Those who have devoted themselves to Sri Krishna, it is essential for them to adopt brajbhav which is replete with bliss, peace, love and grace. Meditating on the philosophical import of the glory of Braj, the nobility of Sri Radha and Gopis, the grandeur and secret of Sri Krishna's descension, divine love sprouts in the heart of devotees that is called Brajbhav. Therefore it is essential to understand Brajbhav we need to reflect on all these carefully.
Sri Krishna says to Uddhav, 'Uddho, I cannot forget Braj.'
उधौ, मोहिं ब्रज बिसरत नाहीं ।
Worshipping and remembering the sweet pastimes of Sri Krishna in Braj is called Brajbhav. The eighty four kos (168 miles approx.) area of Sri Mathura and Sri Vrindavan is considered as the land of Braj. Braj has a unique significance for India. The trees, vines, leaves, grass, villages, forests, hills and the dust of Braj has the primordial force that enlivens the pastimes of supreme player Sri Krishna and instils divine love in the heart of the devotees. In fact, the Ras panchadhyayi or the five chapters of the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagvat puran written by Sri Ved Vyas, set the scene for a deoiction of divine love. Even among these five chapters, the third chapter where the women of Braj sing what is called 'Gopi Geet' or the song of the Gopis, this song summarises the essenceof Brajbahv or divine love.
According to saints only by merits earned from past lives that one can experience the Brajbhav and get to 'live' in Braj.
Even the creator, Brahma, wishes to be born in Braj even if it is to be an insect, moth or any other creature. In fact the only life worth having is to take birth in Braj and always sing 'Radha-Krishna'.
The Braj has a boundless grandeur where the formless, attribute-less God takes Form to stage a divine show. Therefore, if we wish to attain Sri Radha-Raman, Sri Banke-Bihari, Gopinaath, Sri Govardhandhari, Madan Mohan, then we must take refuge in the groves of Braj, as we can only meet Him in Sri Vrindavan. What do we have to do with a Formless One outside Vrindavan? Our darling, who incarnates as a Gop or cow-herder, who steals butter, runs after women, son of Yahoda and Nand, friend of cow-boys, Radha-Mohan, the immanent resident of woodlands, Sri Krishna resides only in Vrindavan. Dear Sri Krishna never leaves Vrindavan.
'वृन्दावनं परित्यज्य पादमेकं न गच्छति '
The poor Nirvana can only find a solace here, as it says
मुक्ति कहे गोपाल सों मेरी मुक्ति कराय ।
ब्रजरज उड़ि मस्तक लखे मुक्ति मुक्त व्है जाय ॥
Supremely blessed is this Brajra (the dust of Braj) as it is the dwelling place of God. Whether one does spiritual practices or not when in Braj, just merely having an unwavering faith in its significance is a blessing in itself. Attaining moksha or liberation from the cycle of repeated births is nothing compared to this blessedness. However if one combines devotion and spiritual endeavour with it then one experiences increasing bliss and divine love that is the supreme purpose of human life.
In fact, Braj is the home of the personification of love, Sri Krishna. There His sovereignty does not have any place. Showing His mouth to Yashoda, meeting Akarur while taking a bath in the Yamuna, lifting Govardhan, while playing with cow-herders, and on other occasions too He performed many miracles but no one paid any special attention to them, nor did anyone prayed to Him in times of need, showed any signs of repentance or surrender to Him. On the contrary, He enjoyed being called Kanua, the dark one, Lala or the little one, the thief, the naughty one, crafty, stubborn and other words of affectionate abuse by gopis and others.
The ease and comfort that Shyam Sundar enjoys in Braj, He cannot have outside. Outside Braj he has to hear the dire requests and wishes of people and establish the law and order to run this world. He can get love and affection only in Braj where He can have a sound and blissful sleep. The entire Braj is filled with the marks of Krishna's feet. Owing to herding the cows and playing with his fellow cowherdering gangs, the soil of Braj has become the imbued with his love as Krishna does not wear anything on his feet. He finds joy in being defeated by his friends in Braj and likes being called their friend, as
अहो भाग्यमौभाग्यं नन्द गोप ब्रजोक्साम
यन्मित्रं परमानन्दम् पूर्णब्रह्म सनातनम् ।
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The secret of the Descension of Sri Krishna
We have seen that most of the great men and women excel in a particular field of religion, politics, art, humanitarian goals, sports, power, etc. It is very rare to find someone who is master in all the different areas and possesses all the desired and unimaginable attributes and virtues having achieved personal potential to its highest possibilities, who has authority on all the subjects and inspires every field of human endeavour. All this became true in the form of Sri Krishna. Therefore he has been called a complete avatar or incarnation, one who is supreme man or purushottam. In Him, a devotee found the realisation of her devotional form. In Sri Krishna, the universal and immanent formless (nirakar brahm) and the form (sakar brahm) united and found expression. This is the secret of His descension.
When He descended, the demons called Kans, Jarasandh, Bhomasur, Kalyavan, Prondruk, Dantvakr, Shishupal, Shalv, and Kaurav etc were rulers and were tormenting their subjects. Sri Krishna defeated them using His intellect, art of arms, virtues, and supreme abilities and spread peace and happiness among people establishing the reign of righteousness.
For the betterment of the world, Sri Krishna put forward His message in Geeta, according to which the purpose of human life is not to indulge in sense-gratification which is the cause of suffering. The aim of life is to realize Truth or God, the only goal worth seeking that can bring about peace, happiness and well-being. By following the paths of knowledge, dedicated action, and devotion we can realize this Truth and see the permanence in the transitory, eternal in the short-lived. To achieve this, we do not have to give up action or renounce the world. One should not be attached to the results of actions. Following our duties in a given context, we should perform them with total honesty and to the utmost of our abilities. The reason for our sorrows is the attachement or Asakti. Therefore we should do our duties without any attachment or personal motive. This is the only way to lead a happy life.
God accepts whatever we offer Him in the way of devotion. Sri Krishna teaches us to surrender whatever we do, eat, donate or earn to Him, as this will lead to liberation from bondage of karma. The act of surrendering attaches us to our true source, Krishna and we will make progress on the path of devotion. This is the essence of Geeta, teaching Karma yoga or the path of action to experience union with the One. So that people do not get entangled in this changing and short-lived material world of Maya or relative reality, He instructed us in the path of knowledge in Srimad Bhagvat, which summarises eternal truth of Vedas and Upanishads in simple terms. This is Sri Krishna's invaluable, spiritual, and extraordinary contribution to the world.
Despite having the supreme powers and unlimited opulence, Sri Krishna led a simple life of a humble villager. He herded cows and moved among cow herder boys. His loved eating freshly churned butter, and using His brilliant wrestling skills defeated many demons effortlessly. He killed Kans and gave the kingdom to Ugrasen, played Rasa or danced with gopis in woodlands (nikunj) to grace them with spiritual bliss, while remaining untouched (achyut, अच्युत) by all this. Although He was an inspiration behind all the actions, He remained unattached and became the exemplary charioteer for Arjun in the war. Such a great philosopher, politician, and valiant Sri Krishna was the true king of all the states and of Mahabharat.
He lovingly ate saag (spinach) and banana skin at Vidur's home and rice flakes from Sudama, dispelling his poverty and gave him all the riches. Krishna helped Draupadi by restoring her honour. By killing Bhomasur Krishna saved 16,100 princesses from prison, who ultimately married Krishna whom they considered to be their befitting consort and who no one else would accept as they had been captured by a demon.
Thus, His every action and thought of Sri Krishna was for the welfare of humanity.
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The Glory of Sri Radha
वंदे श्री राधिकां देवीं व्रजारण्य विहारिणीम् ।
यस्या: कृपा बिना कोsपि न कृष्णं ज्ञातु मर्हति ॥
My salutaions to Sri Radhika who resides in the bowers of Vraj (vraj nikunj) without whose grace no one can know Krishna.
The metaphysics of Sri Radha principle is transcendental and endless which can not be understood by mere intellect or by undergoing penances and yogic practices. Only those who have surrendered themselves completely- mind, body and soul- due to their undying love and incessant devotion, receive the grace to experience an iota of this mystical world. And the dawning of love is also dependent on Sri Radha's grace. We can only love and to pray ceaselessly. Who will receive their grace, when and how much, depends on Sri Radha-Shyam.
It has been said in the Sakanda Puran:
आत्मा तु राधिका तस्य तयैव रमणदसौ ।
आत्माराम तया प्राज्ञे: प्रोच्यते गूढ़ वेदिभिः ॥
Sri Krishna always abides in His Self. That is why He is called the Self-sufficient or Atmaaram (आत्माराम ). Sri Krishna is God. His soul is Sri Radhika. Sri Radha is Sri Krishna's beloved. As the space is related to the pot so is Sri Radha related to Sri Krishna. There is no distinction between the two except of that of name, because it is only due to the difference of names that the appearance is possible. Jaydev, the Bengali poet, through his treatise 'Geet Govind', has made it possible for us to visualise and worship the pair of Radha-Krishna. With Geet Govind, Jayadev inspired generations of Radha-Krishna devotees to drink the nectar of Radha-Krishna's love. Radha is reinvented as the epitome of supreme, sweet and tender principle of divine love in Geet Govind. In Vedic texts like Srimad Bhagvat, Brahmvrat puran, and Lila Shuk, the enchanting stories and descriptions of Sri Krishna, Gopis and Radha, Sri Radha of the 'Geet Govind' is unique, uncanny and an endless treasure of dual love (युगल प्रेम ) sweetness of divine play.
Perennially beholding Sri Krishna, Radha herself becomes Sri Krishna, and Radha whose lotus feet Sri Krishna washes with His own hands, thinking of such ambrosial love, devotees get enthralled and ecstatic. Meera, too, became drunk with this nectar of divine love as she too have read Geet Govind before leaving Mevar.
In truth, without Sri Radha, Sri Krishna is incomplete. The complexity of Brajbhav is Sri Radha. Without primordial energy (प्रकृति ), consciousness (पुरुष ) is inert.
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The Glory of Sri Braj- Gopi
The culmination of love is when the mind stops wandering in material world and is only aware of the Beloved. Gopi love had reached this state of being. Gopis were Krishna and Krishna was Gopis, Every moment, Gopis only dreamed of Krishna and only heard the sweet tunes of His flute. Due to the knowledge gained in previous lives, Gopis knew that the only goal and principle of life is Sri Krishna. He is the sole well-wisher of living beings. They knew that mother, father, sibling, friend, husband, everything is Krishna. He is the only one worth attaining. Gopis considered Him their beloved and loved Him with their hearts, words, deeds.
Lord Krishna has Himself said this about Gopis:
निजाङ्गमपि या गोप्यो ममेति समुपासते ।
ताभ्यः परं न मे पार्थ निगूढ़ प्रेम भाजनम् ॥
सहाया गुरुवः शिष्या भुजिष्य बान्धवः स्त्रियः
सत्यं वदामि ते पार्थ गोप्यः किं मे भवन्ति न ।।
मन्महात्म्यं मत्स्प्रया मच्छ्र्द्धां मन्मनोगतम् ।
जानन्ति गोपिकाः पार्थ नान्ये जानन्ति तत्वतः ॥
'Dear Arjun, Gopis take care of their physical bodies so that they can serve me. Except Gopis, there is no one else who is more deserving of my mystical love. They are my assistants, teachers, students, servants, brothers, beloved, they are everything for me! To tell you the truth, what Gopis are not for me? Hey Arjun, only they know about my grandeur, my wish, my worship and reverence.'
Sri Krishna personally said to Uddhav one day: 'Dear Uddhav, Gopis have completely surrendered themselves to me. Having given up their worldly relations and all the material pleasures, they are only concerned about me. I am the reason for their existence and happiness. I am dear to those ladies of Gokul. Being separated from me, they are going through throes of agony and dispassion. Their lives depend upon a reassurance from me that I will soon visit them.
या दोहने व हनने मथनोपलेप
प्रेङ्खन् नाभ्र्रुदितोक्षणमार्जनादौ
गायन्ति चैनमनुरक्तधियोश्रुकंठयो
धन्या ब्रजस्त्रीय उरुक्रमचित्त्यानः ॥
Those Gopis who while milking the cows, grinding the grains, making curd, painting the courtyards, cradling the babies, singing lullabies, cleaning the house, only sing with tears and devotion about me. I am grateful to them for their total dedication to me. He further says,
न पारयेहं निरवद्य संयुजां
स्वसाधु कृत्यं विबुधा युयापि वः
या माभजन् दुर्जर गेह शृखलाः
संवृश्च्य टदवः प्रतियातु साधूनां ॥
'O dear ones, you have served me breaking the strict rules of society. I can never repay you even with a life as long as of gods. Only you can release me of your debt with your benevolence.'
अनुव्रजाम्यहं नित्यं पूये ये त्यद घ्रि रेणुभिः ॥
I follow them to sanctify myself with the dust of their feet!
Besides being beloved of Krishna and His ardent devotees, the Gopis were very clever and playful too. When Krishna stopped one of them on their way, a Gopi answers with such a joviality and poignancy. Through Gopis, Uddhav experiences of a stupendous world of sentiments and love. He forgets his knowledge of Yoga philosophy and learns the philosophy of divine love.
ऊधो मो सूधो भये सुन गोपिन के बोल ।
ज्ञान बजाई डुगडुगी प्रेम बजायो ढोल ॥
Having absorbed in that love, Uddhav accepted staying in Braj forever. He forgot his knowledge of the Formless reality and dancing with love he said, 'Blessed are these women of Braj, who despite being illiterate and ordinary, are deeply in love with Krishna that is unrivalled by any saints and wise ones. Indeed, only these Gopis know the true nature and mystery of Shyam Sundar. We are fortunate that we came in contact with them and learnt the nature of transcendental and divine love.'
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Sri Krishna's dance of Love (Ras-leela)
God's actions or play/amusement has two elements: of magnificence (ashvarya) and congeniality (madhurya). The Unborn takes birth to fulfil the wishes of His devotees by His magnificence. The forms of His splendour are His incarnations of Matsya (fish), Kacchhap(tortoise), Varaah (boar), and Narsinh (half man-half lion).And the Forms that exemplify His congeniality or affability where He obeys parents and teachers and act according to the wishes of the devotees are of Sri Ram and Sri Krishna.
Srimad Bhagvat puran is the main text to help us understand the secret of Sri Krishna's ras-leela. The meaning of Srimad Bhagvad becomes progressively clear as the love of devotee increases. This too depends on the power of Lord's grace. It is very difficult to understand the enigma of Ras leela with ordinary, material intellect. Even the Supreme yogi Shiva could not understand it as he had to take the form of Gopishvar in Vrindavan. Shiva had burned the god of love, Manmath in anger, and the god of love could not even touch Sri Krishna in the midst of so many beautiful women of Braj. The od of love himself got ensnared by the attractive form of Krishna. After that Sri Krishna came to be called Madan Mohan.
In fact, it is difficult to understand Ras-leela without having a complete victory over physical form of love. In the entire universe, only Krishna is that who has won the god of physical love. Only one who has God's grace can understand Ras-leela.
In a clear full moon-lit night of autumn, Sri Krishna danced with gopis to fulfil their wish. This is called Ras-leela. When a group of nymphs dance together in a circle is called the raas. With the presence of one Krishna in the middle of two Gopis, made the Gopis feel so close to their Kanha. Hence they all danced in a circle. Raas means emotions or feelings in other words. रसानां समूहः रासम meaning there was not one Ras but group of Rasa. Therefore, in Raas, there is compassion, beauty, bravery, love, mirth, disgust, horror, and wonder (nav ras or nine emotions). Of these, Sringar or Love/ attractiveness is the essentail ras of Braj. Under the influence of circumstances, we go through such emotions. In short, the experience of the Blissful nature of Sri Krishna is the true meaning of Raas leela.
Lord Krishna is the lead character of Raas leela and Sri Radhika is the heroine, whereas all the Gopis were only the luminous force in the form of goddesses, saints, married, unmarried, etc. Sri Radha was the divine force that made Raas leela happen.
It is said that the narrator of Srimad Bhagvat, Sri Sukdevji maharaj used to dwell as a parrot in the abode of Sri Radharani and have the blessing of seeing Radharani which is unattainable by the rarest of the saints and gods. This is the reason that there is not much mention of Radharani's name in the Bhagvad puran as if it was mentioned, Shukdevji was sure to go into trance by mere hearing or saying Her name, and it would not have been possible to complete its narration to Prikshit in one week. That is why he does not mention Radharani's name in Raas panchadhyayi (five chapters on Raas). To explain why Shukdevji has not mentined Radha name, a supreme devotee of Brajras, Sri Vyas says:
परम धन राधा नाम आधार ।
जाहि स्याम मुरली में टेरत सुमिरत बारम्बार ॥
जंत्र मंत्र औ वैद मन्त्र में सबै तार को तार ।
श्री शुकदेव प्रकट नहिं भाख्यो जानि सार को सार ।
कोटिक रूप धरे नंद नंदन तउ न पायो पार ।
'व्यासदास' अब प्रकट बखानत डारि भार में भार ॥
If the Lord of the universe takes a form and amuses Himself to grant the wishes of devotees and grace them then it is His greatness.
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