There are two aspects of love—viṣaya and āśraya: the object and abode of love respectively. Kṛṣṇa is the object of love. He is worship-able for everyone. There is no one for whom He is not worshipable. He tastes sakhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya-rāsa. The bhakta is the abode of love. Among all the bhaktas, His hladinī-śakti—Śrīmatī Rādhikā—is the most exalted. She is the topmost abode of love. The prema we need is not found in Kṛṣṇa. Then in whom is this love found? How should you love Kṛṣṇa? Like how Śrīmatī Rādhikā does. Therefore, the gopīs are the abode of love.
July 26, 2004 Mumbaī