20110905 Rādhāṣṭamī Day Class

The following is a class given by His holiness Jayapātāka Swami Maharājā His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on September 5^th, 2011 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India. The class begins with a reading from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta on the day of Rādhāṣṭamī and was given with Bengali translation.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande paramānanda-mādhavam
śrī caitanya īśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

I was listening on the various speakers – Vaikuṇṭha Nitāi,  Sāmba Dāsa, Bhakti Vidyapūrṇa Mahārāja. I listened to them, and they heard from Bhakti Puruṣottama Mahārāja. So he tells a lot about pastimes. I won’t tell so many pastimes, but try to illuminate a position of Rādhārāṇī and a few thoughts.

So Kṛṣṇa – He is fully transcendental and the Māyāvādīs – they don’t understand actually Kṛṣṇa, as Jananivāsa has mentioned. So they think that Kṛṣṇa is in sattva-guṇa, but in this material world sattva-guṇa is mixed with a little raja and a little tama, and Kṛṣṇa is pure śuddha-sattva. So Kṛṣṇa is saccidānanda.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

So, that ānanda is Rādhārāṇī. That sat-cit, they are the cit-śakti or the saṁvit and now the sandhinī-śakti or the śakti, Kṛṣṇa-Rādhārāṇī.

When Kṛṣṇa wants to enjoy some – So, how much can you enjoy yourselves? So He likes to have pastimes and those pastimes are called love or prema. So He expands to Rādhārāṇī. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are non-different. Rādhārāṇī is fully transcendental. Just as Kṛṣṇa expands into the various forms – vaibhava-prakāśa, vaibhava-vilāsa to Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇu. So also Rādhārāṇī expands. This is mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Reading from Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā. The confidential reason for the Lord’s appearance. So will be reading today from Cc. Ādi Text – 4.73

Cc. Ādi 4.73

kṛṣṇere karāya yaiche rasa āsvādana
krīḍāra sahāya yaiche, śuna vivaraṇa

Translation: Now please listen to how Lord Kṛṣṇa’s consorts help Him taste rasa and how they help in His pastimes.

Cc. Ādi 4.74-75

kṛṣṇa-kāntā-gaṇa dekhi tri-vidha prakāra
eka lakṣmī-gaṇa, pure mahiṣī-gaṇa āra

vrajāṅganā-rūpa, āra kāntā-gaṇa-sāra
śrī-rādhikā haite kāntā-gaṇera vistāra

Translation: The beloved consorts of Lord Kṛṣṇa are of three kinds: the goddesses of fortune, the queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja, who are the foremost of all. These consorts all proceed from Rādhikā.

Cc. Ādi 4.76

Just as the fountainhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all incarnations, so Śrī Rādhā is the cause of all these consorts.

Cc. Ādi 4.77

The goddesses of fortune are partial manifestations of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and the queens are reflections of Her image.

 

Cc. Ādi 4.78

The goddesses of fortune are Her plenary portions, and they display the forms of vaibhava-vilāsa. The queens are of the nature of Her vaibhava-prakāśa.

Cc. Ādi 4.79

The Vraja-devīs have diverse bodily features. They are Her expansions and are the instruments for expanding rasa.

Cc. Ādi 4.80

Without many consorts, there is not such exultation in rasa. Therefore there are many manifestations of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to assist in the Lord’s pastimes.

Cc. Ādi 4.81

Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Kṛṣṇa taste all the sweetness of the rāsa dance and other pastimes.

Jayapātāka Swami: So Rādhārāṇī – they are all expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. She expands herself into this different consort’s just to give Kṛṣṇa bliss. So Kṛṣṇa who is the all attractive is the sarva-ākarṣa. He is the attractor of the whole universe. She is Govinda-mohinī. She is also the attractor of Kṛṣṇa. So Her job or function is to give Kṛṣṇa pleasure. So, just like fire – fire can’t separate from the light and the heat. So like that Kṛṣṇa is like a fire, and Rādhārāṇī is like the light or heat.

He is Śaktimān and She is Śakti. So both are transcendental and both have no nothing to do with this material world.

So like this Kṛṣṇa is tasting transcendental bliss. He cannot be attracted by something material, and so Rādhārāṇī – we should not think that She is material. Like that, the relationship between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do with the material world. They are purely transcendental. So, you can make the mistake of thinking Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are material, but that will be a great offence. We should understand that they are totally transcendental.

Cc. Ādi 4.82

govindānandinī rādhā, govinda-mohinī
govinda-sarvasva, sarva-kāntā-śiromaṇi

Rādhā is the one who gives pleasure to Govinda, and She is also the enchantress of Govinda. She is the be-all and end-all of Govinda, and the crest jewel of all His consorts.

Cc. Ādi 4.83

The transcendental goddess Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the direct counterpart of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. 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.

Cc. Ādi 4.84

“Devī” means “resplendent and most beautiful.” Or else it means “the lovely abode of the worship and love sports of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

Cc. Ādi 4.85

“Kṛṣṇa-mayī” means “one who’s within and without are Lord Kṛṣṇa.” She sees Lord Kṛṣṇa wherever She casts Her glance.

Cc. Ādi 4.86

Or “kṛṣṇa-mayī” means that She is identical with Lord Kṛṣṇa, for She embodies the mellows of love. The energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa is identical with Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: The only business of Rādhārāṇī is to give Kṛṣṇa pleasure. So when She appears, She keeps Her eyes closed. She says, “Till I see Kṛṣṇa I won’t open my eyes.” So Her parents thought She was blind because She had Her eyes closed. So when Nārada Muni - even he saw Nanda and Yaśodā had got baby Kṛṣṇa. He told them, “Your only duty is to take care of your child. This is your para-dharma. You should give all the attention to your child.” He told that when Kṛṣṇa appears, His Śakti must also be there. So he went to house. “You have any babies? I will give them blessings” and so everyone brought their babies, but he didn’t see the one he wanted. So then he went to Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and he asked, “You have any babies?” and he was a bit bashful to say, because he thought that the girl was blind. So he said, “Well we have one blind girl.”

“Can I see her?” He came and he gave baby Rādhā in the hands of Nārada Muni, and when he got the baby Rādhā in his hands then – she is the source of all ānanda, of all the different pleasure of the devotees – kṛṣṇa-prema. He became overwhelmed, he started shaking, he couldn’t talk. His hairs stood on end. Tears were coming from his eyes. Then he thought, “What happened?” “Nārada Muni what happened? What’s wrong?” [Haribol!] He was overwhelmed with ecstasy, and then gave them the same instruction that he gave to Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. He told them, “Your prime duty is to take care of you daughter. That’s your only duty. Take care of your daughter and give her all your love and affection.” So, then he went to the nearby park, and he meditated. There he prayed that she would reveal himself as the 14 year old Kiśorī. So Rādhārāṇī appeared with Lalitā and some other sakhīs up to him. So Lalitā told him, “You are seeing Rādhārāṇī. This is very, very special, Very rare. People – they don’t see Rādhārāṇī usually.” And then he immediately bowed down and offered his obeisances. So, he was later – when they had a festival, (it was so great)? 15.40 Kṛṣṇa’s appearance. At that time, since he had almost appeared within 15 days, they brought Kṛṣṇa in the same cradle as Rādhikā, and Kṛṣṇa as a baby he crawled over and looked at Rādhikā, and her eyes were closed, but she could smell Kṛṣṇa. She could tell Kṛṣṇa was close, and she opened her eyes. They were surprised. “Oh! She can see.” And she said she will only open her eyes if she knows that she can first see Kṛṣṇa. [Haribol!] Śrī Rādhā!

So like that Rādhārāṇī is like Kṛṣṇa appears. In the same Bhagavad-gītā says, “janma karma ca me divyaṁ (Bg. 4.9)” Like that we should understand that Rādhārāṇī also – her appearance, her activities are fully transcendental. They are not of this material world.

Cc. Ādi 4.87

Her worship [ārādhana] consists of fulfilling the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the Purāṇas call Her Rādhikā.

Cc. Ādi 4.88

“Truly the Personality of Godhead has been worshiped by Her. Therefore Lord Govinda, being pleased, has brought Her to a lonely spot, leaving us all behind.”

Cc. Ādi 4.89

Therefore Rādhā is parama-devatā, the supreme goddess, and She is worshipable for everyone. She is the protesters of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe. 

Cc. Ādi 4.90

I have already explained the meaning of “sarva-lakṣmī.” Rādhā is the original source of all the goddesses of fortune.

Cc. Ādi 4.91

Or “sarva-lakṣmī” indicates that She fully represents the six opulence’s of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore She is the supreme energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Cc. Ādi 4.92

The word “sarva-kānti” indicates that all beauty and lustre rest in Her body. All the lakṣmīs derive their beauty from Her.

Cc. Ādi 4.93

“Kānti” may also mean “all the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” All the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa rest in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

            Cc. Ādi 4.94

Śrīmatī Rādhikā fulfils all the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the meaning of “sarva-kānti.”

Jayapatākā Swami: The last verse he read is the verse we are reading today – Śukadeva Gosvāmī took complete seven days and seven nights of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. He could not say the word Rādhā because if he did he might get choked up and might become too ecstatic to continue. But here, Rādhārāṇī, it says ārādhikā. So ārādhikā – Her name in a secret way is somehow mentioned by Śukadeva. Our previous ācāryas, they say that, this is Her glory, Her beauty and Her special position. So somehow in the Bhāgavatam her pastimes are illustrated by her. Other śāstras, she is directly mentioned as the ārādhikā. 

            Cc. Ādi 4.95

Lord Kṛṣṇa enchants the world, but Śrī Rādhā enchants even Him. Therefore She is the Supreme Goddess of all.

            Cc. Ādi 4.96

Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures.

            Cc. Ādi 4.97

They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are non-different.

            Cc. Ādi 4.98

Thus Rādhā and Lord Kṛṣṇa are one, yet They have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes.

            Cc. Ādi 4.99-100

To promulgate prema-bhakti [devotional service in love of Godhead], Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya with the mood and complexion of Śrī Rādhā. Thus I have explained the meaning of the fifth verse.

Jayapatākā Swami: Whatever bliss Kṛṣṇa gets from this exchange of rasa with Rādhārāṇī, Rādhā experiences 10 million times the rest. So Kṛṣṇa is overwhelmed how She is so happy and so blissful. So this is the competition. Now I went to one place called Prema-sarovara in Vraja dhāma. It’s on the parikramā of Barṣāṇā. Here Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were sitting together and there was a bumble bee who was wandering. So Kṛṣṇa told Madhumaṅgala, “Please get rid of this bee.” So Madhumaṅgala chased the bee away. One name for a bee is Madhusūdana - one who sucks honey. So Madhumaṅgala said that, “Madhusūdana has gone, he is gone.” But Madhusūdana is also a name of Kṛṣṇa. So Rādhārāṇī thinks that Madhusūdana means that Kṛṣṇa is gone, and She immediately felt separation and She started crying. “Oh no, Kṛṣṇa is gone! No! No! Kṛṣṇa is gone!” And then She started profusely crying, and Kṛṣṇa said that, “Look. I am here. I am here.” But Her love is so intense that even though He is sitting there, just hearing the words that Madhusūdana left, She is crying and then Kṛṣṇa seeing Her bliss, He cries, and like this they are both are crying, and they filled a whole lake. That lake is called Prema-sarovara. How many would like to take some water on you head? We heard that by putting some water on your head and get love of Kṛṣṇa.  As we heard that Kṛṣṇa, He gives us ānanda-śakti, hlādinī-śakti, and as a result we get devotion for Kṛṣṇa, and then devotion is called kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Godhead. So like this everybody is looking. Prabhupāda he knew much about the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. When he told how Rādhārāṇī gets the ānanda-śakti – she is the pleasure potency of the Lord, and he taught how Bharata Mahārāja, he left his whole kingdom of the world, he left everything. Prabhupāda used a very graphic example. He said, “People leave their huts too.” Because... why? Because they want spiritual bliss. Ṛṣabhadeva said that material happiness, even the dogs, even the hogs, they are happy. If you want special, you should try to get the spiritual bliss. He said, “brahma saukhyam anantam – that the spiritual bliss is unlimited.” So, we should also try to achieve this spiritual bliss. The form of Rādhārāṇī gives the blessing that we have spiritual bliss.  I was reading many years ago the Padma Purāṇa. There it is said a certain lady was a sinner but somehow she came across some women making garlands. She asked, “What is happening?”

They said, “You don’t know? Tomorrow is Rādhāṣṭamī. You should stay. You should observe Rādhāṣṭamī.”  

Then she stayed and she saw the Rādhāṣṭamī, she heard kīrtanas, classes, and because of that, just because of one Rādhāṣṭamī, it was equal to 50,000 or 100,000 ekādaśīs. [Haribol!] By that one Rādhāṣṭamī, she went back to Godhead. [Haribol!] It is said, If you don’t observe Rādhāṣṭamī, especially the ladies – it is a big offence. So we are very fortunate because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She actually for the pleasure of Lord Kṛṣṇa, She made the Navadvīpa-dhāma. She created the Navadvīpa-dhāma to please Kṛṣṇa, and so we are living here in Navadvīpa-dhāma, and that is why Rādhāṣṭamī is a very special day, more than in other places, because Rādhārāṇī is the person that made Navadvīpa-dhāma, and when Kṛṣṇa comes, he accepts the form in the love and the mood of Rādhārāṇī, and therefore he comes with the colour. So she comes as Gauuuuurāṅga. [Gaurāṅga!]  And what we say, tapta kāñcana gaurāṅgī. So she is Gaurāṅgī and he is Gauuuuurāṅga [Gauuuuurāṅga]. Kṛṣṇa wants to also taste what is the bliss that Rādhārāṇī has.

Cc. Antya 20.47

āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām adarśanān marma-hatāṁ karotu vā
yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparaḥ

Let Kṛṣṇa tightly embrace this maidservant who has fallen at His lotus feet, or let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but still He alone, and no one else, is the worshipable Lord of My heart.

Cc. Antya 20.48

“āmi — kṛṣṇa-pada-dāsī, teṅho —
 rasa-sukha-rāśi,āliṅgiyā kare ātma-sātha

kibā nā deya daraśana, jārena mora
 tanu-mana, tabu teṅho — mora prāṇa-nātha

I am a maidservant at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. He is the embodiment of transcendental happiness and mellows. If He likes He can tightly embrace Me and make Me feel oneness with Him, or by not giving Me His audience, He may corrode My mind and body. Nevertheless, it is He who is the Lord of My life.

Cc. Antya 20.49

My dear friend, just hear the decision of My mind. Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of My life in all conditions, whether He shows Me affection or kills Me by giving Me unhappiness.

Cc. Antya 20.50

Sometimes Kṛṣṇa gives up the company of other gopīs and becomes controlled, mind and body, by Me. Thus He manifests My good fortune and gives others distress by performing His loving affairs with Me.

 Cc. Antya 20.51

Or, since after all He is a very cunning, obstinate debauchee with a propensity to cheat, He takes to the company of other women. He then indulges in loving affairs with them in front of Me to give distress to My mind. Nevertheless, He is still the Lord of My life.

Cc. Antya 20.52

I do not mind My personal distress. I only wish for the happiness of Kṛṣṇa, for His happiness is the goal of My life. However, if He feels great happiness in giving Me distress, that distress is the best of My happiness.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that a devotee does not care about his own happiness and distress; he is simply interested in seeing that Kṛṣṇa is happy, and for that purpose he engages in various activities. A pure devotee has no way of sensing happiness except by seeing that Kṛṣṇa is happy in every respect. If Kṛṣṇa becomes happy by giving him distress, such a devotee accepts that unhappiness as the greatest of all happiness. Those who are materialistic, however, who are very proud of material wealth and have no spiritual knowledge, like the prākṛta-sahajiyās, regard their own happiness as the aim of life. Some of them aspire to enjoy themselves by sharing the happiness of Kṛṣṇa. This is the mentality of fruitive workers who want to enjoy sense gratification by making a show of service to Kṛṣṇa.

Cc. Antya 20.53

If Kṛṣṇa, attracted by the beauty of some other woman, wants to enjoy with her but is unhappy because He cannot get her, I fall down at her feet, catch her hand and bring her to Kṛṣṇa to engage her for His happiness.

Cc. Antya 20.54

When a beloved gopīs shows symptoms of anger toward Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is very satisfied. Indeed, He is extremely pleased when chastised by such a gopī. She shows her pride suitably, and Kṛṣṇa enjoys that attitude. Then she gives up her pride with a little endeavour.

Cc. Antya 20.55

Why does a woman continue to live who knows that Kṛṣṇa’s heart is unhappy but who still shows her deep anger toward Him? She is interested in her own happiness. I condemn such a woman to be struck on the head with a thunderbolt, for We simply want the happiness of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: A devotee who is satisfied only with his own sense gratification certainly falls down from the service of Kṛṣṇa. Being attracted by material happiness, he later joins the prākṛta-sahajiyās, who are considered to be non-devotees. 

Cc. Antya 20.56

If a gopī envious of Me satisfies Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa desires her, I shall not hesitate to go to her house and become her maidservant, for then My happiness will be awakened.

Cc. Antya 20.57

The wife of a brāhmaṇa suffering from leprosy manifested herself as the topmost of all chaste women by serving a prostitute to satisfy her husband. She thus stopped the movement of the sun, brought her dead husband back to life and satisfied the three principal demigods [Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara].

Jayapatākā Swami: Now today is a very auspicious day. Today is Rādhāṣṭamī, and I wish all of you a very happy, very blissful Rādhāṣṭamī day. [Haribol!]

Is there any question on Rādhārāṇī? 

Question: Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined form is Gaura-Gadādhara, but Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, if somebody is worshipping Gaurāṅga and Gadādhara – that is the highest worship. But we are worshipping Gaura-Nitāi?

Jayapātāka Swami: Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are combining in Gaurāṅga. So, I don’t know. We hear from Prabhupāda. They prakṛta-sahajiyās may somehow differ on that. Actually he tries to support Lord Caitanya’s tasting of the nectar of spiritual rasas. So, this form of the Lord is just about tasting rasa.

Any other question?

Question: What is the favourite food for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī?

Jayapātāka Swami: Well, Kṛṣṇa-prasādam [laughter] [Haribol!] She got the blessing that everything She cooks will become nectar. So, Yaśodā heard this that She has got the blessing. So She had Rādhārāṇī cook for Lord Kṛṣṇa every day, and then Rādhārāṇī would take the remnants of Kṛṣṇa.