Sri Radhastami

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So, we have gathered to observe Sri Radhastami, the most auspicious appearance day of Srimati Radharani. To begin, I will speak about Her actual appearance, which is very wonderful.

So, Radharani’s so-called parents or parents, Vrishabhanu Maharaja and Mother Kirtida strongly desired to have a child, but for whatever reasons, they were not able to conceive a child for a very, very long time. And to invoke auspiciousness and offer special prayers, they moved to a place called Raval, which was situated just next to the Yamuna.

So, early every morning, Vrishabhanu Maharaja would go and take bath in the Yamuna and offer special prayers. And one morning, after offering his prayers and taking his bath, he saw a very large, beautiful, effulgent lotus flower. It was multi-petaled, and it was said to be some thousand petaled lotus flower. And it was very effulgent, just like molten gold. And as he looked at the lotus flower, he saw that on the top was lying a small infant, and as he looked closer, he saw that it was a girl. So, he quickly picked up the child, and he considered that this was the answer to his prayers. He took the child back to his wife Kirtida, and they were beside themselves with great joy that they had a child. But as they examined the child, they saw that she was not opening her eyes, and they thought that maybe she was blind. So, they were concerned, but they had so much love for the child that they didn’t bother about it much.

So, gradually the child grew, and the fame of the child spread widely, and eventually, Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda came to know that the child had been born, and they wanted to come and visit and have the child's darshan. So, one day, they came, Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda, and also, Baby Krishna. When they came in the presence of Radharani; there are different accounts, but one account is that Mother Yasoda, who was holding Baby Krishna, set Him down and picked up Radharani. And when she did that, Krishna started to cry feeling neglected, “Why has my mother put me down and picked up this other baby?” So, when she reached down and picked up Krishna and had both Krishna and Radharani on her lap, as children often do, Krishna just reached out, and He happened to touch the lotus eyes of Srimati Radharani. And as soon as He did that, Her eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was none other than Her beloved Krishna.

So, this was the reason why Her eyes remained tightly closed. They were to open only to get darshan of Sri Krishna. So, this is how She appeared, and this was Her first pastime.

So, now I will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is related, as you will see, to Srimati Radharani. So, this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, Text Twenty-Three.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 23

jīvañ chavo bhāgavatāṅghri-reṇuṁ
na jātu martyo ‘bhilabheta yas tu
śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ
śvasañ chavo yas tu na veda gandham

TRANSLATION

The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the breathing dead body is a ghost. When a man dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to our present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost.

COMMENT

So, as we learn from the Bhagavad-gītā, the living entity or the soul in conditioned life is covered by a gross body made of earth, water, air, fire, and space, and a subtle body made of mind, intelligence, and ego. Under ordinary circumstances, when the soul leaves the body, it sheds the gross body, and it is carried by the subtle body into its next gross body. A ghost is a living entity with a subtle body but no gross body.

Now, how does one become a ghost? Of course, this is descriptive, this is not prescriptive. So, how does one become a ghost? Generally, if someone commits suicide, he becomes a ghost. Because suicide means in effect that one doesn’t want to have a gross body. Alright. So, Krishna is very kind, He fulfills your desires, you don’t have to have a gross body, you can become a ghost. But generally, people commit suicide because they have strong material desires that have not been fulfilled. So, out of frustration or disappointment, they commit suicide. So, they have gross material desires, but they don’t have a gross physical body with which to fulfill them. And therefore, they try to gain possession of someone else’s body, so they can fulfill their desires through the senses of the other person.

And the other way a person could become a ghost is if he is very attached to his home, his castle. There are so many haunted houses, castles in England and Europe. Because the person is so attached to his castle that at the time of death, he thinks of his castle. But a castle is not one of the eight million four hundred thousand species of life, so he can’t take birth as a castle, but he can take birth as a ghost in the castle. And therefore, so many castles are reputed to be haunted.

But ghosts can be dispelled by the chanting of the holy names. And Srila Prabhupada advised the devotees. Because generally, haunted houses, when they are put up on the market, they go for a concessional rate, because generally, people don’t want to buy a haunted house. So, Srila Prabhupada advised that we can buy the haunted house to get a good property, as a temple, and then we can perform kirtan, and then the ghosts will leave, or they might even get liberated from their ghostly bodies by hearing the holy names.

There was once a movie called Ghosts. I never watched movies after I became a devotee, but there was talk among the devotees that whoever wrote the screenplay for this movie called Ghosts, must have read Srila Prabhupada’s Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because it was so true to the philosophy. Anyway, as it happened, I took a flight. And on the flight, they were screening the movie Ghosts. And there is one scene. It’s just to give an idea of the frustrations of ghosts. There was one scene in which the ghost is on a railway platform, and there is a vending machine, and he wants to smoke a cigarette. He is banging the vending machine because he wants to get a cigarette, but he can’t get it. So, that’s the idea, that ghosts have strong material desires, but they don’t have a physical body with which to fulfill their desires, and so they try to gain possession of someone else’s body.

PURPORT (continued)

When a man dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to our present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost. Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. Similarly, the ghostlike nondevotees who have no respect for the pure devotees, nor for the Viṣṇu Deity in the temples, create a fearful situation for the devotees at all times. The Lord never accepts any offering by such impure ghosts.

COMMENT

In other words, He never accepts any offering from non-devotees. And there is a beautiful verse in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Srila Rupa Gosvami, which is also quoted in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, bhukti-mukti-spṛhā yāvat. Now, when someone is influenced by a ghost, he has thoughts that are not his own. One of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples was massaging Srila Prabhupada and he mentioned to Srila Prabhupada that sometimes he has crazy thoughts go through his mind that aren’t him. And he asked Srila Prabhupada, “Could this be a ghost?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, ghosts can influence our thinking.” 

So now, coming back to Rupa Gosvami’s verse, bhukti-mukti-spṛhā yāvat. Rupa Gosvami says that when one has desires for bhukti, which means material enjoyment, or mukti, which means impersonal liberation, he is like a person who is haunted by a ghost. Why? Because someone who is haunted by a ghost has thoughts and desires that are not his, that are not true to him. So, by nature, we are eternal servants of Krishna. Lord Chaitanya says jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa,’ the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is the eternal servant of Krishna. So, that’s who we are, and if we have these desires for bhukti and mukti, it’s like being haunted by a ghost because that’s not really us, that’s not really who we are, to have those desires. Those desires are artificial and they are not ours. So, it’s like being haunted by a ghost.

PURPORT (continued)

There is a common saying that one should first love the dog of the beloved, before one shows any loving sentiments for the beloved.

COMMENT

So, here we are coming to bhāgavata-aṅghri-reṇum, the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee.

PURPORT (continued)

There is a common saying that one should first love the dog of the beloved before one shows any loving sentiments for the beloved. The stage of pure devotion is attained by sincerely serving a pure devotee of the Lord. The first condition of devotional service to the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement “reception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has also served another pure devotee.”This is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional paramparā.

COMMENT

So yes, bhāgavata-aṅghri-reṇum, we have to be blessed by the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee. And we may be blessed by the dust literally, if we are so fortunate, but generally, to be blessed by the dust of the feet of a pure devotee means to receive instructions from the pure devotee and follow them, and that is how we progress in devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

The first condition of devotional service to the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement “reception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has served another pure devotee.”

COMMENT

So yes, it means to serve the pure devotee, to follow the instructions.

PURPORT (continued)

That is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional paramparā.

Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa inquired from the great saint Jaḍa Bharata as to how he had attained such a liberated stage of a paramahaṁsa, and in answer the great saint replied as follows (Bhāg. 5.12.12):

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti

na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā

na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair

vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekam

“O King Rahūgaṇa, the perfectional stage of devotional service, or the paramahaṁsa stage of life, cannot be attained unless one is blessed by the dust of the feet of great devotees.

COMMENT

And that dust of the feet of great devotees is in italics, by Srila Prabhupada, for emphasis.

PURPORT (continued)

It is never attained by tapasya [austerity], the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of the renounced order of life, the discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns, or by the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water or before the blazing fire.

In other words, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the property of His pure, unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Kṛṣṇa to another devotee; Kṛṣṇa is never obtainable directly. Lord Caitanya therefore designated Himself as gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, or “the most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord, who maintains the gopī damsels at Vṛndāvana.” A pure devotee therefore never approaches the Lord directly, but tries to please the servant of the Lord’s servants, and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and only then can the devotee relish the taste of the tulasī leaves stucked to His lotus feet.

COMMENT

To the Lord’s lotus feet.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee.

COMMENT

Yes, vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau, He is very difficult to approach through Vedic scholarship, vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau, but He is very easily understood through His devotees.

PURPORT (continued)

In Vṛndāvana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature.

COMMENT

The Nectar of Devotion describes Krishna’s qualities, sixty-four qualities, and one of His qualities is compassionate. And Srila Prabhupada explains that because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it’s difficult to approach Him. But devotees take advantage of Krishna’s compassionate nature, which is represented or embodied by Srimati Radharani, and so they approach Srimati Radharani.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotee’s admittance into His association.

COMMENT

So, this is a very important point, as they say in Varshana, Radharani’s place, “Whatever Radha does, Krishna likes, and whatever Radha likes, Krishna does.” So, if Srimati Radharani wants Krishna to accept you, then Krishna will.

And I will read a very nice excerpt from a talk by Srila Prabhupada on Radhastami. Just one moment, I will find it. Yes, this is an excerpt from a talk he gave on Radhastami in London, on August 29, 1971.

So, Srila Prabhupada says, “We pray to Radharani because She is the pleasure potency of Krishna. Krishna means all attractive, but Radharani is so great that She attracts Krishna. So, today we should try to understand the position of Srimati Radharani and offer our obeisances to Her:

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi

rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari

vṛṣabhānu-sute devi

Praṇamāmihari-priye

“I offer my obeisances to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the queen of Vrindavan. You are the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”

“Radharani is Hari Priya, very dear to Krishna, approaching Krishna becomes very easy when done through Radharani, through the mercy of Radharani. If Radharani recommends, ‘This devotee is very nice,’ then Kirshna immediately accepts us. However, great a fool we may be. Because we have been recommended by Radharani, Krishna accepts us. Therefore, in Vrindavan, you’ll find all the devotees chanting Radharani’s name more than Krishna’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are addressing one another with “jaya Radhe,” they are glorifying Radharani. They are more interested in worshiping Radharani than in worshiping Krishna, because however fallen I may be, if some way or other, I can please Radharani and it will be very easy for me to understand Krishna. Otherwise, if you try to understand Krishna by the speculative method, it will take many, many lives; but if you take devotional service and just try to please Radharani, Krishna will be gotten very easily. Because Radharani can deliver Krishna. She is such a great devotee, the emblem of the mahā-bhāgavata, the greatest devotee.”

I should also mention that Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has composed a beautiful prayer for Srimati Radharani.

bhajāmi rādham āravind-netram

smārami rādham madhura-smitsyam

vadāmi rādham karuṇā-bhāradram

tato māmanyasti gatir na kāpi

He prays, “I worship Sri Radha, who has eyes like lotus flowers. I remember Sri Radha, who smiles so sweetly. I glorify Sri Radha, who is full of mercy. I have no destination but Her. 

PURPORT (continued)

The mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotee, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotee’s admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly.

COMMENT

Yes, in the Ādi Purāṇa, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, “those who claim to be My devotees are not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotees, they are My devotees.”

PURPORT (continued)

The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one’s doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So, on this auspicious occasion, we pray to Srimati Radharani to bless us with devotion to Her and Lord Krishna, and empower us to serve Her and Krishna and the paramparā, as they would like, in a way that is most pleasing to them. Hare Krishna.

And of course, when we chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the Hare means Radhe. And Srila Prabhupada says that the prayer Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, we are praying, “Oh Radha, Oh Krishna, please engage me in Your service.”

Hare Krishna. So now, let us see if anyone wants to ask any questions or make any comments. You can raise your hand, or I guess you could send it in a chat message.

Speaker: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. We have a couple of questions being sent through. So, if it’s okay, we’ll just go through them. And again, if anyone would like to ask a question, please raise your hand, I will come to you.

Giriraj Swami: Also, a personal request, those who are on the Zoom, if you can put on your video so then I can see you, it’s more personal.

Speaker: Sure. Thank you, Maharaja. The first question is, “Why do the Sri sampradāya not worship Radharani? And if they don’t worship Radharani, are they eligible to go back to Goloka Vrindavan?”

Giriraj Swami: So, is the person who asked this on the Zoom? I mean, if I have a choice, I’d rather see the person who asked the question.

Speaker: It was sent anonymously, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Yes, in the Sri sampradāya, they do not worship Radha and Krishna. And therefore, if they stick to this Sri sampradāya, they will not end up in Goloka Vrindavan with Radha and Krishna. But Srila Prabhupada’s method of preaching was always that you don’t have to give up what you are doing, but just add this. I know some members of the Sri sampradāya. They come to the Dallas temple, and we encourage them to chant Hare Krishna and worship Radha and Krishna. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya, love for Krishna is eternally situated within the heart, it’s not something to be gained from another source. So, if someone has eternal love for Lakshmi-Narayana, for example, instead of Radha and Krishna, that’s okay, maybe that’s why they are attracted to the Sri sampradāya. And then in the end, if they become perfect, they can go to Vaikuntha and serve Lakshmi-Narayana. But generally, people who are attracted to ISKCON, the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, they would be inclined to serve Radha and Krishna.

Speaker: Thank you. We have Rasasundari who raised her hand. I’m just going to unmute you. If you could kindly put on your video, that would be fantastic.

Giriraj Swami: I see her.

Rasasundari dasi: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Rasasundari dasi: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Thank you very much for so much association on this very special day. Thank you so much. I was wondering for devotees who are not in mādhurya-rasa, like the cowherd boys and Yasoda, how is their relationship with Radharani, how do they see Radharani?

Giriraj Swami: Well, everyone in Vrindavan loves Radharani because Radharani is so dear to Krishna. Radharani got the benediction, I mean, this is the līlā, but She got the benediction from Durvasa Muni, that whatever She cooked would be like nectar. So, Mother Yasoda always invites Srimati Radharani to come and cook for Krishna. And, generally, of course, the cowherd boys are in sākhya-rasa, but a few select ones have some access to mādhurya-rasa, and they support Krishna and His affairs with Srimati Radharani. Like Subal, he is one, and Sridham, who is Srimati Radharani’s younger brother. So, they do have some access into that domain, and they help Krishna in His pastimes with Sri Radha.

Any other questions or comments?

Speaker: Hare Krishna. We have Manasi Ganga Mataji who would also like to ask a question.

Manasi Ganga devi dasi: Thank you. Hare Krishna, Maharaja. You were the first temple president I met way back in 1980 in Juhu temple. So, it’s so, so nice after so many years to hear from you again. I’ve been hearing off and on, on the Zoom also whenever I hear you are there. However, my question is, Maharaja, Hare is also Radharani, and we understand from every scripture, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes on chanting, how come we don’t develop the taste for chanting as much as hearing about Radharani or Krishna? What’s the obstacle that prevents us having the same kind of taste for chanting, as we have for hearing?

Giriraj Swami: That’s a very good question. Srila Rupa Gosvami in The Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, explains that the holy name and qualities and pastimes of Krishna are sweet like sugar candy, but someone who’s afflicted by the disease of jaundice, and he compares avidyā to jaundice, cannot relish the sweetness. But the ayurvedic cure for jaundice is sugar candy. So, because of the disease, one doesn’t taste the sugar candy as sweet, one actually tastes it as bitter. But still, one takes that bitter tasting candy as a medicine. And as one gradually recovers from the disease, one gradually tastes the rock candy as being sweet. And when one is completely cured, then one tastes it as it is, which is sweet like nectar. So, we should persevere, and gradually, as we are cured of the disease of avidyā, which means ignorance, we’ll taste the sweetness of the holy names.

I’ll just read that verse from The Nectar of Instruction.

NOI 7

syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidyā-

pittopatapta-rasanasya na rocikā nu

kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā

svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī

TRANSLATION

The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidyā [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.

COMMENT

So, that’s the process. And this anudinaṁ means every day, or twenty-four hours a day. So, as much as possible. Anudinaṁ, at least every day. So, keep at it. Does that answer your question? Where did she go? Oh, there you are. So, okay, Manasi Ganga?

Manasi Ganga devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Of course, it answers. However, I still want to question, that we are told that out of the nine processes, you can perfect one and you qualify to make it back to Godhead. Why can’t it be instead of chanting and perfecting śravaṇaṁ?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. What you quoted is correct, there are nine processes of devotional service and one can attain perfection by any one of them, or any combination of them. But the thing is that we have to be engaged twenty-four hours. The basic principle of vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti is smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit, that one should always remember Krishna and never forget Him. So, when we are in the liberated stage, yes, we could just chant all day and nothing else, or hear all day. But in our stage to be engaged all day, we need varieties of engagement. And therefore, sometimes we do śravaṇaṁ, sometimes kīrtanaṁ, sometimes smaraṇaṁ, sometimes pāda-sevanam. We engage in all the different activities, so that we can be engaged all the time, and they all help. But one might have more taste for one process than another, that’s okay, that’s all right. But if you can’t engage in that one activity all the time, then you need to engage in the other activities, at least some of the other activities, so that you are always engaged.

Yes, Manasi Ganga? Unmute.

Manasi Ganga devi dasi: So, Maharaja, just for example, today from the time I woke up and since it’s an international Zooming- program, it’s getting worse now because of the Zooms, Maharaja. I want to be everywhere to hear. So, I started in the morning from hearing about Radharani, even now, when I should be in bed because taking a time again, [Unintelligible 00:57:26] and I think I need to stop myself from hearing rather than chanting. I personally feel I’m suffering from an addiction to hear more than chant. Really, I’m asking this question for myself, not for others.

Giriraj Swami: Well, hearing is good. That’s fine. Hear as much as you like. But you have to chant at least sixteen rounds.

Manasi Ganga devi dasi: For today, I’ve shelved it because if I was to chant sixteen, I would have missed a hearing about Radharani. I’ve been like a monkey, from one Zoom to the other. I have been wanting to hear from Hindi to English, to the language that I can understand, I have been Zooming till now, Maharaja. I will make it up tomorrow or the day after, but for today, forget the chanting for today. But I know devotees who would not forget their chanting, they would forget hearing but not chanting. That’s why I feel I don’t have the taste for chanting as much as for hearing. Find me the cure, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: All right. Well, Radharani’s mercy will let it go today, but then you have to make them up tomorrow or between tomorrow and the next day. But we should also keep in mind that when we chant Krishna’s name, Radharani is pleased. And when we chant Radharani’s name, Krishna is pleased. So, we should also be in the mood of pleasing Radha and Krishna when we chant. We shouldn’t have a selfish mood, but we should chant in the mood of giving Them pleasure.

Srila Prabhupada had a disciple named Vishnujña. And Vishnujña, he had a big picture of Srila Prabhupada’s ear. And when he would chant japa, he would chant to that picture of Srila Prabhupada’s ear with the idea that he was pleasing Srila Prabhupada by his chanting. He was chanting to please Srila Prabhupada.

And when you hear, you hear instructions. And so, the hearing is complete when you follow the instructions that you hear. In so many places, Srila Prabhupada tells us to chant, even specifically, to chant sixteen rounds. So, when we hear, we hear instructions, and then we should apply those instructions. Then our hearing is complete.

Any other questions or comments?

Manasi Ganga devi dasi: Thank you very much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, thank you, Manasi Ganga.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. We have another question from Panit. So, Panit, if you kindly unmute yourself and turn your video on, please.

Panit: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you for a wonderful class and beautiful answers. My question is, when Krishna knows everything, why can He not understand Radharani’s love for Him?

Giriraj Swami: What’s the question?

Panit: The question is, when Krishna knows everything, why can He not understand Radharani’s love for Him?

Giriraj Swami: It’s sort of like if Krishna can do anything, can He create a weight that’s too heavy for Him to lift? And the answer is He can, but then again, He can make it so that He can lift it. In a way, He could understand it, but in Sanskrit, there are two technical terms in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. One is viṣaya, which is the object of love, and the other is āśraya, which is the shelter of that love. So, Krishna is the viṣaya, He is the object of love, and Radharani is the āśraya, the shelter of that love. But Krishna wanted to experience the love from the position of the āśraya, and therefore, He came as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to experience Radharani’s love for Him.

Panit: Thank you, Maharaja, thank you very much.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. We have an anonymous question that’s come through, asking, “Why does Radharani not wear tilak?”

Giriraj Swami: Oh, I never knew that She didn’t wear tilak. There is a phrase in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which describes Srimati Radharani’s qualities, and it mentions the tilak of Her good fortune. I hadn’t heard that She didn’t wear tilak.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. Those were all the questions that we had, any last chance who’d like to take this opportunity. If you have any questions, please raise your hands. Okay, we have Sudama Prabhu. I’m just going to unmute you, and kindly put your video on, please.

Sudama dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Sudama dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. In your last talk with the South African devotees earlier on, you had mentioned a pastime or a few pastimes between Krishna and Radharani. And the pastime with the rāsa dance, you have mentioned that Krishna transforms Himself in His Narayana form when He leaves the gopīs. And I have heard other pastimes as well where Krishna, as you mentioned, in the other pastime, He disguises Himself. What I was wondering was, when He changes His form or mystically disguises Himself, is that the workings of yoga-māyā coming into play? Because we know that Krishna doesn’t know that He is the Supreme, and therefore, has these various powers or potencies. I’d like your comment on that. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: It’s not that Krishna doesn’t know that He is the Supreme, but He forgets. And He needs to forget, so that He can identify as the son of Nanda and Yasoda, and friend of Subala and Sridama, and the lover of Radharani. But sometimes He needs to remember, and that is where, as you suggested, yoga-māyā comes in. She will arrange for Him to remember that He is God when required. And then, the rest of the time, He can forget that He is God and enjoy His different relationships as an ordinary cowherd boy, so to speak. So, yoga-māyā is very important.

Speaker: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, we have one more question. I believe Vrndavan Chandra Prabhu has raised his hand. Kindly unmute yourself.

Vrndavana Chandra dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Vrndavana Chandra dasa: Guru Maharaja, I heard something the other day that bewildered me a bit, and it’s been on my mind. I heard that Krishna can know no suffering, and therefore, He cannot really know the suffering that the living entities in the material world endure, or experience. But yet, Krishna is known as the most munificent, Lord Chaitanya, the most munificent incarnation. So, I just wanted to understand, how does Krishna’s compassion for the living entity arise if He can know no suffering and experience no suffering?

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are different kinds of suffering, and one kind of suffering is separation from Krishna. And the suffering of separation from Krishna can be experienced in the spiritual world and in the material world. But I’ve also heard what you said, that Krishna cannot really fully appreciate the sufferings of the living entities because He doesn’t experience the same suffering. And therefore, He manifests Himself as the devotee, because the devotee in the material world can experience the suffering that others experience. And therefore, the devotee can feel compassion in a somewhat different way, because he has experienced the same distress. But the definition of Krishna includes His pure devotees. And so, through the pure devotees, Krishna experiences the suffering of living entities in the material world.

Vrndavana Chandra dasa: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: The devotees are special manifestations of Krishna’s mercy.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. Sudama Prabhu just raised his hand again, I’ll just go over. Sudama Prabhu, can you kindly unmute yourself, please?

Sudama dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Just to follow on my initial question, my first question. When Krishna remembers that He is the Supreme during these pastimes, it doesn’t interfere with that moment or that time when He remembers and manifests these wonderful different forms or magnificent feats during the pastimes. At that time, that act doesn’t interfere in His experience of the rasa, or in the pastime itself. I just wanted to confirm that that doesn’t hinder His own experience of bliss in that pastime.

Giriraj Swami: No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t.

Sudama dasa: Yeah, I just wanted to confirm that.

Giriraj Swami: Because Krishna’s priority is to serve His devotees, He is bhakta-vatsala. He is very favorable to His devotees. So, when His devotees are in danger, for example, there is a forest fire and He swallowed the forest fire. So yes, He had to remember His godly powers in order to do that, but it was still in the same mood of bhakta-vatsala that He is in when He forgets that He is God and is just playing with His cowherd boyfriends. So, it’s the same mood of serving His devotees, but because of the situation, He has to do it in a godly, sort of supernatural way. But it’s the same mood of serving His devotees. And then, when it’s all over, He forgets it all and He comes back to being a regular cowherd boy.

Sudama dasa: Thank you very much, Guru Maharaja, for clarifying that. Thank you.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. I believe we have no further questions. I just want to thank you for your association. For us in Birmingham, it feels like a festival where we get to hear from a Vaishnava. So, we are truly grateful from everyone here in ISKCON Birmingham. We ask for your blessings so we can serve our Deities, Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, Srila Prabhupada, and the devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, wonderful, please do.

Speaker: Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: And before we end, maybe we can sing Srila Rupa Gosvami’s beautiful prayer to Srimati Radharani. It’s called Radhika Stava. It’s in the song book. In this song book, it’s called, Sri Radhika Stava from Stava-mala on page 114. But I think many of you know it, and you can also find it. It will be a nice way, and Srila Prabhupada sang this song on Radhastami.

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

damodara-rati-vardhana-vese
hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

vrsabhanudadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe
lalita-sakhi guna-ramita-visakhe

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

karunam kuru mayi karuna-bharite
sanaka-sanatana-varnita-carite

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

So, we will read the translation:

“O Radha! O beloved of Madhava! O You who are worshiped by all the young girls of Gokula! All glories unto You! All glories unto You!”

“O You who dress Yourself in such a way as to increase Lord Damodara’s love and attachment for You! O queen of Vrndavana, which is the pleasure grove of Lord Hari!”

“O new moon that has arisen from the ocean of King Vrsabhanu! O friend of Lalita! O You who make Visakha loyal to You due to Your wonderful qualities of friendship, kindness, and faithfulness to Krsna!”

“O You who are filled with compassion! O You whose divine characteristics are described by the great sages Sanaka and Sanatana! O Radha, please be merciful to me!”

So, I think that was a nice way to conclude our meeting to celebrate Sri Radhastami and glorify Srimati Radharani and Her qualities, especially Her mercy for us. Is there anything else?

Speaker: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you so much. We just have the darshan of our Deities here in Birmingham. I´ll pass over to Mother Nityananda.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Jaya!

Speaker: Actually, His Grace Tribhuvanath Prabhu had brought these Deities to Birmingham.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, from where?

Speaker: Madhava Prabhu?

Madhava dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. So, these Deities were brought by Tribhuvanath Prabhu from Jagannatha Puri many, many years ago to Birmingham.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, nice. Jaya Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra.

I see you have Gaura-Nitai. It's nice.

Speaker: Thank you, Maharaja. We are just going to finish off on Nṛsiṁhadeva prayers. Would you like to lead us in Nṛsiṁhadeva prayers?

Giriraj Swami: Sure.

Speaker: Thank you.

[Giriraj Swami singing the Nṛsiṁhadeva prayers]

Speaker: Thank you very much, Maharaja. And thank you to everyone who has joined this evening. This concludes today’s program. Please do join us again, we have programs every Sunday. We have programs on Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we have fourteen programs a week; Bhāgavatam courses, Gītā Life courses. So, please leave your contact details with us if you want to join in.

Maharaja, thank you so much once again for blessing us and giving us your association. And hopefully, Maharaja, I still remember Nirmala, a little boy, when you came to Birmingham many, many years ago with Doctor Harsha Prabhu. So, Maharaja, we are hoping you come again and be with us and give us your association once more. Thank you very much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Speaker: And thank you to everyone else. That completes our program. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.