We are here to commence our Vraja-mandala parikrama or Kartika parikrama. I have mentioned how the month of Kartika has many names. One name is niyama-seva masa. Niyama means to follow the rules and regulations of the scriptures and masa means month. That means this month is meant for following all of the rules and regulations from the scriptures in order to develop our spiritual lives. Also, since everyone cannot keep to these laws throughout the four months of Chaturmasya, this month is beneficial.
Some may be, at times, travelling and it is not possible for them to comply with the rules and regulations. For example, you can be travelling from somewhere where it was midnight, then arrive at your destination only a few hours away, yet it is now midday. There can also be other factors besides time zone differences. Perhaps your physical health is not strong enough for you to follow all the restrictions in our rules and regulations.
In the same way, those who are household devotees, grihasthas, have certain duties and responsibilities to their households. They have responsibilities to their parents, children and many other things also. And they are required to fix and resolve everything within their household life. For this reason, Hari-bhakti-vilasa explains that you have to follow the rules and regulations for at least one month— the month of Kartika. Thus, another name for this month of Kartika is niyama-seva masa, and the presiding deity of this month is Kartikeshvari, Srimati Radhika.
What is the actual meaning of Kartika? In Indian or Vedic terms, Kartika means one who is eager to take darshana of the Lord. All devotees are eager to take darshana of the Lord. And amongst all devotees, Srimati Radhika is the Supreme controller. As mentioned, Kartikeshvari, Srimati Radhika, is the presiding deity (adhishthatri devata) of this month. This month is also called damodara-masa. According to our Vaishnava philosophy, this month is referred to as radha-damodara-masa and yashoda-damodara-masa. Radha-damodara refers to pastimes between Srimati Radhika and Krishna. In this lila She Herself binds Krishna with a garland.
Once, Krishna disappeared from the rasa dance, then all of the gopis felt pangs of separation from Him. When Krishna reappeared in front of the assembly of gopis, Srimati Radhika bound Krishna with a flower garland. For this reason, this month is also known as radha-damodara. However, the Srimad-Bhagavatam mainly discusses yashoda-damodara, also called dama-bandhana-lila. Srila Shukadeva Gosvamipada very nicely glorified Krishna’s dama-bandhana-lila— the beautiful pastimes of Krishna, when mother Yashoda tied Krishna by His waist with rope.
In Padma Purana, Sri Satyavrata Muni also very nicely glorified Sri Krishna’s lila. In the Damodarashtaka there are eight verses glorifying Krishna’s sweet pastimes. While completely absorbed in his trance, Satyavrata Muni realised Krishna’s sweet lila and then composed these verses:
(1)
namāmīśvaraḿ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaḿ
lasat-kuṇḍalaḿ gokule bhrājamanam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaḿ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā
(2)
rudantaḿ muhur netra-yugmaḿ mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātańka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāńka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graivaḿ dāmodaraḿ bhakti-baddham
(3)
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaḿ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaḿ
punaḥ prematas taḿ śatāvṛtti vande
So in this month, Krishna manifested these sweet pastimes, dama-bandhana-lila. And because of this, we also call this month yashoda-damodara and damodara-masа. During this month, we have to listen to hari-katha, and we also have to visit these places where the pastimes of Krishna took place, krishna-lila-sthali. In Brihad-bhagavatamrita, Srila Sanatana Gosvamipada very clearly explains the conversation between Lord Krishna and Narada Rishi. Narada Rishi said, “O Prabhu. Please, give me one benediction. If anybody will come to your lila-sthali,” lila-sthali means the places where the pastimes of Krishna took place, “you must manifest the highest prema in their hearts.” And what is this highest prema? Gopi-prema. Narada Rishi requested that this gopi-prema will manifest in their hearts. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this Kali-yuga in order to distribute this highest prema.
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalausamarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyamhariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥsadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 1.4)
[May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Sachi-devi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.]
Srila Rupa Gosvamipada composed this verse in Vidagdha-madhava grantha. Also, this highest prema was not distributed by the Lord in every yuga. And Vrajendra-nandana Shyamasundara, svayam-avatari Krishna, does not appear in the material world in every yuga. Only at the end of this exact Dvapara-yuga does He come, and at the end of this Dvapara-yuga, the same Krishna comes in the form of Sachinandana Gaurahari. Actually, Sachinandana Gaurahari is the combined form of Radha and Krishna, and He comes to give this highest prema.
One day Gurudeva told, “Nityananda Prabhu also distributes this prema.” How can Nityananda Prabhu also distribute prema? In Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami mentions how Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “No one can distribute vraja-prema except Me.” One aspect of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is that He is known as the treasure inside the heart of Nityananda Prabhu. Do you understand the meaning of this? Without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, no one can receive the mercy of Sachinandana Gaurahari. Thus, according to this logic, Nityananda Prabhu, can also give one prema. Actually, without the recommendation of Nityananda Prabhu, Gaurasundara will not give you prema.
nitāiyer koruṇā habe, braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe,dharo nitāi-caraṇa du'khāni
Nitai-pada-kamala (3)
by Narottama dasa Thakura
[If you actually want to approach the association of Radha-Krishna, you must first achieve the mercy of Lord Nityananda. When He is merciful toward you, then you will be able to approach Radha-Krishna. Therefore you should firmly grasp the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.]
Srila Narottama dasa Thakurа very humbly glorified Nityananda Prabhu when he said, “O my brother, very carefully and strongly, hold on to the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu.” Nityananda Prabhu is called akhanda-guru-tattva, and He is non-different from Baladeva Prabhu. And Baladeva Prabhu also serves Krishna in the gopi form of Ananga Manjari— who is the very nearest and dearest of Srimati Radhika. There is so much love and affection between Ananga Manjari and Srimati Radhika because She is Srimati Radhika’s younger sister. Try to understand these things.
If you visit Radha-kunda you will see that there are eight corners. Each of the eight prominent sakhis’ kunjas are found in each of the eight corners of Radha-kunda. Lalitananda-kunja, Vishakhananda-kunja, Sudevi, Rangadevi, Tungavidya, etc— all of the eight sakhis’ kunjas are found there. However, in the middle of Radha-kunda, you will find Srimati Radhika’s youngest sister, Ananga Manjari’s kunja. And her kunja’s name is Svananda-sukhada-kunja. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has composed so many glorifications of Svananda-sukhada-kunja:
cintāmaṇi-maya rādhā-kuṇḍa-taṭa
taha kuñja śata śata
prabāla bidruma maya taru-latā
mukta-phale abanata
Chintamani-maya (1)
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
[The banks of Sri Radha-kunda are made of transcendental desire-fulfilling gems. Nearby, there are hundreds and hundreds of beautiful kunjas. The trees and creepers, which are made of coral, are weighty with an abundance of pearl-fruits.]
And there, you will find very valuable jewels like one kind of mukta-phale. So, Sri Radha-kunda is the topmost place and in the middle of Radha-kunda, there is Ananga Manjari’s kunja, called Svananda-sukhada-kunja. In Svananda-sukhada-kunja, Radha and Krishna come together very confidentially, only manjaris are allowed to enter that place. Even if Lalita or Vishakha want to go, they first have to take permission from the manjaris.
tambularpana-pada-mardana-payo-danabhisaradibhir
vrndaranya-mahesvarim priyataya yas tosayanti priyah
prana-prestha-sakhi-kulad api kilasankocita bhumikah
keli-bhumisu rupa-manjari-mukhas ta dasikah samsraye
Stavavali, Vraja-vilasa-stava (38)
[I take shelter of Sri Rupa Manjari and the other very dear maidservants of the great queen of Vrindavana, Srimati Radhika, who please Her by offering Her betel, massaging Her feet, offering Her water, and arranging for Her rendezvous with Krishna. Because these maidservants can enter the area where the Divine Couple enjoy Their most confidential pastimes without feeling shy, they are even more dear to Radhika than sakhis such as Lalita, who themselves are more dear to Her than life itself. In other words, the manjaris, headed by Sri Rupa Manjari, can freely enter those kunjas where even the prana-prestha sakhis hesitate to enter.]
Radha-kunda is the topmost place as on the banks of Radha-kunda, Radha and Krishna’s sweet amorous pastimes are manifested.
Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati glorified Radha-kunda and Srimati Radhika:
yasyah kadapi vasanascala-khelanottha-
dhanyatidhanya-pavanena krtartha-mani
yogindra-durgama-gatir madhusudano’pi
tasya namo’stu vrishabhanu-bhuvo dise’pi
yo brahma-rudra-shuka-narada-bhishma-mukhyair
alaksito na sahasa purusasya tasya
sadyo-vasikarana-curnam ananta-saktim
tam radhika-carana-renum anusmarami
Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi (2, 4)
[I pay obeisances to the direction that faces Sri Vrishabhanu's daughter. When the breeze coming from that direction playfully moves the edge of Her garment, Lord Krishna, who cannot be attained by even the kings of the yogis, thinks that His life has now become a great success.
I meditate on the dust of Sri Radha's feet, dust that even Brahma, Shiva, Shukadeva, Narada, Bhishma and a host of great saints cannot see, dust that has limitless power, dust that at once transforms the Supreme Personality of Godhead into Sri Radha's submissive servant.]
Brahma, Shiva and Narada are all high class, exalted devotees of the Lord who are called mahajanas. What does mahajana mean? Spiritually, mahajana refers to a very high class, exalted devotee of the Lord. But in this material world, mahajana refers to a money lender. When you do not have any money, you visit a money lender and there, they lend you money. But, who are our spiritual mahajanas? Those who are pure devotees of the Lord. And whoever has a wealth of krishna-prema, krishna-prema-dhana, is called a mahajana. How many mahajanas are there according to our shastras? There are twelve:
svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ
kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
balir vaiyāsakir vayam
Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.3.20)
[Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada, Lord Shiva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila (the son of Devahuti), Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Shukadeva Gosvami and I myself.]
Here, Yama Maharaja has spoken, “We are twelve mahajanas. Only we can give everything. Only we can award you spiritual things.” Bhishmadeva is amongst the twelve mahajanas. Bhishma Pitamaha, Brahma, Shuka and Narada are also called mahajanas. Sometimes, even mahajanas cannot have darshana of the lotus feet of Krishna. ‘Yadyapi samādhiṣu vidhir api paśyati, na tava nakhāgra-marīcim’. Sometimes Krishna manifests in their hearts and sometimes He does not. Srila Rupa Gosvamipada explains:
kṛṣṇa deva! bhavantaḿ vande
man-mānasa-madhukaram arpaya nija-pada-pańkaja-makarande
yadyapi samādhiṣu vidhir api paśyati na tava nakhāgra-marīcim
kṛṣṇa deva! bhavantaḿ vande
Krishna deva! bhavantam vande (1)
[O Krishna! O Deva! I am offering a prayer to You. Kindly place the bee of my mind within the honey of Your lotus feet.]
In this song, Srila Rupa Gosvamipada nicely wrote how very, very rare it is, even for mahajanas, to have darshana of Krishna. It is not so easy. You cannot have darshana of Him by only meditating. Some people think, “I am meditating and now Krishna will appear.” But, this is just not possible.
Once, a gopi closed her eyes and began meditating. Then Krishna appeared, shook her body and said, “What are you doing here?” However, she kept her eyes closed. Next, Krishna shook her body again and said, “What are you doing here?” Now, the gopi opened her eyes and said, “Hey Krishna, why are You disturbing me? I am meditating.” Krishna said, “Who is your worshipable deity? The gopi replied, “I will not tell you who my worshipable deity is. Rather, I will meditate on one devi. And if this devi...,” the word devi means goddess, “if she is pleased with me, then I can take darshana of the Lord. This is why I am meditating on this one goddess.”
Then Krishna replied, “Even if you meditate on this devi for thousands of years, throughout thousands of lives, she can not give darshana to you.” You see, everyone is afraid of Krishna’s words as they know anything Krishna speaks will become true. Krishna has a particular shakti; a perfection of words. Because of this, the Vrajavasis think, “Sometimes Lord Narayana possesses His body. For this reason, anything He says becomes true.” So, after hearing Krishna’s remarks, that gopi became afraid and asked, “Then how will I take darshana of my ishtadeva?” Krishna answered, “Not only by meditating. You have to offer some bhoga.” One must offer to Govinda, offer to Krishna. Simply sitting in front of Thakuraji and closing your eyes is not the proper process of meditation. What is the proper way of meditating on the Lord? First, you have to offer some food, sweets or something. Afterwards, you meditate on the Lord, and Thakuraji will accept. This is the process.
If I only speak hari-katha, conditioned souls will not attend. However, if I distribute prasada, everyone will come and there will be many hands outstretched. They are so pleased with prasada, but they have no greed for hari-katha. Is this true or not? Even in our conditioned stage, we may have greed for prasada, but we do not have greed for hari-katha.
In the same way, Krishna told the gopi, “This is not the proper way to meditate. You have to offer some sweets. Then, your presiding ishtadevi must appear here.” This is because everyone is hankering to take prasada. Who does not want to take prasada? Even Krishna is hankering. So the next day, that gopi prepared many kinds of food preparations like laddu, kachori, butter and more. She placed it all in one basket in front of Thakuraji and began meditating. The moment she closed her eyes, Krishna appeared and He started eating all of her offerings. Then, the gopi opened her eyes and after seeing her offerings gone, said, “O Krishna, today my ishtadevi did not give darshana to me. She only ate the prasada I offered.” Krishna replied, “This is true. However, you cannot just offer only once and expect to have darshana. You must take a vow that you will offer prasada for at least one month. After this, your ishtadevi will be pleased and she will give darshana to you.” Krishna is very clever—everyday, He took and ate what she offered. This is a very nice and sweet lila. Bolo Vrindavana Bihari Lala ki jaya!
As told, even for mahajanas like Brahma, Shiva and Narada, darshana can be rare. Sometimes Krishna manifests His lotus feet during their trance and sometimes He does not. Even though they pray for a sprinkle of divine love of the effulgence emanating from the toenail of Krishna, it may manifest in their hearts and it may not. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is not just an ordinary personality.
It is said that if one just chants sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra and honours maha-prasada, Krishna will give darshana. Except, this is not true. If it is not true, then why is this said? To encourage baddha-jivas. Unfortunately, baddha-jivas do not want to chant sixty four rounds. For this reason, acharyas encourage them by saying, “Okay, you can chant sixteen rounds and you will have darshana.” But this is not true. Krishna will only give darshana when you perform hard austerities in chanting. If one regularly performs their bhajana and sadhana and serves guru and Krishna, they will be pleased, Krishna will give darshana to you. Many shlokas explain that if guru is pleased, Krishna is pleased, then Krishna will give darshana. Will Krishna appear after only one day of meditating on Him? No. It is very, very rare to have the darshana of Krishna, even for Brahma, Shiva and Narada.
And in regards to Srimati Radhika, it is also very, very rare to take Her darshana. Actually, it is even rarer to have darshana of Srimati Radhika. If taking darshana of Krishna’s lotus feet is very rare, taking darshana of Srimati Radhika’s lotus feet is even rarer. No ordinary bhajana will lead to you taking darshana of the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika. All of the associates of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did krishna-nama seva. They were also completely detached from material things, vairagya:
mahāprabhura bhakta-gaṇera vairāgya pradhānayāhā dekhi’ prīta hana gaura-bhagavān
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.220)
[Renunciation is the basic principle sustaining the lives of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotees. Seeing this renunciation, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is extremely satisfied.]
When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu observed the vairagya, renunciation of Srila Rupa and Srila Sanatana Gosvami, He became very pleased. There are two meanings of vairagya, renunciation and second, detachment. The second meaning of vairagya is ‘vishesha rupena raga‘. Here, vishesha means deep attachment with Krishna and His lilas. So vairagya means renunciation, and vairagya also means vi - raga. Vi – means special, and raga means deep attachment. So what does vairagya mean? Renunciation and detachment.
Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami very humbly glorified Srila Sanatana Gosvamipada when he said, “I do not want to detach from material sense gratification. However, Sanatana Gosvami caught my hair, choti by force and brought me to the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” Just look at how wonderfully he glorified Sanatana Gosvamipada.
Thus, it is rare for even Brahma, Shiva and Narada to attain darshana of the Lord and even more rare to have darshana of Srimati Radharani. Even Krishna Himself said, “It is very rare to attain the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika.” In Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi, Prabodhananda Sarasvatipada composed this verse:
yo brahma-rudra-suka-narada-bhisma-mukhyairalaksito na sahasa purusasya tasyasadyo-vasi-karana-curnam ananta saktimtam radhika-carana-renum anusmarami
Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi (4)
[I meditate on the dust of Sri Radha's lotus feet; the dust that even Brahma, Shiva, Shukadeva, Narada, Bhishma, and a host of great saints cannot see, the dust that has limitless power, the dust that at once transforms the Supreme Personality of Godhead into Sri Radha's submissive servant.]
Srimati Radhika controls Krishna just by Her smiling face and Her different kinds of activities. She controls Krishna with Her highest prema. And what leads to Her highest prema? Shraddha, sadhu-sanga, bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivritti, nishtha, ruchi, asakti, bhava and prema. After comes sneha, mana, praṇaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, mahabhava, rudha, adhirudha, madana, mohana, and finally, madanakya-mahabhava. Madanakya-mahabhava is the prerogative of Srimati Radharani as it manifests only in the heart of Srimati Radhika.
You cannot find this madanakya-mahabhava in the heart of Lalita, Vishakha or Chandravali. And Krishna is only controlled by the highest prema. Everything depends on mamata. What is love defined by? By the amount of possessiveness you have. ‘Ananya mamata vishnau’. Ananya means being one pointed towards guru and Krishna. ‘Ananya mamata vishnau mamata prema sangata’. This is the actual definition of prema. And what does love mean? Being one pointed towards the object of your possessiveness. In this way, Srimati Radhika controls Krishna. In which way? With Her mamata. ‘Ananya mamata vishnau’ towards Krishna. Srimati Radhika’s mamata is never divided.
There are three kinds of prema: sadharani-rati, samanjasa-rati and samartha-rati. Generally, in the heart of Kubja there is sadharani-rati towards Krishna. Do you want to serve Krishna under the guidance of Kubja? And what does Kubja mean? Someone who has a hunch on their back. With Kubja’s rati, Krishna cannot be controlled.
Another rati is samanjasa-rati, and this prema is found in the hearts of the queens of Dvaraka like Rukmini and Satyabhama. Their prema is divided amongst their sons, daughters and grandsons. Similar to this material world where a married wife and husband have children and then their prema is automatically divided. A brahmachari can give love to his guru. But when that brahmachari becomes a grihastha, then half of his love goes towards his wife. Afterwards, they have one or two children. And after their sons and daughters, perhaps there is only 1% or even 0% of their love left to offer their guru— there will be nothing left for guru.
In the same way, the queens of Dvaraka like Rukmini, Satyabhama, Lakshmana and others, have samanjasa-rati. Because of this, their prema is automatically divided— this is the nature of the material world. However in Vraja, the gopis’ prema is samartha-rati. This is the highest prema, and with their love, they control Krishna. This is because of their strong mamata. I mentioned how prema depends on mamata, possessiveness. The gopis in Vrindavana have so much mamata towards Krishna and only Krishna. They do not have possessiveness towards anyone else. They do not have mamata towards their own husbands, and they are not even attached with their own bodies, what to speak of others?
Vraja-gopis are not deeply attached with their own bodily conception. They actually have no bodily conception, dehatma-buddhi. We have dehatma-buddhi, a bodily conception. And our bodily conceptions are not so easy to forget. Could you forget yourself? Could you forget your parents, wife, husband, children or money? This is not possible. Can you forget your credit cards? Although, sometimes, you may forget where you left your mobile phone.
Now you are not gopis, you are gupis. What does gupi mean? It means you are attached with your body and you listen to your bodily conception. There are those who think they have now become a gopi, but are actually only pretending by thinking, “I am now a gopi.” Do you have no bodily conception, no sharira? Gopis have the highest prema because their prema has so much mamata towards Krishna. For this reason, they can control Krishna. And that prema is called samartha-rati.
In his grantha, Prabodhananda Sarasvatipada, composed so many glorifications about Srimati Radhika. Why? Because Radhika, She is our ishtadevi. And you have to know about your ishtadeva. Ishtadeva means worshipable deity. You must know about who Srimati Radhika is and what She does and what Her qualifications are. You have to know these things. Simply put, we must know radha-tattva because our ishtadeva is Srimati Radhika.
Since Srimati Radhika loves Krishna, we have to give respect to Krishna, and we also have to know about Krishna, krishna-tattva. Hence, you have to know about both Radha and Krishna. When you meditate or perform your bhajana and sadhana, people will ask who your ishtadeva is. Who is He? What are His qualifications? What is He doing? You have to learn these things.
ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛṇdāvanaṁ
ramya kaścid upāsanā vraja-vadhu-varga-vīrya kalpita,
śrīmad-bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇaṁ premā pum-artho mahān
śrī-caitanya mahāprabhor matam idaṁ tatradaraḥ na paraḥ
Chaitanya-manjusha
[Vrajendra-nandana Sri Krishna is our exclusive object of worship and love. In the same way that He is worshipful, so is His transcendental abode, Sri Vrindavana Dhama. The mood in which the young brides of Vraja worship Him is the highest and ultimate form of love of God. Srimad-Bhagavatam alone is the immaculate scriptural evidence of this. Krishna-prema is the supreme objective of life. This is the conception of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We hold this conclusion in supreme regard.]
Srila Vishvanatha Chakravartipada composed this verse. Our ishtadeva is Vrajendra-nandana Shyamasundara and His hladini-shakti-svarupini Srimati Radhika. Srimati Radhika is our ishtadevi. So, who is the presiding deity during this month of Kartika? Srimati Radhika, Kartikeshvari. Since She is the Supreme controller of this month of Kartikа, She is also called Kartikeshvari. One should think, “I must take darshana of the birthplace of Krishna.”
And what does Vraja mean? Vraja means vrajayati, to move. One who moves from one place to another. What does being a Vrajavasi mean? Those who move from one place to another. Since Vrajavasis’ business is cow herding, they travel to a different place once all the grass has been consumed. At times they reside in Nandagaon, sometimes they are in Gokula or Chhatikara— they always move to different places. This is actually why they are called Vrajavasis. What does being a Vrajavasi mean? It does not mean residing in just one place and living in a very nice and beautiful building. Some say, “I am a Vrajavasi.” But how can this be possible? The meaning of Vrajavasi is Vrajayate, one has to move in order to herd cows. Everyday you go to the market to buy milk. How is it possible that you consider yourself a Vrajavasi? Vrajavasi means maintaining one’s life by herding cows.
This is their occupation. What is your occupation? When you arrive in India, on the customs form they ask— What is your occupation? You can select a student, businessman, householder, many options are given. But what is the occupation of the Vrajavasis? Herding cows. And Vrajavasis means vrajayati— one who moves from one place to another. This is part of cow herding.
When the cows consume all of the grass in one place, you must take them somewhere else. First, Nanda Maharaja was staying in Nandagaon, and after a couple of months the cows finished all of the grass. Afterwards, they moved from Nandagaon to Gokula. One day, you will all visit Gokula. Then, after a few months of staying in Gokula, the cows consumed all of the grass there and they moved to Chhatikara.
Thus, this is the original understanding of the word of Vraja. ‘Vrajayati calayati gamayati iti vraje’. One who goes from one place to another herding cows. Now we have established the original and proper understanding of the word Vraja. Any place where Nanda Baba resides with his cows, calves and associates are also to be included in the meaning of the word Vraja. Wherever Nanda Maharaja and all of his family members reside, that land where the cows, gopas, gopis wander is also considered Vraja. This particular dhama is the birthplace of Vrajendra-nandana Shyamasundara Sri Krishna who is called akhila-rasamrita-murti. Krishna is also called Vraja-bihari as Krishna plays in Vraja and He performs His sweet lilas in Vraja. Why? Because Krishna is called akhila-rasamrita-murti:
akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrtiḥ
prasṛmara-ruci-ruddha-tārakā-pāliḥ
kalita-śyāmā-lalito
rādhā-preyān vidhur jayati
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.1.1)
[Sri Krishnachandra is supremely glorious! He is the condensed form of all the eternal, supra-mundane rasas. Indeed, He has not neglected the full expression of any divine sentiment. Just see how He subjugates the extremely submissive gopi Taraka, just as the vernal full moon outshines a tiny star – her own effulgence totally engulfed by His brilliance – and Pali, who is also controlled by Him, is just like a constellation keeping the moon at her bosom. His rays overpower her as well. When the vernal full moon accepts the night sky as a playground, the atmosphere becomes ideal for love dalliance. In the same way, Sri Krishna makes Shyma, who is like the dark blue vault, and Lalita, who is love dalliance personified, His very own. He comes under the control of the prema of Srimati Radhika, who is the embodiment of mahabhava and the origin of all the yutheshvaris, just as the full moon comes under the powerful influence of the radha constellation in the spring season. Srimati Radhika’s love completely eclipses and defeats Him. She is His everything, without which He is just the lonely moon.]
In the invocation shloka of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvamipada explains that Krishna is also known as akhila-rasamrita-sindhu. He is an ocean of nectarean mellows. ‘Akhila-rasamrita-murti’, Krishna is the embodiment of the nectar of all rasas— primary and secondary.
There are twelve rasas, five primary and seven secondary. Shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya are the five primary rasas. The secondary rasas are hasya, adbhuta, vira, karuna, raudra, bibhatsa and bhaya. In Vraja, Krishna performs His pastimes eternally with His associates, especially with Srimati Radhika. This is because Srimati Radhika is the embodiment of mahabhava— the essence of His hladini-shakti.
Krishna performs all of His activities with His internal potency or hladini-shakti, Srimati Radhika. Krishna even dances with His hladini-shakti. Meaning that Srimati Radhika makes Krishna dance with Her pleasure potency. Her hladini-shakti refers to Her pleasure potency. The most exalted of all rasa-mayi-lilas, nectarian filled pastimes, is the rasa lila— Krishna’s dancing pastime with His eternal associates. In Vraja, Krishna performed many lilas. His childhood pastimes there are known as balya-lila. Krishna also performed sweet lilas with His friends, called sakhya-lilas. All of these pastimes are very nice and beautiful.
itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā
dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena
māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa
sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.12.11)
[In this way, all the cowherd boys used to play with Krishna, who is the source of the Brahman effulgence for jnanis desiring to merge into that effulgence, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead for devotees who have accepted eternal servitorship, and who for ordinary persons is but another ordinary child. The cowherd boys, having accumulated the results of pious activities for many lives, were able to associate in this way with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can one explain their great fortune?]
Srila Shukadeva Gosvamipada told how Krishna performed His sweet sakhya-lilas, with His sakhis, friends. And what is His topmost lila called? The rasa-lila.
jaya jaya ujjvala-rasa sarva-rasa-sāra
parakīyā-bhāve jāhā vrajete pracāra
Jaya Radhe Jaya Krishna (10)
[All glories, all glories to the mellow of conjugal love, which is the most excellent of all rasas and is propagated in Vraja by Sri Krishna in the form of the divine parakiya-bhava.]
Krishna’s top most lila is called the rasa-lila. Krishna performs sweet and amorous pastimes with the gopis in the rasa-lila. There are actually many different sweet amorous lilas taking place within the rasa-lila. Like the drinking honey pastimes, (madhu-pana-lila), swing lila (jhulana-lila), water sporting pastimes and boat sporting pastimes (nauka-lilas). Many kinds of lilas are also found there. For example, vamshi-chori, the lila when gopis stole Krishna’s flute. Many different sweet interactions take place there. However, what is the topmost lila called? The rasa-lila where Krishna and the gopis are dancing, singing, embracing and kissing.
Bolo Vrindavana Bihari Lala ki jaya!
Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe!
Date: 15 October 2016 Location: Mathura
Transcriber: Sanatana dasa (USA) Editor: Sanatana dasa (USA) Proofreader: Chandrika dasi (UK) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia) Image: Nrisimhananda das (Russia)
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