IS RADHA AND KRSNA'S LOVE EVER INCREASING?

The captivating face of Śyāmasundara is bluish and the charming face of Rādhikā is golden. They are ornamented by Their ecstatic love for each other, increasing Their beauty. Gaurī and Śyāma are dressed in blue and yellow garments respectively and are enchanting to the mind. Greed has arisen to taste the love in each others’ hearts.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmīpāda and Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura have explained:
yadyapi nirmala rādhāra sat-prema-darpaṇa
tathāpi svacchatā tāra bāḍhe kṣaṇe kṣaṇa263
āmāra mādhurya nāhi bāḍhite avakāśe
e-darpaṇera āge nava nava rūpe bhāse
man-mādhurya rādhāra prema—doṅhe hoḍa kari’
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe bāḍe doṅhe, keha nāhi hāri
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.140-142
Rādhā’s prema is pure and clear like a crystal. It is like a mirror, with its purity increasing at every moment. Even though there is no room for my sweetness to expand, it shines before that mirror in newer and newer ways. My sweetness and Rādhā’s prema is always increasing, but neither knows defeat.
Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s love increases at every moment and is always fresh. Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya, nectar, is fixed. How? Aiśvarya-śithila-preme nāhi mora prīta. That place where there is aiśvarya, is controlled by that opulence. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality and has all opulence. Śāstra and opulence gives all rules and regulations to attain Him, and although He is infinite, He is bound by this to some extent. However, śāstra or any rules and regulations cannot control Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. She is svarūpa-śakti, the Supreme Power. Kṛṣṇa is śaktimān, the Supreme Potent, but She is the source of His power. Kṛṣṇa as Mahāprabhu receives some of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s special power of love, but He does not fully know how deep or special this is.
Svarūpa-śakti has three tendencies: saṁvit, sandhinī, and hlādini. She controls all these three potencies. Baladeva Prabhu or Kṛṣṇa do not act independently of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. By the mercy, desire, and blessings of svarūpa-śakti, Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, everything runs on.
Kṛṣṇa becomes surprised. Everything is going on under the jurisdiction of scripture, but none of this works or applies to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. She cannot be limited by śāstra. Her love and moods are ever-fresh and always increasing. Even Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Omniscient, Omnipotent Lord cannot understand the sweetness of Her mādhurya. Before svarūpa-śakti Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, Kṛṣṇa appears as Rādhā-ramaṇa, Rādhā-Madana-mohana, Rādhā-govinda, Rādhā-kanta, Rasa-bihari, or Keśava, who combs and decorates Rādhārānī’s hair. Or as Gopinātha He serves Her in Seva-kuñja.
Kṛṣṇa’s form is not fixed in Vraja-maṇḍala. Kṛṣṇa appears in many beautiful forms according to the moods of His devotees, and especially according to the moods of the Vraja-devīs who are under the guidance of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Kṛṣṇa sometimes is surprised by this. In Mathurā or Dvārakā, His svarūpa is fixed. He sometimes expands into 16,108 forms to be with all the queens of Dvārakā, but He is always Dvarakadisa there, in one form. During the Rāsa dance, Kṛṣṇa appears in many different forms. His form, beauty, and moods all manifest in many ways according to the hearts of the devotees. Before Rūpa Mañjarī, Kṛṣṇa appears in a different way. He cannot control Himself. When before Rūpa Mañjarī, He appears in a beautiful, resplendent form. On seeing the beauty of His own svarūpa, Kṛṣṇa becomes pleasantly surprised. His appearance before the Vraja-devīs is beyond His control.
A gardener may plant the seed of a flower in the ground, but when the plant begins to blossom, one flower will be small, one will be large. The flowers will not all be equal. In front of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and the gopīs Kṛṣṇa appears in different forms. He is surprised and thinks, “Who am I? How are they manifesting these different svarūpas in Me?” These svarūpas are the highest expressions of mādhurya in Śrī Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa is appearing in forms manifested by the supreme love and moods of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. This is called mādhurya-dhurya, the acme of nectar. This is uncontrolled nectar.
Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa witnesses Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s beautiful form, His own form manifests in a beautiful way. For example, once Naṭavara-nanda-kiśora Kṛṣṇa went to the bank of Govardhana where He saw the gopīs swimming and playing in a kuṇḍa. Kṛṣṇa jumped in the kuṇḍa and played there with the gopīs. Shortly after, when He came out, He was now in the form of Navala-kiśora, a beautiful gandharva. That lake became known as Navala-kiśora-kuṇḍa. When the gopīs came out, they all appeared as gandharvas and apsarās. Our ācāryas worship that Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī.
Nearby kadamba-khaṇḍī is a rati-keli-kuñja where Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa meet. This is the kuñja of Rati Mañjarī. Girirāja Govardhana witnesses Their pastimes there. Externally, Girirāja appears like stone. But in his heart, he keeps all of Kṛṣṇa’s and the Vrajavāsī’s beautiful forms. So when you properly worship and decorate any girirāja-śīla, all the stones manifest with a different svarūpa. They will have different svarūpas because Girirāja has witnessed Kṛṣṇa in His different svarūpas and kept those in his heart. Mahāprabhu kept a girirāja-śīla and would place the śīla to His chest or eyes and weep in divine love. He later gave this śīla to Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and told him:
eka kuṅjā jala āra tulasī-mañjarī
sāttvika-sevā ei—śuddha-bhāve kari
dui-dike dui-patra madhye komala mañjarī
ei-mata aṣṭa-mañjarī dibe śraddhā kari
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 6.296-297
Offer one pitcher of water and some tulasī and mañjarīs. This service is sāttvika when done in a pure mood. There should be a soft mañjarī between two tulasī leaves. In this way, offer eight tulasī-mañjarīs with faith.
Daily offer eight tulasī-mañjarīs and a clay pot of water. Dāsa Gosvāmī is Rati Mañjarī. What did Mahāprabhu mean? He will not serve alone. Lalitā, Viśākhā, Raṅgadevī, and the other sakhīs, along with the mañjarīs: Rūpa, Lavaṅga, Kanaka, Kastūrī, Kamala, and the eight prominent mañjarīs. They are the beauty of Giridhari. Mahāprabhu also gave a guñjā-mālā to Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, which is Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s svarūpa. So Girirāja Govardhana considers himself very fortunate to witness all the beautiful forms of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpānubandhi-prema is present in all the plants, trees, and beings in Vraja. They all carry Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful forms in their hearts.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced in mahābhāva in Māyāpura. There was a neem tree at His house in Māyāpura. This tree accepted Mahāprabhu’s beautiful form in its heart when He danced in the bliss of saṅkīrtana. When Mahāprabhu left, having taken sannyāsa, then this neem tree manifested a beautiful Deity of Mahāprabhu. Viṣṇupriyā saw that Mahāprabhu came out of this neem tree and the neem tree disappeared. She took Mahāprabhu in her arms and began worshipping Him, offering Him bhoga, and so forth. And her separation was in this way relieved.
Similarly, Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita, Suryadāsa Paṇḍita, and their brothers served Gaura-Nitāi with great love in their home. In their courtyard they had a tamarind tree. When Gaura-Nitāi danced in saṅkīrtana, the trees took these forms in their hearts and later they manifested beautiful Deities of Gaura-Nitāi.
If we bring and keep the beautiful forms of Kṛṣṇa in our hearts, then all lust, anger, madness, illusion, and greed will at once flee from within us, and pure devotion will awaken. Kṛṣṇa will appear as Rasarāja-Mahābhāva in our hearts and all desire for mundane rasa will leave us. We will become completely cleansed within and without.
The beautiful Rasarāja-Mahābhāva form of Kṛṣṇa appears when Kṛṣṇa is greedy to taste Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s mādhurya sweetness.
śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.6
How great is the praṇaya of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī? What is the nature of My astonishing sweetness, which She alone tastes? And what special type of bliss does She experience when tasting My sweet qualities?” A deep desire to taste these three things awoke within the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and to fulfill that intense greed, He took birth from the womb of Śrī Śacīmātā like the moon manifesting from the ocean.
This mādhurya cannot be found in this world. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa’s face appears red with anurāga. Sometimes He appears in the pose of a dramatic dancer. Sometimes He is very exuberant and happy and He assumes a large, powerful form. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa walks and dances around the gopīs to meet with Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Because of His ecstasy, the stones under His feet melt in love.
In Rāmacandra’s pastimes, we hear of one stone that melted and appeared as Ahalyā when touched by Rāmacandra’s lotus feet, but in Vraja-maṇḍala, there are many sādhakas and yogīs who took the form of stones, hills, and trees, eager to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They thought, “We do not have the qualification to be born as gopas or gopīs. So we will appear as stones, grass, or plants.”
We hear such moods in the prayers of Uddhava and Brahmā.
āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā
bhejur mukuṇḍa-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.61
Aho! The gopīs have given up all that is difficult to renounce, such as children, family members, and the path of chastity, and they have taken shelter of pure love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa that is eternally searched for by the scriptures. I pray that in a future birth I may take birth as a bush, creeper, or herb in Vṛndāvana so that I may receive the dust of these gopīs’ lotus feet.
tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ
yad gokule ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam
yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukuṇḍas
tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.34
Lord Brahmā prays: Aho! It would be my great fortune to take birth as grass, a shrub or any other species which may be touched by the dust falling from the lotus feet of any of the Vrajavāsīs. Even the Śrutis, who have been searching forever, have not yet gotten the dust of the lotus feet of Bhagavān Mukuṇḍa, who is the very life and soul of these Vrajavāsīs. If it is not possible for me to take birth in any species, then let me take birth even as a rock near to Nanda-Gokula. The ladies who sweep the roads will then rub their feet on this rock to clean them, and in this way I will receive the immeasurable fortune of the dust of their feet.
Brahmā prayed that the sweepers of Vraja would clean their feet on him as a stone. He also prayed to become a hill in Vraja so that He may witness and serve in Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s sweet pastimes. His prayer was fulfilled when he became Brahma-parvata in Varṣāṇā.
The gopīs prayed to Kṛṣṇa, “When You go in the forest, there are many sharp thorns and stones in Your path. Your feet are so soft and must be cut. Please place Your feet on our soft breasts.” The gopīs think, “It would be better if Kṛṣṇa walked on top of us in the forest, rather than walk on the sharp stones and thorns.”
Sādhakas prepare the pathway Kṛṣṇa takes with flower petals. When Mahāprabhu was traveling to Vṛndāvana, Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī prepared the pathway in his mind for Mahāprabhu. But many sādhakas think, “If I lay on the pathway in a human form, Kṛṣṇa will not walk on me. But my life would be successful if Kṛṣṇa walked on me.” So they take the forms of stones, and when Kṛṣṇa walks on them, they melt, overwhelmed in love. In Caraṇa-pahaḍī and other places, we can see Kṛṣṇa’s footprints imprinted on the stones.
In Vṛndāvana, Kāmadeva came and, witnessing the beauty of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, Kāmadeva became cleansed and bathed in vraja-rasa. Before he thought he would try and conquer Kṛṣṇa with his five arrows of lust that attack the senses, but instead he was conquered by the divine love of Kṛṣṇa and beauty of His form when He played with the gopīs. Kāmadeva drowned in the ocean of love and forgot his own nature. Until we witness the beautiful forms of Madana-mohana and the gopīs and follow the Vraja-devīs’ footsteps, we will continue to suffer from lust, anger, greed, and illusion in this world. We are always in a battleplace where we fight with Kāmadeva and the agents of māyā. When we come to the Vraja-devīs, we immediately become clean and pure. The Vraja-devīs wear ornaments of their various moods: bhāva, hava, hela, śobha, kānti, mādhurya, pragalbhā, audārya, līlā, vilāsa, vicitri, vibhrama, kilakiñcita, kuṭamita, vikrita, maugdha, cakita, and so forth. They have twenty-two of these ornaments. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains these in his Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. Externally they wear ornaments, but their real ornaments are their bhāvas. Seeing these beautiful ornaments of the gopīs’s loving moods, Kṛṣṇa cannot understand why He becomes so happy everywhere He looks. Their moods reflect in Him.
The Vraja-devīs offer the love in their hearts to Kṛṣṇa and He accepts this directly, face to face, and becomes uncontrolled. His beautiful form then changes from one moment to the next, when receiving love from each of the gopīs. The gopīs see one of these beautiful forms of Kṛṣṇa and cannot forget or remove it from their hearts. For example, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī is always seeing the beautiful form of Rādhā-ramaṇa, Sanātana Gosvāmī always witnesses the beautiful form of Madana-mohana. Jīva Gosvāmī is present with Rādhā-Damodara. They have iṣṭa-niṣṭhā.
ābharaṇa manimaya prati aṅge abhinaya
tachū pāya dīna narottama dāsa
niśi dina guṇa gāṅa parama ānanda pāṅa
mane mora ei abhilāṣa
Adorned with jewelled ornaments, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s limbs move with beautiful grace and art. Narottama dāsa prays at Their lotus feet, “With great bliss, I will sing the glories of Your transcendental qualities day and night. This is my only desire.”
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, “Where am I?” Seeing Rūpa Mañjarī, Rati Mañjarī, Rasa Mañjarī, Anaṅga Mañjarī, Mañjulali Mañjarī and so forth, he is surprised. He thinks, “How beautiful they are!” He sees that Śrīmatī Rādhārānī is decorated with many ornaments, and these ornaments all have pictures of Kṛṣṇa in them. Rādhārānī’s different jewels and ornaments all keep the svarūpas of Kṛṣṇa with them.
The gopīs’ hearts all have boundless love for Kṛṣṇa. Tasting the different flavors of their love, Kṛṣṇa appears in different forms. Before Yaśodā Mātā, Kṛṣṇa is baby Gopāla, and forgets He is the Supreme Lord. His mother’s love completely controls Him and washes away His mood of godliness.
In the nikuñja-maṇḍira, the gopīs decorate Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa with many ornaments.
In the Vedānta-sūtra, Kṛṣṇa is described as prajñānam-brahma and ānandamayam-brahma. How is Brahma ānandamaya and prajñānam? This is only possible with raso-vai-saḥ Kṛṣṇa. He is rasa-murti. Without rasa, Kṛṣṇa is nirākāra, nirviśeṣa, formless and attributeless. When in an aiśvarya form, He is like Lord Nṛsiṁha or another incarnation. But in Vraja, He is raso-vai-saḥ, rasamaya, ānandamaya Kṛṣṇa. One who worships and remembers Vraja Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs also becomes ānandamaya, filled with bliss.
nānopacāra-kṛta-pūjanam ārta-bandhoḥ
premṇaiva bhakta-hṛdayaṁ sukha-vidrutaṁ syāt
yāvat kṣud asti jaṭhare jaraṭhā pipāsā
tāvat sukhāya bhavato nanu bhakṣya-peye
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.70
Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “As long as one is hungry and thirsty, all sorts of food and drink bestow pleasure. Similarly, even if a devotee worships the Supreme Lord, the friend of the distressed, with many different kinds of paraphernalia, only when the worship is done with prema, will the devotee become happy by heart.”
The bhaktas offer many things to Kṛṣṇa, but does He accept them or not? However, Kṛṣṇa will even steal from the premi-bhaktas. Before they offer, Kṛṣṇa goes and steals from them. A flower does not invite bumblebees to come and drink its nectar. Automatically the bees go and take everything. Kṛṣṇa, who is ānandamaya-brahma, raso-vai-saḥ, is very greedy for the gopī’s love, rasamayi-bhakti.
yasyāḥ kadāpī vasanāñcala-khelanottha-
dhanyāti-dhanya-pavanena kṛtārtha-mānī271
yogīndra-durgama-gatir madhusūdano ‘pi
tasyā namo ‘stu vṛṣabhānu-bhuvo diśe ‘pi
Śrī Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi 2
I offer my praṇāma even to the direction of the land of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, for Madhusūdana Kṛṣṇa, who is rare to attain even by great yogīs, considers His life successful by the mere touch of that glorious fortunate breeze that has touched the corner of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s cloth.
Kṛṣṇa thinks, “Oh, My life has now returned.” When the breeze that touched Śrīmatī Rādhārānī comes by Kṛṣṇa, He considers His life successful. So why don’t we follow the Vraja-devīs’ footsteps? Why do we run for mundane rasa, dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa? Why don’t you look at the glories of the Vraja-devīs?
You may have many preparations and you may offer with so many vedic mantras, but Kṛṣṇa is not hungry or thirsty for this. “You have no love for Me,” Kṛṣṇa told Duryodhana, when He was offered an elaborate feast. Spiritual greed and love is therefore of so much importance. Rasamayi-bhakti pleases Kṛṣṇa and connects one to the spiritual world. Our own austerity and practices are not so helpful, but if we have connection to rasamayi-bhakti then this is enough to achieve Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prays to not only remember Śrī Rādhā Mādhava’s glories—he also wishes to distribute the Divine Couple’s glories. It is not enough and helpful to only chant and hear by yourself. By collecting the specialties of this divine love, your heart will always be immersed in an ocean of nectar. This nectar will turn everyone’s heart into a playing center for Kṛṣṇa. An expert gardener makes a beautiful garden. On one side, there is a flower garden, while on another side there is a fruit garden. A lush, green garden is also present. A garden makes an entire area wonderful. Stone and concrete have no life. They are not helpful for anyone. But gardens, trees, creepers, and plants have life. They will replenish everyone’s life.
Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura says, “Don’t think it is enough to chant and remember God’s glories. Your heart will turn into a stone if you are in the association of a stone hearted person. You will forget everything.”
By distributing Śrī Hari’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes, you will make everyone’s heart soft, sweet, and glorious. His heart will be a place for svarūpa-śakti.
nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā
tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ
Padma Purāṇa
O Nārada, actually I do not reside in Vaikuṇṭha, nor do I stay within the hearts of the yogīs, but I reside in that place where My pure bhaktas are absorbed in singing and chanting.
The Lord says, “I neither stay in the yogī’s heart, or in Vaikuṇṭha. Then where do I reside? I reside in that place where My bhaktas sing and chant; that place is My center.”
The Lord’s glories are permeated by svarūpa-śakti’s power. Everyone will feel well by this tendency. This power doesn’t nourish the body, or mind. It nourishes the soul and the soul’s senses. Just as the body consists of its mind, and senses—the soul also has her mind and senses. Baladeva Prabhu is the origin of the existence of the soul. The senses will be empowered by svarūpa-śakti’s influence. They will have so much will power. They will be able and strong in svarūpa-śakti’s service.
Everything can be supplied for the body, but the soul will not experience any happiness. Whatever little service you do for Śrī Hari will automatically reflect on your heart. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says that your desire and eagerness for service will become very strong when the power of svarūpa-śakti appears in your heart. Śrī Hari’s strength is paramānanda-pūrṇam (composed entirely of ecstatic bliss). Such strength is not ordinary.
Srila Narottama dasa Thakura Mahasaya ki Jaya! (excerpted from “Sri Sri Prema-Bhakti Candrika”, available from: dasrasikmohan@gmail.com )