Krsna is Controlled by the Prema of His Devotees

Krsna is the one who is being controlled – by the prema of

His devotees. That Krsna is controlled by prema is further corroborated in Visvanätha

Cakravarti’s commentary from Srimad-bhägavatam when Brahmä stole the cows and cowherd

boys:

It may be objected that Krsna in the form of the cowherd boys should have had the same

affection for their mothers as the actual boys, because the verse says the Krsna took up

exactly the character, dress, form and age as each cowherd boy. But though Krsna is

supreme, and everyone from Brahmä to even His personal expansions are dependent on

Him, He is dependent on prema. Prema is not dependent on Him. He cannot control or

restrict prema.

Sridhara Svämi says, “This irregularity is difficult to prevent in Krsna.” Such uncontrollable

prema was in the hearts of the mothers towards Krsna in the form of their sons. Thus, Krsna

in the form of their sons forgot His powers as God, as He took up the role of their sons, and

remained dependent on them, like a commander next to the king. One should not say that

such dependence is a fault – rather it is Krsna’s ornament. As dependence of the jiva on

mäyä is the cause of his sorrow, so Krsna’s dependence on prema is the cause of ever-increasing

bliss. This is the realization of the great devotees. -- SB, 10.13.25

Through Prema One can See the Lord

At a later stage prema assumes the character of a strong magnet drawing to itself even Lord Krishna, the all-attractive iron, and one day prema arranges for the pure devotee a direct audience with the Lord. And the Supreme Lord reciprocates by revealing to the pure devotee His intimate., divine, and auspicious attributes such as His ravishing beauty; physical fragrance; melodious voice; everfresh youthfulness; versatile love; magnanimity, and compassion, which the pure devotees directly perceive with their senses. As these attributes are nectarean and dynamic, prema produces in the devotee's heart an ever-increasing, powerful desire to fully relish the Lord's transcendental qualities. The devotee finds himself swimming in an unlimited ocean of bliss that no words can adequately describe.

The exultation of a devotee experiencing prema is likened to traveller who, after painfully traversing the burning desert sand in the middle of summer, finds an oasis cooled by a fresh stream gurgling under the shade of a huge banyan tree. The bliss of prema is further likened to the happiness a wild elephant feels after being trapped for days in a smouldering forest fire and then suddenly drenched in torrential rains; or like a gourmet, who after many days of sickness and being fed medicines and a bland, frugal diet becomes well and is given a feast. Of course, these descriptions offer merely an idea of the devotee's state of joy because it cannot be compared to any material happiness. Material happiness and spiritual happiness are totally different from each other by nature-material happiness is a product of maya-sakti, or the illusory potency, whereas the devotee's bliss directly comes from the Lord's internal spiritual potency, or svarapa-sakti.

How the Lord Reveals Himself to the Prema-bhakta

When prema blossoms, the Lord reveals first His form of matchless beauty to the enraptured devotee. The devotee's senses and mind become one and he beholds with all his senses the Lord's exquisite beauty. At the sight of the Lord's unparalleled beauty, the devotee feels ecstatic symptoms (asta-sattvic vikara) like being paralyzed, quivering, weeping, and so on. These ecstatic symptoms begin to hinder his vision of the Lord; not only that, but the exhilaration renders him unconscious.

Seeing the devotee's condition, the Lord consolingly manifests His second ambrosial attribute-His physical fragrance-which immediately arrests the devotee's sense of smell. Now all the devotee's senses withdraw from the sense of sight and rush to centre on the sense of smell. This overpowers him, and once again intense joy causes him to lose consciousness.

Krishna once again rescues the devotee, and this time the Lord revives him with His melodious voice. The Lord speaks to him saying, “My dear devotee! I am now your captive, fully under your control. Do not be overwhelmed, just perceive Me and fulfil the desire of your heart”. The devotee's senses become surcharged and they seek to hear and absorb the sweet melody of his beloved Lord's voice. Again he is unable to contain his ecstasy and he becomes bereft of consciousness. Then the Lord, full of compassion, embraces the devotee with His body, displaying His fourth nectarean opulence of tender youthfulness To the dasya devotee (mellow of servitorship) He places His lotus feet on his head; to the sakhya devotee (mellow of friendship) He entwines His lotus fingers with his fingers; to the vatsalya devotee (parental mellow) the Lord wipes away his tears with His lotus hands; and to the madhurya devotee (conjugal mellow) He draws him to His chest and wraps His arms around him in a tender embrace. From this we understand that the Lord reciprocates appropriately with the different mellows of each devotee's love.