Billions of devotees turn to Krishna for His love, but whom does Krishna love?
Sri Radhastami - Celebrating the Greatest Worshiper of Krishna
By Sacinandana Swami, August 2017.
Billions of devotees turn to Krishna for His love, but whom does Krishna love?
The answer: Srimati Radharani.
Sometimes Krishna spends the whole night under a berry tree in the courtyard of Radharani’s stepmother’s residence. He wants to be with Radha, but each time He moves or calls out to Her in the voice of a cuckoo, Jatila, who guards Radha from within, awakens. Krishna can’t come out from behind the bushes and trees but still He does not go away.
Is this not love?
Sometimes, Krishna waits for Radha all night in a bower by the banks of the River Yamuna thinking, “Surely, she will come soon?”
Is this not love?
At times when Radha lovingly sulks with Him, Krishna takes on guises of a female singer or the wife of a barber or a sannyasi-beggar, etc., just to make up with Her and please Her… Once, just to steal a few precious moments with Radha, the Lord disguises as a brahmana and tells Jatila, Radha’s ever-suspicious mother-in-law, “I am most expert to guide your daughter-in-law in the worship of the Sun God. There is simply no brahmana who is more knowledgeable than Me in all the three worlds.” Krishna makes Radha laugh with His self-invented mantras and pujas demonstrated in front of Jatila.
Is this not love?
And sometimes, when Radha takes Her bath upstream in the River Yamuna, Krishna enters the Yamuna downstream hoping the kunkum paste from Radha’s body and the flowers from Her braid will flow downstream, touch His body and become His greatest treasure.
Is this not love?
Srila Prabhupada glorified Srimati Radharani as the divine Goddess of bhakti (loving devotion which manifests in service to the Lord) who has such an attractive nature and influence on Krishna:
If Krishna is always attractive to everyone and Radharani is attractive to Krishna, how can we imagine the position of Srimati Radharani? We should try humbly to understand Her and offer Her our obeisances saying, ‘Radharani, You are so dear to Krishna. You are the daughter of King Vrisabhanu and You are Krishna’s beloved. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.’ Radharani is very dear to Krishna and if we approach Krishna through the mercy of Radharani, we can easily attain Krishna. If Radharani recommends a devotee, Krishna immediately accepts him, however foolish he may be. (Srila Prabhupada in Elevation to Krishna Consciousness, ch. 5)
Love always overflows all boundaries. It is said that Radha’s heart is an ocean of love that overflows with waves of compassion for all those who sincerely turn to Her.
Once, after an apparently long separation, Krishna met with Radha and told Her that He would fulfill any desire She had. Her response reveals why Radha is the Goddess of bhakti. She asked,
“My Lord, kindly make it that everyone who only wants You and comes to the region of Mathura with that wish, will surely attain You.
“O, Lord, please show them Your friendship and reveal Yourself to them in Your form as a charming cowherd youth.” (Lalita-madhava 10.37.)
Srimati Radharani’s compassion is available to all devotees. Srila Prabhupada encouraged us to appeal to Srimati Radharani’s compassion,
“The devotees taking advantage of Krishna’s compassionate nature, which is represented by Srimati Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krishna’s compassion.” (Nectar of Devotion, ch. 22.)
Therefore, on this sacred day let us enliven our bhakti by praying to Srimati Radharani:
tapta-kanchana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye
I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrindavana[v1] . You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.