Morton School. The twilight hour is over. M. goes to witness Rasa Lila in Darjipara after the twilight hour. It is the full moon day. But Rasa is going to be performed tomorrow. Today it is Monday, 10th November, 1924, 24th of Kartik, 1331 (B.Y). As desired by M., Jagabandhu, Vinay, Ramesh, Gadadhar are going on foot. While M. is returning after the darshan of Madanmohan, he is seen by the devotees in front of the house of the Palas. The puppets are not yet ready for the Rasa ­ they have yet to be painted.

The next day, the day of the Rasa, M. has been thinking of and meditating upon Sri Krishna’s Rasa Lila for many days. It was five thousand years ago when Sri Krishna had made so many devotees see God together. It is a rare occasion in the history of India, nay, in the history of the world. Self-realisation is a very rare matter. Only God can make one do so, no one else has the capability. If a man makes one realise God, one has to understand that he is God Himself in human form. Yamevaisha vrinute tena labhyah (Only he can have His darshan whom He chooses).

Those who had the darshan of God that day were all illiterate women without sanskaras. They had no right to the reading of the Veda and other scriptures. Yet, they gained that state of Brahman, which is so difficult to attain even by Rishis and Munis, just with their love. They had loved the child Krishna with whole of their mind and soul. Krishna was only eleven then, but even at his early age, he developed perfect youth in him. The Gopis of Braja did not know him as Lord God. They thought that Krishna was their beloved. They came to him with him as a paramour.

Sri Krishna knew that he was God ­ the One beyond mind and speech, Indivisible Satchidananda. By loving His form and His attributes, one was actually showing love to Him. Whichever His part, His gross, subtle, causal or the supreme cause one loved, one was loving Him. Sri Ramakrishna said, "If you take chilli without knowing it, you will still feel its pungency." The Gopis loved Sri Krishna’s looks. And that means loving Sri Krishna. That is why, Bhagavan fulfilled the desires of the devotees in the way they wanted.

The Rasa Lila is the climax of what one can possibly enjoy of Satchidananda, of the Lord in gross body. It is its supreme development. In the Rasa Lila, the gross assumes the quality of the conscious. The gross body and the mind have got filled today with Satchidananda with the consciousness of the Satchidananda. Is there any difference of male and female here? They are all one and the same Satchidananda. The body, mind, intellect, the jivatman have all become Parmatman today ­ they have all become God, all filled with consciousness. They are Brahman.

Sri Krishna is filled with perfect Self of conscious Krishna ­ each of His parts is consciousness. In the Rasa, the Gopis have got filled with Krishna by calling out ‘Krishna, Krishna’. They are immersed in Sri Krishna’s ocean of love. Today every Gopi is a dancing picture of consciousness. Consciousness meets consciousness, they embrace each other. Social point of view or the ordinary point of view is blind. The question of physical enjoyment simply doesn’t arise here. The Rasa is the meeting of Brahman consciousness with jiva consciousness. Today the whole world, the universe is Satchidananda.

You little man with your little intelligence, you look at Krishna and Gopis as the other man and the other woman. When your high divine Brahman eye opens by calling piteously Sri Bhagavan, after having fallen into the pits of trials and tribulations life after life, then you will be able to understand the reality of Rasa Lila. You will then understand the one Bhagavan, the self of love, having assumed outwardly two forms, is playing the game of love as Krishna and Gopis.

The devotee Gopis desired Bhagavan as their husband. Like other bhaktas desire him as the Lord, or the friend, or the son, or the father, or the mother. When Gopis got Krishna as their husband, their body, mind, intellect and soul all got filled with Sri Krishna ­ they lost the distinction between man and woman. By fulfilling the desire of the Gopis, he justified His name as the wishful-filling tree.

The Rasa is the meeting place of all such contradictory ideas as the perfect man and the perfect God, one within Maya and one beyond Maya, the inert and the conscious, the one associated with senses and the one beyond the senses, man and God, man and woman, jivatman and Parmatman.

M. has remained absorbed in the Rasa for a number of days. The reading of the fifth chapter of the Rasa from the Bhagavata has been going on all these days. He has only been thinking of the Gopis and Krishna. He has only being talking of the Gopis and Krishna and he has been looking for Gopis and Krishna. He has been wanting to know about the Rasa wherever it is being performed in Calcutta. He has been sending devotees to different places.

A bhakta says, "A Rasa Lila is being performed in Chingrighata. There, the different Lilas of the Lord are performed with earthen idols at the time of Rasa. There, they have a fair of dance and music."

M. is going by car to the same fair of the Rasa. He is accompanied by Jagabandhu, Doctor and Vinay. The car is moving via Amherst Street, Harrison Road, Beliaghata Road, Camblay (now Neel Rattan) and Shivtala Lane. and stops in front of the venue of the Rasa at Chingrighata

There is a flood of rows of electric lamps. There is a big crowd. A mart of joy it is. The place of the Rasa is full of joy and entertainment. Little boys and girls are enjoying merry-go-rounds, the elders have climbed up the Nagardola. The whole atmosphere is resounding with various kinds of flutes. Takuti-takuti sound of the khol is heard from afar. The lengthy raginis of music mixes with words such as ‘father, mother and brother’ and also with ‘Keshab, Mani, Kalu.’ And the music of the words of ‘Give me papar worth a paisa and fried pulses worth a paisa, two paise worth of pan (beetle leaf) and biri (leaf cigarette), sweets worth an anna,’ is also being heard.

M. is in a jolly mood. Having come to this physical spot of the Lila filled with a divine fervour, M. is happy like a child, his eyes and face aglow with joy.

Now, he is at the big mandap of the Rasa. M. enters through the main gate along with the devotees. To begin with, he has the darshan of ‘The Ten Avataras’ in different big painted ten earthen idols.

The whole mandap is decorated with different kinds of leaves, flowers and colours. The right colour is placed where it is displayed best. Besides, there are chains of multi-coloured bulbs, red, blue and green. M. stands lost in joy to the south of the Nat Mandir. Says he in wonder, "Aha, the waves of joy are playing here, it looks. What a discovery Jagabandhu made for us! The day is indeed successful. How beautifully they have painted, sculpted them! That is why he said while talking of the Rasa of Darjipara, ‘They are like pigeon holes.’ "

M. has now entered the courtyard of the Thakur Temple.

He begins with having the darshan from the North. First ‘Trip by boat,’ then ‘Devi Ghostha’ and then ‘Krishna Kali’. M. gets fascinated on seeing Krishna. He stands firm staring at Sri Krishna. After a while he says laughing, "I say this is the chandala (Ayan Ghosh ­ the husband of Radha)."

Now he sees ‘Rakhal Ghostha,’ ‘Rai Raja’ and ‘Navnari Kunj’ and then ‘The Stealing of the Clothes,’ ‘The Subjugation of the Snake Kali’ and ‘The Eight (Girl) Friends’ and lastly ‘Balaram and Krishna in a Forest Excursion’. M. sees them all and then stands in a corner to take a little rest.

After this, he sees ‘The Stealing of the Butter,’ ‘Milking of the Cow,’ ‘Stealing of Kanva Muni’s Food’ and ‘The Celebration of Nanda’.

Now, he witnesses ‘The Birth of Sri Krishna’ ­ the child Krishna is in the lap and Vasudeva is crossing the Yamuna. The cows have raised their eyes in a stare. M. says to the devotees, "Just see how beautiful all this is! The cows look as if real! And look at him there, how he looks, Kanva Muni! I thought this was perhaps somebody of the house. It would have been better if they had shown a jackal near the Yamuna. And see this, how the Gopas and Gopis are happy at Sri Krishna’s birth! Without knowing why they are also happy."

Standing in the north-western corner inside the room M. says, "How beautiful! What a wonderful idea! How much money they have spent! It is one thing to imagine all these and it is quite different to see them. There is a lot of difference between the two. By seeing, one gets a hundred times more of inspiration. It just gets set in the mind."

M. moves up and then again stops in front of ‘Krishna Kali.’ Says he, "One cannot see such a thing even by spending ten rupees on a ticket."

The venue of the Rasa is very spacious. In the centre under the tent is an assembly of musicians. To the east there are a number of idols. To the west there is a brick built house. To the south is placed the kitchen of the festival with space for diners. The stage for the Rasa is in the northern corner.

Now M. goes in for the darshan of all the idols towards the east. After seeing ‘Laksha Hira,’ he comes and stops at ‘The Birth of Gaur’. The Lord came down to Navadwip. There Srivasa, Advaita Acharya and other devotees dance full of joy. This scene has particularly stolen M.’s heart. Sri Ramakrishna had seen M. as an intimate disciple of God within the singing party of Chaitanya. It appears from it that this past memory of his has awakened again. So, filled with joy he says, "Just see, see there, what a dance of the Vaishnavas! What a joy! It is indeed very beautiful."

And now ‘Karna the Magnanimous,’ ‘Karna’s Reverence for his Guest’ ­ Karna is sawing the body of his son. Seeing this, M. says in a distressed tone, ‘Then alone people will say that he is such a charitable person! What a cruel act!’

Now, M. comes and stops near ‘Savitri Satyavan’. One can see a lot of sindoor (red lead) on the parting of the hair of Savitri. Seeing it M. asks, "Very nice, who has put the sindoor?" Antevasi says that it is the ladies. Bringing the sindoor from their homes they have put it on Savitri.

Now, he has the darshan of ‘Shaivya-Harishchandra’. M. says if they had shown both Harish Chandra and Shaivya in unlaundered clothes, it would have better. Seeing ‘the tapasya of Dhruva’, M. goes and stands near ‘Saptarathi (the seven cart drivers)’. The child Abhimanyu has been surrounded by the Saptarathis. M. says in a piteous voice, "How amazing this world is! Drona is here!" A certain bhakta says, "Bheeshma is also there." M. replies, "No, had he been there, would have been such a wrong?"

In the meanwhile, M. comes near ‘Bheeshma’s Bed of Arrows’. Mother Ganga is standing near the head of her son. M. has the darshan of the Mother Ganga with a concentrated mind. Thereafter ‘Sheetala Devi’. The Puranic tableaus end here.

There is another scene thereafter. It is social and modern. The old parents are begging pardon of their arrogant beastly son with folded hands.

Seeing it M. says, "Here, this is Maya. Maya is not an illusion. It is a matter of fact. Such an insult and yet the creature is bound by affection. Affection is Maya.

"The learned of the west say that Maya is an unreal fact, but the rishis opine that it is a realm ­ it is Lord’s power by which the unreal is perceived as real. It is by this power that the truth appears to be illusion and the illusion as the real. That is why, Thakur would always pray, ‘Don’t enchant me with Your world bewitching Maya, Mother.’ This is the only way to save oneself from Her ­ to take refuge in Her."

The assembly of musicians. Group singing of devotional songs is going on, Kirtan Lila. The musicians facing south are singing. M. casts glance from the south and then reaches the north-western corner of the stage. This is a fairly high platform like the dolmanch. Here, Krishna, the Lord of joy is bound in a loving embrace with his beloved Gopis. M. says to Doctor Bakshi, ‘Please offer a paise and do pranam.’ M. takes a little holy water and then comes down. Nearby, he sees a samadhi sthal (memorial where ashes of the dead are kept). On enquiry he finds out that it is the samadhi of the founder.

M. comes down the steps. He peeps into the dressing room of the musicians. Now, he listens to the kirtan. He stands on the veranda of the brick built house to the west of the musicians, exactly in the middle. The musicians are the Adhikaris of the Chuna Patti in Beleghata. They are playing on two khols, and there are four persons to repeat the lines of the songs. There is also a child in this group. The kirtania (singer) sings the Rasa Lila with so much of gestures with his body.

The bank of the Yamuna, the venue of the Rasa and the full moon day of the Kartik. The sky is full of the bright rays of the moon. A sweet, soft, cool breeze is blowing. Nature has assumed a very serene, fragrant and enchanting form as a backdrop to the divine lila of the Lord. Krishna had promised that he would fulfil the desires of the Gopis as the lover at an auspicious moment. Today, that moment has arrived.

The young boy Krishna is full of divine love. He is playing on his flute, while the Gopis are beside themselves on hearing that tune. Leaving behind their homes and near and dear ones, they depart. Neither husband, nor son, nor daughter, nor father, nor mother, nor brother, none could bind them. Because, Maya has become impotent here. Krishna’s beloveds are now beyond Maya. How? As they are now full of Krishna. Who is this Krishna? It appears he is the Eternal Brahman.

The musicians is singing:

Krishna, Parmatman gets bound to the bhakta yearning for Him. That is how the bonds of their affection for the world break down. The music of the flute has reached the ears of the Gopis. It has even reached the ears of the cows.

But, it has not reached the jivas involved in the world. Today, they are deaf, blinded as they are by affection.

The Gopis have gained liberation in this very life by Krishna’s love alone. By loving Krishna with their heart and soul, the Gopis have gained the worship of the world. The union of the jivatman (Individual Soul) with Parmatman (the Supreme Soul) is this Rasa Lila.

The kirtan goes on. Giving a four-anna piece in the hands of the singer, M. comes out and again goes to see the dining space.

The gatekeeper stands at the gate with a big stick in his hand. Arrangement is being made for the meals of a big number of people. Carrying bundles of earthen glasses, two porters enter the dining space close to M.

M. now stands at the Dola Kshetra (the spot for the swings) enjoying various colourful objects. In front of him is a circus. A human skull is dancing various steps. It is connected with a battery. M. walks along the rows of the idols. On both sides, there are shops with various idols of gods and goddesses. M. casts his glance this side and that side as he goes along.

Now he enters the bazaar of sweets. Naughty like a child with child-like curiosity, M. pushes his way in front of every shop. Now, his big protruding eyes cannot contain his joy. It looks as if he is yearning to eat them. Many little boys and girls have crowded here ­ one of them is M. Just as the children say to their parents beaming with joy, ‘Just see there, see how many sweets are there,’ similarly, M. says to the devotees full of joy, ‘Just how many varieties of sweets, how colourful they are!’

Pointing towards the Nagardola (the revolving swing) Antevasi says, "This is ‘Radha Chakra (the wheel of Radha)’." Hearing this, M. says full of joy, "Oh, they have given it such a beautiful name, we call it Nagardola. Various people call it by various names. ‘Radha chakra’ is beautiful name. But they are all the same."

Now, he sees the puppets dancing. The puppets quarrel and then embrace lovingly and dance in joy. A person is making them dance to the tune of the flute.

M. says in a serious mood, "Just see this dance of the puppets. It is absolutely the same with us. God is pulling the string and we think that we are dancing. That is why there is so much trouble. Only if we can understand that He is the juggler (puppet man), we will have perpetual joy. Otherwise, there is happiness today and unhappiness tomorrow. The joy of the senses is very short lived. When we know who is the juggler, we don’t have to dance. We are ever in joy then."

A wave of joy is passing through M. That is why he is feeling joy in every thing, everywhere. Those who have attained Brahmananda by the guru’s grace remain joyful even with sensory joy. They see the Joyful One everywhere.

Now, M. comes to the road. He has the car in front and the Ramsthali behind.

Morton School, 8 p.m. M. is seated in the room on the second level with some devotees in front of him. He had sent Jiten to the Rasa in Darjipara. He has just returned after the darshan of Madanmohan. M. hears from him the description of Rasa at both places there. He says to him, "Go to Chingrighata tomorrow for darshan of the Rasa. It is very beautiful. All my life, I have lived in Calcutta but only today I had the darshan of this movement. I simply did not know and nobody told me about it. So near is God, but one does not know it. This too is just like it."

The devotees listen to the reading of the Bhagavata at M.’s behest ­ the five chapters of the Rasa. M. goes upstairs to take his meals. When he returns, he asks for the last chapter to be read again, but because of the conversation, that reading was not done. The Rasa of Chingrighata was again the topic of the conversation.

A certain bhakta says, "The individual who has made this Rasa belongs to a very low caste." M. contradicts him sharply saying, "What? He who has such bhakti is certainly a Brahmin. What a great devotee he must be who has such a joyful Lila in his heart. Is it true because you have said it? Thakur used to say, ‘He who has so much devotion is certainly a Brahmin.’ "