Hearing the words spoken by Acyuta, the girls of Vraja realized that bathing unclothed had been a breach of their vow. Yet, understanding that this act was directly ordained by him, they accepted it as the completion of their ritual, free from blame and eager to fulfill their purpose. Seeing them bow before him in this way, the Lord, son of Devakī, was moved by compassion. Pleased with their sincerity, he returned their garments to them. Though he had teased them firmly, embarrassed them, and taken their clothes as if in play, the girls bore no resentment. Instead, they found joy in his beloved company. After donning their garments, their hearts fixed on meeting their beloved, the girls, with eyes lowered in modesty, lingered near him, unable to leave. Understanding their longing to touch his feet, the Lord Dāmodara addressed the maidens, who had kept their vow with such devotion. He said, “O virtuous ones, your intention to worship me is known to me. I approve of your desire, and it shall be fulfilled. For those whose minds are fixed on me, desire does not become lust—just as roasted and boiled grains do not sprout. Now, go back to Vraja, perfected in your vow. In the nights to come, you will enjoy with me, for your vow was performed with the aim of worshiping me.” Thus instructed by the Lord, the maidens, their desires fulfilled, returned to Vraja. Though it was difficult for them, they went, meditating deeply on his lotus feet. Afterward, the Lord, son of Devakī, surrounded by the cowherd boys, left Vṛndāvana. Along with his elder brother, he took the cows to graze at a distance. As the midday sun blazed fiercely, he noticed the trees spreading their branches to provide shade, like umbrellas, shielding all from the heat. He spoke to the residents of Vraja, calling out, “O Stokakṛṣṇa, O Aṃśu, Śrīdāma, Subala, Arjuna, Viśāla, Ṛṣabha, Tejasvin, Devaprastha, Varūthapa! Behold these great souls—the trees—who live solely for the sake of others. Enduring wind, rain, sun, and cold, they protect us all.” He continued, “Blessed indeed is their birth, for all creatures live by them. Like the truly good, they never turn away those who seek their help. They fulfill desires with their leaves, flowers, fruits, shade, roots, bark, wood, fragrant resin, sap, ashes, and bones. This alone is the true fulfillment of birth for embodied beings: one should always act for the highest good with one’s life, wealth, intelligence, and speech.” Moving through the low branches of trees laden with fresh shoots, clusters, fruits, flowers, and leaves, they entered the midst of the Yamunā. There, after watering the cows with pure, cool, auspicious water, the cowherd boys themselves drank the sweet water to their satisfaction. In the groves by the river, as the cattle grazed freely, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma approached, hungry, and the cowherd boys began to speak among themselves about the mysteries of life and existence. They reflected: “Because of absorption in sense objects, a living being forgets himself again and again. For some reason, death is the total forgetting. Birth, though experienced as oneself with all one’s being, is said to be the acceptance of sense objects—just like a dream or a fantasy. Just as one does not remember a dream or a fantasy from before, so also, in that state, one sees oneself as new, not as before.” They continued, “This threefold manifestation—of senses, their objects, and the mind—appears in the substance. The division of inner and outer arises from people, just as the actions of the good and the wicked. Indeed, O dear one, beings constantly come into being and cease to be; by the subtle, swift force of time, this is not seen.” “Just as with flames, streams, and the fruits of a tree, so too are the ages and stages of all beings established. This lamp is called a flame, this water a stream, and this person a man—such speech is false, as is the notion of lasting life. Do not think that this person is truly born from the seed of his own actions, or that he truly dies; it is an illusion, just as fire appears to arise and cease with wood.” They explained further, “Conception, gestation, birth, childhood, boyhood, youth, maturity, old age, and death—these are the nine stages of the body. These various higher and lower bodies, made of the stuff of fantasy, are assumed through association with qualities; sometimes one acquires them, sometimes abandons them. The coming into being and passing away of the self are inferred from father and son; but one who knows the true nature of things that come and go is not characterized by both.” “Just as one who knows the seed and fruit of a tree understands its birth and destruction, yet is distinct from the tree, so too is the witness distinct from the body. When a person does not distinguish the self from nature, bewildered by contact, he enters into worldly existence. Through association with sattva, one attains the gods; through rajas, the demons and humans; through tamas, the state of spirits and animals. Driven by actions, one wanders among these states.” “Watching others dance and sing, one imitates them likewise. In this way, observing the qualities of intellect, even one who is inactive is compelled to imitate. Just as trees appear to move when water flows, and the earth seems to spin when the eyes whirl, so too are perceptions distorted.” “Just as the experience of sense objects through the mind’s imagination is false, and as visions in dreams are unreal, so too is worldly existence for the self, O descendant of Dasarha. Even when the object does not exist, the cycle of worldly existence does not cease; for one who meditates on sense objects, misfortune arises in dreams just as in waking life.” “Therefore, Uddhava, do not indulge in sense objects with unreliable senses. See the confusion born from grasping the self, and recognize the illusory error. Whether thrown out, insulted by the wicked, mocked, envied, beaten, restrained, or deprived of livelihood—spat upon, urinated upon by ignorant people, shaken in many ways—one who desires what is good, even in hardship, should uplift oneself by one’s own self.” Thus, in the company of his friends, Kṛṣṇa guided their hearts and minds, teaching the deeper truths of life, the self, and the path of goodness, even as they wandered the forests of Vraja, caring for the cows and delighting in the beauty of creation.