Vastra Haran - The Clothes on the Tree

Dadi: "Guddu, tonight's story is about Krishna and the gopis - but it's not what you might expect. Some find it controversial, but it teaches something profound about devotion.**Guddu:** Controversial? Now I really want to hear it!**Dadi:** It's called Vastra Haran - the clothes on the tree. The gopis of Vrindavan had begun a special vow to goddess Katyayani, praying for Krishna to become their husband.**Guddu:** What did they have to do for this vow?**Dadi:** Every morning for a month, they would wake before dawn, walk to the Yamuna river, remove their clothes, and bathe while offering prayers. It was a secret ritual of pure devotion.**Guddu:** Did Krishna know about this?**Dadi:** Krishna always knows everything, beta. On the final day of their vow, he slipped into the forest before they arrived. He climbed a kadamba tree near their bathing spot and hid among the leaves.**Guddu:** What was he planning?**Dadi:** The gopis came singing softly, placed their clothes on the riverbank, and entered the water to pray. When they finished and turned to get dressed...**Guddu:** Their clothes were gone!**Dadi:** They looked around frantically - and there was Krishna, sitting in the tree with all their clothes bundled in his lap, smiling that mischievous smile of his.**Guddu:** That's so naughty! What did they say?**Dadi:** "Krishna! Give us back our clothes!" But Krishna replied, "Come and get them." They protested that they couldn't - they weren't dressed. And Krishna said something important: "That's exactly the point."**Guddu:** What did he mean?**Dadi:** He said, "You prayed for me as your husband, didn't you? A wife has no shame before her husband. A devotee has no secrets from God. You want union with me? Then come without barriers - without cloth, without ego, without self-image."**Guddu:** He was teaching them something?**Dadi:** Exactly! He continued: "You bathed naked before the river goddess. You prayed naked under the open sky. But before me - the one you claim to love most - you hide? What exactly are you protecting?"**Guddu:** That's a good question...**Dadi:** The gopis understood. This wasn't mischief - it was instruction. Slowly, one by one, they emerged from the water. At first they kept their hands covering themselves, but as they walked toward the tree, they lowered their hands.**Guddu:** They weren't ashamed anymore?**Dadi:** They stood before him as they had stood before the goddess - open, vulnerable, without pretense. And Krishna descended from the tree, touched each woman's head in blessing, and returned their clothes.**Guddu:** What did he say to them?**Dadi:** "You have completed your vow - not by the month of prayers, but by this moment of surrender. You came to me without protection, without pride, without the armor of propriety. This is how devotees must approach the Divine."**Guddu:** And their prayer? Did he become their husband?**Dadi:** He said, "I am already your husband - in spirit, in truth, in the way that matters. In the autumn, when the moon is full, I will dance with you. That will be our wedding - not of form, but of essence."**Guddu:** Is that the Raas Leela dance?**Dadi:** Yes! As the gopis walked home, one said to another, "I've never felt so embarrassed in my life." And the other replied, "I've never felt so loved." Both were true - and somehow, both were the same thing.**Guddu:** Dadi, this story seems strange on the surface...**Dadi:** It does, beta. A god stealing women's clothes sounds like mischief at best. But the gopis understood something deeper. The clothes represented their egos - the fabric of self-image, the covering of pride.**Guddu:** Krishna wasn't interested in their bodies?**Dadi:** He was interested in their souls. And souls must be approached naked - not physically, but psychologically. You must remove the layers of pretense, the garments of self-importance.**Guddu:** Like when we pray, we should be completely honest?**Dadi:** Exactly! To meet God, you must strip away all your masks. Stand before the Divine exactly as you are - with nothing hidden, nothing held back, nothing to protect.**Guddu:** That's actually beautiful, Dadi.**Dadi:** The gopis found what they truly prayed for - not just a husband, but a love that saw them completely and accepted them completely. That was Krishna's gift, disguised as a prank. That is always Krishna's way - teaching the deepest truths through the most unexpected means."