After bhajans, Sripad Janardan Maharaj, as well as several other devotees, spoke sweetly of this auspiciously inconceivable celebration.

Sripad Janardan Maharaj read the translation of Sri Sri Radhika Stutih by Srila Rupa Goswami:



   radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
   gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite


(chorus) O Radha, beloved of Madhava, all glories to You. You are the pride and glory of the young damsels of Gokula.


   damodara-rati-vardhana-vese
   hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese


O Radha, You are dressed to increase Lord Hari's attachment to You, and You are the Supreme Goddess of Sri Vrindavan Dham, which is the pleasure grove of Lord Hari.


   vrsabhanudadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe
   lalita-sakhi guna-ramita-visakhe


O Radha, You have risen like a new moon from the ocean of King Vrsabhanu, and You have charmed Your friends Lalita and Visakha with Your inconceivable qualities.


   karunam kuru mayi karuna-bharite
   sanaka-sanatana-varnita-charite


O Radha, Your glories are being sung by Sanaka and Sanatan. O You who are filled with the sweetness of mercy, please be merciful unto me.



Sripad Janardan Maharaj then commented:


Srila Govinda Maharaj has said that our line is actually raga-marg and it's a good thing too. If we were all practicing vidhi-marg, he said, we would all be disqualified. Especially the Westerners, and he said it's true we can't pronounce the mantras, we can't do anything properly, so how will we be able to follow vidhi-marg?

But, there is a prayer being expressed by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur that the ideal is very much above our heads and not directly attainable for us. There is an expression used over and over in the Scriptures especially in the Chaitanya-Charitamrita about a dwarf trying to catch the moon. There it is said, "Like a dwarf trying to catch the moon, I have this aspiration."

So, we don't have that power. That high ideal is not attainable but it is worshipable for us. Because it is not within our reach doesn't mean that it's not above our heads, that it is not something that we don't bow down to and worship and glorify. So on this day, Sri Radhastami, these kinds of subject matters, they are not within our possession or even our position, but through the mercy of Srila Govinda Maharaj and the mercy coming to us, then we can humbly glorify that plane.

We have that glorification of Srila Prabhupad. He is giving everyone the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu without which the worship of Vrindavan is not possible. Srila Sridhar Maharaj and Srila Govinda Maharaj are giving a very beautiful vision and explanation of the Vaisnava siddhanta. Prabhupad of course did that because we are actually worshipping the siksa Guru. We are not worshippers of formality. Srila Sridhar Maharaj and Srila Govinda Maharaj are giving a very crystal clear vision of Vaisnava siddhanta.

Pusta Krishna Prabhu then read several pages from Divine Guidance:

 


 

Ourselves, we will stay at the lotus feet of Govardhan and pray to Krishna, or rather, Srimati Radharani. All the group at Govardhan are serving Radharani - they actually have no connection with Krishna. From Govarddhan they go to Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda and arrange many things. The Astakaliya-lila happens there, not elsewhere, and one who exclusively wants to serve Radha-Krishna will think about these Pastimes. But we shall not think of such things now - with our mundane body and mind we cannot think about that.


      dhamera svarupa       sphuribe nayane
      haiba radhara dasi


Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said that while chanting, chanting, chanting we will forget our body consciousness, and at that time our main form as a servitor to Srimati Radharani will manifest. That is a very high thing; but immediately we will not consider such things because we are sure to make offence to Radha-Krishna and the devotees. We say 'Vrndavan,' but Vrndavan means all associated places combined - that is Vrndavan.


      jaya radhe, jaya krsna, jaya vrndavan...
      syama-kunda, radha-kunda, giri-govardhan
      kalindi jamuna jaya, jaya mahavan...


All these places and more are included in Vrndavan. And in this village of Vrndavan, Kishna is engaged in many different types of Lila. In this place Krishna's Lila is going on in many areas. We are here in Vrndavan and praying that we may find somewhere for our 'Srila Sridhar Swami Sevasram.' I do know where Radharani will give us a place, but it is approachable only by prayer. We can only pray: "Please, give some entrance."

Actually, Radharani does not give entrance. Admission is granted by the Sakhis, the girlfriends of Radharani. Especially, we are in the group of Lalitadevi and in that group, Rupa Manjari is the head of the Manjari section, and Lalitadevi is our Mistress. Our prayer is that she will take us and engage is in service. We are very hopeful because Lalitadevi's mood is very open, something like that of Nityananda Prabhu. She is very affectionate with all, and she is the head of all Sakhis.

The Asta-Sakhis, the eight principle Gopis are: Lalita, Visakha, Chitra, Champakalata, Tungavidya, Indurekha, Sudevi and Rangadevi. Lalitadevi is the leader of that group. She has a special group and through them she arranges for maintaining the service to Radharani. She is the head Mistress of our spiritual form. We are now in mundane bodies so we will not think of that, still that is our goal of life. Therefore we must worship that with full regard, and we must not make any offence in the Dham.

It is very difficult to stay in Vrndavan-Dham. We must have an exclusive service mood to Radha-Krishna, and that can give us some place here. By the mercy of Lalitadevi, through our Srila Guru Maharaj and Rupa Goswami, it is possible to get that. And if in that way we try to see everything, then no problem will come to us.



Pusta Krishna Prabhu then commented:

 

So, at the highest level, the Bhaktas want to see that Krishna is pleased. The mood of those Bhaktas in Vraja-lila is that they know that Krishna is most pleased by Srimati Radharani. Therefore, they don't attempt to personally please Krishna. They know that Srimati Radharani has that capacity and quality to attract Krishna, to please Him. They are most pleased when they are arranging to assist in some small way for the lila of Sri Radha and Krishna.

Here, Srila Govinda Maharaj expresses this in explaining the ontology of what is taking place in the spiritual world. Therefore, he says, we stay at Govardhan somewhat removed. Why? Because of what is taking place here. In this way, we are not to become sahajiya, not to make mundane that which is completely transcendental and out of reach now, but by the Grace of Gurudev some hazy vision we are being given so that we can approach that in the proper mood and mentality.

Hare Krishna.

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