Kalindi has stated that ''Surely Sri Radhika is the very soul of Lord Krishna Who is Atma-Rama, that is, One Who delights in Himself alone.''Bhagavan Krishna is always immersed in Sri Radha consciousness, which is His very soul. Therefore learned sages who have grasped the secret esoteric significance of this deep mellow call him 'Atma-Rama.'Without the mercy of Srimati Radhika, one can never attain Krsna. Therefore one must remember them together, as They are always nicely situated by each others'side.(Srila Dhyana-chandra Goswami's Paddhati)Shri Krishna says: O Narada!! If you have faith in the process of prema-bhakti and wish to attain my favour, then please become the worshipper of Srimati Radharani in the mood of ecstatic emotion.Sri Krishna says: O Narada! I tell you truly truly, again truly, truly, again and again - without the mercy of Srimati Radharani, one cannot attain my mercy.(Narada Purana)O' Radharani, the queen of Vrndavana, 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. (Vilapa-kusmanjali by Raghunath Dasa Goswami)I am Yours alone! I am Yours alone! I cannot live without You! O queen, please understand this and bring me to Your feet. (From Vilapa Kusumanjali by Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami)O Syame (Sri Radhe)! When will I worship You as Indira (Laksmi), when Your beautiful body is bound up by Syama's left arm? Krsna's beauty enchants all the people of the world and is even greater than that of Rama-ramana (Lord Visnu, Laksmi's husband).SRI SRI GANDHARVA SAMPRARTHANASTAKAM By Srila Rupa Goswami text 3.tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas-tabhyo 'pi sa radhika (Sri Upadesamrta,10): and the high devotion of Srimati Radharani is categorically different from that of all the Gopis. The type of service found in Her is practically unaccountable, inconceivable. srutibhir vimrgyam (Bha: 10.47.61): the Rsis, the Seers, saw that the Vedic mantras were eternal. They are not creators of the mantras in the Vedas, they are only seers and feelers of spiritual current; they are only observers.Sri Gopala-Tapani Upanishad: Chapter One [ Translated by Kusakratha Dasa ] text 42Commentary by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana: The goddess of fortune here is Srimati Radharani, who is described in the Purusa-bodhini Upanisad. "Candravali and Radhika always remain at Lord Krishna's side. Laksmi, Durga, and the Lord's other potencies are expansions of Sri Radhika." The Gautamiya Tantra also explains: The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for the goddess of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord.Sripad Raghunatha das Gosvami's 'Stavavali"radheti nama nava sundara sidhu mugdhamkrishNeti nama madhuradbhuta gadha dugdhamsarva kshaNam surabhi raga himena ramyamkritva tad eva piba me rasane kshudharte"O my tongue suffering from thirst! Please mix the delicious fresh enchanting nectar of the name Radha with the wonderfully sweet condensed milk of the name KrishNa, add the fragrant delightful ice of pure passionate love and drink this charming drink at every moment!"bhajami radham aravinda netram smarami radham madhura smitasyamvadami radham karunabharardram tato mamanyasti gatir na kapi"I worship lotus-eyed Radha, I remember Radha with Her sweet smile on Her countenance, I speak of Radha, who melts of compassion. Thus I have no other shelter."Shrila Prabhodananda Sarasvati.Yo brahma rudra shuka narada bhishma mukhyairAlakshito na sahasa purushasya tasyaSadyo vashikarana churnam annata shaktimTam radhika charana renum anusmarami.(Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 4)"I constantly remember Shrimati Radharani`s foot dust which is a fragrant transcendental powder possessed of unlimited potency, able to immediately subdue the Supreme being, Shri Krishna Who is not so easily seen even by great devotee-leaders like Brahma, Shiva, Shukadeva, Narada and Bhishma."gaurange mradima smite madhurima netrancale draghimavakshoje garima tathaiva tanima madhye gatau mandimashroNyam ca prathima bhruvoh kutilima bimbadhare shoNimashri radhe hridi te rasena jadima dhyane'stu me gocarah"O Sri Radhe! May the softness of Your transcendental golden body, the sweetness of Your smile, the wideness of Your eyes, the abundance of your bosom, the slimness of Your waist, the lightness of your gait, the wideness of Your hips, the crookedness of Your eyebrows, the redness of Your cherry-lips and the numbness of Your heart saturated with aesthetic loving sentiments, be present in my meditation."verse 75 of Sri Radharasa SudhanidhiVraja chandrendriya grama vishrama vidhushalikaKrishna sarvendriyonmadi radhety akshara yugmaka(Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami’s 108 names of Sri Radhikha 45)"Although Krishna is the pleasure giving like cooling moon for all the inhabitants of Vraja, still Srimati Radharani is the resting place for all of His senses which She completely maddens with the two syllables of Her name Radha.”Yaj japah sakrideva gokulapater akarshakas tat kshanadYatra premavatam samasta purushartheshu sphuret tucchataYan namankita mantra japana parah pritya svayam madhavahShri krishno’pi tad adbhutam sphuratu me radheti varna-dvayam.(Sri Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 95)"May the two strikingly wonderful syllables "Ra-dha”, that immediately attracts the Lord of Gokula (Krishna) when they are pronounced even once, that reveals the insignificance of all human pursuits (other than bhakti sadhana and prema) when there is love for Them, that are included in the mantra-formula repeated with great love by Lord Madhava (Vishnu) and even by Sri Krishna himself, appear in my heart !”Kalindi tata kunja mandira gato yogindravad yat padaJyotir dhyana parah sada japati yam premashru purno harihKenapy adbhutam ullasad rati rasanandena sammohitahSa radheti sada hridi sphuratu me vidya para dvy akshara(Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 96)"May the surprisingly fine, bliss giving, spiritually tastfull, endowed with the flavour of absolute transcendental shringara-love, wish fulfilling and charming two syllables of Radha’s name, which represent the highest supreme cognition and are muttered by Sri Hari (Krishna) who like a great yogi sits in a bower’s temple on the bank of the Yamuna, meditating on the effulgence of Shri Radha’s lotusfeet with streaming tears of love, be always revealed in my heart !Devanam atha bhakta mukta suhridam atyanta duram ca yatpremananda rasam maha sukhakaram coccaritam prematahpremnakarnayate japaty atha muda gayaty athalisv ayamjalpaty ashrumukho haris tad amritam radheti me jivanam(Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 97)"The divine ambrosial transcendental name of Sri Radha, that remains difficult to utter by the demigods, the devotees in general, the liberated souls and Krishna’s friends, is even repeated and described with love by Hari (Krishna). He listens this name of Radha being sung to him by the sakhis and also chants it congegationally with them in ecstasy. This name of Radha that consists of the greatest spiritual love, gusto and bliss, is my very life.”Radha namaiva karyam hy anudinam militam sadhanadhisa kotisTyajya nirajya radha padakamala sudham sampumarthagra kotihRadha padabja lila bhuvi jayati sada’manda mandara kotihSri radha kinkarinam luthati caranayor adbhuta siddhi kotih.(Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 144)"If one can simply get into the habit of daily chanting only the holy name of Radha, millions of best spiritual practises (exept the different limbs of bhakti sadhana) will be naturally depreciated and given up. Millions of greatest human goals of life just worship the transcendental nectar of Sri Radha ‘s lotusfeet, and are thus of no interest for those worshipping Them. There are Millions of wishyielding trees in Sri Radha’s playground (Vraja) which is always decorated by Her foot marks, and millions of wonderfull mystic perfections roll at the feet of Sri Radha’s manjaris, but are simply uncared for by them.”Anulikhyanantan api sad aparadhan madhupatirMaha premavistas tava parama deyam vimrisyatiTavaikam sri radhe grinata iha namamrita rasamMahimnah kah simam sprisatu tava dasyaika manasam(Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 155)"O Sri Radhe! Madhupati (Krishna) doesn’t take into consideration the innumerabile offenses commited to Saints by anyone who relished even once the sweetness of repeating your delicious holy name, but rather considers, overwhelmed with great ecstatic love, to bestow the highest gift of Your personal service to such a person. Then how can we ever think to understand the greatness of someone whose mind always dwells on Your service.”Jaya jaya radha nama vrindavana yara dhamaKrishna sukha vilasera nidhiHeno radha guna gana na shunilo mora kanaVanchita korilo more vidhi(Prema Bhakti Chandrika 108)"Glory, glory to the holy name of Radha, that permanently dwells everywhere in Vrindavana, and that is the ocean of Krishna’s blissful transcendental pastimes. Due to my bad luck I didn’t hear the glorification of such a Radha.”Krishna nama gane bhai, radhika charana paiRadha nama gane krishna chandraSankshepe kohinu kotha, ghuchao monera byathaDuhkamaya anya katha dhanda.(Prema Bhakti Chandrika)"O brother ! (Sister !) By singing Krishna’s name you will reach Radhika’s lotus feet, and by singing Radha’s name you will reach Krishna-chandra. Now that I have told you this in brief, follow this advice and you will be relieved of your mental ditress.Srila Narottama Das Thakur MahashayaRadhika charana renu, bhushana koriya tanuAnayase pabe giridhariRadhika charanashraya, ye kore se mahashayaTare mui yai bolihari.(Prema Bhakti Chandrika 107)"Anyone who decorates his body with Radhika’footdust easily attains Giridhari. Anyone who takes shelter of Radhika’s lotusfeet is a commendable great soul of very fine spiritual taste and intelligence whom I repeatedly praise.”
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Radha and Krishna are the divine couple that rules love, romance and the aesthetic sense. Radha was foremost among the milkmaids of Vrindavan, as the incarnation of Lakshmi, Vishnu's spouse and Krishna's obvious favorite.
Love and devotion may also find beautiful expression in the relationship between lovers. In India, women often see their husbands as Krishna, while men see their wives as Radha, the beloved. When men become gods and women goddesses, then we do not see the imperfections, and see only perfection, divinity. Surrender and serving each other are the keys to any good relationship, which becomes a rehearsal of surrender to the universe and the divine.
While Krishna's love was truly universal, Radha sometimes expressed feelings of jealousy. Like it is shown in the painting here, one day Radha became jealous of Lord Krishna' flute, because it was allowed to touch his lips and because he would breath his prana into it. Thus she took it from Krishna and then did not want to return it. Some thus see the relationship between Krishna and Radha as the love between god and man, between self and ego.
One moonlit night, Krishna multiplied his body into many to dance with all the milkmaids and fulfill their desire for union with him. The love between Krishna and the milkmaids represents the divine play (Leela) between reality (consciousness) and illusion (form), purusha (soul) and prakriti (primordial nature), divinity and humanity. The maidens dance around Krishna as electrons dance around the nucleus of every atom, and as body molecules and energies dance around the soul of every being.
Lord Krishna was only eight years old when he left Vrindavan and and his beloved Radha to study in the ashram of the saint Sandeepani. Therefore, everything that happened between Krishna and Radha or Krishna and the milkmaids took place when they were children. They were all very conscious of being incarnations of divine beings and saints. Whatever happened between them can only have been very romantic and spiritual. A lot of it was child-play.
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Krishna, Radha and Leela
Radha and Krishna are the divine couple that rules love, romance and the aesthetic sense. Radha was foremost among the milkmaids of Vrindavan, as the incarnation of Lakshmi, Vishnu's spouse and Krishna's obvious favorite.
Love and devotion may also find beautiful expression in the relationship between lovers. In India, women often see their husbands as Krishna, while men see their wives as Radha, the beloved. When men become gods and women goddesses, then we do not see the imperfections, and see only perfection, divinity. Surrender and serving each other are the keys to any good relationship, which becomes a rehearsal of surrender to the universe and the divine.
While Krishna's love was truly universal, Radha sometimes expressed feelings of jealousy. Like it is shown in the painting here, one day Radha became jealous of Lord Krishna' flute, because it was allowed to touch his lips and because he would breath his prana into it. Thus she took it from Krishna and then did not want to return it. Some thus see the relationship between Krishna and Radha as the love between god and man, between self and ego.
One moonlit night, Krishna multiplied his body into many to dance with all the milkmaids and fulfill their desire for union with him. The love between Krishna and the milkmaids represents the divine play (Leela) between reality (consciousness) and illusion (form), purusha (soul) and prakriti (primordial nature), divinity and humanity. The maidens dance around Krishna as electrons dance around the nucleus of every atom, and as body molecules and energies dance around the soul of every being.
Lord Krishna was only eight years old when he left Vrindavan and and his beloved Radha to study in the ashram of the saint Sandeepani. Therefore, everything that happened between Krishna and Radha or Krishna and the milkmaids took place when they were children. They were all very conscious of being incarnations of divine beings and saints. Whatever happened between them can only have been very romantic and spiritual. A lot of it was child-play.