http://www.salagram.net/calendar-rad...m#Radhamastami

Siddhi-lalasa, hankering for spiritual perfection,
by Thakura Bhaktivinode

(1) kabe gaura-bane, suradhuni-tate
‘ha radhe ha krsna’ bole’
kandiya bera’bo, deho-sukhachari’,
nana lata-taru tale

sva-paca-grhete, magiya khaibo,
pibo saraswati-jala
puline puline, gara-gari dibo,
kori’ krsna-kolahala

dhama-basi jane, pranati koriya,
magibo krpara lesa
baisnaba-carana-renu gaya makhi’
dhori abadhuta-besa

gauda-braja-jane, bheda na dekhibo,
hoibo baraja-basi
dhamera swarupa, sphuribe nayane,
hoibo radhara dasi

Translation

When will I wander weeping
under the shade of various trees and creepers
on the banks of Ganges in the land of Navadvipa, crying, “O Radha! O Krsna!”
and forgetting all physical comforts?

I will even take my meals
by begging at the homes of the candalas
and will drink the water of the Sarasvati.
In ecstasy I will roll on the ground
along the banks of the river,
raising an uproar of “Krsna! Krsna!”

Bowing down to the inhabitants
of the holy land of Navadvipa,
I will beg a bit of their mercy.
I will wear the dress of a mendicant
and smear the dust of the Vaisnavas’s feet on my body.

I will see no difference
between the inhabitants of Vraja Bhumi
and those of Navadvipa,
and I will be transformed
into a resident of Vraja.
The true nature of the Lord’s abode
will manifest itself to my eyes,
and I will become a maidservant of Srimati Radharani.

2) 1.dekhite dekhite, bhulibo ba kabe,
nija-sthula-paricoya
nayane heribo, braja-pura-sobha,
nitya cid-ananda-moya

2.brsabhanu-pure, janama loibo,
jabate bibaha ha’be
braja-gopi-bhava, hoibe swabhava,
ano-bhava na rohibe

3.nija-siddha-deho, nija-siddha-nama
nija-rupa-sva-basana
radha-krpa-bale, lobhibo ba kabe
krsna-prema-prakarana

4.jamuna-salila aharane giya,
bujhibo jugala-rasa
prema-mugdha ho’ye, pagalini-praya
gaibo radhara jasa

Translation

When, in a flash,
will I forget my false bodily indentity
and be able to behold the exquisite beauty
of the realm of Vraja,
full of eternal spiritual bliss?

I shall take my birth in the town of King Vrsabhanu
and be married in Yavatagram.
My sole disposition and character
shall be that of a cowherd girl,
and I shall know no other.

When, by the power of Radha’s mercy,
will I obtain my own eternal spiritual body,
name, form and dress and when,
by Her mercy,
will I obtain initiation into divine love of Krsna?

As I go to draw water from the Yamuna,
I shall cherish knowing the love
that unites Radha with Krsna.
I shall sing Sri Radha’s glories like a madwoman,
enchanted by divine love.

<font color="red"> THE SERVICE OF SRI RADHA'S LOTUS FEET </font color>
<font color="brown">
Not only the gopis desire the service of Sri Radha's lotus feet, since She is the greatest of them all, but even Sri Krishna Himself desires this. Once, after enjoying loving pastimes with Him, Sri Radhika proudly orders Him to redress Her before Her girlfriends will notice that They have made love, and will ridicule Her. Sripada, in his form as Radhika's maidservant, brings all the items for Her dressing. Srimati orders Krishna:

"Anoint My feet with footlac!"

Krishna places Nagari-mani's (Radha, the jewel of ladyloves) feet on His chest and starts the job. The kinkari brings Him a brush and a cup with the liquid lac. Nagara holds the brush and the kinkari holds the cup. Nagara loses Himself when He beholds the sweetness and beauty of Radhika's foot soles. Sometimes He holds them to His chest and sometimes He kisses them while tears of love flow from His eyes. Srimati nervously says:

"What are You doing? Put the lac on! Quickly!"

Nagara's hands shiver of ecstasy, so Svamini slightly smiles and tells Her kinkari,

"Nagara cannot do it, you do it!",

so the kinkari softly pushes Krishna away, saying:

"Syama, move up! You can't do it!" Nagara thinks: "Alas! When will I be so fortunate to serve Svamini's feet like this kinkari? How can I become as qualified as her?"

This shows how even Krishna desires the foot service of Sri Radha. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The Kamadhenu (desire-cow) was churned out of the Milk Ocean by the demons and the demigods and she fulfills all desires. In the same way the dust of Sri Radhika's lotus feet gives Radhika's maidservants the perfection of rasa. Within the mellow of service these kinkaris also relish the mellow of friendship. The writers of the rasa-sastras say that the parental mellow (vatsalya rasa) is incompatible with the sweet amorous mellow (madhurya rasa), but in Sri Radhika's storehouse of rasa there is no shortage of parental affection for Her maidservants. The footdust of Sri Radhika is thus a wish yielding Kamadhenu-cow, that contains dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya rasa. [An excerpt from the commentary of the fifth verse.]</font color>

<font color="red">Sri Sri Radha Appearance Day </font color>

(3) 1.brsabhanu-suta-carana-sebane
hoibo je palya-dasi
sri-radhara sukha, satata sadhane,
rohibo ami prayasi

2.sri-radhara sukhe, krsnera je sukha
janibo manete ami
radha-. chari’, sri-krsna-sangame,
kabhu na hoibo kani

3.sakhi-gana mama, parama-suhrit,
jugala-premera guru
tad-anuga ho’ye, sevibo radhara,
carana-kalapa-taru

4.radha-pakha chari, je-jana se-jana,
je bhave se bhave thake
ami to’radhika- pakha-pati sadha,
kabhu nahi heri ta’ke

Translation

For serving the lotus feet of Sri Radha,
the daughter of Vrsabhanu,
I will become a maidservant
of one of the gopis in Vraja.
I will always strive to bring about
the happiness of Sri Radha.

Within my heart I will know
that Radha’s pleasure is Krsna’s source of Joy.
Therefore I will never desire
to abandon Her lotus feet for His solitary company.

The sakhis are my best friends and teachers
concerning the love uniting Radha with Krsna.
As one of their attendants,
I will serve Radha’s lotus feet,
which are like wish-fulfilling desire trees.

I myself am always partial to Radhika
and therefore never look at those who have abandoned Radha’s entourage,
whoever they may be and whatever their ways.

Humble request...I will not be near my computer all day on the third. Can someone please post pictures of the celebration from the LA temple webcam? I am told Srimate Radharani will be wearing a beautiful flower dress on Her appearance day and I want so much to see Her.

Hara is Krishna’s internal potency, Shrimati Radharani :

When we are chanting the maha-mantra, we are actually addressing God and His energy, Hara. Hara is Krishna’s internal potency, Shrimati Radharani. Thus the Vaishnavas worship Radha-Krishna, Lakshmi-Narayan and Sita-Rama. In the beginning of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra we first address the internal energy of Krishna, Hare. Thus we say, "O Radharani! O Hare! O energy of the Lord!"

from Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/radharani.htm

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/krishna_print_eighty.htm

Excerpt from

Embankment of Separation

from Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami

Chapter Seven

Sri Kshetra Dhama





Jagannath Puri Dhama is known as Sri Kshetra. Sri Devi is the svarupa-sakti, Krishna’s internal potency. Therefore, that dhama which is glorified by the presence of the sri-sakti is known as Sri Kshetra. ‘Sri’ means sarva-laksmimayi amsini radhika, Srimati Radhika, who is the source of all saktis.

All goddesses of fortune in Vaikunthapura are expansions of Radhika. And the 16,108 wives of Krishna — Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, etc. — are all expansions of Radharani. They are aisvarya-mayi, full of opulence. The gopis of Vrajabhumi are also expansions of Radharani, so Radharani is amsini, the source. The laksmis are aisvarya-mayi, whereas Radharani is madhurya-mayi, full of sweetness. Therefore, those who are followers or devotees of madhurya-rasa can see that Sri Kshetra is the ksetra in which Radharani’s madhurya-rasa is manifested. Only such madhurya-rasa bhaktas can see it; others cannot. That is why Jagannath Puri is known as Sri Kshetra.

And Mahaprabhu stayed there because He had assumed radha-bhava. Upon seeing Jagannath He would see Syamasundara and think, “O beloved of My heart!” Therefore that ksetra which is glorified and influenced by Radharani’s madhurya-rasa is known as Sri Kshetra.

When the Lord descends, He is invariably accompanied by His loving associates. Five thousand years when Sri Krishna descended in His original form, as a cowherd boy in Vrindavan, Srimati Radharani accompanied Him in Her original form. She appeared exactly two weeks after the appearance of Sri Krishna on the eighth day of the waning moon (ashtami). Srimati Radharani was found on a lotus flower by Vrashabhanu and his wife Kirtida near the village of Barsana, a few miles away from Nandagrama. It is said that Srimati Radharani first opened Her eyes only when Sri Krishna appeared before Her. Until that time Her eyes were closed.

Radharani..., today is Radharani's appearance day. So we should try to understand Radharani's feature. Radharani is the pleasure potency, hladini-sakti. Anandamayo 'bhyasat. In the Vedanta-sutra the Absolute Truth is described as anandamaya, always in pleasure potency.

That anandamaya potency... Just like ananda. When you want ananda, pleasure, you cannot have it alone. Alone, you cannot enjoy. When you are in the circles of friend or family or other associates, you feel pleasure. Just like I am speaking. The speaking is very pleasing when there are many persons here. I cannot speak alone here.

That is not ananda. I can speak here at night, dead of night, nobody here. That is not ananda. Ananda means there must be others. So because Krsna, the Absolute Truth, is anandamaya, therefore eko bahu syam, He has become many. We are also Krsna's part and parcel, to give pleasure to Krsna. And the chief pleasure potency is Radharani.

And when Krsna want to enjoy, what kind of enjoyment that shall be? Try to understand this point. Krsna is so great; God is great, everyone knows. So when the great wants to enjoy, then what quality of enjoyment that should be? That is to be understood. Radha-krsna... Therefore Svarupa Damodara Gosvami has written a verse, radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtih.

You cannot see Krsna with your material eyes. Neither you can hear about Him with your material ears. Neither you can touch. But if you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then He'll reveal Himself to you: "Here I am." That is wanted. So feel separation of Krsna just like Radharani, as Lord Caitanya teaches us, and engage your tongue in the service of the Lord; then, one day, when you are mature, you'll see Krsna eye to eye.

http://www.salagram.net/calendar-radha8.htm

Among Radha’s innumerable transcendental attributes, She has twenty-five principal qualities.

1) Radharani is very sweet and most charming to look at;

2) Radha is adolescent and always freshly youthful;

3) Radhika’s eyes are doe-like and restless;

4) Sri Radha’s face is smiling and every blissful’

5) Auspicious, beautiful lines adorn Sri Radha’s lotus hands and feet;

6) Radharani maddens Krsna with Her fragrant bodily aroma;

7) Srimati Radharani is the most exceptional singer and vina player;

8) Radha’s words are charming and pleasing;

9) Radha is expert at telling jokes that delight Krnsa;

10) Srimati Radhika is exceptionally humble;

11) Radha is the embodiment of mercy and compassion;

12) Sri Radha’s intelligence and wit surpasses all;

13) Radharani is expert at performing all activities of love:

14) Shyness is the shining gem in Radha’s character’

15) Srimati Radharani is the beacon light of modesty and never swerves from the path of honesty;

16) radha is never perturbed by worldly sorrow or misery;

17) Sri radha has unbounded gravity and sublimity;

18) Radhika is ever fascinated to unite Herself with Krsna;

19) Radha possesses Mahabhava, the highest sentiments of love;

20) Radharani is the reservoir of loving affairs in Gokula;

21) Radha’s transcendental glories are shining in all the worlds;

22) Sri Radha is most affectionate to her superiors;

23) Radhika is submissive to the love of Her senior girlfriends;

24) Radharani is the chief among Krsna’s gopi lovers;

25) Radha always keeps Sri Krsna under Her control. Krsna submissively obeys Radha’s command.

“Srimati Radharani always keeps Her hand on the shoulders of Her friends and Radha always talks and thinks of the pastimes of Krsna. Radharani forever offers Krsna a kind of intoxication by Her sweet talks. Sri radha supplies all the demands of Sri Krsna, and Radharani possesses unique and uncommon qualities meant for Krsna’s satisfaction. Srimati Radhika is able to fulfill all the desires of Krsna. No one else can do so. Radha is so expert in all affairs that the damsels of Vraja come to learn the arts from her”. (TLC Chap.31)

O Srimati Radharani,
You are the exalted form of mahabhava,
therefore You are the most dear to Krsna.
O Goddess,
you alone are able to bestow pure love
for the Supreme Lord;
therefore I offer my humble obeisances unto You.

(Arcana Paddhati p.68)

Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna
Hare Hare,
Hare Rama
Hare Rama
Rama Rama
Hare Hare

Srimati Radharani is the best of all the asrayas,
the sources of devotion.

She is the very crown jewel of devotion:

anayaradhito nunam bhagavan harir-isvaram
yan-no vihaya govindam prito yamanayadraham

[The Vraja-gopis said]

O my friend! Leaving us aside Sri Krsna has gone off to a secluded place with a particular gopi. She must truly be expert in worshiping (anayaradhito) Him, for He was so pleased with Her service that He has left us all behind.

[The hidden meaning of this verse is that Sri Radha, who is indicated here by the word "aradhita" is the topmost maidservant and devotee of Sri Krsna, being the very crown jewel of devotion.]

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.30.28)




She helps the Lord in realizing the essence of His desires:


kamsarirapi samsara-vasana baddha-srnkhalam
radhamadhaya hrdaye tatyaja vraja-sundarim

Lord Krsna, the enemy of smsa, left aside the other gopis during the rasa dance and took Srimati Radharani to His heart, for She helps the Lord in realizing the essence of His desires.

(Gita-Govinda 3.1)

The following is from Srila Gour Govinda Swami’s

“The Last Limit of Bhakti”:

My Guru is Radharani:


In this line, in our guru-parampara Krsna is at top, but Krsna says,

Radhikara prema-guru, ami-sisya nata
Sada ama nana nrtye nacaya udbhata
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.124)

“My guru is Radharani,” Krsna says. “In loving affairs My guru is Radharani, so She always makes Me dance according to Her tune.”

So who is at the topmost platform of guru?
That is Radharani. So although in our guru-parampara the topmost position is Krsna, He says,
“Radharani is My guru in loving affairs
and She makes Me dance according to Her tune.
I’ll dance, I’ll dance.
Ami-sisya nata, I am Her disciple and nata, dancer.”

"Lord Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. Nityananda is the servant of God, serving Gaurasundara by the distinctive method of reverential servitude. He is identical with Sri Balarama of Krishna-lila. Sri Balarama is not a chum of Krishna, but His respected elder brother. Individual souls are under the direction of Nityananda. They receive the service of Sri Gaurasundara or Krishna at His hands.

Nityananda is the ultimate source of the jiva and the jiva is a potency of Nityananda. Nityananda and His companions form one of the five groups of the associates of Lord Caitanya, whose distinctive function is that of guru. But Nityananda does not directly instruct in the confidential service of Krishna.

Srimati Radhika is the guru of the inner circle
of the servants of Krishna. Srimati Radharani
however accepts the offering of service of only
those souls who are especially favored by Nityananda
and are deemed by Him to be fit for Her service. There is therefore a most intimate relationship between the function of Nityananda
and that of Srimati Radharani."

( Harmonist, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur)

In The Glories of Srimati Radharani Srila Prabhupad said: (S.P Los Angeles, June 23, 1970)

...Just like Radharani. She thinks always Herself as the lowest of the devotees. She thinks always. She sees always that the gopis, other gopis, they are better qualified to serve Krsna. And She is not qualified, so much qualified. Therefore in Vrndavana, you'll find, the devotees approach Radharani. "Jaya Radhe." Because if Radharani advocates for him to Krana, it is very easily accepted. And Radharani says... If Radharani is pleased, then She represents the devotee's case that "Here is a devotee. He's better than Me. Kindly accept his service, Krsna." So Krsna cannot deny. So maha-bhava. Radharani is maha-bhava.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu displayed that maha-bhava. That maha-bhava is not possible for ordinary man. It is especially prerogative of Srimati Radharani and who played the part of Radharani, although He's Krsna, Caitanya Mahaprabhu (S.P Los Angeles, June 23, 1970)

From Gitavali

Eight Prayers in Glorification of Srimati Radharani

By Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura

Song 1

(1)

radhika-carana-padma, sakala sreyera sadma,
jatane je nahi aradhilo
radha-padmankita dhama, brndabana jar nama,
taha je na asroy korilo

1) He who has failed to carefully worship the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani, which are the abode of all auspiciousness; he who has not taken shelter in the transcendental abode known as Vrndavana, which is decorated with the beautiful lotus flower named Radha...

(2)

radhika-bhava-gambhir, citta jeba mahadhir,
gana-sanga na koilo jivane
kemone se syamananda, rasa-sindhu-snanananda,
labhibe bujhoha eka-mane

2) ...he who in this life has not associated with the devotees of Radhika, who are very wise and whose devotion for Radha is very deep-how will such a person ever experience the bliss of bathing in the ocean of Lord Syama's sublime mellows? Please understand this most attentively.

(3)

radhika ujjvala-raser acarya
radha-madhava-suddha-prem vicarya

3) Srimati Radhika is the exemplary teacher of the brilliant mellows of conjugal love. This pure love between Radha and Madhava is worthy of discussion and contemplation.

(4)

je dharilo radha-. parama jatane
se pailo krsna-. amulya-ratane

4) He who has grasped hold of the lotus feet of Radha with great care obtains the lotus feet of Krsna, which are like priceless jewels.

(5)

radha-. vina kabhu krsna nahi mile
radhar dasir krsna sarva-vede bole

5) Without taking shelter of the lotus feet of Radha, one can never personally meet Lord Krsna. The Vedic scriptures declare that Krsna is the property of the maidservants of Sri Radha.

(6)

chorata dhana-jan, kalatra-suta-mita,
choata karama geyan
radha-.-pankaja, madhurata sevan,
bhakativinoda paraman

6) Abandoning wealth, followers, wife, sons, and friends, and giving up materialistic activities and intellectual knowledge, being absorbed in the sweetness of service to the lotus feet of rmat Radharai-this is Bhaktivinoda's conviction.

Song 8

(1)

radha-bhajane jadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

1) If your desire for the worship of Srimati Radharai does not come about, then your so-called worship of Krsna is completely useless.

(2)

atapa-rohita suraya nahi jani
radha-virahita madhava nahi mani

2) Just as I never know the sun to be without without sunlight, so I do not care to regard Madhava without Radha.

(3)

kevala madhava pujaye so ajnani
radha anadara koro-i abhimani
3) One who worships Madhava alone is imperfect in his knowledge, and one who disrespects Radha is simply conceited and proud.

(4)

kabanhi nahi korobi tankor sanga
citte icchasi jadi braja-rasa-ranga

4) You should never associate with such a person if you at all desire within your heart to participate in the eternal sportive pastimes of Vraja.

(5)

radhika-dasi jadi hoy abhiman
sighra-i mila-i taba gokula-kan

5) If one considers oneself to be a humble maidservant of Radhika, then such a person very quickly meets the Lord of Gokula.

(6)

brahma, siva, narada, sruti, narayani
radhika-.-raja pujaye mani'

6) Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Narada Muni, the personified Vedas, and Laksmi-devi all honor and worship the dust of Radhika's lotus feet.

(7)

uma, rama, satya, saci, candra, rukmini
radha-avatara sabe,-amnaya-vani

7) The Vedic scriptures declare that the goddesses Uma, Rama, Satya, Saci, Candra, and Rukmini are all personal expansions of Srimati Radharai.

(8)

heno radha-paricarya jankara dhan
bhakativinoda ta'r magaye cara

8) Bhaktivinoda, whose only treasure is the service of such a Radha, humbly begs for Her lotus feet.

http://www.chakra.org/living/gloriestoradha.pdf

Jai Sri Radhe!





Govinda Jaya Jaya Gopala Jaya Jaya!
Radha-ramana Hari Govinda Jaya Jaya!