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RaasLeelaTheDanceofPassion

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Raas Leela The

Dance of Passion
Raas leela, the joyful dance of Krishna and the
gopis has been immortalized in legend. But what is
its significance, and why was even Shiva, the
Mahadeva, attracted to it? Lets find out.
Blog Home / Yoga & Meditation / Demystifying Yoga
Apr 24, 2014 | 3 Comments

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Raas leela, the joyful dance of Krishna and the gopis has been
immortalized in legend. But what is its significance, and why was even
Shiva, the Mahadeva, attracted to it? Lets find out from Sadhguru.

Sadhguru: There is something very feminine about celebration.

Whether a man celebrates or a woman celebrates, celebration is
essentially feminine. There is a very beautiful story in the
Mahabharata to describe the significance of being feminine. When
at eight years of age, Krishna moved from Gokula to Vrindhavan, he
became immensely popular among the village folk. It was at the
time of the Holi festival, just after spring when everything is in full
bloom. On a certain evening, a full moon day, the boys and girls of
the village gathered on the banks of river Yamuna. They started
playing and having fun throwing water and sand at each other.
After some time, the play broke into a dance. And they danced and
danced because they were in such an exuberant and joyful state. But
slowly, one by one, the clumsier ones dropped off. When Krishna
saw this, he took out his flute and started to play. His play was so
enchanting that everyone gathered around him and once again
swayed, for almost half the night.
This is the first incident of Raas Leela, where a simple joyful
mingling of people rose to a transcendental state. The word raas
literally means juice, but it can also indicate passion. So this was
the dance of passion. The fragrance of this dance spread. People
came to know that on full moon nights at midnight, this dance
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happened, and the numbers

of those who participated
increased.
It also fell on Shivas ears
that on full moon nights, a
fantastic dance happens on
the banks of the river
Yamuna.He became aware
that people just danced their
way to what he had achieved
through meditation. Shiva is
Nataraja, the Lord of Dance.
This is something which is
unique to India only Indian
gods dance. If they fall in
love, they dance. If they get
ecstatic, they dance. If they get angry, they dance. So being the Lord
of Dance, Shiva was very amused that this little boy, his devotee,
was taking people to transcendental states simply by dancing and
blowing upon his flute. He wanted to witness this.
He walked from the Himalayas to the banks of the river Yamuna
and said to a boatman who was there, Please take me across to
Vrindhavan. I want to see Krishnas Raas. The boat man replied,
You cannot go like this. When you go to the Raas, Krishna is the
only man, everyone else is a woman. If you want to go, you have to
go as a woman.

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Shiva is considered the ultimate of the masculine the purusha

among purushas. So it was a strange request, that Shiva had to
become a woman. But the Raas was in full swing and Shiva wanted
to go there. So the boatman said, If you must go, you must wear
womans clothing.
Shiva looked around. Noone was looking, so he said, Okay, give me
the gopis clothes. He wore the clothes of a gopi and went across.
He is such a sport.
This story signifies that essentially, the nature of celebration is
feminine. Feminine means exuberance. And that is how you should
be every moment of your life exuberantly alive. What is the point
in being half alive? We did not come here to avoid life, we came to
know and experience life. And you cannot experience life unless you
keep yourself as intense and exuberant as possible. Your whole life,
your very existence should become a celebration. If your life has to
become a celebration, you have to become absolutely joyful within
yourself. And this is not just empty talk such a thing is possible.
There is a whole science through which you can create the right
kind of chemistry within yourself to become joyful by your own
nature.

More Krishna Stories

More Mahabharata Stories

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Editors Note: Get the latest updates from the Isha Blog. Twitter, facebook,
rss or browser extensions, take your pick.

Images courtesy: Orissa paintings from Disha Gadhiya

Krishna et les Gopi (MNAAG / musee Guimet) by dalbera

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Cancerisaserious
aberrationinthe
human
system.ClassicalYoga
bringsharmonyand
neutralizesaberrations.

Sadhguru
Todays Mystic Quote

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Jointhediscussion
trsDiplomatique 3monthsago

Shiva,whatnow?
Hasanybodyherereadthe"Purusha"Sukta?

Reply Share

Abhi 2yearsago

impressive

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Jaya 2yearsago

Krishnawhat'sthesecretthatevenshivahadto
becomegopikapleasereveal.

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