| Shree Radha-astami |
(The appearance day of Srimati Radharani)
JAI JAI RADHA NAAM PREM TARANGINI..
PREM TARANGINI NAAM SUDHA TARANGINI..
RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE
"Lord Krishna's mother, Yashoda, heard that her best friend Kirtida had a baby, so she came to visit along with her husband and her son. Lord Krishna crawled up to the cradle and pulled Himself up and looked in. At that moment, Srimati Radharani's eyes fluttered and opened wide and blossomed like lotuses. It seems that she did not want to see anything of this world, only the form of Shree Krishna. Everyone was so delighted.
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| Baby Radhe |
"Srimati Radharani is the mother of the universe, the spiritual mother of all souls. And the concept of mother is the most sacred symbol—that of purity, selflessness, caring, sharing, nurturing, and love. That is why our sacred mantra is the holy names. It is the holy names in the vocative, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
"'Hare' means Mother "Hara" or "Radhe" (Narada-pancaratra 5.5.59). It is a desperate cry for the mother. 'Radhe! Please wake us up from this nightmare of mortal life! Remind us of our father (who is Lord Krishna) we have forgotten and take us home!'" In other words, it is through Shree Radhe that one more easily attains Shree Krishna and service to Shree Krishna. This is the advantage of approaching Lord Krishna through Srimati Radharani. In the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, devotees carefully worship Srimati Radharani as the bestower of devotional service to Lord Krishna, by attentively chanting Her divine name in the maha-mantra, by worshiping Her deity form, and by following the instructions of the most merciful Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the combined form of Shree Radha and Shree Krishna. "(Therefore) Shree Radha is parama-devata, the Supreme Goddess, and She is worshippable for everyone. She is the protectress of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe." - Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi Lila 4.89
In Vrndavana Srimati Radharani importance surpasses even the importance of Shree Krishna. Shree Radha's love for Shree Krishna is held within Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the most perfect primarily because of its endless and unconditional nature. Thus She is the most important consort of Shree Krishna, 'His heart and soul', and His 'hladini-shakti' (spiritual pleasure potency). In the Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Srimati Radharani is described as follows: "The transcendental Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Shree Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord."
The
Srimad Bhagavatam Maha Purana is most important of all Vedic
scriptures; its 18000 verses are actually glorifying Srimati Radharani.
But the speaker Srila Sukadeva Goswami could not say Her name directly
because if he did then he would have gone into a trance like state for
many weeks (the Srimad Bhagavatam had to be completed in 7 days). Why
you would ask? It is because he is the personal and favourite parrot of
Srimati Radharani in the spiritual world. The attachment that he has for
Srimati Radharani has no bounds.
Srimati Radharani's other most auspicious names
Srimati
Radharani has many names according to Her qualities and
characteristics. Some of the names that Srimati Radharani is known by
include:MOHAN PYARI,MOHAN KAMINI,MOHAN MOHINI,
MOHAN ANANDANI,MOHAN ALHADINI,MOHAN PRANESWARI,
MOHAN PRANADHIKA,MOHAN JEEBONI,MOHAN PREMAKAMINI
PARAM DHAN RADHA RADHA SRI RADHA RADHA RADHA RADHA
Govinda-anandini - She who gives pleasure to Lord Govinda (Lord Krishna)
Govinda-mohini - She who mystifies Lord Govinda
Govinda-sarvasva - the all-in-all of Lord Govinda
Shiromani Sarva-kanta - the crown jewel of all the Lord's consorts
Krishnamayi - the one who sees Lord Krishna both within and without
Radhika - Her worship of the Lord consists of fulfilling His desires
Aradhana - The root name of Radharani, meaning one who excels in worshiping the Lord
Sarva-lakshmi - The original source of all the goddesses of fortune
Sarva-kanti - all beauty and luster rest in Her body & all the desires of Lord Krishna rest in Her.
Madan-Mohan-Mohini - the enchanter of the enchanter of Cupid. Lord Krishna is said to be the enchanter of, and more beautiful than Cupid, the master enchanter. But Shree Radhe is the enchanter of Lord Krishna, Madan-Mohan-Mohini.
Vrshabanu-nandini - daughter of Maharaja Vrishabhanu
Vrndavaneshvari - Queen of Vrndavana
Lalita-Sakhi - friend of the gopi (cowherd girl) Shree Lalita
Gokula-Taruni - She whom all young girls of Gokula (Vrndavana) worship
Damodara Rati - She who dresses herself to please Lord Damodara [Lord Krishna]
Information regarding Srimati Radharani is very scarce amongst Vedic literature. Apart from a brief mention in Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam Her story is largely unmentioned in written detail. The reason for this is the esoteric nature of Her position, thus details of Her topmost devotion to Lord Krishna was a closely guarded secret within Vaishnava circles. It's very easy to misunderstand Her and thus causes serious offenses.
Many commit offenses to other devotees and this is sad because they are destroying their spiritual life. APARADHA – means APA – no RADHA – Radharani. So when one commits offenses he does not receive the blessings of the most important person and that of Srimati Radharani. Without Her blessings we cannot succeed in our spiritual sadhana.
Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess. She is most always seen with Lord Krishna. It is described that She is the chief associate and devotee of Lord Krishna, and topmost of all goddesses. Her name means that She is the most excellent worshiper of Lord Krishna. However, She is also an expansion of the Lord's energy. Since She is also an extension of Lord Krishna, She is the feminine aspect of Godhead. Thus, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, God is both male and female. They are one, but Lord Krishna expands into two, Himself and Radharani, for the sake of divine loving pastimes. If They remained as one, then there is no relationship, there are no pastimes, and there can be no dynamic exchange of love. (Caitanya-Caritamrita, Adi-lila, 4.55-56)
Srimati Radharani is the source of the other goddesses. Just as Lord Krishna is the source of all other manifestations and incarnations of God, Srimati Radharani is the source of all expansions of the energies of God - the shaktis, or other goddesses. Thus, Lord Vishnu, Shree Rama, even Lord Shiva are all expansions of the one Supreme Being, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shree Krishna, and similarly Mother Lakshmi, Mother Sita, and Mother Durga are all expansions of this Supreme Feminine form of God, Srimati Radharani.
Without Shree Radha there is no meaning to Shree Krishna and without Shree Krishna there is no meaning to Shree Radha. Because of this, in the Vaishnava tradition we always pay respects first to the Lord's internal energy in the form of Shree Radha, and then to Shree Krsna. Thus They are referred to as Shree Shree Radha-Krishna, or in other names as Sita-Rama, Lakshmi-Narayana, and so on. In this way, Shree Radha and Shree Krishna are one, but when Lord Krishna wants to enjoy, He manifests Himself as Radharani. Otherwise, there is no energy in which Lord Krishna can attain pleasure outside Himself.
The descriptions of the beauty of Srimati Radharani are wonderfully poetic and descriptive. Actually, the residents of Vrindavana care more for Srimati Radharani than they do for Lord Krishna. They know that Lord Krishna can be influenced through Srimati Radharani. They know that Shree Radha can bring one to Shree Krishna. She is also the compassionate nature of the Lord, and thus more easily approached than trying to reach Lord Krishna directly. And when we read these descriptions of Shree Radha, it is no wonder why they are devoted to Her. For example, it is explained that Srimati Radharani has unlimited transcendental qualities, of which twenty-five are principal.
To understand Himself through the agency of Shree Radha, the Lord manifests Himself as Lord Chaitanya, who is Lord Krishna but with the super-excellent emotions of Shree Radharani's love toward Lord Krishna. To fully taste His own sweetness, the Lord accepts the position and emotions of a devotee. Appearing over 520 years ago in West Bengal, India, Lord Chaitanya propagated the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra as the only means to experience Shree Radha's love for Shree Krishna.
In describing Srimati Radharani, it is also said in the Vidagdha-madhava (1.32) by Rupa Goswami, "The beauty of Srimati Radharani's eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold in a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening Vrindavana."
"Although the effulgence of the moon is brilliant initially at night, in the daytime it fades away. Similarly, although the lotus is beautiful during the daytime, at night it closes. But, O My friend, the face of My most dear Srimati Radharani is always bright and beautiful, both day and night. Therefore, to what can Her face be compared?" (Vidagdha-madhava 5.20)
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| Shree Radhe feeling separation from Lord Krishna |
The spiritual exchange of divine love between Shree Radha and Shree Krishna is the display of the internal energy of the Lord, and is very confidential and difficult to understand. No mundane materialist can begin to understand this topic of the relationship between Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna. But the more we awaken our dormant love for God, which is natural state of being for a fully awakened soul, then the more we can comprehend and actually enter into such spiritual loving exchanges.
SREE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE RADHE
To view more pictures and information on Srimati Radharani please go onto this beautiful website...http://radhamohan.webs.com/
How to observe Shree Radha-astami: -
On this most auspicious day one should at least abstain from meat. Many devout devotees abstain from salt or even water until noon (midday). I would highly recommend this. For those that are diabetic well try your best to observe the fast to the best of your abilities. In the morning on this very auspicious day after having a bath and wearing clean clothes offer to a picture/Deity of Shree Radha-Krsna incense, lamp and flowers. Offer these items seven times in a clockwise direction around the picture/Deity. Then you can break your fast just after midday with food that has been offered to Shree Radha-Krsna. It has been said by the residents of Vrndavan (Vrajvasis) that Srimati Radharani favourite food is Malpura. It would be rather nice to offer Shree Radhe Malpura's. If you so desire to offer Malpura's for Shree Radhe we have provided a recipe below. Thereafter read these pastimes or any other pastimes that you have on Srimati Radharani. You can after that, visit your local temple in the morning or in the evening. Offer Shree Radha-Krsna prayers with faith and devotion that They may remove all the obstacles that you may have in your path.
Shree Radha's most auspicious lotus feet.
