RADHASTAMI Srimati Radharani’s Appearance Day
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 Fasting until 12 noon
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
We pray to Radharani because she is the pleasure potency of Krishna. Krishna means, “all-attractive”, but Radharani is so great that she attracts Krishna. Krishna is all-attractive, and she is the attractor of Krishna. So what is the position of Srimati Radharani? We should try to understand this on this day and offer our obeisances to Radharani, tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye, I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrindavan. You are the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, and you are very dear to Lord Krishna. Our business is Radharani. You are so dear to Krishna! So we offer our respectful obeisances unto you. Radharani is hari-priya, very dear to Krishna. So if we approach Krishna through Radharani, through the mercy of Radharani, then it becomes very easy. If Radharani recommends, “This devotee is very nice”, then Krishna immediately accepts, however a fool I may be. Because you are recommended by Radharani, Krishna accepts. Therefore in Vrindavan you’ll find that all the devotees, they’re chanting Radharani’s name more than Krishna’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are address- ing each other, “Jaya Radhe!” You’ll find still in Vrindavan. They are glorifying Radharani. They are more inter- ested in worshiping Radharani. Because, however fallen I may be, if somehow or other I can please Radharani, then it is very easy for me to understand Krishna. — Lecture on Radhastami Day, London, 18 September 1969.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada
The following is an excerpt from a lecture given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on Rādhāṣṭamī in 1931 at the Saraswat Nat-mandir of Sri Gaudiya Math:
Let that personification of supreme magnanimity, Srimati Radharani, who is always eager to collect the mercy of the Supreme Lord on behalf of all living entities, appear in our hearts and make her presence known. Without sub- mission to the one whom Govinda considers to be everything to him (sarvasva), we do not realize the meaning of the word “sarva”. “Govinda sarvasva” — “sva” means “one’s own”, and “sva” also means “wealth”. If we have the one who is Govinda’s own wealth — the one who makes him wealthy, that wealth that is everything to Govinda — if she becomes the object of our worship, then we will understand what worship is. If after reading the 18,000 verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we do not come to know about her, then our reading was in vain. If by some unknown sukṛti we get the association of those who are close to Sri Brishabhanu-nandini Srimati Radharani, if we are fortunate enough to hear about her, then we can get the inspiration to proceed towards our supremely beneficial goal. She is everything to the son of Nanda, who is the reservoir of all ecstasy, and we will never attain devotional service to Govinda without serving her and her servitors.
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