689 Glossary Articles Found
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the crest-jewel among rasikas, eternally dances, illuminated by a supremely brilliant effulgence. Sweetly uttering the rhythmic sound "theī-theī," He steals the hearts of all the young maidens of Vraja and shatters the pride of millions of Cupids.
We have no understanding of the scriptures; we did not understand them before, nor do we truly understand them even now. But those great souls who have grasped their innermost essence, the path of single-minded and exclusive bhajana, have shown us what to do. We shall simply walk the path they have revealed.
What does one truly gain even by becoming a king if one has never tasted the bliss of devotion to Śrī Hari, the very essence of all happiness? Such a person merely bears the fruitless burdens of worldly life, labouring in vain for this transient world.
How can I possibly describe the divine beauty and magnificence of the divine couple? Indeed, words utterly fail to capture it. Both, in the same tender, ever-youthful age, are filled with enchanting loveliness, and their beautiful, delicate forms overflow with sweetness.
Śrī Nārāyaṇa Svāmī says that even those renowned and mighty kings who once ruled fearlessly over the nine realms were ultimately devoured by the all-powerful Time. Therefore, the soul should never harbor pride.
Without the name of God, all spiritual endeavors such as yoga, yajña, and penance become fruitless. Śrī Guru Chaunā Jī says that just as a semar tree, even when nurtured with great care, yields only cotton from within when its fruit ripens, offering no edible fruit, in the same way, spiritual practices devoid of the divine Name prove to be utterly in vain.
The sakhīs repeatedly offer their very lives for Śrī Yugala, waving water over Them and drinking it—a loving and auspicious ritual in which water is waved over the beloved ones so that no obstacle or inauspiciousness may ever touch Them.
Without devotion, human life is fruitless. Such people constantly quarrel and fight among themselves, just as wild horses ceaselessly clash with one another.
My heart is captivated by the one and only Manmohana, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Some engage in japa, others perform austerities, some observe vows, while others wander into forests to sit absorbed in samādhi.
The sakhīs are performing the ārati of the divine couple. After adorning the divine Couple in complete ornamentation, when they hold a mirror before Them and show Them Their appearances, the Beloved and His Dear One, Sri Radha, begin to smile gently. Beholding the reddish hue of betel upon Their lips and the sweetness of Their gentle smiles, the sakhīs become utterly captivated by Them.
With a single rasa-filled glance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, even the greatest paramahaṁsas forget their deep states of samādhi — and what to speak of such realized souls, when even Lord Śiva Himself assumed the form of a gopī in order to taste that divine nectar.
O sakhī, behold this incomparable beauty of Śrī Vṛndāvana, the very essence of all beauty. So enchanting is this abode that even the divine couple, two moons, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, become astonished and, while gazing upon it, lose all awareness of themselves.
Those who abandon the sacred banks of Śrī Yamunā and the rasa-filled abode of Vṛndāvana, and instead rush toward places like Bīkāner or elsewhere in pursuit of worldly pleasures, are the true fools — as if forsaking infinite bliss, they rush towards the very flames of suffering.
A sakhī, describing the Holī festival of Vṛndāvana to her intimate companion, says: “O friend! In the Holī of the divine couple, such streams of colored water were sprayed from waterguns, and such clouds of crimson powder arose, that everything was dyed red.”
Through chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, all sins are destroyed, and the soul ultimately reaches the sacred abode of Hari. Śrī Chaunā Jī Mahārāja teaches that whether one is a householder or a renunciate, the fruit of the Name is the same. External form or attire has no real importance; the essence lies entirely in sincere remembrance of the Divine Name.
In the Raṇgīlī galī of Barsānā, the festival of Holī is being celebrated with boundless joy. On one side stands the charming son of Nanda, the rasika Śrī Kṛṣṇa; on the other side is Vṛṣabhānu’s beloved daughter, Śrī Rādhā, standing amidst Her sakhīs.
Beholding such divine sights of Barsānā and gazing upon the sacred Gahvar Van, waves of love surged within the heart. The moment I offered a heartfelt daṇḍavat praṇām to this holy land and rolled in its divine dust, all royal decorum and formal restraint naturally fell away.
A sakhī teasing Lord Krishna—O Beloved! Tell me, whose grace has granted You this title of “Rasika” (connoisseur of divine love)? In Your previous Śūkra-avatāra, when, taking the form of a pig, were You called ‘Madan Mohan’ (captivator of even the God of beauty, Kamadeva)?
O Śrī Rādhārānī, now nothing remains for me to say. You have held me in Your arms, granted me the cool shelter of Your lotus feet, and bestowed residence in the supremely sacred land of Śrī Dhām Vṛndāvan.
Swami Shri Haridās Ji Maharaj, the incarnation of Shri Lalitā Sakhi, is an unparalleled Rasika Acharya who bestows the nectar of the eternal love plays of the divine couple. By his grace, the very embodiment of rasa, Kunj Bihariṇī Lādili, Shri Radha Maharani, effortlessly appears before the devotee.
