(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 January 2013, Newcastle, South Africa, Caitanya Caritamrta Class)
Transcribed by Bhaktin Salona
Krsna has that human side which brings one very close to him. Therefore, especially amongst the worshipers of Bhagavan, you will hear about this concept of loving exchanges with Krsna. We also hear the impersonalists. They also speak of love but they speak of universal love; it’s not a love that’s based on exchange.
You see, love is based on exchange. We know that in this world, it is like that, based on exchange – giving, taking, that’s love! For example, someone goes into the kitchen and cooks up a huge feast with the idea, “I’m going to really please someone!” Like my grandmother spent hours in the kitchen making stacks of pancakes, and then her pleasure was seeing us stuff ourselves to a point where it was close to an explosion, and then, “Still one more!” So that’s the loving exchange – we were relishing and she was relishing.
So real love has that exchange! In universal love, there’s nothing much going on. There’s no impetus for it. But with Krsna, we can see loving exchanges developing. Therefore, that’s our focus.