What is vām bhav of the Gopis, those who attain love? What is their vām bhāv? Vām bhãv means, despite having unlimited love, their behavior is completely inverted. They behave like they don’t love, but they have love. A Gopi who is waiting for Shyamsundar since night, in the night time when she was going to make yogurt, since then she was thinking,
“I am making this yogurt. It should be very sweet! Probably Shyamsundar will come tomorrow to my house to steal the yogurt! Or I will go to sell the yogurt towards that side, probably Shyamsundar would come towards that side!”
The whole night she was thinking about Shyamsundar when she was making the yogurt. In the morning when she made the butter, all the time she was thinking about Shyamsundar. She could not sleep for even one second. If she could not sleep the whole night, then how can Shree Krishna sleep?
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।
Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante.- Gita 4.11
He could also not sleep. He was also waiting that as soon as the sun would be seen and it is morning time, then,
“I will go to the Gopi to give My love to her.”
He is desperate to give love,and she is desperate to have love of Shree Krishna. When Shree Krishna goes, and she is selling the yogurt, her mind is thinking about Shyamsundar only,
“Lo dahi! Lo dahi!”
She forgot because she was thinking about Shyamsundar; that’s why He started saying,
“Lo Shyamsundar! Lo Govinda! lo Madhav!”
विक्रेतुकामाखिलगोपकन्यामुरारिपादार्पितचित्तवृत्तिः।
दध्यादिकं मोहवशादवोचद्गोविन्द दामोदर माधवेति॥3॥Vikretu kāmākhila Gopakanyā, Murāri pādārpithchithvruttih,
Dadhyādikaṃ moh vashād avochad, Govind, Dāmodar Mādhavethi. (3)- Shree Govind Damodar Stotram
He started taking the name of Shree Krishna, then Shree Krishna thinks,
“If I will not give darshan to this Gopi now, then she will sell Me because she forgot about anything! She will sell Me!”
Then He had to come over there. When Shyamsundar comes to the Gopi, the one who is waiting whole night, and who made the yogurt with this feeling that probably He will eat this yogurt. He will snatch it from me or He will steal this yogurt from me! She was thinking whole night about all these things, but when Shree Krishna says,
“Sakhi, give Me a little bit of yogurt!”
(The Gopi said), “I am not here to donate it. I am selling it. Okay? Get out from here! I cannot give You the yogurt!
Shyamsundar says, “Give Me a little bit!”
Shyamsundar is small and His hands are also very small; He doesn’t have any pot. He has only His little hands, and He is begging for the yogurt just like how much would come in His hand, but still the Gopi is not giving! Why? Because she wants to have more darshan (Divine Vision) of Shree Krishna. If she will immediately give the yogurt, then He may go. But if she is saying,
“No, I will not give! I will not give You,” and He is asking again and again, and then when she thinks,
“If I will not give the yogurt or the butter, whatever He is asking for, then He will go.”
Then she says, “Okay, if You are insisting so much, then I can give You, but on one condition!
Shree Krishna says, “What?”
“You have to dance first! Show Your dance! After that I will give You a little yogurt!”
So Thakur Ji (beloved Lord Krishna) dances. An ordinary dancer also needs some music, some orchestra, some stage, some costumes, etc., but Thakur Ji has no orchestra, no stage, no special costumes, nothing at all. (He has to dance) just on the floor. And what is the orchestra? Clapping. The Gopis are clapping. So on the rhythm of the claps of the Gopis He is dancing.
