(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 September 2012, Durban, South Africa, Radhastami Lecture)
Krsna is known as the transcendental cupid who is interested in his amorous sports, who is always thinking of the gopis who have given everything. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita 4.11, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham; as you surrender unto me, I will reward you accordingly. Krsna says, ‘But with the gopis, I don’t know what to give them! With them, my promise falls short because I have nothing to give them in exchange for their service.’
If someone gives you a jewel then in exchange, you cannot really give a piece of glass; you have to reciprocate. If I give you something very valuable, you also have to give something valuable back to me. So Krsna was thinking, ‘I have nothing in my possession that can match the value of what the gopis are offering. Therefore let their service stand as their reward and we speak of their glory.’
In this way, we remember how Krsna is just taken by surprise! He does not know how to deal with the gopis. They show a level of love which goes beyond what he can comprehend. It bewilders his mind! And of all the gopis, Srimati Radharani is the most outstanding!
So Krsna is not only enchanted by Srimati Radharani’s devotional service but it is beyond his comprehension that anyone can experience such an amount of love! It is stated that the gopis are experiencing thousand times more happiness than Krsna by serving Krsna. Their existence is puzzling Krsna. Krsna cannot understand the nature of the gopis, what to speak of the nature of Srimati Radharani. That nature, their love, their happiness exceeds his love and his happiness.
