View source for The gopis are perfectly and thoroughly in cognition of this relationship with Krsna, whereas the living entities under the spell of maya, the illusory energy, are forgetful of Krsna and think themselves separate identities having no connection with Him

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{{terms|"The gopis, however, are perfectly and thoroughly in cognition of this relationship with Krsna, whereas the living entities under the spell of maya, the illusory energy, are forgetful of Krsna and think themselves separate identities having no connection with Him"}}
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<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="Krsna_The_Supreme_Personality_of_Godhead" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead"><h3>Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead</h3>
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<div id="KB47_0" class="quote" parent="Krsna,_The_Supreme_Personality_of_Godhead" book="OB" index="51" link="KB 47" link_text="Krsna Book 47">
<div class="heading">The living entities are also directly part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is both the material and the efficient cause of everything. He is always intermingled with everything as cause and effect. Not only the gopīs but all living entities are always inseparably connected with Kṛṣṇa in all circumstances. The gopīs, however, are perfectly and thoroughly in cognition of this relationship with Kṛṣṇa, whereas the living entities under the spell of māyā, the illusory energy, are forgetful of Kṛṣṇa and think themselves separate identities having no connection with Him.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:KB 47|Krsna Book 47]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Since the perfection of such austerity was completely manifested in the lives of the gopīs, Uddhava was fully satisfied upon seeing their transcendental position. He continued: "My dear gopīs, the mentality you have developed in relationship with Kṛṣṇa is very, very difficult to attain, even for great sages and saintly persons. You have attained the highest perfectional stage of life. It is a great boon for you that you have fixed your minds upon Kṛṣṇa and have decided to have Kṛṣṇa only, giving up your families, homes, relatives, husbands and children for the sake of the Supreme Personality. Because your minds are now fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul, universal love has automatically developed in you. I think myself very fortunate that I have been favored, by your grace, to see you in this situation."</p>
<p>When Uddhava said that he had a message from Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs were more interested in hearing the message than in hearing about their exalted position. They did not very much like being praised for their high position. They showed their anxiety to hear the message Uddhava had brought from Kṛṣṇa. Uddhava said, "My dear gopīs, I am especially deputed to carry this message to you, who are such great and gentle devotees. Kṛṣṇa has specifically sent me to you because I am His most confidential servitor."</p>
<p>Uddhava did not deliver to the gopīs the written message brought from Kṛṣṇa, but he personally read it to them. The message was very gravely written, so that not only the gopīs but all empiric philosophers might understand how pure love of God is intrinsically integrated with all the different energies of the Supreme Lord. From Vedic information it is understood that the Supreme Lord has multi-energies: parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). Also, the gopīs were such intimate personal friends of Kṛṣṇa that while He was writing the message for them He was so moved that He could not write distinctly. Uddhava, as a student of Bṛhaspati, had very sharp intelligence, so instead of handing over the written message, he thought it wise to read it personally and explain it to them.</p>
<p>Uddhava continued: "These are the words of the Personality of Godhead: "My dear gopīs, My dear friends, please know that separation between ourselves is impossible at any time, at any place or under any circumstances, because I am all-pervading." "</p>
<p>This all-pervasiveness of Kṛṣṇa is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, in both the Ninth and Seventh chapters. In the Ninth Chapter Kṛṣṇa is described as all-pervasive in His impersonal feature; everything rests in Him, but He is not personally present everywhere. And in the Seventh Chapter it is stated that the five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air and sky) and the three subtle elements (mind, intelligence and ego) are all His inferior energies. But there is another, superior energy, which is called the living entity. The living entities are also directly part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is both the material and the efficient cause of everything. He is always intermingled with everything as cause and effect. Not only the gopīs but all living entities are always inseparably connected with Kṛṣṇa in all circumstances. The gopīs, however, are perfectly and thoroughly in cognition of this relationship with Kṛṣṇa, whereas the living entities under the spell of māyā, the illusory energy, are forgetful of Kṛṣṇa and think themselves separate identities having no connection with Him.</p>
<p>Love of Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is therefore the perfection of real knowledge in understanding things as they are. Our minds can never be vacant. The mind is constantly occupied with some kind of thought, and the subject matter of such thought cannot be outside the eight elements of Kṛṣṇa's energy. One who knows this philosophical aspect of all thoughts is actually a wise man, and he surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs are the epitome of this perfectional stage of knowledge. They are not simple mental speculators. Their minds are always in Kṛṣṇa. The mind is nothing but the energy of Kṛṣṇa. Actually, any person who can think, feel and will cannot be separated from Kṛṣṇa. But the stage in which he can understand his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The diseased condition in which he cannot understand his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa is the contaminated stage, or māyā. Since the gopīs are on the platform of pure transcendental knowledge, their minds are always filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example, as there is no separation between fire and air, there is no separation between Kṛṣṇa and the living entities. When the living entities forget Kṛṣṇa, they are not in their normal condition. As for the gopīs, because they are always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, they are on the absolute stage of perfection in knowledge. The so-called empiric philosophers sometimes think that the path of bhakti is meant for the less intelligent, but unless the so-called man of knowledge comes to the platform of bhakti, his knowledge is certainly impure and imperfect. Actually, the stage of forgetfulness of our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa is separation. But that is also illusory because there is no such separation. The gopīs were not situated in that illusory condition of life, so even from the philosophical point of view, for them there was no separation.</p>
<p>Uddhava continued reading Kṛṣṇa's message: " "Nothing is separate from Me; the whole cosmic manifestation is resting on Me and is not separate from Me. Before the creation, I was existing." " This is confirmed in the Vedic literature: eko nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā naśānaḥ. "Before creation, there was only Nārāyaṇa. There was no Brahmā and no Śiva." The whole cosmic manifestation is manipulated by the three modes of material nature. It is said that Brahmā, the incarnation of the quality of passion, created this universe. But Brahmā is the secondary creator: the original creator is Nārāyaṇa. This is confirmed by Śaṅkarācārya: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt. "Nārāyaṇa is transcendental, beyond this cosmic creation." In this way, nothing within this cosmic manifestation is separate from Kṛṣṇa, although Kṛṣṇa's original form is not visible in everything.</p>
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