July/August 2012 [Vol 23. No. 4] - Chinmaya Mission San Jose
July/August 2012 [Vol 23. No. 4] - Chinmaya Mission San Jose
July/August 2012 [Vol 23. No. 4] - Chinmaya Mission San Jose
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6page<br />
Radha-KRishna<br />
sWaMI sHaRaDapRIyananDa<br />
Under the dark shadows of the tamala tree waits<br />
a fair girl, fairer than the full-blown jasmine. Her<br />
heart throbbing with ecstasy and pain, her lips<br />
breaking into rosy smiles and desperate sobs,<br />
she awaits the eternal lover. The Dark One never<br />
comes. Even if He appears, it is only for a brief<br />
interval. He comes in a flash and vanishes in a<br />
wink, throwing her into a gloom deeper than<br />
before.<br />
The story of the lovelorn Radha and the playful<br />
Krishna is the theme of many Indian art forms.<br />
Dance, drama, music, painting, sculpturing, and<br />
poetry have all been enriched by the Radha-<br />
Krishna love theme.<br />
Who is this girl Radha? Did she really exist?<br />
Wherein lies the secret attraction for millions in<br />
India for Radha and Krishna?<br />
The Bhagavata Purana by Vyasa, who was a<br />
contemporary of Krishna, does not mention Radha,<br />
but describes the similar love of innumerable gopis<br />
for Krishna, and His exploits with them. Among<br />
them there appears to be a gopis named Radhika,<br />
yet Vyasa does not attach special significance<br />
to her character. In the later literature of the<br />
Vaishnava Tantric books, the name of Radha comes<br />
into prominence. She becomes a living reality<br />
through the works of Mahaprabhu and Jayadeva.<br />
As understood by any serious thinking student,<br />
Radha and Krishna represent the mortal individual<br />
and the immortal Lord respectively, and Radha’s<br />
pining for Krishna is the pining of the individual<br />
for the Lord. Of all the things that can be said<br />
of the love of a devotee for the Lord, why this<br />
particular choice of comparing it to the love of<br />
a married woman for an illicit lover?<br />
The supreme Godhead is without name or form<br />
and is attributeless. Ultimately, it has to be realised