Our Relationship with Krishna

The narrations of Srimad-Bhagavatam are an inspiration to revive our own connection with Krishna, who is ever-awaiting the opportunity to engage in relationships of pure love with His devotees. Though Krishna receives the love of unlimited associates, He still considers our love for him so invaluable and indispensable that he yearns for the living entity to reconnect with Him, and personally descends to the world to make all arrangements to that end. Srila Prabhupada explains:

“In the spiritual world there are five kinds of relationships with the Supreme Lord - santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. The perverted reflections of these rasas are found in the material world. Land, home, furniture and other inert material objects are related in santa, or the neutral and silent sense, whereas servants work in the dasya relationship. The reciprocation between friends is called sakhya, the affection of a parent for a child is known as vatsalya, and the affairs of conjugal love constitute madhurya. These five relationships in the material world are distorted reflections of the original, pure sentiments, which should be understood and perfected in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. In the material world the perverted rasas bring frustration. If these rasas are re- established with Lord Krishna, the result is eternal, blissful life.” (CC Adi 1.56)

By diligently chanting the holy names of Krishna, as outlined by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, anyone can purify their heart and reawaken their original spiritual form (svarupa) and relationship with the Lord. We hold back in the relationships of this world because we are uncertain of how others will reciprocate with our love. Furthermore, we are reticent about investing too much in an individual, since it may damage other relationships. When we direct our love towards Krishna, however, we can rest assured that He’ll generously and unfailingly reciprocate with every single endeavour we make. In addition, by nurturing our love for Krishna we automatically develop our love for everyone else, since all living entities are eternally and intimately connected with Him.