June 11, 1976 : Los Angeles
Jadurani Dasi: Radhaballabha revealed to Prabhupada a big problem that was going on in the L.A. temple at that time. A group of men and women which was called the Gopi Bhava Club, they were seeing some Radha Kunda babajis and were learning from them a misunderstanding of Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-caritamrta. So they imagine that they were already gopis and giving up their regulative principles and having illicit sex and getting pregnant. So this was brought up to Srila Prabhupada, and Prabhupada became very, very angry and began talking about this subject in many different venues.
Then on June 11th, we were able to have one of our very rare art meetings with him, when Jayarama showed his picture and Prabhupada said, "Why do you do the same picture all the time? Why do you always do Radha-Krishna? Why don't you do a different picture?" Then when Caruhasa showed his picture, which was some meeting of Radha and Krishna, Prabhupada began to condemn the sahajiyas. He said, "Why do you imagine some pastime of Krishna? It's like you are thinking that Krishna is some playboy and He has so many girlfriends, and then you are imagining, 'Oh, now I understand Krishna. I can control Krishna and make Him as I like. Now I am perfect.'" So he is seeing that even the devotees who weren't in the Gopi Bhava Club, we all had some tinge of that sahajiya and impersonalism.
He said, "Radha-Krishna's intimate pastimes are not for being explained by the neophytes. How can those engaged in illicit sex and smoking bidis think that they are understanding and having any relationship and what to speak of becoming the gopis? If we misunderstand Radha and Krishna from a wrong person and by our own imagination, then we will think that Radha and Krishna are a similar debauchery and we'll use that so-called debauchery of Radha and Krishna, which is pure, to support our own illicit activities."
So then Ramesvara said to him, "But they think that they are becoming purified by this." So Prabhupada said, "Not purified, but putrefied." So Pariksit asked Prabhupada at the art meeting, "So should we just stick to painting the First and Second Cantos, which are Krishna's two lotus feet?" So Prabhupada said, "No, go on painting these upper cantos, and by painting you will become purified and qualified."
Then on June 11th, we were able to have one of our very rare art meetings with him, when Jayarama showed his picture and Prabhupada said, "Why do you do the same picture all the time? Why do you always do Radha-Krishna? Why don't you do a different picture?" Then when Caruhasa showed his picture, which was some meeting of Radha and Krishna, Prabhupada began to condemn the sahajiyas. He said, "Why do you imagine some pastime of Krishna? It's like you are thinking that Krishna is some playboy and He has so many girlfriends, and then you are imagining, 'Oh, now I understand Krishna. I can control Krishna and make Him as I like. Now I am perfect.'" So he is seeing that even the devotees who weren't in the Gopi Bhava Club, we all had some tinge of that sahajiya and impersonalism.
He said, "Radha-Krishna's intimate pastimes are not for being explained by the neophytes. How can those engaged in illicit sex and smoking bidis think that they are understanding and having any relationship and what to speak of becoming the gopis? If we misunderstand Radha and Krishna from a wrong person and by our own imagination, then we will think that Radha and Krishna are a similar debauchery and we'll use that so-called debauchery of Radha and Krishna, which is pure, to support our own illicit activities."
So then Ramesvara said to him, "But they think that they are becoming purified by this." So Prabhupada said, "Not purified, but putrefied." So Pariksit asked Prabhupada at the art meeting, "So should we just stick to painting the First and Second Cantos, which are Krishna's two lotus feet?" So Prabhupada said, "No, go on painting these upper cantos, and by painting you will become purified and qualified."
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada - Remembrances - Yadubara Dasa
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