In another episode, the Kanchipuram Shankaracharya, Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati, tells an Upanyasaga (spiritual lecturer) that his young adulation of Krishna's Raasa Krida, eventually led him to become a Sanyasi. This episode has the merit of Sanyasa Yogam.
This is bizarre. Here is Krishna dancing with multiple women. And a saint says that this causes Sanyasam (renunciation).
What's going on?
Examine the Raasa Krida episode in some more detail. Here, Krishna multiplies himself and there is a separate Krishna for each Gopika. Each Gopika believes that she alone has Krishna to herself and the dance is for her alone.
A parallel is seen in a later episode of Srimath Bhagavatham. After defeating Narakaasura, Krishna releases, marries & lives with 16108 wives. When Naarada visits every wife, he sees a separate Krishna living with every one of them. Every wife thinks that Krishna is living with her alone.
What does this mean?
Imagine an ocean. An infinite ocean of bliss. Still, unmoving. Bliss itself, unaware that it is bliss, desires to experience bliss. This wind of desire stirs up the calm ocean. There are now multiple waves in this ocean. Every wave is different, unique in shape, speed. Every wave thinks that it is separate from the ocean, has its own attributes & characteristics. And every wave is dancing on the ocean. It traveled everywhere seeking happiness, but it itself was bliss. Now, having experienced something other than bliss, the wave has to let go of its desire & it will merge back into the ocean of bliss. It was never really separate from the ocean, it only deluded itself that it was separate.
We life forms are the waves. We are all unique in our attributes & characteristics. We are all dancing our own unique dance of life. God is within us with the dance, with all of us in our dances. We believe that our own unique dance of life is ours alone. We are the Gopikas. We are the waves. The eternal bliss of the ocean is Krishna. The Paramaatman has multiplied into individual Jivaatmas (souls), providing life and dancing with us. We are all married permanently to the ocean of bliss. There is no escape from eventual eternal bliss. How soon the wave lets go of its unique desires, realizes that it is part of the ocean and merges with the ocean is up to the wave. It is up to us.
The Shrutis also say that truth is multi-layered. In spiritual progress, we all go from lesser truths to greater truths.
Our mind keeps us busy. Fulfilling desire after desire. Eventually, there will come the music of the divine. When that happens, like the Gopikas, we will leave everything and go to dance with the divine. This is what the Saadhus, Rishis & great saints have repeatedly done.
Why the number 16108 for the number of wives? In Ayurveda, there are 72000 nadis (tubes that pulse). Of these, 16108 are important. Narakaasura, the demonic son of earth, keeps them imprisoned. Narakaasura represents our own ego that has imprisoned these nadis. During self-awakening (divine dance of the self), these nadis get awakened.
This dance is called Raasa Krida. What is Rasa?
Examine the Raasa Krida episode in some more detail. Here, Krishna multiplies himself and there is a separate Krishna for each Gopika. Each Gopika believes that she alone has Krishna to herself and the dance is for her alone.
A parallel is seen in a later episode of Srimath Bhagavatham. After defeating Narakaasura, Krishna releases, marries & lives with 16108 wives. When Naarada visits every wife, he sees a separate Krishna living with every one of them. Every wife thinks that Krishna is living with her alone.
What does this mean?
Imagine an ocean. An infinite ocean of bliss. Still, unmoving. Bliss itself, unaware that it is bliss, desires to experience bliss. This wind of desire stirs up the calm ocean. There are now multiple waves in this ocean. Every wave is different, unique in shape, speed. Every wave thinks that it is separate from the ocean, has its own attributes & characteristics. And every wave is dancing on the ocean. It traveled everywhere seeking happiness, but it itself was bliss. Now, having experienced something other than bliss, the wave has to let go of its desire & it will merge back into the ocean of bliss. It was never really separate from the ocean, it only deluded itself that it was separate.
We life forms are the waves. We are all unique in our attributes & characteristics. We are all dancing our own unique dance of life. God is within us with the dance, with all of us in our dances. We believe that our own unique dance of life is ours alone. We are the Gopikas. We are the waves. The eternal bliss of the ocean is Krishna. The Paramaatman has multiplied into individual Jivaatmas (souls), providing life and dancing with us. We are all married permanently to the ocean of bliss. There is no escape from eventual eternal bliss. How soon the wave lets go of its unique desires, realizes that it is part of the ocean and merges with the ocean is up to the wave. It is up to us.
The Shrutis also say that truth is multi-layered. In spiritual progress, we all go from lesser truths to greater truths.
Our mind keeps us busy. Fulfilling desire after desire. Eventually, there will come the music of the divine. When that happens, like the Gopikas, we will leave everything and go to dance with the divine. This is what the Saadhus, Rishis & great saints have repeatedly done.
Why the number 16108 for the number of wives? In Ayurveda, there are 72000 nadis (tubes that pulse). Of these, 16108 are important. Narakaasura, the demonic son of earth, keeps them imprisoned. Narakaasura represents our own ego that has imprisoned these nadis. During self-awakening (divine dance of the self), these nadis get awakened.
This dance is called Raasa Krida. What is Rasa?
Nandikeshwara नन्दिकेश्वर defines it in अभिनयदर्पण Abhinaya Darpana 37 in a famous verse.
Yato Hasta tato Drushti; Yato Drushti tato Manaha; Yato Manaha tato Bhavaha; Yato Bhava tato Rasaha.
‘Where the hand goes, the eyes should follow; where the eyes are, the mind should follow; where the mind is, the emotion expressed; where expressed, the Rasa will manifest.’
In Tamizh, a flavorful soup with multiple spices is called Rasam.
This dance of life takes us through multiple emotions. This is the Raasa Lila. Lila means play. This is a play where we experience multiple Rasas. This is also the Raasa Krida. Krida means crown. When the dance truly becomes a dance with the divine, we will experience the crown or highest point of the emotions in a positive manner including the final inevitable Shaantham (peace).
This dance of life takes us through multiple emotions. This is the Raasa Lila. Lila means play. This is a play where we experience multiple Rasas. This is also the Raasa Krida. Krida means crown. When the dance truly becomes a dance with the divine, we will experience the crown or highest point of the emotions in a positive manner including the final inevitable Shaantham (peace).
List of Rasas:
Śṛṅgāraḥ शृङ्गार: Vishnu. green
Hāsyam हास्यं: Shiva. white
Raudram रौद्रं: Shiva. red
Kāruṇyam कारुण्यं: Yama. grey
Bībhatsam बीभत्सं: Shiva. blue
Bhayānakam भयानकं: Yama. black
Veeram वीरं: Indra. saffron
Adbhutam अद्भुतं: Brahma. yellow
Śāntam: शान्तं: Vishnu. white
References:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+rasakreeda+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_(aesthetics)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_lila
https://books.google.co.in/books?dq=16,000+nadis&hl=en&id=CBEqgAIh7XcC&lpg=PA46&ots=mdUOxvVlR4&pg=PA46&sa=X&sig=voHEpEuOF-1xZSBcYD6czR0yFtk&source=bl&ved=0ahUKEwiIj9mBm5nRAhUMOI8KHdbeCJQQ6AEIMzAE#v=onepage&q=16%2C000%20nadis&f=false
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-the-Hindu-God-Krishna-have-16-000-wives/answer/Pranav-Chaitanya-1
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+rasakreeda+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_(aesthetics)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_lila
https://books.google.co.in/books?dq=16,000+nadis&hl=en&id=CBEqgAIh7XcC&lpg=PA46&ots=mdUOxvVlR4&pg=PA46&sa=X&sig=voHEpEuOF-1xZSBcYD6czR0yFtk&source=bl&ved=0ahUKEwiIj9mBm5nRAhUMOI8KHdbeCJQQ6AEIMzAE#v=onepage&q=16%2C000%20nadis&f=false
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-the-Hindu-God-Krishna-have-16-000-wives/answer/Pranav-Chaitanya-1
https://twitter.com/subhash_kak/status/1308806461460545539
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