The Attractor of Krsna

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The Attractor of Krsna

 

 

To get Krsna to accept you, pray for the favor of His greatest devotee.

 

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A lecture given on Radharani's Appearance Day, in London, September 18,

1969

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Founder-Acarya of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness

 

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TODAY IS RADHASTAMI, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani. Fifteen

days after Krsna's birth Radharani appeared. Radharani is Krsna's

pleasure potency. Radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini-saktih. The

Supreme Personality of Godhead has varieties of energy, as confirmed in

the Vedic literature:parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate.

 

The Supreme Lord has nothing to do personally. Na tasya karyam. Here in

the material world we find that a very big man-political head or

business head - has nothing to do personally, because he has many

assistants. Similarly, does the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full

with six opulences, have to do anything personally? No. He has many

assistants.

 

In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says, sarvatah panipadam tat: "The Lord has

His hands and legs everywhere." You'll find that Krsna has nothing to

do. He's simply enjoying with the gopis (cowherd girls) and Radharani.

He's not killing the demons. The Krsna who kills the demons is Vasudeva

Krsna; He's not the original Krsna. Krsna expands Himself. The first

expansion is Baladeva. From Baladeva come Sankarsana, Pradyumna,

Aniruddha, and Vasudeva. So in His Vasudeva feature Krsna acts in

Mathura and Dvaraka. But Krsna in His original feature remains in

Vrndavana.

 

One of the greatest fiction writers in Bengal, Bankim Chandra

Chatterjee, mistakenly thought that Krsna of Vrndavana, Krsna of

Dvaraka, and Krsna of Mathura are different persons. Krsna is the same,

but He can expand Himself in millions and trillions of forms. Advaitam

acyutam anadim ananta-rupam. Although He has unlimited forms - ananta

rupam - He's advaita: There is no distinciton between Krsna and His

other forms.

 

When Krsna wants to enjoy, what kind of enjoyment will He have? That

has been discussed by Srila Jiva Gosvami. Krsna is Param Brahman, the

Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth has three features: Brahman,

Pramatma, and Bhagavan. Jnanis, those who try to understand the

Absolute Truth by mental speculation, by dint of their own knowledge,

realize the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman. And yogis, those who

try to understand the Absolute Truth by meditation, realize the

Absolute Truth as Paramatma.

 

Paramatma is the feature of the Supreme that is situated in everyone's

heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. And that

Paramatma feature is an expansion of Bhagavan, Krsna, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita (10.42),

atha va bahunaitena

kim jnatena tavarjuna

vistabyaham idam krtsnam

ekamsena sthito jagat

 

 

Arjuna was trying to understand Krsna's potencies, so Krsna explained

in the tenth chapter, "Among seasons I am spring, among rivers I am the

Ganges, among beasts I am the lion, among men I am the king...." And

Krsna concluded, "How far shall I go on? Just try to understand that

because of My entering the universe by only one plenary portion, the

whole cosmic manifestation exists."

 

The material world exists on one plenary portion of Krsna. And Krsna

Himself enters within the universe:

andantara-stha-paramana-cayantarastham. Without His entering, the

universe cannot exist, just as without the soul's entering within the

body, the body cannot exist. As soon as the spirit soul leaves the

body, the body is useless. The body may be that of a prime minister,

but as soon as the soul leaves the body, the body is not worth even a

farthing. Similarly, because Krsna enters within the universe, the

universe has value. Otherwise it is simply a lump of matter. So when

Krsna wants to enjoy, what kind of enjoyment will He have? That has

been discussed by Srila Jiva Gosvami. Krsna is the Supreme Great. God

is great, everyone knows. So when the Great wants to enjoy, what

quality of enjoyment will He have? That is to be understood.

 

Therefore Svarupa Damodara Gosvami has written,

radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtih. The loving affairs of Radha and Krsna are

not ordinary, material loving affairs, although they appear like that.

Avajananti mam mudha: rascals and fools misunderstand Krsna to be an

ordinary man. They do not know Krsna's transcendental nature. They try

to imitate Krsna's rasa-lila, His dancing with the gopis. There are

many such rascals.

 

To understand Krsna is very difficult:

 

manusyanam sahasresu

kascid yatati siddhaye

yatatam api siddhanam

kascin mam vetti tattvatah

 

 

Out of millions of persons, one may try ot make his life perfect.

Nearly everyone is working like an animal, and for an animal there's no

question of perfection. The animal propensities are eating, sleeping,

mating, and defending. And unfortunately most human beings are engaged

like animals. They have no other business. They are like hogs, who

spend the whole day and night working - "Where is stool? Where is

stool?" And as soon as the hogs get some stool to eat, they get fat.

Then, "Where is sex? Where is sex?" The hog does not consider whether

the mate is even his mother or sister. That is the hog's life. Human

life is not meant for hog civilization. But modern civilization is a

hog civilization, although it seems polished because the hogs wear

shirts and coats. The Krsna consciousness movement, in contrast, is for

understanding Krsna. That requires a little labor, austerity, penance.

Tapasa brahmacaryena samena ca damena ca. One has to undergo tapasya

and brahmacarya - austerity and celibacy. Brahmacarya means stopping

sex life or controlling sex life. Without becoming brahmacari, without

controlling the impulse for sex, one cannot understand spiritual life.

Formerly in Vedic civilization boys were trained from the very

beginning to become brahmacari. It was not like the modern day, when

boys and girls ten or twelve years old are enjoying together. Such

enjoyment spoils the brain; the finer brain tissues are lost, so that

one cannot understand higher things.

 

These are the processes of self-realization: samena (by control of the

mind), damena (by control of the senses), tyagena (by giving in

charity), saucena (by cleanliness). But in this age these processes are

very difficult to undergo. Practically it is impossible. Therefore Lord

Caitanya, Krsna Himself, has made Himself easily available by one

process:

 

harer nama harer nama

harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva

nasty eva gatir anyatha

 

 

This age, Kali-yuga, is considered the most fallen age. We think we are

making much advancement, but it is the most fallen age, because people

are becoming like animals. As animals have no other interest than four

bodily necessities - eating, sleeping, mating, nad defending - so in

this age people are interested in four principles of bodily want. They

have no information of the soul, nor are they prepared to realize what

the soul is. That is the defect of this age.

 

But the human form of life is especially meant for realizing oneself:

"What am I?" That is the mission of human life. Athato brahma-jijnasa:

This life is meant for inquiring about Brahman, Paramatma, and

Bhagavan.

 

Jijnasu means inquiry. We inquire every morning, "What is the news

today?" Immediately we pick up a newspaper - inquisitiveness is there -

but we are inquiring about very base things only. We have no desire to

inquire about the highest possibility, brahma-jnana, knowledge of the

spirit.

 

That is the lack in modern civilization. Today people are mainly

inquiring about how to earn money. That propensity is there in every

age, but in this age it has become the principal factor. Everyone is

engaged simply for the bodily necessities. Nidraya hriyate naktam: at

night people sleep very soundly, snoring. Vyavayena ca va vayah: or

they engage in sex. In this way they're wasting time. And during the

daytime - diva carthehaya rajan: "Where is money? Where is money? Where

is money?" And kutumba-bharanena va - as soon as one gets money, one

thinks how to purchase things for the family, that's all. Shopping,

snoring - that is the engagement in materialistic life.

 

Out of many such foolish persons engaged in sleeping, mating, earning

money, and providing the family with a nice apartment and food, one is

inquisitive how to perfect the human form. This life is meant for

perfection. What is perfection? Perfection means to get out of misery.

Everyone is trying to get out of misery, but no one knows the ultimate

goal by which to get out of it. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum.

One can be out of misery when one approaches Visnu.

 

Here is the material world people are trying to go to the moon, but

these foolish people do not know what they'll gain even if they go

there. The moon is one of the material planets. Krsna has already said

in the Bhagavad-gita, a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah.... All the material

planets are places of misery. The moon is very near, but even if you go

to the topmost planet, which is known as Brahmaloka, you'll find

mesery.

 

You can see every night what a vast number of planets there are. But

you cannot go to them. You are simply trying to go to the nearest

planet, and you are failing. So what is your scientific improvement?

 

But you can go. Material scientists calculate that if one were to

travel forty thousand years at the speed of light, then one might

approach the topmost planet in the material world. So at least in the

modern scientific calculations it is impossible to go there. But one

can go; there is a process. That we have tried ot explain in our small

booklet Easy Journey to Other Planets. By the yogic process one can go

to any planet one likes. That is a yogic perfection.

 

The living entity is called sarva-gah, "one who can go anywhere he

likes." For example, Narada Muni can travel anywhere he likes, either

in the spiritual world or in the material world. So you can also do

that. That is possible. Within one year the yogi Durvasa Muni traveled

all over the universe and went ot Visnuloka, the spiritual world, and

came back. That is recorded in history.

 

So this is one of the perfections. And how can it be attained? By

understanding Krsna. Yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavanti. The

Mundaka Upanisad says that if you simply understand Krsna, then

everything else can be understood very easily. Krsna consciousness is

such a nice thing.

 

This evening we are talking about Radhastami. We are trying to

understand Radharani, the chief potency of Krsna, Krsna's pleasure

potency. As we learn from Vedic literature, Krsna has many varieties of

potency: parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. Just as a big man with many

assistants and secretaries hasn't got to do anything personally -

simply by his will everything is done - so the Supreme Personality of

Godhead has varieties of energy, and everything is being done so

nicely.

 

The material world, where we are now living, is called

bahir-anga-sakti, the external energy of Krsna. And just see how nicely

everything is being done by the material energy. Krsna explains in the

Bhagavad-gita, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: "Under My

superintendence the material energy is working." The material energy is

not blind. Krsna is in the background. And apart from the material,

external energy, there is another energy - the internal energy. By the

internal energy the spiritual world is being manifested. Paras tasmat

tu bhavo 'nyah. As the material world is manipulated under the external

energy, the spiritual world is conducted by the internal potency. That

internal potency is Radharani.

 

We should try to understand Radharani. Radharani is Krsna's pleasure

potency, hladini-sakti. In the Vedanta-sutra the Absolute Truth is

described as anandamaya, always in the pleasure potency.

 

When you want ananda, pleasure, you cannot have it alone. Alone you

cannot enjoy. When you are in a circle of friends or family or other

associates, you feel pleasure. My speaking is very pleasing when there

are many persons here. I cannot be happy speaking alone; that is not

ananda. Although I could speak here in the dead of night when there is

no one here, that is not ananda. Ananda means there must be others.

 

Because Krsna, the Absolute Truth, is anandamaya, He has become many:

eko bahu syama. We are also Krsna's parts and parcels, meant to give

pleasure to Krsna. And the chief pleasure potency is Radharani.

 

 

radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini-saktir asmad

ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau

caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam

 

 

radha-bhava-dyuti suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam

 

Krsna is Param Brahman, the Supreme Absolute, as you know from the

Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gita, he affirmed to

Krsna: param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan: "You are the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the

Absolute Truth."

 

So Krsna is Param Brahman, the Supreme Absolute. In the material world

we see that a great saintly person gives up everything of material

enjoyment simply to enjoy brahmananda, the happiness of Brahman, the

Absolute. He becomes a sannyasi just to understand that he is in

Brahman. So if one has to give up everything material for Brahman

realization, do you think that Param Brahman, the Supreme Brahman, can

enjoy anything material? No. Krsna's enjoyment is nothing material.

This point should be understood.

 

In the material world we have a little information of Brahman and

Paramatma, but no one knows Param Brahman, or Bhagavan, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is said, manusyanam sahasresu

kascid yatati siddhaye. Siddhaye refers to understanding Brahman or

Paramatma. But out of many persons who have realized Brahman and

Paramatma, hardly one can know Krsna.

 

Without knowing Krsna, what can we understand about Krsna's pleasure

potency? Without knowing a big man, how can I understand his internal

affairs? Similarly, if we do not understnad Krsna, how we can

understand how Krsna is enjoying? That is not possible.

 

The Gosvamis are giving us information of the pleasure potency of

Krsna, Srimati Radharani. We have described the loving affairs of

Radha-Krsna in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. If you have this book,

you can read about the transcendental loving affairs of Radha Krsna.

 

So today we pray to Radharani because She is the pleasure potency of

Krsna. Krsna means "all-attractive," but Radharani is so great that She

attracts Krsna. So what is the position of Srimati Radharani? We should

try to understand this today and offer our obeisances to Radharani.

 

tapta-kanchana-gaurangi

radhe vrndavanesvari

vrsbhanu-sute devi

 

 

pranamami hari-priye

 

"Radharani, You are so dear to Krsna. So we offer our respectful

obeisances unto You." Radharani is hari-priya, "very dear to Krsna."

Through the mercy of Radharani we can easily approach Krsna. If

Radharani recommends, "This devotee is very nice," then Krsna

immediately accepts me, however great a fool I may be. Because I am

recommended by Radharani, Krsna accepts me. Therefore in Vrndavana

you'll find all the devotees chanting Radharani's name more than

Krsna's. Wherever you'll go, you'll find the devotees greeting one

another, "Jaya Radhe!" You'll find this still in Vrndavana. The

devotees are glorifying Radharani. If you go by the speculative process

to understand Krsna, it will take many, many lives. But if you take to

devotional service and just try to please Radharani, Krsna will be

gotten very easily.

 

Radharani can deliver Krsna. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of

maha-bhagavata. Even Krsna cannot understand the quality of Radharani's

devotion. Although Krsna says vedaham samatitani - "I know everything"

- He fails to understand Radharani. Radharani is so great.

 

Krsna knows everything, but to understand Radharani, Krsna accepted the

position of Radharani.

 

Krsna thought, "I am full. I am complete in every respect, but still I

want to understand Radharani. Why?" This question obliged Krsna to

accept the propensities of Radharani to understand Himself.

 

Such topics, of course, are part of a great transcendental science. One

advanced in Krsna consciousness and well conversant with sastras,

scriptures, can understand. When Krsna wanted to understand Himself, He

took the tendency of Srimati Radharani. That is His appearance as

Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam.

 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna, but He has accepted the propensities of

Radharani. As Radharani is always in feelings of separation from Krsna,

so Lord Caitanya, in the position of Radharani, was feeling separation

of Krsna. That is the teaching of Lord Caitanya - to feel separation,

not meeting. The process of devotional service taught by Caitanya

Mahaprabhu and His disciplic succession is how to feel separation from

Krsna. That is Radharani's position - always feeling the separation.

 

The Gosvamis, also, when they were in Vrndavana, never said, "I have

seen Krsna." Although they were the most perfect devotees, they never

said, I have seen Krsna." Their prayers were like this: he radhe

vrja-devike.... he nanda-suno kutah!

 

Radharani does not remain alone. She stays always with Her friends

(vraja-devi) Lalita or Visakha and other damsels of Vrndavana. So the

Gosvamis, in their mature stage when they were living at Vrndavana,

were praying in this way: he radhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-suno

kutah: "Radharani, where are You? Where are Your associates? Where are

You, Krsna, Nanda-suno, son of Nanda Maharaja? Where are you all?" They

were searching. They never said, "I have seen Krsna dancing with the

gopis. Last night I saw." [Laughter.]

 

Those who speak like that are called sahajiyas. Mature devotees do not

speak like that. The sahajiyas take everything very cheap - Krsna very

cheap, Radharani very cheap - as if they can see Radha and Krsna every

night. No. The Gosvamis do not teach us like that. They were searching

after Radha-Krsna. He radhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-suno kutah/

sri-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale kalindi-vane kutah: "Are you there at

Govardhana Hill, or on the banks of the Yamuna?" Ghosantav iti sarvato

vraja-pure khedair mahavihvalau. Their business was to cry like this?

"Where are You? Where are You, Radharani? Where are you, Lalita,

Visakha, the associates of Radharani? Where are You, Krsna? Are You

near Govardhana Hill, or on the bank of the Yamuna?"

 

Ghosantav iti sarvato vraja-pure. Throughout the whole tract of

Vrndavana they were crying and searching after Radha-Krsna - khedair

mahavihvalau - as if madmen.

 

Vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. We have to follow

the footprints of the Gosvamis and learn how to search out Krsna and

Radharani, in Vrndavana or within our hearts. That is the process of

Caitanya Mahaprabhu's bhajana, or worship: feelings of separation

(vipralambha-seva).

 

Feeling separation from Krsna, Mahaprabhu would fall into the sea. He

would go out of His bedroom in the dead of night. Nobody knew where He

had gone. He was searching for Krsna.

 

That process of devotional service is taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It

is not that we can say very easily, "I have seen Krsna and Radharani in

the rasa-lila." No, not like that. Feel the separation. The more you

feel separation from Krsna, the more you should understand that you are

advancing. Don't try to see Krsna artificially. Be advanced in feeling

separation, and then your devotion will be perfect. That is the

teaching of Lord Caitanya.

 

Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih. With our material

senses we cannot see Krsna or hear Krsna's name. We must engage

ourselves in the service of the Lord. Where does the service begin?

Jihvadau: from the tongue. Not from the legs, eyes, or ears. It begins

from the tongue. How? Chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare

Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And take

Krsna-prasadam. The tongue has two businesses: to articulate sound,

Hare Krsna, and take prasadam. By these processes you'll realize Krsna.

 

 

Don't try to see Krsna. You cannot see Krsna with your material eyes,

nor can you hear about Him with your material ears, nor can you touch

Him. But if you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then

He'll reveal Himself to you: "Here I am." That is wanted.

 

So feel separation from Krsna just as Radharani does, as Lord Caitanya

teaches us, and engage your tongue in the service of the Lord. Then one

day, when you are mature, you'll see Krsna face to face.

 

Thanks you very much.