(Srila Prabhupada bathing Srimati Radharani, London 1969—click to enlarge)
While glorifying Radharani and invoking Her blessings we should always be conscious of our indebtedness to Srila Prabhupada for opening our eyes and revealing to us the proper spiritual understanding of the Supreme Absolute Truth.
om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
"I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him."
(Sri Guru Pranama)
"The symbol of devotional service in the highest degree is Radharani."
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1)
"Srimati Radharani is as fully spiritual as Krishna. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have mental bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses. She is all-spiritual, and both Her body and mind are of the same spiritual embodiment. Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses fully shine in love of Krishna."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.71, Purport)
"Don't try to understand Radha-Krishna very quickly. It is a very big subject. If we want to understand Radha-Krishna very quickly, then there will be so many prakrta-sahajiyas. In India there are prakrta-sahajiyas. Just like Radha-Krishna dancing. Radha-Krishna has become a plaything. The painting Radha-Krishna, Krishna is kissing Radha, Radha is kissing. These are all nonsense. Radha-Krishna philosophy has to be understood by the liberated person, not by the conditioned soul. So we shall await for the fortunate moment when we are liberated, then we shall understand radha-krsna-praṇaya-vikrtir. Because Krishna and Radha, They are not on the material field. Try to understand. This is Jiva Gosvami's analysis, that Krishna is the Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Brahman cannot accept anything material. So Radha is not in the material field."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, August 30, 1968)
"This exchange of feelings between Krishna and Radharani is very difficult to understand unless one is elevated to the platform of pure goodness. Such transcendental reciprocation is not even possible to understand from the platform of material goodness. One has to actually transcend material goodness in order to understand. This is because the exchange of feelings between Radha and Krishna is not a subject matter of this material world. Even the greatest mental speculator cannot understand this, directly or indirectly. Material activities are manifested either for the gross body or the subtle mind, but this exchange of feelings between Radha and Krishna is beyond such manifestations and beyond intellectual mental speculation. It can only be understood by purified senses freed from all the designations of the material world."
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 31)
"The Radharani, the name has come from the word aradhyate. Aradhana, aradhana means worshiping. So everyone is meant, beginning from Radharani, and her expansion, Laksmi, in Vaikuntha, laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam, govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. Here we worship mother Laksmiji, goddess of fortune, to receive some favor. But in the Vaikuntha world there are many hundred thousands of Laksmi, laksmi-sahasra-sata, and they are sambhrama-sevyamanam: with great respect, they are engaged in serving the Supreme Lord. So, we being expansion of the spiritual Laksmi, or Radharani, our duty is to serve Radharani, and through Radharani to serve Krishna. This is Krishna consciousness movement."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Bombay, December 17, 1975)
"Sri Krishna cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Radha and Sri Krishna are identical. The sandhini portion of Sri Krishna's internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Sri Krishna, and the same internal potency, in the hladini feature, has presented Srimati Radharani, who is the all-attraction for the all-attractive. No one can match Srimati Radharani in the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krishna."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.71, Purport)
"To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Radharani, and devotees in Vrindavana put themselves under the care of Radharani in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Radharani. In Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that the mahatmas, or great souls, are under the protection of the daivi prakriti, the internal energy—Radharani. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Krishna, devotional service attracts even Krishna Himself."
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1)
"Regarding your question about our relationship with Srimati Radharani, She is the internal energy, we are marginal energy. Marginal means sometimes internal, sometimes external. When we are under the internal energy, that is our normal life, and when we are under the external energy, that is our abnormal life."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, April 25, 1969)
"In his book Ujjvala-nilamani, Rupa Gosvami explains the characteristics of Srimati Radharani. He points out that the body of Radharani is in itself an actual evolution of transcendental pleasure. That body is decorated with flowers and fragrant aromas and is complete with transcendental love for Krishna. That is the personification of His pleasure potency. That transcendental body takes bath three times: first in the water of mercy, second in the water of youthful beauty, and third in the water of youthful luster. After taking bath three times in that way, Her body is covered with shining garments and decorated with Krishna's personal beauty, which is compared to cosmetics. Thus Her beauty constitutes the highest artistry. Her body is also decorated with the ornaments of spiritual ecstasy—trembling tears, petrification, perspiration, choking, cessation of all bodily functions due to transcendental pleasure, stumbling, high blood pressure and madness."
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 31)
"The transcendental mellow relished by the gopis in Vraja is superexcellently featured in Srimati Radharani. Mature assimilation of the transcendental humor of conjugal love is represented by Srimati Radharani, whose feelings are incomprehensible even to the Lord Himself. The intensity of Her loving service is the highest form of ecstacy. No one can surpass Srimati Radharani in relishing the transcendental mellow qualities of the Lord."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.50, Purport)
"So the lesson is that we should not treat Radharani as ordinary girl, or Krishna as ordinary man. They are the Supreme Absolute Truth. But in the Absolute Truth, there is the pleasure potency, and that is exhibited in the dealings of Radha and Krishna."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Montreal, August 30, 1968)
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