The eternal associates of Krsna and Narayana (Gopas, gopis, older gopis, older gopas, servants of Lord Narayana, and all other residents of the spiritual world) cannot have any envious thoughts, for no one is allowed in the spiritual world who is not 100% pure. They are completely and ecstatically absorbed in loving and serving their wonderful Lord. The following references show that the residents are experiencing so much bliss, that any pleasure to be derived from enjoying separately, is insignificant in comparison and that they have no reason to become envious. In section two it is documented that the spiritual world and it's residents are suddha-sattva. We have also shown previously in section three that envy cannot exist in the spiritual world.
Sastric texts:
A [devotee] who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again. (Bhag. 1.5.19, text)
A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord for a single moment-indeed, not for half a moment-even in exchange of the benediction of ruling and enjoying the opulence of the entire universe. (Bhag. 11.2.53, text)
If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him. (Cc. Adi-lila 4.21-22)
Pure love of God manifests as the most subtle consciousness, devoid of material qualities and material desires, increasing at every moment and never interrupted. (Narada-bhakti-sutra, text 54, translation by Gopiparanadhana)
Prahlada Maharaja:
[Due to devotional love] I have no independence. (Bhag. 7.5.14, text)
Srila Rupa Gosvami:
According to His sweet will, the Lila Potency also infused the hearts of His personal associates with the devotional dispositions appropriate to their service. (Quoted in Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Prakasini-vrtti Commentary on Sri Brahma-samhita Vs. 37)
All the eternally perfected devotees have eternal and blissful qualities just like Lord Mukunda. Their supreme love for Krsna is millions and millions of times more than their love for their own self or body. (Brs. 2.1.290)
Srila Sanatana Gosvami:
In Vaikuntha the devotees feel . . . complete bliss. (Brhad-bhag. 2.4.154)
Indeed, it is the nature of that planet (Goloka) that even without the association of Sri Krsna one desires to live there. No one even desires to go anywhere else. (Brhad-bhag. 2.6.366)
Sanatana Gosvami comments on Brhad-bhag. 2.6.366, "Even without the association of Lord Krsna, the Vrajavasis desire to stay only in Goloka or Vraja-bhumi."
Whether boys, youths, or grown-up persons--every one of the millions of cowherd residents of Vraja feels himself the dearest to Krsna. (Brhad-bhag. 2.6.211)
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:
With the appearance of prema, the anarthas are completely eradicated. When a devotee atttains the Lord, the eradication of anarthas is absolute and there is no possibility of their reappearance. (Madhurya Kadambini, Third chapter)
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura:
All these conclusions inform us that intrinsically there is no distinction between the manifest and unmanifest Pastimes. In his commentary of this sloka and in his commentary of Ujjvala-nilamani and in Krsna-sandarbha and other exalted works our most revered Acarya Sri Jiva Goswami has stated that Krsna's manifest Pastimes are conducted by Yogamaya; because those Pastimes are associated with material nature, some Mayik or worldly traits are apparent in them, which can in no way be present in the intrinsic Transcendental pastimes. (Prakasini-vrtti Commentary on Sri Brahma-samhita Vs. 37)
In the state of prema the devotee's very life is Krsna. (Comm., Siksastaka 8)
Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:
The living beings are given as much freedom as they deserve, and misuse of that freedom is the cause of suffering. The devotees of the Lord do not misuse their freedom, and therefore they are the good sons of the Lord. (Bhag. 1.8.28, purp.)
Even the transcendental wives of Lord Sri Krsna did not know completely the unfathomable glories of the Lord. This ignorance is not mundane because there is some action of the internal potency of the Lord in the exchange of feelings between Him and His eternal associates. The Lord exchanges transcendental relations in five ways, as proprietor, master, friend, son and lover, and in each of these pastimes He plays fully by the potency of yogamaya, the internal potency. He plays exactly like an equal friend with the cowherd boys or even with friends like Arjuna. He plays exactly like a son in the presence of Yasodamata, He plays exactly like a lover in the presence of the cowherd damsels, and He plays exactly like a husband in the presence of the queens of Dvaraka. Such devotees of the Lord never think of the Lord as the Supreme, but think of Him exactly as a common friend, a pet son, or a lover or husband very much dear to heart and soul. That is the relation between the Lord and His transcendental devotees, who act as His associates in the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable Vaikuntha planets. When the Lord descends, He does so along with His entourage to display a complete picture of the transcendental world, where pure love and devotion for the Lord prevail without any mundane tinge of lording it over the creation of the Lord. Such devotees of the Lord are all liberated souls, perfect representations of the marginal or internal potency in complete negation of the influence of the external potency. (Bhag. 1.11.39, purp.)
In the transcendental state the living being is pure in his consciousness, and as such he has no false ego to lord it over the material nature. Rather, his pure consciousness directs him to surrender unto the Supreme Lord...The Vaikuntha planets are also forms of eternity, bliss and knowledge, and therefore the devotees of the Lord, who are admitted into the abode of the Lord, also get bodies of eternity, bliss and knowledge. As such there is no difference between one and another. The Lord's abode, name, fame, entourage, etc., are of the same transcendental quality, and how this transcendental quality differs from the material world is explained herewith in this verse. (Bhag. 2.2.17, purp.)
In that sky, which is far, far beyond the material sky and its sevenfold coverings . . . pure devotees of the Lord are absolutely in harmony with the Personality of Godhead, or in other words, they always think of the Lord as their only dependable friend and well-wisher. (Bhag. 2.2.18, purp.)
Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions. (Bhag. 2.2.31, purp., 5th paragraph)
The inhabitants of those planets are liberated from birth, death, old age and diseases and have full knowledge of everything; they are all godly and free from all sorts of material hankerings. They have nothing to do there except to render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Narayana . . . That eternal land is full of transcendental enjoyment and full of beauty and bliss. This very fact is also corroborated in this verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the transcendental nature is described as amrta. As described in the Vedas, utamrtatvasyesanah: the Supreme Lord is the Lord of immortality, or in other words, the Lord is immortal, and because He is the Lord of immortality He can award immortality to His devotees. (Bhag. 2.6.18, purp.)
A pure devotee of the Lord is so purified in his heart that he cannot leave the shelter of Lord Krsna in any circumstances. There is no self-interest in such service. (Bhag. 2.8.6, purp.)
. . . in that pure conscious state [as in the spiritual world] the living entity does not forget that he is never the Lord, but that he is eternally the servitor of the Lord in transcendental love. (Bhag. 2.9.1, purp. last parag.)
The Lord and His devotees reside in the Vaikuntha planets, and they are of the same transcendental quality, namely, suddha-sattva, the mode of pure goodness. (Bhag. 3.15.15, purp.)
The inhabitants of Vaikuntha, however, are so interested in glorifying the Lord that they do not like the disturbance of such a nice breeze while they are chanting the Lord's glories. In other words, they are pure devotees. They consider glorification of the Lord more important than their own sense gratification. In the Vaikuntha planets there is no question of sense gratification. To smell the fragrance of a blossoming flower is certainly very nice, but it is simply for sense gratification. The inhabitants of Vaikuntha give first preference to the service of the Lord, not their own sense gratification. Serving the Lord in transcendental love yields such transcendental pleasure that, in comparison, sense gratification is counted as insignificant. (Bhag. 3.15.17, purp.)
This verse reveals the absolute nature of Vaikuntha. There is no difference between the birds there and the human residents. The situation in the spiritual sky is that everything is spiritual and variegated. Spiritual variegatedness means that everything is animate. There is nothing inanimate. Even the trees, the ground, the plants, the flowers, the birds and the beasts are all on the level of Krsna consciousness. The special feature of Vaikunthaloka is that there is no question of sense gratification. (Bhag. 3.15.18, purp.)
The most important thing about the spiritual world is that there is no envy among the devotees there. This is true even among the flowers, which are all conscious of the greatness of tulasi. In the Vaikuntha world entered by the four Kumaras, even the birds and flowers are conscious of service to the Lord. (Bhag. 3.15.19, purp.)
All the residents of Vaikunthaloka know perfectly well that their master is Narayana, or Krsna, and that they are all His servants. They are all self-realized souls who are nitya-mukta, everlastingly liberated. Although they could conceivably declare themselves Narayana or Visnu, they never do so: they always remain Krsna conscious and serve the Lord faithfully. Such is the atmosphere of Vaikunthaloka. Similarly, one who learns the faithful service of Lord Krsna through the Krsna consciousness movement will always remain in Vaikunthaloka and have nothing to do with the material world. (Bhag. 6.1.34.6, purp.)
For iron to be attracted by a magnet is natural. Similarly, for all living entities to be attracted toward Krsna is natural, and therefore the Lord's real name is Krsna, meaning He who attracts everyone and everything. The typical examples of such attraction are found in Vrndavana, where everything and everyone is attracted by Krsna. The elderly persons like Nanda Maharaja and Yasodadevi, the friends like Sridama, Sudama and the other cowherd boys, the gopis like Srimati Radharani and Her associates, and even the birds, beasts, cows and calves are attracted. The flowers and fruits in the gardens are attracted, the waves of the Yamuna are attracted, and the land, sky, trees, plants, animals and all other living beings are attracted by Krsna. This is the natural situation of everything in Vrndavana.
Just contrary to the affairs of Vrndavana is the material world, where no one is attracted by Krsna and everyone is attracted by maya. This is the difference between the spiritual and material worlds. (Bhag. 7.5.14, purp.)
Although all the elderly gopis knew that Krsna was the son of mother Yasoda, they still desired, "If Krsna had become my son, I would also have taken care of Him like mother Yasoda." This was their inner ambition. Now, in order to please them, Krsna personally took the role of their sons and fulfilled their desire. They enhanced their special love for Krsna by embracing Him and feeding Him, and Krsna tasted their breast milk to be just like a nectarean beverage. While thus bewildering Brahma, He enjoyed the special transcendental pleasure created by yogamaya between all the other mothers and Himself. (Bhag. 10.13.22, purp.)
The love between the Lord and His pure devotee is an ocean of spiritual bliss .... When all is said and done, pleasure in this world means sex. But this mundane sexual attraction is simply a perverted reflection of the transcendental loving affairs between Krsna and His eternal associates in the spiritual world. The gopis of Vrndavana are unsophisticated village girls, whereas the queens in Dvarakä are aristocratic young ladies. But both the gopis and the queens are overwhelmed with love for Krsna. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna displays the highest perfection of beauty, strength, wealth, fame, knowledge and renunciation and is thus completely satisfied by His own supreme position. He reciprocates spiritual loving affairs with the gopis and queens simply for their sake. (Bhag. 11.6.18 , purp.)
Srila Jiva Gosvami has elaborately explained how this verse applies to the eternally liberated residents of Sri Vrndavana, the Lord's abode. One of the fundamental philosophical principles of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is the distinction between two types of illusion, Yoga-maya and Maha-maya, the spiritual and material states of existence, respectively. Although Krsna is God, the omnipotent, omniscient Supreme Being, His intimate associates in the spiritual world love Him so much that they see Him as their beloved child, friend, lover and so on. So that their ecstatic love can transcend the boundaries of mere reverence, they forget that Krsna is the Supreme God of all the universes, and thus their pure, intimate love expands unlimitedly. One may consider their activities of treating Krsna as a helpless child, a handsome boyfriend, or a playmate to be a manifestation of avidya, ignorance of Lord Krsna's position as God, but the residents of Vrndavana are in fact ignoring the secondary majesty of Krsna and focusing intensely on His infinite beauty, which is the essence of His existence. (Bhag. 10.28.13, purp. by disciples of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada)
The inhabitants of Vaikunthaloka do not possess material senses with which to lord it over material nature. (Cc. Adi-lila 5.22, purp.)
Lord Krsna's friends in Vrndavana, headed by Sridama, have pure fraternal affection for Lord Krsna and have no idea of His opulences. [Cc. Adi-lila 6.62]
The wonderful activities of the gross body and subtle mind are always imperfect. They are below the degree of spiritual understanding and are ephemeral. The spiritual mellow is eternally wonderful and is described as purna, suddha, nitya-mukta-that is, complete, perfectly pure and eternally liberated from all material conceptions. (Cc. Madhya-lila 8.193, purp.)
In the Brahma-samhita (5.37) it is said: "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord. He resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency [hladini]. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa." In the spiritual world, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, has expanded Himself in His spiritual potency. He has His eternal form of bliss and knowledge (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha). Everything in the Goloka Vrndavana planet is a spiritual expansion of sac-cid-ananda. Everyone there is of the same potencyananda-cinmaya-rasa. The relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His servitor is cinmaya-rasa. Krsna and His entourage and paraphernalia are of the same cinmaya potency. (Cc. Madhya-lila 19.154, purp.)
When the individual jiva souls are under the control of the internal energy, their only engagement is the satisfaction of Krsna, or Visnu. (Nectar of Instruction, Text 2, purport)
Although maya may be present, it cannot disturb a devotee once he attains the bhava stage. This is because the devotee can see the real position of maya. Maya means forgetfulness of Krsna, and forgetfulness of Krsna and Krsna consciousness stand side by side like light and shadow. If one remains in shadow, he cannot enjoy the facilities offered by light, and if one remains in light, he cannot be disturbed by the darkness of shadow. (Nectar of Instruction, Text 8, purp. last parag.)
No one can serve the Supreme Lord as His associate without being situated in his pure spiritual identity. That identity is completely free from all material contamination. (Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Chapter 31)
The cows' affection for their calves and the elder gopis' affection for the boys causelessly increased. Their affection increased naturally, even though the calves and boys were not their offspring. Although the cows and elderly gopis of Vrndavana had greater affection for Krsna than for their own offspring, after this incident their affection for their offspring increased unlimitedly, exactly as it did for Krsna. For one year continuously, Krsna Himself expanded as the calves and cowherd boys and was present in the pasturing ground . . . When Balarama saw this extraordinary exchange of affection between the cows and their calves and between the fathers and their children-when neither the calves nor the children needed so much care-He began to wonder why this extraordinary thing had happened. He was astonished to see all the residents of Vrndavana so affectionate to their own children, exactly as they had been to Krsna. Similarly, the cows had grown affectionate to their calves-as much as to Krsna. (Krsna Book, Chapter 13, The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahma)
The inhabitants of Vrndavana had sacrificed everything for Krsna, simply being captivated by the lotus eyes of the Lord. Because of their great desire to love Krsna, they never desired anything like elevation to the heavenly planets or merging into the effulgence of Brahman to become one with the Absolute Truth. They were not even interested in enjoying a life of opulence, but were satisfied in living a simple life in the village as cowherds. They were always absorbed in thoughts of Krsna and did not desire any personal benefits, and they were all so much in love with Him that in His absence their voices faltered when they began to inquire from Balaramaji. (Krsna Book, Chapter 65, Lord Balarama visits Vrndavana)
The gopis had no desire other than to satisfy Krsna. All the gopis tried to satisfy Him, including the elder gopis, Yasoda and her friends, and so also did the elderly gopas like Nanda Maharaja and his friends. The boys and girls of Vrndavana who were of the same age as Krsna also tried to satisfy Him. Everyone tried to satisfy Krsna-even the cows, the flowers, the fruits, and the water of Vrndavana. This is because everything in Vrndavana is spiritual; nothing is material. (Teachings of Queen Kunti, Chapter 25, Unalloyed Devotion)
The Vrndavana-lila of Krsna is the perfect presentation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He's simply enjoying. And all the inhabitants of Vrndavana, the gopis, the cowherd boys, Maharaja Nanda, Yasoda, everyone is simply anxious how to make Krsna happy. They have no other business. The inhabitants of Vrndavana has no other business than to satisfy Krsna, and Krsna has no other business. Yasoda-nandana brajajana-ranjana. He's acting as the little son of Yasoda, and His only business is how to please the inhabitants of Vrndavana. Yasoda-nandana brajajana-ranjana. [710217CC.GOR]
All the inhabitants of Vrndavana, they were thinking, We are all Krsna's. Central point is Krsna. That is the beauty of Vrndavana. All the inhabitants of Vrndavana, the elderly cowherd men, the boys, the girls, the trees, the river, the birds, the beasts-everyone-they are simply thinking, I am Krsna's. (710629AR.LA)
The distinction means Krsna is predominator and everyone is predominated. Just like the gopis. Krsna is the predominator, and the gopis and all the inhabitants of Vrndavana-Nanda Maharaja, Yasoda and the cowherd boys, servant, trees, plants, flowers, water, animals, cows-everyone is predominated. Krsna is only predominator. That is real happiness. Whenever there is any trouble in Vrndavana, they approach the predominator and immediately the predominator takes care and they're happy. This is Vrndavana life. (721109ND.VRN)
Krsna is the master, controller of everything, but to the pure devotee He becomes dependent. So why the pure devotee will ask for anything else? Adurlabham atma-bhaktau. For a devotee, Krsna is within the palms of a devotee. Ajita, jito 'py asau. Although Krsna is not conquerable, but He likes to be conquered by His devotee. That is the position. Just like He willingly placed Himself to be conquered by Mother Yasoda, to be conquered by Radharani, to be conquered by His friends. Krsna became defeated and He has to take His friend on the shoulder... That is Krsna's position-the Supreme Lord. In Vaikuntha, there is only praising. There is no such thing. But in Vrndavana Krsna is free to accept insult from His devotee. The people do not know that, what is Vrndavana life. So devotees are so exalted. Radharani orders, "Don't allow Krsna to come here." Krsna cannot come in. He flatters the other gopis: "Please allow Me to go there." "No, no. There is no order. You cannot go." So Krsna likes that. But the Mayavadis, they cannot understand that the Supreme Absolute Truth can be controlled by the devotee.(730130ND.CAL)
In the Vaikuntha planets, everyone is four-handed like Narayana, and everyone is equally opulent. In Goloka Vrndavana, Krsna and the cowherd boys are equally opulent. In Vrndavana, the cowherd boys do not know that Krsna is God. They look on Krsna as an equal. This is the opulence of their devotional position . . . In the Vaikuntha the devotees or the inhabitants, they are equally opulent. Everyone is like Narayana, four-handed, equally opulent. Just like in Vrndavana also, Goloka Vrndavana. Krsna and the cowherds boy, they are equally opulent. The cowherds boys in Vrndavana, they do not know that Krsna is God, Krsna is greater than him. No. They think, "as Krsna is, I am also." They are so opulent. (741206SB.BOM)
[In the] spiritual world, everyone is eternal servant of Krsna. There is no more jati, no more distinction. Everything serving. That one. The master is also spiritual, and the servant is also spiritual, and there is no other relationship. Here in the material world we artificially want to become . . . we want to become God. But in the spiritual world there is no such conception. In the spiritual world there are also living entities. They are called nitya-siddha. Nitya-siddha means eternally perfect. (741216SB.BOM)
That is called spiritual world, Vaikunthaloka. They are free. Neither there is birth, death, old age, and disease. These things are absent. Everyone is full of transcendental bliss. (750105SB.BOM)
In the spiritual world there is no such distinction. The officer and the cleaner, they are of the same importance. That is even Krsna, with Krsna. That is spiritual world. In Vrndavana the cowherds boys, they are playing with Krsna on equal terms. They do not know Krsna is God. They simply know how to love Krsna, that's all. There is no need of thinking that "Krsna is greater than the other cowherds boy. They are living entities." There is no such sense. Krsna wants that. That is Goloka Vrndavana worship. Simply the center is Krsna, and all the inhabitants of Vrndavana, they love Krsna, and they do not know anything except Krsna. This is Vrndavana life. Everyone knows that "Krsna is my very intimate friend." Somebody knows, "Krsna is my son," somebody knows that "Krsna is my master," and somebody is thinking, "Krsna is my lover." But center is Krsna. The cows, the calves, the friends, the gopis, and the cowherds boy, Krsna's father, Nanda Maharaja, Krsna's mother, Yasomati, and . . . Everyone's center is Krsna, "How Krsna will be happy?" This is Vrndavana life. (750312DP.LON)
So the same attachment is there between Krsna and devotee, either in the santa . . . Some devotees have become there land, water, tree, flower. They are attached to Krsna. Some devotees, they have become servants. They are attached to Krsna. And some devotees, they have become cowherds boy, friendly. They are attached to Krsna. And some devotees have become Krsna's father, mother, uncle, elderly. They are attached to Krsna. And some devotees, they have become gopis, young girls, and love Krsna, dance with Him rasa dance. So in this way Vrndavana means this attachment to Krsna. Central point is Krsna, but the varieties of attachment, they are the same. The only difference is that this attachment centering round Krsna is never broken. If you love Krsna as your child, just like Ajamila is loving his youngest child so much, similarly, if you love Krsna, then it will continue eternally. (750709SB.CHI)
It is village, and the central point is Krsna. This is Vrndavana life. There the gopis, they are village girls and the cowherd boys, they are also village boys. Nanda Maharaja is the head of the village, agriculturist. Similarly, the elderly persons and the elderly gopis, mother Yasoda and her other friends--all are attracted by Krsna. This is Vrndavana life. They even did not know what is Krsna. They did not know by reading Vedas, Puranas, Vedanta, to understand Krsna. But their natural affection was for Krsna. (770124LE.BHU)
The eternal gopi residents of Goloka derive higher pleasure from serving the Lord than serving their own senses:
The pleasure of Radha, the abode of [Krsna's] love, is ten million times greater [than Krsna's pleasure]. (Chaitanya Caritamrta, Adi-lila 4.32, text)
The pleasure enjoyed by Radharani, the asraya, is many times greater than the pleasure I feel. Therefore, to feel the pleasure of the asraya category, Lord Krsna appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Cc. Adi-lila 4.135, text & purp.)
There is an inexplicable fact about the natural inclinations of the gopis. The gopis never want to enjoy themselves with Krsna personally. The happiness of the gopis increases ten million times when they serve to engage Sri Sri Radha and Krsna in Their transcendental pastimes [rather than enjoy directly with Krsna themselves]. (Cc. Madhya-lila 8.207-8, text)
When the nectar of Krsna's pastimes is sprinkled on Srimati Radharani, all Her friends, the gopis, immediately appreciate the pleasure a hundred times more than if they were sprinkled themselves. (Cc. Madhya-lila 8.211, text)
The gopis are not as pleased when they directly mix with Krsna as when they serve to unite Srimati Radharani with Krsna. Their transcendental pleasure lies in uniting Them. (Cc. Madhya-lila 8.210, purp.)
What more can we say?
