At the time of chanting, we hold each tulasī bead in our mālā, like catching the feet of the Vraja-devīs and praying to them as we serve internally. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and all the Vraja-devīs are present there while we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. If we only chant Rādhe Kṛṣṇa, Rādhe means only Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, but Hare includes…
Young people dream of what they will be when they grow up. They have high expectations, and think, “I will be a big barrister,” or “I will be a famous architect,” or “I will be a lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court.” They have big hopes from their childhood. As ordinary people have greed for ordinary achievements, we must develop spiritual greed for extraordinary, spiritual achievements. If we have no spiritual greed or desire, nor any hope to achieve any aspiration, our life is only like an empty shell. We are not really human; we are impotent and like a stone or inert object.People cheat others, saying, “Mānasī-sevā is speculation.” When a baby is born, after some time it becomes natural for the baby to ask questions. They soak up information. Even before a baby goes to school, he starts inquiring from his parents about all kinds of things, saying, “Mama, what is this? Papa, what is that?”If we don’t go and pray to the Guru-varga for spiritual instruction, if we have no scent of greed, how can we be called students of the spiritual science? Are we humans? Are we trunks of wood or chunks of stone? Who are we? The soul is the part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. It has consciousness, but in its perverted state, this consciousness is now absorbed in dull matter. When a ray of divine mercy touches the soul by earnest prayer, then greed arises for attaining the pure state of consciousness in love with the Supreme.Dāsa Gosvāmī is Rati Mañjarī in the spiritual world. She is sevonmukhi, always eager to serve the Divine Couple. This tendency is born naturally out of her love. She prays, “O Śrīmatī Rādhike, I am Your small maidservant. I will make a flower seat for You in the forest of Vṛndāvana. You will sit there happily and worship the sun. You will offer argha and other paraphernalia to the sun. You are sumukhi-sevonmukhi, always serving and teaching others how to serve.“I will make a jeweled seat for You. And from there, You can serve Mitradeva with the sakhīs. The sun is coming! He rises early. But He will take some time to reach here, therefore we must prepare for His arrival. O sumukhi, sevonmukhi! Be pleased with this dāsī and give her inspiration and instructions for service. This dāsī of Yours will arrange everything for the service of the Sun-god. When the sun-like Kṛṣṇa arises and comes here and accepts Your presentations, then the arrangement made by Your sakhīs will be successful. I will prepare all things for that worship. I have no good intelligence; I don’t know what is needed to perfect this worship. With Your inspiration, I will go to the sakhīs and mañjarīs and they will guide me in this service.”vraja-pura-pati-rājñyā ājñayā miṣṭam annaṁ bahu-vidham ati-yatnāt svena pakvaṁvarorusapadi nija-sakhīnāṁ mad-vidhānāṁ ca hastair madhumathana-nimittaṁ kiṁ tvayā sannidhāpyam Vilāpa-kusumāñjali 46O lovely-thighed one, when, employing the hands of Your friends such as myself, will You place before the killer of the Madhu demon the many delicious foods You very carefully cooked by the order of the queen of Vraja?“O Rādhike! On the request of Yaśodā Mātā, You arrange and cook many sweets, such as halavā, laḍḍu, kṣīra-sāgara, and kṣīri. I am Your Rati Mañjarī. I will take something for Kṛṣṇa and give it to Yaśodā Mātā, saying, ‘O Yaśodā Mātā, please give this to Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmatījī has made this with Her own hands. It is very tasty, sweet, and helpful for Kṛṣṇa.’ ”Yaśodā Mātā gives the gopīs the chance to serve Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārānī cooks with Lalitā and all the sakhīs and mañjarīs in the kitchen of Nandagrāma. And She gives what She cooks to Rati Mañjarī, saying, “Go give this to Yaśodā Mātā.”Why does Śrīmatī Rādhārānī entrust this offering to Rati Mañjarī? Because anything Rati Mañjarī gives is completely filled with love. She is none other than the personified form of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s affection for Kṛṣṇa. Rati Mañjarī knows the process of offering the preparations. (click on the Title to read more)
Vilāpa-kusumāñjali 8 O Devī, please rescue this unfortunate person drowning in an ocean of pain. Place him on the strong boat of Your mercy and carry him to the wonderful realm of Your lotus feet.He says, “O Rādhe! I am not merely sad, I have fallen in the ocean of distress where I am burning in separation. I don’t know how to come out. Be merciful upon me, send a boat to help and carry me across this ocean to Your lotus feet. They are my all and all. Please bring me close to Your lotus feet. Otherwise, for millions of lives I take shelter of ordinary people, but they don’t accept me. They only kick me. O Rādhike, You are my life and soul. Please give me shelter. This will be my permanent post and service. Otherwise, I have no power.”Rādhārānī may say, “Oh, why are you sad? Why are you disturbed? Why are you crying?”“O Devī! Before, I had no knowledge that this world is a prison. Many cruel animals are present who are always cheating me, stealing my life. They appear like friends but they only steal my life, time, and energy. They make me perform bad karma, sending me away from bhakti and God.“By the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Guru-pāda-padma, I have realized this and come here. Without Your mercy it is not possible to cross over this mundane world. I cannot cross beyond this attachment. If I have no protection and shelter, then I would be forced to go back. If You don’t give taste and relation, then I would have to go to others and work constantly for their pleasure.“I have no shelter. Without You I am very small. Your lotus feet are very wonderful. Many millions and millions of siddha-sevakas are present there.“Please give me a small place there as well. I will sit by Your lotus feet and Your sevakas will teach and guide me.”In the ninth verse Dāsa Gosvāmī prays: tvad-alokana-kalāhi-daṁśair eva mṛtaṁ janamtvat-padābja-milal-lakṣa-bheṣajair devi jīvayaVilāpa-kusumāñjali 9 O Devī, with the medicine of the red lac from Your lotus feet, please bring back to life this person now dead from the bites of the black snake of not seeing You. “O Devī, I can’t see You. The serpent of time is stealing away my life. It bites me and injects me with poison. I can’t protect myself. By its poison I am suffering and feeling so much pain. O Devī! Tat-padābjam, Your lotus feet are like life-giving medicine. Please give me life and strength, so that I may return to You. Now I am wounded, as if dead by the influence of mahā-kāla. Poisonous snakes always come and bite me. Babies go to their mother and father, who take them in their lap, and kiss and play with them. With all types of love and affection, relatives poison us and keep us disconnected from our soul and the Supreme Soul. These family members are the soldiers of time.“O Devī, Your lotus feet are covered with reddish kuṁkum. Please give me a particle of kuṁkum from Your feet. This medicine will cure the material disease and bestow anurāga.”Caitanya Mahāprabhu covered Himself with this anurāga. In Anurāga-vallari, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura wrote that in the early morning Śrīmatī Rādhārānī watched many pulina-kanyās going to collect dry wood and cow dung. They saw Kṛṣṇa’s foosteps and kuṁkum on the grass. Where did this come from? The Vraja-devīs put Kṛṣṇa’s feet on their breasts that are smeared with kuṁkum and that kuṁkum becomes imprinted on the grass when Kṛṣṇa walks through the forest. The pulina-kanyās place this kuṁkum on their heads and chests. Śrīmatī sees this and says, “How much love they have for this Kṛṣṇa!”Caitanya-candra wore cloth the reddish color of this anurāga. He said, “I always keep the Vraja-devīs’ footdust with Me. This footdust is their anurāga.”This anurāga color is medicine that treats our material condition. How can hṛd-roga, lust, go? Dāsa Gosvāmī Prabhu says, “If you take a little bit of this footdust and smear it on your body and pray to that dust, then your hṛd-roga will go away. The serpents of time will no longer bite you. Even if you can’t bring Her feet directly in your heart, if you can collect a little of this kuṁkum and place it in your heart, then that will cure you and bring you to Vraja-dhama.”Some people say, “I have no time, when can I chant? I will chant later. I will serve later.” This is the poisonous effect of kāla-sarpa, the serpents of time. If you want to be saved from these serpents, then you must take shelter of the Vraja-devis’ foot dust.vande nanda-vraja-strīṇāṁ pāda-reṇum abhīkṣṇaśaḥyāsāṁ hari-kathodgīrṇaṁ punāti bhuvana-trayam Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.63 I constantly glorify the dust of the feet of the women of Nanda’s cowherd pastures. Their chanting of the activities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa purifies the entire universe. Brahmā and Uddhava pray like this. This dust is available. Why don’t you take it? You don’t have the desire. How can desire come? For that desire you must worship Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s lotus feet.Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings: rādhikā-caraṇa-renu, bhūṣaṇa koriyā tanuanāyāse pābe giridhārīrādhikā-caraṇāśraya, je kore se mahāśayatāre moi jāo bolihārī Ornament your body with the dust of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s lotus feet and you will easily attain Giridhārī. I congratulate such a great soul who takes shelter of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet.jaya jaya rādhā-nāma vṛndāvana jāra dhāmakṛṣṇa-sukha vilāsera nidhiheno rādhā guṇa gāna, na sunilo mora kānavañcito korilo more vidhi All glories, all glories to She whose name is Rādhā, whose divine abode is Vṛndāvana, and who is a treasury of pastimes that bring joy to Kṛṣṇa. Alas! If my ears have not heard Rādhā’s glories, then destiny has cheated me. Everything we sing, we sing without desire to accept. We sing, pray, and pass our time, and then run another way. Why? We have no desire to accept this.Dāsa Gosvāmī Prabhu says, “Color yourself from top to bottom with this kuṁkum. Then nothing else can touch or disturb you.”If we don’t read the Gosvāmīs’ books, like this Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, how can we understand what process the Gosvāmīs left for us? How can we cross māyā? How can we collect bhakti-rasa? Without this, our lives pass uselessly. If we only cry and think about the negative, what benefit will come to us? We accept nothing positive. We will be weak if we take no food and have no rasa. Vaidhī-mārga is not useless, but who can actually follow all rules and regulations? Those who have anurāga follow all rules and regulations naturally. They come everyday to maṅgala-āratī to serve in niśānta-līlā. There is no need to bang on their doors and shout, “Wake up!” They naturally follow everything with anurāga. Vaidhī-mārga followers do everything by force. If sometimes they are sick, then how can they follow? This anurāga is the only thing necessary for strength in bhajana. devi te caraṇa-padma-dāsikāṁ viprayoga-bhara-dāva-pāvakaiḥdahyamānatara-kāya-ballavīṁ jīvaya kṣaṇa-nirīkṣaṇāmṛtaiḥVilāpa-kusumāñjali 10 O Devī, with the nectar of a moment’s glance, please restore the life of this maidservant of Your lotus feet, who now burns in the great forest-fire of separation from You. What does Devī mean? In the transcendental realm of Vṛndāvana-dhāma, You control Śrī Kṛṣṇa with Your over-world-power-love and keep Him always near You, thus You are Devī.“O Devī, I am burning; my body, mind, and senses—everything is burning. Everywhere I look there is only fire, dryness, and ashes. Please cool me with the nectar from Your lotus feet. Śiva Ṭhākura sits in a crematorium and smears his body with ashes, saying, ‘In this world there is only fire and ash, fire and ash.’ O Devī, this world is a forest-fire and my body is like a burning creeper. I am a very small dāsī at Your lotus feet. Kṛpā kaṭākṣa bhājanam—please just o
nce grace me with Your merciful glance. If You don’t look at me and take care of me, then everyone will come with fire and attack me, saying, ‘Hey, don’t do this, do what I am telling, follow me.’ The government, educators, parents, friends, and the so-called gurus and ācāryas—everyone in this world smashes us and squeezes out our life. They like to take all our time and life. But they don’t say, ‘Follow this line of the Gosvāmīs; this is good for you.’ ”When a goat or pig is young and healthy, everyone is ready to check, “How much does it weigh? How tasty will it be?” The fire of peoples’ desires burns us. People are always ready to attack and digest us.Dāsa Gosvāmī says, “Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. He is in my heart, but I can’t meet with Him because I am surrounded by fire. How can I cross this fire and go to meet with Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible. I am burning in my desire-fire, lust-fire, anger-fire, and so many other fires. I collect fire from all others; they give me this by force. Also, I am sentimental and sensitive—this is one fire. Even worse is the fire of pratiṣṭhā, greed for name and fame. O Devī, if these fires aren’t vanquished, I will not be able to cross beyond this fearsome world and reach You. I have been burning, burning, burning for millions of lives. Now I have only a little time left. I cannot tolerate this torment any longer. Without Your merciful glance, I will be burnt to ashes and destroyed. Please give me Your kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-bhājanam, without which I cannot cross over this fearsome world.“This body that You gave is always demanding attention and wants me to be its slave. It is a vortex of fire in which I am always burning. I desire to engage my body always as an instrument of Your service. But these fires are burning me and keep me from serving You. In a forest there are many big trees. Sometimes, when wind rubs them against each other, fire is generated. This fire burns the whole forest down. Similarly, mundane people have fire and they steal us away from bhakti and bhajana. This is like a forest-fire. How can I protect myself from the fires of this world? I don’t know. Please help me.“Your darśana is not possible for me. I can’t see you, but You can see me. Please give me Your glance of mercy, otherwise I cannot cross over this world and go to You.” svapne ‘pi kiṁ sumukhi te caraṇāmbujāta- rājat-parāga-paṭavāsa-vibhūṣaṇenaśobhāṁ parām atitarām ahahottamāṅaṁ bibhrad bhaviṣyati kadā mama sārtha-nāmaVilāpa-kusumāñjali 11 O beautiful-faced one, when, even in a dream, will I, by decorating my head with the splendid perfumed powder of Your lotus feet, attain the goal of my life? (Click on the Title to see more)
Once, Sanātana Gosvāmī came to meet with Rūpa Gosvāmī as he was writing about the swing pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In his writings, he was explaining how Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, along with the sakhīs and mañjarīs, engage in swinging pastimes. He explained how, when Rādhārānī becomes frightened on the swing, she holds onto Kṛṣṇa tightly. He wrote several expositions, and Sanātana Gosvāmī relished this for many hours. Then he read a part where Rūpa Gosvāmī described Rādhārānī’s hair as being like a black snake coming up from Her waist, with hoods expanding over the top of Her head.
Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “Oh, everything you have written is excellent, but Rādhārānī is very soft and sweet. Why have you said that Her hair is like a black snake? This seems improper.”
Rūpa Gosvāmī humbly replied, “O brother, please correct this with an analogy you find appropriate.”
“I will consider it and will write something tomorrow,” Sanātana Gosvāmī said.
Sanātana Gosvāmī then left for his own bhajana-kuṭīra. On the way he saw many small kiśorīs playing and dancing. One of the girls was seated on a beautiful swing. “How wonderful,” he thought, “this reminds me of the sweet description I have just read.” He saw the little girls pushing their sakhī back and forth very happily. Suddenly he noticed a hooded snake rising above the swinging girl’s head, as if ready to strike. He ran forward and called, “O kiśorī, be careful! A snake is about to bite you! There are many snakes, all you girls are in danger!” But as he approached, the scene suddenly disappeared and he found himself alone. He then understood, “This was a vision of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s swing pastimes. Anything Rūpa says is absolutely true. There is no cause for doubting his descriptions.”
Śrī Guru is eternal and his vāṇī is also eternal. Whatever Śrī Guru says is truthful. Therefore never doubt the conclusion of your Gurudeva.
Sometimes Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmī would meet at Ṭera-kadamba; they had many wonderful interactions there. Every day Śrīmatī comes from Yāvaṭa to Nandagrāma with Her sakhīs and mañjarīs and She cooks there with Her own hands. She is very young and delicate, and yet, She is svarūpa-śakti, the root source of all energy and She easily carries heavy clay pots full of honey, milk, yogurt, and other ingredients. When She has completed Her cooking pastimes, She returns to Yāvaṭa and goes to worship the sun. At that time Rūpa Mañjarī and the other mañjarīs decorate the pathway with rose and lotus petals.
Ṭera-kadamba is between Nandagrāma and Yāvaṭa. Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu performed bhajana there, continuously engaged in devotional service. Sanātana Gosvāmī stayed at Pāvana-sarovara and sometimes came to speak with Rūpa Gosvāmī. They would speak morning to evening, drinking the transcendental nectar of hari-kathā and would not even notice the day pass into evening, nor did they feel any hunger or thirst. As the rest of the world mulled around in mundane activities, they manifested the books that we continue to honor today.
At around four o’clock one afternoon as Rūpa and Sanātana were rapt in hari-kathā, a young girl approached and said to them, “O Bābā, you did not do mādhukarī today, so my mother has sent me with this milk. Please drink it.” But they did not answer or even notice Her; such was their absorption.
“Bābā,” the girl said, “shall I boil the milk for you?” Not receiving a reply, She said, “I will make some kṣīra, then you can offer bhoga and have some.” She collected some dry cow dung and leaves, in the same way that She arranges everything for Kṛṣṇa when He is in the forest, and then She started a fire and cooked kṣīra. Afterward She said, “O Bābā, I am finished cooking; offer this and then take some yourself. Now I must go.”
In the evening Rūpa Gosvāmī asked Sanātana Gosvāmī, “You have not eaten all day. What can I give you? We have not done mādhukarī today.”
Then Rūpa Gosvāmī saw the pot of hot kṣīra and, recalling the episode with the young girl earlier in the day, said, “Ah yes! A girl came today and made this kṣīra.”
They had no clay pots or metal plates, so they brought lotus leaves, cooled the kṣīra down and offered bhoga. Rūpa Gosvāmī then gave some of the prasāda to Sanātana Gosvāmī, and they took it together. Upon tasting the exceedingly divine kṣīra their hearts melted in ecstasy. This is called rasamayī-sevā; if our hearts have no softness, and we do everything out of a sense of duty like an ordinary karmī, then how will the heart ever melt? Śrīmatī Rādhārānī cooked this kṣīra Herself and gave it to Rūpa and Sanātana. Why? From morning to evening they were engaged in hari-kathā and rasamayī-sevā.
chāpanna daṇḍa rātri-dine
jāne nā rādhā-govinda vine
They knew nothing but Rādhā-Govinda throughout the day and night, always being absorbed in transcendental service and nothing else.
Sanātana Gosvāmī understood that the kṣīra must have been cooked by their Svāminī and so he questioned Rūpa, “Did you pray for anything while we were speaking?”
“Actually,” Rūpa admitted, “I was thinking that I had nothing to offer you as prasāda…”
“Alas! Just see what you have done!” Sanātana said. “Because of your desire, our Svāminī Herself came and cooked for us.”
Once there was a self-acclaimed sādhu living in Vṛndāvana named Khanja Kṛṣṇādāsa. We should know that wearing tilaka, shaving our head, keeping a śikhā, and dressing like a Bābājī does not make us sādhus. We must have the qualities of a sādhu, which are described elaborately in scripture. However much oil you rub on a dog’s tail will not straighten it. Khanja Kṛṣṇādāsa heard many other sādhus praising Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, so he went one day for his darśana, thinking, “I will go see this Rūpa Gosvāmī everyone is glorifying to be the best of sādhus.” Khanja Kṛṣṇādāsa was a cripple who walked in a crooked manner with the help of a stick. As he approached Rūpa Gosvāmī, he saw him laughing heartily, and thought he was laughing at him. He turned around angrily and returned to his hut. Although he went to see the sādhus and become purified, he only became more contaminated, because he could not understand the nature and position of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Wherever a sweeper goes, he only collects refuse. He has relation only with that. Khanja Kṛṣṇādāsa went to see the pure devotee, but rather than his heart becoming cooled and filled with good qualities, he burned in anger, unable to forget the image of Rūpa Gosvāmī apparently laughing at him. He did not know that Rūpa Gosvāmī was absorbed in the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. To bestow mercy on Khanja Kṛṣṇādāsa, who had come with some good intention, Śrīmatī Rādhārānī blocked the flow of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s aṣṭa-kaliya-līlā-smaraṇa. (see more)
Kṛṣṇa’s name is our life and soul. How is this? Śrīmatī Rādhārānī is in Uddhava Kyārī, lying on a bed of lotus petals. The sakhīs fan Her and sprinkle water on Her face, while chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. They offer Her this nectar. Sometimes She opens Her eyes, but Her body is as if senseless. Regularly they check with a piece of cotton to see if She is breathing or not. They check Her pulse, and serve Her in so many ways. While fanning Her they think, “May we not disturb Her body.” They want to massage Her but are afraid that it will disturb Her more. Then they rub Her feet with oil and smear sandalwood paste on Her Divine Form.
In this position, kṛṣṇa-nāma is Her only drink.
The Vraja-devīs drop kṛṣṇa-nāma in Rādhārānī’s ears. They sing very carefully—with a pathetic, romantic tone—and while doing so, the sakhīs themselves experience aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra. At times, when hearing Kṛṣṇa’s name, She opens Her eyes and tries to say something, but no sound comes out. Lalitā and the other sakhīs go nearer to try and understand what Śrīmatī Rādhārānī wants to say.
Vṛndā-devī cannot tolerate the situation. She thinks, “I will fly to Dvārakā and bring Kṛṣṇa back by any means.” But the next minute, she sees that many svarūpas of Kṛṣṇa are everywhere in Uddhava Kyārī under the kadamba and tamala trees. Kṛṣṇa is always present to hear and drink the nectarful words of Rādhārānī, like fog has many very small particles dropping all over. What does Rādhārānī say? Kṛṣṇa is very eager to hear how the gopīs are remembering Him, or insulting Him.
Even after attaining siddhi, the sādhaka cannot understand these moods of the Vraja-devīs, unless the nitya-siddhas instill within one’s heart that same anurāga which is in their hearts by their causeless mercy. Many may think, “Śrīmatī Rādhārānī is sick, and lying on Her deathbed.” But this is not the case. It is not Her last moment. How is this separation for Kṛṣṇa? How is the position of someone who feels it? This is only possible to understand by the mercy of the Vraja-devīs.
Wherever devotees go, they remember Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, glories and followers. Everywhere, they perform nāma-saṅkīrtana and remember Kṛṣṇa’s nāma, rūpa, guṇa, and līlā. If any person watches them and is disturbed, they are not affected. Why? Their eyes never see this. When the sun rises in the early morning, a light reddish color comes. They think, “Kṛṣṇa is definitely coming and showering us with his anurāga.” If they see anything against Him, like Śaṅkhacūḍa or anyone with a demonic nature, they think, “Surely Kṛṣṇa will come soon to protect us. Murāri will definitely speak something very sweet. He will ask, ‘Why have you gone some distance to Me? Why have you forgotten Me? You have gone far away, therefore many demons come and attack you.’”
The bhaktas always remember Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, and this gives them pride and hope. They remember Kṛṣṇa’s face and unparalleled love. The bhaktas offer puṣpāñjali to Kṛṣṇa with their moods. They remember the glories of Kṛṣṇa and offer this. Nothing bad can come in their heart. They never offer Kṛṣṇa any complaint. This is not the standard of bhaktas. This is the nature of lower-class, tāmasika people. They always complain and blame others. The devotees continuously kiss Kṛṣṇa’s face and serve Him. Kṛṣṇa’s face is very sweet. After kissing Him, His beauty comes in their heart, and they sing, dance and offer many sweet verses as gifts to Kṛṣṇa.
sarva-jñātve ca maugdhye ca
sarva-bhaumam idaṁ mahaḥ
nirviśan nayanaṁ hanta
nirvāṇa-padam aśnute
Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 83
Glory personified Kṛṣṇa has attained all excellence, both in His omniscience and His innocence. Having entered my eyes, He is enjoying great bliss. This is a great wonder!
puṣṇānam etat punarukta-śobhām
uṣṇetarāṁśor udayān mukhendoḥ
tṛṣṇāmburāśiṁ dviguṇī-karoti
kṛṣṇāhvayaṁ kiñcana jīvitaṁ me
Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 84
With the rising of His moon-like face this certain personality known as Kṛṣṇa is nourishing the faded luster of the cooling moon and doubling the ocean of my thirst to see Him. He is my very life and soul.
tad etad ātāmra-vilocana-śrī-
sambhāvitāśeṣa-vinamra-vargam
muhur murārer madhurādharoṣṭhaṁ
mukhāmbujaṁ cumbati mānasaṁ me
Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 85
Again and again I mentally kiss Murāri’s lotus face, with its sweet lips and its beautiful, slightly reddish eyes, which graces all His humble devotees.
karau śaradijāmbuja-krama-vilāsa-śikṣā-gurau
padau vibudha-pādapa-prathama-pallavollāṅghinau
dṛśau dalita-durmada-tribhuvanopamāna-śriyau
vilokaya vilocanāmṛtam aho mahaḥ śaiśavam
Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 86
Behold this nectar for the eyes, the luster of this young boy Kṛṣṇa! His hands teach graceful gestures to the autumn lotuses, His feet excel freshly grown desire-tree sprouts in tenderness, and the beauty of His eyes destroys the pride of all comparable things.
One Vraja-devī watches Kṛṣṇa from a long distance away and declares, “This naṭavara Nanda-kiśora is like an effulgent light. Watching Him, our eyes are infused with so much power.”
In the autumn season, the water of a pond is very clean and you can see through it to the bottom. But our eyes collect many things now; therefore they are very dirty, and we can’t see through to our soul or the Supreme Soul. We have collected many mundane things for millions of lives; because of this, we have many layers covering our soul.
Like film in a camera—the lens takes pictures and saves it inside the camera. If you put in a new roll of film when the previous roll is finished, then you can take more pictures. If you keep the old film inside the camera, you can’t take new pictures. Similarly, these eyes save and collect lifetimes of impressions in our mind, and therefore we have no more free space there.
The Vraja-devīs’s eyes are like the autumn season. If you go near the Vraja-devīs, or any Vrajavāsīs, then this jyoti-puñja, this light, will come and clean your eyes and the film of the heart. Then you will be able to see your real self, as well as the Supreme Soul. Then you will understand who is your real friend and helper.
We can attain spiritual vision when a bona fide śikṣā-guru practically shows which process to follow in our life.
There are two types of etiquette. One is good etiquette and one is bad etiquette. But now everyone learns bad etiquette. Therefore all suffer, and their eyes can never cross beyond māyā. If I am with a bogus guru, then, to attain much wealth, health, enjoyment, and other things, I will worship demigods and do any vrata, tapa, japa, following other rules and regulations to obtain selfish fulfillment. I will become more and more eager to enjoy māyā and to gratify my senses. I will have no desire for hari-kathā or hari-kīrtana. I will then go in the wrong direction. This is the test. We have to ask ourselves,
“Has my desire for harināma increased or not? Has desire come to hear hari-kathā or not? Do I run for enjoyment or shirk from sādhu-saṅga?”
What is the result of staying in the association of a bona fide teacher? Many people may come to make friendship with you, to talk with you about mundane life and thus steal your time, but you will have no taste for this and will shy away from them. And you will run anywhere there is hari-kīrtana and hari-kathā. You will never speak uselessly. All good qualities will come and be present with you for all time. You will be like a lotus living in water without getting wet. In this world, the lotus stays in the water but has no direct contact with water. Similarly, you will never be fearful of anything in this world, and will always be engaged in God’s service. (see more)
Srīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja is an eternal associate of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental realm of Vraja and was sent by them to spread vraja-bhakti (dine love of the residents of Vraja) in the material world. He led an ideal life as a self-realized ācārya (preceptor) in the unbroken succession of divine masters of the Brahmā-Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya (a disciplic lineage). He is a scion of Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. This is his true family lineage. Śrīla Gurudeva’s birth in a certain location with familial ties is an act of mercy to those people; however, he has no mundane birth.
na karma-bandhanaṁ janma vaiṣṇavānāṁ ca vidyate
viṣṇor anucaratvaṁ hi mokṣam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ
Padma-Purāṇa
A Vaiṣṇava (servitor of Lord Viṣṇu) does not take birth under the jurisdiction of karmic law. His birth and disappearance are transcendental. The wise have declared that the servants of Viṣṇu are eternally engaged in the liberated service of the Lord and hence are free from the laws of material nature.
Sri Guru is transcendental and has a direct relationship with the transcendental world. The duty of a disciple is to glorify the transcendental nature of the Guru-varga. A person cheats himself when he considers Sri Guru in relation with the mundane world—or merely considers the spiritual master’s apparently ordinary activities, neglecting his spiritual character and ideology. To properly understand Śrī Guru, one must observe his supra-mundane teachings through the eyes of scripture, under the guidance of Vaiṣṇavas who are his close followers.
Śrī Guru does not desire any object of the material world, for he has no relationship with this world other than to read the glories of the Divine Couple, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Because Śrī Guru is free from attainment to temporary objects, he will not mislead anyone by glorifying the qualities of mundane existence. He does not preach the path of fruitive action, austerity, or speculative knowledge. As he is immersed in blissful service to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, his ambrosial speech describing Their glories is the tonic that cures a living entity’s disease of repeated birth and death. Śrī Guru thereby connects souls suffering in material bondage with the Supreme Whole—fully satisfying their innermost need for a loving relationship.
Kṛṣṇa sends His dearest associates, who are expansions of His Divine Potency, into this world to save souls suffering in māya (material energy in contrast to God’s spiritual energy). If Kṛṣṇa directly sent His own expansions, it would not be as helpful for the conditioned souls. Hence, He prays to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, “If Your powerful expansions go to the material world, they will liberate the entire universe. Please send them. They are more than capable of bringing the lost souls home to Me.”
At the dawn of this material creation, Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestowed transcendental knowledge and potency to Brahmā, the universal architect. Empowered by the Divine Potency, the Brahmā-Madhva-Gauḍīya disciplic succession descends in an unbroken current of pure devotion from Śrī Brahmā to Śrī Nārada, Śrī Vedavyāsa, Śrī Madhvācarya,
Śrī Padmanābha, Śrī Nṛhari, Śrī Mādhava, Śrī Akṣobhya, Śrī Jaya-tīrtha, Śrī Jñāna-sindhu, Śrī Dayānidhi, Śrī Vidyānidhi, Śrī Rājendra,
Śrī Jayadharma, Sri Purusottama-tirtha, Śrī Brahmaṇya-tīrtha, Śrī Vyāsa-
tīrtha, Śrī Lakṣmīpa-tīrtha, Madhavendra Purī, and Śrī Īśvara Purī, as well as Nityānanda Prabhu and Ādvaita Acarya.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu brought about Śrī Īśvara Purī’s great fortune by accepting initiation from him. From Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the lineage descended through Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and the Six Gosvāmīs (Śrī Rūpa, Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Śrī Jīva,
Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, and Raghunātha dāsa). From them, came to Śrī Kṛṣṇa-dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrī Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī, and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, who flooded the world with the current of pure love as was practiced and taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Amongst Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s many beloved disciples, two of the foremost are Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. The foremost disciples of Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja are Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja and
Śrīla Bhaktedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
In this verse Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda indicates how Rādhārānī becomes completely absorbed with desire to meet Kṛṣṇa. The amorous desire in Kṛṣṇa reflects in Her heart and then eager to please Kṛṣṇa, She departs for Saṅket, Their secret meeting place in the forest. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda longs for the chance to carry sandalwood paste, flower garlands, and other fragrant articles for the pleasure of the Divine Couple and to follow slowly behind Śrīmatī Rādhikā as She progresses toward Saṅket. He is praying that in such a situation Śrīmatījī will give a signal indicating what service is needed and in his eternal form he will carry out that service. The true guru-sevaka is like this. He is always eager to serve and receive instruction from Guru-pāda-padma.
Rādhārānī does not have to speak in order to communicate the need of a service to be done. She and Her sakhīs and mañjarīs have a heart-to-heart connection. The sakhīs and mañjarīs can understand when Rādhārānī has a desire and each of them can feel when that desire is directed to them. As soon as Śrīmatī desires that a service be done, the Vraja-devīs automatically understand and perform that service.
The author is praying for that day when he shares that heart connection with Śrīmatī and the Vraja-devīs and receives orders for service as he—in his form as a gopī—escorts Rādhārānī to the kuñja where She will meet with Kṛṣṇa.
I offer my obeisance to the direction facing the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Maharāja—Śrīmatī Rādhikā. She completely captivates the heart of Madhusūdana Śrī Kṛṣṇa whom the greatest yogīs rarely attain. When a gentle gust of wind playfully touches Her cloth and carries its sweet fragrance towards Kṛṣṇa and touches His body, He embraces it to His heart and feels that His life has become blessedly fulfilled.
Those who come to Vṛndāvana and receive the mercy of the rāgānuga Vaiṣṇavas will surely understand the specialties of Vraja and will take shelter of the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and the Vraja-devīs. If we simply pray to those who are followers of the Vraja-devīs, we will certainly achieve all auspiciousness.
Kṛṣṇa Himself glorifies the air that touches the cloth of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. This verse describes the first process to receive rasa. Kṛṣṇa says, “Oh! I offer praṇāma just to the direction of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and to Pavana-devatā, the air-god who carries Her scent to Me.”
Kṛṣṇa offers praṇāma to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī with great respect. Those who offer respectful obeisance to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī will not remain in this miserable material world. Surely they will pass beyond this world and enter Vraja.
Kṛṣṇa teaches us this. He says, “The air that touches the shawl of Śrīmatījī is supremely fortunate! Dhanyāti-dhanya-pavanena!” The air-god himself considers his life successful—kṛtārtha-māni. The air then moves very slowly—dhīra-samīre yamunā-tīre. The wind blissfully flows along the bank of the Yamunā, carrying Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s sweet scent to Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa thus teaches how the jīva can obtain bhakti. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda reveals this. One must take shelter of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Our Guru-varga, especially Śrīla Gurudeva, would daily recite this prayer and offer obeisance to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Krsna Himself prays, “May I also receive the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, which the greatest of yogīs and munis revere and pray for.”
Uddhava did not want to leave Kṛṣṇa for a minute, but he knew that as long as the Vrajavāsīs were all constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa would feel no peace in Dvārakā. “Everyone in Vraja-bhūmi is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, therefore Kṛṣṇa is restless in Mathurā and Dvārakā.” Uddhava thought thus. “I will go and advise them with so much knowledge and I will change them. I will ask them, ‘Why are you lamenting so much? Kṛṣṇa is Parabrahma, Parameśvara, the greatest yogī. Wherever you are, think about Kṛṣṇa, and then He will appear in your heart. Why do you think He is far away from you? He is the all-pervasive Paramātmā.”
Uddhava thought he was very intelligent, with so much understanding of tattva-siddhānta, but this was useless in regard to the Vrajavāsīs. It is like collecting pieces of ordinary stone and rejecting priceless gems.
Kṛṣṇa told Uddhava, “What knowledge you have collected is not natural; when you go to Vṛndāvana, there, everyone has natural love. They are not relatives of one another, but they are all near and dear to each other. Generally, people have relation and love for their family members, their children and spouses, but in Vraja, there is no need of blood relation for there to be a loving relation.”
Everyone has natural love for Kṛṣṇa in Vraja. Their love is unparalleled and unconditional. You can not understand this with your material knowledge and conceptions. Why do all the birds and animals have love for Kṛṣṇa? Why does everyone in Vraja have spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa? In Dvārakā, however, the peoples’ love is divided, amongst their own blood relatives. They are not one-pointed in their love for Kṛṣṇa, and they do not cry in separation from Kṛṣṇa. If they do not see Kṛṣṇa for some months, they do not feel so much suffering. They know, “He is busy now in Hastināpura. He will come back when He is finished there.”
When Kṛṣṇa was shot by many arrows in the Mahābhārata war the Dvārakāvāsīs did not feel pain. They thought, “He is God and feels no pain; He cannot be harmed.” But the Vrajavāsīs could not tolerate this. If they saw that even one hair of Kṛṣṇa’s had fallen down, they would feel so much pain and suffering. Other devotees of Kṛṣṇa have knowledge of His opulence and glory, and this dims their affection for Him.
When Uddhava went to Vraja-bhūmi he lost his knowledge and forgot Dvārakā. He then thought, “Vraja-bhūmi is supreme. The Vrajavāsīs have unparalleled love. They are Kṛṣṇa’s nearest and dearest, therefore Kṛṣṇa is always restless and suffering, remembering the Vrajavāsīs’ pure unconditional love. The Vrajavāsīs’ love can never be diminished or finished. It only increases when faced with obstacles.”
In this world, if a boy has love for a girl, and she for him, and people, like their relatives, try to stop them from meeting, then they will find any way to meet, regardless of the obstacles. They will find a way to send messages to each other and to meet each other. The Vrajavāsīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa is millions of times greater than this. Their love is shoreless and fathomless. Uddhava could not find the limit of the Vrajavāsīs’ love.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed and sang to Jagannātha during the Ratha-yātrā festival. He said, “You sent Uddhava to Vraja-maṇḍala and he gave the Vrajavāsīs so much advice about brahma-jñāna, and You also gave similar advice to them at Kurukṣetra, but how could the Vrajavāsīs follow this? They were already far beyond this brahma-jñāna and could not follow it.”
Uddhava told the gopīs, “Do yoga by always remembering Kṛṣṇa.”
“We want to forget Kṛṣṇa,” the gopīs replied, “but find it impossible. When there is viyoga, separation, then one must endeavor for yoga, union. But we have no viyoga, because we already incessantly think of Kṛṣṇa; we cannot stop. So how can we follow your yoga? You have viyoga, therefore you advise others to practice yoga. But we have no viyoga from Kṛṣṇa. He is not far from us and we are not far from Him. We want to forget Him and try to forget how He is and what He is doing and who is there with Him, serving Him, if He is sleeping or not, eating or not, but we cannot stop thinking of Him for even a moment. We try to, but find it impossible. But you tell us, ‘Do yoga, forget everything else; only think of Him.’ We have already done this. Udho man na bhayo das-bīs, ek huto so gayo śyām saṅga, ko arādhe īś? You teach us to worship Syāma, but our mind is already captured by that Syāma. He has kept our mind and hearts with Him and we cannot bring them back. He will not return them. Therefore we are suffering and restless.”
In the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, Mahāprabhu said to Jagannātha, “You are very clever. You know My heart.