Transcript for:
Understanding Radha's Divine Love and Bhakti

Om Vishwas Meinamaham I want to start with a few disclaimers. This is not a scholarly approach to Radha's Katha. So what you will not find is me giving BC and AD dates to which Grantham was written when. The approach here is completely following Prema Bhakti Margam and submitting ourselves into that idea that Radha is purely Krishna Tatvam and purely love.

that divine love for Paramatma. Scholarly approaches have their relevance, but they have their relevance in institutions and in the world of academia. For a Bhakta, a Bhakta will never question, is Radha real, is Radha fictional?

For the world of a Bhakta, Radha is the heartbeat that takes us to Paramatma. So, in case your questions are about which book does Radha appear in, but Bhagavatam doesn't talk about Radha, I request you to erase those prejudices from your mind, because what... we are presenting here is completely Shastra Sanmatam.

This is not a personal opinion. These are coming from Shastra Vettas who have seen, experienced and translated their experiences into writing. It is said that Krishna Katha is the most vichitra avataram.

Swami's different avatarams have different names. This Swami who is sitting in front of us, Narasimha Swami. He is called as Adbhut Avataraswaroopam because the avataram is extraordinary. Nowhere else do we see such a unique combination.

But I will just do a namaskaram and carry on because if he comes, he will want center stage. This is called as Adbhut Avataram. Ram Avataram, in Ram Avataram, he is called as you all know as Mariyada Purushottama. Is Krishna called any Purushottama? Prema Purushottama but also Leela Purushottama.

Because the word Leela is very strongly used for Krishna. It's not that it's not there for other Devatas. But when we say the word Leela, Krishna comes especially. But the caveat is this.

Krishna Leelas cannot be understood by ordinary logic. Because if you read anything literally with Krishna Leela, you will just lose it to the logic. But look at this Avataram.

It defies logic. I'm not saying that it doesn't respect logic. It goes beyond logic. Every portion of this avataram is saying, wait, pause and look at the story because this is also called, in Telugu Vedu, know this as the Akhari avataram. This is the last avataram.

But how? In Dasha avataram, it's not the last, no? Then just because I said you nodded, when we say it is the final avataram, what we mean is not for Paramatma.

We cannot decide whether he'll take another avataram or not. It is the last avataram for anybody who comes in contact with him. That is the special condition of Krishna avataram.

Anybody who comes in contact, whether it is a Rakshasa, whether it is a Gopika, whether it is a Devata, whether it is a Manava, whether it is a tree, whether it is an anthill, whether it is a cow, whether it is the mud of Vrindavan, anyone that comes in touch with Krishna in this avataram, that is the samapti of their Jivata, they get absorbed into this. That is why this avataram has to be understood with Extreme care. It is necessary that we spend a little bit of time focusing on this before we go into the heart of Rasalila. Because Rasalila is not an ordinary portion. It took six days for Parikshan Maharaj to absorb the Bhagavatam in its essence.

In the last portion of the Bhagavatam, which is the Dashamaskandam, that portion Parikshan asks Shuka for all... Of course, all of you are familiar, but just to build a little bit of context, who tells whom the Bhagavatam? Parikshit Maharaj, who has been cursed that in seven days, a snake will bite you and you will attain, the curse did not say you will attain Hari's abode. You will die is what the curse said.

Parikshit used death as an opportunity to do what? To listen to Bhagavat Katha. This is Bhagavatam's first Sandesham. Bhagavat Katha is enough for Moksham. If you listen, listen like Parikshit.

Because the way he listened, he put aside samsaram and he says, I am ready. Give me everything if I am worthy. And who is telling him? Shuka Yogi Indra is telling him. That phenomenal Tatva Jnani and Atma Jnani who knows the self is revealing to Krishna, revealing to Parikshit all of the leelas of Krishna.

Who is this Shuka? Vyasa's son. Shuka has his own beautiful Purva Charitra. In the eternal realm of Goloka, so just like there is Vaikuntha for Vishnu, Kailasa for Shiva, Manidvipa for Devi, Krishna has an eternal lokam that is called Golokam.

In Goloka, Krishna, Radha and all the Gopikas, that is not Goloka here in Bhulokam. It is Brahmandasya Urdhva Deshe. Over there, Radha and Krishna are eternally in union. Radha has a small parrot with her that sits by her side.

and is constantly whispering something to Radha. This parrot companion of Radha moves once from Radha's hand and goes and spends some time with Krishna. And it listens to all of what Krishna has to say. Then this parrot comes back to Radha and Radha smiles and she says, now you heard what I said, you heard what he has said, now you go and you tell this story to the whole world. That parrot became Shukayogendra.

Why I am giving this context is because look at the person who is the Kathakar over here. The person is the one who has been most intimate with Radha and Krishna and he is an Atma Jnani. He knows the Self and he knew that this particular Leela that we are about to spend time on today, this Leela requires maturity of thought and more importantly maturity of the heart. He did not give the Rasa Leela in the very beginning. That is why 28 chapters in the Dashamaskandam, in the 10th chapter, 28 sub-chapters within that, 28 different Leelas of Krishna, he told him.

And he says, now you are ready, let me tell you the most essential portion of Krishna Tattvam, which is the Panchadhyayi, the five chapters of Rasa Leela. Rasa Leela has five chapters. We have Panchapranas, Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, Samana.

The Rasa Leela is Krishna's Pranam. That is how dear it is to him. But to understand that, we need to understand Krishna a little bit more.

So that is what we will begin to do first. So the interesting thing about this avataram is, Krishna pays extreme attention to everybody who comes in contact with him. He knows their past, their present, and he knows their future is only one thing.

They have to go inside him. But Paramatma does not treat everybody equally. Immediately this sounds like a very antithesis statement, no?

God should treat everybody equally. Paramatma treats... everybody based on their karma, what is right for them. No Vaidya will treat everybody with the same medicine. They will be careful to look at the patient.

In today's world of medicine, that doesn't apply. But a Vaidya who is sensitive will always observe what does this patient need for them to get better. Krishna is that Bhava Ushatha. He is that Bhavaroga Vaidya.

He looks at each being careful and says, what does this person need? Let's take the example of Putana. We all know Putana.

When he came, when she came to him, what did he do? He suckled the milk and the life out of Putana and he killed her. But as soon as Putana was cremated, none of Krishna's family knew who Putana was. They just knew some rakshasi has come and she has tried to attack our little child.

When Putana was burnt, when the body of Putana was burnt, there was a sugandham in the air and all of them are wondering. Where did this come from? That Sugandham came because that Jeeva got absorbed into Krishna.

Now, at this point, Shuka tells Parikshit something. He says, Pootana who came to him with so much hate, even she got Moksham. Imagine those who come to him with love. But here is the Rahasyaam.

Pootana did not only have hate. She had hate now. But to come close to Krishna, you have to have love. Even Pootana had love for him. You remember the story of a small little boy who goes to one king and says, give me three steps of land.

Who is that Swaroopam? Who is that king? Balichakravarti. This is the week of Onam. So it's good to do smaranam of them as well.

And when this little boy asked for those three strides of land, he walked into that Yajnasala of Balichakravarti. He walked in as a vattu, as a small little boy who had just had his upanaynam. Holding a little umbrella with his shikha intact, so chubby, so adorable, that Bali has a daughter called Ratnamala. Ratnamala looked at him and she said, I can feel that my breasts are about to give milk.

I wish I have the chance of giving my milk to him. Vamana looked and thought and said, not now, but in another avataram, I will come and I will drink your milk, don't worry. And once I drink that milk, I will absorb you into me.

That Ratnamala is reborn as Putana. If you read this literally, if you read this. straight from one source, you will not pick it up. Bhagavatam is not an isolated text. You have to pick up other instances, other Granthams to understand what is being said over here.

Krishna pays attention to your thoughts. That is what we capture from this. There is another beautiful Leela and on the way here I was wondering, should I tell this Leela at all because it's not exactly relevant. But I stepped into the temple complex and when I looked to my left, I got the answer.

So when you leave, you look to your right. You will see why I said that. Not now. Now you look here. This story is about one Rishi who is deep in Tapas for Narayana.

Wonderful thought, deep in Tapas. But that Tapas brings Ahankaram. So when another Rishi comes to him, this Rishi whose name is Vedashiramuni. Vedashiramuni looks at another Rishi who has come to his Ashram of Pranganam.

And this other Muni has entered and he wants to do Tapas. So Vedashiramuni says, Huh? You are coming into my prangadam, in my ashram to do tapas.

You don't have what it takes. And in that moment, the other rishi, whose name is Ashwa Shira. Ashwa Shira looked at Veda Shira and he said, Look at you. You have so much of pride. So much of tapas, but so much of pride.

You think just because you are doing tapas, nobody else can match your tapas. Sadhana brings ahankaram with it. This is the week after Vinayak Chaturthi.

You can see Instagram is flooded with everybody's Ganesh Chaturthi reels like they have performed some Ashwamedha Yajnam. This overwhelming sense that, my God, look at what I have done, is not conducive to Sadhana. But the Sadhaka who is doing it doesn't realize.

Sometimes we don't realize that we are becoming arrogant. But the one who we are doing Sadhana for, he is watching and he will perform a Leela to remove that. Because that comes like a thorn in the journey. He has to pluck out that thorn. So, look at this tense moment between two rishis.

Vedashira has said, you have no right to come into my place and do tapas because my tapas is the greatest. Ashwashira says, look at that arrogance that you have. Your head and your heart are filled with poison.

So, I curse you to be born as a poisonous snake. In that moment, Vedashira got angry and he cursed him back saying, who are you to talk to me like that? You arrogant crow, I curse you to be reborn as a crow.

Both of them are Haribhakts. Bhaktas. And in this moment, both of them heard the curse from the other and felt horrible.

And in that moment, Hari Narayana appeared and he said, both of your curses will come true because when you are in sadhana and you utter something, it will happen. You are both my Bhaktas. My Bhaktas'vachanas will never be false.

So this will definitely come true. Now, let's look at Vedashira who got the curse of being a poisonous snake. Who can come close to you if you are a poisonous snake?

But have no fear. I will come in one avataram. I will dance on top of your head and remove all those poisonous thoughts and I'll absorb you back into me. Who is that? It is Kalinga Nathana Krishna who is in the temple Kalyani as you enter or as you exit, whichever way you look at it.

And what about the other Rishi who became a crow? Vishnu looked at him and he said, You, in another avataram, I will bless you. You will tell my story to Garuda.

And you will be known in the three worlds as Kaka Bhushundi. It is Kaka Bhushundi who tells Garuda the story that is captured in Ramcharitmanas. So this is how carefully Narayana pays attention to Bhakta saying, let me look at an emotion that you have. Look at Veda Shiramuni, so much tapas.

But that tapas is getting diluted by the venom inside, by that poison. So he says, I will come and I will remove that poison. If you pay attention to Krishna Katha, all of these things open up saying, Oh! So he pays so much attention to his Bhaktas.

He pays so much attention that he links any Bhakta who comes in any other Avataram and he says, Come here. And in this Avataram, when I come, I will ensure that your chapter is complete. In Ram Avataram, when he walked into Mithila Nagaram for the very first time, Mithilapura Jana Mohaka Ram, Videha Manasa Ranjaka Rama, says the Nama Ramayana.

When he walked into Mithila, All the people in Mithila were so smitten. Men, women, everybody was smitten saying, what a Divya Mangala Vigraham. I wish I could be a wife to him. That is his Swaroopam. Sakshat Manmatha Manmathaha.

He is Koti Kandarpalavanya. He looks so beautiful. Just his physical form is so beautiful that they all thought that.

Paramatma knows what we are thinking. You can hide it from the world. You can't hide it from him.

So in that moment he thought, not now. In another avataram when I come, you can all become my wives and then I will take care of your mukti. This is one set of gopis that came here into Vrindavana. The next set, I am creating all this context for us to understand the characters who are going into Rasalila.

The characters who are going into Rasalila are people who had a deep desire to be with Paramatma. That is the only criteria you need to be with him. Not initiation, not mantra, not japa, not tapam.

Yearning. That yearning is the heart of Krishna Katha. There were other beings.

There were rishis. When Rama walked into the Aranyam for the first time, the rishis who looked at him thought, when will I get to walk with him? When will I get to dance with him? Look at his gait. He is walking like an intoxicated elephant.

I want to walk next to him. I want to know what it feels like. But I have a rishi's dharma to perform.

How can I do that? In that avataram he said, you also join me in that avataram as a Gopika and in that... Avataram, I will dance with you, I will move with you. Every single being who came close to saying, I want to know what he is, he kept them on hold, on wait list for this Avataram. Because in this Avataram, he has all the time to spend on Prema.

Prema is not in the conventional sense of Prema. Prema here is a love where you want nothing but him. And all these beings, be it the Mithila Nagaravasis, be it All the Aranyavasi Rishis, these are all physical beings.

But one day, there are other kinds of beings also. And one such other category of beings is Veda Mantras. Mantras themselves have akritis, they have forms. And one day, all the mantras of the three Vedas sat together and they had a meeting and they say, each of us, each of what is contained in our mantra is describing Paramatma.

For example, Antar bahishthathat sarvam vyapyanarayana sthitah. This is describing that Paramatma is inside and outside. Everywhere it is Paramatma alone. But this mantra is saying, I am saying this to people, but I don't know what Paramatma is. And another said, I am also feeling the same.

Pragnanam Brahma is saying, I am not able to feel it myself. Other people are reading me and they are feeling it. But what about me?

All these mantra, mantra devatas are gathered together. And Narayana appears to them and he says, in my avataram as Krishna, you all come as gopis and you will experience what the shabdas and what the aksharas inside you are. So look at the people now who have come in this avataram. They are all people not only who deeply loved him but had no other desire but to experience him.

And for them, he gave them not one, not two. But six months of time with them and them alone. That is the rahasyaam and the uniqueness of this particular avataram. So to set that context, Shukayogendra tells Parikshit, all those who came with hate, they also got mukti.

All those who come with any desire, you come with kamam, you look at him with lust, he'll absorb you. You look at him with krodham, he will absorb you. You look at him with bhayam, you're scared of him, he will absorb you.

You look at him with sneham, as your friend, he will absorb you. You look at him with sauhridayam. These are all words that Shukayogindra uses. You look at him with a gentle heart, he will absorb you.

The beauty of Bhagavatam is, for every example that Shukayogindra gives, you can find a perfect example. Sneham, who befriended Krishna? Sudama, attend Mukti. Sauhridayam, with deep love for Krishna, she made Krishna her own brother.

Who was that? Draupadi, who shares the same name as him. Here's the tough one.

With Bhayam, he became obsessed with Krishna. Kamsa, every second, where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?

Where is Krishna? Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God. In his case, it worked out because it was literally, oh God only.

But Kamsa is a Bhaya Yogi. He became a Yogam by virtue of Bhayam. Krodha, Duryodhana, Kamam, Gopikas. Every being. whatever bhavam you look at him as.

So this is what Bhagavatam is telling us. When it comes to Paramatma, don't restrict your emotions. Whatever emotions you have, retain those emotions. But when you have those emotions, turn them towards him. Anger, frustration, lust, greed, anything.

Turn it towards him and watch the magic. That magic is the 10th, 11th and 12th chapter of Bhagavatam. So now with that context, we set straight in into a very very beautiful happening. over here, where Krishna has spent ample time, first in Gokulam, and if you ask the Vrajavasis, they will tell you, then in Nandgaon, and after Nandgaon, straight to, ayo, I should silence you, okay, where did they go after that? Vrindavan, you can say that name loudly, it's his pranganam, this place is becoming Vrindavanam now, do you know why?

What is the word Vrindavanam? What does it mean? Vrindas is the name of Tulsi Devi, so where there is a forest of Tulsi.

Look at the beautiful choice of words. In Sanskritam, there are many words for forest. One is Vrinda, sorry, one is Vanam. Can somebody give me another example? Aranyam, beautiful, Kananam, Vatavi, so many different words.

Why the words Vanam? Vanam is always used in Samskritam when there is a sense of safety. Aranyam is used when there is a sense of fear. So when you are thinking about the wild animals and you don't know what's going to happen and it is a relatively uneasy time, you use the words Aranyam. That is why it is Aranyakandam in Ramayana because everybody is concerned what's going to happen to him in the forest.

Here, they used Vrindavanam. Why? Vrinda also means group.

That place where Bhaktas group together, where Bhakta Vrindam or Bhakta Vrindam come together to attain Moksha. Just like how the Gopis from the Vedas, the Gopis from Mithila, the Gopis from the Aranyam all came together, they came together as Bhakta Vrindam. That place where they are feeling secure because Paramatma is there. becomes Vrindavanam.

Now you tell me, has this place converted itself into Vrindavanam or not? This is a Bhakta Vrindam that is sitting here and he is right here. So Vrindavanam is not a place.

Vrindavanam is the space that you create around yourself. Now in this place, the Lord will eternally dwell. That's why he said, I will not leave one foot. I will not step out of Vrindavanam.

As a Leela he goes, but eternally his Vibhuti is there. And that is testimony in Vrindavanam even today. So, in this place he constantly stays. And as he is growing up, he is delighting each of the Gopas and the Gopis with various Leelas.

First, Rakshasa Samharam happens. Then, with the Gopa boys he plays. Then, he teaches Indra a lesson. Then, he teaches Brahma a lesson. Everybody comes.

Everybody learns something. But this Avataram is called as Prema Avataram. It is that avataram when those who wanted to be in deep prema, for their sake, he says, I will come now.

And that prema has to be so deep for Krishna that when he feels, yes, you are ready to receive my love. When are we ready to receive his love? When we forget that he is Paramatma.

If we forget that he is Paramatma, we start to take care of him in the most beautiful way. There is a story that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to always say. There were two Krishna Bhaktas that were going through a forest and night time fell.

And when they were going through a forest, so naturally there is a fear of wild animals. And one Bhakta told the other that listen, there are lots of wild animals, so I think we should climb the tree and stay safe on top. The other Bhakta says, okay, you climb. I'll be at the base of the tree, I'll not climb.

So the first Bhakta said, why not? So he says, listen, I don't want to climb because I have a Krishna Mantra. That mantra, I have a mantra. He doesn't even say Krishna mantra. He says, I have a mantra.

That mantra will protect me. The other one says, so be it. So one climbs up. The other remains downstairs.

The night passes. The one on top sees that a tiger comes close but does not do anything to the tree. Does not do anything to the bhakta at the base. And he goes away. In the morning, one bhakta comes down and he asks the other.

He says, what mantra did you chant that nothing happened to you and the tiger came and the tiger went away? One bhakta said, I chanted Krishna Mantram. But the story does not end here. You know what the other Bhakta says? He gives him one whack on the head and he says, You chanted Krishna Mantram?

You could have just climbed up the tree and been safe. But for that you had to summon Sri Krishna, is it? You had to trouble Sri Krishna to leave all his other work and come to save you from something that you yourself can do. This is the most antithesis to the rest of spirituality.

Spirituality is saying, say everything, God is in everything, do everything and attribute it to God. Krishna Bhakti is saying, take care of Krishna so much that you forget he is God. Think about him, Krishna did you eat, Krishna did you drink and you will forget that he is God. Putra Bhavam will come in, Vatsalya Bhavam will come in, Prema Bhavam will come in. Wherever Prema comes, the ruling deity of Prema comes, the ruling deity of Prema is known as Radhika.

So where there is love for Krishna, There is Radha. Now, the Gopis have deep love, but the Gopis are also in samsaram. And here starts the dilemma.

Because if any of us have to relate to this, it is the easiest portion of Bhagavatam to relate to. All other episodes have their power, but in this episode, we can start to feel like it is a personal story. Look at these Gopis.

Krishna is there, walking, moving, sitting, traveling with them. But they have their own samsaram. They have husbands, they have children, they have in-laws, they have parents.

They have their own samsara lampatam. They want to be with Krishna, but they cannot always be with Krishna. They have to come back. How many of you have felt this?

Where you have wanted to be with your spiritual practice, but samsaram keeps calling you back. It's natural, no? I'll also put up my hand.

It's very natural. But when this happens, time after time after time, when you keep feeling that tug of war at some point he will pull hard you know why because his name is Krishna Karshana, his very nature is to pull. His name is Sankarshana.

He pulls so carefully, so strongly that when he pulls, nobody else can win. And he pulls hearts towards himself. Because to go to Krishna, unless his pull is there, you can go up to a point. He has to pull you inside.

That is why Puri Jagannath pulled Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inside. Because Krishna is a magnetic force. So this Krishna sees this tug of war.

And the beauty is, every day... day that the gopis are spending with him, that tug of war he's slowly winning because the gopis are realizing something inside. Prapancham is useless.

After some point, the same things will go on here. Endless samsara chakram will go on and on and on. But my love for him is the only thing that I want right now.

And Krishna chooses an opportune night, not one, but several nights. Krishna is Kalaswarupa. He takes the power of six months worth of nights.

That's basically 180 nights. And he says these six months are for the gopis to attain mukti. The purpose of this is what?

For the gopis to attain mukti. What kind of mukti? The gopis were all craving for time with him.

So he says, let me give them that time. Let me give them that prema that they are craving. But let me do it in a way that each of them feels satisfied. Now look at the Gopis. Why I said that this is a deeply personal Leela is because in this Leela, not only can we see our tug of war, but here is where the Geetopadesha begins.

Because in this portion of Bhagavatam, Krishna preaches two kinds of dharmas. Not directly, indirectly. Samsaram is calling.

Imagine one night that you hear that one Ishta Devata that you have been focusing on for so long. that Ishta Devata has now called you. What will you do?

Leave everything and go? That's the hope. But that's not easy.

What if you have an ailing elder at home? What if you have a child who's just born? All of these require you to be present. That is Loka Dharmam. You must follow it.

And for such people also Krishna has a response. So one fine night, he takes his flute and says this. Beautiful night that he chooses is in the beginning of Sharad Kalam. Sharad Kalam, which comes soon after Varsha Ritu, we have Sharad Ritu.

This is autumn as we know it. And in this month, what you see is a cool sense that takes over in the environment. With global warming, I cannot vouchsafe for this anymore.

But this comes after monsoon, when all the burada, all the dirt that is in the air settles down. And in this month, Chandra glows at his best. That is why all poets love to talk about Sharad Chandra.

Because Chandra glows and in this month Chandra radiates Amrita Kiranas from his full moon. So Krishna chooses one full moon night in Sharad Kalam, takes his flute and he goes alone quietly. He goes into one of the many vanams in Vrindavanam.

Vrindavanam is a part of 11 or rather a part of 12 such vanams. There are multiple vanams. There is a Mahavanam which is Gokulam.

There is Vrindavanam, there is Bhandiravanam, there is Bilwavanam, there is Madhuvanam and so on. He goes to one of the Vanams and he starts to play the flute. He is somewhere far away and sitting in their own homes, in their own Samsaram, one Gopi who was getting ready to go out somewhere, suddenly she takes her waistband and she puts it on her neck.

She takes her necklace and she puts it on to her waistband. This is not an advertisement for size zero. What Bhagavatam is telling you is she has forgotten herself.

One gopi is applying kajal to her face, to her eyes, and when she hears that flute from somewhere else, that kajal smears across her face and half of her face is black. The third gopi is feeding her parents with a vessel and when she hears the call of that flute, she pours the entire vessel into their plates. The fourth gopi is cooking and she has forgotten that the food is burning.

She cannot smell it. Because all her indriyas are turned there to that sound. Bhagavatam's rahasya. Are these just people?

If they were just people, how did they hear what was happening kilometers away? It's not like Krishna set up a zoom call through which they heard it. There is something magnetic that people around them could not hear, but they could hear. The sign of an awakened yogi is that they can hear nada that is coming from within.

And the journey... that these gopis make this is the journey of a sadhaka that is reaching Siddhi. I am watching my words very carefully.

These are not ordinary sadhakas. These are not Krishna's companions. They are not his playmates.

They are yogis at their core who have come as gopis. Look at the word gopi. Go in Sanskritam on one hand refers to cows.

That is why gopi refers to milkmaids or cow herds. Go Go also refers to our sense organs. P refers to Pibati.

Those who drink, Pibati means to drink. Those who drink Bhagavata Katha with their sense organs and they are finding Amritam in that, are called as Gopis. So when they see, they see Krishna's Swaroopam. When they hear, they hear Krishna Katha.

When they smell, they smell the offerings that they have offered to Krishna. When they taste, they taste Krishna Prasadam. When they touch, they feel they are touching Krishna's feet.

For them, everything is Krishna. Such beings Bhagavatam is calling gopis, not ordinary people. Such people alone can hear the call of that flute. Because the flute is something that reaches the hearts of such souls that have been waiting for janma janma antaram and they just decide to leave. They don't even realize that they are going.

They are just finding themselves going towards that flute, towards the source of it. Some of them are able to go, some are not. This is why Bhagavatam is a story of a sadhaka. Some cannot go because their situation does not allow it. In some cases, some gopis are blocked.

They are just being magnetically pulled. But in some gopis'houses, the doors are shut saying, Hello, what's wrong with you? Happens in spiritual journeys.

Just because you are on a spiritual journey, it is not right to assume that everybody will be at the same level of awareness or understanding as you. Your own folks around you may not be able to. And this is why sadhana sometimes can be lonely in some senses.

But what about such people? We will talk about the people who go to him in one minute. But what about the people who get left behind? What's going to happen to them? The Bhagavatam says so beautifully that for such people who are sitting behind closed doors, they're hearing the flute, they're not able to go.

What a helpless situation, no? For such people, it's not helpless. Bhagavatam says they closed their eyes, they saw Krishna outside and inside and that was it.

Does that mean they died? No. It means they reached something called Jeevan Mukta Avastha. They had complete disassociation with the body. Something that yogis and munis are waiting and yearning for, these gopis got just by closing their eyes and saying, Krishna, I am here, I am listening.

Krishna in spirit takes them. Physically, some he takes, in spirit some he takes. Bhagavatam's lesson, if you cannot go to him, he will come to you. He didn't come in Pandharpur to one Bhakta, that Bhakta was so busy that when he came, he said, you wait, I'm busy. Still he waited, no?

Because Bhakti has the power to pull him. This is what we are reading every day. Bhakti Vashya Bhaya Paha.

What is this? I signed up for Rasalila, this fellow is talking about Lalita Satsanamam. What to do? He is Shyama, she is Shyamala. Same Tatvam.

Call one, the other will come. Bhakti Vashya. He is caught by Bhakti.

That is why he tells his Bhaktas in various instances, You have bought me with your Bhakti. I am your Dasa. In fact, there is one Bhakta of his by name Janabai in Pandharpur.

One day when Janabai is talking to him in Pandharpur, she looks at Vithala Krishna and she says, No need to get so excited about yourself. because your name is Paramatma. Your name is Bhagawan.

Where do you live? Where does Bhagawan live? In our hearts. That's exactly what Janabai said. If I remove you from my heart, you don't even have any place to stay.

So please, please calm down. That is the power of Bhakti. That is what Bhagavatam is telling us. That Bhakti draws him to you.

You don't have to go anywhere. And once he comes to you, he'll take care of what has to be taken care of. So doing a namaskaram to these gopis who stayed back, let's look at the ones that got pulled. Now, dharma sankatam.

Prapancham, Paramatma. Gopis are in between. On one hand, Samsaram is calling, saying, Hey, you have duties to do, you have to earn, you have to pay bills, you have to do this.

And Paramatma has pulled. And when they reach there, these are sadhakas who have completed their sadhana. When they reach there, what does he say?

He says, come, everyone dance, come. No, he doesn't. He says, what are you doing?

How have you come here? Leaving your homes, leaving your husbands, leaving your children, leaving your samsaram? Don't you know dharmam? Dharmam says that whatever your ashram dharmam is, you must perform it.

Now you are here with a para purusha late at night. How is this okay? This is where we have to pick up Bhagavatam not as a text, not as a piece of writing, but as a jiva bodha, where there is shastram that is telling us that certain things are right and certain things are wrong.

But who does that apply to? Krishna spends multiple shlokas. He says, you're wrong in coming here.

What a confusing God, frankly. First he goes, he plays the flute, he pulls them. Now when they've come, he says, why did you come? What a terrible thing you've done.

Because he looks at them and he says, why don't you attend to your samsara and you come back to me? And at that point, what is their response? Does one of them say, actually, there is actually halo on the stuff.

I'll just go turn that off and come. This is the test that Paramatma asks. Are you ready for what I am about to give you?

Are you ready for me and me alone? Because if you want samsara, I will bless you with it. But if you want me, you have to be able to make that choice. We are sitting in front of Narasimha Swami, so we will take his dear Bhakta's name.

Who is this Bhakta? When Prahalada, when Narasimha says, Prahalada, ask me for something. Prahalada says, give everybody Moksha Swami.

Because Prahalada is a Karuna Hridaya Purna. He wants everybody to have Moksha. Swami says, okay, you ask them all to come.

One by one, line up everybody who is in the Sabha. They all line up. Narasimha Swami asks the first one, you want Moksha? The first one says, I have a daughter to marry next week.

Once she gets Moksha, I will come. One after the other, they all have their own reasoning. And he looks at Prahalada and he says, they all want something from me. They don't want me.

So, don't be under the impression that everybody is at the same level. Now, in this case, he is testing the gopis. You want me? Are you ready? Because, Prapancha will not.

And we are, this time and space that we are in is testimony to that. The most misunderstood Leela is Rasa Leela. Because we ignore this part.

We ignore the part where Krishna is talking about this Bodha. The Bodha that Krishna is doing is for people in Loka Chakram. If you still feel called out to samsaram, if you still feel I need to perform my duty, I need to take care of my elders, I need to take care of my children, my samsaram is dependent on me, I will do it. I will follow that dharmam. For that dharmam also, the gopis who stayed back are an example.

He will say do it. I will come and I will bless you. Don't think that you have to leave everything. But if you decide to come here, know that those rules do not apply to you.

The only rule that applies to you is the rule of prema. And Sampoorna Sharanagati, which is called in Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam as Prapatti. So, they have all come. And he has given this Bodha.

Years later, we are saying that, oh yes, he had an intention behind the Bodha. But in that moment itself, they caught it. And they said, how is it fair that you can say this to us?

Your words are hurting us. Because we left everything for you. You want us to go back, no?

Okay, we'll go back. And one Gopi, Asks him so point blank, showing the understanding gopis have. Said we'll go back. Our bodies will go back.

Our minds can you return? Our hearts can you return? Our hearts are stuck with you.

What we'll go back to samsaram now. And then Krishna smiles and he says, now I know that you are ready. Now what happens?

It's only 6.40. You think Rasalila will start so soon? If it was such an easy Leela, Shukayogindra would not take five chapters on this Leela alone.

So Krishna says, come with me. And he takes them into the waters of Yamuna. And there, as he spends time with each of them, every Gopi is beyond delighted.

Because this Swaroopam that they have yearned for lifetimes to be with, is now in front of their eyes, is now giving them undiluted time. How much time is he giving them? 180 days is just to them. For their sake, he has frozen time. He froze time again for Arjuna much later.

When he gave him Geetopadesham, he can do it now. And when he does it, they're all thrilled. And in that moment of joy, one of them thinks, look at this Swaroopam, Krishna.

What about him is making me so drawn? And now we will see a beautiful meaning. We spoke of one meaning of the word Krishna earlier. We will look at one more meaning which is given by Gargamuni in the Garga Samhita. Gargamuni is the Muni who does the Namakaranam for Krishna and he gives this meaning saying this is what this name means and this is why this name has so much power.

He says Kakara Kamala Kantha. If you take the words Krishna, you have Ka, Ra, Sha. Na and A. Look at these beautiful words, these beautiful aksharas. Kakara Kamalakanta.

Kakaram represents Kamalakanta. Kamala is Lakshmi. The lord of Lakshmi is represented in the syllable Ka. Kakara Kamalakanta. Rakara refers.

After this he says Rakara is Rama. Kakara is Lakshmipati Vishnu. Rakara is Rama, the one who brings joy. Rama, Ramana Lampata.

Rama means someone who spreads joy. First is Vishnu. Second is Rama. Shakara, Shadgunapati.

Shakara refers to the one who has six forms, six gunas, shadgunas, that are complete with him. Shadgunya Paripurita. Sounding familiar, no? Those six gunas of Veeram, Aishwaryam, All of them, the one who has them in completion is called Bhagawan.

Those shatgunas, this person has. Shakara shatgunapatihi shvetadvipa nivasakrith. He lives in the shvetadvipa, which is Vaikuntha.

And then he gives one extraordinary explanation after this. How many syllables are over? This is to make sure you are all awake.

What are they? Gakara, Kakara, Rakara. Shakara.

What comes next? What is Nakara representative of? Nakaro Narasimhoyam.

This is why I told you in the beginning. Now I understand why we are saying this Katha over here because this Swami's name is coming in this Katha. Because when I was first thinking, I am speaking about Rasalila in front of Narasimha Swami. Is there any connection?

It was an arrogant thought that briefly passed through my head. Gargamuni hit my head with a stick and said that Narasimha's Katha only is here. Nakaro narasimhavachakam and after that he says akaro hyaksharagnyabhuk The one who is akshara, the one who is agni and the one who eats everything, that Swaroopam is Krishna.

Put all of them together. The one who is the lord of Lakshmi, the one who is Rama, who brings joy, the one After that? Shakara is Shadgunapati who has Paripurna Gunaswarupa the one who is Narasimha and the one who is Akshara meaning cannot be destroyed. A Kshara.

Look at Sanskritam. It gave syllables the same name as Paramatma. You cannot break down a anymore.

You cannot break down Paramatma anymore. That's why Paramatma and syllables are also both called Akshara. Akshara, Agni. And he eats everything. He himself is the Agni.

All of these Bhuvana Aharam. He eats the Bhuvanas at the time of Pralayam. This Swaroopam they got attracted to. They did not get attracted to some handsome looking boy. who was playing the flute.

This is important because it is the Gopika's Hridayam that drew them. Their Hridayam went towards Paramatma. Krishna is the name of Paramatma and his Paripurna Tattva.

And once they got attracted and they're all spending time with him, he's making sure that every Gopika gets time with him because he can do that. And as he does that, in that moment, Shukayogendra looks at the expression. Imagine, just imagine for yourself. If Krishna after years and years of tapas were to give you pratyaksham and he sits with you and eats with you and plays with you and sports with you, you would feel good about it, no? You won't.

When you feel good about something that has come to you and you become slightly arrogant saying, no, no, Krishna has come to my house. Krishna has come to me. That in Sanskrit, it is like a happy event. Coins a beautiful term that he calls as Saubhagamadam.

Saubhagyam. But Saubhagyam can bring madam. That madam is, ah, notice, Ramakanta. He is not seen by Brahma and Vishnu themselves. That Ramakanta now is here, pa, in front of me.

Banta ilva. Bharatya. That is the ultimate point when sadhana is concluding. When we feel, ah, I have achieved.

That I is still there. The second the Gopikas are thinking, they are all thinking it, but they don't tell each other this. They are just thinking it silently.

The second they think it, gone. Krishna is nowhere to be seen. Ahankaram blocks Paramatma from being seen. When Krishna is not seen, now starts the real story. Because up till now, everything is hunky-dory.

These are the five stages of the Rasalila which have started. The first. is recognizing the call of the Divine and allowing the Divine to pull you. The second is being with the Divine.

The third is the most beautiful. Because here, in this portion, something happens which nowhere else is seen. Up till now, Krishna has not disappeared. In all of these chapters so far in Bhagavatam, he has been physically present with everyone.

If at all he disappeared, it was only because he went to break somebody's dahi handi. So in somebody else, he was totally not disappearing for that other person's house. But here, he's disappeared and nobody knows where he's gone. Worse still, they don't know, what if he doesn't come? We have left samsaram.

We cannot go back now like this. And we're sitting here only wanting to be with him and he's gone. This moment is powerful because this is what our Rishi said.

This is the most beautiful burning. Burning in Sanskritam is called Tapam. Separation in Sanskritam is called Viraham. And Virahatapam is phenomenal.

You know why it's phenomenal? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said this. He says, Bhagavanta, when you're not there, that's it. that Virahatapam is greater than when you are there.

You know why? Because when you are there, I forget everything else, I only see you. But when you are not there, I see you in everything.

And that's what happens to the Gopis. Now they step out and they step onto the shore of Yamuna and they look at the sand and they are wondering, did he step on the sand? Then they move inside the Vanam and they start to ask the leaves over there, did you see him?

And as they move around inside, in interior, in interior into the vanam, one starts howling. One says, I can't, I can't bear this separation from him. This is a yogi's yearning.

When you are doing dhyanam, for those of you familiar, if something appears in your dhyanam and then it vanishes, it is the worst feeling. Because to get it back, you don't know how long you have to wait. Patanjali and Vyagrapada had the same difficulty. When Shiva appeared to them and then vanished, that appearance and disappearance...

That Virahatapam, that Tapam, Tapam turns into Tapas. And that Tapas for the Gopikas, it comes out in the most beautiful of ways. Because one Gopika suddenly climbs onto a rock, she takes a stick and she throws it at a tree and she said, Look, I am Krishna, I broke the dahi handi. Another one lies down on the floor and the third one goes and starts to suckle at her breast and said, Look, I am Krishna and she is Putana.

and I killed her. One says, I'll jump on your head now because I am Krishna. I'm going to do Kalinga Nattanam.

What are they doing? Krishna Leelas they start enacting without even realizing they are becoming Krishna. This is the beauty of Bhagavad Katha.

You don't know what to do, do Bhagavad Katha. The same thing you will find parallels in Ramayana. All of the Vanaras who Sugriva sent to Dakshina Bharatam are all sitting.

congregating and thinking what did sugriva say if you don't come back in one month's time gone one month has long gone where is the sign no sign of sita they all sit down in a circle and one says you know why all this happened because of that kaikeyi if she didn't simply send rama to the forest rama wouldn't have gone sita wouldn't have got kidnapped we wouldn't have been put on this task and our lives would not be in danger next one said not kaikeyi dasharatha's fault She said what she wanted. That Dasharatha has to agree. Next one says, not Kaikeyi, not Dasharatha.

It should have been Sumantra. Sumantra should have never taken them to the forest. Next one says, not Sumantra. It should have been Guha. Guha should have never made them cross the boat.

Like this, they go on and on and on and on. And then one of them says, I wish Jatayu at least was able to save him. In that moment, something which didn't happen earlier happened. Suddenly a vulture that is close by screamed and said, Jatayu? Who said Jatayu's name?

Jatayu is my brother. And he came walking towards these Vanaras and he says, who are you looking for? You're looking for Sita.

Oh, there was a woman that Ravana took a hundred Yojanas down to Lanka. I'll tell you how to get there. Why did he do this? Because he heard the name Jatayu. Why did the name Jatayu come?

Because Ramakatha came. When did Ramakatha come? When they were unhappy. When they didn't know what to do with themselves.

You don't know what to do with yourself. Read Bhagavad Katha. Bhagavatam is telling you this, Ramayana is telling you this.

You don't have to have a purpose. The Vanaras didn't do it as any sankalpam saying Punarvasu Nakshatram has come, Ekadashi has come. They did it titko-fying everybody in the Ramayana.

But still they got phalam. I'm not saying you should do it like that. But I'm saying do it with any bhavam.

Paramatma will emerge through that Katha. The Katha is his Swaroopam. And that is why the Gopikas started to pick up this Katha and they became Krishna. desperation for him. And as that desperation grew, They went inwards to the forest and they saw one deer and they said, you are smiling.

Did you see Krishna? Did he go inside? And another one now screams.

Because up till now, they were just looking around in the forest and there was no sign of him. But now they see a pair of footprints and one is thrilled saying, ah, we've seen him. Now we can go find him.

But now look at what's happening. Up till this moment. Everything in this universe around them became Krishna Mayam. They saw a tree, they remembered Krishna. They saw the Kadamba tree, they used to think, Oh, he used to sit under this tree and he used to play the flute.

They saw a stone, they used to say, Oh, he used to sit here with Balarama. Everything, Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagat. The whole entire space, they saw Krishna Mayam and they saw Krishna's Prema.

They said, Krishna used to sit here for us. Krishna used to do all of these. They saw Paramatma's Prema. prema and Paramatma's prema is constant. It's never missing.

It's never stopping. One of them says this is the east. This is the direction he used to look when he had to do his Pratas Sandhya.

Oh, he did this also out of love for us because at the end of his Sandhya Vandanam he would say may you all be well. All the Sandhya Vandanam phalam that I have I'm giving you. Little did they know that Paramatma himself is giving that phalam to them. And they're looking at all of this and look at what's happening.

They are recognizing Bhagavat prema. Bhagavat prema is a constant flow. It's a constant flow that he's sending towards us.

If the sun is rising tomorrow, it's because God loves us. Because he cares about us and he wants us to proceed towards him. Everything in the universe becomes an act of love that God does for us when you see it like that.

And that constant act of love is a flow. In Sanskrit, flow is called as dhara. They see that dhara, that The prema dhara that comes towards them saying all this he gave us.

And they start to return that love. When they return that love by reenacting his leelas, by crying for him, by sitting, waiting, wailing for him. They are looking at that dhara.

Let's look at that dhara. From Paramatma to us it comes as dhara. We have to return it to him. Dhara becomes Radha. It is at this moment.

In this exact moment that we understand who Radha is, Radha is not a character. Radha is Bhagavat Prema Swaroopam. The love that we have for Paramatma is called Radha.

And in this same moment is when they find a pair of footsteps. One Gopika is thrilled. Why am I mentioning this Radha portion now?

Because one Gopika is thrilled with what she saw, the next Gopika screams and she says, There is another pair of footprints with him, which means that there is one Gopika who is not here. And she's counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. No, I did all the attendance. But someone's missing.

Who is there? Bhagavat Prema Radha is there. Now let's spend time on this because Bhagavatam takes a very different approach here.

Bhagavatam does not... Say whose footprints it is. It just says two pairs of footprints were seen. Why does Bhagavatam not say whose pair it was?

Bhagavatam says one very very beautiful thing. It says that what he sees is or what the Gopikas see, all of them see is Anayaradhito Noonam Anayaradhito Anayaradhito Noonam Someone else who is worshipping him. Do you see Radha's name in that? Anayaradhito Shuka Yogendra did not directly say her name.

Why? Because the name Radha will take him into Samadhi for six months. That is how powerful that name is.

Parikshit Maharaj has seven days to attain Moksha. Checking his own desire to go into Samadhi and for Parahitam, for the sake of Parikshit, he controls himself and he doesn't take Radha's name. That is the reason Radha's name does not come directly in Bhagavatam.

And if in many Sampradayams, one does not utter one's Guru's name, who did we say Shukayogindra is? The parrot that is here on Radha's hand. The parrot is Radha Shishya.

Radha is the guru for that parrot on Premamargam. So he does not want to utter the name. But the Rahasyaam Shukayogendra with great difficulty he keeps to himself.

But Jayadeva when he comes, Jayadeva cannot keep it inside. Because it comes out for him and Jayadeva is all our guru. Everybody who is gathered here today owes a namaskaram to Jayadeva for the simple reason that he worshipped them as a Yugalamurthi, the first person to openly...

proclaim, yes, it is Radha's footprints that were seen, that were going inside and then the concept of Yugalamurthy Upasana of Radha and Krishna together develops in every version of the Bhagavatam that comes after this. So, there is Srimad Bhagavatam which gives it as a hint to all of us. Then comes Jayadeva.

Then every Puranam that comes after this period of time and the Narayaniyam and the Krishnalila Tarangini and every piece of literature on Radha and Krishna specific to the Rasi Leela mentions her because when Paramaguru Jayadeva has said, we can also say and be assured that this is Shuka's Hridayam. Shuka intended it, Jayadeva, Gargamuni and others released it and today we are sitting here by their grace able to absorb it. So the second pair who we can now confidently assert in, we can assert in it belongs to Radha but all of them are completely transformed now into Sherlock.

Up till now it was great because misery loves company. When everybody is miserable there is a certain joy. Oh, you don't like it?

Okay, I don't like it. In COVID time I think everybody felt this. Oh, it's coming to you?

Okay, okay. But now... One person is having Krishna Ananda Anubhuti. One is able to be with him when we are all suffering.

Who is that one? How come she gets that permission? So they go into the forest deeper and deeper and at one point they don't see full footprints.

They see only two footprints and not even the ankle and the toes. They see only the toes. So most of them are thinking, what's happening? One of them says, why are you thinking so much? This means he pressed his feet over here.

so that he could pluck flowers for her hair. So then they go further. The virahatapam is increasing, but the jealousy is also increasing. And as they go forward, one is relieved. She says, Abba, I can see only one pair of footprints over here.

That woman is gone. And the other one says, No, she's not gone. That means Krishna lifted her up over here. You see how much the desire is growing inside them, saying, She is receiving something that we did not.

What is so special about her? Anveshana. What can I do so that I can be that gopi?

This is the bhavam when you do Krishna Aradhana that you have. What can I do so I have to become that gopi? Arjuna received 18 chapters, 700 shlokas of Bhagavad Gita, but he did not understand Krishna until he became a gopi and entered this Ras Leela much later.

Because Krishna said, you want to know me with my paripurna swaroopam, you have to become a gopi. This bhavam you have to experience saying, What should I do so that I can see nothing and nothing but Him? I should feel nothing and nothing but Him.

I want, I'm longing for Him. That is Krishna Tattva. And these gopis are discussing this amongst themselves.

And look at this appearance of this is truly Radha Ashtami. Radha has a great Janmasthali, a great Janma Gatha associated with her. But in this context, it is her Janma. Because she has given these footprints.

Up till now, none of them even knew who it was. But suddenly she has revealed her footprints. And as soon as they go further, they hear a lady crying.

And they immediately go into a partition in the forest. And they see that there is one woman who is crying saying, Ah, fellow Gopikas, I also was like you. I was also with him.

And then I said, Ah, you are mine. And then I said, Let me come and sit on your Vamankam. And the second I said this, he disappeared. Ah, I am also feeling the same pangs of separation. Look at this beautiful moment.

Radha is pretending to be a Gopi. Gopi Vesha Dhaari. Radha is not a Gopi.

But Radha is dressing as a Gopi, sitting as a Gopi, crying as a Gopi. Why? What did I say Gopi means?

Go refers to the Indriyas. All of them are drinking Krishna Rasam. When in our Indriyas, No matter how much we drink Krishna Rasam, There is one Bhavam inside us, which is called as the Mahabhavam. That Bhavam is called Prema. Prema looks like it's the rest of the emotions, but Prema is not.

Prema is very distinguished from all other emotions. It looks like, yes, I love that person, but it is a greater emotion. Do you see this? Prema is disguised as an emotion, but Prema is a God. Radha is disguised as a Gopi, but Radha is a Goddess.

You understand this. You can see why Radha is pretending to be a gopi because she wants to lead the gopis to Krishna. Up till now, we thought it was Krishna who was leading them. Up to a point, Krishna will pull. Only beyond that point, only she and she alone is allowed to say, come.

Let me give you that entry. Radha becomes a guru. Radha being a guru is not new.

Look at the indications in Radha's Janma. Radha is born on Ashtami Tithi, Bhadrapada Shuddha Ashtami. Can anybody tell me what Radha's nakshatram is? Anuradha Nakshatram or Anusham in Tamil as we know it. Which Guru shares Anusha Nakshatram with Radha?

Mahaperiva, Premaswaroopam, Radha Tatvam, Jagat Guru Tatvam. The idea that a Guru will show you, learn to love him. Learn to love him with all your heart and learn to love him from whatever state you are in. When a devout Vaishnava came to Mahaperiva and he said, I want to do Pradoshapooja for Shiva, but I am a Vaishnava, how do I do this? Periva smiled and he said, on Pradoshakalam you worship Narsimha Swami, no?

Narsimha Swami himself is Pradoshamurthy. So to find Premamargam in anything that you do, that is what a Guru can teach you. Nobody but a Guru can do that and that Guru has come now. She has not come here holding a Deeksha Dandam and a Mala saying, Come, I will teach you. But she is pretending to be one of them, leading them towards him saying, Ahankara Tyagam alone can lead you towards him.

She demonstrates her own example just to say that this is what happens with Ahankaram. One Bhakta asks Radha Devi many many years later when Radha Devi gave him Pratyaksham, saying you and Krishna are inseparable. Then why for the sake of the Gopis did you separate yourself?

And she said the answer is in the question, for the sake of the Gopis. Just so that I can delight myself in Virahatapam. Because in Virahatapam, I will also see him everywhere.

I love to do that. That is what Radha's story stands for. But now in this story, as Radha starts to pull the Gopis towards her, she says, what do we do? Now even I don't know what we do.

This point is the shifting of the locus in the entire story. Look at the progression. As we go, we are not yet in the Rasalila. We are going closer to the Rasalila. And as we go, we have to constantly check the journey.

Recognizing is my time here for me to go towards him. How do I go? Going there and truly, honestly believing him. That is called a Sat Sankalpam. Paramatma, I want you.

I don't want something from you. And when you do that, and he says, okay, take me. And if you have that Kinchad Bhavam saying, Ahankaram, ah, I have me. Then he'll say, no, you're not yet ready.

You need some more refinement. And that refinement will make him disappear. Sanskritam uses the words antardhanam. It does not say he leaves. Antardhanam means it's there but you cannot see it.

Paramatma is still there but he is hiding for certain reasons. And when you go and you take shelter in a guru and say you lead me to him because you are the margam to him. When you find that guru, the second you do, that guru will lead you straight to him.

That is why this episode is called of seeing the footprints is a very small portion in the Rasa Panchadhyayi. Because as soon as this happens, very soon just one more round happens saying, when will we see him? When will we see him?

This is what, a Guru has spoken to you. You are now sitting with what the Guru has said. It has entered you. You have to internalize it. And as they are internalizing it, suddenly with Kasturi, Tilakam, Lalata, Palake, Vaksha, Sthale, Kaustubham, standing in front of them with Vanamala, Sushobhitam, One big beautiful Mandahasam, he smiled and he said, Gopikas, what is bothering you so much?

Seriously, is that a question to ask? But Krishna will ask such questions because in Krishnavataram, the prema margam is so strong that for him his objective is not to traumatize them. When Shukayogendra talks about the Saubhagamadam that they had, In Krishna's voice he says, or for the sake of Tava Prasadaya, to bless you, I will now disappear.

That is what he thinks to himself. So that they learn and they are completely absorbed that Ahankara Tyagam has to happen. And when that Ahankara Tyagam happens, in that moment, now when he appears, he smiles and he says, this is a Leela that was performed for you to know, for you to know what? that you can attain me up to a point through tapas, through jnanam, through bhakti, through sadhana, but beyond that it has to be my grace. My grace, my hladini shakti, the part of me that is bringing you delight, you saw me, you are feeling happy, that is because of my hladini shakti.

My hladini shakti is my left hand side, that vama bhagam, my left hand side is none other than Radha. That Swaroopam has allowed you to come close to me. Now you know why we say Radha Krishna?

Because she is not his girlfriend or not his ex, as we tend to quickly label in pop culture. She is the very epitome of his joy and she is the very epitome of our love. She is the bridge between him and us. That is why we need her to go closer to him.

Call her Radha, call her Rukmini. She is the same Shakti. She is that Swaroopam. that allows us entry.

Radha came, they got entry. Where? Now he has come and he says, come with me into the waters of the Yamuna.

And as he takes them into the waters of the Yamuna, a beautiful dance starts because Krishna is in the center and one Krishna in the center and all the Gopikas, how many? There are hundreds of Gopikas. They are forming enclosure after enclosure, circular enclosure after enclosure around him.

One Krishna in the center, all these Gopikas all around, in between each Gopika, one Krishna has come and he is holding them. So every Gopika is surrounded by Krishna on her left, Krishna on her right. Antar bahishthathat sarvam vyapya narayana sthitam.

Outside, inside, Narayana alone. As they are surrounded by Narayana everywhere, nobody can even see the Gopikas, we can only see Krishna. Take this beautiful moment.

Connections, when you open connections in Sanatana Dharma, one thing will lead you to another. This is an example. Take a circle.

What is the center point? Any dot is the center of the circle. What is a circle made up of? The entire circumference is multiple dots put together.

Now replace circle and circumference with this. You have Krishna in the center. You have Gopikas, but around each Gopika, so it's Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, completely, Sarvam.

krishnamayam jagat circle center point is called as bindu bindu circle after circle after circle with nine such enclosures nava varnam with the bindu in the center sri chakram krishna radhana shakti aradhana one and the same one thing you worship radha krishna in rasa mandalam in this mandalam With them in the center, Krishna in the center and all the Gopikas around him. Radha can be absorbed inside him also. In that Swaroopam, you are worshipping the Sri Chakram. For a Sadhaka, this will open up like that. But look at this beautiful moment.

When Krishna is with each of them, why does he give each of them time? Because each of them wanted Krishna personally. Krishna is a personal God. He will come for you. He has come to every part of Bharatavarsha to remind us about that.

If you imagine Bharatavarsha to be a square or a rectangle and you are seated in the center, in our life we are seated in the center, no? Unless somebody has reached already and they are no longer in the center. But in our lives, we have four directions around us. Krishna is there in this country like that in four directions. In the east as Puri Jagannath, in the south as Guruvayurappa and Udupi Krishna, in the west as Dwarakadhish, in the north as Badri, and in the center, in the heart, as Vrindavanam and Pandharipur.

Entire thing is Krishna only. He's looking, he's constantly waiting and looking saying, when do you want to talk to me because I'm ready. Even if you talk at the back, I'll respond.

You talk from this side, this side, this side. I'm ready to respond. All you have to do is talk to me.

The most personal form of Godhead is here. He is here, but who made him visible to all of us? Radha made him visible to all of us.

Rahasyam. You want to catch him. The whole world is running after him.

Srila Prabhupada says this very very beautiful thing which I heard today, in which he talks about the idea that the whole world is chasing Krishna. Krishna is chasing Radha. So Radha is greater than Krishna.

So you want to find Krishna, go via Radha. That is an upasana margam and a necessary one for all of us. But in this moment, as each of those Gopikas is feeling that joy, starts a dance.

And that dance is phenomenal. Because this dance they have waited for lifetimes for. This is not a Kaamakeli.

This is not an act of lust. This is an act of merging of Jeevatma into Paramatma. Or so we are saying now, but Parikshit Maharaj said, one minute Shukayogendra. How is this okay?

Ishtvatanka fine. But firstly, they left their husbands and came. So he is Parapurusha.

Narayana Bhattatri takes up this question and he says, correct. The Gopikas did not look at him as Paramatma. They looked at him as Jaratma. He uses the words Jaratma.

Jaratma means lover. Jaratma means affair lover. One that one has an affair, an extramarital affair. One who has an affair with such a person, that being is called a Jaratma. They looked, he is a Jaratma for them.

But still they attained Mukti. Shukha Yogendra smiled and he said, Parikshith, what did I tell you in the beginning of Dashamaskandam? You come to him with any Bhavam, Kamam, Krodham, Lobham, Moham, Madham, Madham, Matsaryam, any Bhavam, Sneham, Saurdayam, Bhayam, that Bhavam he will take and he will appear perfectly for that Bhavam.

That is why for Kamsa who was fearing him, when he finally had to kill him, he pulled his hair and killed him. That Bhayam came out of Kamsa. When he was dancing on Kalindi, he pulled the Visham out of that Sarpam. That Vishasarpam left all of it.

It choked on its own Sarpam. that Visham came out. When Putana had that milk that was both toxic and filled with love, he pulled that milk out. Every being that comes in contact with him, he will respond appropriately. You develop an attitude of love towards him, he will appear like that.

Duryodhana also is a bhakta, a very different kind of bhakta. He worshipped him with great anger. And in that moment when Krishna finally had to encourage Arjuna to strike, he appeared there as Parthasarathy in extremely fierce form.

He will take, he will mirror the sentiment that you worship him with. This is Krishna Tattva. You worship him as a Gopika, he will appear to you as Rasalila Vinodha. So, he's starting all of this. But Pariksit's question is persisting.

He says, this is not feeling right to me. How is it okay that now he's sporting with them, he's in union with them, he's in physical union with them. Krishna is Jagatguru, isn't this wrong? This is a portion that most people conveniently forgot when they adapted Ras Leela into interpretations.

This is exactly why we have songs like 1, 2, 3, 4, Radha on the dance floor, Radha kaise na jale, etc. Because these lack of fundamental understanding of what's happening here. Here, Shukha Yogendra answers so beautifully.

He says, when Paramatma is beyond all of Samsaram, when Paramatma does something, do not think that that is Adarsham for you. Shiva, Shukayogendra says this. He says, Shiva picked up Visham and he drunk it. You don't do the same thing.

So, Paramatma may do something. But don't apply it. Adarsha Tattvam is where he will tell you this is what you have to do. But Aradhyatattvam is where it is greater than what I can do.

For me in Samsaram, this rule does not apply. This applies to those beings who are beyond Prapancha. When there are extreme Mahanubhavas and And particularly about Yatishwaras and Mathadipatis, Peethadipatis, they say when Peethadipatis are doing puja, you should not watch. Because when they are doing puja vidhanam, sometimes from dhyanam they will offer off naivedyam.

From dhyanam they will go to, after naivedyam they will do dhupam. In the beginning they will do aarti. You should not look at that and say, I will follow that. Why are they doing that?

Because they are in tanmayatvam. They are already in union. So that union makes them behave in a certain way.

That union you shouldn't be following. You have to follow a certain krama. So Parikshit know that Krishna is Agniswaroopam.

We spoke about this, the Nakaram being Agniswaroopam. Then that Agniswaroopam, anything that goes into that Agni gets burnt. That Agniswaroopam is Paripurna Agni.

It is Yajna Agni. We are reading this only every day in Vishnu's Ahasranamam. That Yajna Agni is burning everything that goes inside it. So here it does not apply.

The rules of Dharma and Adharma do not apply to this context. The rules of adharma apply when we look in the context of lokam. So what the Gopikas are doing is not kamakeli. It is something that is beyond prapancham.

It is granted by their mother. This is what that mother Swaroopam who decided that yes, you are not here from kamabhavam, you have overcome kamabhavam. Now I will give you entry into this. This is what Srimad Ramanujacharya beautifully said. When he says, Akhila Jagan Mataram.

When he speaks about Tayar as Akhila Jagan Mataram, Asmin Mataram, my mother. That Radha Devi is my mother. She can be Akhilanda Koti Brahmanda Nayaki, but she has to be my mother. Ananya Sharanam, Sharanam Aham Prapadya.

To her, I am bowing down. She decides the entry into Rasalila. This, to understand this, what we need to understand, is prior to this. And for those of you who heard it yesterday, you will hear this beautiful portion again. There is a certain time when all of Vrindavanam is aglow and at that time the ruling deity of Vrindavan that is Tulasi Devi, she has a desire and she says I want a Pattabhishekam to be arranged for Radha Devi.

So she calls her friends Paurnamasi amongst one of them. Paurnamasi is the ruling devata for Purnima Tithi and she calls Paurnamasi and others and she says let us arrange for a Pattabhishekam for Radha. So they go to Krishna. and they say, let's perform this Pattabhishekam. And Krishna says, this is my sankalpam.

It's coming out through you. So let this Pattabhishekam be set up. And when this Pattabhishekam for Radha is set up, Radha is taken with Lalita and Vishakha and all the other Sakhis.

Radha is brought to a simhasanam, to a Divya simhasanam. And on that Suvarna simhasanam, she is seated. Krishna comes and he places a crown on Radha and he says, I am crowning you as Vrindavaneshwari. I am crowning you as Raseshwari.

I am crowning you as Rasamandala Ishwari, Rasamandala Vasini, Rasadhyakshwari. You are that Swaroopam. You are the queen who will dictate who enters Vrindavan, who enters Rasalila, who enjoys Rasalila.

Krishna gave her that permission. Now she exercised that permission. And what does this mean?

This means We spoke about Radha as Prema. Prema decides whether we are ready to merge into him. Prema here has decided that now these people can merge. So Parikshit, do not worry that all of the rules of Samsara apply here because Prema is the greatest rule that surpasses all other rules.

Bhagavatam's greatest lesson to us, love with your heart and the Guru will pick you up and place you into his heart. Not even in your heart will he sit, you will sit in his heart. That is the bhavam that Bhagavatam shows here. Parikshit is most enthralled by this bhavam. And in this beautiful moment, as we see Krishna surrounded in the Rasalila, with all of these Gopikas surrounding him, he takes them into the waters of the Yamuna and for six long months he sports with them.

And when the end of that time comes, All of those Gopikas find that they have no identification with the Self. This state of Jeevan Mukta Avastha was given to them by Krishna and Radha with one singular intention. You asked for me, you received me.

That is the idea of Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is translated as Rasalila. That Rasalila has five portions to it, which is the Pancha.

panchadhyayas. But this can still leave questions unanswered. One question is, what happens after this? For that, the book will carry on the story.

Bhagavatam continues the story. But what we see here is not just a life lesson, not just something which is useful for our sadhana, but what we see here is the idea that once Krishna enters your consciousness, he will not leave. Bhagavatam is a reassurance. He will come, go, he may disappear, antardhanam, but it is not his absence.

Once Krishna comes, his presence and your sadgati is guaranteed. The commentaries on Rasalila say that those who hear Rasalila, Krishna has entered their hearts through their ears and now he will go sit and he will decide when to germinate. So if you are sitting here on Radha Ashtami, it is by Radha Sankalpam. When that fruit or when that seed will germinate into your fruit of karma phalam, that point she will decide. Karma phalam, here is where something is left to explore.

Moksham is what is given to the Gopikas is what we understand. Jeevan mukta avasta, mukti. What is mukti? Salvation, liberation, yes, those are translations. But what is mukti?

When do we attain mukti? When we have no identification with the self, sure, what else? When we merge into Paramatma, when does merging into Paramatma happen?

Okay, again, when no self-identification, there's merging. When merging, there's no self-identification. Okay, break out of this Chakram.

When the Karmas are done, what kind of Karmas? Both Karmas. Good and bad. Okay, what kind of Karmas? Papa karmas are done.

Okay, so this means only Punya karmas, right? Punya karmas alone. No Punya karmas also.

This is a Kila ka amsham. Moksham when? When you do not have Papam or Punyam.

Both accounts have to be zero. Our whole life we are trying to only make Papa account zero. This is most visible when you go to Varadaraja Swami Kovil. I am not even joking when I say this.

When I went there a few months ago, five people came to me and asked me, where is the lizard? Nobody asked me where is Varadaraja Perumal. That is our obsession with reducing Papa account. Papa has to go down okay. This is one portion of our lives, which we are in a capitalistic society always running behind.

But Punya going down is a bit strange, no? What is Punya? If Punya is going down, how can I proceed in life?

Today if we are sitting here, it is because of Purvajanma Punyam. That on Radha Ashtami, in Krishna Sannidhi, with Swami's, both the Swamis sitting and listening, we are sitting and listening, we are sharing their Katha, it is Purvajanma Sukratam. But here I am saying, Sukratam should be zero. How does this add up?

The idea is, Papa and Punya both cause entry back into the cycle. Punya Karma will give you more, more good karma. More good karma is more opportunity.

More opportunity is still in Samsara. For a Yogi, they don't want either. But now, this story is contradictory.

Everybody who touched Krishna, they got Punya Karma. They took care of Krishna, the Gopikas. Let's talk about them.

We are saying the Gopikas got mukti, but the Gopikas'Jeevanams before this are filled with Punya Karmas. They are all Punya Stris. They are all Punya Atmas from other lives. So much of Punyam is there. Punya has to become zero for you to go beyond.

How does Punyam become zero? Rahasyam that Bhagavatam is telling us. When you are enjoying something, when you are happy, know that your Punyam is reducing.

Not feeling so good now, no? Trasa Leela is a deeply powerful Leela for this reason. When you are enjoying something, Sukhanu Bhavam means Punyam is getting spent. I'll speak in terms of capitalistic society.

When you are spending money, you know that it's reducing from the account, no? Same thing. Dukhanu Bhavam means your Papam is getting spent. As you are experiencing difficulty, sorrow, one way of looking at it is, yes, my Papam is getting complete kharchu is happening for that, so good.

Let me cry it out, let me be done with this. Now, Gopikas have had a life of Punyam with Krishna in this avataram, keep aside other avatarams. So much association with Krishna, only Punyam. The Punyam, he made zero. You know when?

When he called them and they danced with him and all that saubhagyam, punyam became zero. Papam, papam also was there from purva janma. And that papam also went.

You know when it went? When they cried for him saying, Krishna, where are you? Punyam became zero first, papam became zero, account is square, then you enter into Rasalila.

Rasalila is teaching you this. Square your accounts. I will square your accounts. You don't know how much is pending for you.

I have that account with me. I will square it. If you are experiencing anything, know that I am in the process of settling your accounts.

The second those accounts are at zero, that's it. That is why Rasalila ends like this. Because this portion, if you understand, you will understand that beyond Sukham, beyond Dukham, beyond the idea of saying, I am doing this so that I get this Punyam. We love this idea of extended Sankalpams. Have you ever heard this?

Ashta Ishwarya Siddhartham. dhanakanaka vastu, all of these are beautiful things. But if you do it with that intention, you will forget why we are actually doing it. If you ever hear the achakas in a sannidhi, we don't hear them. What they are saying, the first thing they are saying is, Sriman Narayana prithyartham.

I am doing this for Narayana, for my love for Narayana. I am doing this for the love of Narayana. After that only you can add, so that I have children, so that my children receive this. All of that is secondary. The first thing is Sri...

Parameshwara Preetyartham or Sriman Narayana Preetyartham. For the love of you, I'm doing it. When you do that, Punya and Papa won't touch you.

That is why at the end of a puja we do Krishnaarpanamastu. Because I don't want more accounts to increase Krishna. You take the phalam.

If you take the phalam, you will know what to give me. You will not give me the phalam. You will give me something that is beyond all these phalas and these vrikshas.

You will give me a state that does complete balance of the trigunas. That samasthiti I am asking for you, from you. That samasthiti I can achieve here. This is what Bhagavatam is telling you.

It is not telling you it is beyond. It is not telling you that in that moment their bodies were left behind and they all merged in. With their bodies they merged.

Means it is a possibility for each of us. But for that, the love has to be deep. For that love to be deep, the sadhana and the sharanagati bhavam, both have to happen together. And what is one beautiful way of remembering that?

Remembering that a sadhaka's journey may look isolating, may look lonely, but the Bhagavatam, the Ramayanam, the Ashtadasha Puranas and Vedas and the stories of Mahamahanubhavas are all here to remind us that love is the greatest and the greatest. So this bhavam, that when you do something, do it with the bhavam that he is Paramatma, but do it with love for him saying, Radhakrishna, are you happy? Am I taking care of you well? One Vishnu Sahasranamam, you read with him saying, I'm reading this for you.

I'm reading this so that you will be well. I'm reading this because this should bring you joy. It is equivalent to a thousand Vishnu Sahasranama Parayanas.

That is what Bhagavatam is saying. That once with love, Bhakti is not devotion. Bhakti is a state of love that words cannot describe.

And in that state, to be submerged into it is a blessing. And that blessing is something that we are all experiencing. To the Sabha Samudram and to Radha and Krishna who are seated in each of your hearts, listening to each of these words and absorbing it, my complete belief is that they have pulled you here.

This is not ordinary. Nobody is here by coincidence. Recognize it not as Saubhagamadam saying, Ah!

I came, but Ah! they brought me. And the physical forces that enabled this, Nidhi Akka, Vaidya Anna, who immediately, the second I said, can we do something, in no time, they spoke to the Archakas of this Kovil, Navanita Anna, who is so radiant and is a Krishna Swaroopam in himself. Just this evening when I stepped into the Sannidhi, I was... Thinking about various things and I wondered, have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Just looking at the number of people here, I felt, can I deliver any sort of justice? And absolutely with no anticipation from my side, Navanithanna gave me this and said, Krishna asked me to give it to you. So be assured, Swami speaks through the company, Swami speaks through the voices of those who are in love with Him. All of the forces here that enabled this are testimony to that because they did this with no hidden agenda.

They just said, come, let's spend this as a true satsangam and that is what it has become. With absolutely no other agenda are we all also here. Be assured that if you have heard this, this Rasa Panchadhyayam, these Panchadhyayams will carry you through not just Iham but into Param and when it does, know that on the other side of the Yamuna, Radha is waiting to take you into Krishnaloka.

May that Rasavasini always give us Bhakti because the greatest thing to ask for is Govinda Padaravinda Bhakti. Once we have that, everything else is there. If we don't have that, nothing else can last. May that Bhakti be the sole ask that we all take back from today because with Bhakti everything else comes.

May that Bhakti keep our homes, our hearts. and our bodies nourished now and forever sarvam shree yoga nara simha yoga nanda nara simha sameta shri rukmini ratha rukmini satyabhama sameta shri venugopala swami para brahma i have to say that there is a person here who is standing straight in front of narsimha swami Swami chose him as a sankalpam for Swami to manifest here. I did not know that I would talk about Prahalada Charitram. I did not know that I would talk about Narasimha.

I did not know that Narasimhanamam would come here. This happened because of this devotee. This is Nidhiyakka's father. So many of you know Krishnamama.

And for those of you who don't, he is the one who had, Swami entered his consciousness and said, have a vigraham of me made and I will choose the home for it. And he did it. And he is a living, breathing reminder to me that you just do the work. Watch Krishna do the rest and that is how once he made Narasimha, he told Narasimha you choose. Swami came and sat over here.

So Bhagawan on one hand is in a vigraham but is in the hearts of his devotees. People like this are reminders for that.