Thursday, July 24, 2008

Krishna's Gopis

Dr. Cato was one of my favorite professors in college. You would think that, since I was a math major, my favorite classes and professors would all be math related. But it was one of my religion professors that really stood out. I took three different religion classes in school. Religions of the east, as I may have already mentioned here, is what set me on my spiritual journey. It was fall semester, 2001, my last semester, and I'll never forget it.

She often told us stories from some of the ancient texts. I was reminded last night of one story in particular. I'd like to try to find it online so that I can read it again; it's very short. Krishna and his gopis were swimming, and all the gopis had their clothes hanging on trees. Krishna, being playful, hid all their clothes. If I remember correctly, the point of the story had to do with being brave enough to bare yourself completely to Krishna, not just in the flesh, but emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I could be wrong about that, though. If/when I find the story, I'll post it here.

7 comments:

Jim said...

sounds like a good story.

Sophia said...

Hi Jim,

The story comes from a collection of Puranas. I have other stories somewhere. I kept all my assignments, papers and tests from that class.

Anonymous said...

You can read the full story athttp://vedabase.net/sb/10/22/en3
(Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 22)

Sophia said...

Thank you my mysterious friend. I'm going to read it now. I appreciate the time you took to find it for me.

Sophia said...

There is more detail in this than I remember. The professor must have just given us a summarized version of the story.

I am touched by the devotion of the gopis.

Thanks again for finding this.

Anonymous said...

You're welcome. The stories on this site (especially in the 10th Canto) are real nectar and answer all life's perplexing questions... The Bhagavad-gita (on the same site) is a pancea for all modern day conundrums. The best part is, it (and the other Bhagavad Puranas on the site) includes "Purports" or commentaries that help poor lost souls like me!!

Sophia said...

Anonymous,

We read some parts of the Mahabharata in class, in particular mostly the Bhagavad-Gita. We also watched a long movie production called "Mahabharata" that I was fascinated with. My memory could be wrong but I seem to remember a goddess having a child of stone. This is almost seven years ago, though, so my memory could be faulty.