Radhastami class
14th September 2021

Nanda ke ghar ananda bhayo- there is a great occasion of joy in the house of Nanda Maharaja. In the same way today there is joy in Icchakaranji. So there was joy in the house of Nanda and this Katha of what occurred many years ago. Sri Krishna Janmasthami Mahotsava ki jai! And today there is joy in the home of king Vrishabhanu.

You have all heard the name of Nanda Baba and Nanda Nandan and you must have heard of Yashoda also. Who is talking, making noise? So we know less about Radharani and we could say that may be because talks in relation to her are confidential. So king Vrishabhanu was a king and Kirtida was the mother of Radharani.

So five thousand two hundred and forty seven years ago – if I say it in English you will remember it better. So that is when Radharani appeared here on this day! (Shouts of Haribol)! And to celebrate the appearance of Radharani all the people of Vraj went running to that place. The whole of Vraj- you understand Vraj, yes? Vrindavan Dham ki jai! Vrindavan is also called Vraj so Vraja Mandal or when we say Vraja Mandala Parikrama.

Vraja or Braja, Vrindavan and so the whole of Vrindavan- do you know Gokul? How many of you have been to Gokul? If you have been then you can put your hand up otherwise do not put it up. I do know that you you have hands so.. (laughter). Okay so this is nice, many of you have been to Gokul. So just a little away from Gokul there is another village which is called Rawal. In the village of Rawal on the banks of the river Yamuna Radharani appeared.

So Radharani appeared and just like Krishna, Radharani’s birth is not like my or your birth.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ‘rjuna

Translation
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

Krishna is saying to Arjuna that ‘my birth and also Radharani’s birth, how is that birth? Janma karma ca me divyam.’ Radharani and Krishna’s birth is Divya, transcendental. Hari Hari. In actual fact Radharani is never born, she is a-janma. When we are born what happens? We take a new body which is not actually our own. There are many births that one takes.

punarapi jananam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare sayanam,?iha samsare bahudusare krpaya’pare pahi murare
(Bhaja govindam verse 21 Adi Shankara)

Translation
So you have had many births and each time we stay in the womb of a mother who may be a woman or a female dog or otherwise a female donkey. You may also get a mosquito mother and so in every life we get a mother and father. So every time we get a new birth we have a new body, a new form. But the form of Radharani when she appears is the same as it is before her appearance.

That is why she appears or you may say she incarnates in this world rather than being born like an embodied living entity. So Vrindavan is the abode of the lord so Vrindavan Dham ki jai! It is also called Goloka.

goloka namni nija dhamni tale ca tasya devi mahesa hari dhamasu tesu tesu te te prabhava nicaya vigitas ca yena govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami
(BS 5.43

Translation

Lowest of all is located Dev?-dh?ma [mundane world], next above it is Mahe?a-dh?ma [abode of Mahe?a]; above Mahe?a-dh?ma is placed Hari-dh?ma [abode of Hari] and above them all is located K???a’s own realm named Goloka. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who has allotted their respective authorities to the rulers of those graded realms.

So the abode is called Goloka. So one you know is Gokul where Rawal is situated just close by as I was saying. So Radharani comes and appears in Goloka Dham. So in the same way Lord Krishna also comes down to this earth planet and whenever he does he brings Radharani with him. She stands behind him when they appear.

tapta kanchana gaurangi
radhe vrindavaneshvari
vrishabhanu-sute devi
pranamami hari-priye

Translation
O Srimati Radharani, I offer my respects to You whose bodily complexion is like molten gold.
O Goddess, You are the queen of Vrindavana. You are the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, and are very dear to Lord Krishna.

Radharani’s name is fixed up and she also has many other names apart from Radharani, she has a thousand names. Vishnu or Krishna have a thousand names and so Radharani has a thousand names as well and all these names are eternally there. In the same way Radharani’s form is eternally the same and her form is always the colour of Tapta kanchana gaurangi- she is the colour of gold.

We are sometimes black or white or blue or yellow or whatever else but Radharani’s form is the same one form forever. Tapta kanchana gaurangi radhe vrindavaneshvari. So from Goloka Radharani appeared on the auspicious day of today in Rawal which in close vicinity to Gokul. How many years ago was this? Five thousand, two hundred and forty seven years ago!

So the day was today and it was during the midday period Radharani appeared. So it was the month of Bhadra and it was the light fortnight. Krishna was born in the dark fortnight and that is why there is that saying ‘why are you dark and I am white?’ Or ‘you are dark and I am white.’ So Radha is light skinned and Krishna is dark skinned because Krishna was born in the dark fortnight he is dark.

Radha was born in the light fortnight, Shukla – do you understand Shukla Paksha? So in this fortnight Radha had appeared so she is light, or the colour of molten gold because this colour is even more beautiful than the white complexion. Yamuna Maiya ki jai and so king Vrishabhanu was on the banks of the Yamuna and he saw a lotus flower in the waters.

From that lotus flower there was radiating bright golden light and therefore great inquisitiveness arose in the king’s mind. ‘What is this wonderful glow which is coming out from this lotus flower?’ So he went forward and looked inside and there he saw in the lotus a small baby girl. At that very moment he heard a voice from the sky which thundered ‘oh king, accept this girl as she is your daughter.’

Haribol! The king thereafter took the small baby girl in his arms and ran back to his palace where he put this baby girl in front of his queen, Kirtida. Jai Radhe jai Radhe! There was no limit to their joy upon seeing the baby girl and therefore they were swimming in an ocean of happiness, having attained Radharani as their daughter.

So this news was spread all over Vraja ‘jai Radhe jai Radhe! Radha has appeared so please come, you all come, come!’ Everyone was sent an invitation and great big groups of people came to take darshan of her on the same day she was born. She was born and instantly on the same day each and every household in Vraja got the news of her birth. Every person in Vraja got the news that Radharani had taken her birth.

This news they received even faster than an SMS which is the thing these days, you all know SMS? So there must have been such wonderful communication that the whole of Vraja heard the news and all the people of Vraja dressed up in their best clothes and ornaments and proceeded hurriedly towards Rawal with many gifts for the baby girl.

In these great groups of people were present Nanda baba from Gokul along with Yashoda and Rohini and they had also bought along with them Krishna and Balaram. So at Radharani’s first birthday party Krishna Balaram were present there also. Sri Krishna Balaram ki jai! The king and queen had put the baby girl in a beautiful decorated cot and everyone used to go to that cot and have a look inside to see the baby girl.

All the people would bless the baby in auspicious ways, wishing her a long life and like this. So there was a big queue to see her just like there was here today when you were all waiting to bathe Radharani. In the same way there must have been a bathing ceremony for Radharani that day in Rawal. So here in Icchakaranji you were bathing the deity form of Radharani a while ago today and the experience the residents of Rawal and the Vrijavasi’s experienced back then is the same experience we tried to have today when we were bathing the deity form of Radharani.

Have you ever seen such a vision which the residents of the village Rawal and the Vrijavasi’s experienced? Has there ever been a bathing like that? Here people are done with bathing in thirty seconds then finished. With much difficulty you get a little bit of water to take bath and sometimes there is much shortage of water as well and so where is the question of bathing?

Just like Radharani herself is transcendental and very special, in the same way her Abhishek is also of the same nature and this was performed by Kirtida and king Vrishabhanu along with the Vrijavasi’s. And on this day you all residents of Icchakaranji have performed this Abhishek in the same way. (Shouts of Haribol)!

So that same Radharani is present here in the form of her deity and the deity is also called an incarnation of the lord or his potency. The lord appears or incarnates in the form of his deity and in this way he gives us all an opportunity to serve him in various ways.

sri vigraharadhana nitya nana
srngaira tan mandira marjanadau
yuktasya bhaktams ca niyunjato pi
vande guroh sri caranaravindam
(Guru Astaka 3)

TRANSLATION
The spiritual master is always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He also engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.

So the spiritual master arranges in such a way- Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Being Iskcon’s founder Acharya, he has made arrangements for us in such great ways and he has given us Radha Shyamasundara. He has done this in more than one hundred countries. Just like we have celebrated Sri Krishna Janmasthami
and now today Radhasthami is being celebrated in one hundred and fifty countries! Shouts of Haribol!

This I have told you to give you this information that Radharani has reached so many countries. She has reached Burma? Yes she has reached there. And China? Yes she has reached China and today we have devotees present here from China. You can stand up Chinese devotees, and so this Mataji has come from China, Haribol!

Where is our Maharaja, Sri Krishna Chaitanya? He has come from New York and Gaura Krishna Prabhu has come from Denmark and so this shows you that the lord has reached so many countries. The people of these countries had never before even heard the name of Radha or Vrindavan and today in these very same countries Radhasthami is being celebrated! Shouts of Haribol!

So her birthday party being celebrated today is not just here in Icchakaranji but actually it is being celebrated all over the universe. So the lord appears in his deity form, Vigraha, which you understand? It means the deity form which is called Vigraha. In the deity form the lord incarnates and this very deity form we worship. This worship is called Aradhana, do you understand this word?

Radha is always performing Aradhana, worship and therefore her name is Radha which is derived from the word Aradhana. Krishna and Radha also appear in the form of their names.

kali kale nama rupe krsna avatara
(CC Adi-lila 17.22)

Translation
Krsna descends in this Kali yuga in the form of His holy name

So what Yuga, age are we living in now? Kali yuga. So the lord appears in this age in the form of his holy name and what name is that? In fact there are many names but what are the the foremost names?

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

There is one God and Hare Krishna means Radha and Krishna. You all are continually hearing ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna’ and so this Hare is Radharani. So the word is actually Hara and Hare is the vocative case of Hara. When you call out to Hara that is a call out to Radha just like when you call out to Sita the vocative would be Site. If you call out to Gita it becomes Gite. In the same way to call Hara we must call out ‘oh Hare, oh Radhe.’

Krishna Krishna Radha Radha
Radha Raman Radha Raman
Raman Raman Radha Radha.

So these are all names of Radha and Krishna. There are sixteen names in the Maha Mantra with thirty two syllables but the names are only two, one name is Radha’s and the other is Krishna’s.

(Maharaja sings Kirtan of Radha Radha Krishna Radha).

We have left Radharani over in Rawal in the Katha we were speaking. And so all the people have gathered and Krishna Balaram have also reached there and they are now walking towards the cot to see the baby girl and they want to congratulate the baby girl. They were about one years old and so were not even walking properly yet. They were learning how to walk, so the lord is learning how to walk!

So as the lord reaches the cot he is trying to hold onto it and in doing so he falls over but then finally he catches hold of the cot and holding onto it he goes to take a look inside. There he sees the baby girl and at that same moment the baby girl also looks at Krishna. Shouts of Haribol! So this was the first meeting of Radha and Krishna.

There’s one more thing which I can also tell you now and that is that when king Vrishabhanu found the baby girl on the banks of the Yamuna in the lotus, upon seeing her he found that her eyes were closed. Then after taking the baby girl back to his palace he still found that her eyes remained closed.

So with great pleasure he was thinking that ‘my daughter is so very beautiful but she is blind. She is not opening her eyes.’ So because of this both the mother and father of the baby girl were very sorrowful but she was not blind at all. She had purposely kept her eyes shut as she was thinking ‘I will use my eyes in the first instance by taking darshan of Krishna. I do not want to see the faces of any others.

I would like to see Krishna.’ So as Krishna was looking upon Radharani’s face, she immediately knew that it was the lord because she is all-knowing just like Krishna is. So Krishna didn’t have to touch her or say ‘hey Radhe! I have come so open your eyes.’ So Radharani knew instantly that ‘the lord of my life has arrived.’

They both are the life of each other, Radharani’s life is Krishna and Krishna’s life is likewise, well who is it? It is Radha. So Radha opened her eyes and took darshan of Krishna and therefore as she opened both her eyes to take darshan, it could be seen that she had great big eyes. Hari Hari. Jai Radhe.

(Maharaja sings Kirtan of jai Radhe).