Who are these Gopis, according to the Bhaagavatha itself? They are the demi-gods who wanted to share in the glory of the Avatar and who came down to the world as witnesses and sharers in the Divine Leela (cosmic sport). They came for a purpose; they are not ordinary village folk, who could be dismissed as a crowd of voluptuous women. They saw in every gesture and gait every word and phrase of Krishna the Divine, not the human at all. They had no occasion or chance to be agitated by a secular Vriththi (thought wave); all Vriththis were awakened by Divine promptings and urges. Like the magnifying glass which catches the rays of the Sun and directs them all to one spot, thus concentrating the heat on one point and helping it to ignite, the hearts of the Gopis collected all the Vriththis and concentrated them and caused the illumination and the flame. The flame burnt all dross; the illumination revealed the Truth. All other interpretations are to be laid at the door of either ignorance or scholasticism, the pompous pride of mere book learning, which scorns the exercise of discipline.