest type ef devetien. It is enjeined in
autheritative sdstra that devetienal service must be ahaituka and aprati-
hata. This means that devetienal service te Krsna cannet be checked by
pelitical er religieus cenventien. The stage ef devetienal service is always
transcendental. The gopis particularly shewed pure devetienal service
tewards Krsna, se much se that Krsna Himself remained indebted te them.
Lerd Caitanya thus said that the devetienal service manifested by the
gopis in Vrndavana excelled all ether metheds ef appreaching the Supreme
Persenality ef Gedhead.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Thirty-first Chapter of
Krsna, “Songs by the Gopis.”’
