On behalf of His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder acharya of our movement, we welcome all of you this evening for the festival of Sharad Poornima. Many devotees have been working very hard for many days to arrange a very unique and beautiful darshan for the pleasure of Sree Radha Gopinath and each and every one of you.

When Krishna is the centre of our lives we absorb our consciousness in hearing about Krishna, chanting his Names, remembering him and serving him. Krishna reciprocates. Krishna’s all-attractive, he is the Lord of Love and Beauty. When he reveals his mercy within our heart, it is supreme experience of spiritual joy.

Sharad Poornima is the first day of the month of Kartik. Sukadev Goswami, the beloved son of Srila Vyasadev, explains in five chapters of Srimad Bhagawatam the story of Krishna’s Raslila. Perhaps, the most misunderstood of all sectors of the Vedic literature. Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur has declared that these five chapters describing Krishna’s Raslila, they are like the five life airs, they are the crest jewel, most precious, most elevated of all the pastimes of the Lord.
The Raslila is the ultimate culmination of spiritual realization and we find Sukadev Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Raghunathdas Goswami, Sree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu greatest of all sanyasis, Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur a pure renunciate, people who have absolutely no interest in sensual enjoyment, the highest most realized personality in the renounced order that ever walked upon this earth, they worship these five chapters of Srimad Bhagawatam as the revelation of the highest and purest spiritual love.
Unless we hear the scriptures according to the great acharyas, we cannot understand them in their proper spirit or content. Sree Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Goswami’s of Vrindavan, they declared that there is no Love, pure than those of the Gopi's of Vrindavan. Their hearts are uncontaminated by even the slightest trace of selfish desires. Infact, in the Raslila, Krishna who is sac-cit-ananda vigraha, whose form is eternity, knowledge and bliss, was reciprocating pastimes of pure love with the Gopi’s whose bodies are their eternal spiritual forms. They did not approach Krishna with material bodies. They were in their original, spiritual pure forms where the modes of material nature have no access.

It was on this night, which is glorified by great personalities as the ‘most beautiful night of the year, in Sri Vrindavan the sweet fragrance of jasmine flowers was permeating the atmosphere, the full moon rose, such beautiful full moon. It had a golden reddish color and the moon the king of all stars of the sky illuminated all the directions especially the western horizon with a beautiful shade that resembled that of “kumkum”. Lotus flowers were blooming and spreading their fragrance. The atmosphere was so surcharged with enchanting beauty, but Krishna at that time he inspired and took shelter of his own Yoga Maya potency to create the most pleasing atmosphere. The atmosphere of the spiritual world. In Krishna’s heart arose the great desire, to satisfy the hearts of his most beloved devotees. Under the vamsivat tree on the banks of Yamuma, he played upon his flute; the essence of the Love of his heart came through his lips into the holes of the flute and formed into a beautiful song. It filled the atmosphere, entered the ears of the Gopi’s of Vrindavan, through their ears into their hearts and from their hearts plundered the treasure of the entire consciousness. The song of Krishna’s flute stole the hearts of the Gopi’s. They were in such absorbed state of remembering Krishna, wanting to please Krishna through their services, they abandoned whatever they were doing. Some were milking cows, some were boiling milk, others were serving husbands or parents, while others were serving prasad or eating prasad, some were bathing, some were putting on their clothes or their ornaments, but immediately without even consideration they left their homes, they forgot everything except Krishna.
Why do these greatest acharyas in the renounced order of life consider that the gopi’s represented the perfection of renunciation? This is a very subtle but important subject for everyone to understand. They were willing to leave the securities of their homes, with a good possibility that they would never be allowed back because the elders were forbidding them to leave. Their reputation, the Vedic rules and regulations, the attachment of family members, the security of a home, going into the darkness of the forest, how would they survive? But their love was so deep and so pure that not a single Gopi even considered these things for a moment. They forgot everything except their burning desire to serve Krishna and please Krishna. They have surrendered their body, mind, words, life and soul only for the satisfaction of Krishna. They could not think of anything else, they could not conceive of anything else, they were totally immersed, absorbed in the desire to please Krishna. His beautiful smile, his wonderful three fold bending form, everything manifested within their hearts, his extraordinary pastimes through the sound of his flute.
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah (Bhagavad Gita 18.66)
Krishna tells that we should abandon all varieties of dharma and surrender to him. I will protect you from all sinful reactions, do not fear. Now, in the neophyte platform surrendering to Krishna is an austerity, to renounce things that give us pleasure for a higher purpose is tapasya, it is the purpose of human life.
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke (Srimad Bhagwatam 5.5.1)

Sense gratification is available for the lower species. It’s nothing important. Of course in Kaliyuga the propaganda of people’s attachments is we give so much importance to sense gratification. Today I was driving from Radha Gopinath Temple to Radha Rasbihari Temple and between these two beautiful spiritual abodes of Krishna there is so much Maya…(laughter) unbelievable. All of these hoardings and everyone is trying to promise you happiness through sense gratification, every type of sense gratification, intoxication, liquor and cigarettes and televisions and movies and cinemas and clothing. You will be happy if you have this sense gratification.
Now what is the purpose of human life? To put aside our desires for sense gratification for a higher purpose, for self-realization, that is ‘tapasya’. And to actually be willing to do that, that is surrender. But the gopi's they gave up everything but they are on whole another level of surrender. Because for them the question or thought of sense gratification could never even enter their hearts. They had already given their hearts wholesale in love for Krishna. When Krishna played on his flute on this Shard Poornima, he was calling them and therefore their absorption was so single-minded, their renunciation was out of pure love.
vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana Bhagavad Gita 2.41
Krishna says in Gita, “for those who are on this path, they are resolute in purpose, their aim is one. The intelligence of those who are irresolute are many branched”. The Gopi's ultimate personification. They gave their lives to Krishna, they could not think of anything else or anyone else. Their renunciation was the expression of pure Love. Not the detachment of the world because they had nothing to detach themselves from. Their 100% all attachment was already Krishna. Thus there is no Love that can compare to the Gopi’s of Vrindavan and it is that type of single pointed absorption.
Now we are willing to take risks, we are willing to endure sorrows, we are willing to overcome obstacles for Krishna’s sake and it’s difficult. But for the Vraja Gopi's there is no difficulty because nothing else matters except Krishna. The only difficulty is separation from Krishna. So they left. But Krishna is so kind. He did not want them to get in trouble. In their self-forgetfulness all other duties they left, but Krishna arranged his Yoga Maya Potency to make duplicate material forms of each Gopi to stay home. Their spiritual bodies went into the forest but their family members thought that they changed their mind and stayed home because there was an illusory form of them that remained with them.
Krishna preserves what we have, and carry what we lack. He will always protect us if we surrender. They came to vamsibat, and there with hearts anticipating a night of unalloyed service to the supreme Lord they offered their hearts to Krishna. Krishna welcomed them very respectfully with deep Love. After his welcoming, “thank you, you have come, I am so pleased to see you, but please understand that you have your obligations, responsibilities and duties towards the Veda and etiquettes at home, so please return home; if you have come to please me you have pleased me. I am pleased. Your mission is accomplished. If you wanted to see the moonlike forest of Vrindavan, you have seen. But there are many wild and dangerous animals in the forest, it is a fearful place to be.” He inspired them to return home.
The Gopi’s of Vrindavan were weeping, crying, heads down, rubbing curved lines in the earth with their toes and some of them spoke that everything you are saying is completely true, that “we have our obligations to our elders to our family members, our fathers, our mothers, some of us have husbands. However, you are the supersoul in everyone’s heart. It is your presence that gives life and beauty to every one and all the great sages and rishis they have abandoned everything to serve you and have fulfilled all purposes.” The second canto of Bhagawatam, gives further light on what the Gopi's are speaking. If you water the root of the tree every branch, leaf and twig of the tree is satisfied because the root is the source of nourishment; if Krishna is pleased then all of our responsibilities are fulfilled. ………
Devarsi-bhutapta-nrnam pitrnam (Srimad Bhagawatam 11.5.41)
Bhagawatam declares that all of our obligations, social obligations, religious obligations, domestic obligations…. they are all fulfilled if one surrenders whole-heartedly to Mukunda. Because he is the source of everything. “So we have given our hearts to you, we have abandoned everything only for you, please smile upon us, do not send us away.”
Krishna accepted their words after he tested them very nicely and revealed the purity of their love to the world and then Krishna reciprocated with each Gopi in such a way that, that Gopi considered that I am the most fortunate person in all creation. , Krishna is giving me so much attention, he is giving me so much affection, Krishna is giving me more love than he is giving anyone else….how fortunate I am! No one can have such fortune as I. this was their feeling.
Krishna whatever he does has many purposes. We will focus on one particular focus today, which the acharyas bring to light. Krishna saw a sense of pride in their hearts. What a subtle pure spiritual form of pride this was! That Krishna loved them so dearly, that Krishna was so merciful to them. It wasn’t false pride but it was a type of pride. Krishna wanted to show the Gopi’s and show the whole world through the Gopi’s that he does not tolerate pride within the hearts of his devotees. If any of us think that we are better than someone else because we are getting special mercy, because we are getting special affection, because we are getting special love, because we are empowered in various ways, that will spoil our devotional service. Sometimes we do nice things for Krishna and we get success but we become proud of our success…people like me, people like me, see they like to hear what I say, they like my kirtans, I am special, Krishna is blessing me. Krishna does not tolerate pride. When Krishna scented that trace of pride within the heart of Gopi’s he disappeared from all of them. The vraja Gopi’s were devastated. Krishna’s displeased with us, Krishna has left us, they became mad, mad for Krishna, absolutely absorbed in Krishna. They were searching everywhere asking the trees, asking the tulsi plants, asking the female deer’s, asking the moon and the stars, asking mother earth. Where is son of Nanda Maharaj? Have you seen him? Has he touched you with his Louts hands? Has he stepped upon you with his Lotus feet? Has he enchanted and charmed your heart with his beautiful form? Where is he, tell us. We cannot live. Immersed in their total absorption in remembering Krishna ‘s smiling form, his sweet words, his loving pastimes, they were intoxicated, immersed in separation, they were enacting his pastimes together, glorifying him in every way, calling out for him, searching every where. They saw his footprints and followed. After some time they saw another set of footprints beside Krishna’s. This is the place where the ultimate culmination of Srimad Bhagawatam is manifested. When they saw the footprints they understood that Krishna has left all of us who have abandoned everything exclusively to love him and serve him. He has left us all for this one Gopi. And just by seeing the different types of imprints of the footprints they could surmise what Krishna and this Gopi was doing. He has been picking flowers for her, and here he has been decorating her hair, and here he even lifted her up, because she was tired because there is only one set of footprints. The Gopi’s, their realization was that this particular Gopi her love and devotion to Krishna is supreme.
There is no one whose worship of Krishna is so filled with love and ecstatic devotion than this particular Gopi. And that Gopi is Sreemati Radharani. In this passage, “anayaradhito” (Srimad Bhagawatam 10.30.28) Sukadeva Goswami declares the supreme ultimate of all reservoirs of love, Sreemati Radharani. Although in Hari Vamsa, Vishnu Purana ,Padma Puraana and other Vedic literatures Sreemati Radharani’s name is directly spoken as Krishna’s hladini shakti, his pleasure potency.
Caitanya Caritamrita declares,
radha krishna-pranaya-vikritir hladini-shaktir asmad (Cc.Adi,1.5)
That the absolute truth is one but that one Absolute Truth manifests in two forms, Radha and Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme object of Love and Sreemati Radharani is the Supreme Absolute Truth manifested as the Supreme lover, the Supreme abode of love. All love is part and parcel of Radha’s love; all love all, devotion emanates from the heart of Sreemati Radharani.
Srimad Bhagawatam more than any other Vedic literature in this particular lila glorifies the supremacy of Sreemati Radharani’s prem. How the power of her love even controls Krishna. And therefore Gaudiya vaishnavas ,our ultimate aspiration in life is to be the servant of the servant of the servant of Sreemati Radharani in her loving service to Krishna. Because through that kind consciousness we will receive the highest reciprocation from Krishna. If you approach Krishna directly or through any other means you will get special mercy no doubt. But if you approach through the service of Sreemati Radharani then the Supreme love that Krishna bestows upon her is shared with us. Therefore as the highest ecstatic platform because it is the most selfless spirit of spiritual devotion.
As they walked further they found Sreemati Radharani sitting alone and crying. She began to feel a little proud that “Krishna left everyone just for me. “ So left Krishna left her and all of the Gopi's were crying together, chanting Krishna’s names, sitting Krishna’s pastimes, searching everywhere for Krishna. They were searching in places that were so dark due to thick growth of trees and bushes that even the moonlight could not enter. And ultimately in their madness Sreemati Radharani and Gopi’s entered the banks of Yamuna and there they sang the celebrated “Gopi Gita”- songs of prayers of love and separation. In reciprocation to their prayers, suddenly Krishna appeared, smiling upon them and pacified the burning flames of separation from their hearts.
It is described in Srimad Bhagawatam, that some Gopi’s were actually prevented from coming, they could not get out of the house, by their relatives. Those Gopi’s helpless closed their eyes and meditated on Krishna, meditated on his smile, on his form, on his words and on his pastimes. The fire of their separation was so great and the scriptures and the acharyas explain that those Gopi's who were not allowed, who were unable to leave their homes, they were Gopi’s who were already free of all Karma’s. They had no sins, they could not be braj Gopi’s with karma’s or material desires or sins but they’re praying, their love was not yet completely pure. And whatever impurities may have been there the fire of separation burned it and they could actually in their meditation experience Krishna’s loving reciprocation and the next time Krishna performed his dance, they had no problems escaping and meeting with Krishna.
So on the bank of Yamuna Krishna appeared to all Gopi’s to satisfy their hearts and I will end tonight’s discourse with a brief summary of a conversation between Krishna and Gopi’s. Because all the Gopi’s, although the vraj Gopi’s were so very very deeply blissful to be reunited with Krishna, and Krishna was satisfying their every desire to serve him and to love him they asked “that some people will love another because that person loves them and will reciprocate with them and fulfill their desires. Other people will love someone even if there is no reciprocation, even of that person doesn’t give them any love in return. And there is a third type of person who doesn’t love anybody, they don’t love those who love them and they do not love those who do not love them. Can you explain the nature of these three people?”
Krishna said “ if you love someone and if you serve them with love because they will give you something in return, because they will love you in return that is not pure love, that is selfishness. That is a person who is still thinking in terms of their own selfish interest. That person who loves even if there is not proper reciprocation even if there is pain that person is compassionate. That person is fulfilling the true meaning of dharma, that person is actually a man or a woman who loves. And the person who is unconcerned who doesn’t really love whether you reciprocate or not, that person is either a great sage who is just transcended everything or that person is simply ungrateful.
The Gopi’s asked Krishna, “You left us, which of these three categories do you fall into? We surrendered everything to you, everything and then you left us?”
Krishna said, “I do not fit in any of these categories.” And then Krishna explained why he left. He said when my devotee surrenders everything to me and I do not reciprocate according to their desire but I disappear from them, it is my supreme love for that devotee. For a devotee who is not spiritually perfect, that devotee surrenders to me by chanting my holy names by worshipping my deity, by hearing my glories, by serving the vaishnavas, that devotee is really trying so hard to be a good servant giving up so much for the sake of Me. But still there is some contamination in their heart. So out of my love for them I clear that contamination by giving them the feelings of separation. For such a devotee feels that I have surrendered everything I have given so much. But Krishna is not reciprocating. I do not feel him, I do not see him. Why is this happening? It is because I am useless, because my devotional service is useless, because I am so offensive. I have no love. That devotee becomes completely humbled. All pride is crushed because by the fires, burned by the fires of separation, crushed by the wait of their ambition. For so many years I have been Krishna consciousness and yet where is my love, where is Krishna? When we really feel like that we become very humble. Krishna said, “that humility that is born through that state of anguish and separation completely cleanses the heart of that devotee so that pure love awakens in his or her heart.”
“And for those who have already perfected prem which is the category of all of you, I separate myself for another purpose. There is nothing more for you to be purified. When I separate from those who have pure love for me it only increase their attachment and their Love. And from within the heart they can experience me, reciprocating with their love deeper and deeper intimately and even in the physical form. My dear Gopi’s the only reason I left you, is because I love you so much! I wanted to increase your love. And the ecstasies of your happiness. You have abandoned everything for me, everything. And there is no possible way that I could repay you. With all of my resources I cannot repay you. Even in an entire lifetime of Lord Brahma. That is the power of your love and my indebtedness. So my request is that the feeling of your love and your desire to serve be the compensation.
The culmination of this discussion is so beautiful. Krishna ‘s “bhaktavatsala.” He is so gracious to his devotees because bhakti conquers Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth the controller of all controllers. But Krishna is controlled by the love of his devotees. That is why he is “Rasaraj.” He feels such a debt to those who surrender to love him that Krishna feels unable to repay. That is the nature of his love. Who is a greater personality to love than Krishna? And it is to give this love that Krishna has manifested Srimad Bhagawatam in this world. Sree Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the personification of Srimad Bhagawatam and what is the essence of culmination of Srimad Bhagawatam, the love of Radha and Krishna. Lord Caitanya is Krishna tasting the sweetness of the mood of Sri Radha’s love and distributing that love. That treasure of love that even Krishna cannot repay, freely to everyone through the chanting of the Holy Names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare.
And Krishna as Lord Caitanya has taught
trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih (Sri Siksastaka Text 3)

The Rasalila is about this principle. Krishna’s words “if we have pure love then we are humble like a blade of grass, tolerant like a tree, ready to offer all respect to others and expect none in return. Our love is selfless.”
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi (Sri Siksastaka Text 4)
This is Radharani’s speaking the Siksastakam. “ I don’t want wealth, I don’t want anything, I only want to serve you Krishna, to please you Krishna. And the process of achieving that perfection is to strive to be pride less in our chanting of the Holy Names. You cannot enter into the Rasalila through mental gymnastics, through intellectual memorization of slokas. It is only when we feel our selves so humble, so much in need that we cry out Krishna like a baby crying for it’s mother. When we receive the blessings of Guru and vaishnavas and we take those blessings, if we actually take in those blessings wholeheartedly this will be the effect, this humility, this surrender, this shelter. And ultimately absorption.
Krishna then performed the topmost spiritual pastime of Rasalila on the banks of Yamuna and through the forest of vrajbhumi with Gopi’s. He danced with the Gopi’s throughout the night and just to give fulfillment to the Gopi’s desire to serve him with Love Krishna extended one night to be an entire night of Lord Brahma. Who else can reciprocate with our love in that way? Sree Rasbihari, Sree Gopinath. So it is with this prayer the prayer for pure devotional service, the prayer to follow in the footsteps of those vaishnavas who are following in the footsteps of the Gopi’s. No selfishness, no false ego, no separate interest, no agenda, except that aspiration to be the servant of the servant of the servant. That is how we follow on the footsteps of the Gopi’s; to try to imitate the Gopi’s and meditate on the activities of the Gopi’s in their eternal forms is premature for a person who still has the false ego. We want to be the servant of the servant of the servant following the footsteps of the Gopi’s by following these principles of having such a pure heart of selfless surrender focused in absorption on the pleasure of Krishna. And what pleases Krishna most service to his devotees. This is our prayer.
And to the degree our heart becomes pure the ultimate satisfaction is to see Krishna enjoying his pastimes with Sreemati Radharani. And we want nothing else. And tonight we will see the beautiful pastime of Raspoornima in the darshan of SriSri RadhaGopinath.
Thank you very much.
My special gratitude to all the devotees who have been making garlands, flower arrangements, and some devotees have created banyan trees and lakes and rivers and waterfalls. And my special gratitude to all of you for sitting and tolerating my lecture but hopefully it has increased your separation for the darshan of the Lord. So let us very very enthusiastically and prayerfully chant the holy names as we meditate on Sri Sri Radha Gopinath’s eternal pastimes. And ladies if you could please bring Nartaki Mataji to the front. Srila Prabhupada ki Jai! Sri RadhaGopinath ki Jai! Gaur premanande. Hari Bol!