Who is Srimati Radharani?

Who is Srimati Radharani?

Srila Prabhupada - "I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

So if we approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, through the mercy of Rādhārāṇī, then it becomes very easy.

If Rādhārāṇī recommends that "This devotee is very nice," then Kṛṣṇa immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa accepts.

Therefore in Vṛndāvana you'll find all the devotees, they're chanting more Rādhārāṇī's name than Kṛṣṇa's. Wherever you'll go, you'll find the devotees are addressing, "Jaya Rādhe." You'll find still in Vṛndāvana. They are glorifying Rādhārāṇī.

They're more interested, worshiping Rādhārāṇī. Because however fallen I may be, if some way or other I can please Rādhārāṇī, then it is very easy for me to understand Kṛṣṇa.

However, you go by the speculative process to understand Kṛṣṇa, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service, just try to please Rādhārāṇī, and Kṛṣṇa will be gotten very easily. Because Rādhārāṇī can deliver Kṛṣṇa. She is so great devotee, the emblem of mahā-bhāgavata.

Even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand what is Rādhārāṇī's quality.

Even Kṛṣṇa, although He says vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26), "I know everything," still, He fails to understand Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is so great.

Actually, Kṛṣṇa knows everything. In order to understand Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa accepted the position of Rādhārāṇī. Kṛṣṇa wanted to understand the potency of Rādhārāṇī.

Kṛṣṇa thought that "I am full. I am complete in every respect, but still, I want to understand Rādhārāṇī. Why?" This propensity made Kṛṣṇa obliged to accept the propensities of Rādhārāṇī, to understand Kṛṣṇa, Himself.

These are, of course, very transcendental, great science. One who is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and well conversant with the śāstras, they can understand. But still, we can discuss from the śāstra.

When Kṛṣṇa wanted to understand Himself, He took the tendency of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And that is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitam

Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa, but He has accepted the propensities of Rādhārāṇī.

As Rādhārāṇī is always in feelings of separation of Kṛṣṇa, similarly, in the position of Rādhārāṇī, Lord Caitanya was feeling separation of Kṛṣṇa. That is the teachings of Lord Caitanya, feelings of separation, not meeting.

The process of devotional service taught by Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His disciplic succession is how to feel separation from Kṛṣṇa. That is Rādhārāṇī's position, ALWAYS feeling the separation". (Radhastami, Srimati Radharani's Appearance Day, London, August 29, 1971)

Srila Prabhupada - "Regarding your question about our relationship with Srimati Radharani, She is the internal energy, we are marginal energy. Marginal means sometimes internal, sometimes external.

When we are under the internal energy, that is our normal life, and when we are under the external energy, that is our abnormal life.

Therefore, we are called marginal energy; we can be either this way or that way. But being qualitatively one with the purusa, our tendency is to remain in the internal energy. Being in the external energy is our artificial attempt. (Letter to Lilavati, Allston, Mass 25 April, 1969)

Srila Prabhupada - "When Kṛṣṇa kills the demons outside Vṛndāvana, He is not original Kṛṣṇa; He is Vāsudeva. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). When Kṛṣṇa is acting universally, that is Vāsudeva. Original Kṛṣṇa is ALWAYS in Vṛndāvana.

Jayatīrtha - "If the original Kṛṣṇa is always in Vṛndāvana, then why do the gopīs and Rādhārāṇī feel separation from Him?"

Srila Prabhupada - "That is here, in this material world. In the spiritual world Kṛṣṇa does not leave.

Jayatīrtha - "Oh".

Srila Prabhupāda - "And even in the material world, Kṛṣṇa superficially has gone to Mathurā, but He has captured the heart of the gopīs. So He is not leaving. Gopīs are enjoying Kṛṣṇa by separation. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's feeling, how He is appreciating Kṛṣṇa by separation. (Morning Walk, July 17, 1975, San Francisco)

Guest - "What category is Radharani in?

Srila Prabhupada - "She is śakti, Cit-śakti. Bhagavān ke pleasure potency. Śakti, śakti-tattva, Śaktimān. Bhagavān is Śaktimān, and that śakti is Rādhārāṇī or Sītā or Lakṣmī. Durgā is also śakti, another feature of Rādhārāṇī".

Guest - "Śakti in original form is Rādhā?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes. Parāsya śaktih..., parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (CC Madhya 13.65, purport). Originally cit-śakti. That cit-śakti is expanding. Just like we are..., rāmādi mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan (Bs. 5.39). Kalā means part and parcel. So we are also part and parcel, but we are very small part and parcel. But rāmādi mūrti, they are bigger part and parcel.

Just like if you throw one brick on the floor, so there will be so many small particles, big particles, this particle, that. They are all part and parcel of the brick, but one part very small atomic part, and one big part, this part, this part, then this part, then this part.

So all, Kṛṣṇa is the origin, and everyone is part and parcel. Some of them are bigger and some of them are smaller. So Viṣṇu-tattva is almost like Kṛṣṇa".

Guest - "Like Kṛṣṇa".

Srila Prabhupāda - "Others, they are very small. So according to the size, or according to the power..."

Guest - "Power".

Srila Prabhupāda - "The part and parcel exercises his position. Some of them are Viṣṇu-tattva, some of them are Jīva-tattva, some of them are Śakti-tattva and some of them para-tattva. Like that".

Guest - "Para-tattva?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Para-tattva is Bhagavān. Para-tattva means Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu. These are all para-tattva. Bhagavān avatāra, rāmā, nṛsiṁha, varāha, kūrma, vāmana, daśāvatāra, all avatāra.

Or śakti-tattva, material energy, aparā-tattva, matter.

Similarly cit-tattva, spiritual world. The living entities, although they are in the material world, they belong to the spiritual world.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, apareyam. This material energy is inferior. Itas viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. Beyond this material world is another, superior energy that includes jīva-bhūta and jiva-tattva". (Room Conversation, November 11, 1971, New Delhi)

This is the full potential of Lord Krsna's unique qualities.

This is why Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes because He is EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING is in Him.

Krsna is fully satisfied in Himself, that includes enjoying through all of His expansions that are His parts and parcels.

It is not that Krsna is just in our hearts, the fact is all Visnu-tattva expansions and jiva souls are part and parcel of Krsna.

In other words, Krsna is NEVER alone, just like the Sun-disc is never alone due to the presence of the surrounding Sun-rays.

Krsna is compared to the Sun-disc and the different types of living entities are compared to the Sun-rays.

The Sun-disc and the Sun-rays cannot exist without each other, similarly Krsna cannot exist without His parts and parcels (the living entities) that always surround Him.

In this way, Krsna IS the Supreme Lord and simultaneously one with all that there is, yet different and independent from all of His parts and parcels too.

Krsna's eternal consort Srimati Rādhārāṇī is the manifestation of His pleasure potency who Krsna created as a direct expansion of Himself just so He could experience the love of a women.

So who is Srimati Radharani?

Srila Prabhupada - "When Krsna wants to be attracted by a woman, He has to create such a woman from His own energy. That woman is Rādhārāṇī". (Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 31 text 38 Purport)

Kṛṣṇa cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Himself, therefore Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are identical.

Srila Prabhupada - "Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are "one and the same", but They have assumed two bodies. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of love.

The two transcendentalists Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are a puzzle to materialists. The description of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa from the diary of Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī is a condensed explanation, but one needs great spiritual insight to understand the mystery of these two personalities.

One is enjoying in two.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the potent factor, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the internal potency. According to Vedānta philosophy, there is no difference between the potent and the potency; they are identical.

We cannot differentiate between one and the other, any more than we can separate fire from heat. Everything in the Absolute is inconceivable in relative existence.

Therefore in relative cognizance it is very difficult to assimilate this truth of the oneness between the potent and the potency.

The philosophy of inconceivable oneness and difference propounded by Lord Caitanya is the only source of understanding for such intricacies of transcendence.

In fact, Rādhārāṇī is the internal potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and She eternally intensifies the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Impersonalists cannot understand this without the help of a mahā-bhāgavata devotee.

The very name “Rādhā” suggests that Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is eternally the topmost mistress of the comforts of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As such, She is the medium transmitting the living entities’ service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees in Vṛndāvana therefore seek the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in order to be recognized as loving servitors of Śrī Kṛṣṇa". (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.56, Translation and Purport)

Guest - "Srila Prabhupāda, are we expansions of Rādhā?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No. Rādhā is the internal potency, we are marginal potency. Of course, originally, in that sense, everything is Kṛṣṇa's expansion. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. But even there are expansions... That is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches acintya bhedābheda. We are always simultaneously one and different. Always. We should remember. We are expansion of Kṛṣṇa, we are expansion of Rādhā also because Rādhā is also expansion of Kṛṣṇa. But still, different.

That is our philosophy - "One and different simultaneously - Acintya bhedābheda".

Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy is "inconceivable simultaneously one and different". This is explained in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. The energies and the energetic is the same. Śakti-śaktimator abheda.

Just like sun and the sunshine, they are the same. There is no difference. But the molecules of the sunshine particles, that is not equal to the sun.

These truths we shall always remember. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvāḥ. Therefore these are inconceivable. We are simultaneously one with Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, and at the same time different". (Lecture on BG 4.5 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968)

All the devotees of Krsna must win the attention of Radharani to get Krsna's attention, as all service to Krsna only reaches Krsna by going through Her.

Krsna divided Himself into "two" so He could experience loving exchanges.

For even Krsna, love can NEVER exist when there is just "one", there MUST be His expansions like Srimati Radharani and His Visnu-tattva and jiva-tattva expansions.

To experience loving exchanges and emotions with a women, Krsna divided Himself into two, Srimati Radharani and Krsna.

Krsna wanted to experience loving emotions and affection with a women, this is why He divided Himself into "two" - Radha and Krsna, just so He could experience those loving exchanges.

Madhudviṣa Swami - "Śrīla Prabhupāda, you spoke of inferior energy and superior energy. Those are two general categories. Are there other categories of energies besides that, and specifically how could we understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Is She?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "She is spiritual energy".

Madhudviṣa Swami - "But is She jīva-bhūta or?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No, no, no. She is Kṛṣṇa. If everything is Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī is not Kṛṣṇa, what is that? Kṛṣṇa. He (She) is Kṛṣṇa. She is the Kṛṣṇa's pleasure potency".

Madhudviṣa Swami - "She is not jīva?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No, no, no. She is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa divided Himself into His energy and Himself. That energy, original spiritual energy, is Rādhārāṇī. That is stated by Jīva Gosvāmī. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmāt. When Kṛṣṇa wants pleasure, He cannot accept the inferior energy.

The same superior energy, Kṛṣṇa, is divided into two. That is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. And again, when they unite, that is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Divided, they are Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and united, Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Anya means another.

So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. And when they are divided into two, that is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. This is the purport. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau, śrī-caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam [Cc. Ādi 1.5].

These are the conclusion. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa combination. But He is playing the part of Rādhārāṇī to understand Kṛṣṇa.

This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Rādhārāṇī is the chief gopī and all Her young girl friends, they are also gopīs. (Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 -- Melbourne, June 26, 1974)

"Rādhikā is the transformation of Kṛṣṇa’s love. She is His internal energy called hlādinī". (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.59, Translation)

Srila Prabhupada - "Srimati Radharani's mind, senses and body are steeped in love for Kṛṣṇa. She is Kṛṣṇa’s own energy, and She helps Him in His pastimes.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is as fully spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have material bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses.

She is all-spiritual, and both Her body and Her mind are of the same spiritual embodiment.

Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses fully shine in love of Kṛṣṇa.

She is the personified hlādinī-śakti (the pleasure-giving energy of the Lord’s internal potency), and therefore She is the only source of enjoyment for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are identical.

The sandhinī portion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the same internal potency, in the hlādinī feature, has presented Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the attraction for the all-attractive.

No one can match Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa". (Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 4.71, Translation and Purport)

"Just as the fountainhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all incarnations, so Śrī Rādhā is the cause of all these consorts". (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.76, Translation)

"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". (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.82, Translation)

"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". (Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 4.83, Translation)

Srila Prabhupada - "When Krsna wants to be attracted by a woman, He has to create such a woman from His own energy. That woman is Rādhārāṇī.

It is explained by the Gosvāmīs that Rādhārāṇī is the manifestation of the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

When the Supreme Lord wants to derive transcendental pleasure, He has to create a woman from His internal potency and that women is Srimati Radharani" (Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 31 text 38, Purport)

Krsna divided Himself into "two" just so He could experience loving exchanges with a women and gave Her the name Srimati Radharani.

The lesson here is love can only exist when there are "two" involved in a loving relationship of exchanges.

Srila Prabhupada - ''We have got the propensity to love. Love means somebody else. Love cannot be "one" or love cannot be executed only one, there must be another one. I love somebody; somebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction, then love''. (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 2 text 6, Delhi, November 12, 1973)

Srila Prabhupāda – ''Love means two persons, then there is exchange, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these things must be there". (August 9, 1976, Tehran)

Krsna is ALWAYS complete in Himself and is NEVER alone because within Krsna is EVERYTHING and everything is within Him, therefore Krsna becomes two or more personalities at anytime likes.

For example, Krsna is always enjoying in Vrindavana with His consort Srimati Radharani, who Krsna created by dividing Himself into two, just so He could experience loving exchanges with a women.

In this way Krsna is "FULLY COMPLETE" as Himself and enjoying simultaneously AS His unlimited expansions who are all within Him.

In other words, as said above, just like the sun-disc is ONLY fully complete surrounded by the Sun-rays (sunshine), similarly Krsna's full potential of loving expressions is only naturally fully complete, when surrounded by His devotees headed by Srimati Radharani.

This is what it means when it is said Krsna is fully complete within Himself and is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes.

All living entities are all Sakti-tattva (energies of Krsna) however, there are different categories.

Although basically there are only two types of living entities as Prabhupada explains.

Srila Prabhupada – “In the Padma Purana, wherein it is said that there are two kinds of spiritual entities; one is called the jiva (jiva-tattva), and the other is called the Supreme Lord (Visnu-tattva)”. (87th Chapter of Krsna Book, Prayers by the Personified Vedas)

Radharani is in the category of Sakti-Visnu-tattva, she is no different than Krsna created by Krsna to experience loving exchanges and emotions with a women as explained above.

In vaniquotes it is explained that Radharani represents the internal energy or potency and she is in the category called Sakti-Visnu-tattva (Krsna's direct expansions).

And when Krsna and Radharani combine in the one Body then that is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Balarama is Krsna's first expansion, and from Balarama all other Visnu-tattvas expand from.

From this we understand that Krsna as His original form never leaves Vṛndāvana.

When Krsna comes to Earth to perform His pastimes, His original form never leaves Vṛndāvana.

This means all pastimes in the material creation are performed by Krsna’s Visnu-tattva expansion playing that role of Krsna.

The original Krsna never kills demons only His Visnu-tattva expansion in the material creation kills demons.

In the original Vrindavana in the Spiritual world there are no demons.

Demons ONLY exist in the material world's facsimile of Vrindavana.

From your servant Gauragopala Dasa ACBSP 

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