The meaning of words Sri & Srila

[galaxy18 0]

League Of Devotees

 

"SRI" IS BASICALLY A NOUN & IS ALSO USED AS AN ADJECTIVE.

 

 

 

According to Sanskrit Dictionary, "Sri" as a noun, means Srimati Radharani, Laxmidevi, wealth, opulence, beauty, fame, knowledge, strength, any virtue or excellence etc. etc.

 

 

 

Also "Sri" as an adjective means splendid, radiant, adorning (decorated) etc.

 

 

 

So when "Sri" is used for Visnu Tattva, it can be taken both as a noun and an adjective.

 

 

 

But whenever it is used for the jiva tattva, it is used as an adjective.

 

 

 

"SRILA" IS AN ADJECTIVE OF THE NOUN "SRI"

 

 

 

"Sri-la" means one who possesses wealth (i.e rich), opulence, beauty etc.etc.

 

 

 

"Sri" also means the three Vedas. So "Srila" means learned personality who knows the three Vedas.

 

 

 

"Sri" means Srimati Radharani. "Srila" means one who possesses the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani is his heart.

 

 

 

"Sri" is the name of one of the six ragas or musical modes.(masculine) "Srila" means expertise in music, especially in the "Sri" raga.

 

League Of Devotees

[theist 1]

 

"Sri" means Srimati Radharani. "Srila" means one who possesses the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani is his heart.

 

 

 

[sambya 0]

as per my observation and knowledge goes sri does not mean radharani . the primary two meanings are -

1:laxmi

and

2: respectfull adjective used before someones name .

 

another classic example of iskcon distortion of facts ! the other day i was watching an old 1950's bengali movie "nilachale mahprabhu" in a gaudiya vaishnvava site named gauranga tv . to my horror the subtitles sometimes were completely distorted to a new meaning !

 

and even if it means radharani that is obviously a secondary meaning and ought to be mentioned after stating the primary meanings ........

[theist 1]

Radharani or Laxsmi. Why not both? Of course then there would be nothing to argue about.

 

One wonders why you would bother watching a gaudiya film since you know you will have some disagreements. Maybe that's it, maybe that is what you are seeking.

[Jahnava Nitai Das 2]

Sri is used by all Vaishnava sampradayas to refer to the Lord's shakti, either as Lakshmi, Sita, or Radha. There really isn't any distortion on this usage, as its common and traditional.

 

The meaning of any word depends on the context. So we cannot rule out a meaning unless we see the exact context it is spoken in. In this particular case, Radha was offered as one of many meanings of "Sri". The original poster never said "Sri only refers to Radha". But along those lines you are presenting "Sri cannot refer to Radha".

 

Grammatically, and based on traditional usage, the later is not true, and the former is true, as we cannot say Sri can absolutely never refer to Radha. If your contention is that in most cases Sri refers to Lakshmi, then there is no need to argue, because no one has denied that.

 

Each school of philosophy will interpret words based on their siddhanta. If a Sri Vaishnava is speaking, Sri will always refer to Lakshmi. If a Ramanandi is speaking, Sri refers to Sita Devi. If a gaudiya is speaking, Sri refers to Radha. There is no contradiction in this, it is just their cultural usage. Exact verses where the word Sri occurs need to be judged case by case based on context of the passage.

[sambya 0]

 

If your contention is that in most cases Sri refers to Lakshmi, then there is no need to argue, because no one has denied that.

yes it was like that .

 

 

as we cannot say Sri can absolutely never refer to Radha.

it would be wrong to say that it cannot refer to radha . but it is a secondary meaning ....... i mean not as commonly used as lakshmi .

 

anyways your post was quite educative .........

[sambya 0]

 

One wonders why you would bother watching a gaudiya film since you know you will have some disagreements. Maybe that's it, maybe that is what you are seeking.

 

as usual you keep forgetting that mahaprabhu is not patented by any particular sect or organisation . numerous other sampradayas of often conflicting veiws also look up towards mahaprabhu in admiration and reverence ! i view him as an avatar and a beautiful saint .

 

the film that i was talikng about has nothing to do with gaudiya vaishnavism . it was a reputed bengali film made in 1950's dealing with the life of srichaitanya , which i was searching for long . finally when i got it at gauranga tv i sat down to watch it . thats when i saw those anomalies .....

i didnt have any disagreements with the film as you are suggesting . i have disagreements with the subtitles which were (willfully ? ) distorted at times !!

[galaxy18 0]

Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess. She is most always seen with Lord Krishna. It is described that She is the Chief Associate and devotee of Lord Krishna, and topmost of all Goddesses. Her name means the She is the most excellent worshiper of Lord Krishna. However, She is also an expansion of the Lord's energy. Since She is also an extension of Krishna, She is the feminine aspect of God. Thus, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, God is both male and female. They are One, but Krishna expands into two, Himself and Radharani, for the sake of divine loving pastimes. If They remained as One, then there is no relationship, there are no pastimes, and there can be no dynamic exchange of love. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, 4.55-56) Actually, if we all remained merged or amalgamated into one single force or light, then there is no further need of anything else. There certainly would be no need for the material manifestation to provide the innumerable conditioned souls with the means to seek out the way to satisfy their senses, minds, emotions, desires for self-expression, intellectual pursuits, and on and on.

 

So, similarly, the spiritual world is the manifestation wherein all souls have the opportunity to engage in a multitude of pastimes in loving relationships in full spiritual variety, without the many hindrances we find in this material world. The only difference is that the spiritual world is centered around the Supreme Being. And that Supreme Personality has expanded Himself into Radharani for exhibiting the supreme loving relationship, in which so many others assist Them.

In the Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Radharani is described as follows:

 

devi krishna-mayi prokta

 

 

radhika para-devata

sarva-lakshmi-mayi sarva

kantih sammohini para

 

"The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord."

To explain further, Srimati Radharani is also the source of the other goddesses, who are expansions of Her. Just as Lord Krishna is the source of all other expansions and incarnations of God, Radharani is the source of all other expansions of the energies of God, the shaktis, or other goddesses. Thus, Vishnu, Rama, even Shiva are all expansions of the one Supreme Being, and similarly Lakshmi, Sita, and even Durga are all expansions of this Supreme Feminine form of God, Radharani.

It is explained that the beloved consorts of Lord Krishna are of three kinds, namely the goddesses of fortune or Lakshmis, His queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja called the gopis. All of them proceed from Radharani. The Lakshmis are partial manifestations, or plenary portions, of Srimati Radharani, while the queens in Vaikuntha and in Dvaraka are reflections of Her image. The Vraja-devis or gopis are Her expansions and assist in the increase of rasa, or the divine loving pastimes. Among them there are many groups that have various sentiments and moods, which help Lord Krishna taste the sweetness of the rasa dance and other pastimes. (Cc.Adi-lila. 4. 75-81) "Among the gopis of Vrindavana, Srimati Radharani and another gopi are considered chief. However, when we compare the gopis, it appears that Srimati Radharani is most important because Her real feature expresses the highest ecstasy of love. The ecstasy of love experienced by the other gopis cannot be compared to that of Srimati Radharani." (Ujjvala-nilamani 4.3 of Srila Rupa Gosvami)

 

League Of Devotees

[galaxy18 0]

 

 

 

Radha Kripa Kataksha

 

 

 

SHRI RADHA KRIPA KATAKSHA – The PRAYER FOR THE MERCIFUL SIDELONG GLANCE OF SHRI RADHA

(by Lord Shiva from the Urdhvamnaya-tantra)

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. makhesvari kriyesvari svadhesvari suresvari

tri veda bharatisvari pramana sasanesvari

ramesvari ksamesvari pramoda kananesvari

vrajesvari vrajadhipe sri radhike namo stu te

 

O Goddess Supreme, who presides over all sacrifices, rites and oblations and over the hosts of demigods and saintly persons. O Goddess Supreme, who provides the force to the Vedic utterances and to all arguments of law and logic; O Supreme Mistress of Laksmi and Bhu; O Queen of the celestial gardens of delight; Queen of Vraja, O Sovereign Mistress of Vrndavana, Srimati Radhika, I prostrate before Thee!

 

League Of Devotees

[Smiley 1]

How about 'sriman' and 'sripad'? What do they mean?

[Amlesh 1]

I hope those terms and their real meaning would be well documented by the various ways for future references.

 

The coming generations, won't be pampered with all that.