126 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 13

TRANSLATION

Having taken permission from the goddess of fortune, the Lord came out to
ride on the Ratha car and perform His pastimes for the pleasure of the devo-
tees.

PURPORT

In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that as an
ideal husband, Lord Jagannatha remained fifteen days in a secluded place with His
wife, the supreme goddess of fortune. Nonetheless, the Lord wanted to come out
of seclusion to give happiness to His devotees. The Lord enjoys Himself in two
ways, known as svakiya and parakiya. The Lord’s conjugal love in the svakiya-rasa
relates to the regulative principles observed in Dvaraka. There the Lord has many
married queens, but in Vrndavana the conjugal love of the Lord is not with His
married wives but with His girl friends, the gopis. Conjugal love with the gopis is
called parakiya-rasa. Lord Jagannatha leaves the secluded place where He enjoys
the company of the supreme goddess of fortune in svakiya-rasa, and He goes to
Vrndavana where He enjoys the parakiya-rasa. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
therefore reminds us that the Lord’s pleasure in parakiya-rasa is superior to His
pleasure in svakiya-rasa.

In the material world, parakiya-rasa, or loving affairs with unmarried girl friends,
is a most degraded relationship, but in the spiritual world this type of loving affair
is considered the supreme enjoyment. In the material world everything is but a
reflection of the spiritual world, and that reflection is perverted. We cannot
understand the affairs of the spiritual world on the basis of our experience in the
material world. The Lord’s pastimes with the gopis are therefore misunderstood
by mundane scholars and word-wranglers. The parakiya-rasa of the spiritual world
should not be discussed except by one who is very advanced in pure devotional
service. The parakiya-rasa in the spiritual world and that in the material world are
not comparable. The former is like gold, and the latter is like iron. Because the dif-
ference between the two is so great, they cannot actually be compared.
However, one can easily distinguish the value of gold by seeing the value of iron.
One who has the proper realization can easily distinguish the transcendental ac-
tivities of the spiritual world from material activities.

TEXT 25

FM ASAT Ace Bera A |
Qe fect COIBL, HA—CAM FRAT 2c Ut

stksma Sveta-balu pathe pulinera sama
dui dike tota, saba——yena vrndavana
