Radhika Stava

Radhika

If this bhajana by Rupa Goswami does not melt your heart and help you surrender you should consider yourself lost. It is one of the most beautiful and simply examples of devotion in the Gaudiya Sampradaya.


Sri Radhika-stava
(from Stava-mala)by Srila Rupa Gosvami

(chorus)
radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite
1
damodara-rati-vardhana-vese
hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese
2
vrsabhanudadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe
lalita-sakhi guna-ramita-visakhe
3
karunam kuru mayi karuna-bharite
sanaka-sanatana-varnita-carite

TRANSLATION(chorus)

O Radha! O beloved of Madhava! O You who are worshiped by all the young girls of Gokula! All glories unto You! All glories unto You!

(1-3)
O You who dress Yourself in such a way as to increase Lord Damodara's love and attachment for You! O queen of Vrndavana, which is the pleasure grove of Lord Hari! O new moon who has arisen from the ocean of King Vrsabhanu! 0 friend of Lalita! O You who make Visakha loyal to You due to Your wonderful qualities of friendliness, kindness, and faithfulness to Krsna! O You who are filled with compassion! O You whose divine characteristics are described by the great sages Sanaka and Sanatana! O Radha, please be merciful to me!

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Krishna On His Appearance

Caitanya Caritamrta
Adi Lila
Chapter 3
TEXT 12

TEXT
dasa-sakha-pita-mata-kanta-gana lana
vraje krida kare krsna premavista hana

SYNONYMS
dasa--servants; sakha--friends; pita-mata--father and mother; kanta-gana--lovers; lana--taking; vraje--in Vraja; krida kare--plays; krsna--Lord Krsna; prema-avista--absorbed in love; hana--being.

TRANSLATION
Absorbed in such transcendental love, Lord Sri Krsna enjoys in Vraja with His devoted servants, friends, parents and conjugal lovers.

PURPORT
The descent of Sri Krsna, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is very purposeful. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that one who knows the truth about Sri Krsna's descent and His various activities is at once liberated and does not have to fall again to this existence of birth and death after he leaves his present material body. In other words, one who factually understands Krsna makes his life perfect. Imperfect life is realized in material existence, in five different relationships we share with everyone within the material world: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, filial love, and amorous love between husband and wife or lover and beloved. These five enjoyable relationships within the material world are perverted reflections of relationships with the Absolute Personality of Godhead in the transcendental nature. That Absolute Personality, Sri Krsna, descends to revive the five eternally existing relationships. Thus He manifests His transcendental pastimes in Vraja so that people may be attracted into that sphere of activities and leave aside their imitation relationships with the mundane. Then, after fully exhibiting all such activities, the Lord disappears.

TEXT 13

TEXT
yathesta vihari' krsna kare antardhana
antardhana kari' mane kare anumana

SYNONYMS
yatha-ista--as much as He wishes; vihari'--enjoying; krsna--Lord Krsna; kare--makes; antardhana--disappearance; antardhana kari'--disappearing; mane--in the mind; kare--He makes; anumana--consideration.

TRANSLATION
Lord Krsna enjoys His transcendental pastimes as long as He wishes, and then He disappears. After disappearing, however, He thinks thus:

TEXT 14

TEXT
cira-kala nahi kari prema-bhakti dana
bhakti vina jagatera nahi avasthana

SYNONYMS
cira-kala--for a long time; nahi kari--I have not done; prema-bhakti--loving devotional service; dana--giving; bhakti--devotional service; vina--without; jagatera--of the universe; nahi--not; avasthana--existence.

TRANSLATION
"For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the existence of the material world is useless.

PURPORT
The Lord seldom awards pure transcendental love, but without such pure love of God, freed from fruitive activities and empiric speculation, one cannot attain perfection in life.

TEXT 15

TEXT
sakala jagate more kare vidhi-bhakti
vidhi-bhaktye vraja-bhava paite nahi sakti

SYNONYMS
sakala--all; jagate--in the universe; more--to Me; kare--they do; vidhi-bhakti--regulative devotional service; vidhi-bhaktye--by regulative devotional service; vraja-bhava--the feelings of those in Vraja; paite--to obtain; nahi--not; sakti--the power.

TRANSLATION
"Everywhere in the world people worship Me according to scriptural injunctions. But simply by following such regulative principles one cannot attain the loving sentiments of the devotees in Vrajabhumi.

TEXT 16

TEXT
aisvarya-jnanete saba jagat misrita
aisvarya-sithila-preme nahi mora prita

SYNONYMS
aisvarya-jnanete--with knowledge of the opulences; saba--all; jagat--the world; misrita--mixed; aisvarya-sithila-preme--to love enfeebled by opulence; nahi--there is not; mora--My; prita--attraction.

TRANSLATION
"Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me with awe and veneration. But devotion made feeble by such reverence does not attract Me.

PURPORT
After His appearance, Lord Krsna thought that He had not distributed the transcendental personal dealings with His devotees in dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. One may understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the Vedic literature and thus become a devotee of the Lord and worship Him within the regulative principles described in the scriptures, but one will not know in this way how Krsna is served by the residents of Vrajabhumi. One cannot understand the dealings of the Lord in Vrndavana simply by executing the ritualistic regulative principles mentioned in the scriptures. By following scriptural injunctions one may enhance his appreciation for the glories of the Lord, but there is no chance for one to enter into personal dealings with Him. Giving too much attention to understanding the exalted glories of the Lord reduces the chance of one's entering into personal loving affairs with the Lord. To teach the principles of such loving dealings, the Lord decided to appear as Lord Caitanya.

TEXT 17

TEXT
aisvarya-jnane vidhi-bhajana kariya
vaikunthake yaya catur-vidha mukti pana

SYNONYMS
aisvarya-jnane--in knowledge of the opulences; vidhi--according to rules and regulations; bhajana--worship; kariya--doing; vaikunthake--to Vaikuntha; yaya--they go; catuh-vidha--four kinds; mukti--liberation; pana--achieving.

TRANSLATION
"By performing such regulated devotional service in awe and veneration, one may go to Vaikuntha and attain the four kinds of liberation.

TEXT 18

TEXT
sarsti, sarupya, ara samipya, salokya
sayujya na laya bhakta yate brahma-aikya

SYNONYMS
sarsti--opulences equal with the Lord's; sarupya--the same form as the Lord's; ara--and; samipya--personal association with the Lord; salokya--residence on a Vaikuntha planet; sayujya--oneness with the Lord; na laya--they do not accept; bhakta--devotees; yate--since; brahma-aikya--oneness with Brahman.

TRANSLATION
"These liberations are sarsti [achieving opulences equal to those of the Lord], sarupya [having a form the same as the Lord's], samipya [living as a personal associate of the Lord] and salokya [living on a Vaikuntha planet]. Devotees never accept sayujya, however, since that is oneness with Brahman.

PURPORT
Those engaged in devotional service according to the ritualistic principles mentioned in the scriptures attain these different kinds of liberation. But although such devotees can attain sarsti, sarupya, samipya and salokya, they are not concerned with these liberations, for such devotees are satisfied only in rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord. The fifth kind of liberation, sayujya, is never accepted even by devotees who perform only ritualistic worship. To attain sayujya, or merging into the Brahman effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the aspiration of the impersonalists. A devotee never cares for sayujya liberation.

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Advent of Mahaprabhu

Here we have a very simple explanation by Prabhupada over the advent of Mahaprabhu. Anyone one who comprehends this mission is qualified to return to Godhead. So that being ascertained we submit to Swamiji's insights.

Caintanya Caritamrta Adi Lila
Chapter 3
The External Reasons for Lord Caitanya's Appearance

In this chapter the author has fully discussed the reason for the descent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, after displaying His pastimes as Lord Krsna, thought it wise to make His advent in the form of a devotee to explain personally the transcendental mellow reciprocations of service and love between Himself and His servants, friends, parents and fiancees. According to the Vedic literature, the foremost occupational duty for humanity in this Age of Kali is nama-sankirtana, or congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The incarnation for this age especially preaches this process, but only Krsna Himself can explain the confidential loving service performed in the four principal varieties of loving affairs between the Supreme Lord and His devotees. Lord Krsna therefore personally appeared, with His plenary portions, as Lord Caitanya. As stated in this chapter, only for that purpose did Lord Krsna appear personally in Navadvipa in the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Krsnadasa Kaviraja has herein presented much authentic evidence from Srimad-Bhagavatam and other scriptures to substantiate the identity of Lord Caitanya with Sri Krsna Himself. He has described bodily symptoms in Lord Caitanya that are visible only in the person of the Supreme Lord, and he has proved that Lord Caitanya appeared with His personal associates--Sri Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and other devotees--to preach the special significance of chanting Hare Krsna. The appearance of Lord Caitanya is both significant and confidential. He can be appreciated only by pure devotees and only through the process of devotional service. The Lord tried to conceal His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by representing Himself as a devotee, but His pure devotees can recognize Him by His special features. The Vedas and Puranas foretell the appearance of Lord Caitanya, but still He is sometimes called, significantly, the concealed descent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Advaita Acarya was a contemporary of Lord Caitanya's father. He felt sorry for the condition of the world because even after Lord Krsna's appearance, no one had interest in devotional service to Krsna. This forgetfulness was so overwhelming that Advaita Prabhu was convinced that no one but Lord Krsna Himself could enlighten people about devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore Advaita requested Lord Krsna to appear as Lord Caitanya. Offering tulasi leaves and Ganges water, He cried for the Lord's appearance. The Lord, being satisfied by His pure devotees, descends to satisfy them. As such, being pleased by Advaita Acarya, Lord Caitanya appeared.

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