I have been reading Ananda Vrindaban Champu, by Kavi-karnapur, translated by Bhanu Swami & Subhag Swami with great joy. It is very well written and edited as to be very readable. Still there are things I feel should be changed. I will not go into them now. I am about half way through, having skipped the childhood and demon killing pastimes.
Here is a passage that supports my understanding of Krishna engaged in his erotic pastimes as being older.
“Nanda and Yasoda who were tied to Him by the creeper of parental affection, thought that Krishna would remain perpetually as their little boy.
“Despite their thinking, Krishna soon blossomed into manhood. At this time the gopis saw Krishna as a handsome most lovable young man, but His parents continued to see Him as their darling son….To satisfy the Lord’s desire to relish parakiya bhav, Yogamaya also arranged for the gopis to maintain the consciousness of identifying as other men’s wives.†Ananda Vrindaban Champu, p 140
A younger age for Krishna may be very appropriate for those in parental relationships or for some of his childhood pastimes with his friends. However, for erotic relationships with the cowherd girls, an older age is more appropriate. I say this from my own personal viewpoint of desiring an erotic relationship with Radha Krishna. I also say it from the viewpoint of wanting to present an erotic mood that does not have the tinge of pedophilia from an ethical point of view. The parental and erotic moods are not really complimentary. I’m sure Radha Krishna can appear at different ages to satisfy the desires of their different devotees.
According to Kavi-karnapur, Krishna came to earth to enjoy childhood pastimes, the killing of demons and the relationship of paramour love. These things do not exist in the transcendental realm which is unmanifest. I have no interest in any of these pastimes. I also have no interest in being born again, even if it is where Krishna is manifesting his earthly pastimes. Therefore, I disagree with Vishwanath Chakravarty that we have to be born in the earthly Braja with Krishna before going to the spiritual Braja.
Looking at things in a post-modern, quantum physics type of way, I see no reason why we can’t just make a quantum leap rather than a sequential journey. I also see no need to develop all the details of our identity before being able to go there because I am quite confident that yogamaya can fill in all the needed information.
I also want to clarify the use of two terms to describe the relationship between Radha and Krishna—conjugal and erotic.
con•ju•gal Of or relating to marriage or the relationship of spouses.
e•rot•ic
1. Of or concerning sexual love and desire; amatory.
2. Tending to arouse sexual desire.
3 Dominated by sexual love or desire.
I believe the second of the two terms is more accurate since the illicit nature of their love is emphasized, and that is what I prefer to use.
