Radha's Mercy
In short, the theology of Sri Radha is deep. The scriptures describe that one must go through many lives of pious acts, religious rituals, and yogic perfection before attaining the mercy of Sri Radha. And when one does, Krishna is not far off. In fact, it is through Sri Radha's mercy that Krishna becomes attainable.
Radha is Krishna's mercy incarnation, and through Her one can attain the culmination of the spiritual pursuit. Srila Prabhupada sums this up as follows:
"Radharani, You are so dear to Krishna. So we offer our respectful obeisances unto You." Radharani is hari-priya: "very dear to Krishna." Through the mercy of Radharani we can easily approach Krishna. If Radharani recommends, "This devotee is very nice," then Krishna immediately accepts me, however great a fool I may be. Because I am recommended by Radharani, Krishna accepts me. Therefore in Vrindavana you'll find all the devotees chanting Radharani's name more than Krishna's. Wherever you'll go, you'll find the devotees greeting one another, "Jaya Radhe!" You'll find this still in Vrindavana. The devotees are glorifying Radharani.
If you go by the speculative process to understand Krishna, it will take many, many lives. But if you take to devotional service and just try to please Radharani, Krishna will be gotten very easily. Radharani can deliver Krishna. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of maha-bhagavata. Even Krishna cannot understand the quality of Radharani's devotion. Although Krishna says vedaham samatitani-"I know everything"-He fails to understand Radharani. She is so great.
It is in pursuit of these truths that Radha and Krishna descend as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for in that form They taste the highest mercy and bestow it on others. The chief manifestation of that mercy is the holy name in the form of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
In this mantra both Radha and Krishna are fully manifest. A prayer to Sri Radha (Hare is the vocative form of Hara, another name for Radharani), it beseeches Krishna to be engaged in devotional service, the highest form of yoga. Radha is the medium through which such service is enacted, for She is the embodiment of devotion, the essence of love for Krishna.
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