Cover, Editorial Note, Preface, and Contents

Obeisance to Shri Radha and Krishna

Shri Radha-Madhava-Chintan

Contemplation on Shri Radha-Madhava

Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Author - Hanuman Prasad Poddar

Shri Hari

Shri Radha-Madhava-Chintan

You alone are my mother, and You alone my father. You alone are my kinsman, and You alone my friend. You alone are my knowledge, and You alone my wealth. You alone are my all, O the Lord of gods.

Hanuman Prasad Poddar

Obeisance to Shri Radha and Krishna

Humble Submission

Within the devotional rasa, the sweetness of Vraja-rasa is incomparable. While manifest in Vraja, Lord Shri Vrajendra-nandana caused a stream of rasa, sweet beyond sweetness, to flow. Nothing in this world, indeed nothing in the cosmic universe, can compare with it. The greatest masters of yoga, sages, and realized men of wisdom yearn for this rasa. From time to time, Bhaiji, Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar, wrote on this subject in articles for Kalyan, in prepared addresses delivered on special occasions, and in personal letters. He also spoke of it orally in daily satsanga and at other gatherings. All of this constitutes a priceless treasure of the spiritual world. For many years, sensitive readers have asked that his articles, letters, and other writings concerning Vraja-rasa be published as an independent collection in book form. The present volume is the sweet fruit of that request. Of course, this collection includes only a portion of those articles, discourses, letters, and other writings that relate to madhura-rasa or the mood of the beloved. Most of his writings concerning other rasas could not be included. Moreover, he said and wrote so much on this subject in oral discourses and personal letters that it would be impossible to collect everything.

To enable readers to grasp the subject thoroughly, the collected material has been divided into seven sections. The first is entitled "Shri Radha." It scarcely needs saying that Shri Radhika is the very life of Vraja-rasa and the soul of the Prince of Vraja: "Radha is indeed His soul." In one aspect, Shri Radha is Shri Krishna's aradhika, His worshiper; in another, She is also His aradhya, the One to be worshiped: "She who is worshiped is Radha." Although power and the possessor of power are in reality undivided, in the Lord's particular, personal forms the power holds primacy. The very being of the possessor of power rests upon power. Without power, how could there be one who possesses it? According to the derivation "that which is savored is rasa," rasa exists to be savored. In order to taste Himself through Himself, Shri Krishna, who is Rasa itself - "He indeed is Rasa" - becomes Radha. This is why Radha possesses a unique glory in Vraja-rasa. Shri Krishna is the worshiper of love, and therefore He worships His own worshiper. He dresses and adorns Her with His own hands; when She takes offense, He seeks to please Her by offering even His life in loving propitiation. "Mohanlal presses Her feet," and:

"I secretly beheld Him seated within that bower-cottage, turning and massaging Radhika's feet."

Through such sayings, rasika poets have indicated this love-subdued disposition of Shri Krishna. To signify the primacy of divine power, in paired names such as Radha-Krishna and Sita-Rama, Radha and Sita are named first. Following this convention, the section entitled "Shri Radha" has also been placed first in the present work. It is the largest section as well. It offers a penetrating discussion of difficult and profound subjects: Shri Radha's supremely divine nature, the transcendent glory of Her love, Her most sacred relationship with Shri Krishna, and more. Along the way, it beautifully resolves various doubts raised concerning Shri Radha and the love between Shri Radha and Krishna.

The second section is entitled "Shri Krishna." It sheds abundant light on Shri Krishna's complete divinity, His supremely divine nature, His divine body of being, consciousness, and bliss, the glory of His manifestation and the celebration of His birth, His capacity to hold contrary attributes, His universal acceptance, the radiant purity of His character, and the spiritual discipline by which He may be attained as one's most beloved Lord.

The third section is entitled "Radha-Madhava." It clearly expounds the unity of the Divine Couple as one reality, worship of Their conjoint form, the eightfold daily service of Radha and Krishna to be remembered through the eight periods of the day, and related subjects.

Thus, this book provides a standard by which one may rightly understand the nature of Shri Radha and Krishna, Their supremely sacred mutual relationship, and Their many sweet lilas - including love, loving displeasure, and separation. At the same time, it offers a touchstone for studying, contemplating, and critically appreciating all the literature about Shri Radha and Krishna available to date in Sanskrit, Hindi, and other languages. Without such a touchstone - without true knowledge of Radha-Madhava's nature and the principle underlying Their mutual sweet lilas - we have remained deprived, to a great extent, of the full delight of studying works on this subject. We have also created numerous mistaken notions of our own.

By judging everything according to criteria of our own invention, we have harmed ourselves on the one hand and, on the other, treated ancient and modern works on Shri Radha and Krishna, as well as their poets and authors, unjustly.

Like students of literature, creators of literature have also lacked a doctrinal standard regarding the nature and lilas of Shri Radha and Krishna. Consequently, apart from a few devotee-poets such as Surdas, many poets who made Radha-Madhava the subject of their poetry have strayed far from the path. I therefore make a humble request to poets and writers of literature concerning Shri Radha and Krishna. If they create their works while keeping before them the supremely pure nature and relationship of Shri Radha and Krishna presented in this book, a sattvika literature will emerge. It will be not only a priceless treasure in the field of devotion, but also capable of elevating society's declining moral standard.

The fourth section is entitled "The Realm of Bhava and the Mystery of Lila." It explains in beautiful and accessible language the supramundane glory of the realm of bhava; the qualification required to enter that realm after crossing the boundary of the realm of knowledge; the eternal play of Beloved and Lover there; the mystery of divine incarnation; and the inner meaning of Shri Krishna's exquisitely sweet yet potentially bewildering divine lilas, such as stealing butter, taking the garments, and the rasa dance. Reading it properly resolves the many doubts that ignorance generates concerning these lilas. Ancient acharyas and other eminent teachers have offered several views of the rasa-lila. Some regard it as a spiritual allegory; others call it a lila in which lust is conquered, and so forth. After examining all these views, Shri Bhaiji explains that it is the Lord's delight in His own Self - His play with the Shri Gopis, who are manifestations of His own essential nature. Through it the Lord shows how He bestows His very Self upon devotees who abandon all worldly and scriptural claims and offer themselves wholly to Him, becoming completely subject to their love. Shri Krishna's play is, in truth, a distribution of His own essential being. In this context the book also explains that although the whole of Lord Shri Krishna's character is supremely radiant and exemplary, not every one of His lilas is to be imitated. A person who attempts to imitate them all will fall into a terrible abyss. Long ago, when the crown of devotees, Emperor Parikshit, raised a doubt in connection with the rasa-lila, the Bhagavata's own narrator, the sage Shukadeva, gave humanity precisely this warning.

The fifth section is entitled "The Principle of Divine Love." It gives a deeply moving and authoritative account of love and beautifully explains its successive levels - rati, prema, sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, and mahabhava - together with their further divisions. Today the word "love" has come to be used for the worldly relationship between husband and wife; in some places even illicit attachment is called love. The word has thereby been stripped of its sattvika character and purity, and people begin to recoil at the very name of love. Study of this book makes clear that the worldly relationship of husband and wife is not called prema but kama. Kama rests on enjoyment, the gratification of one's own senses; prema rests on renunciation, the sole longing for the happiness of the beloved. A lover of the Lord rises not only above the enjoyments of this world and the next, but far above even the happiness of liberation. This is why lovers have regarded divine love as the fifth and highest aim of human life, above wealth, virtue, desire, and liberation. It contains not the slightest impulse toward personal happiness. Shri Radha Rani is the supreme manifestation of this love. This section also casts wonderful light on such truths as these: divine love can be attained only through intense longing and divine grace; its celestial palace can be built only upon the foundation of renunciation; and complete detachment from sense-objects is indispensable to love.

The sixth section is entitled "The Gopis." Love reaches its highest consummation in the Shri Gopis. To call them love embodied would be no exaggeration. The section "The Gopis" has therefore been placed immediately after "The Principle of Divine Love." It explains that the gopis are manifestations of Shri Radha, portions of Her own being or expansions of Her body. Their sole work is to bring the Divine Beloveds together and to serve both of Them lovingly with their whole lives. Their ideal is tat-sukha-sukhitvam - finding one's happiness in Their happiness - the root mantra of love. This is why the divine sage Narada, in his Bhakti Sutras, accepted them as the highest ideal of devotion.

"As in the case of the gopis of Vraja." Not only Brahma, the father of the universe, but foremost devotees such as Uddhava have longed for the dust of their feet. The Lord assigned them a station higher than Brahma, Shiva, Lord Sankarshana, and Goddess Lakshmi - indeed, higher even than His own Self:

"Neither Brahma, born from My own being, nor Lord Shiva, nor Sankarshana, nor Shri Lakshmi, nor even My own Self is as dear to Me as you are."

What can be said of the glory of those Shri Gopis? They form thousands of groups and include many distinct roles: sakhi, sahachari, priya-narma-sakhi, manjari, messenger, and others. This section gives a fitting and comprehensive explanation of exceedingly deep and esoteric matters, including their respective natures, services, love, and the discipline of gopi-bhava. It also makes clear that gopi-bhava is not a discipline that women alone can practice. Consequently, there is no need to adopt feminine dress for its sake. Those who do so, in a sense, only make a mockery of gopi-bhava. In truth, no conception of a relationship between man and woman arises here at all. This is a supremely pure, supramundane bhava, wholly devoid of even the scent of worldly passion. Numerous mistaken ideas concerning Radha-Madhava's supremely sacred relationship have also spread in both spiritual practice and literature under the headings of svakiya and parakiya bhava. When one considers the loving relationship of Shri Radha-Madhava and Gopi-Krishna in light of this book's discussions of svakiya and parakiya, the heart becomes illumined by that relationship's purest and most radiant splendor.

All the independent topics that could not be included in the preceding six sections have been placed in a separate section entitled "Miscellany." Although it is the final section, it is in no way inferior to the preceding six in charm and devotional savor.

At the beginning and end of every section, and occasionally within a section as well, several poetic compositions by the compiler-author have been included. They gather up the subject under discussion and make the sections still more vivid. The present collection has thus become a priceless mine of Vraja-rasa, of madhura-rasa. In the view of the writer of these lines, such a comprehensive, accessible, graceful, authoritative, and analytical work on this subject has perhaps never before been written in any language. Sanskrit literature certainly contains such material in abundance, but it lies so widely scattered that only a person such as Shri Bhaiji could penetrate its inner meaning, analyze and employ it properly, and give it a unified form. To my understanding, this book contains much of the heart of bhakti-shastra and the very essence of Vraja literature. Everything written here is fully consonant with Vaishnava scripture and the principles of the rasika traditions. It is my conviction that this work will serve as an incomparable guide for worshipers of Shri Radha and Krishna. By studying and pondering it attentively, and by embodying its principles in their lives, people can readily advance along the path of divine love, before which even the exceedingly rare attainment of liberation becomes insignificant.

This work will also prove very useful to those who practice madhura-bhava. Much impurity has entered, and may yet enter, both personal life and society as a whole in the name of worshiping madhura-bhava. The reason is that if the "mercury" of madhura-rasa is not taken according to proper discipline, it bursts out and tears the entire body and mind apart. The moral level of one who holds fast to the principles of madhura-bhava worship presented in this work will rise steadily. Such a person can escape the mire of worldly enjoyment and the grip of base lust and enter the realm of pure love.

Finally, it must be said that the material collected in this work was written at various times and on different occasions over the long course of thirty-five years. Some repetition will therefore certainly be apparent. Wherever it was noticed, an effort was made to remove it, even though this somewhat altered the form of the original articles. Yet because the subjects treated in the articles are interconnected, in some places it was necessary to retain those repetitions as they stood. Moreover, to help the reader internalize the subject being presented, it is sometimes necessary to repeat the same point. The episodes recounted here are so moving, devotional, engaging, and heart-captivating that the more often they are read, the more they purify the heart and strengthen it in divine feeling. From all these perspectives, the repetitions are not merely excusable; discerning and sensitive readers will find that they positively enrich the work.

It should nevertheless be remembered that the material assembled in this volume lay scattered in many forms through thirty-five years of Kalyan files. In selecting it from various places, bringing it together, arranging it into sections, and linking it into a sequence, it is possible that many errors have remained through my carelessness or lack of knowledge. Had the author himself undertaken this task, the result before us would certainly have taken a different form. But the author had neither the leisure nor the inclination to reread, revise, and arrange these passages. He gave permission to print this collection only with great hesitation and solely to satisfy our wish. Under these circumstances, any error remaining in the book should be regarded as the responsibility of the writer of these lines alone.

Finally, in the spirit of the words, "O Govinda, I offer to You alone what is already Yours," we devoutly present this collection at the sacred feet of Shri Nikunjeshvara and Shri Nikunjeshvari. The writer of these lines believes that whatever has been written in this book was written by Their inspiration. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that They Themselves, dwelling in the author's heart, caused it to be written.

The present work sets forth the doctrinal aspect of Vraja-rasa. The lila aspect has not been included in any special detail.

In conclusion, we humbly ask Shri Bhaiji, solely for our satisfaction, to cast a bird's-eye view over the present work. If he feels that any essential part of the subject has been omitted, may he kindly complete it so that it can be added to the next edition. May everything be offered to Shri Radha and Krishna.

Gorakhpur

The dust of the devotees' feet - Chimmanlal Goswami, M.A., Shastri

Shri Radhashtami, Vikrama Samvat 2018

Preface to the Third Edition

Many years have passed since the second edition of Shri Radha-Madhava-Chintan went out of print. Because the press had a heavy workload, publication of the third edition of this substantial work was greatly delayed. Meanwhile, practitioners, lovers of the Lord, distinguished literary figures, and connoisseurs of Vraja literature continued to press for the reprinting of this priceless book. Strengthened by their encouragement, we now present this third edition for the service of those noble lovers of the Lord.

From time to time we have received appreciative assessments of the book from many eminent persons, including saints and mahatmas, distinguished literary figures, and connoisseurs of Vraja literature. Summaries of some of these assessments appear as an appendix at the end of the volume. They show the high regard in which scholars and lovers of the Lord have held, and continue to hold, this work.

The present volume includes all the articles from the book Shri Radha-Madhava-Chintan-Parishishta. In addition, other articles concerning Shri Radha-Madhava by the revered author, which had not previously appeared in book form, have been incorporated in their appropriate places. The book has thereby grown in both scope and usefulness.

We hope that readers will study this work with interest and benefit from the precious material contained within it.

Gorakhpur - The Publisher

Shri Radhashtami

Vikrama Samvat 2039

Contents Subject Page

Shri Radha (17-378)

1. Prayer 17
2. Hymn to Radha Composed by Narada 18
3. Prayer to Shri Vrishabhanu's Daughter 21
4. Who Was Shri Radha? 24
5. The Glory of Shri Radha 29
6. The Nature of Shri Radha's Love 36
7. Shri Radha's Renunciant, One-Pointed, Pure Bhava 37
8. A Glimpse of Shri Radha's Bhava 39
9. The Nature of Shri Radha (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2012) 51
10. The Non-Difference of Radha and Krishna and the Purity of Radha's Love (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2013) 66
11. Shri Radha's Discipline of Love and Her Ineffable Nature (Address delivered at Ratangarh, Rajasthan, during the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2014) 82
12. The Significance, Nature, Principle, and Relationship of Shri Radha-Madhava (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2015) 106
13. A Glimpse of Shri Shri Radha's Supreme Realm of Bhava (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2016) 133
14. The Utter Inaccessibility of Shri Radha-tattva and Her Nature (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2017) 151
15. Shri Radha's Nature, Qualities, and Glory (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2018) 166
16. The Glory of Shri Radha's Name and Form and the Nature of Her Love (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2019) 188
17. Shri Shri Radha's Nature, Qualities, and Glory (Address on Shri Radha Janmashtami, Vikrama Samvat 2020) 221
18. Holy Remembrance of Shri Radha's Essential Nature and Lila (Address at the Shri Radha Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2021) 241
19. Shri Radha's Nature and Significance (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2022) 263
20. The Essential Significance of Shri Radha, United with Shri Krishna, the Embodiment of Rasa, and the Gopis, Embodiments of Bhava (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2023) 289
21. Shri Radha's Divine Form and the Significance of Her Worship (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2025) 313
22. The Divine Nature of Shri Radha-Madhava (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2026) 332
23. The Sweet Form, Qualities, and Essential Reality of Shri Radha-Madhava (Address at the Shri Radhashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2027) 354

Shri Krishna (379-612)

1. Prayer (Verse) 379
2. Shri Krishna Is the Complete Supreme Brahman 380
3. Lord Shri Krishna's Teaching on Essential Reality to Shri Radha 387
4. The Essential Nature of Shri Krishna 389
5. Shri Krishna in the Gita and the Bhagavata 392
6. A Festival Welcoming Lord Shri Krishna's Manifestation (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2017) 393
7. The Manifestation of Shri Krishna (Address at the Shri Krishna Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2014) 409
8. The Festival of Shri Krishna's Birth (Speech at the inauguration of the Shri Krishna Temple at Shri Krishna Janmabhumi, Mathura, Bhadrapada Krishna 8, Vikrama Samvat 2015) 431
9. The Divine Birth of the Lord Himself (Address in Mathura at the Shri Krishna Birth Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2015) 451
10. Shri Krishna's Manifestation in the Earthly Realm (Address at the Shri Shri Krishna Birth Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2016) 465
11. The Manifestation of Shri Krishna, the Lord Himself (Address at the Shri Krishna Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2018) 477
12. Shri Krishna's Supreme Nature and His Love 488
13. Crown-Jewel of Thieves and Paramours 489
14. The Radiant Purity of Shri Krishna's Character 505
15. The Lord of the Beauties of Vraja 511
16. The Discipline for Beholding Shri Krishna 517
17. Longing for Divine Beauty 522
18. Scattered Flowers 527
19. Lord Shri Krishna's Nature and the Purposes of His Incarnation (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2019) 529
20. Remembrance of Lord Shri Krishna's Manifestation and His Exemplary Sweet Character (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2020) 545
21. The Advent of Lord Shri Krishna, Embodiment of the Nectar of All Rasas (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2021) 553
22. Lord Shri Krishna's Essential Nature and Significance (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2022) 562
23. The Advent of the Complete, Transcendent Lord Shri Krishna (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2023) 580
24. The Manifestation of Lila-Purushottama (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2024) 594
25. When and Why Does the Lord Himself Come? (Address at the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2025) 599
26. Shri Krishna Janmashtami Festival (Composed for the Janmashtami Festival, Vikrama Samvat 2026) 607

Shri Radha-Madhava (612-654)

1. Prayer (Verse) 612
2. The Oneness of Shri Radha-Madhava 613
3. Shri Radha and Krishna Are One Reality 613
4. The Divine Couple (Verse) 616
5. The Reality of the Divine Couple and Prayer to Them (Verse) 616
6. The Unity of the Divine Couple 617
7. The Conjoint Form in the Upanishads 620
8. Worship of the Divine Couple's Form 628
9. Worship of Shri Radha and Krishna 640
10. The Eightfold Daily Service of Shri Radha and Krishna to Be Remembered 645
11. Humble Supplication (Verse) 653
12. Prayer to Radha-Madhava (Verse) 654

The Realm of Bhava and the Mystery of Lila (655-725)

1. The Wondrous Nature of the Realm of Bhava (Verse) 655
2. The Realm of Bhava 656
3. The Glory of the Realm of Bhava 657
4. The Lord's Eternal Lila 665
5. Qualification to Understand the Eternal Lila 666
6. The Mystery of Divine Incarnation 668
7. The Mystery of Stealing Butter 671
8. The Mystery of Taking the Garments 679
9. The Nature and Significance of the Divine Rasa Dance (Verse) 690
10. The Mystery of the Rasa-lila 693
11. The Harm of Blindly Imitating Shri Krishna's Lilas 709
12. Imitation of Shri Krishna's Lilas Is Harmful 711
13. Not All of the Lord's Lilas Can Be Imitated 715
14. Scattered Flowers 717
15. Those Qualified to Behold the Bower Lila (Verse) 725

The Truth of Divine Love (726-812)

1. The Lord Subject to Love (Verse) 726
2. The Place of Prema-bhakti Among the Various Forms of Devotion 726
3. The Different Levels of Bhava 736
4. The Three Types Each of Rati, Prema, and Raga 737
5. Divine Love and the State of Brahman 740
6. The Relationship Between the Lord and the Devotee in Prema-bhakti 741
7. Divine Love 744
8. The Nature of Divine Love 757
9. Some Points Concerning Love of the Lord 760
10. Divine Love Is Not Mere Talk 764
11. The Love of the Beloved Lord 765
12. Shri Krishna as the Highest Good and the Beloved 767
13. The Nature of a Lover of the Lord 768
14. The Beloved Lord as the Recipient of the Lover's Desire, Anger, and Other Emotions 775
15. The Means of Attaining Love of the Lord 782
16. Longing for Love of the Lord 783
17. Intense Longing as the Means of Attaining Love of the Lord 784
18. The Rare State of Separation from the Lord 787
19. The Lover's Absorption 789
20. Constant Remembrance of the Beloved 791
21. Love of the Lord Is Attained Only by Divine Grace 793
22. The Necessity of Detachment from Sense-Objects in Love 794
23. The Beloved Is Attained Only by a Thorn-Strewn Path 795
24. Love and Scriptural Injunctions and Prohibitions 798
25. Scattered Flowers 800
26. The Ekadashi of Love (Verse) 811
27. The Rule of Love (Verse) 812

The Gopi Maidens (813-889)

1. Invocation (Verse) 813
2. The Gopis Who Renounced Even Liberation 813
3. The Love of the Gopis 826
4. The Ocean of Love in the Gopis' Hearts 861
5. The Glory of the Gopis' Love 862
6. The Shri Krishna of the Gopis 864
7. The Greatness of the Gopi Maidens 865
8. The Discipline of Gopi-bhava 867
9. The Attainment of Gopi-bhava 881
10. The Practitioner's Perfected Body 883
11. The Perfected Sakhi Body 887
12. The Discipline and Perfection of Gopi Love (Verse) 888
13. The Glory of the Gopis (Verse) 889

Miscellany (890-928)

1. Prayer (Verse) 890
2. Reply to a Letter from a Lover of Krishna (Verse) 890
3. Prepare to Welcome Him 894
4. The Vraja Line: "The Bold One Broke My Water-Pot" 895
5. Three Sweet Episodes 900
6. The Flute of Mohana, the Embodiment of Primordial Sound 909
7. Let Me Hear That Sweet Voice! 917
8. When Will That Day Come? 920
9. A Longing 923
10. Prayer to the Beloved! 926
11. Dear Kanhaiya 927

Appendix and End Matter (929-960)

1. Shri Radha, the Name Shri Radha, and Radha Worship Are Eternal 929
2. A Steady Mind Is Necessary for Residence in Vrindavana 934
3. Esteemed Scholars' Reflections on Shri Radha-Madhava-Chintan 937
4. The Eternal Forms of Shri Radha and Shri Krishna (Verse) 956
5. Prayer (Verse) 958