Who is Shri Radha?
The most beautiful and best answer is this: Shri Radha is the personified embodiment of Mādan Mahābhāv, the highest form of divine love (mādana ras).
To understand who Shri Radha is, we must first understand the nature of the Supreme Being.
The Vedas say -
vadanti tattattvavidastattvaṃ yajjñānamadvayam। brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavāniti śabdyate॥
There is a Supreme Power, who has three forms -
- Brahm -
Brahm is the impersonal aspect of God - It has no name, form, qualities, associates, or pastimes. Brahm is characterized primarily by existence (Sat). Although Brahman is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda, only two powers are manifest in it - existence and bliss. - Paramatma -
Paramatma is the personal form of God, who possesses a name, form, and qualities. Unlike Brahm, all the divine powers are manifests in Him, but He does not exhibit any divine pastimes or associates. This form is known as Mahavishnu, who appeared before Mother Devaki in the prison as a sixteen-year-old in a four-armed form, holding a conch, disc, mace, and lotus. His abode is Vaikunth. - Bhagavan -
Bhagavan is the complete personal form of God. In His original form, He is the two-armed Shri Krishna who eternally resides in Golok.
Though Bhagavan manifests in infinite descensions, all of these forms are personal expansions (Svaansh) of Shri Krishna. They are all governors of the swaroop shakti. However, there is variation in how the power manifests in them. In some, the power manifests less, while in others, it manifests more.
Among these forms, the one in whom all powers manifest fully is Nandanandan Sri Krishna. He has infinite powers, among which three are primary:
i) Para-shakti - His internal divine energy.
ii) Jiva-shakti - The individual souls, who are eternal fragments of Shri Krishna.
iii) Maya-shakti - The inert material energy.
So, while (Para-shakti) Bhagavan Sri Krishna has infinite forms, three are principal:
- Sat - eternal existence
- Chit - omniscience
- Anand - bliss.
Bhagavan has these qualities - apahṛta-pāpmā vijaro vimṛtyur viśoko vijighatso apipāsaḥ satyakāmaḥ satyasaṅkalpaḥ
The term Satyasaṅkalpaḥ means that whatever Bhagavan wills is instantly accomplished.
Therefore, Bhagavan is called Sacchidanand.
Among these three powers, Sat is the least powerful, Chit is greater, and Anand is the greatest. When Sat merges into Chit, Bhagavan is referred to as Chidanand - chidanandmaya deh tumhari. And when Sat and Chit merge into Anand, His other name becomes Anand. Under Anand, Sat, and Chit are understood. Therefore, Anand-shakti is the supreme of all.
For this reason, the scriptures declare:
raso vai saḥ - "God is the very essence of divine bliss."
Within Ananda Shakti lies its very essence, just as butter is the essence of milk. This essence is called Hladini Shakti, Bhagavan's internal bliss potency.
The essence of Hladini Shakti is Prem (divine love).
hlādinī śaktero parama sāra tāra prema nāma -
Prem is not the love we cultivate for God with our minds. It is a divine power so profound that even the all-powerful Bhagavan becomes subordinate to it. The simple, uneducated Gopis possessed this divine Prem, through which they made Shri Krishna dance according to their love.
There are many classes of this Love:
- Sādhan Bhakti - The stage of devotional practice, in which one deliberately strives to attach the mind to God.
- Bhāv Bhakti - The stage where the mind naturally becomes absorbed in God.
- Prem - When the devotional practice becomes perfected, divine love manifests. This is the essence of Hladini Shakti.
Prem itself continues to deepen through many stages, including:
Prem, Sneh, Mān, Pranay, Rāg, Anurāg (the queens of Dwaraka attained this level), Bhāv, and Mahābhāv Bhakti.
The Gopis of Vrindavan attained the exalted state of Mahābhāv.
Mahābhāv is of two types -
i) Rūdha Mahābhāv and
ii) Adhirūdha Mahābhāv.
Of these, Adhirūdha Mahābhāv is superior. It is further divided into two types: Mādan and Modan. These are the highest classes of divine love.
Shri Krishna Himself experiences divine love only up to the stage of Modan.
The state of Mādan, however, belongs exclusively to Vrishabhanu-Nandini Shri Radha.
That supreme Mādan Mahābhāv manifested in the form of a divine young woman. In other words, the highest possible divine love assumed a feminine form. That personality is Shri Radha.
She appeared in Vrindavan as the daughter of King Vrishabhanu and is lovingly known as the Barsanevari.
Shri Radha is therefore the personified embodiment of Mādan Mahābhāv, the highest and most intimate form of divine love.
Since Shri Krishna Himself experiences only Modan while Shri Radha alone possesses Mādan, He worships Her, presses Her lotus feet, and prays for the nectar of Mādan ras.
Thus He declares:
"Rādhaivārādhyate mayā" - "I Myself worship Shri Radha."
That is who Shri Radha is.
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