Radhashtami Special Part 2 –Shri Radha: The Hidden Half of the Divine

sa vai naivareme tasmādekākī na ramate sa dvitīyamaicchata। sa imamevātmānaṁ dvedhā'pātayat। tataḥ patiśca patnī cābhavatām।
That Supreme Power, God, was alone after the cosmic dissolution. Being solitary, He desired a second and therefore divided Himself into two. Thus, Radha and Krishna are not two, because Shri Krishna Himself manifested as two. Even if someone manifests into a thousand forms, the essence still remains one - the soul is one.

ye yaṁ rādhā yaśca kṛṣṇo rasābdhirdeha naika krīḍanārthaṁ dvidhābhūt (Radhātāpanīyopaniṣad)
There is only one soul. It assumes two forms and performs divine pastimes to give bliss to the devotees - krīḍārthaḥ so'pi sādhūnāṁ paritrāṇāya kalpate।

harerardhatanu rādhā rādhikārdhatanu hariḥ -
Shri Krishna's other half is Radha, and Radha's other half is Krishna.

Radha says, "Do you know who Shri Krishna is?"
mamaiva pauruṣaṁ rūpaṁ gopikājana mohanam -
He is my masculine form. I Myself become the male form. People call Him Shri Krishna.

Now listen to the final conclusion:
dviścaiko na bhavet bhedo dugdha dhāvalyayoryathā -
Just as milk and the whiteness of milk are not two but one. You cannot separate the white color from milk. Similarly, musk and its fragrance are one. Fire and its light are not two separate things. The power to illuminate and the power to burn reside within fire itself. In the same way, Radha and Krishna are also one and the same.

Therefore, never entertain the thought of who is superior or inferior - it would be a great offense. However, they manifest in the pastimes in different ways. For example, in the Radhavallabh sampradāya, Radha is regarded as the primary deity, and in some other sampradāya, Shri Krishna is regarded as the primary deity, in the Mādhva sampradāya, Mahālakshmi is viewed as the primary deity.
These are the perspectives of people within their respective traditions. But in principle, you must understand that One became two. Therefore, there is no question of who is greater or lesser.

Some people claim that Radha's name does not appear in the Bhagavatam, suggesting that the entity known as Radha was fabricated later. Those poor souls have not studied the Vedas, scriptures, and Puranas in their entirety; they must have read a little here and there. Radha's name appears in the Vedas as well as in the Puranas, which were also written by Vedavyāsa. And Maharaj Ji declares this as a challenge: Radha's name is indeed mentioned in the Bhagavatam and he quotes various verses in which Her name is indeed mentioned. In the Radhopanishad, there are twenty-eight synonymous names of Radha.

Therefore, Radha tattva is mentioned in the Vedas, the Puranas, and other religious scriptures, and has been a subject of worship up to the present day. Therefore, you should not pay heed to the words of skeptics or atheists.

The entity Radha is indescribable. She is the worshipable deity of Shri Krishna, and non-different from Him.
She appeared - she was not born from the womb. Birth happens to those bound by Maya.

There are two types of descensions - one is the descension of Purusha. This includes all the various descensions, such as Matsya, Kurma, and others, which are all partial expansions of Purusha.
ete cāṁśakalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇastu bhagavān svayam। Shri Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan - He is the Avatāri (the source of all avatārs). All others are avatārs. And Radha is His other form. Therefore, Radha is Avatārini (the source of all incarnations). She is not anyone's avatār. Thus, Vallabhāchārya said that Radha is Svayam Brahm - She is Brahm. And Nimbārkāchārya said that Radha is the Hlādini Shakti of Brahm. And a power (shakti) is both different and non-different from the possessor of the power (shaktimān). Gauranga Mahaprabhu also said the same - this is called Achintya Bhedābhed, meaning that both are one, yet become two in divine pastimes.

So, everyone expresses it differently - some call Radha Parāshakti, some call Her Mahābhāv, and some call Her Hlādini Shakti. But understand through philosophy, that there is one entity with two names and two forms - for the sake of pastimes, not in reality.

Just as Shri Krishna's body is divine, so is Radha's.
ayonisambhavā rādhā - She manifested. She was not born from the mother's womb.

ayonisambhavā devī vāyugarbhā kalāvatī। suṣāva māyayā vāyuṁ sā tatrā''virbabhūva sā॥
Radharani did not enter the mother's womb, but she entered the mother's mind and began filling her womb with air through the power of Yogamaya, just as one inflates a football. The mother felt as if a child had entered her womb; her belly grew as it would during pregnancy. She felt the baby was about to come, now that it had been eight months. And Radharani caused all the symptoms that occur during pregnancy so that the mother would not suspect that this was not a child but something else. The mother felt certain there was a baby in her womb and that the child was moving. But there was nothing in the womb.
Then She manifested.

Radharani is divine. Her body and actions are all divine. When Shri Krishna Himself became Radha, there is no question otherwise. All of Shri Krishna's qualities - like hearing without ears, seeing without eyes:

apāṇipādo javano grahītā paśyatyacakṣuḥ sa śṛṇotyakarṇaḥ। sa vetti viśvaṁ na ca tasyāsti vettā -

He has no hands but grasps, no feet but runs, no eyes but sees, no ears but hears. And with just one sense organ, He sees, hears, smells, tastes, and knows. All actions are divine - meaning, the opposite of whatever happens in our world. He possesses the power of Yogamaya, which is kartumakartum anyathā kartum samartha - capable of doing whatever He wishes, not doing what He wishes, or doing the opposite of what is expected. Radharani is also precisely the same - She is divine.

So Radharani and Shri Krishna are one. But in the realm of pastimes, Radharani's position has special importance. Note the word 'important' - not greater - but important. Before entering the rās, Shri Krishna seeks Her permission and places His crown at Her feet.

Raskhān had a great doubt that in the Hindu religion, wives massage their husbands' feet. But why does Shri Krishna press Radha's feet? In Hindu tradition, if a husband even touches his wife's feet, she would object, saying, "What are you doing? Do you want to send me to hell?!"

So when Shri Krishna gave His divine darshan to Raskhān, He appeared in this very posture:
dekhyo durau vaha kunja kuṭīra meṁ baiṭhyo paloṭata rādhikā pāyana -
He gave this very vision in which Shri Krishna was massaging Radharani's feet so that the doubt would be removed from his mind once and for all.

So Radha is not Shri Krishna's wife. His wives are the 16,108 queens of Dwaraka, and each had ten children, and those children had children - it was a family of millions, and then He had them all killed.

One unique quality of practicing devotion to Radharani is that She only gives love - She does nothing else.
Shri Krishna, however, does many things:

1. He creates the universe.
2. He pervades everything.
3. He sits in everyone's heart, notes all their ideas, and gives results according to the karma of infinite births.
4. He repeatedly descends to kill demons.
5. Establishes dharma.

But Kishori Ji does none of these things. She only gives the gift of love. Even in our world, a mother's love for her child surpasses that of a father.
The bond with the mother is greater, and the mother listens more quickly. A worldly mother even fulfills wrong demands out of love. A mother's heart is more tender. She cannot bear to see her child suffer, so she quickly listens to the child's demands and fulfills them. We see this even with worldly mothers. Radharani's motherly nature draws us more toward her.

From the perspective of rasika saints, there are many more truths that you will learn at a later stage. For now, you must understand just these points:

1. Radha and Krishna are one. Whether you worship Shri Krishna alone by including Radha within Him, or worship Shri Radharani by including Shri Krishna within Her, or worship both together. But never consider them as two.
2. The meaning of bhakti is simply this - shed tears of love for Them and call Them, and do not ask for anything.
3. Attach your mind to God and His devotees alone.

By keeping these points in mind and worshipping Shri Krishna and Radharani, your mind will become purified. Then, through the Guru's grace, the mind will become divine. Then Radha Herself will come before you and love you as a worldly mother loves her child, but forever - sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam - according to this Vedic mantra, you will enjoy the divine bliss in God's divine abode for infinite time.

Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:

Radha Govind Geet - Shri Radha Naam Mahima - English