Raslila 2013 : Divine Presentation of Love

Raslila 2013 will be celebrated on 18th October. Ras Lila is a folk art which symbolizes the love between Lord Krishna and Gopis of Vrindavan. To learn more about this tradition we must transcend the physical boundaries and go beyond.

Raaslila is a spiritual dance which manifests the divine love of Lord Krishna and Gopis. To understand this mystical relation between Krishna and Gopis we must understand the magnitude of love they had for each other.

Krishna bestows his love and blessings to the human kind and shows the path of truth and righteousness. We all have our own ways of loving the divine Lord Krishna. Some devotees love him as a little child, while others see him as a lover.

Raslila is considered as a significant part of his human life. Raslila incorporates the traditional dance, drama and music of ancient India. Lord Krishna has a mystical charm which enchants all the devotees and forces them to dance to His tunes.

Even today we can see people dancing to the tunes of �Hare Radha Hare Krishna�. There are no words that do justice to describe the magical personality of Lord Krishna. Raslila is a path to connect with supreme power Lord Krishna.

The Legend of Raslila

Lord Krishna grew up in Vrindavan and was loved by all the Gopis. While growing up he was famous for his mischief and naughtiness. Such was the love of Gopis for him that they forgot all their worldly tasks.

As per the legend, on hearing the divine flute of Krishna all Gopis left their households and went to see Lord Krishna. Enchanted by the divine music they followed it only to find themselves in the woods at the middle of the night.

Seeing all the Gopis, he teased them by asking if it was appropriate for them to leave their houses and husbands. The Lord told them their first responsibility was toward their family and husband.

To this the Gopis replied that Lord Krishna was the Husband of the entire world and therefore the responsibility toward Him was greater. They then demanded that Lord Krishna should dance with them individually as their partner.

To fulfill the wish of Gopis he cast a spell a on them and danced with each one of them. Due to his spell each Gopi thought that Lord Krishna was dancing with her alone. Floating high they felt proud to be Lord Krishna�s lone partner. To teach them a lesson Lord Krishna disappeared and only came after a lot of pleading.

This was done only to make them realize that where there was pride there could be no God. This shows that being close to the supreme power is supposed to make you humble and if that does not happen you are bound to lose the him. From there originated the custom of Raslila which has grown and developed to the present form.

Create a Unique Relationship With The Almighty

Raslila has evolved as an art form and is the central theme of many dance forms like Odissi, Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam. Raslila is also performed on various occasions like Janmastami and Holi.

Krishna is omnipresent and to find him we must look inwards and listen to our soul. To understand Lord Krishna we have to let go all inhibitions and free ourselves to dance to His captivating tunes.

When we surrender completely, we gain the true power to control and live our lives. These festivals make us realize that we are a very important part of an eventful and great history. Though it is very good to follow the rituals but it is imperative to create a personal relationship with Krishna.

We can relate to him as a friend, or as a father figure or even as our beloved. Such personalized relationship with the Lord gives us the strength and courage to handle the unfavorable situations in the life. Raslila also tells us not to follow the set patterns as no one can tell us how to pray.

We pray and hope that like the Gopis we are also able to connect to Lord Krishna in own personalized way. While it is very important to follow these traditions but they would be rendered useless if we do not understand the real meaning behind them. we wish you a very happy Raslila 2013.