Sri Radha-kunda’s Appearance Day

Giriraj Swami: As Dharma Prabhu mentioned, today is the auspicious day of the appearance of Sri Radha-kunda. Of course this is a very special topic and quite an advanced one, but because it is a special day we will speak about it a little. I will read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā, Chapter Eighteen, “Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana.”

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

The following summary of the eighteenth chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. In the village of Āriṭ-grāma, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu discovered the transcendental lakes known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa. He then saw the Deity Harideva at Govardhana Village. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had no desire to climb Govardhana Hill because the hill is worshiped as Kṛṣṇa. The Gopāla Deity could understand the mind of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; therefore on the plea of being attacked by Muslims, Gopāla transferred Himself to the village of Gāṅṭhuli-grāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then went to Gāṅṭhuli-grāma to see Lord Gopāla. Some years later, Lord Gopāla also went to Mathurā, to the house of Viṭhṭhaleśvara, and stayed there for one month just to give an audience to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

TEXT 1

vṛndāvane sthira-carān

nandayan svāvalokanaiḥ

ātmānaṁ ca tad-ālokād

gaurāṅgaḥ parito ‘bhramat

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu traveled all over Vṛndāvana and pleased all living entities, moving and nonmoving, with His glances. The Lord took much personal pleasure in seeing everyone. In this way Lord Gaurāṅga traveled in Vṛndāvana.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya gauracandra jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Gauracandra! All glories to Nityānanda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura!

TEXT 3

ei-mata mahāprabhu nācite

‘āriṭ’-grāme āsi’ ‘bāhya’ haila ācambite

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced in ecstasy, but when He arrived at Āriṭ-grāma, His sense perception was awakened.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Āriṭ-grāma is also called Ariṣṭa-grāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu understood that in that village Ariṣṭāsura had been killed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. While there, He inquired about Rādhā-kuṇḍa, but no one could tell Him where it was. The brāhmaṇa accompanying Him could also not ascertain its whereabouts. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could then understand that the holy places known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were at that time lost to everyone’s vision. He therefore discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, which were two reservoirs of water in two paddy fields. Although there was very little water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was omniscient and could understand that formerly these two ponds were called Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa. In this way Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were discovered.

TEXT 4

āriṭe rādhā-kuṇḍa-vārtā puche loka-sthāne

keha nāhi kahe, saṅgera brāhmaṇa nā jāne

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the local people, “Where is Rādhā-kuṇḍa?” No one could inform Him, and the brāhmaṇa accompanying Him did not know either.

TEXT 5

tīrtha ‘lupta’ jāni’ prabhu sarvajña bhagavān

dui dhānya-kṣetre alpa-jale kailā snāna

The Lord then understood that the holy place called Rādhā-kuṇḍa was no longer visible. However, being the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead, He discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa in two paddy fields. There was only a little water, but He took His bath there.

TEXT 6

dekhi’ saba grāmya-lokera vismaya haila mana

preme prabhu kare rādhā-kuṇḍera stavana

TRANSLATION

When the people of the village saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taking His bath in those two ponds in the middle of the paddy fields, they were very much astonished. The Lord then offered His prayers to Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa.

TEXT 7

saba gopī haite rādhā kṛṣṇera preyasī

taiche rādhā-kuṇḍa priya ‘priyāra sarasī’

TRANSLATION

“Of all the gopīs, Rādhārāṇī is the dearmost. Similarly, the lake known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa is very dear to the Lord because it is very dear to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

TEXT 8

yathā rādhā priyā viṣṇos

tasyāḥ kuṇḍaṁ priyaṁ tathā

sarva-gopīṣu saivaikā

viṣṇor atyanta-vallabhā

TRANSLATION

‘Just as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is most dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, so Her lake, known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa, is also very dear to Him. Of all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is certainly the most beloved.’

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This is a verse from the Padma Purāṇa.

TEXT 9

yei kuṇḍe nitya kṛṣṇa rādhikāra saṅge

jale jala-keli kare, tīre rāsa-raṅge

TRANSLATION

“In that lake, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī used to sport daily in the water and have a rāsa dance on the bank.”

TEXT 10

sei kuṇḍe yei eka-bāra kare snāna

tāṅre rādhā-sama ‘prema’ kṛṣṇa kare dāna

TRANSLATION

“Indeed, Lord Kṛṣṇa gives ecstatic love like that of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to whoever bathes in that lake even once in his life.”

TEXT 11

kuṇḍera ‘mādhurī’ — yena rādhāra ‘madhurimā’

kuṇḍera ‘mahimā’ — yena rādhāra ‘mahimā’

TRANSLATON

“The attraction of Rādhā-kuṇḍa is as sweet as that of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Similarly, the glories of the kuṇḍa [lake] are as glorious as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s.”

TEXT 12

śrī-rādheva hares tadīya-sarasī preṣṭhādbhutaiḥ svair guṇair

yasyāṁ śrī-yuta-mādhavendur aniśaṁ prītyā tayā krīḍati

premāsmin bata rādhikeva labhate yasyāṁ sakṛt snāna-kṛt

tasyā vai mahimā tathā madhurimā kenāstu varṇyaḥ kṣitau

TRANSLATION

‘Because of its wonderful transcendental qualities, Rādhā-kuṇḍa is as dear to Kṛṣṇa as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. It was in that lake that the all-opulent Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed His pastimes with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī with great pleasure and transcendental bliss. Whoever bathes just once in Rādhā-kuṇḍa attains Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s loving attraction for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Who within this world can describe the glories and sweetness of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa?’

Purport by Srila Prabhupada

This verse is found in the Govinda-līlāmṛta (7.102).

TEXT 13

ei-mata stuti kare premāviṣṭa hañā

tīre nṛtya kare kuṇḍa-līlā saṅariyā

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus offered prayers to Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Overwhelmed by ecstatic love, He danced on the bank, remembering the pastimes Lord Kṛṣṇa performed on the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa.

TEXT 14

kuṇḍera mṛttikā lañā tilaka karila

bhaṭṭācārya-dvārā mṛttikā saṅge kari’ laila

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then marked His body with tilaka made from the mud of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, and with the help of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, He collected some of the mud and took it with Him.

TEXT 15

tabe cali’ āilā prabhu ‘sumanaḥ-sarovara’

tāhāṅ ‘govardhana’ dekhi’ ha-ilā vihvala

TRANSLATION

From Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Sumanas Lake. When He saw Govardhana Hill from there, He was overwhelmed with joy.

COMMENT

This passage makes mention of many terms that have great significance. First is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Who is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? According to revealed scriptures, He is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But he appeared about five hundred years ago, not in His original form as Krishna, but in a disguised form as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as a devotee of Krishna. Why? Krishna appeared five thousand years ago and instructed everyone, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, to give up all varieties of religiousness and just surrender to Him. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru; He instructed everyone to always think of Krishna, become His devotees, offer obeisances to Krishna and worship Him. But still the question remained, how to surrender to Krishna; how to be a devotee of Krishna; how to think of Krishna; how to worship Krishna. So Krishna decided to come again but not in His original form as Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in the guise of a devotee of Krishna so that He could show us how to be devotees of Krishna. So that is the secret of the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the most munificent incarnation, even more merciful than Krishna Himself. He is glorified in a verse by Srila Rupa Gosvami, who is a great acharya.

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

It says, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krishna Chaitanya who is Krishna Himself. He is the most munificent incarnation because He is giving freely what no other incarnation ever gave and that is kṛṣṇa-prema, pure love for Krishna.” And how did Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu distribute kṛṣṇa-prema? Mainly through the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

When one chants the holy names of Krishna, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, all the dirty things within the heart become cleansed, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. And what are the dirty things in the heart? They are our misconceptions beginning with the false identification with the body. We think I am this body and everything in relation to this body is mine; my house, my car, my husband, my wife, my children, so many things, I and mine. And we think that we are the enjoyers, we are the controllers, we are the proprietors, like Krishna. Actually, Krishna is the Supreme enjoyer, the Supreme controller, and the Supreme proprietor, and when we recognize Krishna’s position, we become peaceful. But as long as we are trying to take Krishna’s position, knowingly or unknowingly, we are disturbed. And all of us are disturbed. We are always disturbed. We are disturbed by lusty desires, we are disturbed by anger, we are disturbed by greed, we are disturbed by fear, we are disturbed by anxiety, we are disturbed by lamentation. We are always disturbed.

So the first benefit of chanting the holy name is ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. All the dust that has accumulated on the mirror of the mind is cleansed. Srila Prabhupada describes the effects of chanting with reference to a verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. That the first installment of the benefits of chanting is brahma-bhūtaḥ. One realizes he is not the body but he is the soul within the body, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā, and then he becomes joyful. The reason we are so morose, so anxious, so fearful, is that we identify with the body. But when we realize we are not the body but we are the soul within the body, and the soul cannot be cut by any weapon, it cannot be drowned by any flood, it cannot be withered by wind, it cannot be burned by fire, the soul is beyond being affected by anything material. It is eternal and everlasting. So when we realize we are not the body naturally, we feel joyful, we feel relieved. It is just as if someone was arrested and put in prison and told, “Now we are going to punish you, we are going to torture you and ultimately we are going to kill you.” And then, if someone told you, “Actually, we have decided to commute the sentence, we are not going to torture you, we are not going to punish you, we are not going to kill you,” you would feel very happy. So within this body, when we identify with the body, we imagine that we are going to suffer in so many ways, we are going to be punished in so many ways and ultimately die. And when we realize factually that we are not the body, then we are joyful, we are relieved. “Oh, I can’t suffer I the soul, I am beyond any material misery, nothing material can touch me. I am not going to die, I am eternal.” So brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śhochati na kāṅkṣhati.

In the material concept of life, we are always hankering and lamenting. We are hankering for what we want and don’t have, and we are lamenting for what we had and then lost. And practically our whole day and night is filled with hankering and lamenting, just hankering and lamenting, which means really, we are always in distress. We are never peaceful or satisfied because we are always hankering for something that we don’t have or lamenting for something that we lost. But by chanting Hare Krishna, by realizing we are not the body and we don’t need anything material to survive or to be happy, then we become joyful, prasannātmā, and free from this misery of always hankering and lamenting. Then, samaḥ sarveṣhu bhūteṣhu, when one sees all living entities equally, the same, because the soul within everybody is the same. Instead of identifying with the body we identify with the soul, and instead of seeing differences based on the body, “I am white, you are black, I am Hindu, you are Christian, I am man, you are a woman, we see the unity of all souls; that all souls are the same. They are pure spiritual beings part and parcel of Krishna. We are all children of Krishna.”

In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says that He places the souls within material nature and therefore He is the seed-giving father, and material nature is the mother for the conditioned soul. So we are all children of Krishna. We have the same father and we have the same mother, so we are all brothers and sisters, we are all part of the same family. But in ignorance, when we identify with the body we distinguish. These are my family members and these are outsiders. That was Arjuna’s problem on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Krishna wanted him to fight but he didn’t want to fight because he was seeing, sva-janaṁ, “These are my people, how can I fight against my people?” But when one has a broader conception by chanting the holy name and purification, one sees that everyone is part of one’s family, and one doesn’t want to fight with anyone or do harm or anyone, kill anyone. And that extends to the living entities in other species of life besides human, that extends to the animals. We don’t want to kill animals, eat their flesh just for our gratification; kill our brothers or sisters. We can do it. We are more intelligent, we are more powerful but that doesn’t mean that the Supreme father, Krishna, will be pleased.

Suppose your father has many children and one or two of them is not very capable, maybe retarded in some way or deformed in some way. So if you say to the father, “This other brother of ours or sister of ours is pretty useless, can’t we just kill the thing and eat it? If we eat it at least it will serve some useful purpose.” Will the father agree? No, of course not. The father loves all the children no matter how capable or incapable they may be. So, samaḥ sarveṣhu bhūteṣhu, when we realize that we are not this body and we see that the real identity of the living entities is the soul within the body, then we see everyone on the same platform. And mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām, then one can really engage in bhakti, in devotional service to Krishna, when one is no longer on the material platform, identifying with the material body.

So these are the first installments of chanting Hare Krishna, and once we engage in real devotional service, then we gradually advance to the highest perfection of love for Krishna. That is what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to give, kṛṣṇa-prema. But transcendentally even within the category of kṛṣṇa-prema, the most exalted pure love of Godhead, there are degrees or variations. One can love Krishna in different relationships, and they are all absolute. They are all on the spiritual platform and whatever your relationship with Krishna is, you will be completely satisfied in your relationship. You won’t want to change your position for any other position because you will be completely satisfied. So from one point of view, once one develops kṛṣṇa-prema or pure love for Krishna, one has reached the highest perfection, and one is fully satisfied. But still learned scholars, transcendental scholars, have analyzed from a neutral perspective that even within love for Krishna, there are different degrees of development.

So the first is just the beginning it is called śānta-rasa. In śānta-rasa one has a passive appreciation for the greatness of God but he does not engage in active service. Above, we use the term above, but above śānta-rasa is dāsya-rasa which includes the sense of appreciation but adds to it, the sense of servitude. One actually renders service to Krishna directly. And in Vrindavan, His prominent servants are Patraka and Raktaka. They are His servants in the household of Nanda and Yasoda. So they help Him get dressed in the morning and they take care of Him in different ways. Then higher than dāsya-rasa is sākhya-rasa, the relationship of friendship. That includes appreciation, it includes service, but beyond service it includes a sense of intimacy, that Krishna is my friend. Friendship is something that takes place between equals. So this is something very special about Vrindavan. There are also different sections in the kingdom of God and among these sections Vrindavan is the highest. Because in Vrindavan you can have the most intimate relationship with God and experience the greatest revelation of God’s sweetness.

So in order to have a friendship as an equal with Krishna, one has to lose the consciousness that He is the Supreme Lord. Because if one was conscious that Krishna is the Supreme Lord, he would worship Him with awe and reverence. Like Arjuna, he also had a friendly relationship with Krishna, but when he saw Krishna’s universal form, virāṭ-rūpa, he began to tremble and his hair stood on end and he felt that This is Krishna, He is the Supreme Godhead and I have treated Him just like a friend. We would eat together, we would lie down together, and I would address Him in very familiar terms as a friend. And now I am seeing He is the Supreme Godhead. I have been offensive to Him by treating Him like a friend. But actually, Krishna likes to enjoy these intimate relationships. And although Krishna showed Arjuna the universal form and Arjuna was struck by Krishna’s supreme opulence, in the end he requested Krishna please. . . Well first he asked to see Krishna’s four armed form as Vishnu and finally he asked Krishna to return to His original two-handed form. And by Krishna’s mercy, because Krishna also wanted to enjoy that friendly relationship with Arjuna, Krishna doesn’t always want to be worshiped in awe and reverence, so by His mercy He allowed Arjuna to be covered by yoga-māyā, a special energy of Krishna, that idea that Krishna’s the Supreme Lord became less prominent. It faded away into the background and they could be friends again. Then higher than sākhya-rasa is vātsalya-rasa, the parental relationship like Mother Yasoda and Krishna, Nanda and Krishna, parents of Krishna.

Everyone worships God with awe and reverence, with great prayers, opulent paraphernalia. And Prabhupada said sometimes Krishna becomes disgusted. “Well they are always worshipping Me with all these prayers and fancy paraphernalia, I want someone to chastise Me. No one ever chastises Me. I want someone to chastise Me.” So He allows some devotees, not just any devotee only the most pure devotee like Mother Yasoda to become His mother; to play the role as of His mother. Of course He is unborn, He is eternal, He has no mother as such, but she plays the part of His mother and Krishna, by yoga-māyā, Mother Yasoda forgets that Krishna is God and Krishna also forgets that He is God. So when Mother Yasoda lifts up the stick to punish Krishna and He is trembling in fear like we sing in the Dāmodarāṣṭakam, and Krishna’s not pretending, He is not making a show, but by yoga-māyā He also forgets that He is God and He actually is afraid that, “My mother is going to punish Me; what will happen to Me?” But when required, also for His devotees, everything Krishna does is for the sake of His devotees, when required to save His devotees, yoga-māyā, arranges that Krishna will remember that He is God. If there is a forest fire and the cowherd boys were all afraid, we are going to be devoured by the forest fire, so they prayed to Krishna and Krishna said, “All right, don’t worry,” and He ate the forest fire, He swallowed the forest fire.

So at such times yoga-māyā, knowing the purpose of Krishna, ultimate purpose to please His devotees, she allows Him to remember that He is God, so that He can do things like swallow the forest fire at Govardhana Hill. And then the highest of all is mādhurya-rasa, conjugal love, and within mādhurya-rasa, the best devotee is Srimati Radharani. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to give kṛṣṇa-prema, He specifically came to give this prema, gopī-prema, following in the wake of Srimati Radharani and Her associates and Her maidservants. And to help us to develop that particular prema, He went to Vrindavan and He discovered Radha-kunda, offered prayers to Radha-kunda, and marked His body with tilak from the mud of Radha-kunda and gave us that facility to take bath in Radha-kunda or even just by remembering Radha-kunda and taking a drop of water from Radha-kunda to develop that most exalted love for Krishna following in the wake of Srimati Radharani and Her associates. And Theirs is the most exalted because it is the most selfless. They give everything to Krishna without any personal consideration.

So we shouldn’t be in that achiever’s mode, “Oh, I want to be the best, I want to be number one.” I was first in my class in school and I was the first to be picked for this job that I got over so many candidates, so I want to be the best in the spiritual world too. I am going to be like I am going to be a gopī, I’m going to be with Radharani. That is not how you come to that position. You come to that position by becoming humble, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant; ready to give everything to Krishna without reservation and everything to facilitate the service of Krishna, the pleasure of Krishna, which means also being the servant of the other devotees of Krishna. So when you develop that mood of selfless service, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, being the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna; the maintainer of the gopīs. That is what makes you so exalted, not by trying to be a big achiever and get ahead of everyone else. But in spiritual life the more you become humble the more you think of yourself as the servant of the servant of the servant, the more you become pleasing to Krishna. And that is what makes one exalted; one’s desire to please Krishna, and one’s practical activities to serve Krishna. And that is achieved by serving His devotees and by preaching His message.

Srila Prabhupada said that the way to develop love for Krishna like that of the gopīs, is to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. So one might think initially, this is an odd juxtaposition that by spreading Krishna consciousness here I become a gopī there. How are the two connected? They are connected because the mood of the gopīs is to give Krishna the greatest pleasure, to make Krishna happy at any cost. And in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says that there is no service more dear to Him than the service of preaching the message of Krishna consciousness. So if we want to be in the mood of the gopīs, to give Krishna the greatest happiness at any cost, then we should preach His message, because that that is what actually pleases Him the most in the material world. And the gopīs also forsook their families, their reputations, everything, to please Krishna. And the preacher also, he has to face a lot of difficulties - insults, humiliation, sometimes even personal injury, sometimes even death. But he does it for the sake of pleasing Krishna and because Krishna is, in fact, pleased with him, he becomes the dear most servant to Krishna here and in the spiritual world.

So Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is very merciful. He has given us the holy name and by His own example, He showed us how to develop the inner moods of Krishna consciousness, the special mood of love for Krishna, following the residents of Vrindavan. It is a very deep topic. He has given His mercy externally through the saṅkīrtana movement and internally by revealing these confidential moods of service to Krishna in Vrindavan. So we should take advantage of this mercy which has been delivered to us in the western world in the last few decades by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, through ISKCON. We should take advantage of this opportunity fully and especially in the auspicious month of Kartik, when our devotional activities are enhanced.

So thank you for joining us tonight and listening so patiently and attentively. And now I will stay on if any of you have questions. I am not quite sure what comes now but I think we will move along with the program and if any of you have questions for me you can ask me, or there many experienced devotees who could probably answer your questions as well. Thank you very much.

Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji ki jaya!

Sri Radha-kunda ki jaya!

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura Premanande Hari Hari bol!