Krishna Book -

Sometimes people object to discussions on the subject matter of raganuga-bhakti in our forums here.

Just to put things in a context, I am posting in some passages from A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's Krishna Book, which has been printed and distributed en masse on the streets of practically every major city of this planet without much consideration for the qualifications of the recipient in terms of purity of heart and so forth.

This krsna-katha will also be very much appealing to the most materialistic persons because Krsna’s pastimes with the gopis (cowherd girls) are exactly like the loving affairs between young girls and boys within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling found in human society is not unnatural because this same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is called Srimati Radharani. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition.

Therefore, when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Krsna’s pastimes with the gopis, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform. In the Bhagavatam it is stated that if one hears the pastimes of Lord Krsna with the gopis, from authorities with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished. In other words, such hearing will counteract material sex life.

This book, Krsna, which is filled with krsna-katha, will thus appeal equally to the liberated souls and to persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the gross, conditioned materialist. According to the statement of Maharaja Pariksit, who heard about Krsna from Sukadeva Gosvami, krsna-katha is equally applicable to every human being, whatever condition of life he is in.

--- Introduction

O dear friend of the distressed, kindly place Your hand on our burning breasts as well as on our heads, because we have surrendered unto You as Your eternal maidservants. If You think, however, that Your lotuslike palms might be burned to ashes if placed on our burning breasts, let us assure You that Your palms will feel pleasure instead of pain, as the lotus flower, although very delicate and soft, enjoys the scorching heat of the sun.”

Upon hearing the anxious plea of the gopis, the Supreme Personality of Godhead smiled, and being very kind to the gopis, the Lord, although self-sufficient, began to embrace them and kiss them as they desired. When Krsna, smiling, looked at the faces of the gopis, the beauty of their faces became a hundred times enhanced. When He was enjoying them in their midst, He appeared just like the full moon surrounded by millions of shining stars.

Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded by hundreds of gopis and decorated with a flower garland of many colors, began to wander within the Vrndavana forest, sometimes singing to Himself and sometimes singing with the gopis. In this way the Lord and the gopis reached the cool, sandy bank of the Yamuna, where there were lilies and lotus flowers. In such a transcendental atmosphere, the gopis and Krsna began to enjoy one another. While they were walking on the bank of the Yamuna, Krsna would sometimes put His arms around a gopi’s head, breast or waist. Pinching one another and joking and looking at one another, they enjoyed. When Krsna touched the bodies of the gopis, their lust to embrace Him increased. They all enjoyed these pastimes.

--- 29: The Rasa Dance: Introduction

When some of the gopis became very tired from dancing and moving their bodies, they placed their hands on the shoulders of Sri Krsna. Then their hair loosened and flowers fell to the ground. When they placed their hands on Krsna’s shoulder they became overwhelmed by the fragrance of His body, which emanated from the lotus, other aromatic flowers and the pulp of sandalwood. They became filled with attraction for Him, and they began to kiss Him. Some gopis touched Krsna cheek to cheek, and Krsna began to offer them chewed betel nuts from His mouth, which they accepted with great pleasure by kissing.
...
The gopis became tired after long singing and dancing. Krsna was dancing beside them, and to alleviate their fatigue they took Sri Krsna’s hand and placed it on their raised breasts.

--- 33: Description of the Rasa Dance

In the material world, pleasure is ultimately manifested in the sex attraction between man and woman. The man lives simply to be attracted by women, and the woman lives simply to be attracted by men. That is the basic principle of material life. As soon as these attractions are combined, people become more and more implicated in material existence. In order to show them special favor, Krsna exhibited this rasa-lila dance. It is just to captivate the conditioned soul. Since they are very much attracted by sex, they can enjoy the same life with Krsna and thus become liberated from the material condition.

In the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Maharaja Pariksit also explains that the pastimes and activities of Lord Krsna are medicine for the conditioned souls. If they simply hear about Krsna, they become relieved of the material disease. They are addicted to material enjoyment and are accustomed to reading sex literature, but by hearing these transcendental pastimes of Krsna with the gopis, they will be relieved of material contamination.

--- 33: Description of the Rasa Dance

By practicing meditation, the yogi can study the psychic movement of other men, and certainly Krsna could understand the desire of the gopis. Appearing on the scene, Krsna immediately collected all the garments of the gopis, climbed up into a nearby tree, and with a smiling face began to speak to them.

“My dear girls,” He said, “please come here one after another and pray for your garments and then take them away. I’m not joking with you. I’m just telling the truth. I have no desire to play any joke with you, for you are tired from observing the regulative principles for one month by worshiping goddess Katyayani. Please do not come here all at once. Come alone; I want to see each of you in your complete beauty, for you all have thin waists. I have requested you to come alone. Now please comply.”

When the girls in the water heard such joking words from Krsna, they began to look at one another and smile. They were very joyous to hear such a request from Krsna because they were already in love with Him. Out of shyness, they looked at one another, but they could not come out of the water because they were naked. Due to remaining in the water for a long time, they felt cold and were shivering, yet upon hearing the pleasing, joking words of Govinda, their minds were perturbed with great joy.

They told Krsna, “Dear son of Nanda Maharaja, please do not joke with us in that way. It is completely unjust to us. You are a very respectable boy because You are the son of Nanda Maharaja, and You are very dear to us, but You should not play this joke on us because now we are all shivering from the cold water. Kindly deliver our garments immediately; otherwise we shall suffer.” They then began to appeal to Krsna with great submission. “Dear Syamasundara,” they said, “we are all Your eternal servitors. Whatever You order us to do, we are obliged to perform without hesitation because we consider it our religious duty. But if You insist on putting this proposal to us, which is impossible to perform, then certainly we will have to go to Nanda Maharaja and lodge a complaint against You. If Nanda Maharaja does not take action, then we shall tell King Kamsa about Your misbehavior.”

Upon hearing this appeal by the unmarried gopis, Krsna answered, “My dear girls, if you think that you are My eternal servitors and you are always ready to execute My order, then My request is that, with your smiling faces, you please come here alone, one after another, and take away your garments. If you do not come here, however, and if you lodge complaints to My father, I shall not care anyway, for I know My father is old and cannot take any action against Me.”

When the gopis saw that Krsna was strong and determined, they had no alternative but to abide by His order. One after another they came out of the water, but because they were completely naked, they tried to cover their nakedness by placing their left hand over their pubic area. In that posture they were all shivering. Their simple presentation was so pure that Lord Krsna immediately became pleased with them. All the unmarried gopis who prayed to Katyayani to have Krsna as their husband were thus satisfied.

--- 22: Stealing the Garments of the Unmarried Gopi Girls

I trust I need not proceed with Caitanya Caritamrita, which was and is also distributed liberally on the streets, albeit not by far as widely as Krishna book. I wonder if anyone has any figures to give, how many Krishna books distributed since 1970?

Hare Krishna

Radhe Pamho



1. You do not think Krishna can purify these souls?
2. How can they be purifyed if they do not read
in the first place?

Govindaramji, you have just summarised the whole controversy in two points!

1 - Yes of course Krishna can purify all souls.
2 - Yes, this is why it is necessary to read these topics, otherwise how will they become purified? But there is an unfortunate philosophy floating around that one must first become purified before he reads of these subjects. Needless to say, this is not in line with the philosophy of the Gaudiya Vaishnava acharyas such as Rupa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami and Visvanatha Cakravartipada.