In 2016 and 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Varsana, the village of Srimati Radharani. It is here that various deities such as Lord Brahma and Lord Visnu have manifested themselves in the form of hills, as they carry the Lord and His devotees on their heads. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Varsana during Parikrama 2016 and Parikrama 2018.
There is Goloka Vrndavana, Bhumi Vrndavana and a third Vrndavana – the internal Vrndavana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says more mana Vrndavana. We approach the holy dhama and we come to all kinds of exalted places where Krsna performed His pastimes, but to what extent can we understand the pastimes of Krsna? When we speak about Radha and Krsna, we can understand that They did everything with great intensity and completely from the heart. Nothing was ever mechanical for the residents of the spiritual world; everything was focused on Krsna. They were totally oblivious to anything else but Krsna. Everyone was totally absorbed in thoughts of Krsna.
In Varsana, many pastimes took place. Sometimes the relationship between Radha and Krsna was parakiya-rasa, the forbidden relationship, where every moment was a stolen moment. I made this point about the difference between parakiya and svakiya many times. Svakiya implies that one is married and have ‘tied a knot’ or ‘put a ring on the finger’. When that ring is on, something changes. There is an element of being obliged in a marriage relationship. Where in parakiya, there are no obligations whatsoever. Forget it! The beloved may leave at any minute, therefore one really has to conquer Krsna again and again. In Dvarka, Krsna was married and there was no such thing as a divorce, therefore Krsna was obliged. In Vrndavana however, Krsna showed His real features, especially how He had to always be conquered. That is parakiya-rasa. Again and again, we have to conquer Krsna. We have to impress Him at each moment. We can never say, “Now, I am done!” Surrender is not once off, but all the time and that is pure devotional service. Surrender is needed at every moment and that is the spirit of Vrndavana.
Therefore, we are here with Srila Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krsna! To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Radharani, and devotees in Vrndavana put themselves under the care of Radharani in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. We have fleeting moments of meditation and then the material world comes in. So we really need the mercy of Srimati Radharani and that mercy comes through Srila Prabhupada. We can meditate in so many ways but through Prabhupada, we can meditate with real quality.
Read more: https://www.kksblog.com/2020/11/eparikrama-2020-day-10-varsana/
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