TRANSCRIPT
Barsana, Where Prema Rains: Seeing the Dhāma and the Appearance of Śrīmatī Rādhikā
Speaker: Śrīla Gurudeva Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vana Gosvāmī Mahārāja Jī
Today is a matter of great joy and delight. All of us have come to Barsana Dhāma, the appearance place of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, the embodiment of the hlādinī-śakti of Vrajendra-nandana Śyāmasundara, the Supreme Truth and Lord of the entire universe. The darśana of Rādhājī’s lotus feet is rare even for great demigods such as Brahmā. Not only rare: it is rare indeed. Our Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda, in Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi, goes on describing just this much: “In whichever direction Rādhārānī is present, to that direction I offer praṇāma.”
Brahmā, Rudra, Śiva, Sanaka and Sanātana, all the great mahājanas, cannot attain the lotus feet of Vrajendra-nandana Śyāmasundara; and that same Vrajendra-nandana Śyāmasundara Kṛṣṇa is so eager to have darśana of Rādhājī. Kṛṣṇa Himself longs for the dust of Her lotus feet. This place where we have come is no ordinary place.
At the time of Vraja-maṇḍala parikramā with Gurudeva, when we used to take darśana of all these places, we stayed at the … bhavana near Barsana Dhāma. … We used to stop at Govardhana, and we stopped here too. Nowadays we do not stay so long; at least seven or eight days with the devotees … in Barsana, and especially in Nandagaon. Because the śāstra says that all these are divine, transcendental places, places of Rādhārānī, not ordinary … In Gurudeva’s time we used to stay at many places and take darśana, as we stayed at Kāmyavana. Nowadays one stays in one place and goes to the other places by bus; with so many people it is not possible to stay everywhere and take darśana. Now … people have come, so it is possible; if there are four or five hundred people, or a thousand, even arranging for them takes time.
From one place to another … I am feeling such joy and enthusiasm; I am remembering Gurudeva in this way. What a beautiful divine place we have come to! Those who had Gurudeva’s association, only they … Three days in Nandagaon, three days in Barsana, three days in Kāmyavana and Govardhana: staying in these places, staying in the dhāma, we took darśana. In the morning there was darśana, and in the evening Gurudeva would glorify the dhāma. When one goes and sits at each place, the glory of that place automatically manifests in the heart. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda … when one speaks the same kathā sitting at Rādhā-kuṇḍa, it takes on a special quality; sitting in the dhāma, one naturally comes to understand the dhāma.
The dhāma is transcendental. Although the śāstra says, je-khāne vaiṣṇava-gaṇa, se-khāne vṛndāvana, wherever pure Vaiṣṇavas live, there the dhāma automatically manifests, still Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also describes … by living in the dhāma one’s intelligence … increases. … rādhā-kuṇḍa-taṭa, kuñja-kuṭīra, govardhana-parvata, yāmuna-tīra: all these awaken uddīpana. To sit in such a divine, transcendental place is no ordinary thing.
yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat
sarvānanda-mayaṁ mukunda-dayitaṁ līlānukūlaṁ param
śāstrair eva muhur muhuḥ sphuṭam idaṁ niṣṭaṅkitaṁ yācñayā
brahmāder api sa-spṛheṇa tad idaṁ sarvaṁ mayā vandyate
[Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Vraja-vilāsa-stava 102]
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī is describing: this dhāma is a transcendental dhāma. Those who live in the dhāma, all of them …, are not ordinary human beings. To look at, they seem like humans; they appear ordinary … From dogs to beggars and so on … they appear ordinary. But see, we will take darśana with divine eyes. What eyes are needed? Divine eyes are needed, a transcendental perception …; then the eyes will see.
In the fields one sows wheat, and along with the wheat plants a kind of grass also comes up; it looks like grass. But what does the wise, expert, skilled farmer do with that grass? He pulls it out, and the wheat plants … The residents of the dhāma: recognizing them … all kinds of people live here. Therefore it is said, yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat sarvānanda-mayaṁ mukunda-dayitaṁ…: all who live in the dhāma are extremely dear to Mukunda Bhagavān and favourable to the līlā; no one can remain unfavourable to the līlā.
Now here Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says: what lies over this dhāma? The net of māyā lies over it:
…
māyā kṛpā kari’ jāla uṭhāya yakhana
āṅkhi dekhe suviśāla cinmaya bhavana
[Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrī Navadvīpa-bhāva-taraṅga 11]
Performing bhajana, when the divine vision becomes manifest, when the eyes are illuminated, then by the mercy of Yogamāyā the net of māyā will be lifted, and then the transcendental dhāma … Therefore darśana of the dhāma is in sādhu-saṅga; darśana of the dhāma is in sādhu-saṅga. This is very important. If you go alone and take darśana, what darśana will you have? You see only stone. Therefore go with devotees and take darśana. … Take darśana with the ears; darśana happens through the ears. Because bhagavat-kathā enters through the ears, and entering through the ears it purifies the heart, and then in that pure heart the transcendental senses and so on will manifest. What will manifest? To see the transcendental, to see Bhagavān, what is needed? Transcendental eyes … These eyes of ours are material eyes; why would we want to see with these material eyes? Transcendental eyes are needed, transcendental vision … in sādhu-saṅga. Therefore it is said: go in sādhu-saṅga and take darśana:
gaura āmāra, ye saba sthāne, karala bhramaṇa raṅge
se-saba sthāna, heriba āmi, praṇayi-bhakata-saṅge
[Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śaraṇāgati 31.3]
Go with loving devotees; they will explain to you. Take darśana and hear hari-kathā; without hearing hari-kathā there is no darśana of Bhagavān.
Darśana is of two kinds: one is āṅgika darśana and the other is alaṅkārika darśana. Remember, what did I say? Āṅgika darśana and alaṅkārika darśana. From Ṭhākurajī’s lotus feet up to His lotus navel and lotus face one has darśana: such a beautiful Ṭhākurajī is present. This is called āṅgika darśana: seeing the limbs, how beautiful Ṭhākurajī’s hands and feet …, darśana of Ṭhākurajī’s so beautiful form. The second is alaṅkārika darśana: darśana of Ṭhākurajī’s ornaments. How beautiful Ṭhākurajī is, how He is adorned with clothes, ornaments and so on … That darśana is equally elevated, pure and spotless. Do you understand? Therefore, to take darśana of Ṭhākurajī, go with saints and great souls and hear kathā. The more you hear His glories, the more your prema-bhakti for Him …
Describing the glory of darśana of the dhāma … where we have come is the beautiful divine dhāma of Śrīmatī Rādhājī. Kalpa-bhede hari-kathā: the śāstra shows Rādhājī’s appearance in different kalpas, and it is also written in various Purāṇas. Not one Purāṇa: how many Purāṇas there are! Many Purāṇas describe Rādhājī’s appearance. In this kalpa, where did Rādhājī appear? In Rāval. We will go to Rāval and also take darśana. …
… See, to bring a person to the dhāma, to take them on parikramā and give them darśana, is such a great pious act; it is considered a limb of bhakti. … People earn money; there is no shortage of money … there is no shortage of rich men; but to bring devotees, this is very rare … This is true; the śāstra says so. To bring devotees, give them darśana, and make all the arrangements for them is no ordinary thing. …
… Now we will not take more time. Why do we do this? See, our Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to glorify the devotees before speaking kathā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself is glorifying each devotee; seeing Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda, He reveals his glory before all the Vaiṣṇavas: … Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, all of you do this … Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda … So it is the mercy of the devotee; therefore the devotee’s glory should be sung first. Mahāprabhu Himself reveals the glory of His associates. …
We have come to Barsana Dhāma. What does the name itself tell about the dhāma? Barsana: where the rain of prema falls. What falls? The rain of prema falls. … Where the rain, the downpour of prema falls, therefore this name … This is no ordinary dhāma; directly … Kalpa-bhede hari-kathā: in some kalpa Śrīmatī Rādhājī appeared here in Barsana. This Vṛṣabhānu-khor, where Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja used to bathe daily …, is a very divine, transcendental place. … He continues His pastimes with His hlādinī-śakti, Sarveśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhārānī; all of this is present in the eternal Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma, everything. Whatever we see in this world, Nandagaon, Barsana and so on, the scenes we see, all of it is eternally manifest in its eternal form in Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma.
However unhappy we are in this world, who is unhappier than us? Do you know? Bhagavān is unhappy for us. Bhagavān is not happy; Bhagavān is unhappy. Why is Bhagavān unhappy? Why are we unhappy in this world? We become unhappy for three reasons. Listen, we are unhappy for three reasons: ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and ādhibhautika; for these three reasons we go on suffering. … Bhagavān becomes unhappy. Why does He become unhappy? Seeing such a miserable condition of the jīvas. In Bhagavān there is no ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika or ādhibhautika; Bhagavān keeps thinking, “Alas, alas, these are My … children.” Amṛtasya putrāḥ: what is said? All these jīvas are My children. “But My children have forgotten Me, left Me, and are wandering in the world of māyā.” Where are we wandering? In the world of māyā. Just as, out of bodily identification, mother and father think about me, don’t they? Come on, say yes or no. Parents worry about their children; in exactly the same way Bhagavān Himself goes on worrying so much for us. Therefore, to deliver us, Bhagavān Himself appears in the world: sometimes in the form of the sādhu, sometimes in the form of śāstra; … guru-rūpe āpane jānāya. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Himself in the form of a sādhu … Come on, who came in the form of a sādhu? Did Caitanya Mahāprabhu come or not? Come on, say yes or no. … Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the form of the sādhu, in the form of the guru, in the form of Bhagavān, and in the form of śāstra. …
… Therefore Bhagavān Himself appears in the world in the form of the sādhu, the guru and the śāstra. … In Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to His hlādinī-śakti, Sarveśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, “Rādhe, come, let us go … Let this kathā be told; let them see this kathā, hear it, chant it and remember it. By this those jīvas will attain welfare …, and those jīvas, absorbed, will hear the kathā; by hearing they will become absorbed, and at the end those jīvas will attain My dhāma.” As it is written in the śāstra, what is said in the Gītā? yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran…: at the time of death, whatever a person thinks of while leaving the body, that he attains. In the same way, those who leave the body thinking of Me, thinking of My dhāma, will attain My transcendental divine dhāma:
…
yad gatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
[Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā 15.6]
So Kṛṣṇa Himself said to Rādhājī, “Come.” Rādhājī said, “Where there is no Vṛndāvana Dhāma, where there are no Vrajavāsīs, where there are no cows, where there is no … Girirāja Govardhana, where there is no Rādhā-kuṇḍa and no Śyāma-kuṇḍa, I do not want to go to that place; where there is no Yamunā and so on, I do not want to go there.” Then Kṛṣṇa said, “Rādhe, listen. By My transcendental, divine, supernatural potency, whatever is seen here, Girirāja Govardhana, the great Girirāja Govardhana, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa, Nandagaon, Barsana, whatever there is, the river Yamunā and the bank of the Yamunā, I will manifest all of it by My transcendental potency.” And at this time Kṛṣṇa manifested everything in this world … Therefore it is said; there is a verse in the Bhāgavata:
anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ
mānuṣaṁ deham āsthitaḥ
bhajate tādṛśīḥ krīḍā
yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet
[Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.36]
Bhagavān Himself, bestowing His grace and mercy, manifests the eternal Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma in this world.
Listen to a little kathā about His dhāma. Three kinds are described here. One is the dṛśyamāna-prakāśa. What did I say? Write it down; what was said? Dṛśyamāna-prakāśa: what we are seeing now is called the dṛśyamāna-prakāśa; the places we see, such as Nandagaon, Barsana, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa and Vṛndāvana, where we see Kṛṣṇa’s places of pastimes; but we are not having darśana of the līlā … And prakaṭa dhāma, prakaṭa līlā means: when Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa appears in this world with His associates, that is called the prakaṭa dhāma, the prakaṭa līlā:
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu jīve dayā kari’
sva-pārṣada svīya dhāma saha avatari’
[Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śaraṇāgati, Introductory Song 1]
That is called the prakaṭa līlā in which the līlā goes on, as five thousand years ago. How many? Five thousand years ago, Rādhā-Govinda’s līlā in Vṛndāvana Dhāma, where we are sitting, sitting in Barsana: did the līlā happen here or not? Come on, say yes or no. This is called prakaṭa līlā. And aprakaṭa: the līlā going on in the eternal Goloka Vṛndāvana is called the aprakaṭa Goloka Vṛndāvana. Therefore it is said: prakaṭa, aprakaṭa and dṛśyamāna; there is no difference among these three; there is only a gradation in our vision and our experience. What difference? Nothing else. Those who have divine eyes have darśana:
adyāpiha sei līlā kare gaura-rāya
kona kona bhāgyavān dekhibāre pāya
[Attributed to Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata]
[Cited by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-līlā 10.]
Mahāprabhu’s līlā, Rādhā-Govinda’s līlā, is eternal līlā. Pure great souls see all of it with divine vision, with their eyes. Therefore it is said, kona kona bhāgyavān: those whose fortune is …, they see it. As Śukadeva Gosvāmīpāda was speaking the Bhāgavata to Parīkṣit Mahārāja, singing it, he became so absorbed in bhāva that he was having darśana; he goes on speaking directly:
dhanyāḥ sma mūḍha-gatayo ’pi hariṇya etā
…
[Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.21.11]
In Sanskrit there is the word “etāḥ”, “these”: he is pointing with his finger, so the word is “etāḥ”: dhanyāḥ sma mūḍha-gatayo ’pi hariṇya etāḥ. As if he is directly seeing the does: “See, these does …”
The līlā is not taking place in this universe, the universe in which we are sitting; the līlā is going on in some other universe. There are unlimited universes; in some of the unlimited millions of universes Gaura-līlā and Kṛṣṇa-līlā go on, which in Sanskrit is called … what is it called? Alāta-cakravat. If a burning stick is whirled very fast like this, what will be seen? A circle of fire will be seen. Bhagavān’s līlās are said to be alāta-cakravat. In some universe … līlā is being performed, in some universe … līlā is going on, in some universe … all these līlās go on. And in the aprakaṭa Goloka Vṛndāvana it is called nitya-līlā. One is nitya-līlā and one is naimittika-līlā. All these siddhāntas also … :
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa
[Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 2.117]
To make the citta steady, to make the mind steady, one has to enter into siddhānta. Therefore we will say, adyāpiha sei līlā kare gaura-rāya, kona kona bhāgyavān dekhibāre pāya. In unlimited millions of universes all this līlā goes on: there is Gaura-līlā, and Kṛṣṇa-līlā goes on; Gaura-līlā, Kṛṣṇa-līlā … the siddhānta has been explained so beautifully … In the Brahma-saṁhitā too, Brahmājī himself says that all this līlā-tattva is confidential. Where there is confidential truth, it should not be spoken before everyone; describe it to the faithful, to your own devotees.
In this book, ‘Madhusmṛtā’ [name unclear], the kathās of many Purāṇas have been compiled and written. I have not written anything, and I take no credit. Therefore this book that has been published, all this … I have only brought it out. Read it; you will see in it: this is from the Brahma Purāṇa, this from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, this from the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa … Kalpa-bhede hari-kathā: mostly different līlās in different kalpas … And as it manifested in their hearts, so they wrote; and that same kathā Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmīpāda narrated to Parīkṣit Mahārāja. It is a very beautiful book.
Now what we are saying: in the aprakaṭa Vṛndāvana there are two kinds of līlā, one is nitya-līlā and one is naimittika-līlā. Rādhā-Govinda’s vilāsa-līlā is called nitya-līlā. There, there is no birth and so on; there is no birth there. But Rādhā-Govinda’s birth there is said to be only a bhāva. What word was used? Only a bhāva. … They will not be able to understand. Only those who have come in the Gauḍīya line, the line of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, those who are under the shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, surrendered to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, … who have come in this line, will be able to understand. Therefore one should hear with understanding. There is nitya-līlā and naimittika. In the aprakaṭa Goloka Vṛndāvana there is no līlā of killing asuras; there is no killing of Pūtanā there. There Pūtanā … where would Pūtanā live? You tell me … Therefore there is no killing of Pūtanā there. That līlā of killing Pūtanā, what is it? It is only a bhāva. What this bhāva is, is also very difficult to understand.
… However many words we speak in this world, after they are spoken, what remains? … Even if one reaches the level of a sādhu’s bhāva, still something remains unsaid … Transcendental reality is only experience …, which in Sanskrit is called sva-saṁvedya-daśā. What did I say? Sva-saṁvedya-daśā: it is a matter of one’s own experience. As Tulasīdāsajī … in the Rāmacaritamānasa, Śivajī said:
umā kahauṁ maiṁ anubhava apanā
sata hari bhajanu jagata saba sapanā
[Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa, Śrī Rāmacaritamānasa, Araṇya-kāṇḍa 39.3]
What is experience? What is true? Hari-bhajana. And what is everything else? Like a dream. He is speaking of his own experience. In exactly the same way, the most elevated saints are telling us this. Therefore our Jīva Gosvāmīpāda writes that there is no līlā of killing asuras there. All the līlās of killing asuras, where did they happen? In the prakaṭa dhāma … Even so, Rādhājī also killed some asuras. Today in this book … examples have been given from the Purāṇas and quoted … Still, Rādhājī is in no way less than Kṛṣṇa. Rādhājī is greater; Rādhājī is not ordinary. Kṛṣṇa … “I killed this one and that one …”, but … this is the glory of Rādhājī. So in the introduction I am telling just this much: where this dhāma has manifested from.
… Through His Yogamāyā He manifested this place; this place is Rādhājī’s appearance-land. See, who is the worshipable deity of all Vaiṣṇavas? Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. … As a sampradāya we say:
ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanaṁ
ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalaṁ premā pum-artho mahān
śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhor matam idaṁ tatrādaro naḥ paraḥ
[Attributed to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; also found as Caitanya-mata-mañjuṣā 1.1 of Śrīnātha Cakravartī]
Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda writes this. … Our worshipable Lord is Vrajeśa-tanaya; He is our worshipable deity. And which is His dhāma? Vṛndāvana Dhāma. Ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā: all the Vraja-vadhūs … how do they worship Kṛṣṇa? With their eyes, with words; they worship Him with scolding; so beautiful … This is called: the worshipable Lord Vrajeśa-tanaya, the dhāma Vṛndāvana, ramyā kācid upāsanā of the Vraja-vadhūs …; Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the spotless Purāṇa; Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is giving us the evidence.
See, pūjā is of two kinds: there is pūjā with flowers, and with what else is pūjā done? With words, with the eyes. Where there is prema, with what is pūjā done? … Pūjā is not done with flowers. … Someone did pūjā with flowers; and with what is the other pūjā done? With the eyes. The more elevated the devotees, the more they will worship with their eyes and with their words. What will you say is the meaning of the word pūjā? Tell me, what is pūjā? Pūjā means giving joy to someone …; the ordinary meaning is, I offer some flowers and fruits and do pūjā. But the word pūjā has many meanings: to delight someone, to satisfy someone, … to love. Prema-pūjā ārati hove tomāra prema-pradīpe: with the lamp of prema what will we do? We will perform ārati.
And sometimes at home people scold, don’t they? “Come, we will do your pūjā properly.” Does it happen sometimes or not? As is one’s love for someone, so is the dealing of love. If someone steals, the police say, “Come, come to the police station; we will do your pūjā.” The police do pūjā with the stick, and with what does the wife do pūjā? She does pūjā with words. … Come on, say yes or no. So all this … of prema. As prema increases, there will be so many kinds of pūjā. All this should be understood.
So, where we are, how did Rādhājī appear? … You have all heard it many times, especially. Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja himself … Kīrtidā Sundarī and Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja are Rādhājī’s eternal mother and father; there is no doubt about this. Still, in the līlā as seen in the world, kalpa-bhede hari-kathā: … the story of Rādhājī’s birth is described in many ways in many Purāṇas. In some kalpa Śrīmatī Rādhikā appeared from an egg. How? She appeared from an egg. In some kalpa Śrīmatī Rādhikā appeared from a lotus; therefore She is called Kamala-janī. And bringing the lotus to his wife Kīrtidā Sundarī …, as they watched, that beautiful divine girl appeared; therefore She is called Kamala-janī. In some kalpa Śrīmatī Rādhikā appeared from fire; She is also called Agni-sambhūtā. Such beautiful descriptions are in the śāstra; not the story of one kalpa, but of many kalpas.
This Vṛṣabhānu: why did the word bhānu appear? Bhānu means the sun. What is its connection with the sun? This should also be understood. It is shown like this in the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa; see, according to the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa … the sun-god, travelling everywhere, came to the āśrama of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi … seeing such beautiful divine places he was filled with wonder … and at that time the sun-god began to think within his mind, “I too …” He began tapasyā. Seeing his tapasyā, Devarāja Indra also became afraid. Why does Indra become afraid? “By such severe tapasyā he may take away my post.” Indra’s greatest fear is … Indra was thinking of breaking his tapasyā. At that time Brahmājī himself, omniscient, knower of past, present and future, said, “Indra, there is nothing for you to fear; the severe tapasyā the sun-god is performing, to attain your post …” … “Grant me the attainment of the highest thing.” So at that time Bhagavān Himself … See, by darśana of Bhagavān the desire for all the things of the world goes away. If one has darśana of Bhagavān, no worldly desire remains in the heart, like Dhruva Mahārāja: “… I do not want a boon. I have had darśana of Your lotus feet, which are rare even for great demigods like Brahmā; Prabhu, I want nothing else.” In exactly the same way, when the sun-god had direct darśana of Bhagavān …
… Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, Her eternal mother and father … the eternal mother and father began to appear, and together with them the sun-god entered within him. As in Kṛṣṇa’s līlā the story of Droṇa and Dharā is told; it is written here: just as Droṇa …, having worshipped Bhagavān, … “May vātsalya-bhāva arise in me for Bhagavān, for Kṛṣṇa.” What did they say? May vātsalya-bhāva arise. So how could vātsalya-bhāva arise? … How did it happen? When Nanda and Yaśodā began to appear from the eternal Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma, at that time Droṇa and Dharā appeared in their hearts … In the same way, when Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja …, Rādhājī’s eternal mother and father, Kīrtidā Sundarī and Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, this very sun-god appeared in the heart of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, within … So here too the Purāṇa goes on describing it.
… See, Brahmājī himself also appeared here as Brahma Parvata, and on one side, which hill is there? Viṣṇu Parvata. When you do parikramā … such beautiful places of great demigods like Brahmā … Brahmā and others prayed: “Rādhājī’s feet … may You play and perform līlā upon my body.”
In such beautiful places, different līlās go on in different kalpas. In the early morning, when Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja went to bathe, what did he see? In a beautiful lake the water was so clear, pure and spotless, crystal … where many kinds of flowers were blooming, and all around many kinds of trees were adorned with fruits. The branches of the trees seemed to be kissing the earth; so many fruits and flowers had grown on the branches that they touched the ground, as if kissing Mother Earth herself. Why? As if these trees too began to offer prayers: “Aho, Pṛthvī, you are blessed! Aho, Pṛthvī Devī, you are blessed, for here the hlādinī-śakti of Goloka-vihārī Kṛṣṇa Himself, Sarveśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, is appearing.” There is no exaggeration in this. Why there? Ornament is directly adorned there.
Understand: in this world, if we wear ornaments, we look beautiful; … if you do not wear them, your beauty does not shine so much. Go and walk around a little in the sun; what will happen to you? You will turn dark. Is that right or not? … Devotees from abroad go on parikramā for a month … their families cannot recognize them … When they go back abroad after parikramā, their families say, “How did you become so dark?” … See, the cit-jagat … where ornaments themselves become ornamented. … This dhāma too is a cinmaya dhāma; to describe it no ornament is needed. The ornaments we wear outwardly, the bhūṣaṇas …, those very bhūṣaṇas, being adorned by Them, consider themselves most fortunate.
As if today the trees … all the trees and plants around a kuṇḍa like Vṛṣabhānu-khor are so beautifully adorned, and … as if kissing Mother Earth herself: “You are blessed.” Here Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī Śrīmatī Rādhikā Herself today here … Many lotuses are blooming, beautiful; not one, hundreds of lotuses are blooming; many water birds are calling; how beautiful the cuckoo! What does it do? It sings kuhū. … With their kekā cries, peacocks and peahens are dancing and talking with each other. How beautiful! All around everything is becoming adorned, and a soft, gentle, fragrant breeze is blowing.
When did Rādhājī appear, at what time? You don’t know even this? … When Kṛṣṇa appeared it was aṣṭamī tithi; and Rādhājī appeared just fifteen days later, also on aṣṭamī, in the śukla pakṣa. A very beautiful, clear sky … pure, right in the early morning. When did Kṛṣṇa appear? At midnight. When did Rādhājī appear? Right in the early morning, at brahma-muhūrta. At what time? At brahma-muhūrta.
At this time Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja’s bath … one dip, a second, a third dip … How many dips should one take? … Bend down and dip. Some people bathe like this, they don’t take a dip … “water should not go into the ears”; all right, put your fingers in your ears and take the dip, so that water does not go into the ears and nose. Not like that; our śāstra says, how many times did Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja dip? Three times. This is called the rule for bathing.
Three times … on a lotus, this tiny little baby girl, with no clothing of any kind on Her body, only something like a waist-chain around Her waist. Such beautiful curly hair; see, such beautiful hair! A divine manifest body, like molten gold. And see, as if lighting up all four directions … there is darkness, and in it all around such beautiful light came … and the water of the kuṇḍa became so clear. And as soon as Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja saw such a beautiful girl, his heart … he lifted Her and brought Her … :
vṛṣabhānūdadhi-nava-śaśi-lekhe
lalitā-sakhi guṇa-ramita-viśākhe
[Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Rādhikā-stava 2, Stava-mālā (Gītāvalī 14)]
What is Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja’s heart like? Like the ocean; and like a new moon Śrīmatī Rādhājī appeared. … Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, bringing such a beautiful girl to his wife Kīrtidā Sundarī … And how beautiful a name, too! What is it? Kīrtidā: the one who gives all fame … What is the greatest fame? What was said in the conversation with Rāya Rāmānanda?
…
[UNCLEAR 01:21:16–01:21:25] kṛṣṇa-bhakta baliyā yāṅhāra haya khyāti
[Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.246]
… She who gave birth to Rādhā, that is, manifested Her; therefore what did her name become? Kīrtidā. Outwardly we are showing that the eternal mother and father, Kīrtidā and Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja … in Rādhājī’s prakaṭa-līlā … are showing. This Kīrtidā Sundarī, having received such a beautiful girl … in such bhāva …
And meanwhile Nārada Ṛṣi travels everywhere; he began to think, “Where was Kṛṣṇa Himself born? In Gokula, in Nanda-Gokula.” Nanda ke ānanda bhayo, jaya kanhaiyālāla kī; they gave elephants, they gave horses … See, the Vrajavāsīs are so beautiful; everyone revelled in bliss. And so Nārada began to think, “Where Kṛṣṇa is, there Rādhā is; yatra yatra rādhā, tatra tatra kṛṣṇa …” … “Ten or fifteen days are passing; fifteen days have passed.” He began to think about this: “Where has Rādhājī taken birth?” So see, wandering about, he came to this very place, and having come, what did he ask? “Has any child been born in your house?” Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja began to hesitate. Why? “Well, I have a daughter, but with closed eyes …” Because when Rādhājī was ready to come from the eternal Goloka Vṛndāvana Dhāma into this world, Rādhājī said to Kṛṣṇa, “See, I will take birth with You …, but I will take birth with My eyes closed; and when You come, I will see You first, and only then will I see anything else.” Therefore it is written in the śāstra: in the prakaṭa-līlā, how did Rādhājī take birth? With Her eyes closed. In some Purāṇa She took birth with open eyes too … Kalpa-bhede hari-kathā: the līlā of every kalpa is not the same; therefore it is written in the śāstra. Come, in the kalpa whose kathā we are hearing, with closed eyes …
So, “I have received a daughter.” How did he receive the daughter? Her eyes remained closed. … “I have a child …” He showed her to Nārada. Nāradajī, of course, knows past, present and future … Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja … “May my daughter’s eyes open.” Come on, what can saints do? If they wish, they can do everything, and if they do not wish, then not; what can one do?
… See, in tattva-siddhānta, bhakta-kṛpā and bhagavat-kṛpā, both together, are said to … follow each other. In the book Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda describes that bhakta-kṛpā and bhagavat-kṛpā … follow each other. The devotee’s wish and Bhagavān’s wish, both are needed …; understand this today. The devotee cannot do anything without Bhagavān’s wish, and in the same way Bhagavān also cannot do anything without the devotee’s wish; remember this. What we do is approved by Bhagavān, and what Bhagavān does should also be approved by the devotee. But in some places, because of the special power of prema, the devotee’s mercy has a special glory compared with Bhagavān’s mercy. As in the book Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Gopa-kumāra began to tell Janaśarmā: … “So that day I was ready to go cowherding directly with Kṛṣṇa” (read Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛtam), “and just at that time Rādhājī came and said …” … So Gopa-kumāra is saying, “One Māthura brāhmaṇa … ordered by Rādhājī, having received Her order, I have come to this place.”
… increased Rādhājī’s glory even more; and whatever Rādhājī does, She does knowing Kṛṣṇa’s heart; there is no fault in this. Therefore bhakta-kṛpā and bhagavat-kṛpā, what do we say? They follow each other. But sometimes, because of the helplessness of prema, the devotee’s glory is shown more, that is, the devotee’s mercy more …:
kṛṣṇa yadi kṛpā kare kona bhāgyavāne
guru-antaryāmi-rūpe śikhāya āpane
[Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.47]
… The guru acts knowing the wish of his iṣṭa-deva … Gopa-kumāra placed his hand on the head of Janaśarmā, the Māthura brāhmaṇa; and as soon as he placed it, it is written, he realized all the truths of his own Gurudeva as they are … In this, bhakta-kṛpā and bhagavat-kṛpā …; and in some places the special glory of bhakta-kṛpā is also described.
… Out of love he began to think, “Perhaps by the mercy of the saint our daughter’s eyes will open.” Thinking this, he placed his daughter there; and Nārada Ṛṣi, seeing Her, was overwhelmed with bhāva. … Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja went inside to bring all the items for svasti-vācana … and as he watched, the eight sakhīs, Lalitā, Viśākhā and the others … all the sakhīs surrounding Rādhājī on all sides …; and as he watched, Rādhājī too assumed a beautiful kiśorī form and sat there. Seeing such a beautiful form, Nārada Ṛṣi was overcome with bhāva: “Let me quickly offer prayers.” … [UNCLEAR 01:32:45–01:33:29: Nārada’s prayer] … he began to describe Rādhājī’s glance. See, so beautiful! And at this very time, when Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja began to come with all the items, as he watched, all the sakhīs disappeared from there, and Śrīmatī Rādhārānī again became that very tiny girl … Still, according to the worldly līlā, Nārada Ṛṣi …
… Taking her little child Gopāla: “Come, a daughter has been born to Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja; let us go and see her too.” And when Nanda Mahārāja and Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, and Kīrtidā Devī and Yaśodā Mahārānī were sitting outside … Kṛṣṇa is a little naughty; He is fifteen days old now, and naughty; He began to think, “Where is My hlādinī-śakti until now?” Where Rādhājī is sleeping in the house; She is still a newborn baby. Here the conversation is going on … open Your eyes. Then at that time Rādhājī opened Her eyes and had darśana of Kṛṣṇa; and then, after seeing Him, like a little girl, Rādhājī began to cry. Then quickly Mother Yaśodā, Kīrtidā Devī and Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja ran …
… And the place below is the place of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja; and above, where we go and take darśana, what is that place? It is where, above, Kṛṣṇa Himself has the swing pastime and so on with Rādhājī, many kinds of pastimes … At the time of the swing festival Gurudeva too … See, how Rādhājī comes from above and swings with Kṛṣṇa on this swing … Therefore this is not really a worldly place; here too it is very beautiful. So see, all the līlā is in Barsana Dhāma; therefore, having come to Barsana, you will not have to go anywhere else. How beautiful this divine dhāma is! Having come here, you have no need to go anywhere else.
Transcribed with AI and checked by devotees, may have mistakes.
SUMMARY
