Friday, June 24, 2011
Activities performed by sakhis
For the service of Radha-Krsna are described in the Ujjvala-nilamani as follows: "
(1) Glorify the transcendental love and qualities of the Hero (Krsna) to the Heroine (Radhika) and vice versa.
(2) Increase the attachment of one for the other.
(3) Arrange the meeting at the previously-appointed time.
(4) Engage the other sakhis in service.
(5) Joke or ridicule.
(6) Solace one lover or the other.
(7) Dress the Heroine and Hero.
(8) Expertly help to fulfill their inner desires.
(9) Hiding the Heroine's faults.
(10) Cheat the Material Spouses in order to meet with Krsna the Spiritual Spouse.
(11) Give Them instructions.
(12) Bring them together at the proper time.
(13) Offer service with camara etc.
(14) Chastise Hero or Heroine according to time and situation.
(15) Relay messages.
(16) Protect the life of the Heroine."
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Radha and Candravali
One of the ways in which Radhika pleases Krsna is by entering into the loving stage called maan, Her sulky mood of affectionate jealous anger towards Him. Sometimes Her maan has no external cause, and sometimes it has a cause. The vipaksa (rival) gopis headed by Candravali criticize Radharani by saying, “She doesn’t feel ashamed or shy to do maan? I don’t want to see Her face.” On the other hand, Radhika criticizes Candravali, “Candravali knows nothing about pleasing a beloved. She doesn’t know how to do maan.” Candravali’s affection for Krsna is grta-sneha, very smooth. Radhika’s affection is madhu-sneha, like madhu, honey, which is smooth and also sweet. Candravali’s affection is compared with ghee, which needs sugar to become sweet, but madhu is sweet on its own.
Jai Radha Madhav Jai Kunj Bihari Jai Gopi Jan Walabh
Purport to Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
New York, July 20, 1971
710720PU.NY
Prabhupāda: So you know this song Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava?
Devotees: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: So you can follow me?
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol! (Śrīla Prabhupāda leads singing of Jaya
Rādhā-Mādhava)
Prabhupāda: So this is the—sit down—original nature of Kṛṣṇa, original nature of Kṛṣṇa. He is Rādhā-Mādhava. He is the lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And kuñja-vihārī, always enjoying the company of the gopīs within the bushes of Vrdavana forest. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. So He’s not only lover of Rādhārāṇī, but braja-jana- vallabha. The whole residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Kṛṣṇa is God, or not; neither they are very much harassed, that “I shall love Kṛṣṇa if He is God.” “He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn’t matter, but we love God, Kṛṣṇa.” That’s all. That is called unnalloyed love. “If Kṛṣṇa is God, then I shall love Him”—this is conditional love. This is not pure love. Kṛṣṇa may be God or whatever He may be, but by His wonderful acts, the Vrajavāsī, they are thinking, “Oh Kṛṣṇa, He is very wonderful child, maybe some demigod. Maybe some demigod.” Because people are generally under impression that the demigods are all-powerful. They’re powerful within this material world. But they do not know that Kṛṣṇa is above all of them. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda- vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]. The highest demigod, Brahmā, is giving his opinion, “The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.”
So as the residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa without any condition, similarly, Kṛṣṇa also loves them without any condition. Vraja-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī. When the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were in danger because they stopped Indra-yajña and Indra became very angry, and he sent very great, powerful cloud and rained over Vṛndāvana incessantly for seven days, so when the inhabitants became very much disturbed, Kṛṣṇa, although He was only seven years old boy, He saved them by lifting the Govardhana Hill. So He taught Indradeva, demigod, that “To stop your disturbance is the business of My little finger. That’s all.” So he came down to his knees. These things you’ll find in Kṛṣṇa book. So as the Gopī-jana-vallabha, His only business is how to protect gopī- jana. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to become one of the gopī-jana. Then Kṛṣṇa will save us from any danger, even by lifting a hill or mountain. Kṛṣṇa is so kind and so powerful. When Kṛṣṇa lifted the hill, He did not practice some yoga system. And that is God. Although He was a child, He was playing like a child, He was dealing like a child, but when there was need, He was manifesting as God. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa, not that He has to go and practice some yoga system. Then He becomes God. No. He’s not that type of God, not manufactured God. He’s God.
So gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī. And as a child, as beloved child of Yaśodā, Yaśodā-nandana,… Kṛṣṇa likes to be a child of a devotee. He wants to be chastised from His devotee father and mother. Because everyone worships Him, nobody goes to chastise Him, so He takes pleasure when a devotee chastises Him. That is Kṛṣṇa’s service. If Kṛṣṇa takes pleasure being chastised, so the responsibility is taken by a devotee: “All right, I shall become Your father and chastise You.” When Kṛṣṇa wants to fight, one of His devotees becomes Hiraṇyakaśipu and fights with Him. So all activities of Kṛṣṇa is with His devotees. He is… Therefore, to become associate of Kṛṣṇa, to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness… Yaśodā- nandana vraja-jana-vallabha, vraja-jana-rañjana. His only business is how to satisfy… As braja-jana’s business is how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, similarly, Kṛṣṇa’s business is how to satisfy braja-jana. This is reciprocation of love. Yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is wandering on the banks of Yamunā to please the gopīs, the cowherd boys, the birds, beasts, calves. They are not ordinary birds, beasts, calves or men. They are on the top of self-realization. Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ. After many, many lives they got that position, to play with Kṛṣṇa.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that everyone can go to Kṛṣṇaloka and become His associate, as a friend or so many other things, as a servant, as father, as mother. And Kṛṣṇa is agreeable to any one of these propositions. These things are described very nicely in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. So Kṛṣṇa does not go even a step from Vṛndāvana. The original Kṛṣṇa is Vṛndāvana. That is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā,
cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambrahma-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ (tam ahaṁ bhajāmi) [Bs. 5.29]
Brahmā is accepting the Supreme Personality of Govinda, Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam: “He is engaged in playing flute.”
(veṇuṁ kvaṇantam) aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.30]
So take advantage of these books, this knowledge, and this prasādam, this chanting, and be happy and go to Kṛṣṇa. So nice thing. All right. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
New York, July 20, 1971
710720PU.NY
Prabhupāda: So you know this song Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava?
Devotees: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: So you can follow me?
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol! (Śrīla Prabhupāda leads singing of Jaya
Rādhā-Mādhava)
Prabhupāda: So this is the—sit down—original nature of Kṛṣṇa, original nature of Kṛṣṇa. He is Rādhā-Mādhava. He is the lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And kuñja-vihārī, always enjoying the company of the gopīs within the bushes of Vrdavana forest. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. So He’s not only lover of Rādhārāṇī, but braja-jana- vallabha. The whole residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Kṛṣṇa is God, or not; neither they are very much harassed, that “I shall love Kṛṣṇa if He is God.” “He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn’t matter, but we love God, Kṛṣṇa.” That’s all. That is called unnalloyed love. “If Kṛṣṇa is God, then I shall love Him”—this is conditional love. This is not pure love. Kṛṣṇa may be God or whatever He may be, but by His wonderful acts, the Vrajavāsī, they are thinking, “Oh Kṛṣṇa, He is very wonderful child, maybe some demigod. Maybe some demigod.” Because people are generally under impression that the demigods are all-powerful. They’re powerful within this material world. But they do not know that Kṛṣṇa is above all of them. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda- vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]. The highest demigod, Brahmā, is giving his opinion, “The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.”
So as the residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa without any condition, similarly, Kṛṣṇa also loves them without any condition. Vraja-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī. When the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were in danger because they stopped Indra-yajña and Indra became very angry, and he sent very great, powerful cloud and rained over Vṛndāvana incessantly for seven days, so when the inhabitants became very much disturbed, Kṛṣṇa, although He was only seven years old boy, He saved them by lifting the Govardhana Hill. So He taught Indradeva, demigod, that “To stop your disturbance is the business of My little finger. That’s all.” So he came down to his knees. These things you’ll find in Kṛṣṇa book. So as the Gopī-jana-vallabha, His only business is how to protect gopī- jana. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to become one of the gopī-jana. Then Kṛṣṇa will save us from any danger, even by lifting a hill or mountain. Kṛṣṇa is so kind and so powerful. When Kṛṣṇa lifted the hill, He did not practice some yoga system. And that is God. Although He was a child, He was playing like a child, He was dealing like a child, but when there was need, He was manifesting as God. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa, not that He has to go and practice some yoga system. Then He becomes God. No. He’s not that type of God, not manufactured God. He’s God.
So gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī. And as a child, as beloved child of Yaśodā, Yaśodā-nandana,… Kṛṣṇa likes to be a child of a devotee. He wants to be chastised from His devotee father and mother. Because everyone worships Him, nobody goes to chastise Him, so He takes pleasure when a devotee chastises Him. That is Kṛṣṇa’s service. If Kṛṣṇa takes pleasure being chastised, so the responsibility is taken by a devotee: “All right, I shall become Your father and chastise You.” When Kṛṣṇa wants to fight, one of His devotees becomes Hiraṇyakaśipu and fights with Him. So all activities of Kṛṣṇa is with His devotees. He is… Therefore, to become associate of Kṛṣṇa, to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness… Yaśodā- nandana vraja-jana-vallabha, vraja-jana-rañjana. His only business is how to satisfy… As braja-jana’s business is how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, similarly, Kṛṣṇa’s business is how to satisfy braja-jana. This is reciprocation of love. Yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is wandering on the banks of Yamunā to please the gopīs, the cowherd boys, the birds, beasts, calves. They are not ordinary birds, beasts, calves or men. They are on the top of self-realization. Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ. After many, many lives they got that position, to play with Kṛṣṇa.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that everyone can go to Kṛṣṇaloka and become His associate, as a friend or so many other things, as a servant, as father, as mother. And Kṛṣṇa is agreeable to any one of these propositions. These things are described very nicely in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. So Kṛṣṇa does not go even a step from Vṛndāvana. The original Kṛṣṇa is Vṛndāvana. That is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā,
cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambrahma-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ (tam ahaṁ bhajāmi) [Bs. 5.29]
Brahmā is accepting the Supreme Personality of Govinda, Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam: “He is engaged in playing flute.”
(veṇuṁ kvaṇantam) aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.30]
So take advantage of these books, this knowledge, and this prasādam, this chanting, and be happy and go to Kṛṣṇa. So nice thing. All right. (end)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Prime Duty
Lord Krishna played on His flute on a moon-lit night. The Gopis rushed forth immediately forgetting everything when they heard the flute.
- Some left their houses while milching the cow.
- Some left their houses when they were serving their husbands with food.
- Some did not take down the boiled rice from the fire.
- Some did not wait till the milk got boiled.
- Some had been giving milk to their children.
- Some were taking food.
- Some were serving the guests with food.
Krishna Acknowledges Gopis
After all the gopis sang their song of separation, Krsna appeared to them and uttered this verse:
na paraye 'ham niravadya-samyujam
sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah
ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah
samvrscya tad vaù pratiyatu sadhuna
[“I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore, please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.32.22)]
This passage speaks volumes about the love of the gopis towards Krishna and how he acknowledged it. It is the charter that gives the universally glorified sanctity to the spotless Krishna-Bhakti of the Gopis. Great devotees are not great because they call themselves so (if at all), but because the Lord calls them great!
Krishna to Gopis on Reciprocation
- So-called friends who show affection for each other only to benefit themselves are actually selfish. They have no true friendship, nor are they following the true principles of religion. Indeed, if they did not expect benefit for themselves, they would not reciprocate.
- Some people are genuinely merciful or, like parents, naturally affectionate. Such persons, who devotedly serve even those who fail to reciprocate with them, are following the true, faultless path of religion, and they are true well-wishers.
- Some people, being spiritually self-satisfied, do not reciprocate others' affection because they want to avoid entanglement in mundane dealings.
- Other persons do not reciprocate simply out of envy or arrogance.
- And still others fail to reciprocate because they are materially satisfied and thus uninterested in new material opportunities.
Expansions of Radha
“The personal associates of Radharani, the gopi damsels of Vraja, are direct expansions of Her body. These expansions of Srimati Radharani are necessary for enhancing the pleasure potency of Sri Krishna. Their transcendental exchanges of love are the superexcellent affairs of the pastimes of Vrindavana. By the expansions of Srimati Radharani’s personal body, She helps Lord Krishna taste the rasa-dance and similar other activities.” (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.81 purport)
Importance in Radha Krishna Lila
“The pastimes of Srimati Radharani and Krishna are self-effulgent. They are happiness personified, unlimited and all-powerful. Even so the spiritual humors of such pastimes are never complete without the gopis, the Lord’s personal friends. Without the gopis, these pastimes between Radha and Krishna cannot be nourished.” (Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 8.203)
Monday, June 20, 2011
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