Chapter CXII

The idea of reproach is essential to the drama of the soul, and a leading motif of the greater part of Rādhā-Krishna literature:

_'Folk, family, house and husband are abandoned, the reproach of the world rejected.'_

_Prema Sāgara._

Compare:

_'Blessed are ye when men shall revile and persecute you for My
sake,'_

and likewise:

_'Let every reproach that honour disdains and avoids be mine.'_

Nau'i.

_'--Cast shame and pride away,_
_Let honour gild the world's eventless day,_
_Shrink not from change and shudder not at crime,_
_Leave lies to rattle in the sieve of Time!_
_Then whatsoe'er your workday gear shall stain,_
_Of me a wedding garment shall ye gain!'_

_Love is Enough._

This point is to be emphasized: for to understand the necessity and signifiance of reproach, is to comprehend how it was not merely possible but inevitable that in a society where the strictest possible conception of woman's honour prevails, the self-surrender of Rādhā should be regarded as the natural symbol of the soul's self-gift to God.