The tales of Krishna’s youth abound with his several dalliances with the Gopinis or the Brijbalas, the young women of the Yadava clan. Though he constantly troubled the Gopis with his pranks and mischief, they forgot all their anger once he started playing his flute. They got lost in the divine music and forgot all their chores once he started playing. So much was their love for Krishna, that they surrendered their very soul to him! Though this sounds very mundane, the Gopinis were actually highly enlightened saints and sages in their previous births. Their love for Krishna transcended material, worldly desires – that supreme love was actually the yearning of the Jeevatma (individual human soul) for the Paramatma (the supreme Brahman). Krishna would regularly perform the Ras Leela with the young Gopis. They would all gather around Krishna and start dancing joyfully to the music. Suddenly, each of the Gopis would find her own Krishna dancing beside her, so each one had a Krishna partner to herself during the Ras Leela! Krishna had so much love for them that he would manifest himself many times over, so that each Gopini could revel in the sheer divinity of it all!
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