Here’s the second part of the question regarding Srila Prabhupada’s alleged projection of personal sexual frustration into his presentation of Krsna consciousness:

Question:

Here is the phrase in question, corresponding to SB 10.58.17-19.  The troublesome words are two, “raised breasts” [which are not in the original Sanskrit]. We would be very much pleased to hear your expert opinion in regard to this matter.

Quote from Krsna book, chapter 58: “Five Queens Married by Krsna”

“While resting and drinking water, they saw a beautiful girl of marriageable age walking alone on the bank of the Yamuna. Krsna asked His friend Arjuna to go forward and ask the girl who she was. By the order of Krsna, Arjuna immediately approached the girl, who was very beautiful. She had an attractive body, nice, glittering teeth and a smiling face. Arjuna inquired, “My dear girl, you are so beautiful with your raised breasts. May I ask you who you are? We are surprised to see you loitering here alone. What is your purpose in coming here? We can guess only that you are searching after a suitable husband. If you don’t mind, you can disclose your purpose. I shall try to satisfy you.”

Answer:

This reply is a little lengthy but it is necessary in order to establish the proper perspective on this question. This is a serious issue and I humbly request you to please give this a serious read.

In giving this description in his summary study ‘Krsna’ Srila Prabhupada is simply following the lead of Srila Vyasadeva, the author of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

In the SB there are many places where the beauty of a woman includes a description of her breasts. They are mentioned specifically as being “raised” “projecting upwards” etc. I will give some examples of this later in this text.

What to speak of material women, there are specific descriptions of Krsna’s queens, or the Gopis intimately playing with Krsna, which also mention that a component of their spiritual beauty is their attractive breasts, which are sometimes compared to cakravaka birds.

Consequently, when Srila Prabhupada includes the phrase “raised breasts” in his summary study of the 10th Canto description of the meeting between Krishna, Arjuna and Kalindi, Srila Prabhupada’s addition of this phrase is not at all material, nor is it a product of his lust, frustration, attraction to the forms of material women etc. It is a factual parampara expression of the transcendental beauty of one of Lord Krsna’s eternal and most intimate devotees, His wife Kalindi. Even though it is not directly in the text, it is still a fact and Srila Prabhupada’s addition of it is perfectly spiritual.

Kalindi is part of the internal energy of the Lord. She is a direct expansion of Radharani.

She is the Yamuna personified and one of the eight principle queens of Lord Krishna. As such there is no material aspect to her beauty. As Srila Prabhupada writes in the SB 1st Canto:

SB 1.11.31

“Unbelievers become astonished to learn that Lord Krsna married more than 16,000 queens because they think of Lord Krsna as one of them and measure the potency of the Lord by their own limited potency. One should know, therefore, that the Lord is never on the level of the living beings, who are but expansions of His marginal potency, and one should never equalize the potent and the potency, although there is very little difference of quality between the potent and the potency. The queens were also expansions of His internal potency, and thus the potent and potencies are perpetually exchanging transcendental pleasures, known as pastimes of the Lord.”

And again, according to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura,

as quoted by Hridayananda Maharaja in his purport of SB 10.83.40:

“In the opinion of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti, Srimati Laksmana became embarrassed when she realized that she had been talking about herself, and so she spoke this verse praising her co-wives. In her humility Laksmana claimed that Krsna’s queens, unlike ordinary wives, could not bring their husband under control, and thus they could relate to Him only as servile housekeepers. In fact, however, since the Lord’s queens are direct expansions of His internal pleasure potency (hladini-sakti), they fully controlled Him with their love.”

Srila Jiva Goswami in his Krsna-sandarbha, describes the queens of Krsna as expansions of His internal potency, and Srila Sukadeva Goswami, at the end of his narration of Narada Muni’s visits to the palaces of the queens of Dvaraka, says,

“Lord Hari is the ultimate cause of universal creation, maintenance and destruction. My dear King, anyone who chants about, hears about or simply appreciates the extraordinary activities He performed in this world, which are impossible to imitate, will surely develop devotion for the Supreme Lord, the bestower of liberation.”

Srila Prabhupada summarizes this verse in the Krsna book by saying:

“In narrating the activities of Lord Krsna in Dvaraka, Sukadeva Gosvami explained to King Pariksit how Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, descends to this material universe by the agency of His internal potency and personally exhibits the principles which, if followed, can lead one to achieve the ultimate goal of life. All the queens in Dvaraka, more than sixteen thousand in number, engaged their feminine attractive features in the transcendental service of the Lord by smiling and serving, and the Lord was pleased to behave with them exactly like a perfect husband enjoying household life. One should know definitely that such pastimes cannot be performed by anyone but Lord Sri Krsna, who is the original cause of the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation. Anyone who attentively hears the narrations of the Lord’s pastimes in Dvaraka or supports a preacher of the Krsna consciousness movement will certainly find it very easy to traverse the path of liberation and taste the nectar of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. And thus he will be engaged in Lord Krsna’s devotional service.”

Therefore if Srila Prabhupada, as a pure devotee, includes an additional description of Kalindi’s beauty, there is no wrong in that, it is rather an aspect of his service and glorification of the Lord and His internal devotees. It is meant to show us that the great devotees of the Lord please Him by their personal beauty and service attitude which is all offered for His pleasure.

Now I shall give some examples where Srila Vyasadeva has included in the SB some descriptions of the breasts of women. In reading this you can just reflect on whether Vyasadeva was doing this because of his own frustrated sex life, or because there is some transcendental purpose.

I have added my notes to some of the descriptions just to emphasize the point that transcendental teachings do include descriptions of the bodily features of both mundane and spiritual womanly forms:

Story of Lord Brahma giving birth to the demons

SB 3.20.30

anyonya-slesayottunga- nirantara-payodharam /sunasam sudvijam snigdha-hasa-lilavalokanam

SYNONYMS

anyonya — to each other; slesaya — because of clinging; uttunga — raised; nirantara — without intervening space; payah-dharam — breasts; su-nasam — shapely nose; su-dvijam — beautiful teeth; snigdha — lovely; hasa — smile; lila-avalokanam — sportful glance.

TRANSLATION

“Her breasts projected upward because of their clinging to each other, and they were too contiguous to admit any intervening space. She had a shapely nose and beautiful teeth; a lovely smile played on her lips, and she cast a sportful glance at the asuras.”

SB 3.20.31

guhantim vridayatmanam nilalaka-varuthinim /upalabhyasura dharma sarve sammumuhuh striyam

SYNONYMS

guhantim — hiding; vridaya — out of shyness; atmanam — herself; nila — dark; alaka — hair; varuthinim — a bunch; upalabhya — upon imagining; asurah — the demons; dharma — O Vidura; sarve — all; sammumuhuh — were captivated; striyam — woman.

TRANSLATION

“Adorned with dark tresses, she hid herself, as it were, out of shyness. Upon seeing that girl, the asuras were all infatuated with an appetite for sex.”

PURPORT

The difference between demons and demigods is that a beautiful woman very easily attracts the minds of demons, but she cannot attract the mind of a godly person. A godly person is full of knowledge, and a demoniac person is full of ignorance. Just as a child is attracted by a beautiful doll, similarly a demon, who is less intelligent and full of ignorance, is attracted by material beauty and an appetite for sex. The godly person knows that this nicely dressed and ornamented attraction of high breasts, high hips, beautiful nose and fair complexion is maya. All the beauty a woman can display is only a combination of flesh and blood. Sri Sankaracarya has advised all persons not to be attracted by the interaction of flesh and blood; they should be attracted by the real beauty in spiritual life. The real beauty is Krsna and Radha. One who is attracted by the beauty of Radha and Krsna cannot be attracted by the false beauty of this material world. That is the difference between a demon and a godly person or devotee.”

Hsd note: This is the description of the demons who were born from the buttocks of Lord Brahma. As a result Lord Brahma was advised by Krsna to give up his present body which had become contaminated by the appearance of the demons.

Read Srila Prabhupada’s comments in the above Purport. Do these sound like the words of a conditioned soul who is projecting his own sexual frustrations on to his readers? Or do they sound like the words of a liberated soul who knows full well the difference between maha-mayic false beauty and yoga-mayic spiritual beauty? Is Srila Prabhupada a demon or a godly person?

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Story of Kardama Muni and Devahuti

SB 3.23.36, SB 3.23.37, SB 3.23.36-37

sa tam krta-mala-snanam vibhrajantim apurvavat

atmano bibhratim rupam samvita-rucira-stanim

vidyadhari-sahasrena sevyamanam suvasasam

jata-bhavo vimanam tad arohayad amitra-han

SYNONYMS

sah — the sage; tam — her (Devahuti); krta-mala-snanam — bathed clean; vibhrajantim — shining forth; apurva-vat — unprecedentedly; atmanah — her own; bibhratim — possessing; rupam — beauty; samvita — girded; rucira — charming; stanim — with breasts; vidyadhari — of Gandharva girls; sahasrena — by a thousand; sevyamanam — being waited upon; su-vasasam — dressed in excellent robes; jata-bhavah — struck with fondness; vimanam — airplane like a mansion; tat — that; arohayat — he put her on board; amitra-han — O destroyer of the enemy.

TRANSLATION

“The sage could see that Devahuti had washed herself clean and was shining forth as though no longer his former wife. She had regained her own original beauty as the daughter of a prince. Dressed in excellent robes, her charming breasts duly girded, she was waited upon by a thousand Gandharva girls. O destroyer of the enemy, his fondness for her grew, and he placed her on the aerial mansion.”

PURPORT

Before her marriage, when Devahuti was brought by her parents before the sage Kardama, she was the perfectly beautiful princess, and Kardama Muni remembered her former beauty. But after her marriage, when she was engaged in the service of Kardama Muni, she neglected to care for her body like a princess, since there was no means for such care; her husband was living in a cottage, and since she was always engaged in serving him, her royal beauty disappeared, and she became just like an ordinary maidservant. Now, after being bathed by the Gandharva girls by the order of Kardama Muni’s yogic power, she regained her beauty, and Kardama Muni felt attracted to the beauty she had shown before the marriage. The real beauty of a young woman is her breasts. When Kardama Muni saw the breasts of his wife so nicely decorated, increasing her beauty many times, he was attracted, even though he was a great sage. Sripada Sankaracarya has therefore warned the transcendentalists that one who is after transcendental realization should not be attracted by the raised breasts of a woman because they are nothing but an interaction of fat and blood within the body.”

Hsd note: Here Srila Prabhupada clearly states that attraction to the flesh and blood and fat that form a material woman’s breasts is psychological. We all know this: for a person who is still in material consciousness, the breasts of a woman are very attractive. And therefore Srila Prabhupada reminds us in his Purport that this is maya.

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Story of King Puranjana:

SB 4.25.24

stanau vyanjita-kaisorau sama-vrttau nirantarau /vastrantena niguhantim vridaya gaja-gaminim

SYNONYMS

stanau — breasts; vyanjita — indicating; kaisorau — new youth; sama-vrttau — equally round; nirantarau — fixed close, side by side; vastra-antena — by the end of the sari; niguhantim — trying to cover; vridaya — out of shyness; gaja-gaminim — walking just like a great elephant.

TRANSLATION

“With the end of her sari the woman was trying to cover her breasts, which were equally round and well placed side by side. She again and again tried to cover them out of shyness while she walked exactly like a great elephant.”

PURPORT

The two breasts represent attachment and envy. The symptoms of raga and dvesa (attachment and envy) are described in Bhagavad-gita (3.34):

indriyasyendriyasyarthe raga-dvesau vyavasthitau /tayor na vasam agacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau

“Attraction and repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings, but one should not fall under the control of senses and sense objects because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.”

These representatives of attachment and envy are very much unfavorable for advancement in spiritual life. One should not be attracted by the breasts of young women. The great saint Sankaracarya has described the breasts of women, especially young women, as nothing but a combination of muscles and blood, so one should not be attracted by the illusory energy of raised breasts with nipples. They are agents of maya meant to victimize the opposite sex. Because the breasts are equally attractive, they are described as sama-vrttau. The sex impulse remains in an old man’s heart also, even up to the point of death. To be rid of such agitation, one must be very much advanced in spiritual consciousness, like Yamunacarya, who said:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit

tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu nisthivanam ca

“Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krsna, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”

“When one is spiritually advanced he can no longer be attracted by the lumps of flesh and blood which are the breasts of young women. The word nirantarau is significant because although the breasts are situated in different locations, the action is the same. We should not make any distinction between attachment and envy. As described in Bhagavad-gita (3.37), they are both products of rajo-guna (kama esa krodha esa rajo-guna-samudbhavah).

Hsd note: With this description of a woman’s breasts, Srila Prabhupada is clearly stating that attraction to them is completely material and that we should not be bewildered by such attaction.

So is Srila Prabhupada being hypocritical here? Is he saying one thing about rejecting such attraction, while retaining material desires which he is living out through the description of women’s breasts in his purports? Or is he delivering a transcendental message which is meant to free us from the shackles of sex attraction?

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Story of Maharaja Agnidra and Purvacitti

SB 5.2.6

tam evavidure madhukarim iva sumanasa upajighrantim divija-manuja-mano-nayanahlada-dughair gati-vihara-vrida-vinayavaloka-susvaraksaravayavair manasi nrnam kusumayudhasya vidadhatim vivaram nija-mukha-vigalitamrtasava-sahasa-bhasanamoda-madandha-madhukara-nikaroparodhena druta-pada-vinyasena valgu-spandana-stana-kalasa-kabara-bhara-rasanam devim tad-avalokanena vivrtavasarasya bhagavato makara-dhvajasya vasam upanito jadavad iti hovaca.

SYNONYMS

[note: the synonyms were long so to save space I just included the specific references under discussion]

stana — breasts; kalasa — like waterpots;

TRANSLATION

Like a honeybee, the Apsara smelled the beautiful and attractive flowers. She could attract the minds and vision of both humans and demigods by her playful movements, her shyness and humility, her glances, the very pleasing sounds that poured from her mouth as she spoke, and the motion of her limbs. By all these qualities, she opened for Cupid, who bears an arrow of flowers, a path of aural reception into the minds of men. When she spoke, nectar seemed to flow from her mouth. As she breathed, the bees, mad for the taste of her breath, tried to hover about her beautiful lotuslike eyes. Disturbed by the bees, she tried to move hastily, but as she raised her feet to walk quickly, her hair, the belt on her hips, and her breasts, which were like water jugs, also moved in a way that made her extremely beautiful and attractive.“

SB 5.2.12

kim sambhrtam rucirayor dvija srngayos te madhye krso vahasi yatra drsih srita me

panko ‘runah surabhir atma-visana idrg yenasramam subhaga me surabhi-karosi

SYNONYMS

kim — what; sambhrtam — filled; rucirayoh — very beautiful; dvija — O brahmana; srngayoh — within two horns; te — your; madhye — in the middle; krsah — thin; vahasi — you are carrying; yatra — wherein; drsih — eyes; srita — attached; me — my; pankah — powder; arunah — red; surabhih — fragrant; atma-visane — on the two horns; idrk — such; yena — by which; asramam — place of residence; su-bhaga — O most fortunate one; me — my; surabhi-karosi — you are perfuming.

TRANSLATION

“Agnidhra then praised Purvacitti’s raised breasts. He said: My dear brahmana your waist is very thin, yet with great difficulty you are carefully carrying two horns, to which my eyes have become attracted. What is filling those two beautiful horns? You seem to have spread fragrant red powder upon them, powder that is like the rising morning sun. O most fortunate one, I beg to inquire where you have gotten this fragrant powder that is perfuming my asrama, my place of residence.“

PURPORT

Agnidhra appreciated Purvacitti’s raised breasts. After seeing the girl’s breasts, he became almost mad. Nevertheless, he could not recognize whether Purvacitti was a boy or a girl, for as a result of his austerity, he saw no distinction between the two. He therefore addressed her with the word dvija, “O brahmana.” Yet why should a dvija, a brahmana boy, have horns on his chest? Because the boy’s waist was thin, Agnidhra thought, he was carrying the horns with great difficulty. and therefore they must be filled with something very valuable. Otherwise why would he carry them? When a woman’s waist is thin and her breasts are full, she looks very attractive. Agnidhra, his eyes attracted, contemplated the heavy breasts on the girl’s thin body and imagined how her back must sustain them. Agnidhra imagined that her raised breasts were two horns she had covered with cloth so that others would not see the valuables within them. Agnidhra, however, was very anxious to see them. Therefore he requested, “Please uncover them so that I can see what you are carrying. Rest assured that I shall not take it away. If you feel an inconvenience in removing the covering, I can help you; I myself can uncover them to see what valuable things those raised horns contain.” He was also surprised to see the red dust of perfumed kunkuma spread over her breasts. Nevertheless, still considering Purvacitti a boy, Agnidhra addressed her as subhaga, most fortunate muni. The boy must have been fortunate; otherwise how simply by standing there could he perfume Agnidhra’s entire asrama?

SB 5.2.13

lokam pradarsaya suhrttama tavakam me yatratya ittham urasavayavav apurvau

asmad-vidhasya mana-unnayanau bibharti bahv adbhutam sarasa-rasa-sudhadi vaktre

SYNONYMS

lokam — residential place; pradarsaya — please show; suhrt-tama — O best of friends; tavakam — your; me — unto me; yatratyah — a person born wherein; ittham — like this; urasa — by the chest; avayavau — two limbs (breasts); apurvau — wonderful; asmat-vidhasya — of a person like me; manah-unnayanau — very agitating to the mind; bibharti — sustains; bahu — many; adbhutam — wonderful; sarasa — sweet words; rasa — amorous gestures like smiling; sudha-adi — such as nectar; vaktre — in the mouth.

TRANSLATION

“O best friend, will you kindly show me the place where you reside? I cannot imagine how the residents of that place have gotten such wonderful bodily features as your raised breasts, which agitate the mind and eyes of a person like me who sees them. Judging by the sweet speech and kind smiles of those residents, I think that their mouths must contain nectar.”

PURPORT

Still bewildered, Agnidhra wanted to see the place from which the brahmana boy had come, where the men had such raised breasts. Such attractive features, he thought, must be due to the severe austerities performed there. Agnidhra addressed the girl as suhrttama, the best friend, so that she would not refuse to take him there. Not only was Agnidhra captivated by the girl’s raised breasts; he was also attracted by her sweet speech. Nectar seemed to emanate from her mouth, and therefore he was increasingly surprised.”

Hsd note: Here we see quite an elaborate narration centered around the breasts of Purvacitti. Is Vyasadeva obsessed with breasts? Or is he simply stating the psychology of living beings conditioned by the three modes and absorbed in the spirit of material enjoyment. Why would Vyasadeva include this description in the amala-purana, the spotless Purana, unless there were some transcendental lessons to be learned?

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Description of Mohini Murti:

SB 8.8.41-46

etasminn antare visnuh sarvopaya-vid isvarah yosid-rupam anirdesyam dadhara-paramadbhutam

preksaniyotpala-syamam sarvavayava-sundaram samana-karnabharanam sukapolonnasananam

nava-yauvana-nirvrtta-stana-bhara-krsodaram mukhamodanuraktali-jhankarodvigna-locanam

bibhrat sukesa-bharena malam utphulla-mallikam sugriva-kanthabharanam su-bhujangada-bhusitam

virajambara-samvita-nitamba-dvipa-sobhaya kancya pravilasad-valgu-calac-carana-nupuram

savrida-smita-viksipta-bhru-vilasavalokanaih daitya-yutha-pa-cetahsu kamam uddipayan muhuh

SYNONYMS

etasmin antare — after this incident; visnuh — Lord Visnu; sarva-upaya-vit — one who knows how to deal with different situations; isvarah — the supreme controller; yosit-rupam — the form of a beautiful woman; anirdesyam — no one could ascertain who She was; dadhara — assumed; parama — supremely; adbhutam — wonderful; preksaniya — pleasing to look at; utpala-syamam — blackish like a newly grown lotus; sarva — all; avayava — parts of the body; sundaram — very beautiful; samana — equally adjusted; karna-abharanam — ornaments on the ears; su-kapola — very beautiful cheeks; unnasa-ananam — a raised nose on Her face; nava-yauvana — newly youthful; nirvrtta-stana — breasts not agitated; bhara — weight; krsa — very lean and thin; udaram — waist; mukha — face; amoda — creating pleasure; anurakta — attracted; ali — bumblebees; jhankara — making a humming sound; udvigna — from anxiety; locanam — Her eyes; bibhrat — moving; su-kesa-bharena — by the weight of beautiful hair; malam — with a flower garland; utphulla-mallikam — made of fully grown mallika flowers; su-griva — a nice neck; kantha-abharanam — ornamented with beautiful jewelry; su-bhuja — very beautiful arms; angada-bhusitam — decorated with bangles; viraja-ambara — very clean cloth; samvita — spread; nitamba — breast; dvipa — appearing like an island; sobhaya — by such beauty; kancya — the belt on the waist; pravilasat — spreading over; valgu — very beautiful; calat-carana-nupuram — moving ankle bells; sa-vrida-smita — smiling with shyness; viksipta — glancing; bhru-vilasa — activities of the eyebrows; avalokanaih — glancing over; daitya-yutha-pa — the leaders of the demons; cetahsu — in the core of the heart; kamam — lusty desire; uddipayat — awakening; muhuh — constantly.

TRANSLATION

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, who can counteract any unfavorable situation, then assumed the form of an extremely beautiful woman. This incarnation as a woman, Mohini-murti, was most pleasing to the mind. Her complexion resembled in color a newly grown blackish lotus, and every part of Her body was beautifully situated. Her ears were equally decorated with earrings, Her cheeks were very beautiful, Her nose was raised and Her face full of youthful luster. Her large breasts made Her waist seem very thin. Attracted by the aroma of Her face and body, bumblebees hummed around Her, and thus Her eyes were restless. Her hair, which was extremely beautiful, was garlanded with mallika flowers. Her attractively constructed neck was decorated with a necklace and other ornaments, Her arms were decorated with bangles, Her body was covered with a clean sari, and Her breasts seemed like islands in an ocean of beauty. Her legs were decorated with ankle bells. Because of the movements of Her eyebrows as She smiled with shyness and glanced over the demons, all the demons were saturated with lusty desires, and every one of them desired to possess Her.

PURPORT

Because of the Supreme Lord’s assuming the form of a beautiful woman to arouse the lusty desires of the demons, a description of Her complete beauty is given here.

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Now let’s look at some examples in the Caitanya Caritamrta:

Rupa Goswami is speaking to Ramananda Raya:

Antya 1.175

sura-ripu-sudrsam uroja-kokan mukha-kamalani ca khedayann akhandah

ciram akhila-suhrc-cakora-nandi disatu mukunda-yasah-sasi mudam vah

SYNONYMS

sura-ripu — of the enemies of the demigods; sudrsam — of the wives; uroja — the breasts; kokan — like birds known as cakravaka birds; mukha — faces; kamalani — like lotuses; ca — also; khedayan — distressing; akhandah — completely without distortion; ciram — for a long time; akhila — of all; suhrt — the friend; cakora-nandi — pleasing to the cakora birds; disatu — let it give; mukunda — of Sri Krsna; yasah — the glories; sasi — like the moon; mudam — pleasure; vah — to all of you.

TRANSLATION

“‘The beautiful moonlike glories of Mukunda give distress to the lotuslike faces of the wives of the demons and to their raised breasts, which are like gleaming cakravaka birds. Those glories, however, are pleasing to all His devotees, who are like cakora birds. May those glories forever give pleasure to you all.'”

PURPORT

This is the first verse of Act One of the Lalita-madhava.

Hsd note:  Here we have Srila Rupa Goswami not only mentioning the breasts of the wives of the demons, but also using them in a metaphor about the cakravaka birds.

Is Rupa Goswami obsessed with attraction to the breasts of demon’s wives? Or is this a transcendental description by someone on the highest levels of spiritual realization and revelation?

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Damayanti, sister of Raghava Pandita serving Lord Caitanya:

Antya 10.20

Because of sincere affection, she thought that eating this sukuta would cure the Lord’s disease. Considering these affectionate thoughts of Damayanti, the Lord was very pleased.”

Hsd note: Lord Caitanya appreciated her mood and it made Him think of this verse:

Antya 10.21

priyena sangrathya vipaksa-sannidhav upahitam vaksasi pivara-stani

srajam na kacid vijahau jalavilam vasanti hi premni guna na vastuni

SYNONYMS

priyena — by the lover; sangrathya — after stringing; vipaksa-sannidhau — in the presence of an opposite party; upahitam — placed; vaksasi — on the chest; pivara-stani — having raised breasts; srajam — a garland; na — not; kacit — some beloved; vijahau — rejected; jala-avilam — muddy; vasanti — reside; hi — because; premni — in love; gunah — attributes; na — not; vastuni — in the material things.

TRANSLATION

“A dear lover strung a garland and placed it on the shoulder of his beloved in the presence of her co-wives. She had raised breasts and was very beautiful, yet although the garland was tainted with mud, she did not reject it, for its value lay not in material things but in love.”

PURPORT

This is a verse from the Kiratarjuniya, by Bharavi.

Hsd note: Here we have Lord Caitanya Himself being inspired by the service of one of His female devotees and thinking of a verse by Bharavi in which pivara-stani, “raised breasts”, is mentioned. The external interactions between Damayanti and the Lord have nothing to do with anything sexual, yet the Lord thought of a verse which includes this description. Does that make him a person who is obsessed with sex because He took sannyasa too early and gave up his young and beautiful wife? Or is the phrase “raised breasts” and the comparison He is thinking of pure and spiritual?

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Caitanya Mahaprabhu speaking to Svarup Damodara and Ramananda Raya:

Antya 15.22

krsna-anga susitala, ki kahimu tara bala, chataya jine kotindu-candana

sasaila narira vaksa, taha akarsite daksa, akarsaye nari-gana-mana

SYNONYMS

krsna-anga — the body of Krsna; su-sitala — very cool; ki kahimu — what shall I say; tara — of that; bala — the strength; chataya — by the rays; jine — surpasses; koti-indu — millions upon millions of moons; candana — sandalwood pulp; sa-saila — like raised hills; narira — of a woman; vaksa — breasts; taha — that; akarsite — to attract; daksa — very expert; akarsaye — attracts; nari-gana-mana — the minds of all women.

TRANSLATION

“Krsna’s transcendental body is so cool that it cannot be compared even to sandalwood pulp or to millions upon millions of moons. It expertly attracts the breasts of all women, which resemble high hills. Indeed, the transcendental body of Krsna attracts the minds of all women within the three worlds.”

Hsd note: Here again the metaphor of raised breasts like “high hills” is being used. This is being quoted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Are we to take it that even as a sannyasi He can’t stop thinking of women’s breasts? Or is His description of Lord Krsna’s beauty in relation to women a transcendental expression of the highest level of prema?

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In this section of Caitanya Caritamrta Lord Caitanya is rescued from the sea. He describes the things He saw in trance, elaborately detailing the water sport pastimes of Lord Krsna and the Gopis.

Antya 18.95

cakravaka-mandala, prthak prthak yugala, jala haite karila udgama

uthila padma-mandala, prthak prthak yugala, cakravake kaila acchadana

SYNONYMS

cakravaka-mandala — the globes of cakravaka birds; prthak prthak — separate; yugala — couples; jala haite — from the water; karila — made; udgama — appearance; uthila — arose; padma-mandala — the circle of lotus flowers; prthak prthak — separate; yugala — couples; cakravake — the cakravaka birds; kaila — did; acchadana — covering.

TRANSLATION

“When the raised breasts of the gopis, which resembled the globelike bodies of cakravaka birds, emerged from the water in separate couples, the bluish lotuses of Krsna’s hands rose to cover them.

Antya 18.96

uthila bahu raktotpala, prthak prthak yugala, padma-ganera kaila nivarana

‘padma’ cahe luti’ nite, ‘utpala’ cahe rakhite’, ‘cakravaka’ lagi’ dunhara rana

SYNONYMS

uthila — arose; bahu — many; rakta-utpala — red lotus flowers; prthak prthak — separate; yugala — couples; padma-ganera — of the bluish lotus flowers; kaila — did; nivarana — obstruction; padma — the blue lotus flowers; cahe — want; luti’ — stealing; nite — to take; utpala — the red lotus flowers; cahe rakhite’ — wanted to protect; cakravaka lagi’ — for the cakravaka birds; dunhara — between the two, (the red and blue lotus flowers); rana — fight.

TRANSLATION

“The hands of the gopis, which resembled red lotus flowers, arose from the water in pairs to obstruct the bluish flowers. The blue lotuses tried to plunder the white cakravaka birds, and the red lotuses tried to protect them. Thus there was a fight between the two.

Hsd note: These descriptions are of the highest exchanges between the Lord and his most intimate devotees. There is nothing mundane about them but if a mundane person reads them with envy or lust in their heart, they will project their own material conditioning onto the Lord, not understanding His pure and transcendental nature. They will misinterpret His activities as another edition of material sexual exchange. The prakrita sahajiyas do this, and the gross materialists think Krsna is a debauchee and Lord Caitanya and His followers even worse.

[end of quotes]

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Hsd Concluding comments

I think it is firmly established above that phrases, metaphors and descriptions about women’s breasts are used in transcendental literature. They are not indications of lust, conditioning and delusion on the part of the authors.

Whoever has made these comments about Srila Prabhupada, that he is projecting his own material sexual frustrations through his descriptions in his purports, is grossly offensive, deluded and envious. We should never hear from such persons because all they can do is inject their venomous poison into our consciousness and confusion and doubt will be the result.

Another point to consider is that only one single instance of addition which is not backed by the shastric verse, has been offered as ‘proof” of Srila Prabhupada’s ‘conditioning’. Yet, as we have seen above, there are scores of comments made by Srila Prabhupada explaining the difference between material and spiritual consciousness, explaining what the temporary body actually is, and explaining what real happiness is. Is this all to be discarded in favor of one single instance of an added phrase?

Here’s one more quote before I leave this topic (there are hundreds of such statements but this sums up nicely). Please read it carefully and then decide if Srila Prabhupada is a conditioned soul or not:

Letter to: Janardana  —  Los Angeles 21 January, 1968

“Nirguna means untouched by material contamination. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that the Supreme Enjoyer is uncontaminated by the material qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance, but His qualities are transcendental without any touch or tinge of material qualities.

“For example: sex life, the most prominent feature of this material world. This sex life is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3rd Canto, in the explanation of Vaikuntha world, when it is said that in the Vaikuntha planets, the women or the fair sex is many many more times beautiful, well-constructed, their face and smiling more attractive, their breasts and hips are very high, and they clearly and freely mix with male devotees, but their strong sense of devotion towards the Lord and being absorbed in Krishna Consciousness, all the features of womanly beauty cannot stimulate their sex passion.

“In the material world the same reflection of beauty and bodily features at once stimulate sex passion. Therefore, the enjoyment of opposite sex in the Vaikuntha world has no action of sex life whereas in the material world the perverted reflection of beauty has resultant action of sex life which is the cause of dragging material existence. So the description of the Vaikuntha life is nirguna, and the description of worldly life is sahaguna.” [end quote]

You have not stated who it is that is making these obnoxious and envious criticisms of Srila Prabhupada, but it is clear that they are trying to isolate one or two examples to establish a far-fetched premise that Srila Prabhupada is a conditioned soul and can therefore be ignored on certain issues.

I have already stated that Srila Prabhupada was fully transcendental to any material attractions, repulsions and emotions. He demonstrated this again and again in his words and actions.

His books are full of spiritual realizations which transport the honest reader directly on to the transcendental platform, free of any material symptoms. To give any creedance to these envious persons is a grave mistake which will delude us into rejecting Srila Prabhupada and his teachings and condemn us to remain in this material world.

yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau / tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”

We should not allow our faith in Srila Prabhupada to be eroded by deluded and envious persons. What Srila Prabhupada did was beyond extraordinary. It was a full manifestation of pure spiritual energy. His life was glorious, his leaving his body was glorious, his teachings are glorious. We can get the greatest gain by faithfully reading and appreciating his books. By so doing we are guaranteed to go back home back to Godhead. Others will simply have to remain in this material world for the many kalpas of births that await them.

Your humble servant, Hari-sauri dasa

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