ŚRĪ RĀDHĀṢṬAMĪ --- Mathurā, India: September 14, 2002 (am)
Oṁ viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
[In the early morning of September 14th, in order to commence the celebration of Śrī Rādhāṣṭamī in the opulently decorated Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā, Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja requested Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī to lead the assembled devotes in singing:
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Virahe by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Then, he explained some of the verses as follows:]
śrī kṛṣṇa-virahe, rādhikāra daśā, āmi to’ sahite nāri
yugala-milana, sukhera kāraṇa, jīvana chāḍite pāri
["I am absolutely unable to tolerate Śrī Rādhikā’s pitiable condition when She is suffering in separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but I am fully prepared to immediately give up my life for the sake of Their happy reunion."
(Verse 1)]
Only under the guidance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is it possible to render service to Śrīmati Rādhikā. In the mood of a maidservant of Śrīmati Rādhikā, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written that he cannot tolerate Rādhikā’s condition during the time of Her separation from Kṛṣṇa. On the other hand, for Their meeting together, he is prepared to easily give up his life.
rādhikā-caraṇa, tyajiyā āmāra, kṣaṇeke pralaya hoya
rādhikāra tare, śata-bāra mari, se duḥkha āmār soya
["If I were ever to renounce Rādhikā’s lotus feet for even an instant, I would be totally devastated. For Her sake I will gladly tolerate the pain and agony of death hundreds of times."
(Verse 2)]
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is saying:
"I can give up anything. I can even give up Kṛṣṇa, but I cannot give up the lotus feet of Rādhikā even for a moment. For the service of Rādhikā I am prepared to die hundreds and millions of times, but I could never tolerate giving up Her association for a second.
When will that day come that I can render some service to Her lotus feet?
How can I have attachment for this Rādhikā, and how can I attain the perfect service of Her lotus feet?
e heno rādhāra, caraṇa-yugale, paricaryā pābo kabe
hāhā braja-jana, more doyā kori, kabe vraja-vane lobe
["When will I be able to serve Rādhikā’s two lotus feet?
Alas, I beg you all, O residents of Vraja, please be merciful to me now.
When will you take me into the forests of Vraja?"
(verse 3)]
vilāsa mañjarī, anaṅga mañjarī, śrī rūpa mañjarī āra
āmāke tuliyā, loho nija pade, deho more siddhi sāra
["O Vilāsa Mañjarī! O Anaṅga Mañjarī! O Rūpa Mañjarī! Please lift me up and bring me very close to your lotus feet, thereby bestowing upon me the ultimate perfection."
(Verse 4)]
Weeping bitterly, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is praying:
"O Vrajavāsīs, please be merciful to me!
Place me in the service of the Divine Couple; and especially place me in service of Rādhikā’s lotus feet.
When will that day come that Śrī Vilāsa Mañjarī and others will take me to Vraja?
I long to render service."
[The devotees then sang Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja's:
Uddeśye Racita Gītā Boliyā Pracalita, (The Song Glorifying the Life Goal of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī)]
[The following is the first Bengali verse and the complete English translations:]
kothāya go premamayi rādhe rādhe
rādhe, rādhe go, jaya rādhe, rādhe
Where is She who is full of prema?
All glories to Śrī Rādhā. (1)
dekhā diye prāṇa rākho rādhe rādhe
tomāra kāṅgāla tomāya ḍāke rādhe rādhe
O Rādhā! Please give me Your darśana and save my life. Your wretched beggar calls out to You, "Rādhe, Rādhe!" (2)
rādhe vṛndāvana-vilāsinī, rādhe rādhe
rādhe kānu-mana-mohinī rādhe rādhe
O Rādhā, You enjoy pleasure pastimes in the forest of Vṛndāvana, wherein You enchant the mind of Kṛṣṇa. (3)
rādhe aṣṭa-sakhīra śiromaṇi, rādhe rādhe
rādhe vṛṣabhānu-nandinī, rādhe rādhe
O Rādhe, You are the crest-jewel among Your eight principal sakhīs. O Rādhā, daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Bābā. (4)
(gosāi) niyama kore sadāī ḍāke, rādhe rādhe
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was always calling out, "Rādhe! Rādhe!" (5)
(gosāi) eka-bār ḍāke keśī-ghāṭe
ābār ḍāke vaṁśī-vaṭe rādhe rādhe
. . . sometimes at Keśī Ghāṭa, sometimes at Vaṁśī Vaṭa. (6)
(gosāi) eka-bār ḍāke nidhu-vane
ābār ḍāke kuñja-vane rādhe rādhe
. . . sometimes in Nidhuvan, sometimes in Sevā Kuñja. (7)
(gosāi) eka-bār ḍāke rādhā-kuṇḍe
ābār ḍāke śyāma-kuṇḍe rādhe rādhe
…sometimes at Rādhā Kuṇḍa, sometimes at Śyāma Kuṇḍa. (8)
(gosāi) eka-bār ḍāke kusuma-vane
ābār ḍāke govardhane rādhe rādhe
…sometimes at Kusuma Sarovara, sometimes at Girirāja Govardhana. (9)
(gosāi) eka-bār ḍāke tāla-vane
ābār ḍāke tamāla-vane rādhe rādhe
…sometimes at Tālavana, sometimes at Tamālvan. (10)
(gosāi) malina vasana diye gāya,
vrajera dhūlāya gaḍāgaḍi jaya rādhe rādhe
Raghunātha dāsa wears simple cloth which appears to be dirty because he is always rolling on the earth crying out, "Rādhe! Rādhe!" (11)
(gosāi) mukhe rādhā rādhā bole,
bhāse nayanera jale, rādhe rādhe
Calling out "Rādhe! Rādhe," his eyes are bursting with a flood of tears. (12)
(gosāi) vṛndāvane kuli kuli kende veḍāya
rādhā boli, rādhe rādhe
He wanders throughout the lanes of Vṛndāvana crying out, "Rādhe! Rādhe!" (13)
(gosāi) chāpanna daṇḍa rātri-dine
jāne nā rādhā-govinda vine, rādhe rādhe
He knows nothing but Rādhā-Govinda throughout the day and night (56 daṇḍas: 1 daṇḍa = 24 minutes). Rādhe! Rādhe! (14)
tār par cāri daṇḍa śuti thāke
svapne rādhā-govinda dekhe, rādhe rādhe
He takes rest for only 4 daṇḍas (1 hr. 36 min.) At that time he receives darśana of Rādhā-Govinda in his dreams. Rādhe! Rādhe! (15)
[Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:] Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has heard about Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa from Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara, Śrīla Raya Rāmānanda, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and especially from Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, and thus he is giving this tattva. Śrīmati Rādhikā is Govinda-nandinī, and there is nothing higher than this.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has revealed some of the names of Rādhikā in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi-līlā chapter four. One of Her names is Govinda-nandinī. Govinda is the controller of everything. He is the extreme limit of the conception of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. He has unlimited opulence and sweetness.
Who can give happiness to Him?
Only one can do so - Kṛṣṇa Himself in the form of Śrīmati Rādhikā.
She is also Govinda-mohinī. Kṛṣṇa attracts all living entities, including animals, trees, and creepers. He especially attracts all of the Vraja gopīs, but Rādhikā can attract Him. Kṛṣṇa bewilders everyone in this world by His maya-śakti, and in the spiritual world He bewilders all by His beautiful form, qualities, and pastimes. He can bewilder everyone, yet Rādhikā can bewilder Him.
Rādhikā is Govinda-sarvasya. She is everything to Kṛṣṇa. She is the all in all of Kṛṣṇa; for Him, nothing remains outside Her.
Śrī Rādhā is Sarva-kāntā śiromaṇi, the crown jewel of all Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds. All the gopīs were searching for Kṛṣṇa after His disappearance from the rāsa dance. When Her own svapakṣā gopīs (the gopīs in Her personal group) saw Her footprints along with Kṛṣṇa’s, they became very happy, knowing them to be Hers. However, when the other groups of gopīs saw those footprints, not knowing to whom they belonged, they could only understand that this particular gopī had served Kṛṣṇa more than any other, and therefore He had left the rasa dance with Her alone.
Śrī Rādhā Herself has become Candrāvalī and all the other gopīs. There is no other beloved of Kṛṣṇa – only Śrīmati Rādhikā. Śrīmati Rādhikā Herself has become all the Lākṣmīs, and all the queens of Dvārakā. If one thinks deeply about this, he will understand Her greatness. Sītā-devī and all the Lākṣmīs are manifestations of Rādhā, and she assumes these forms to fulfil Kṛṣṇa’s desires.
She is Kṛṣṇa-mayī; She sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere – inside and outside of Herself. Wherever Her mind or senses go, it is only to, for, and about Kṛṣṇa. When She sees a tamāla tree She thinks:
"Oh, there is Kṛṣṇa."
Her name is Rādhikā because She fulfils all the desires of Kṛṣṇa and because He Himself worships Her. An example of His worshipping Her is when He took Her to a solitary place after leaving the rāsa dance, at which time even the vipakṣā-gopīs (rival party) also confirm this. Rādhikā is Para-devatā, just as Kṛṣṇa is: She is the most worshipable of all. Moreover, She is worshiped by Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Is she not therefore worshipable by everyone?
Once Rādhikā asked Vṛndā-devī:
"Where are you coming from?"
Vṛndā-devī replied:
"I'm coming from Rādhā-kuṇḍa, and I saw Kṛṣṇa there."
Rādhārāṇī asked:
"What was He doing?"
Vṛndā-devī replied that He was dancing. Rādhā then asked:
"Oh, who was His dancing teacher?"
Vṛndā-devī told Her:
"Your reflection, Rādhikā, which He sees in every tree."
Whatever prema exists in this world comes from Rādhikā. She is the mother of everyone because she nourishes everyone by giving them prema. Kṛṣṇa is the principle Deity of all jīvas, and Rādhikā is also. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā:
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis
tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
(Brahma-saṁhitā 37)
["I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hlādinī). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa."]
Śrī Rādhikā is Sarva-lākṣmī-mayī, which means that all the various gopīs emanate from Her, and She is therefore the adistatri-devatā (predominating deity) of all the sakhīs. As many beloveds as there are, She is their controlling deity. She is Kānti, which means that during rāsa-līlā, only She could fulfil the desires of Kṛṣṇa. There were hundreds and millions of gopīs dancing, but when Rādhikā left, the rasa dance stopped. Kṛṣṇa appears as Mahāprabhu in order to taste all of Rādhikā’s loving moods, because He cannot do so in Vraja-līlā.
What are Kṛṣṇa’s thoughts when He is in Mathurā and Dvārakā and feeling separation from Rādhikā?
He prays to Her:
"O Arādhya! O most worshipful Rādhā! My mind always remains with You. I'm always anxious for the dust of Your lotus feet. Somehow, in some form, I stay in Vṛndāvana. O Śrīmati Rādhikā, In search for You only am I roaming in those forests and playing on My flute. O Rādhike, I go to the Yamunā, not to take bath, but only to meet with You. Otherwise there is no need to go there. I sit on the bank of Yamunā only to meet with You and serve You.
"I stopped grazing cows, and I stopped all other activities. Seeing Your beauty I became uncontrollably eager; My eyes moved here and there and My mind was restless. I used to wait underneath a kadamba tree, thinking:
'When will She come by this way?'
I am meditating upon Your qualities, and upon Your beauty which is like the auspicious svati-nakśatra constellation. The skylark (cakora) won't drink any other water besides the water coming from the clouds at the time of the Svāti constellation. Similarly, I am like a cakora bird, and Your beauty is like rain falling during the Svāti constellation. I am eagerly waiting to have Your darśana. Your beauty and qualities steal My heart. I don't want it to steal My heart, but I forget everything else in My separation from You."
Hearing this, Rādhikā replies:
"O Prāṇanātha, lord of my life's breadth, I am Your eternal servant and You are My life and soul, the only love in My life. I surrender Myself unto Your lotus feet. You may love Me or neglect Me in Your life or by Your mind. You can leave Me and thus bring Me suffering. Whatever You desire, Your happiness is My happiness and Your life is My life. I don't want anything other than Your happiness in My life. As You realise My happiness and sorrows, so I can realise Yours. You feel happiness by seeing Me, but by seeing You I become millions of times more happy. There is no comparison to My happiness in these worlds. I am happy only by seeing Your happiness. I am always blissful because I have no concept of the happiness of others; I only desire Your happiness. I want to see Your happiness from morning to night, and night to morning.
"By seeing Me You become happy, and therefore I decorate Myself in many ways with śṛṅgāra (ornaments) and alankara (decorations). I do this for You only; I do this because by seeing Me with all these ornaments and decorations You feel great happiness. I dedicate Myself unto Your lotus feet only to increase Your satisfaction and fulfil Your desires. I become so happy when You say to Me:
'You are My beloved, My bihārī, My mistress, My life and soul.' No one can understand the happiness that I feel; and there is no comparison to it in this world.
"When You say to Me:
'O Swāmījī, O Prāṇeśvari Rādhike, O My kanta,'
My heart becomes overjoyed. Because You are overjoyed when You taste the words "Rādhā", "Prāṇeśvari", etc. I become blissful. I feel shy to hear about this, and yet I am also very happy. Externally I feel shy, but internally I am extremely happy."
Then Kṛṣṇa says to Rādhikā:
"You are the abode of matchless love. O Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī, (daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja),
You are the abode of all rasas, and what am I?
I am always moving from one forest to another to graze cows. I am foolish and irreligious. Other than to herd cows, I have no intelligence at all. I don't know the rules and regulations of love, and only You can teach Me these principles. I am always running after cows and playing hide and seek and other games like a village boy, whereas You are the river of prema. I'm just like terribly hot sand in the summer; and You, on the other hand, are the river of love.
How can there be any comparison between Yourself and Myself?
When You give Me the darśana of Your love, I immediately become happy; there is no comparison to my happiness. When You bestow Your mercy and look towards Me, I become indebted to You."
Kṛṣṇa also told the gopīs during rāsa-līlā:
"I have no qualification. I am only a beggar of Your love."
na pāraye 'haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ
sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ
saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā
["I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.32.22)]
And now He confirms this when He tells Śrī Rādhā:
"I am so indebted to You.
How can I become free from this debt?
Please be merciful; You are the abode of mercy. Only You can give Me love and fulfil My desires."
Hearing this, Śrīmati Rādhikā becomes shy and replies:
"O Śyāmasundara, O You whose eyes are like lotus petals, O You who are the son of Vraja-rāja. You steal My heart. To meet with You I shall give up all the rules and regulations of society. I will leave My in-laws house, I will give up all consideration of shyness, of receiving respect from others, of religion, and of irreligion. I want to come to You and keep You as My own. I want to keep You, even for a moment, but I am only a village girl. I have no quality at all and I am not beautiful. You, on the other hand, are extremely qualified and beautiful, and You are the ornament of Your dynasty. There is no rasa in me. I have no idea about rasa, whereas You are the abode of rasa. You are the ocean of mercy, so please bestow Your mercy on Me. This is My desire."
Without the mercy of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmīpada and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, no one would have been able to write about these topics. The conception that Rādhikā is the centre of all is exclusively for those in our Gauḍīya Sampradāya. We have the speciality of thinking:
"Kṛṣṇa is feeling separation from Rādhikā."
No other Ācāryas can write about all the truths present herein.
Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is glorifying and praying to Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī in his kīrtana called:
Uddeśye Racita Gītā Boliyā Pracalita.
He says there that Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was always roaming, sometimes in Nidhuvan and sometimes in Vaṁśī vaṭa, and calling out, "Rādhe! Rādhe!"
Gaura premānande
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