Radha-- the embodiment of devotion

 Hari Aum.

We are on the eve of the wonderful Navaratri or nine night festival of celebration of the glory of the Divine Mother. One of the most inspiring manifestations of the Mother, particularly for us as spiritual seekers, is Radha, the embodiment of devotion to God, the embodiment of single-minded concentration upon God to the exclusion of all else.

Radha was one of the cowherd women of Vrindavana (known as the gopis in Sanskrit). She lived at the same time as the Krishna avatara of Lord Narayana. She was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. Her name is not explicitly mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam though there are some indirect references to Her as the gopi who inspired even the other gopis (who themselves were exceptional devotees). 

For example, it is suggested in the Bhagavatam, that She is the one whom Krishna singled out to walk with for a while after He disappeared from the sight of the other gopis due to their pride in feeling very special as His devotees. He left Radha too, albeit briefly, when She also temporarily became proud of His affection for Her.

 When Uddhava, Krishna's scholarly cousin, visited Vrindavana to convey a message from Him to the gopis, he noticed one particular gopi having a lengthy conversation with a bumble bee about Krishna! He was astounded to see that her thoughts were so centred upon Him that She connected everything around Her with Krishna and Krishna alone, even bees!

There are various theories as to why Radha is not directly mentioned by name in the Bhagavatam. One theory told to me by a Swami from the Ashram of my Guru in Rishikesh, is that Shuka, the sage and narrator of the Bhagavatam, regarded Radha as his own Guru. The mere mention of Her name would send him into a divine trance (the state of samadhi) and so he carefully avoided mentioning her directly to ensure he was able to narrate the lila (or divine play) of God! There are various other theories. However, the fact remains that She is regarded as the ultimate example of a devotee of God, of an instrument of God, of a true lover of God. (She is mentioned in other Puranas that narrate the lilas or divine play of the avatars of Narayana).

There are some humourous stories that have been told over the centuries about some interactions between Radha and Krishna. Many of them have an underlying spiritual message. One popular story, which Swami Sivananda also mentioned in his writings, is the story of Radha and Krishna's flute. 

When Krishna was growing up in Vrindavana as a cowherd boy, He created a flute out of bamboo. He used to play this and produce the most enchanting, spell-binding and moving music. It is the said that the soul-stirring music created by Krishna used deeply influence everyone and everything around Him, both animate and inanimate. People used to be mesmerised, and birds and animals too would stop and listen in a state of complete absorption. The trees would bend their boughs towards Him, the waters of the river Yamuna would pause flowing and even the stones on the ground would melt upon being exposed to this Divine music. Krishna carried His flute with Him everywhere and both He and His music were extremely dear to all.

One day, it is said that Radha and Krishna were sitting together in the forests of Vrindavana engaged in conversation. Radha then asked Krishna a question. Looking at the flute that He always had by His side, She asked Him why it was so precious. In a half-playful, half-serious way, She asked what great spiritual austerities this flute had performed that it was blessed to always enjoy His company and be constantly kept at His lips. Nobody got to spend as much time with Him as His flute, She declared!

Krishna is said to have been amused by Radha's question but of course, had a suitable response (I'm paraphrasing here but broadly, this is the gist of what they are supposed to have said)! 

In reply to Radha's question, Krishna smiled and said "Well Radha, this flute has a very special property that makes it eligible for My constant companionship." 

"And what is that, my Lord?" asked Radha impatiently. 

"Ah" said Krishna, "have a look inside it, what do you see?" He asked.

Radha peered inside the flute and saw nothing in particular, it was of course empty!

"Nothing" she said. "I don't see anything at all!"

"That", He said, "is the whole point! There is nothing there. It is empty."

"I don't understand" said Radha feeling puzzled. "Please explain!"

"Well", said Krishna "when the flute is empty, it means that I can breathe into it, and fill it with whatever music I please. The flute does not say, 'no not this, I want this or that'. It allows Me to play just as I please! Naturally therefore, I love it dearly. It is the perfect instrument for My purpose."

"Oh" said Radha, "Now I see!".

Sivananda and other Gurus say the flute of Krishna is an example of the perfect instrument, the way a true devotee of God should be. Empty of personal desires, wants and demands from God, empty of egoism (the sense of individual self, the lower self). When one frees oneself from the unhealthy clutches of the lower self, the lower mind with its endless desires and needs, the Higher Self or God which is ever present within us, can then express itself fully. 

We then become natural instruments of the Divine, our own true Self, which is the purpose for which we have been born. This is not easy to do, but it is the goal of spiritual life according to our Gurus since time immemorial. To live in the spirit of "Thy will be done", not "my will be done" is the ultimate aim of spiritual life, that we are all gradually evolving towards.

There is an interesting story about the gopis of Vrindavan that highlights their exceptional devotion and lack of egoism or personal desires, their 'flute-like' nature.

One day, Krishna was at one of His palaces in Dwaraka (the city that He ruled as King for most of His avatar on Earth). While He was here, the great sage and devotee, Narada, paid Him a visit. 

Now Krishna had left Vrindavana when He was a young boy aged about 11 years and had not been back. It had been decades since He had seen the gopis but He had not forgotten them any more than they had forgotten Him. They ever thought of Him, and He too kept them in His heart. He frequently extolled their greatness and their devotion to Him. Narada, upon hearing Krishna praise the gopis, privately thought that there were many great devotees of the Lord, including himself! Why then, he wondered, did Krishna seem to praise these women so much!

Krishna smiled seeing Narada's thoughts and decided He would demonstrate the exceptional nature of the gopis for all to see. Shortly afterwards, He announced that He had a terrible headache that was making Him feel extremely unwell. The palace physicians were called but they could not discover a cause and no treatment that they provided seemed to work. 

Krishna continued to look very unwell and lay down in bed. 

"Ah" He said "If only someone would relieve My pain". 

"We are all ready to do whatever is necessary to serve You my dearest" said His wives anxiously. 

His relatives, friends, attendants, subjects, devotees and everybody all affirmed that they were absolutely ready to do whatever He asked to relieve His suffering.

"Well", said Krishna "I feel there is only one remedy for My excruciating pain."

"What is it dearest?" asked everyone anxiously. "Tell us forthwith and we will assuredly get it for You!"

"The remedy", He announced, "is the dust from the holy feet of my true devotee. That dust is so immensely purifying that I am absolutely certain that it will cure this dreadful headache if only I can get hold of some and apply it to My head!"

"Dust from the feet of your true devotee?!" asked everyone. "We are all Your most ardent devotees, my dearest, but how can we provide You the dust from our feet! We are impure, we are beneath You. After all, You are the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Being. If we place our dust on Your head, it would be as though we are insulting You! And we could never do that! It would be a deadly sin. We would be condemned to hell for such a heinous act!"

" No, no, ask for anything but not this!" they all pleaded, looking most agitated.

"Well, there is nothing for it then" said Krishna. 

"I must suffer, that is all", He said, closing His eyes while looking extremely pale and unwell.

"No, no, we must do something! We cannot leave You in this condition" said everybody present, wringing their hands in agony and desperation but not knowing what to do!

"There is one thing you can do" said Krishna, slowly opening His eyes. 

"What?" said everyone, "Anything, tell us and we will do it!".

"Since none of you feel able to relieve My suffering, I'd like to request that a messenger be sent to Vrindavana. Tell the people there of My condition and ask if anyone can help provide the necessary solution that I have mentioned".

"Alright, we will send someone to Vrindavana", said those present, doubfully. (Who in their right mind, they thought privately, would be foolish enough to commit such a terrible sin!)

Narada was nominated as the messenger as he could travel about quite speedily (due to being blessed with special yogic powers).

He therefore rapidly went to Vrindavana and announced the sad news of Krishna's terrible headache and suffering. "He wants the dust of the feet of His devotee as a cure!" said Narada. "Who can provide such dust, there is nobody who would dare!".

The gopis of Vrindavana had been listening with great concern to the tale of Krishna's suffering. They immediately said "Take the dust from our feet in case it helps! We are happy to provide this for Krishna."

Narada turned to them in surprise and addressed them.

"My dear gopis", he said sternly, "do you realise what you are saying!"

"You are offering to place the dust from your feet on to the head of the Supreme Being, the most Holy of holies, the One who should be revered and worshipped! You want to place the dust of your feet on His head! Do you realise that you can go to hell for committing such a heinous sin?"

The gopis looked impatiently at him and said, "We don't mind whether or not we end up in hell, we just want Krishna to feel better! Make haste and take this dust and give it to Him as soon as possible! We are very worried hearing about His condition."

"Please hurry up!" they said, quickly placing some dust from their feet into a pot which they handed over to him.

Narada looked astonished at this behaviour which he regarded as very strange, audacious and inappropriate. However, he took the pot and hastened to Dwaraka. Upon arrival at Krishna's palace, everyone asked, "Well, did you manage to get the dust from the feet of a devotee?" "Yes!", said Narada and everybody was shocked and did not know what to make of it.

Narada then went to the bedroom where Krishna was lying, clutching His head with an expression of great agony, and said "My Lord, I have brought You the dust that You asked for!"

"Oh dear God, what a relief!" said Krishna eagerly reaching out for the pot. He proceeded to extract the dust and liberally applied it all over His head! He then lay back looking blissful and said "I feel so much better already. I knew it would work!" Everyone present was relieved but also mystified by these strange events.

"So", He said, looking at Narada out of the corner of His eye, "Who gave you this dust?"

"It was the gopis of Vrindavana" said Narada. "I tried to tell them that it was a great sin to offer to place the dust from their feet upon Your sacred head but they just would not listen! They kept saying how they were only interested in You getting better and that they did not care even if they ended up in hell!".

Krishna smiled and said "Well, Narada, I hope you can now see why it is that I regard the gopis as My greatest devotees. They do not care about themselves at all, they are not interested in whether they end up in heaven or hell. They care only about Me, to honour My will. And that is why, although I am here in Dwaraka, in truth, I am always with them, and they are always with Me. We are never apart for even a second. I dwell in them, and they dwell in Me".

Narada was silent as he reflected upon Krishna's words. He understood the teaching that he had been given and bowed his head in acceptance and gratitude.

It may be many lifetimes before we can attain the type of devotion that the gopis, and Radha in particular, had. But, the Gurus tell us, this is the aim of every true spiritual seeker. Not even liberation, they say, should be the goal. This type of devotion is the goal, this ultimate supreme devotion known as Parabhakti in Sanskrit. Once this is had, the Gurus say, everything has been achieved, both spiritual and material. There is nothing left to do. This state of being is the goal of human life according to the great spiritual teachers of both East and West.

Aspiring to cultivate this devotion, the yogis sing the names of God and recite His mantras. Desiring this devotion for God, the Sufi mystic twirls in dance and plays the flute. Longing for this devotion, people study, read and talk of God. Yearning for this devotion, people close their eyes and meditate upon God, fixing their gaze within. This devotion, is what many of us ask God to bless us with. For this is said to be that rare elixir of bliss, of love, of joy in life. There is nothing that can compare with this in all the three worlds say the sages and rishis of both ancient and modern times.

Therefore, as Navaratri approaches, let us ask the Divine Mother, in Her form as Radha, to bless us all with this rare emotion, this rare devotion that is described as being our true nature, the very essence of our souls, but yet, so difficult for us to experience at this present time. It is covered up by the layers of materialism and egoism that we have accumulated over so many lifetimes. Let us ask Radha to remove those layers. May our minds, inspired by Her, rest with love always at the feet of God. 

May the delirium of this material world leave us, may our minds stop being distracted by a million worldly thoughts. Let us be allowed to return home this time, in this lifetime itself. Home to the spiritual realm, our true home, where we have always belonged and where we still belong (this spiritual realm of course is a state of consciousness that is to be experienced while we are still alive on Earth, not merely a place to go after death). Let us all be blessed with true devotion to God in this very lifetime.

Om Sri RadhaKrishnabhyam Namah.

Om, Salulations to Divine Mother Radha and Lord Krishna.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Sri Gurave Namah.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.