Inquiries into the Absolute: Digest 40

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Digest 40, Sep 6, 2002

 

Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja

 

Krishna and Radha

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Q.1) My 8-year-old daughter asked me the following 2 questions: Why did Krishna

not marry Srimati Radharani, when Her deity is always next to Krishna and we

worship Krishna and Radha? I could not give her a good answer. I think what

confuses her is that Krishna loved Srimati Radharani, but married someone else.

 

I was telling her that in our culture, a man couldn't have more than one wife.

She promptly asked me - Why did Sri Krishna marry so many women? I understand

that Srimati Radharani is the internal potency of Sri Krishna. I am not very

clear about the real relationship between Krishna and Rukmini. What is

Rukmini's position? Is she just a great devotee of Krishna or more than that? I

want my daughter to learn moral values from our scriptures, but she gets very

confused with life led by our demigods and God. Please provide me an answer,

which my daughter (with material mind) can understand.

 

Answer:

My reply will be mixed with points for your personal understanding, as well as

with simple statements to help your precocious daughter feel satisfied. Both

are intended to address your concern for your daughter's ethical training.

 

The relationship between Radha and Krishna in Their Vrindavan-lila is of a very

special type known as "parakiya rasa" or unwedded love. Even from our mundane

experience we know that such a relationship can be of greater intensity than

within marriage. Yet these 'affairs' are grossly perverted reflections of the

love found in the spiritual world; worldly paramourship is morally

reprehensible, but the spiritual counterpart is of the highest level of

spiritual joy as well as purity. In Vrindavana, yoga-maya (the Lord's personal

internal potency) orchestrates events just to enhance this 'parakiya-bhava',

which serve to increase the intensity of the loving pastimes between Radha and

Krishna. For example, there is a very sweet pastime described by our acaryas

wherein Radha and Krishna were actually to be betrothed, but Paurnamasi (who is

Yogamaya herself) foils the plan on the pretext of so-called inauspicious

planetary influences, just so that the parakiya relationship is preserv!

ed.

 

In short, the lila of Radha and Krishna is that of an unwed couple, lover and

beloved, but the spiritual reality is that they are eternally with one another

as the Lord and His internal potency, or His 'consort'. Their unmarried love

enhances the sweetness of their exchanges, and is altogether wholesome and

pure.

 

Rukmini devi is an expansion of Radharani. She also belongs to the internal

potency of Krishna, just like Radha, only the lila is that they marry.

 

Your concern for upholding moral values is justified because the facts of Radha

and Krishna's loving relationship can be (and has been) misused by unscrupulous

people to manipulate religious principles. But Radha-Krishna relationship

should not be confused with that of a mundane relationship.

 

The material world is 180 degrees the opposite of the spiritual world. Give

the example to your daughter of examining a tree reflected in a lake. When

looking upon the lake's surface where a tree is growing on the far bank of the

lake, what do you see? You see a reflection! And what is the upper portion of

the tree which you see in the reflection? Since the reflected image is upside

down, you will see the roots growing up, and the branches growing down!

 

In the 'spiritual tree of life', everything is actually meant for the

satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, but when misused for our sense gratification,

it becomes reflected, upside-down and perverted. Thus we see even lust, greed,

anger ---all abominable qualities!---have their untainted spiritual counterpart

in 'the spiritual tree, in the spiritual realm, the realm of Krishna's

passtimes.

 

Radharani, as you have mentioned, is Krishna's own internal pleasure potency.

Thus there is no question of immorality in their relationship. Krishna, being

self-satisfied, does not depend on an external source for happiness, but

manifests His own potency when He wants to enjoy; this manifestation is

Radharani. We worship Radha with Krishna, because She is the dearest devotee of

Krishna, and by pleasing Her we can also become dear to Him.

 

You mentioned that your daughter questioned about Krishna having multiple

wives. In the Vedic system, a ksatriya could have more than one wife, and we

find many examples of this. (When Krishna accepted wives, he did so in His lila

as a king, or ksatriya.) Even so, we cannot find anyone marrying 16,108 wives!

And to satisfy all of His queens, He manifested Himself in an expanded form of

Krishna to reside with each queen, simultaneously! This is but one

demonstration of the unique opulence and unlimited potency of Krishna. "Why

only 16,000 wives?", Srila Prabhupada would sometimes remark about Krishna's

marriages. Everything and everyone ultimately are His property and He is

ultimate enjoyer.

 

The safest way so as not to be misled into ethical misunderstandings about

these things is to follow in the footsteps of great personalities, and not to

imitate the Divine Couple. Krishna taught Bhagavad-gita and lived as an ideal

king and we should abide by those instructions. But just as we cannot imitate

Krishna's lifting Govardhana or dancing on Kaliya's hoods, similarly we cannot

imitate His rasa-lila or marrying so many wives.

 

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----- Festivals over the next week ------

Sep 10 2002, Tuesday Appearance Srimati Sita Thakurani (Sri Advaita's

consort)

Sep 11 2002, Wednesday Lalita sasti

Sep 13 2002, Friday Appearance Radhastami: of Srimati Radharani (Fast)

(Fasting till noon)

 

*** NOTE: All times are for Washington D.C, USA, EST ***

For festival information for your city please go to http://www.iskcondc.org and

click on 'Calendar'

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Swami: *

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