© 1999 VNN
|
EDITORIAL January 28, 1999 VNN2922 'Anayaradhita', The Highest Worship BY SWAMI B.V. TRIPURARI  EDITORIAL, Jan 28 (VNN) — (from Sanga wfd@efn.org) If Krishna represents the private life of the Absolute, his relationship with the cowherd girls of Vraja, and Radha in particular, constitutes the private life of Krishna. In this relationship, love reigns supreme as Krishna bows to Radha. The supreme object of devotion worships the highest devotion.Radha's love is celebrated in the Bhagavata Purana to the extent that connoisseurs of aesthetic rapture have called it Radha-Bhagavatam or Shrimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhagavata (Krishna) of Shri (Radha). Here, as in Gita Govinda, Radha prevails, and devotion for its own sake is revealed as both the means and the end of spiritual culture. The zenith of Radha and Krishna's love affair is the rasa-lila, the circular dance of love. It is portrayed in the autumn season in the Bhagavata Purana and in the spring season in Jayadeva's Gita Govinda. Rasa-lila points to the highest potential of the soul. Here the highest love is couched in apparent selfishness. The higher one climbs on the ladder of divine love, the more difficult it is to recognize it. Love by its very nature hides itself. The young cowherd girls came to Krishna in the dead of night. His flute signaled to them his call to love, one that insists we leave all else behind. The young maidens harkened to Krishna's flute, listeneing to their own hearts. Had thay hesitated for a moment to think about the consequences of meeting with a young boy in the forest at night, thousands of reasons would have filled their minds as to why they should not go - familial, social, and even religious ones. The mind wants to keep us within its world, a world without heart. To listen to our heart, we must stop listening to our mind and subordinate it to the heart of our soul. The gopis exemplified this ideal in meeting with Krishna. While externally appearing inconsiderate of others, they were not concerned about anything other than the highest sacrifice, and thus acted in consideration of all. After the gopis were stolen away from their families, one gopi, Radha, stole Krishna away from the other gopis. Thus the gopis proclaimed that Krishna was not he who possessed all (Bhagavan), for if he were so, why did he need Radha? Nor was he the Lord who steals away others' hearts (Hari), for his own heart had been stolen by Radha. Nor was he in control (Ishvara), for Radha had controlled him. What then is her position? She personifies the highest worship (anayaradhita), from which her name is derived. Shall we then worship Radha rather than Krishna? No, for they are really the same while different, as fire is to heat and light. Worship of Radha is the highest worship of Krishna. The highest worship of Krishna must bring the worshipper to Radha. Krishna and Radha are the supreme predominating and the supreme predominated aspects of divinity, and each are interdependent aspects of ultimate reality. From 'Form of Beauty: The Krishna Art of B.G. Sharma' Swami B.V. Tripurari About the Author | Other Stories by this Author Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9901/ET28-2922.html
NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
