Gopī-gīta: The Song of the Gopīs in Separation
Viraha-bhakti
प्रहसितं प्रिय प्रेमवीक्षणं विहरणं च ते ध्यानमङ्गलम् । रहसि संविदो या हृदिस्पृश: कुहक नो मन: क्षोभयन्ति हि ॥ १० ॥
prahasitaṁ priya-prema-vīkṣaṇaṁ viharaṇaṁ ca te dhyāna-maṅgalam rahasi saṁvido yā hṛdi spṛśaḥ kuhaka no manaḥ kṣobhayanti hi
あなたの微笑み、甘く愛に満ちた眼差し、そしてあなたと共に味わった親密な戯れと秘めた語らい――それらは観想するに吉祥で、私たちの心に触れます。けれども、ああ人を惑わすお方よ、その思い出が私たちの心を激しく揺さぶるのです。
This verse shows that even Krishna’s sweetest smiles, glances, and pastimes—though auspicious to meditate on—can intensify longing when He is absent; such separation deepens the devotee’s absorption in Him.
They speak from the pain of separation after Krishna’s rāsa-līlā disappearance; His enchanting love and private words once soothed them, but in His absence those same memories feel like teasing and thus 'deceptive.'
Turn emotional attachment into spiritual focus: regularly remember Krishna through prayer and sacred reading, and when longing or restlessness arises, redirect it into deeper chanting and contemplation rather than distraction.