Sri Radhastami (31.8)

Śrī Rādhāṣṭamī
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

[In the early morning of September 14th, 2002, in order to commence the celebration of Śrī Rādhāṣṭamī in the opulently decorated Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā, Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja requested the devotees to sing “Śrī Kṛṣṇa Virahe” by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. After that 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 Śrīmatī Rādhikā. In the mood of a maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written that he cannot tolerate Rādhikā’s condition during the time of Her separation from Kṛṣṇa. And, for Their meeting together, he is readily prepared to easily give up his life.

rādhikā-caraṇa, tyajiyā āmāra, kṣaṇeke pralaya hoya
rādhikāra tare, śata-bāra mari, se duḥkha āmāra 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 laibe

[“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
āmake tuliyā, loho nija pāde, deho more siddhi sāra

[“O Vilāsa Mañjarī! O Anaṅga Mañjarī! O Rūpa Mañjarī! Please lift me up and bring me close to your own 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. Especially, please place me in the 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 Gīta Boliyā Pracalita,” (The Song Glorifying the Life Goal of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī)]

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)
O Rādhā! Please give me Your darśana and save my life. Your wretched beggar calls out to You, “Rādhe, Rādhe!” (2)
O Rādhā, You enjoy pleasure pastimes in the forest of Vṛndāvana, wherein You enchant the mind of Kṛṣṇa. (3)
O Rādhā, You are the crest-jewel among Your eight principal sakhīs. O Rādhā, daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Bābā. (4)

Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was always calling out, “Rādhe! Rādhe!” (5)
…sometimes at Keśī Ghāṭa, sometimes at Vaṁśī Vaṭa. (6)
…sometimes in Nidhuvana, sometimes at Sevā Kuñja. (7)
…sometimes at Rādhā Kuṇḍa, sometimes at Śyāma Kuṇḍa. (8)
…sometimes at Kusuma Sarovara, sometimes at Girirāja Govardhana. (9)
…sometimes at Tālavana, sometimes at Tamālavana. (10)

Raghunātha dāsa wears simple cloth which appears to be dirty because he is always rolling on the earth crying out, “Rādhe! Rādhe!” (11)
Calling out “Rādhe! Rādhe,” his eyes are bursting with a flood of tears. (12)
He wanders throughout the lanes of Vṛndāvana crying out, “Rādhe! Rādhe!” (13)
He knows nothing but Rādhā-Govinda throughout the day and night. Rādhe! Rādhe! (14)
He takes rest for only a short time. At that time he receives darśana of Rādhā-Govinda in his dreams. Rādhe! Rādhe! (15)

[Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:] Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has heard from Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara, Śrīla Rāya Rāmānanda, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and especially from Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, and thus he is presenting this tattva. Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s name is Govinda-nandinī (She who makes Śrī Kṛṣṇa happy), and there is nothing higher than this.

Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has revealed some of the names of Rādhikā in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-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, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is full with unlimited opulence and sweetness. Who can give happiness to Him? Only one personality can do so – Kṛṣṇa Himself in the form of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

She is Govinda-mohinī. Kṛṣṇa attracts all living entities, including animals, trees and creepers. He especially attracts all the Vraja gopīs, but Rādhikā can attract Him. Kṛṣṇa bewilders everyone in this world by His māyā-śakti, and in the spiritual world He bewilders all by His beautiful form, qualities, and pastimes. He can bewilder everyone; yet Śrīmatī Rādhikā can bewilder Him.

Rādhikā is Govinda-sarvasya. She is everything to Kṛṣṇa. She is the be-all-and-end-all of Kṛṣṇa; for Him, nothing remains.

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 svapakṣa-gopīs (the gopīs from Her own 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 them, not knowing to whom they belonged, they could only understand that this particular gopī had served Kṛṣṇa more than any other – and therefore He left the rāsa dance with Her alone.

Śrī Rādhā Herself has become Candrāvalī and all the other gopīs. There is no other beloved of Kṛṣṇa – only Śrīmatī Rādhikā. She Herself has become all the Lakṣmīs (Goddesses of Fortune), and all the queens of Dvārakā. If one thinks deeply about this, he will understand Her greatness. Sītā-devī and all the Lakṣmīs are manifestations of Rādhā, and she assumes these forms to fulfill 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 for and about Kṛṣṇa. When She sees a tamāla tree She thinks, “Oh, there is Kṛṣṇa.” Her name is Rādhikā because She fulfills 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 vipakṣa-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. 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

[“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-Lakṣmī-mayī, which means that all the various gopīs emanate from Her, and She is therefore the 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 fulfill all the desires of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There were hundreds of millions of gopīs dancing, but when Rādhikā left, the rāsa dance stopped. Kṛṣṇa appears as Mahāprabhu in order to taste all of Rādhikā’s loving moods; 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 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 Śrīmatī Rādhikā, I am roaming in those forests, playing on My flute, only in search for You. O Rādhikā, 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 so 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 svāti-nakṣatra (constellation).

The skylark (cātaka bird) 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 cātaka bird, and Your beauty is like rain falling during that constellation. I am eagerly waiting for You, to have Your darśana. Your beauty and qualities steal My heart. I don’t want those qualities to steal My heart, but I forget everything else in My separation from You.”

Hearing this, Rādhikā replied, “O Prāṇanātha, lord of My life’s breath, 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 realize My happiness and sorrows, so I can realize 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 alaṅkāra (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 fulfill Your desires. I become so happy when You say to Me, ‘You are My beloved, My mistress, My life and soul.’ No one can understand the happiness I feel; there is no comparison to it in this world.”

“When You say to Me, ‘O Svāminījī, O Prāṇeśvari Rādhike, O My kāntā,’ My heart becomes overjoyed, because You are happy when You taste the words Rādhā-Prāṇeśvarī, etc. I feel shy to hear this, and yet I am also very happy. Externally I feel shy, but internally I am extremely happy.”

Then Kṛṣṇa said 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’m 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 Brahmā. 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)]

Now He confirmed this, as He told 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 fulfill My desires.”

Hearing this, Śrīmatī Rādhikā became shy and replied, “O Śyāmasundara, O You whose eyes are like lotus petals, O You who are the son of the king of Vraja. 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, respect from others, religion, and 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 Srila Rupa Gosvamipada and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, no one would have been able to write about these topics. The conception that Rādhikā is the center of all is exclusively for those in our Gauḍīya Sampradāya. We have the speciality that “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 this kīrtana called “Uddeśye Racita Gīta Boliyā Pracalita.” He says there that Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was always roaming, sometimes in Nidhuvana and sometimes in Vaṁśīvaṭa, and calling out, “Rādhe! Rādhe!”

Gaura premānande