By Kadamba Kanana Swami
In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Radha-kunda, which is described as the topmost place in the universe! We begin our eParikrama this year by revisiting this significant place and casting our mind to the meditations instilled in us by Maharaja. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan and lecture below, along with a few photos, at Radha-kunda during Parikrama 2018.
We can remember that this is the place where Aristasura was killed. We recall that Radharani and the gopis said to Krsna, “Oh, You are a killer of a bull! Now You are contaminated, and therefore, we can no longer associate with You. You will first have to go on a long pilgrimage to all the holy places. When You do so, You can become purified from the great sin that You have committed and then we can associate with You.” Krsna thought that this was a complication. He made a hole in the ground with His foot and immediately water appeared. The gopis protested, “This is not right! You have to go to all the holy places!” At that moment, all the holy places personified and all the deities of the various rivers and sacred lakes appeared and they all entered into Krsna’s kunda. Krsna took His bath and afterwards He said, “Well, I am so sorry, my dear gopis. Actually, I have tried to please you, therefore, I bathed in all of the holy places. Yet, let us consider this, Aristasura was not a bull at all. He was a demon who took the form of a bull. You have been protecting this demon and therefore you are contaminated. I cannot associate with you any longer. What to do? It is not possible!” The gopis asked, “What do we do?” Krsna replied, “You have to take a bath in all the holy places.” So then, the gopis cleared the ground, broke their bangles and dug a hole. And that was to become Radha-kunda! They made a human chain from Manasi-ganga and with buckets, they filled this kunda. Eventually, all the deities of the holy waters came to Radharani and begged, “Please accept our service!” And then, they entered into Her kunda, and because She is so soft-hearted and filled with love, She could not refuse their service. So this is the story of how Radha-kunda came into existence in this world. Of course, we cannot say that it came into existence, because it is actually eternal. Radha-kunda is always present. Sometimes it is manifested and sometimes it is not manifested to the eye, but the fact is that Radha-kunda is always present!
Srila Prabhupada describes the importance of Radha-kunda. We come here to get a glimpse of that eternal reality. We are on this parikrama to glimpse the spiritual world. That is what we do in Vrndavana. We do not immediately forget who we are. What have we brought in our hand luggage to Vrndavana? What is still in our consciousness, our material conditioning? But at least externally, we can still be respectful and in a mood to receive mercy. We are trying to understand what is going on in the spiritual world and how everyone simply assists Radha and Krsna. There are thousands of gopis in these garden surroundings. They set up groves with beautiful seating arrangements, rows of trees and plants of different colours and everything is decorated. There are delicious foodstuffs, all for the pleasure of Radha and Krsna, to bring Them together. We appreciate that this is where Radha and Krsna’s most intimate pastimes take place. These kundas are manifestations of Themselves, therefore we understand that this is the most topmost place in the universe.
Read more: https://www.kksblog.com/2020/11/eparikrama-2020-day-1-radha-kunda/
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