Aum Sri Radhayai Namaha!

23

Radha

O Devi Radhika! Your color is like the white champaka flower.

Your face is like the autumnal full moon;

Your body shines with the splendor of ten million moons,

Your eyes are as beautiful as the autumnal lotus;

Your lips are as red as the bimba fruit;

Your loins are heavy and decked with a girdle;

Your gracious face is sweetly smiling;

Your breasts defy the frontal lobe of an elephant;

You are ever youthful;

Your body is adorned with ornaments;

You form the waves of the ocean of erotic love;

You are ever ready to show your grace to all devotees;

Your hair is braided with jasmine;

Your body is as tender as a creeper;

You are seated in the middle of the rasa mandalam;

One hand shows the mudra of fearlessness and the other of granting boons;

You are dearer to Krishna than his life.

O Parameswari! The Vedas reveal your true nature.

—SAMA VEDA

Lord Krishna, the Purushottama or the supreme personality of God, is well known to the world. But the esoteric significance of Radha, his soul mate, has not been fully understood.

Radha’s life is inextricably connected with that of Krishna, and she is hardly ever mentioned by herself. She was the daughter of a herdsman called Vrishabhanu and was born in the little village of Barsana, close to Vraja, where Krishna spent his childhood. Krishna was the son of Vasudeva, a nobleman of the Yadava clan. However, because he feared Kamsa, the king of their clan, his father brought the baby Krishna to the village of Vraja and exchanged him for the baby girl who had just been born to the village headman, Nandagopa, chief of the cowherders (gopalas).

Krishna’s foster parents, Yasoda and Nandagopa, fully believed him to be their son, and he was brought up like any other gopala boy. In the village of Vraja and later in the woods and glades of the nearby forest of Vrindavana, the boy Krishna performed many miracles that are sung about by bards to this very day. The gopis (women of the gopalas, or milkmaids) doted on Krishna as a baby and as a child. But their interest changed to passionate longing for him when he grew older. None of them, even married women, were able to resist his beauty and charm. Though he was only twelve years old at that time, Krishna’s appeal was irresistible. Everyone and everything was drawn to him—the cows, the herdsmen, the trees, and the boys. What wonder that the gopis felt as if they could not exist without him? There were hundreds of gopis, and all of them felt that Krishna alone was their lord and master. Nothing could deter the mad rush of their hearts toward him.

The young gopis performed forty-one days of adoration and worship of the Divine Mother in her form as Kartyayini, the virgin goddess, and begged her to enable them to achieve their hearts’ desire and get Krishna, son of Nandagopa, as their husband.

O Kartyayini, [the virgin goddess]

O Mahamaya! [the great deluder]

O Mahayogi! [the great yogi]

O Yateeswari, [goddess of all renunciates]

O Devi! Please grant me the boon that I will get the son of Nandagopa,

As my husband.

—BHAGAVAD PURANA

In the beginning of spring, the gopis bathed in the cold waters of the river Kalindi in the predawn hours and, using an idol made out of river sand, worshipped the goddess with the mantra above. Finally, on the last day of their worship, while they were bathing naked in the river, the lord of their hearts arrived, looking like a veritable Cupid. He decided to teach them the most important lesson in the life of any true devotee. With a teasing glance in their direction, he took away the clothes they had left on the banks and perched himself on the branch of a tree. He hung the clothes on different branches and told them to come out of the water and get their clothes one by one. They begged and pleaded with him, but he was adamant.

“How did you get into the water?” he asked them. “You must have left the clothes on the banks and jumped in naked. If you felt no shame being with each other, why should you feel shame with me? Don’t you know that I am the Paramatman and you are part of me? There is nothing about you that I don’t know.”

At last they came out of the water one by one and received their clothes from his hands. He then blessed them and promised them that he would satisfy their desires on the full-moon nights of the autumn season.

This is one of the most misunderstood scenes in the life of Krishna. But it has a deep esoteric significance that has to be understood before we can proceed on the path of devotion. There are many bonds that separate the jivatman from the Paramatman. The main bond is the one of the body. Considering ourselves to be the body alone, we willfully cut ourselves off from our inner reality. As long as this sense of separation exists we can never attain union with the supreme. The gopis have been eulogized as the greatest examples of pure bhakti or devotion to God, without any trace of selfishness. Though this was true, they still had one bond left, and that was the one to their body. Krishna had to remove this final attachment before he could grant them the fulfillment of their desires, which was union with him, who was the embodiment of the supreme reality. This was the reason he asked them to come naked and receive their clothes from him without shame—without the feeling of separateness.

The highest yogis in Hinduism are known as avadhutas or those who wear no clothes. These great souls have cast off their attachment to their body, and as a symbol of this detachment they have discarded their clothes. Before he could give them the ultimate experience, Krishna had to transform the gopis into avadhutas.

The famous episode, known as the Rasa Lila, in which Krishna danced with the gopis, took place in the forest of Vrindavana on the night of the full moon in the month of Kartika (mid-October to mid-November). The lord took his stance under a tree in the forest at night, just as the moon started to rise, and played on his celestial flute. The notes were heard in far-off Vraja and brought thrills of delight to the hearts of the gopis. It is said that in the mad rush of their hearts toward him, who was the beloved of the whole of creation, the gopis forgot all their external bonds—their duties to their husbands, parents, and even children. Leaving all their unfinished chores, hundreds of them ran to the forest, totally oblivious of everything except the call of their divine beloved. This was the enticing call of the Paramatman, the supreme soul, to the jivatman, the embodied soul encased in the gown of the body. How could they resist it? All the duties of a normal Hindu woman were forgotten.

The human being has only one basic duty, and that is to attain union with God. Until we realize this, we are bound to perform all the other duties imposed on us by society and by our own nature and desires. But the moment this supreme duty becomes paramount in our minds, all other duties can be forgotten. We have no more duties to perform because we expect nothing from the world. Our entire dependence is on God alone. This was the state of the gopis of Vrindavana, and that is why they are worshipped to this day as the greatest examples of devotion.

In their eagerness to reach their beloved the gopis had forgotten to put on their makeup or even to dress properly. None noticed the state in which the others were, since their minds were concentrated totally on their beloved. The state of their mind was that of a meditating yogi, single-minded and fixed on Krishna. He tenderly attended to the perfection of their toilette before leading them to a clearing in the woods that was perfect for the dance that is known as the Rasa Lila.

In this dance every gopi found herself to be partnered by a Krishna, so that there were hundreds of Krishnas and hundreds of gopis. There was yet another Krishna in the middle of the circle who was playing the flute and supplying the music for their dance. This setup is an allegory of the dance of life that the Paramatman plays with each jivatman. Each one feels that God is her very own, just as every gopi felt that Krishna belonged to her alone. Then, however, ego reared its ugly head in the breasts of the gopis, and they felt that they had conquered Krishna by their charm and beauty. At that moment it is said that the lord disappeared from their midst and they were left bereft.

The only gopi who had no ego was Radha, and for this reason she was Krishna’s favorite. She lived in a world peopled by Krishna alone (Krishnamayam Jagat). Some books say that she was married. Regardless, she cared not for any worldly ties. For a few short years she lived in blissful companionship and love with her beloved Krishna.

Radha is the supreme model of love for Krishna. Radha’s love and therefore her fame are far greater than that of his wives. Why this illicit love has been extolled in the life of Krishna is a pertinent question with deep esoteric significance. A wife gives up nothing to go to her husband. The marital ties are supported by society and she has nothing to lose. In fact, she gains the security of a husband and a fair name in society and may look forward to a protected life and an old age supported by her husband and the children to come. On the other hand, a woman who steals out in the middle of the night to meet her lover is despised by society and has no rights over her lover. He might desert her at any moment. But she cares not for these material things. She is prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of her love. She gives up her fair name and her chastity and demands nothing in return. She gives up everything that is precious to a woman without any thought of recompense. This is the height of selfless love! A wife’s love can never compete with this. This is why the Bhagavad Purana extols the illicit love of the gopis as the highest of all loves.

Only the soul who is prepared to give up everything for the sake of God will be accepted by him as his very own. Hence was Radha so dear to Krishna. The frenzy and ecstasy of their union was heightened by the constant threat of separation. At last the inevitable happened and Krishna left Vraja, never to return. But his love for Radha never diminished, nor did hers for him, for theirs was the union of the jivatman with the Paramatman, and physical distance could never separate them. Krishna’s love for Radha is depicted as being as deep as or even deeper than hers for him. The love that God bears for his devotee is far stronger than what the human heart can feel for God. Hence all the great poems written in India about their amazing love affair stress Krishna’s love for Radha as being equal to hers for him.

In Hindu philosophy the devotee is allowed to approach God in many ways. In the shanta bhava or the contemplative mood, God is considered to be transcendent. In the dasya bhava or the attitude of the servant, God is the master. In the vatsalya bhava or the attitude of a parent, God is thought of as a child. In the sakhya bhava or the attitude of a friend, God is considered to be a friend. The culmination of all devotional moods is said to be mathurya bhava or the mood of ecstatic love, in which God is considered to be one’s lover. This was the case for the gopis and, most particularly, Radha.

The relationship between Radha and Krishna typifies the pinnacle of devotion and is a graphic metaphor for the human-divine love affair. This relationship is what every devotee wants to achieve with her own ishta devata or favorite deity. However, we rarely experience such intense love in our lives. We are never true to ourselves. How, then, can we be true to God? We are all mediocre devotees, with weak bodies, frail minds, and raging emotions that cannot be controlled. The fire of supreme love cannot be contained within our weak frames. It is a mystery that the ordinary human mind just cannot fathom.

The Puranas say, “Speech and mind turn back from that which they are not supposed to express or understand.” Human beings have a certain mode of thinking that they are not prepared to change even for the purpose of attaining God. We fear losing the approbation of the society as well as losing our individuality in the ocean of love that God offers. We are bound by the shackles of the society that divides us into men and women, rich and poor, good and bad, Indian or American. Until we strip ourselves of these false values, like the gopis did, and stand naked before God, we will never be able to understand the mystery of the love of Radha and Krishna. God is beyond all relationships. He demands nothing short of complete abnegation of the individual ego from the one who wants to be his beloved. All our pride and prejudices have to melt before God, the super-relational being. This melting of the human individuality is bhakti (complete devotion). This is what Krishna demanded of the gopis. There was nothing halfhearted or mediocre in their love for Krishna. And Radha’s love for him surpassed the consummation of all other loves.

In later poetical works and especially the love poems of twelfth-century writer Jayadeva, called the Gita Govinda, the picture of Radha is clearly drawn. The Bhagavad Purana gives the play of Krishna with the gopis a festive, joyful appearance, like that of a carnival. In the Gita Govinda, the stress is on the sorrow felt by the woman (Radha) when she is separated from her lover. This sadness, known as viraha dukkha, is an emotion felt by all lovers of God when he fails to manifest himself even after years of constant prayer and supplication. This anguish of separation is something that has been experienced by every ardent devotee. The Gita Govinda portray in full the deep sense of despair and loneliness that the soul experiences when separated from the cosmic beloved. All Jayadeva’s poems are written from the point of view of Radha, and they take place in the secrecy and stillness of night in the woods. They explore the interior landscapes of a mind obsessed with the love of God, in this case Krishna. But the sentiments they explore would apply equally well to any devotee who has felt this sense of desolation and sorrow at the separation from God. The pathos in these poems will bring tears to the eyes of a loving reader.

Radha’s illicit love for Krishna is also the central theme in the poetry of Vidyapati (1352–1448) and fourteenth-century poet Chandidasa. Vidyapati describes Radha as a woman of a noble family and Krishna as a common villager in order to show the extent of the sacrifice that Radha was prepared to make in order to consummate her love.

Radha plays a prominent role in the Vaishnava cult, which considers Krishna to be the supreme incarnation of God. The superiority of illicit love is given great stress in all the schools of Vaishnavism. As has been mentioned before, married love has its basis on rights and obligations in which both partners have specific demands and duties. They may easily stop loving each other if either partner does not live up to these expectations. Even their physical love is characterized by selfish desire, known as kama, being for the gratification of their sexual lust. There are no obstacles in the path of their love, and thus it tends to become monotonous and boring.

The relationship between Radha and Krishna, however, is based on prema or unselfish love. The impediments that Radha has to face only increase her love and longing. Her love is faced with risk and filled with insecurity. The long periods of separation help enhance her feelings and augment the thrill of union. This is why this type of relationship has been extolled as the highest in the human-divine love affair. The devotee’s affair with the cosmic beloved knows no waning or boredom. God is the perfect lover, and the devotee has to be always on guard, always keeping her mind on him alone. God does not tolerate any adulterous behavior on the part of the perfect devotee. She cannot have partial love for the world and partial love for him. If she does, then like Krishna deserted the gopis she will find that God has deserted her. Then like Radha she has to weep and beg and pray incessantly until he deigns to reveal himself again. The lord plays a game of hide-and-seek with the devotee. He is always free to come and go, and the devotee often has to spend long periods in painful separation from him.

Radha is the paradigm of complete devotion. Her mind is obsessed with Krishna and cannot forget him even for a moment. Her total absorption in him is contrasted to the fleeting glimpses of the lord that meditating sages and ascetics attain after arduous spiritual exercises. In many sects of Vaishnavism, especially in Bengal, Radha herself is worshipped. Krishna has many powers or shaktis within himself; the most essential of these is the aahladini shakti or the power of bliss. This shakti is the most sublime and refined essence of God. Radha is supposed to be the embodiment of this shakti. In this aspect, God’s sport with her is an expression of his dalliance with himself—the supreme, reveling in his own bliss.

The Devi Bhagavatam identifies Radha with Mula Prakriti or the original cause of this universe. Radha is the presiding deity of prana (the life breath or force) and Durga of buddhi (intellect). These two shaktis guide the whole world. Liberation cannot be obtained without satisfying them. The six-syllabled mantra of Radha is Sri Radhayai Svaaha (I invoke Sri Radha). Radha is Krishna’s prana. She is the queen of Vraja and the chief participant in the Rasa Lila. During worship she is to be seated on a golden throne along with Krishna and worshipped as Mula Prakriti. Thus we find that over the course of history, Radha’s role has changed from being the supreme devotee of Krishna to being considered a goddess in her own right. This shows us that God elevates his pure devotees to his own status.

O friend, I cannot tell you

Whether he was near or far, real or a dream.

Like a vein of lightning,

As I chained the dark one,

I felt a river flooding in my heart,

Like a shining moon.

I devoured that liquid face,

I felt stars shooting around me.

—VIDYAPATI

Thus ends the twenty-third chapter of Shakti, known as “Radha,” which describes the greatness of Radha, the goddess of love.

Aum Aim Hreem Kleem