Groupies or Gopis

The following is an article from the Matchless Gift magazine, written by Hamsini Devi Dasi.

B.L.I.S.S girls dance for Lord Caitanya

I’m sure you’re familiar with the terms ‘One direction infection’ and ‘Bieber fever.’ If not, firstly, which rock have you been living under? And secondly, I sincerely apologise for the nonsense I am about to contaminate your consciousness with.

Having suffered an 8 year bout of one direction infection I can confirm that this tweet is not an exaggeration. 

This isn’t even a fraction of the concerning posts you will find on the unsound side of the internet. There are innumerable different sects of fans, setting up camps in the depths of twitter, instagram, tumblr etc. and branding themselves as a ‘stan’ (stalker fan) of the object of their affection. As of 2020, the band One Direction had a combined 177.3 million followers on Instagram alone. And this is just one social media platform, and one band out of many thousands of musicians, actors, influencers and so on who have amassed a hoard of devotees. This strange phenomena has swept the world for at least a century, think Beatlemania or bevies of girls loitering outside of hotels, waiting to catch a glimpse of Frank Sinatra. With the creation of the internet and the rise of social media, this craze is only spreading, with new idols to worship every second. We can see from the audience of 55,000 for the Beatles in 1965 that these infatuations are not anything new. So what makes these celebrities so attractive?

Everybody wants to be Krishna. The reason we are in this jailhouse of material existence is because of this desire. Krishna is the name of God. ‘Krishna, this word, means all-attractive. Krishna is attractive to every living entities, not only human being, even the animals, birds, bees, trees, flowers, fruits, water.’ He is full in 6 opulences, namely; Wealth, strength, beauty, fame, knowledge, and renunciation. As Krishna’s individual parts and parcels, we are of the same quality as him, in a minute form, so naturally these opulences are minutely present in our lives. Unfortunately, being in contact with the material nature, the jiva is quickly succumbed to the illusion that he is the material body, and nothing material can satiate our true desire, which is to be reunited with Krishna in eternal bliss and knowledge. This leaves all conditioned souls in a perpetual state of hankering and lamenting for beauty, popularity, or some other mundane benediction that ultimately culminates in further attachment and suffering. But Krishna is the fulfiller of all desires and he allows us to enact our twisted fantasies because he is just that merciful. “Man proposes, God disposes,” Prabhupada says. So we are living in a world of Krishna wannabes, where Krishna is fulfilling the rampant desires for worldly fame and riches. But how do these wannabes attract such a following?

Shrila Prabhupada talks about the loving propensity present in all living entities. He says, “The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else.” We can see this propensity everywhere in the world. From blockbuster rom-coms to the warmth in your heart when you catch eyes with your beloved. Everybody loves love. It’s a very powerful force, and it’s depths are boundless. Beautiful, right? Wrong. Srila Prabhupada says, “This material life is simply based on lust. We want to enjoy this world. We love this material world because we want to satisfy our senses. So this lust is the perverted reflection of my love of God. In my original constitution, I am made to love God, but because I have forgotten God, therefore I love matter.” This matter-‘loving’ propensity is especially strong in the young, primarily female, fan groups who can devote almost every action to their chosen celebrity. As a reformed directioner (one direction stalker fan) I have 8 years of practical experience performing various devotional services for what was once the ‘biggest band on the planet’. Some of these services include: being dripped out head to toe in one direction merchandise, discussing the band member’s pastimes with other devoted fans, engaging in online wars with enemy fandoms, posting one direction propaganda and learning the lyrics to all their songs. This lifestyle is very gruelling. All superfans are thrown between intense hankering and lamenting over people who have no idea they exist, whilst neglecting all other responsibilities to be completely absorbed in the most pitiable lusting in existence. Stalker fans are generally perceived by the rest of the world as total creeps, yet millions of spirit souls are proudly stunting these bodily designations. There must be something of more value to pour all your love into…

Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure and only in our relationship with him can we find everlasting bliss. As his tiny parts and parcels, his happiness is our happiness, so engaging in his devotional service is the only means of self-fulfilment. A life of service to God might make you think of great austerities like living in a cave or renouncing all food, but actually devotional service is not so different from the sense gratification we already indulge in. Pleasing God entails cooking him delicious vegetarian meals, playing ecstatic music, and glorifying his name, form, and pastimes with everyone around you. All of these joyous activities are just a means to facilitate the most important instruction, which is to always remember your best well wisher, Krishna. 

"While Krishna was engaged in tending the cows in the forest of Vrindavana or on Govardhana Hill, the gopis in the village were always absorbed in thinking of Him and discussing His different pastimes. This is the perfect example of Krishna consciousness: to somehow or other remain always engrossed in thoughts of Krishna. The vivid example is always present in the behavior of the gopis; therefore, Lord Chaitanya declared that no one can worship the Supreme Lord by any method which is better than the method of the gopis. The gopis were not born in very high brahmana or kshatriya families; they were born in the families of vaishyas, and not in big mercantile communities but in the families of cowherd men. They were not very well educated, although they heard all sorts of knowledge from the brahmanas, the authorities of Vedic knowledge. The gopis' only purpose was to remain always absorbed in thoughts of Krishna."

(Krishna Book, Chapter 21)

So we should take inspiration from the topmost devotees of the Lord. Instead of meditating on Tupac and Biggie, we can meditate on Krishna and Kamsa. We can substitute fantasising about Harry Styles’ beautiful locks for daydreaming about Krishna’s enchanting smile. Rather than reminiscing the Kim K and Kanye West love story, we should always try to serve the pure eternal love between Radha and Krishna. This way we will surely reach perfection.

If you're interested, please kindly take a look at the latest edition, #23 on The BLISS Store.