The Gopis thought day and night about Shree Krishna. They were merged mentally in the divine memories of Krishna. The Gopis were merged and lost in Shree Krishna. When they went to milk the cows at dusk, they thought and aspired to offer milk to Shree Krishna and instead of churning curd, they churned milk!
One such mother-in-law said to her daughter-in-law, “Dear Daughter! Why are you churning buttermilk for such a long time at such late hour? You have churned it for two hours, now take off the butter from it.” When she tried to take away the butter, she found that she was churning the milk instead! Thus, they were confused totally in their routines. They were absent mentally, during their work.
(They like nothing except praising their darling Krishna. They burn in their heart when there is talk about others.)
The Gopis disliked any talk not connected to Krishna. They were sad and unhappy if people talked to them about other things. Rustic talk and gossip are harmful to devotion. God is not pleased with gossipers. The Gopis are not interested in worldly talk. They pay no attention to it:
(The state of this weaker sex was most pitiable due to the pains of separation. They call helplessly their loved one with tears and lamentation. They convulse pitiably for their unseen lover.)
“O Krishna! O Govinda! O Madhava! Please came here and pacify my heart. Please talk to me in your nectar like speech.”
(Please come to talk about the sweet moments of love. This seclusive silence has become unbearable for me. Please come and talk to me. Why have you deserted me? Why have you changed your mind? Forget it now and come back to us to have pleasant dialogues of love.)
“O Krishna! Your silence and seperation is intolerable. O Krishna! Please come to me. Are you hurt with our taunting words? We have called you a ‘thief’ only to tease you.”
(Please forget and forgive and come to play with us. Let us enjoy a good time together.)
“O Krishna! Please come and play Sharad Purnima Raas with us. Please grant our prayers.”
The Gopis remembered the past episodes when Shree Krishna had meals with them and other pleasant exchanges. If desired to love anyone then love God and do devotion of God. There would be an addition to your problems and worries if you loved intensely your relations and wealth. Your worries would be destroyed with your love for God.
A rich merchant was in love with a prostitute. He used to walk behind her holding an umbrella over her head when she went shopping. Once, the merchant and the prostitute passed by a temple when she went window-shopping. It was a majestic temple and Ramanujacharya was dwelling there. Ramanujacharya saw them in the street. Saints are benevolent and they show the path of truth to sinful souls, returning them to adopting ethical duties.
Shree Ramanujacharyaji sent a message to the merchant and invited him the next day to have a meeting with him. Ramanujacharya explained to him the subtle value of love and affection and admired his love for that prostitute. While expressing his happiness, he brought to the notice of the merchant the grim part of his love story. Ramanujacharya said, “O Sethji! You are wise and intelligent. I admire your love for the prostitute. I am happy you are in intimate love with her. But there is a pinch of pain. Your love for her shall be short lived. It is temporary and mortal. Her youthful body is nothing but a container of blood, meat and excreta. Her body will perish and love will end abruptly. This cheerful scene of love will turn into tragic lamentation. Your love will end with her withered and ugly body.”
While explaining further to him, Ramanujacharya said, “God is more beautiful than a prostitute. His charms and love are unmatched and unique. Divert your love and affection to God instead of loving her. This will be benedictory for you. Only God deserves to be truly loved.”
Ramanujacharya slapped him during the talk. That shocking slap sent him into instant Samadhi state. He did darshan of God. The accumulated sins of the past many births were destroyed through darshan of a true saint. Here the saint was Ramanujacharya and such a great saint touched that sinful merchant. The slap of the saint shook the merchant from his slumber of ignorance and he returned to a virtuous life.
Sadguru Muktanand Swami sings:
(Though they compel us to sleep on the pointed blade of a spear, we should live insistently with saints)
Take God into the seat of your heart using the roads of your eyes and ears to get there. God enters in our heart through the pathways, namely the ears and the eyes. The Gopis had become skeletons in the pains of separation. They had ignored their physical needs.