Once, the Diwan of Bharatpur had come on a pilgrimage with his family to the holiest of places, Sri Radha Kunda, the holy lake of Srimati Radharani. He and his family were circumambulating Radha Kunda. They would fall flat on the ground, offering obeisances lying down with their arms outstretched. Every time they bowed down in this way, they would mark the spot where their fingertips touched the earth. Then they would slowly rise, step forward to where that spot had been marked, and again fall flat, offering their obeisances with great respect and adoration. In this way they were circumambulating the entire Radha Kunda. Upon seeing such intense worship, Paramananda Prabhu, an intimate disciple of our Guru Maharaj Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, intimated to Prabhupad that the Diwan and his family must have great respect for Radharani to circumambulate the Radha Kunda in such a fashion.
At that time Prabhupad said, «Their angle of vision towards Radha Kunda and Radharani is different from ours. They recognise and revere Krishna. And because Radharani is Krishna’s favourite, they also have some reverence for Radha Kunda. But our vision is just the opposite. Our concern is with Radharani. And only because She wants Krishna do we have any connection with Him.»
And so, the Gaudiya–Vaisnavas know only Radharani. They are concerned only with Her, and Her duties, Her necessities. They are ready to serve Her in all respects and cannot contemplate any service without Her. That is the highest achievement of the Gaudiya–Vaisnavas, that is the special feature of Mahaprabhu’s party, and that was announced by Raghunath Das Goswami in his Vilapa-kusumanjali (102):
asa-bharair amrta-sindhu-mayaih kathanchit
kalo mayati-gamitah kila sampratam hi
tvan chet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me
pranair-vrajena cha varoru bakarinapi
This verse is a direct prayer to Radharani. It expresses a particular type of hope which is so sweet and reassuring that it is compared with an unlimited ocean of nectar. He says, «There is a hope which is sustaining me and nurturing my existence. With that hope I am somehow passing my days, dragging my life through these tedious times. That nectarean ocean of hope is attracting me and keeping me alive. But my patience has reached its end. I can’t endure it any longer. I can’t wait any more.
«At this moment if You do not show Your grace to me, I am finished. I shall lose my prospect forever. I shall have no desire to continue my life. It will all be useless. Without Your grace, I can’t stand to live another moment. And Vrndavan, which is even dearer to me than my life itself — I am disgusted with it. It is painful; it is always pinching me. And what to speak of anything else, I am even disgusted with Krishna. It is shameful to utter such words, but I can have no love even for Krishna unless and until You take me within Your confidential camp of service.» This is the prayer of Raghunath Das.
When Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad would begin to explain this verse, his figure would become transformed. He would become full of emotion; his face would become like that of a phantom.
In this verse, Raghunath Das Goswami, taking an extreme risk, says, «O Radha, if I do not get Your favor, I don’t want anything. I want You and You alone. To have an independent relationship with anyone else, eliminating You, is impossible in my life. You must be first, and then others. Without You, we can never even think of a separate relationship with Krishna.» Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj has written that without Radharani’s company, Krishna is not beautiful. Everything is relative — dependent. A teacher depends on the student, and the student depends on his teacher. Although Krishna is the enjoyer, He is completely dependent on the enjoyed, Srimati Radharani. The two are correlative; one cannot be separated from the other. As the enjoyed, Radharani is also absolutely dependent on Krishna, the enjoyer.
Radharani says, «My fate is lost forever because I have given Myself, I have sold Myself to many places. When I heard the flute, I dedicated Myself to the song of the flute. When I heard the Name of Krishna, I dedicated Myself to that sound. And when I saw a beautiful picture of Krishna, I wholly dedicated Myself to that picture. So, in three places I have sold Myself completely, with no possibility of any happiness or peace in My life. If I had dedicated Myself to only one thing, there might have been a possibility of peace, but because I have dedicated Myself in three different places, I am hopeless.
«Seeing the picture of Krishna, I couldn’t contain Myself. I couldn’t but give Myself to that beautiful figure, and so I dedicated Myself fully. The Name of Krishna also purchased Me fully. And the sweet sound from the flute — that has also drawn Me to the extreme of dedication. So, how can I hope for peace in My life? It is impossible, My friends.» Radharani did not know it at that time, but the source of Krishna’s flute, His Name, and His beauty are one. If She could have seen how all three of these meet together, then it would have been possible for Her to have peace of mind. But it is difficult to understand this principle.
How is it that the sound of Krishna’s flute, the sound of His Name, and a picture of His form are nondifferent from Krishna Himself? Idealism. In Hegel’s words, ideal realism. The absolute idea is not to be dismissed as an abstract thing; rather, it is the basis of all existence. Reality is there, but it is ideal realism. And the foundation of the reality of Vrndavan is given by Nityananda, Baladev: Nitaiyera koruna habe, Vraje Radha-Krishna pabe, dhara Nitaiyera charana du’khani.
After Bhakti Vinod Thakur describes the position of Radharani in his Saranagati, he says, «I want to serve those who have the service of Radharani in their heart. I want to serve the feet-dust of those whose only wealth is the service of Sri Radha. I want to fall before them and take the dust of their holy feet. If you cannot fix your mind in the service of Radharani, then all your attempts to serve Krishna are useless. If you cannot achieve earnestness in the service of Srimati Radharani, then all your labour for Krishna has gone to hell.» We cannot conceive of a sun without heat, nor can we conceive of Godhead without His potency. So also, no conception of Krishna is possible without Srimati Radharani. We can’t know any Madhava without Radha.
She is Krishna’s other half — in Srila Bhakti Siddhanta’s language, the predominated moiety. Devotional service as a whole is represented by Her because both the intensity and the comprehensiveness of Her service to Krishna are unparalleled. There are so many examples of chaste and pious ladies in the ancient history of the Puranas: Sachi, the faithful wife of Indra; Sati, the wife of Lord Siva; Laksmi Devi, the goddess of fortune; Satyabhama, Krishna’s wife in Dvaraka; Rukmini, the principle queen of Krishna in Dvaraka; and even the antagonists of Radharani, headed by Chandravali. All of them represent different aspects of Radharani. They all spring from the main potency which is known as Radha.
The name Radha comes from the word aradhana: one who can serve, who can worship, who can give respect, who really loves Krishna, who can render loving service. All of these other ladies who are famous for their chastity and piety are but partial representations of Radharani. If we note the scriptures and scrutinise the position of those virtuous ladies, we’ll find that the source of all their chastity and devotion is Srimati Radharani. She is the fountainhead of devotion. And so Bhakti Vinod says, «I bow down and take the dust of the holy feet of those who have as their only wealth the service of Radharani. I hanker after nothing else.« Whoever knows this and always travels on that path with a sincere heart is most fortunate.
It is the ideal that makes one great, not any material possession. One who has the highest ideal is really wealthy. The highest ideal is the most valuable thing we may possess. And less valuable things must be eliminated if we are to concentrate our efforts and save ourselves from useless endeavor. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to show us that highest ideal — the path of divine love. And we find divine love of Godhead in its highest intensity in His life and teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam. The whole Srimad Bhagavatam is meant to illustrate the ideal of divine love which reaches its highest expression in Srimati Radharani. The Srimad Bhagavatam sings very gloriously about the paramour relationship of Radha and Krishna. The Vedas and other Puranas are not so expressive about such confidential Pastimes, yet we find a hint of the glories of Radha and Krishna in Srimad Bhagavatam. And the goswamis have more fully expressed Radharani’s devotion in their writings. In Rupa Goswami’s Padyavali, we find Her saying, «My Lord, people say that I have a bad reputation because of My connection with You. I do not feel any trouble in My heart because of this. My concern is that I could not give Myself to You completely. The people in general say that I am illicitly connected with You, but what disturbs Me is that I could not really give Myself to You. I feel that I am not fit for Your service. This is only the trouble within My heart.»
And the ecstasy of divine love increases in separation. One day, when Krishna was playing with His cowherd boyfriends in the pasturing grounds of Vrndavan, Krishna suddenly felt extreme separation from Radharani. He sent His best friend Subal to Radharani, saying, «Go to My Radha and fetch Her. Without Her, I can’t live. Suddenly, I have so much desire for Her company that I can’t stand it anymore. Somehow manage to bring Her.» Subal said, «How is it possible to bring Her here in the jungle in broad daylight?» Krishna told him, «Somehow manage it!»
Subal thought, «What should I do?» Subal was very intimately connected with the family of Radharani’s husband. He went to the house of Radharani and told Her girlfriends, «Krishna can’t tolerate separation from Radharani any longer. He is so eager to meet Her that He is going mad. Somehow you have to arrange for Them to meet.»
«How is it possible?», the gopis asked. Subal explained to them that Krishna was nearby in the jungle. They discussed between themselves what to do. Subal was a beautiful boy who resembled Radharani. So, Subal took the dress of Radharani, and Radharani wore Subala’s cowherd dress.
When Radharani was discovered wearing the dress of Subal, She was challenged by Her family members: «Subal! What are you doing here?» In the dress of Subal, Radharani said, «A calf is missing, and its mother is mooing. So, I have come here looking for that calf.» So, a calf was given to Radharani, and She carried that small calf on her breast into the forest. In this way, Radharani was disguised as Subal, while Subal, who had taken the dress of Radharani, remained behind in Her room.
Radharani had been given a hint of where Krishna was hiding near the forest’s edge. She went to seek Him out. At last, when Radharani saw Krishna, She approached Him in the garb of Subal. Krishna was mad. He could not detect that Radharani had come but mistook Her for Subal. He said, «Oh, Subal, you have come back without Radharani! Couldn’t you bring Her?»
Radharani began cutting jokes: «No,» She said, «it was impossible for me to bring Her in the daytime.» Krishna said, «Then what am I to do? I can’t tolerate My life any longer.» Radharani said, «If You say so, I can go to Chandravali and bring her.» «No, no» Krishna said, «curd cannot satisfy the thirst for milk. It is not possible!» Krishna was faint with disappointment. Then, Radharani embraced Him, saying, «My Lord, can’t You recognise Your maidservant? You failed to recognise Me!» Then, Krishna was again full of joy.
Although the Pastimes of Radha and Govinda are mentioned in the scriptures, these are all very high things. They are not ordinarily to be expressed in words, but still sometimes we are forced to speak about them because the high ideal of divine love given by Srimad Bhagavatam is the supreme goal of life. Of course, the scholarship of Sukadev Goswami and Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu have helped, to a certain extent, to establish the dignity of the proposal that love is above knowledge. It was admitted by everyone that Sukadev held the highest attainment of the learned men of knowledge; he was unanimously admitted by the scholars to hold the highest position. Because of this, when Sukadev Goswami came to inaugurate the principle that divine love is above everything else, the scholars had to take notice. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrated to the scholars that His intelligence and scholarship excelled everyone else’s. So, when He came with the tidings of divine love, then it was easier for the ordinary men to accept it as the highest ideal and try for it.
So, Vasudev Ghos says, yadi Gaura na hata, tabe ki ha-ita kemane dharitam de. If Mahaprabhu had not appeared in this Kali-yuga, then how could we tolerate living? How could we sustain our lives? What He has given — the very gist of life, the very taste, the charm of life — without that, we think it is impossible for anyone to live in this world. Such a thing has been invented, discovered by Gauranga. If He had not come, then how could we live? It is impossible to live devoid of such a holy and gracious thing as divine love. Without Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, how could we know that Radharani stands supreme in the world of divine love? We have received all these things from Him, and now we think that life is worth living. Otherwise, to live would be suicidal.
And serving those who can serve Radharani is the way to approach Her vicinity. By serving the servants of the servants, we are assured of success in getting the grace of Krishna. If somehow one can be counted in the group of Srimati Radharani’s servitors, one’s future is assured.
Within the group of Radharani’s servitors, we aspire to be Rupanugas, followers of Sri Rupa. And the followers of Sri Rupa will have great earnestness to look after the order of Sri Rupa, as he does towards Lalita. In this way, through Rupa Goswami, our devotional service is going to the highest plane. And our highest gain is only there. Not even our connection with Radharani or Lalita Devi is the highest goal of life, but our highest aspiration is to serve in the Rupanuga sampradaya; that means that our highest attainment is in Sri Rupa’s connection.
Radha-dasyam has been said to be the highest attainment. Why? The quality and quantity of rasa that Radharani can draw from Krishna can never be found anywhere else. So, if you are situated just behind Radharani, you’ll be allowed to taste not only the quantity, but the highest quality of rasa.
No other person can draw such high rasa from Krishna. The fullest, highest type of quality is drawn from Krishna: He gives Himself fully and wholly and deeply. So, if you are in Sri Rupa’s group, then you can have a taste of that sort of rasa.
In Radharani’s camp, when Krishna and Radha are enjoying very solitary Pastimes in a secluded place, the grown-up sakhis can’t venture to enter the room and assist Them. The young girls, the manjaris, are sent there. The leader of that young group can enter where both Radha and Govinda are very closely connected, when even the sakhis do not venture to go for fear of causing some interruption. But Rupa and the manjaris can enter there at that time due to their young age. That sort of rasa that cannot be had even through the sakhis can be had only through the manjaris.
Bhakti Vinod Thakur prays to gain admission there. He has such a high quality of aspiration. He says Rupanuga haite sei dhaya. He runs to be enlisted in the group of Rupa, who can grant us that sort of prospect. And Prabodhananda Saraswati has described the prerequisite for understanding all these things:
yatha yatha gaura-padaravinde
vindeta bhaktim krta-punya-rasih
tatha tathot sarpati hrdy akasmad
radha-padambhoja-sudhambhu- rasih
«As much as you surrender to the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga, you’ll find yourself safely situated in the service of Radha-Govinda. Don’t try to approach Radha-Govinda directly; if you do, there may be some difficulty. But the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga will take you there safely.» In my Sanskrit poem dedicated to Bhakti Vinod Thakur, I have explained all these points:
sri-gauranumatam svarupa-viditam rupagrajenadrtam
rupadyaih parivesitam raghu-ganair-asvaditam sevitam
jivadyair abhiraksitam suka-siva-brahmadi sammanitam
sri-radha-pada-sevanamrtam aho tad datum iso bhavan
«What was sanctioned by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by His descent was intimately known only to Sri Svarup Damodar Goswami. It was adored by Sanatan Goswami and served by Rupa Goswami and his followers. Raghunath Das Goswami tasted that wonderful thing fully and enhanced it with his own realisation. And Jiva Goswami supported and protected it by quoting the scriptures from different places. The taste of that divine truth is aspired for by Brahma, Siva, and Uddhava, who respect it as the supreme goal of life. What is this wonderful truth? Sri Radha-pada-sevana: that the highest nectar of our life is the service of Srimati Radharani. This is most wonderful. O Bhakti Vinod Thakur, you are our master. It is within your power to allow them to bestow their grace upon us. You are in a position to bestow the highest gift ever known to the world upon us all. It is at your disposal. O Bhakti Vinod Thakur, please be kind to us and grant us your mercy.»
So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, our most benevolent Lord, has come to search for His long lost servants and to give to them this highest ideal of divine love.