Who is Shri Radha Rani.....

Without knowing who Shri Radha actually is, your love and devotion for Her cannot develop.

Typically it is understood in India that Radha and Krishna must be like Lakshmi and Vishnu or Parvati and Shiva, but They are not like this. Lakshmi and Vishnu are husband and wife or eternal consorts, as are Parvati and Shiva. Radha Krishna are not husband and wife. Shri Krishna is the absolute supreme divine power.

For example you have a father. But your original father’s father is the progenitor of the human race, Manu. Manu’s father was Brahma, the creator of our brahmanda. Brahma’s father was supreme God Shri Krishna. There is no father of Shri Krishna; He is the Father of all. So the One beyond whom there is nothing else is supreme God Shri Krishna. He governs uncountable Brahmas, uncountable Vishnus, and uncountable Shivas. The Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva that you have heard about, belong to one brahmanda, just as in India, each state has its own governor or chief minister. The one who governs all the uncountable brahmandas is Shri Krishna, just like all the states of India are governed by the prime minister. There is no post or position beyond this. So there are uncountable brahmandas, and each and every brahmanda has one Brahma, one Vishnu and one Shiva.

Sankhya chet rajasamasti na vishvanam kadachan. (Padma Puran)

universeEven today’s scientists have accepted that, when light takes millions of years to reach the earth, we can never know how big the universe is. Light travels 186,000 miles in one second, and that takes millions of years to reach the earth! How inconceivably far! Who could go that far? Who will ever see it? There are millions of suns in the Milky Way galaxy like our sun, and there are uncountable galaxies in the universe. Even Jagadguru Shankaracharya accepted this.

Brahmandani bahuni pankajabhavan…

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are servants of Shri Krishna. They are uncountable. Everything that relates to Shri Krishna is absolutely unlimited. He has uncountable names, uncountable forms, uncountable qualities, uncountable pastimes, uncountable abodes, and uncountable souls related to Him – they are all unlimited. His powers are also unlimited.

Shri Krishner ananta shakti tate tin pradhan.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu has said that out of uncountable divine powers, three are foremost: sat, chit, ananda. A name of God is “sat-chit-ananda“. These are three powers. The relationship they have to each other is that sat is included in chit, and sat and chit are included in ananda. This is why God is referred to as sat-chit-ananda, as chid-ananda (which includes sat), and simply as ananda (which includes sat and chit).

Anando brahmeti vyajanat. (Veda)

Ananda-mayobhyasat. (Brahma Sutra)

Ananda, the foremost power of these three, also has an essence. This is called the power of hladini. This is the greatest power of God. All of God’s powers are governed by this power. What does this power do?

Kartum akartum anyatha kartum samarth.

With this power God does whatever He wishes, or He doesn’t act at all, or He does the complete opposite of both of these. What does it mean to perform the opposite of both of these? For example, you have eyes. What do they do? They only see. They can’t hear or smell. They perform one kind of action. But God’s eyes can see, smell, taste, touch, think, decide and be all-knowing. This is the miracle of hladini power. Even with no senses He is all-seeing and hears everything. He knows which soul has called to Him from which brahmanda.

One aspect of God resides in all the souls and notes all our unfaithful thoughts, yet He remains ever-blissful. None of these contrary thoughts affects Him. Just see that in a typical family there are about ten people – a father, mother, wife, husband, and a few children. Just from these associations alone people feel troubled! Someone or the other says something hurtful. All the children have different demands. One person feels so troubled just from ten people, and God has so many children – they are uncountable! And they are all wayward. They have forgotten Him. They don’t regard Him as their true father. God notes all this as He resides in our hearts. Even so, He doesn’t feel troubled by this. He smiles and simply notes our thoughts. This is all possible through God’s hladini power. 

Hladini power also has an essence. It is called divine love (divya prem). This also has various classes. These are called prema bhakti, sneha bhakti, maan bhakti, pranaya bhakti, rag bhakti, anurag bhakti, bhav bhakti, and mahabhava bhakti, the final class. Mahabhava bhakti also has two classes, rudha mahabhav and adhirudha mahabhav, which is the highest class. Adhirudha mahabhav also has two classes, maadan and modan. Maadan is reserved for Shri Radha alone. Even Shri Krishna cannot reach there. Only Shri Radha resides here. Shri Krishna is the servant of maadanakhya mahabhava Shri Radha, and that is why He lovingly presses Her lotus feet and serves Her.

The Saint Raskhan had a big doubt, “People say that Shri Krishna is a servant of Shri Radha.” He thought, “For Hindus the wife serves the husband, and here the situation is reversed. He is pressing Her lotus feet? No one has ever seen this! Why is it like this with Radha Krishna?” He thought that Radha was merely Krishna’s wife. So when Raskhan became God realised,

Dekho duryo vahan kunja kutir men

baithyo palotat Radhika payan.

Shri Krishna appeared to Raskhan in this form. He was softly pressing Shri Radha’s lotus feet. Then He bestowed this knowledge on Raskhan and made him understand that He was the servant of Shri Radha, and His servant was Lakshmi, His eternal consort or wife. So Shri Radha is the soul of Shri Krishna. Our body is the servant of our own soul, and our soul is a servant of Shri Krishna, so Shri Krishna is a servant of Shri Radha. She is that great a divine power. Every pore of Shri Krishna’s divine body is resounding with “Radhey Radhey”. Her name is this important. We should understand this when we take Radhey name. Imagine you found a ring. Someone asked you, “Where did you find that?” “I was just going somewhere and I found it on the road. Why?” “That’s worth a million!” “What? I though it was worth $10 or $20!” How much happiness will you feel when you look at the ring and realise it has made you a millionaire? Now you will take great care of it.

In the same way, when we understand the greatness of Shri Radha, and then say or sing Her name, our love for Her will grow. Always keep in mind who Shri Krishna and Shri Radha are, who you are, what is the world – knowing the philosophy related to all of these is absolutely essential. By knowing these we become detached from the world and attached to God.

Avadhardani.......

Acts of giving or donation are of three kinds. One is that in which a person donates money or things to subserve his selfish motive. Another is one which is given selflessly as charity. Yet another kind of donation is called avadhar daan.

You know well about the donation given for a selfish motive. In fact, you people often make this kind of donation. You give money to your father, mother, spouse, son and also to a shopkeeper who gives you some article of your use in return. This comes under the category of selfish donation which means giving money or something and expecting something else in return. so the people in the world are by and large selfish and whatever they do for others has always some motive behind it.

In your families whenever there is a girl's marriage ceremony, the invitees bring along gifts of different values. You make a note of gifts and their respective value against the name of each invitee. It is because whenever there is similar occasion in the family of the invitee, you are obliged to give a gift in return. This is the kind of gift or donation which is given with a motive or expectation. People may say outwardly that they do not want anything in return. But inwardly they do expect. If your husband or wife is ill, you keep awake all night long to attend on him on her. why do you do it? For, if the other person dies then you will lose whatever you are expecting from that person, while he or she is living. Your purpose will not be served. That is why we make sacrifices, donations and suffer inconveniences. This kind of generosity with selfish motive can be found in abundance all over the world.

The real donation is one which is done without any motive or expection behind it. Only God or the saints show this kind of generosity. They do not have any motive or selfishness behind Their acts of giving. The motive of people in general is attainment of bliss and freedom from the bondage of maya. About God, there is no quetion of his ever having a selfish motive. He is the embodiment of infinite bliss. A nitya siddh saint has also never ever been under the influence of maya. So far about the sadhan siddh saints, those who were earlier selfish and under maya's influence, have become free from these twin evils after God realization.

Now what are they to do? Either They should not do anything, or if They have to do something, They hould do it for others. Because there is nothing left or needed that They would do for themselves. So if God and the Saints give away something, whether by Their words or deeds, They will invariably do it for others without any selfish motive. But there too is a condition. They give it to a person in proportion of his degree of surrender. You can call it a donation or the Grace. God says that the amount of His grace or divine gift to a person depends on the degree of his surrender to Him. it means that in that donation too there is a condition about the degree of one's surrender.

The felfless offering of God and the saints is conditioned by the degree of your surrender to Them. If there were no such condition all living beings would benefit equally. If the amount of Grace showered on an individual soul  is disproportionately high compared to the degree of his surrender which is very little, it is a special kind of grace. Only Radha Rani can do it. Therefore, She is called Avadhardani.

When we look at the way Shri Maharaj ji showers grace, we feel that he is All Merciful Radha Rani in a different form. He says that he has stopped noticing others' faults and he has abundance of grace for everybody. That is his real self...

My beloved Radhey is an endless ocean of the nectar of Divine love. She eternally resides in Divine vrindaban. She is served and attended by Krishn, the supreme God. Mohan Krishn presses the feet of the Governess of His heart, soul-beloved Radha Rani. O Radhey! There is no one in the world as merciful as You. he causelessly bestows Her Grace upon all the souls. I was ignorant since eternity but now I know the greatness of Radha Rani. Lakchmi and Brahmani (Saraswati) are engrossed in the love of Radha. O, oy sweet Radhey! please make me Your own. Please call me to Your abode just once, as I am Your own.

To experience the Bliss of maharas, Lord Shiv assumed the form of a Gopi (Shivani). Those Gyanies who have attained the Bliss of impersonal brahm wring their hands in regret when they think of the incomparable Bliss of Radha's love. Now I have understood Your greatness with the Grace of Your rasik saints. Even Goddess Lakchmi and Brahmani (Saraswati) desire for the footdust of Shree Radha.

O Radha Rani Avadhardani! please think of me and come to me! There is no in the world who is so kind and liberal in showering Divine love as my Beloved Radha Rani.....

Mam swamini chhavi abhiramini.

Gaura badani mridu hansani dashana-duti, damakati janu duti damini.

Roma roma te prem sudharasa, chhalakavati nita bhamini

So rasa piyata aghata na mohana, mani apani swamini.

Chalati Lali jhuki jhumi jhumi imi, lajavati gati gaja gamini.

Lakhaun ‘Kripalu’ kabahun hamahun chhavi, swamini Radha namini.

The divine beauty of our Swamini, Shri Radha, is absolutely incomparable. The effulgence of Her golden body, Her gentle smile and the shine of Her teeth put to shame even the flash of lightning. The nectar of divine love is eternally being showered from every pore of Her being. Shri Krishna never feels contented after drinking that nectar (and is ever-desirous of drinking more). He loves Her as His Swamini, also. The bending and swaying of the mind-captivating style of Her walk makes the intoxicated gait of an elephant feel ashamed in comparison. In the words of a devotee, Jagadguru Shri Kripau Ji Maharaj longingly says, “Whan will I be blessed with the sight of that supreme Swamini known as Shri Radha.”