RASA DANCE
Artist: Jadurani
Devi Dasi and Ramadasa Abhirama Dasa
One of
the most famous parts of Lord Krishna's pastimes is His dancing with the gopis
in the middle of the night. Krishna was only eight years old, and the gopis were young
girls who were deeply in love with Him. When Krishna played on His flute in the middle of the night, the gopis put aside everything they were doing and went to where Krishna was to enjoy conjugal pastimes with Him.
They didn't care for social convention or what their relatives thought. At eight years of age there is no question of
lust, and so it is that Krishna descended to show all people of this world that in the spiritual world there is only prema (love) and not kama (lust). Some think Lord
Krishna an ordinary person and try to imitate His pastimes with the gopis. Krishna
becomes glorified for His dancing with the gopis, and ordinary men get into trouble
for trying to imitate Krishna's lila. The young gopis
had accumulated heaps of pious activities in previous lives to be able to dance with Lord Krishna on an equal level. Lord
Krishna's pastimes with the gopis are mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10th canto, chapters 29-33.
