Who is Radha? (source: Jagadguru Kripalu Maharaj)
Prakati Kirti Kumari,
Kirti Ghar !
Radha is not a separate personality. Sri Krishna Himself became two – one is Radha
form and one, Krishna, Vedas declare. Just as Sri Krishna appeared, so she also
descended. They reside in heart. Her body
is not made of five elements. Radha is
only bliss (ananda matra). Ras is greater than Anand. There is Anand and there
is Rasa. The bliss of Formless God that a jnani gets, greater than that is
Divine Love or Prem Rasa that a devotee gets. Divine Love is condensed essence
of bliss.
Sat, Chit, Anand are the three aspects of God. The core
essence of Anand is Hladini Shakti and Prem (Divine Love) is the core essence
of Hladini Shakti. That is why the great teachers have said that if you
multiply Brahma-Anand (bliss of Formless God) by a parodh (a parodh means 1
followed by 17 zeros) it will not compare to even a drop of Prem-Ananda. Such
is the Rasa or bliss of Divine Love.
And there are classes even within Ras. Ahead of Prem Bhakti
is Sneha Bhakti, then Maan Bhakti, Prananya Bhakti, Raag Bhakti, Anurag Bhakti,
Bhav Bhakti and then Mahabhav Bhakti, the ultimate stage. Mahabhav is also of two kinds: Rudh Mahabhav
and Adhirudh Mahabhav. Adhirudh Mahabhav
is of two kinds: Modan and Mohan. And
there is another bhav distinct from all these is a bhav called Madankhya
Mahabhav. No saint has attained this bhav even in Golok. Not even RadhaRani’s most personal associate –
Lalita, Vishakha etc. have attained it. This state exists only with Radha Rani.
That is, Radha Rani only heard the name ‘Krishna’ and became fully surrendered.
She simply heard the flute and became fully dedicated. She simply saw his
picture and went into a divine trance. This is Madanakhya Mahabhav. So the One possessing the supreme state of Madanakhya
Mahabhav, that supreme power is Radha. Such an indescribable, divine, supreme
entity is Radha, who appeared in the lap of Mother Kirti !
Unlimited happiness, the divine bliss that a mother gets
even the father does not get, the siblings get even less and rest of the public
in Braj get even lesser. But even the lesser amount of it is countless times
that of Brahma Ananda. Forget about
competing with mother Kirti, but even if a donkey of Braj gets a vision of
Radha Rani, that Ras is still be greater than countless billions of
Brahma-ananda. Such a Radha Rani appeared in mother Kirti’s home.
When something auspicious happens, the Vedas mantra are
recited, especially the ‘Swasti’ recitation
स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो
वृद्धश्रवाः ।
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ॥
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ॥
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ |
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ ||
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ ||
May Indra, who is provided with great speed, has good will toward us. |
May Pusha, who knows the world, has good will toward us. ||
May Pusha, who knows the world, has good will toward us. ||
Brahma himself came to recite verses. Brahma found out by Radha Rani’s
grace that She, the supreme power is coming to our world and Her Bliss, Love
will shower like it has never showered before. So Brahma came to recite the
‘Swasti’ mantra. When Brahma came, the four Vedas said, ‘O’ Brahma, you are
going! Why should we be left behind?’ The four Vedas themselves recited the
mantras. So the four Vedas also arrived. They are so overjoyed that they could
not control themselves, so they came without being called to welcome Radha
Rani.
Prakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti Ghar !!
Brahmadik Swastaya patth kara
Astuti kar sruti cari, Kirti Ghar
Prakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti Ghar !
Now saints to sing Her glories also came. Narad and others glorify Her by
singing her virtues: Radha rani is like this, She bestows grace etc.
Parakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti ghar !
Naradadi, Virdavali gavata
Kahi jaya Bhanu dulari, Kirti ghar
Parakai Kirti Kumari, Kirti ghar !
So the Vedas praised and sang glories. Lord Shiva came to dance – tandava
dance that occurs in trance.
Tandava nirtaya karat Shiv Shankra
Sudhi budhi dina bisari, Kirti ghar
Parakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti ghar !
Who will do the Aarti? There are three great powers: Brahma, Vishnu,
Shankar. Their Hladini shakti (power of love-bliss) – Uma, Rama, Brahmani – all
3 arrived and performed divine aarti and took part in welcoming Radha Rani.
Uma, Rama, Brahmani adika
Aarti Kumari uttari, Kirti ghar !
Prakati Kirti kumari, Kirti ghar.
Some Paramhamsa, ultimate jnanis absorbed in Brahmanand, also reached
there. They kept looking at Her. Their brahm-samadhi turned around and became
Prem-samadhi. When they regained consciousness, they just said one word –
‘Balihaar’, meaning we sacrifice our Brahmanand on this divine form. They could
not say anything else, but one word, ‘Balihaar’. Because the Brahmanand that
those souls had acquired was on the basis of the mind. They realised Brahm when
the mind still existed, and when the mind was finished, then only the existence
remained, i.e. only the soul remained and the soul merged into God. Now who is
left to experience? When the mind still existed, they could not experience the
Formless God and when they suffered the karmas and finished the mind, then the
time came to realize Brahm. But how can the poor souls experience Brahm without
the mind? He does not even have a mind or intellect – forget body or senses. So
there were a few rare jnanis who received grace from a Rasik saint so that they
could experience Ras of divine personal form of Brahm. The rest of the souls
merge into Brahm forever.
Prakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti ghar !
Lakhata Kripalu gyani jan ik tak
Puni puni kahi balihari, Kirti Gahr
Prakati Kirti Kumari, Kirti ghar !