Jai Sri Radhe krishna

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devi krishna-mayi prokta

radhika para-devata

sarva-lakshmi-mayi sarva

kantih sammohini para

 

 

Srimati Radharani

Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess. She is most always seen with Lord

Krishna. It is described that She is the Chief Associate and devotee of Lord

Krishna, and topmost of all Goddesses. Her name means the She is the most

excellent worshiper of Lord Krishna. However, She is also an expansion of the

Lord's energy. Since She is also an extension of Krishna, She is the feminine

aspect of God. Thus, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, God is both male and

female. They are One, but Krishna expands into two, Himself and Radharani, for

the sake of divine loving pastimes. If They remained as One, then there is no

relationship, there are no pastimes, and there can be no dynamic exchange of

love. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, 4.55-56) Actually, if we all remained

merged or amalgamated into one single force or light, then there is no further

need of anything else. There

certainly would be no need for the material manifestation to provide the

innumerable conditioned souls with the means to seek out the way to satisfy

their senses, minds, emotions, desires for self-_expression, intellectual

pursuits, and on and on. So, similarly, the spiritual world is the

manifestation wherein all souls have the opportunity to engage in a multitude

of pastimes in loving relationships in full spiritual variety, without the many

hindrances we find in this material world. The only difference is that the

spiritual world is centered around the Supreme Being. And that Supreme

Personality has expanded Himself into Radharani for exhibiting the supreme

loving relationship, in which so many others assist Them. In the

Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Radharani is described as follows:

devi krishna-mayi prokta

radhika para-devata sarva-lakshmi-mayi sarva kantih sammohini para

"The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord

Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She

possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of

Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord." To explain further,

Srimati Radharani is also the source of the other goddesses, who are expansions

of Her. Just as Lord Krishna is the source of all other expansions and

incarnations of God, Radharani is the source of all other expansions of the

energies of God, the shaktis, or other goddesses. Thus, Vishnu, Rama, even

Shiva are all expansions of the one Supreme Being, and similarly Lakshmi, Sita,

and even Durga are all expansions of this Supreme Feminine form of God,

Radharani. It is explained that the beloved consorts of Lord Krishna are of

three kinds, namely the goddesses of fortune or Lakshmis, His queens, and the

milkmaids of Vraja called the gopis. All of them proceed from Radharani. The

Lakshmis are partial manifestations, or plenary portions, of Srimati Radharani,

while the queens in Vaikuntha and in Dvaraka are reflections of Her image. The

Vraja-devis or gopis are Her expansions and assist in the increase of rasa, or

the divine loving pastimes. Among them there are many groups that have various

sentiments and moods, which help Lord Krishna taste the sweetness of the rasa

dance and other pastimes. (Cc.Adi-lila. 4. 75-81) "Among the gopis of

Vrindavana, Srimati Radharani and another gopi are considered chief. However,

when we compare the gopis, it appears that Srimati Radharani is most important

because Her real feature expresses the highest ecstasy of love. The ecstasy of

love experienced by the other gopis cannot be compared to that of Srimati

Radharani." (Ujjvala-nilamani 4.3 of Srila Rupa Gosvami) Radharani has many

names according to Her qualities and characteristics. Some of the names that

Radharani is known by include Govinda-anandini--She who gives pleasure to

Govinda [Krishna]; Govinda-mohini--She who mystifies Govinda;

Govinda-sarvasa--the all-in-all of Lord Govinda; Shiromani Sarva-kanta--the

crown jewel of all the Lord's consorts; and Krishnamayi--the one who sees

Krishna both within and without. She is also called Radhika in the Puranas

because Her worship [aradhana] of the Lord consists of fulfilling His desires.

Aradhana is the root of the name Radharani, which indicates one who excels in

worshiping the Lord. She is also called Sarva-lakshmi, the original source of

all the goddesses of fortune. This also means that She is the supreme energy of

Lord Krishna, and represents His six opulences, which include fame, fortune,

strength, wealth,

knowledge, and detachment. She is also known as Sarva-kanti, which indicates

that all beauty and luster rest in Her body, and all the Lakshmis derive their

beauty from Her. It also means that all the desires of Lord Krishna rest in

Srimati Radharani. As Lord Krishna enchants the world with His beauty and

charm, Sri Radha enchants Him. Therefore She is the Supreme Goddess. Sri Radha

is the full power, and Lord Krishna is the possessor of full power.

(Cc.Adi-lila, 4.82, 84, 87-96) Thus, the two are non-different, as the sunshine

is nondifferent from the sun, or as the energy is non-different from the

energetic or source of energy. In this way, without Radha there is no meaning

to Krishna and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this,

in the Vaishnava tradition we always pay respects first to the Lord's internal

energy in the form of Radha, and then to the Lord. Thus They are referred to as

Radha-Krishna, or in other names as Sita-Rama, Lakshmi-Narayana, and so on. In

this way, Radha and Krishna are one, but when Lord Krishna wants to enjoy, He

manifests Himself as Radharani. Otherwise, there is no energy in which Krishna

can attain pleasure outside Himself. To understand Himself through the agency

of Radha, or the hladini-shakti, the Lord manifests Himself as Lord Chaitanya,

who is Lord Krishna but with the super-excellent emotions of Radharani's love

toward Lord Krishna. This is because the Lord accepts a position and the

emotions of a devotee in order to fully taste His own sweetness. It is also

described that the potency of love of God is called hladini, the Lord's

pleasure potency. Whenever the Lord wants to enjoy pleasure, He exhibits His

own spiritual potency known as hladini. And the essence of that love is in the

emotion called bhava. The ultimate development of that emotion is mahabhava, or

great bhava. Mahabhava is full of the pleasure potency, and it is an exhibition

of the highest love for Lord Krishna. Sri Radharani is the embodiment of that

transcendental consciousness found in mahabhava. Her mind, senses and body are

steeped in that highest sort of love for Krishna. She is as spiritual as the

Lord Himself. In fact, being the personification of the hladini-shakti, the

pleasure giving energy of the Lord, She is the only source of enjoyment for the

Lord. This pleasure potency manifests spiritually as Radharani in a way that

attracts even Lord Krishna. He takes no pleasure in

anything material. The Lord could never enjoy anything that is less spiritual

than Himself. Therefore Radha and Krishna are identical. Then She expands

Herself into different forms, known as Lalita, Visakha, and Her other

confidential associates that increase the mood of divine love. However, being

the Lord's hladini feature, She is also the ultimate source of all happiness

for all the living beings. In other words, everything that gives pleasure and

happiness within the spiritual or the material worlds is because of Her and the

energy that emanates from Her. (Cc.Adi-lila.4.68-72) That same pleasure potency

expands and spreads throughout the spiritual worlds, and then descends into the

material creation into the many forms of happiness that is experienced by the

conditioned soul, though it may be called by different names and perceived in

assorted ways. Since we are all parts and parcels of the Lord, we also have

that pleasure potency within us to a minute degree. But we

are trying to enjoy it in the material world. Therefore we are like sparks that

are dying out because we have left our place which is in the blazing fire of

Lord Krishna's association. The Hare Krishna mantra also directs one's

attention and devotion to Radha as well as Krishna. Radha is also known as

Mother Hara, which is the name Hare in the vocative form within the mantra. So

in chanting Hare Krishna, we are first approaching the Lord's internal potency

and asking Radha to please engage us in the service of Lord Krishna.

Concentrating on Krishna through His names is one form of that service. In

other words, it is through Radha that one more easily attains Krishna and

service to Krishna. This is the advantage of approaching Lord Krishna through

Radharani. The descriptions of the beauty of Radharani are wonderfully poetic

and descriptive. Actually, the residents of Vrindavana care more for Radharani

than they do for Lord Krishna. They know that Krishna can be influenced through

Radharani. They know that Radha can bring one to Krishna. She is also the

compassionate nature of the Lord, and thus more easily approached than trying

to reach Lord Krishna directly. And when we read these descriptions of Radha,

it is no wonder why they are devoted to Her. For example, it is explained that

Srimati Radharani has unlimited transcendental qualities, of which twenty-five

are principal. These include: 1) She is very sweet. 2) She is always freshly

youthful. 3) Her eyes are restless. 4) She smiles brightly. 5) She has

beautiful, auspicious lines. 6) She makes Krishna happy with Her bodily aroma.

7) She is very expert in singing. 8) Her speech is charming. 9) She is very

expert in joking and speaking pleasantly. 10) She is very humble and meek. 11)

She is always full of mercy. 12) She is cunning. 13) She is expert in executing

Her duties. 14) She is shy. 15) She is always respectful. 16) She is always

calm. 17) She is always grave. 18) She is expert in enjoying life. 19) She is

situated in the topmost level of ecstatic love. 20) She is the reservoir of

loving affairs in Gokula. 21) She is the most famous of submissive devotees.

22) She is very affectionate to elderly people. 23) She is very submissive to

the love of Her friends. 24) She is the chief gopi. 25) She always keeps

Krishna under Her control. In short, She possesses unlimited transcendental

qualities, just as Lord Krishna does. (Ujjvala-nilamani, Sri-radha-prakarana

11-15) In describing Srimati Radharani, it is also said in the Vidagdha-madhava

(1.32) by Rupa Gosvami, "The beauty of Srimati Radharani's eyes forcibly devours

the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face

surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily

luster seems to place even gold in a painful situation. Thus the wonderful,

unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening Vrindavana.Although

the effulgence of the moon is brilliant initially at night, in the daytime it

fades away. Similarly, although the lotus is beautiful during the daytime, at

night it closes. But, O My friend, the face of My most dear Srimati Radharani

is always bright and beautiful, both day and night. Therefore, to what can Her

face be compared?" (Vidagdha-madhava 5.20) "When Srimati Radharani smiles,

waves of joy overtake Her cheeks, and Her arched eyebrows dance like the bow of

Cupid. Her glance is so enchanting that it is like a dancing bumblebee, moving

unsteadily due to intoxication. That bee has bitten the whorl of My heart."

(Vidagdha-madhava 2.51) There is much more to be known about Srimati Radharani,

but this should suffice for now. Thus, the spiritual exchange of divine love

between Radha and Krishna is the display of the internal energy of the Lord,

and is very confidential and difficult to understand. No materialist can begin

to understand this topic of the relationship between Radharani and Lord

Krishna. But the more we awaken our dormant love for God, which is natural

state of being for a fully awakened soul, then the more we can comprehend and

actually enter into such spiritual loving exchanges.

You can see more photos and prints of Her in our Krishna Darshan Art Gallery

 

SARAVAM KRISNAPRANAM

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