Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 5 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

आधाय मूर्धनि यदापुरुदारगोप्यः 

काम्यं पदं प्रियगुणैरपि पिच्छमौलेः ।

भावोत्सवेन भजतां रसकामधेनुं 

तं राधिकाचरणरेणुमहं स्मरामि ॥ ५ ॥

ādhāya mūrdhani yad āpur udāra-gopyaḥ 

kāmyaṁ padaṁ priya-guṇair api piccha-mauleḥ |

bhāvotsavena bhajatāṁ rasa-kāmadhenuṁ 

taṁ rādhikā-caraṇa-reṇum ahaṁ smarāmi || 5 ||

“I meditate upon the dust from Śrī Rādhikā’s lotus feet. Like a wish-fulfilling cow, this dust grants the experience of rasa to those who worship with intense love. After the high-natured vraja-gopīs placed this dust upon their heads, they obtained their desired service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as well as charming qualities that are pleasing to him.”

A Cow Who Gives the Blessing of Rasa

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: The two preceding verses have sung the praises of Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust, the glory of which has awakened within Śrīpāda’s mind. This verse also is a transcendental revelation of the power of the dust from her lotus feet. In the first half of the verse, he says, udāra-gopyaḥ yat mūrdhani ādhāya piccha-mauleḥ priya-guṇair api kāmyaṁ padam āpuḥ. “After the high-natured vraja-gopīs placed this dust upon their heads, they were blessed with not only their desired service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but also with charming qualities that are pleasing to him.” His description of the gopīs as udāra (high-natured) signifies their unselfish love, devoid of any desire for their own sense pleasure.

ātmendriya-sukha-bāñchā nāhi gopikāra | 

kṛṣṇe sukha dite kare saṅgama-bihāra ||

kṛṣṇa lāgi āra saba kari parityāga | 

kṛṣṇa sukha hetu kare śuddha anurāga ||

“The gopikās have no desire for their own sense enjoyment; they engage in romantic pastimes with Kṛṣṇa only to make him happy. Being attached to Kṛṣṇa, they let go of everything else and out of pure love devote themselves to his happiness.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.218, Ādi 4.175) 

This generous, independent and unadulterated love, devoid of any self-interest, is most rare in this world. Those who completely abandon all dharmas through the powerful impulse of love for Kṛṣṇa become intoxicated by their deep absorption in sevā.

loka-dharma beda-dharma deha-dharma karma | 

lajjā dhairya deha-sukha ātma-sukha-marma ||

dustyaja ārya-patha āra nija parijana | 

svajane karaye yata tāḍana bhartsana ||

sarba-tyāga kari kare kṛṣṇera bhajana | 

kṛṣṇa-sukha hetu kare prema-sebana ||

ihāke kahiye kṛṣṇe dṛḍha anurāga | 

svaccha dhauta bastre yaiche nāhi kona dāga || 

“Giving up dearly held social duties, scriptural regulations, bodily duties, fruitive actions, shyness, patience, bodily pleasures, personal happiness, the varṇāśrama system and their own friends and family, who scold and oppress them so much, the gopīs engage in śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. They give up everything and perform loving service only for Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. This is called firm attachment for Kṛṣṇa. It is spotlessly pure, like a freshly washed white cloth.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.167-170) 

To reveal the greatness and purity of the gopīs’ love through their own words, Śrīpāda Śukamuni says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.31.19,

 

yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu 

bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu |

tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit 

kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ ||

Distressed by separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa when he disappeared from the rāsa-līlā, the vraja-sundarīs said, “Dear one! Your feet are even softer and more beautiful than a beautiful species of lotus born in a beautiful season. When we place one of your feet upon our breasts, we hold it very gently, fearing that our firm breasts may hurt you. When we, whose lives depend on you, think of you roaming about in the dark of night on this hard ground of Vṛndāvana, covered with tiny stones and sharp thorns, our minds begin to reel.” It is worth noting here that when a woman holds her beloved to her chest, she is beside herself with joy. This is the natural way of love. But when the vraja-devīs hold Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet, which are more dear to them than millions of lives, to their chests, they are not beside themselves with their own joy. Instead, because Kṛṣṇa’s happiness is their goal, they are beside themselves with fear that they may hurt him, so they hold his feet ever so gently. This demonstrates that the rasika devotees reach a state wherein they have no desire for their own happiness. In the realm of prema, no one but the vraja-devīs speaks like this. They know better than anyone how, by pleasing Kṛṣṇa, one abandons the desire for personal satisfaction. Even simple pleasures like the cleansing of their own bodies and so on result in Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda said the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.181-183: 

tabe ye dekhiye gopīra nija-dehe prīta | 

seho ta kṛṣṇera lāgi jāniha niścita ||

ei deha kaila āmi kṛṣṇe samarpaṇa | 

tāra dhana tāra ei sambhoga-sādhana ||

e-deha-darśana-sparśe kṛṣṇa-santoṣaṇa | 

ei lāgi kare dehera mārjana-bhūṣaṇa ||

“Know for certain that whatever one may see the gopīs doing for the satisfaction of their own bodies, they are doing it only for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure. ‘I have dedicated this body to Kṛṣṇa; it is his property and the instrument for his enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa is pleased by seeing and touching this body. It is for this reason that I cleanse and decorate it.’” 

The question may arise that if the gopīs have no desire for their own happiness, they will get no happiness. And if they get no happiness, how can gopī-prema be beneficial, because happiness is the object of life? Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda has given a beautiful solution to this puzzle in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.187-189, 199-200:

gopikā karena yabe kṛṣṇa-daraśana | 

sukha-bāñchā nāhi sukha haya koṭī-guṇa ||

tāhā sabāra nāhi nija-sukha-anurodha | 

tathāpi bāḍaye sukha paḍila birodha ||

e birodhera ekamātra dekhi samādhāna | 

gopikāra sukha kṛṣṇa-sukhe paryabasāna ||

prīti-biṣayānande tad-āśrayānanda | 

tāṅhā nāhi nija-sukha-bāñchāra sambandha ||

nirupādhi prema yāṅhā tāṅhā ei rīti | 

prīti-biṣaya-sukhe āśrayera prīti ||

“Although a gopikā has no desire for her own happiness, when she sees Kṛṣṇa, her happiness is boundless. None of the gopīs prays for her own happiness, and yet it increases. I see only one explanation for this contradiction: That which makes Kṛṣṇa happy makes the gopikā happy. The lover’s happiness lies in the happiness of the beloved. It is not a relationship based on the desire for one’s own happiness. The nature of pure love is such that the lover’s satisfaction lies in the satisfaction of the beloved.” 

By worshiping the foot-dust of the high-natured gopikās, who are devoid of any desire for their own sense-satisfaction, one will be blessed with one’s longed-for service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as well as with qualities that are pleasing to him. By using the metaphor “worshiping Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust,” it is implied that her mood is to be followed. Without following the mood of the nitya-siddhā-gopīs, one cannot attain gopī-bhāva.

gopī-anugati binā aiśvarya-jñāne | 

bhajileha nāhi pāya brajendranandane ||

tāhāte dṛṣṭānta lakṣmī karilā bhajana | 

tathāpi nā pāila braje brajendranandana ||

“If one worships in the aiśvarya mood instead of following the gopīs, he will not get Vrajendranandana. For example, even though Śrī Lakṣmī performed bhajana, she was unable to obtain Vrajendranandana in Vraja.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.230-231)

Among the gopīs, Śrī Rādhā is the greatest of all. Therefore, by worshiping the dust from her lotus feet, one reaches the highest level of gopī-bhāva. By worshiping Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust, one attains gopī-prema as well as develops qualities similar to Śrī Rādhā’s. Even though for serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa these qualities are not as important as love, still, because they are suitable for sevā in this mood, they spontaneously take shelter in the bhakta.* This is the meaning applied here to the words priya-guṇair api. 

Or they could refer to Śrī Rādhā’s high-natured kiṅkarīs (maidservants), who, after taking her foot-dust upon their heads, have attained not only the qualities suitable for her service, but that service as well, something desired even by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When Rasika-Śiromaṇi Śrī Kṛṣṇa sees the kiṅkarīs’ devotion and skill in their delightful sevās, the desire for such sevā awakens in his own mind. Śrī Rādhā is a svādhīna-bhartṛkā, a woman whose lover is under her control. She freely gives orders to Śrī Kṛṣṇa: “You must dress and decorate me. If my sakhīs see me like this, they will tease me.” Kṛṣṇa is eager to follow Śrīmatī’s order to dress her. Understanding her intention, the kiṅkarīs bring all the articles he will need. Śrīmatī says, “Paint lac-dye on the soles of my feet.” Kṛṣṇa takes Rādhikā’s lotus feet upon his lap so he can apply the lac-dye. A kiṅkarī brings a bowl of the paint and a brush; she places the brush in Śyāmasundara’s hand and holds the bowl in her own. Kṛṣṇa becomes overwhelmed by the beauty of Śrīmatī’s lotus feet. At one moment, he holds her feet to his chest, and the next, he kisses them! Glistening tears of love flow from his eyes. Śrīmatī says, “What are you doing? Paint them quickly!” Because of sāttvika-vikāras,** his hands tremble so much he cannot do his sevā! Seeing his condition, Svāminī smiles slightly and says to her kiṅkarīs, “Lover Boy can’t do it, so you’ll have to dress me.” Accepting Śrīmatī’s order, the kiṅkarīs give Kṛṣṇa a gentle push and say, “Move! You’ll not be doing this.” Nāgara Kṛṣṇa thinks, “Alas! When will I be blessed with sevā like the kiṅkarīs? How will such qualities arise in me?” A vision of one charming pastime has been described. Even Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to serve Śrī Rādhā as well as acquire the appropriate qualities for doing so. Śrīmatī’s high-minded dāsīs, whose lives are devoted to śrī-yugala-sevā, attain this spontaneously when they take the dust from her lotus feet upon their heads.

Moreover, Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust is like a kāmadhenu who gives rasa to those who worship in the festival of bhāva. If one knows what bhāva is, then the phrase “festival of bhāva” will be understood. The particular state of one’s mind is called bhāva. The propensity of the mind to become absorbed in the contact of the senses with their objects is generally called bhāva. The mind is solid like lac. Just as lac melts by the heat of fire, the mind melts by association with sense-objects. Then, if the sense-object is established within the melted mind, the mind assumes the shape of the object. The faculty of the mind that allows it to assume the shape of an object without having any perceivable contact with it is called bhāva. When the mind is introduced to Śrī Bhagavān’s name, form, qualities, pastimes and so on and subsequently assumes a similar shape, meaning when it becomes engrossed in those topics, that is known as bhagavad-bhāva. This bhāva can be of two types: one is favorable toward the object (Śrī Bhagavān), while the other is hostile toward the object. Kaṁsa, Śiśupāla and others were always engrossed in thoughts of Śrī Kṛṣṇa with fear and malice, but that antagonistic type of bhāva has not been called bhakti. One cannot experience Śrī Bhagavān’s mādhurya in such a hostile mood; it can only be tasted by one who is favorable. The word favorable (ānukūlyātmaka) means that one has an eager desire for Śrī Bhagavān’s favor or longs to please him by service. According to how pure or spiritual the desire is, to that degree the bhāva is joyful. The attitude of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs toward Śrī Yugala is so pure and selfless that it does not contain even the subtlest of mundane attributes. (We shall discuss this in due course.) Therefore, the bhajana of Rādhā’s dāsīs is one of joyful love. For her kiṅkarīs, Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust is like a kāmadhenu that provides rasa in the form of yugala-sevā. The mythical cow of plenty that rose from the ocean of milk is called a kāmadhenu. Just as the kāmadhenu can fulfill anyone’s wishes, the dust from Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet can bestow the realization of all rasas upon her kiṅkarīs. Although being her friends, they are also her maidservants, so they experience sakhya-rasa within the dāsya-rasa. According to even those who compose rasa-śāstras, madhura-rasa is incompatible with vātsalya-rasa. But for the dāsīs, in Śrī Rādhā’s storehouse there is no lack of even vātsalya-rasa. So Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust is like a kāmadhenu who bestows upon her kiṅkarīs the ultimate gift of tasting dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and madhura-rasas all at the same time.

* yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ | 

harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ || 

“All good qualities as well as all the gods reside in one who has exclusive devotion to Śrī Bhagavān. But if a person has no devotion, where are his good qualities? He runs always on an illusory path following his desires for temporary material happiness.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12)

** An external indication of an (internal) feeling or emotion (Apte)

Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 9

At Śrī Gurudevī’s signal, the sādhaka-dāsī then brought a golden basin and a golden pitcher filled with scented water. After helping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa wash their faces, she lovingly dried them with a piece of fine cloth. Then she offered nectarous fruit drinks and tāmbūla to them, decorated them with garlands and sandalwood paste and showed them a jeweled mirror. All the sevā was heartfelt and performed with affection. After that, the sādhaka-kiṅkarī placed a previously prepared ārati-tray in the hands of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī, who then passed it on to Lalitā. Śrī Lalitā offered ārati to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The ārati was a great celebration of love. After burning away any misfortune surrounding Śrī Yugala with lamps of ghee and camphor, she removed all inauspiciousness from them with a soft cloth. She then sprinkled their bodies with nectar-like water poured from a conch shell.* Some of the sakhīs fanned them with cāmaras, while others clapped their hands or played karatālas. Others began to shower them with flowers while making the ulu sound. After seeing Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s effulgent beauty, everyone immersed themselves in joyful singing and dancing.

Navadvīpa: The Three Prabhus’ Ārati and Ecstasies

Śrīman Mahāprabhu sat on his bed surrounded by his companions in the sleeping pavilion of Śrīvāsa’s flower garden in Śrī Navadvīpa. Absorbed in prema, Prabhu remembered Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s ārati in the Vraja bower and let out a joyful roar. The bhaktas heard this, returned to external consciousness and finished the ārati song. Śrīman Mahāprabhu returned to external consciousness and affectionately embraced Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Prabhu. All the bhaktas then offered daṇḍavat-praṇāma at Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet. Mahāprabhu sat on an ornate, bejeweled seat on the verandah, with Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu on his right and Śrī Advaita Prabhu on his left. Then, at Śrī Gurudeva’s signal, the sādhaka-dāsa brought a golden basin and scented water in a golden pitcher. He assisted the Three Prabhus in washing their faces and drying them with a fine cloth. Then he dressed and decorated them, adorned them with garlands and sandalwood paste, and showed them a jeweled mirror. After that, he gave the ārati articles to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who passed them on to Śrī Svarūpa Gosvāmī, who offered them to the Three Prabhus. Upon seeing his complexion in the mirror, Śrīman Mahāprabhu became absorbed in vraja-bhāva. Śrī Svarūpa understood Mahāprabhu’s mind, so he began to sing songs about Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa leaving the nikuñja-mandira and going home, as well as about other pastimes in Vraja. Hearing this, everyone became absorbed in the mood and sank into vraja-rasa.

*This seems out of order, but that’s what it says.

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 4 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

यो ब्रह्म-रुद्र-शुक-नारद-भीष्ममुख्यै- 

रालक्षितो न सहसा पुरुषस्य तस्य ।

सद्योवशीकरण-चूर्णमनन्तशक्तिं 

तं राधिका-चरणरेणुमनुस्मरामि ॥ ४ ॥

yo brahma-rudra-śuka-nārada-bhīṣma-mukhyair 

ālakṣito na sahasā puruṣasya tasya |

sadyo-vaśīkaraṇa-cūrṇam ananta-śaktiṁ 

taṁ rādhikā-caraṇa-reṇum anusmarāmi || 4 ||

“I always meditate upon the dust from the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhikā. This dust is like some magical powder with boundless power, able to immediately subjugate even Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself, whose darśana is difficult to achieve for great devotees like Brahmā, Mahādeva, Śuka, Nārada and Bhīṣma.”

Śrī Rādhā's Foot-Dust

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In this verse also, Śrīpāda sings the glories of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s foot-dust while absorbed in the mood of a sādhaka. After having described the astonishing power of this celebrated foot-dust in the previous verse, he now mentions its extraordinary capacity to control Śrī Kṛṣṇa. First of all, by singing the glories of the most exalted Vrajavihārī Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is immediately subjugated by the power of Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust, he is confirming the supreme importance of that foot-dust. Vrajavilāsī Śrī Govinda* is not readily visible even to such great devotees as Brahmā, Mahādeva, Śuka, Nārada and Bhīṣma. One may ask if the word puruṣa in this verse might refer to Mahāviṣṇu or some other avatāra rather than Vrajavihārī Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In reply it may be said that by the infallible touch of Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust, one obtains vraja-prema, and by that prema one obtains Vrajavihārī Śrī Govinda. Reference to any other form of God here would be unrelated to the topic at hand. Particularly, in the śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣa verse of Śrī-Brahma-Saṁhitā, the word parama-puruṣa has been intended for Vrajavilāsī Śrī Kṛṣṇa, meaning that among Śrī Rādhā and his other lovers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is devoted to his amorous sports, is the parama-puruṣa or supreme male. Here, the author means to say that even though Brahmā, Nārada and others sometimes see Śrī Kṛṣṇa engaged in his pastimes of childhood, youth and so on, they are never able to witness his confidential pastimes with the affectionate vraja-sundarīs. These pastimes are extremely difficult to see for either the siddha or sādhaka who regards himself as male. sabe eka sakhī-gaṇera ihā adhikāra. sakhī binā ei līlāya anyera nāhi gati (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.202, 204). “Only the sakhīs have this right. Without the sakhīs, there is no entrance into this līlā.” Specifically, Vraja’s type of worship is pure mādhurya. It is impossible for one in aiśvarya-bhāva to see the Lord of Vraja, the deity of mādhurya. aiśvarya-jñāne nāhi pāya braje brajendranandana. rāga-bhaktye braje svayaṁ bhagavān pāya, bidhi-bhaktye pārṣada-dehe baikuṇṭhe yāya (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.230, 24.85, 24.87). “A person in the aiśvarya mood does not attain Vrajendranandana in Vraja. By rāga-bhakti, one gets Bhagavān in Vraja; by vidhi-bhakti, one becomes a companion of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha.” Therefore, Śrī Govinda, the embodiment of mādhurya, is always difficult for aiśvarya-bhāva devotees such as Brahmā and Mahādeva to see. Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust is like a magical powder endowed with the unfailing power to immediately enchant Śrī Govinda.

rādhikā-caraṇa-reṇu,        bhūṣaṇa kariyā tanu, 

anāyāse pābe giridhārī |

rādhikā-caraṇāśraya,        ye kare se mahāśaya, 

tāre mui  yāu balihārī ||

“One who adorns his body with the dust from Śrī Rādhikā’s lotus feet will easily get Śrī Giridhārī. Whoever takes shelter of Śrī Rādhikā’s lotus feet is a great soul. To him I say, ‘Bravo!’” (Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya) 

Bhakti or prema is the only way to enchant Śrī Kṛṣṇa. bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣaḥ (Śruti). “The Lord is obedient to love.” premā haite haya kṛṣṇa nija bhakta-baśa (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 7.145). “Kṛṣṇa becomes controlled by his bhakta’s love.” The highest level of that love is mahābhāva. prema krame bāḍi haya sneha māna praṇaya, rāga anurāga bhāba mahābhāba haya. premera parama-sāra mahābhāba jāni, sei mahābhāba-rūpā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.178, 8.160). “Prema gradually increases through the stages of sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva. The quintessence of prema is mahābhāva, and the embodiment of that mahābhāva is Śrī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī.” Because she is mahābhāva-svarūpiṇī, the nectar of mahābhāva flows from her lotus feet in an endless stream.** Therefore, because the dust from her lotus feet is infused with mahābhāva-rasa, its unfailing power to control Śrī Kṛṣṇa is self-evident. There is also a very powerful scriptural argument in support of this conclusion. It is the unanimous judgement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other śāstras that without honoring the foot-dust of the bhaktas, there is no means to attain bhakti.

naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ 

spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ |

mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ 

niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat ||

Prahlāda Mahāśaya said, “If one has not bathed in the foot-dust of the great devotees who are free from material attachments, devotion to the feet of Śrī Bhagavān, which relieves one of all anarthas, does not appear.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.32) Even though one may perform some laborious type of sādhana, without serving the foot-dust of the great devotees, knowledge of bhagavat-tattva or eagerness to serve Śrī Bhagavān will not arise. This has been expressed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.12.12, in Śrīla Bharata’s instructions to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa:

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti 

na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā |

na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair 

vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekam ||

“O Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa! If one has not bathed in the foot-dust of a great devotee, then neither the practice of asceticism, performance of Vedic rituals, feeding and clothing others, building houses, philanthropy, study of the Vedas, worshipping the gods of water, fire or sun, nor any other sādhana will bring one knowledge of God.” And the greater the devotee, the more powerful is his foot-dust in subduing Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 187 Anuḥ, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda wrote, prema-tāratamyenaiva bhakta-mahat-tāratamyaṁ mukhyam. “The more love someone has, the greater a devotee she is.” In determining the greatness of a devotee, this is the principal characteristic. In the Ānanda-Candrikā commentary on Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.6, it is written, sa ca premā jātyā ananto’pi kvāpi paramāṇu-mātraḥ kvāpi paramahān kvāpi mahān kvāpi āpekṣika-nyūnādhikyamaya iti catuḥ-parimāṇakaḥ. tatrādyo’jāta-ratikeṣu bhakteṣu teṣu premṇo durlakṣyatvāt bhagavato’dhīnatvam api durlakṣyam eva. dvitīyo vṛndāvaneśvaryām eva tatra premṇaḥ sampūrṇatamatvena adhīnatvam api sampūrṇatamatvam eva. ...atha tṛtīyo vrajaloka eva tatra premṇo mahattvena adhīnatvam api sampūrṇam eva na tu sampūrṇatamam. ...atha caturtho nāradādiṣu teṣu teṣu premānurūpam adhīnatvam. The meaning is that even though there are endless varieties of prema, in the matter of extent, there are four categories: aṇu (minute), parama-mahān (most powerful), mahān (powerful) and āpekṣika-nyūnādhikamaya (relatively more or less). In the sādhaka-bhakta, prema has only developed to a minute degree. Therefore, his capacity to charm Śrī Kṛṣṇa is also minute or difficult to discern. In Nārada and others, prema has developed relatively more or less and they have a proportionate capacity to charm Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In the Vrajavāsīs, prema has developed to a great amount and their capacity to charm Śrī Kṛṣṇa is therefore complete. Only in Vṛṣabhānu-Nandinī Śrī Rādhā has prema become most powerful and, for this reason, her capacity to charm Śrī Kṛṣṇa is most complete. Following our previous logic, because prema in Śrī Rādhārāṇī is parama-mahān, the power of her foot-dust to always subdue Śrī Kṛṣṇa is also parama-mahān. Thus we have a solid argument that the power to always subdue Śrī Kṛṣṇa is stored in the dust of her lotus feet.

Śrīpāda says taṁ rādhikā-caraṇa-reṇum anusmarāmi: “I always meditate upon the dust from Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet.” By mentioning his constant remembrance of Śrī Rādhā’s foot-dust, he also implies that he meditates upon her aṣṭa-kālīna-līlā (eightfold daily pastimes). Smaraṇa is the principal component of rāga-bhajana. manera smaraṇa prāṇa, madhura madhura dhāma, yugala-bilāsa smṛti-sāra (Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura Mahāśaya). “Remembering the pastimes of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is my life. This is the sweetest state of mind and the cream of all meditation.” Without remembering God, the mind is lifeless. The jackals and dogs of desire, anger and so on attack and feed upon it at will. Moreover, among types of meditation, contemplation of the sweet pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is the apex. The significance of the words madhura madhura dhāma is that the sādhaka devoted to līlā-smaraṇa should be careful that he does not become like a machine ardently obedient to rules and miss out on tasting the sweetness. While meditating, the mind should be blessed with the experience of Śrī Yugala’s sweetness. The ultimate aim of sādhana is for the soul to taste the sweetness of its beloved. Specifically, a sādhaka eager to taste mādhurya is referred to as a rāga-sādhaka. Concerning Govardhana resident and Guṭikā compiler Siddha Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, it is said that one day a certain Vaiṣṇava mahātmā arrived at his abode and, without saying a word, began to weep. After Bābājī Mahāśaya asked why he was crying, the Vaiṣṇava replied, “I’m not able to do any bhajana today. After placing an ornament on Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s right hand this morning, my mind sank so deeply into the beauty of her hand that I was unable to think of anything else all day.” Siddha Bābā replied, “Today you have done real bhajana.” While meditating on līlā, the mind of a genuine rāga-sādhaka is spontaneously submerged in Śrī Yugala’s mādhurya-rasa. Then, after stopping the meditation, his mind is unable to go anywhere else. This is called anusmaraṇa. This condition gradually appears as a result of the devoted sādhaka’s regular practice of smaraṇa. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, sādhana smaraṇa līlā, ihāte nā kara helā, kāya-mane kariyā susāra. “Do not neglect to perform līlā-smaraṇa as part of your sādhana. Success comes from using both body and mind.”

In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, two streams of sādhana flow simultaneously. Along with hearing, chanting and other types of bhajana performed in the external body, the devotee also contemplates his mentally conceived siddha-deha and his service in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eightfold daily pastimes.

bāhya antara ihāra duita sādhana | 

bāhye sādhaka-dehe kare śrabaṇa kīrtana ||

mane nija-siddha-deha kariya bhābana | 

rātri-dina cinte braje kṛṣṇera sebana ||

“There are two kinds of sādhana: external and internal. Externally, in the sādhaka-deha, one engages in hearing and chanting. Mentally, one contemplates his own siddha-deha, thinking day and night of his service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vraja.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.156-157) 

After taking shelter of the lotus feet of a guru, the sādhaka obtains the particulars about his young male form suitable for serving Śrīman Mahāprabhu in navadvīpa-līlā, as well as about his mañjarī form, suitable for serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda in vraja-līlā. He meditates on his sevā in both forms, in both līlās. As a result of deep meditation, the sādhaka abandons his absorption in the external body and attains absolute absorption in both siddha-svarūpas. At the maturity of his sādhana, he is simultaneously blessed with the privilege of service in both līlās. hethā gauracandra pāba, sethā rādhā-kṛṣṇa (Ṭhākura Mahāśaya). “Here, he gets Gauracandra; there, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.” This practice of meditation epitomizes the highest spiritual psychology and reveals within the sādhaka the highest manifestation of Bhagavān’s mahāmādhurya-rasa! This is the highest level that the jīva-śakti can attain on the path of bhakti.

*Vrajavihārī and Vrajavilāsī both mean one who sports in Vraja.

** sāndrānanda-ghanānurāga-laharī-nisyanda-pādāmbuja-dvandve śrī-vṛṣabhānu-nandinī sadā vande tava śrī-padam (Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 94). “O Śrī Vṛṣabhānu-Nandinī! I forever praise your beautiful lotus feet, from which waves of intense, joyful love continuously flow.”

Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 8

     After that, the mynah Mañjubhāṣiṇī began to sing, “O friend of Gokula! O ocean of nectar! May you be victorious. Now abandon your bed, white as the moon, and wake your weary lover who rests upon your shoulder. O guardian of Vraja! The sun, by nature merciless toward young women, quickly rises above the eastern mountains. Leave the bank of the Yamunā and promptly go home.” Then the mynah named Sūkṣmadhī sang to Priyājī Śrī Rādhā, “O Goddess! By your good fortune, you amaze the most amazing women in the three worlds. May you be victorious. O lotus-faced one! Though the night has ended, you remain submerged in pleasant slumber, deeply fatigued from your amorous sports. There is no fault in this, O virtuous one, but the eastern sky has become tinged with red, like a friend of Candrāvalī who is intolerant of your happiness. Therefore, quickly rise from your bed.” After hearing the repeated wake-up calls of the parrots and mynahs, Śrī Kṛṣṇa gently pulled his body from Priyājī’s, slowly got up and sat on the bed. Filled with affection, he lifted Śrī Rādhā on his lap and began to gaze at her beauty with tearful eyes. Śrīmatī tried to cast off her lethargy by stretching her limbs and yawning. Śrī Kṛṣṇa seemed to offer ārati to her moonlike face with the ruby splendor of his teeth. Through the chalices of their eyes they began to drink the sweet wine of each other’s beauty. The moon of Vraja felt great joy in seeing his lover’s charming form lying on his lap, with face upturned, sweetly smiling but softly weeping. Her plait was half-loosened, her garland crushed and her jeweled necklace fallen asunder. Externally she was tired, internally delighted. When each saw the other’s beauty, they both became aroused and began to make sweet, languid love.

Meanwhile, alarmed by the arrival of morning, the sakhīs covered their smiling, moonlike faces with their cloths and modestly entered the bower, one after the other. When Priyājī saw her sakhīs, she quickly and humbly rose from her lover’s lap, covered her body with his yellow cloth and sat shyly by his left side. The sakhīs sank into an ocean of transcendental joy after seeing various signs of love-making on Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s beautiful bodies and pleasure bed. They said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Mādhava, you have ruined all of our well-dressed sakhī’s clothing and ornaments. Now quickly dress her again and we’ll take her home.” At the sakhīs’ command, Śrī Kṛṣṇa began to dress Śrī Rādhā. Hoping to see her display a mixture of emotions, he proceeded to tell Śrīmatī’s sakhīs about her amorous boldness during the previous night’s pastimes. When bashful Priyājī heard this, her gestures and demeanor became saturated with śṛṅgāra-rasa.* Seeing her incomparable beauty and charming side-glance, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the sakhīs began to swim in the waves of an ocean of bliss.

*The erotic sentiment