There is a very beautiful and profound story from the tradition of Vrindavan that reveals to us the mystery of divine love.
Nārada, the great sage, the eternal pilgrim of the worlds, the singer of the name of Nārāyaṇa, heard one night the sound of Krishna's flute. That sound was not ordinary music. It was a call that pierced the very heart of existence.
Following that song, Nārada came to the place where Krishna was dancing the Rāsa Līlā with the gopīs, under the light of the full moon.
Nārada watched in wonder at that divine dance. Each gopī was with Krishna, and at the same time Krishna was with all of them. It was a mystery impossible to understand with the mind.
Then, full of devotion, Nārada tried to approach in order to enter the dance.
But he could not.
An invisible force prevented him.
Krishna, seeing his sincere longing, drew near to him and said sweetly:
“Nārada, this līlā cannot be understood or lived from the position of the sage. Only the one who loves as the gopīs love can enter.”
Nārada then asked what he should do.
Krishna told him to go to a sacred lake of Vrindavan, called Kusum Sarovar, the lake of flowers.
Nārada walked to that sacred place. In silence, he entered its waters.
And when he emerged…
he was no longer Nārada.
He had been transformed into a gopī.
His heart was no longer that of the sage who knows.
It was that of the lover who loves.
Only then could he enter the Rāsa Līlā.
Only then could he understand.
Not with the mind.
But with the soul.
After that experience, Krishna allowed him to return to his original form. But Nārada was no longer the same. He had discovered that the highest knowledge is not that of the intellect, but that of love.
This story reminds us of something essential:
To draw near to the Divine, it is not enough to know.
It is necessary to love.
It is not enough to observe.
It is necessary to surrender.
It is not enough to be wise.
It is necessary to become lovers of the Eternal.
·
Yogarahasya
