The hidden face of God

What is the difference between Radha and Krishna?

Sometimes people have a misunderstanding of Radha Krishna lila due to having read about the lila without sufficient prior education on the tattva or inner reality of that lila.

Understanding this tendency Bhaktivinoda Thakura has commented:

Goloka-Vrindavana is realizable in the symbolic Vrindavana that is open to our view in this world by all persons whose Love has been perfected by the mercy of the inhabitants of Transcendental Vraja, and not other-wise. The grossest misunderstanding of the subject of the Vraja Lila of Sri Krishna is inevitable if these considerations are not kept in view.

In the form of the narrative of the Bhagavatam, the Transcendental Vraja Lila manifests its descent to the plane of our mundane vision in the symbolic shapes resembling those of the corresponding mundane events. If we are disposed, for any reason, to underestimate the transcendental symbolism of the narrative of the Bhagavatam we are unable to avoid unfavorable and hasty conclusions regarding the nature of the highest, the most perfect and the most charming form of the loving service of the Divinity to which all other forms of his service are as the avenues of approach.

We see that most people think of Radha Krishna lila as centrally being about the rasa or loving pastimes between Radha and Krishna and to a lesser extent between the Gopis and Krishna.

I want to shed some light on this topic. I believe many people are misunderstanding the basic tattva or inner truth about Radha and Krishna which leads to the misunderstanding of the inner reality or esoteric truths of their lila.

In Krsna Sandarbha Jiva Goswami says there are two types of expansions of The Supreme Lord:

This is confirmed in the Varaha Purana:

The two kinds of expansions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead are : 1. svamsa (personal expansions) and 2. vibhinnamsa (separate persons). The svamsa expansions are unlimitedly powerful. Their form and personality are the same as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

There is not the slightest difference between the svamsa expansions and the Original Personality of Godhead. The vibhinnamsa expansions are very weak in comparison to Them.

What is vibhinnamsa?

svamsa-vibhinnamsa-rupe hana vistara
ananta vaikuntha-brahmande karena vihara

svamsa-vistara -- catur-vyuha, avatara-gana
vibhinnamsa jiva -- tanra saktite ganana

sei vibbhinamsa jiva - dui ta' prakara
eka - "nitya-mukta," eka - "nityasamsara"

Krsna expands Himself in many forms. Some of them are personal expansions, and some are separate expansions. Thus He performs pastimes in both the spiritual and the material worlds. The spiritual worlds are the Vaikuntha planets, and the material universes are the brahmandas, gigantic globes governed by Lord Brahma

Expansions of His personal self -- like the quadruple manifestations of Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Vasudeva -- descend as incarnations from Vaikuntha to this material world. The separated expansions are the living entities (jivas). Although they are expansions of Krsna, they are counted among His different potencies

The living entities (jivas) are divided into two categories. Some are eternally liberated, and others are eternally conditioned.

(Caitanya-Caritamrta Madhya 22.8-10)

From Bhaktivinoda's Jaiva Dharma:

Srila Jiva Gosvami describes the Supreme Person in these words:

"The Absolute Truth is one. Still, by His inconceivable potency He is manifested in four ways: 1. svarupa (His original form), 2. tad-rupa-vaibhava (His incarnations), 3. jiva (the individual spirit souls), and 4. pradhana (the material energy). These four features are like: 1. the interior of the sun planet, 2. the sun's surface, 3. the sunlight, and 4. the reflection of the sun."

This example of course, explains only a small part of the Lord's nature. His svarupa (original form) is His form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. His svarupa-vaibhava (manifestations of His form) are His spiritual abode, name, associates and paraphernalia. The jiva-sakti is the abode of the numberless eternally liberated and conditioned individual souls, who are tiny particles of spirit.

Jiva Goswami explains the personal incarnations of the Lord to be like the sun's surface and the Lord to be like the sun's interior. What this means is that when you look at the sun you only see the surface, but underneath is the sun. So when you look at a personal expansion of the Lord they may display a great variety of forms, personas, pastimes, etc. But underneath they are the same Surpeme Lord.

Also in the above we see Jiva Goswami does not mention a third category of living entity. There is only Svamsa and Vibhinnamsa, God and Jivas. Krishna and his personal expansions, and the Jiva.

What is Svamsa? Jiva Goswami writes in the above:

There is not the slightest difference between the svamsa expansions and the Original Personality of Godhead.

From Jiva Goswami's Krishna Sandarbha 155.6:

Lord Krsna's ability to be manifested in many places simultaneously and perform many different activities at the same time by His mystic potency IS NOT SHARED BY ANYONE ELSE. No yogi or sage can perform such wonderful activities

From Jiva Goswami's Krishna Sandarbha 188.1:

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hladini). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.

In this verse the word 'ananda-cin-maya-rasa-pratibhavitabhih' means 'full of the mellows of pure love'. SHE EXPANDS INTO MANY FORMS, and the blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead, who desires to enjoy Her as a lover, also expands into many forms.

From Baladeva Vidyabhusana's Prameya Ratnavali:

vishnoh syuh saktayastisristasu ya kirtita para |
saiva sristadabhinneti praha sishyan prabhurmahan || 12 ||

12. Visnu has three energies (Cit, Jiva, Bahiranga). The one among them who is proclaimed as the highest is Sri (Laksmi, Radha, Sita etc), who is not different from him. So taught the great master to his disciples.

paraiva vishnvabhinna srirityuktam tatraiva (vi. pu., 1.9.44-45):
kalakashthanimeshadikalasutrasya gocare |
yasya saktirna suddhasya prasidatu sa no harih ||
procyate parameso yah yah suddho’pyupacaratah |
prasidatu sa no vishnuratma yah sarvadehinam || (gha) ||

That the higher [power] is Sri who is non-different from Visnu is stated there [in the Visnu Purana (1.9.44-45)] as well:

12d. May Hari be pleased with us, the pure one whose power is not under the control of time which is made up of units like kala, kastha, nimesa, and so forth. He, though pure, is said metaphorically to be the Lord of Sri (parama); may that Visnu, who is the Self of all embodied beings, be pleased with us.

So here we see various verses telling us that Sri or Laksmi is all pervading and also that Radha expands into many forms, and that only Krishna has these powers of expansion, no one else.

We see that Jiva tells us that there are two types of expansions of the Lord, those that are Him, and the jivas. There is no third type of living entity. Baladeva also tells us that metaphorically Visnu is said to be the Lord of Sri. Baladeva even goes as far as calling any kind of tattva that implies Laksmi is different from Visnu; "Heresy".

Bhaktivinoda explains Antaranga or Cit Sakti in Jaiva Dharma:

Krsna is self-effulgent, like a blazing fire or the sun. Krsna is like a blazing fire. In the centre of the fire is the cit-sakti (svarupa sakti), it is present in fullness. In addition to the centre there is also a great expanse illuminated by the fire. The same way the Krsna-sun illumines a great area with sunlight. The rays of sunlight are particles of His internal potency (svarupa sakti). Those atomic particles that constitute those rays of sunlight are the individual spirit souls. The internal potency (cit sakti) manifests the Krsna-sun planet itself. The sunlight emanating from that planet is manifested by the cit-sakti and the individual particles of light are manifested by the jiva-sakti. Therefore the individual spirit souls are manifested by the jiva-sakti.

What is being described is that the Cit or Antaranga Sakti is like the core of a fire, the jiva's are atoms within the rays of light emanating from that fire. Radha, Krishna, Laksmi, Visnu, these are all complete Cit entities, they are all the core of the fire, they are all one and the same, or Svamsa expansions of the same Supreme Lord. They are all various forms produced by Cit Sakti.

From Jaiva Dharma:

The cit-potency is Krishna's plenary potency; Whatever she produces is eternally accomplished; the jiva is not so eternally accomplished; when he becomes accomplished by practices (sadhana-siddha), he enjoys bliss like those eternally accomplished entities.

The four kinds of confidantes of Sri Radha (to be described hereafter) are eternally accomplished; their bodies are about the same, with slight variations, with that of Sri Radhika who is essentially the cit-shakti. The jivas have grown out of the jiva-shakti of Sri Krishna. Cit-shakti is Sri Krishna's full (plenary) shakti, whereas the jiva-shakti is the incomplete shakti. FROM THE CIT SAKTI (PLENARY POTENCY) ARE PRODUCED COMPLETE ENTITIES, but from the incomplete potency have grown the jivas as atomic Cit. Krishna manifests entities of different types in accordance with the kind of the shakti He applies.

When established in His essential cit-shakti He reveals His essential Nature as Sri Krishna Himself on the one hand and on the other as Sri Narayana, the Lord of Vaikuntha.

"COMPLETE ENTITIES" means that they are God, independent. Only God is a complete entity, everyone else is incomplete i.e. dependent on God for everything. All Cit sakti entities are complete in the sense that they are all the same Supreme Lord in various forms and personas.

From the Sri Krsna-bhakti-ratna-prakasa of Srila Raghava Goswami:

Because Sri Sri Radha Krsna are not different and because Sri Krsna is the master of all potencies, THEREFORE SRI RADHA IS ALSO THE MASTER AND SOURCE OF ALL POTENCIES. He is by nature full of sweetness and bliss, free from the three modes, and eternally manifest beyond the material nature. Because Radha is not different from Him, so is She also. It is said that within the Lord are all potencies, the modes and the material nature.

From an A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami lecture:

radha-purna-sakti, krsna-purna-saktiman
dui vastu bheda nai, sastra-paramana
radha-krsna aiche sadaeka-i svarupa
lila-rasa asvadite dhare dui-rupa

(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.96,98)

There is no difference between the energy and the energetic, sakti-saktiman abhina. Therefore there is no difference between Radha and Krsna. Radha is purna-sakti and Krsna is purna-saktiman, so there is no difference, but, lila-rasa asvadite dhare dui-rupa, to relish the mellow of pastimes two bodies are there, Radha and Krsna, otherwise they are one. So in Vraja-lila there are two bodies, Radha and Krsna, visaya and asraya. But in the form of Gauranga They are one. Radha and Krsna combined together. Krsna assuming the mood and complexion of Radharani appears and that is Gauranga. This is the tattva, and that is a very deep and confidential tattva

This is from Raghava Goswami's Sri Krsna-bhakti-ratna-prakasa:

Sri Radha is manifested from half of Lord Krsna's body. This is described in the following verse of Padma Purana:

"Sri Radha is the original potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She is beautiful, graceful, saintly and full of all transcendental qualities. She enjoys pastimes in the forest of Vrndavana. She is manifested from half of Lord Mukunda's transcendental body."

This is also confirmed in the Sammohana-tantra, Patala 1:

"His form is eternally full of bliss. It is never any other way. Radha is full of bliss. Lord Hari is full of bliss."

Their forms are not composed of material elements. Their forms are full of bliss. They are the single Supreme Spirit, manifested as two for the knowledge of the devotees.

The wise know that as a spark is one with the fire, so the potency and the master of potencies are one.

That Sri Radha is manifested from half of Lord Krsna's body is also described in the Govinda-Vrndavana-sastra, where Sri Krsna says to Balarama:

"O Balarama, please listen and I will tell You something. One day, taking My flute, My heart full of bliss and My form bending in three places, I went under a kadamba tree and, seeing My own form reflected in a splendid golden platform studded with jewels, I became enchanted. At that moment My heart became filled with the sweet happiness known as conjugal love, which charms the entire world. My heart now desires to become a woman. I yearn to enjoy Myself as a woman.

As the Lord thought in this way, His heart approached itself. From the sweetness of His heart came bliss and from the bliss came Himself, manifested in a second form, a female form of transcendental bliss that could experience the direct perception of Himself.

At that time a goddess, whose form was nectar, whose fair complexion was like a host of lightning flashes, and who was decorated with glittering ornaments, appeared from the Lord's left side. She is known as Radha, who is half of Krsna's body, and who is the mistress of all potencies."

This is also described in Sri Krsna-yamala, Patala 114, where Tripura says to Lord Vasudeva

"In the word aum, the letter a stands for Sri Krsna. The letter u stands for Sri Radhika, the original potency, who manifested from the Lord's desire. The letter m stands for the lotus feet of this divine couple."

This is also described in the Govinda-Vrndavana-sastra, where Lord Krsna says to Balarama:

"My beloved Radhika is the form of My three transcendental potencies. As I am beyond the touch of matter, so is She, whose form is My potency.

Manifest in three forms, I am spiritual, My form is beyond the touch of the three modes of matter. I am the master of everything, and She is the mistress of this master of everything. She is said to be the kriya-sakti. She has the same sweetness as the other two saktis."

That Radha is manifested from half of Lord Krsna's form, and that She is the personification of all transcendental potencies is described in the Sammohana-tantra, where Narada Muni prays:

"O wonderfully opulent one, O one even Brahma, Siva, and all the demigods can approach, who are You? You never touch the path of the great yogis meditation.

The potencies iccha-sakti, jnana-sakti and kriya-sakti, are tiny parts of parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Whatever inconceivable potencies are the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, the handsome master of all potencies, they are all the expansions of your expansions."

In this way it may be concluded that all potencies of the Lord are manifested from Sri Radha.

From the intro to Teachings of Lord Caitanya by A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami:

It is not that Radharani is separate from Krsna. Radharani is also Krsna, for there is no difference between the energy and the energetic. Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic, there is no energy. Similarly, without Radha there is no meaning to Krsna, and without Krsna, there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, the Vaisnava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as Radha Krsna. Similarly, those who worship the name of Narayana first of all utter the name of Laksmi, as Laksmi Narayana. Similarly, those who worship Lord Rama first of all utter the name of Sita. In any case -- Sita-Rama, Radha-Krsna, Laksmi-Narayana -- the potency always comes first.

Radha and Krsna are one, and when Krsna desires to enjoy pleasure, He manifests Himself as Radharani. The spiritual exchange of love between Radha and Krsna is the actual display of the internal pleasure potency of Krsna (Radha's display). Although we speak of "when" Krsna desires, just when He did desire we cannot say. We only speak in this way because in conditional life we take it that everything has a beginning; however, in the absolute or spiritual life there is neither beginning nor end. Yet in order to understand that Radha and Krsna are one and that They also become divided, the question "When?" automatically comes to mind. When Krsna desired to enjoy His pleasure potency, He manifested HIMSELF in the separate form of Radharani.

From A.C Bhaktivedanta's Caitanya Caritamrta Adi lila:

tara madhye vraie nana bhava-rasa-bhede
krsnake karaya rasadika-lilasvade

TRANSLATION
Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Krsna taste all the sweetness of the rasa dance and other pastimes.

PURPORT
As already explained, Krsna and Radha are one in two. They are identical. Krsna expands Himself in multi-incarnations and plenary portions like the purusas. Similarly, Srimati Radharani expands Herself in multi-forms as the goddesses of fortune, the queens and the damsels of Vraja. Such expansions from Srimati Radharani are all Her plenary (completely identical) portions. ALL THESE WOMANLY FORMS OF KRSNA are expansions corresponding to His plenary expansions of Visnu forms. These expansions have been compared to reflected forms of the original form. There is no difference between the original and reflected forms. THE FEMALE REFLECTIONS OF KRSNA'S PLEASURE POTENCY ARE AS GOOD AS KRSNA HIMSELF.

The plenary expansions of Krsna's personality are called vaibhava-vilasa and vaibhava-prakasa, and Radha's expansions are similarly described. The goddesses of fortune are vaibhava-vilasa, and the queens are vaibhava-prakasa of Radharani. The personal associates of Radharani, the damsels of Vraja, are direct expansions of Her body. As expansions of Her personai form and transcendental disposition, they are agents of different reciprocations of love in the pastimes of Lord Krsna, under the supreme direction of Srimati Radharani.

So not only are Radha and Krishna one and the same person, so are their personal expansions.

From the purport of the Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.10 by A.C.Bhaktivedanta:

The expansions of different forms of the lord, as from Krishna to Baladeva to Sankarsana, from Sankarsana to Vasudeva, from Vasudeva to Aniruddha, from Aniruddha to Pradyumna, and then again to second Sankarsana and from him to the Narayana-Purusavataras, and innumerable other forms which are compared to the constant flowing of the uncountable waves of a river, are all one and the same.

In His Govinda Bhasya; Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana, the great scholar and acharya has written:

Isvara is supremely independent. He is the master of all potencies. He enters the universe and controls it. He awards both material enjoyment and ultimate liberation to the individual spirit souls residing in material bodies. Although He is one, He manifests in many forms. They who understand the transcendental science maintain that He is not different from His own transcendental form and qualities. Although He cannot be perceived by the material senses, He can be perceived by bhakti. He is changeless. He reveals His own spiritual, blissful form to His devotees.

"Of all the eternals, one is the supreme eternal. Of all conscious entities, one is the supreme conscious entity."

- - Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.13

As a vaidurya jewel manifests many different colors, so the Supreme Lord manifests many different forms. Each of these forms is the same perfect, complete, and pure Supreme Lord. In some forms the Lord displays all His qualities, and other forms the Lord does not display all His qualities. Therefore a wise devotee may meditate on all the Lords qualities, as described in the scriptures, as being present in the particular form of the Lord that is chosen for worship.

Both Lord Hari and His associates are the same persons in both previous and subsequent actions. Why is that? The sutra explains: "sarvabhedad" because of complete non-difference. This means that because there is no difference in Their personalities, the same Lord Hari and the same associates present in the previous actions are also present in the subsequent actions. That Lord Hari remains one even though He expands into many forms is confirmed in the Gopala-tapane Upanisad in these words:

eko pi san bahudha yo vabhati

"Although He is one, the Supreme Lord appears in many forms."

Also, in the Smriti-sastra it is said:

ekaneka-svarupaya

"Although He is one, the Supreme Lord appears in many forms."

This is also true of the Lord's liberated associates, who remain one even though they appear in many forms. The forms of the Supreme Lord are undivided. They are all full of eternity, knowledge, infinity, and bliss.

In this way it is said that although the Lord's forms present a very wonderful variety, still They are all one in essence. Although this truth was also described in sutra 3.2.14, the merciful teacher of Vedanta repeats the same teaching so this very difficult topic may be clearly understood.

The Supreme Lord is identical with each of His forms. They are all Him. That a certain form of the Lord is His original form, or an expansion of that form, or an expansion of the expansion is determined only by how much of His powers the Lord chooses to display when He manifests that form. Only in that way are some forms of the Lord considered higher and others less high. The great devotees of the Lord declare:

The Lord's forms are considered greater or lesser on the basis of how much of His transcendental power the Lord chooses to manifest when He reveals them.

Because she is not different from the Supreme Lord, Goddess Laksmi is also all pervading. In the Smriti-sastra it is said:

Goddess Laksmi is the mother of the worlds. She is the constant companion of Lord Visnu. As Lord Visnu is all pervading, so is she.

To think that Goddess Laksmi is different from Lord Visnu, but still all-pervading, is a false, a heretical idea. In this way the idea that Goddess Laksmi is an individual spirit soul, like the many millions of other individual spirit souls is refuted. As Lord Visnu has limitless transcendental qualities, so does Goddess Laksmi. In the scriptures it is said:

O Goddess, even if we had tongues like the demigod Brahma, we still could not describe all Your transcendental qualities. O Lotus-eyed Goddess Laksmi, please do not ever abandon your devotees.

When Lord Visnu assumes different forms, Goddess Laksmi also assumes different forms and follows Him. In the scriptures it is said:

When Lord Visnu assumes the form of a demigod, Goddess Laksmi assumes the form of a demigoddess. When He assumes the form of a human man, she assumes the form of a human woman. In this way she assumes a form to match the form of Lord Visnu.

Sri Radha is the origin of all the forms of Goddess Laksmi. Sri Krsna is the origin of all the forms of Lord Visnu. In the Purusa-bodhini Upanisad it is said:

In the land of Gokula in Mathura-mandala, Lord Krsna resides. At His two sides are Radha and Candravali.

There it is also said:

Laksmi, Durga, and the Lord's potencies are expansions of Sri Radha.

Even Durga is identical to Krishna, as told by Jiva Goswami:

Durga is also described in Narada-pancaratra, in the following conversation of Sruti and Vidya:

Durga is the supreme goddess. She is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She is the transcendental potency of the Lord. She is manifested from the form of Lord Maha-Vishnu.

Simply by understanding her one immediately attains the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not otherwise.

Durga is the personal potency of Lord Krishna, and therefore she is Lord Krishna Himself. For this reason Durga should not be considered manifested from a portion of the Lord's illusory potency Maya. This fact is confirmed by the following statement of the Nirukti:

Even is one continually worships her, Durga is still difficult to understand.

In the Sammohana Tantra, Durga herself declares:

I am Durga. I possess all virtues. I am not different from Sri Radha, the eternal, supreme goddess of fortune.

She is identical with Gokula's queen Sri Radha, who possesses a great treasure of love for Krishna. By her grace the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all living entities, is easily understood.

Sometimes Goddess Durga is also described as the supreme controller. This is also correct because there is no difference between the potencies and Lord Krishna, the master of all potencies. This is confirmed by the following words of the Gautamiya Tantra:

Krishna is Durga. Durga is Krishna. One who sees that they are different will not become liberated from the cycle of repeated birth and death.

From the Brahma Samhita, text 46 with Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's purport:

The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various manifestations.

Purport

The presiding Deities of Hari-dhama, viz., Hari, Narayana, Visnu, etc.. the subjective portions of Krsna, are being described. The majestic manifestation of Krsna is Narayana, Lord of Vaikuntha, whose subjective portion is Karanodakasayi Vishnu, the prime cause, whose portion is Garbhodakasayi. Ksirodakasayi is again the subjective portion of Garhhodakasayi Visnu.

The word "Visnu" indicates all-pervading, omnipresent and omniscient personality. In this sloka the activities of the subjective portions of the Divinity are enunciated by the specification of the nature of Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. The personality of Vishnu, the embodied form of the manifestive quality (sattva-guna) is quite distinct from that of Sambhu (Shiva) who is adulterated with mundane qualities. Vishnu's subjective personality is on a level with that of Govinda. Both consist of the unadulterated substantive principle. Visnu in the form of the manifest causal principle is identical with Govinda as regards quality.

That coincides with Sri Baladeva and the other acaryas who are all stating that God is one. The various manifestations of God are different only in how much or in what way God chooses to display Him/Herself. So when trying to understand Radha Krishna lila we need to understand that they are both the same Supreme Person, in two forms. This is mentioned here in the Caitanya Caritamrta:

radha-krsna pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanau api bhuvipura deha-bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam

The loving affairs of Radha Krishna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krishna are one in Their identity, They have separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united in the form of Sri Krishna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krishna Himself. (C.c. Adi 1.1.5)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives a more detailed explanation in his Sri Tattva Sutra as follows:

1. ekah paro nanyah

The Supreme is one. He has no rival

2. agunopi sarvasaktirameyatvat

Because He is limitless, He has all powers, even though He remains beyond the touch of the modes of material nature

3. viruddha-samanyam tasminnacitram

No one should be surprised that the Supreme possesses mutually contradictory natures

4. sa saccidanando jnanagamyo bhakti visayatvat

He is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. He cannot be known by ordinary knowledge, for He is known only by devotional service

5. sa ca satyo nityo 'nadirananto desa-kalaparicchedat

He is the eternal Supreme Truth, beginningless and endless, for He exists beyond the limits of space and time

6. paropi cijjadabhyam vilasi visva-siddheh

Although He is transcendental, the playful Lord creates the material universes filled with conscious beings and inert matter

7. tacchaktitastatvadhikyamiticcenna tadabhedat

If someone claims, "The Lord is different from His potency", then I reply, "No. It is not so, for they are not different."

If someone claims that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the creator of the worlds, is different from His potency, then this sutra is spoken to refute him. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not different from His many potencies, the potencies are not different from Him. This is described in the following words of the Nyaya-sastra:

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all potencies, is not different from His potencies."

In the Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.8.) it is said:

"The Lord's potencies of knowledge, power and action share His own nature. They are not different from Him."

In Visnu Purana (1.22.53) it is said:

"Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over the universe."*

In the Markandeya Purana, Devi-mahatmya, the sage explains:

"O king, now I will describe to you the glories of the goddess. By her power she sustains the entire world.

"She is the potency of Lord Visnu. From her comes transcendental knowledge. You and many others have attained transcendental knowledge by her grace."

In the Narada-pancaratra, Second Night, Third Chapter, Lord Siva explains:

"The Supreme Lord is one. Still, He is manifested in two forms. One form is female: the potency of Lord Visnu. The other form is male: Lord Visnu."

Again the potency or Shakti of the lord is non different from the lord, they are two in one. The energy of the lord is an aspect of the lord, they are not two different substances. This is from the Caitanya-Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.154-155:

sac-citanandamaya krsnera svarupa
ata eva svarupa-sakti haya tina-rupa
anandamse hladini sadamse sandhini
cid-amse samvit ya're jnana kari' mani

Lord Krsna is sac-cidnananda-vigraha the transcendental form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Therefore His personal energy (svarupa-sakti, the internal energy of the Lord) has three different forms. Hladini is His energy of ecstasy, beauty, sweetness, charm, harmony; sandhini, His energy of eternal existence, or reality; and samvit, of cognizance, knowledge, awareness.

Here is explained that Hladini is the aspect of God that displays God's ecstasy, beauty, sweetness, charm, harmony. In the Brahma Samhita we get a bit more information:

ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis
tabhir ya eva njja-rupataya
kalabhih goloka eva nivasaty
akhilatma-bhuto
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency [hladini]. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.

Radha is the personification of the Hladini Shakti. In other words She is the manifestation of God's ecstacy, beauty, sweetness, charm, and harmony mentioned in the previous verse. Next in the Caitanya Caritamrta A.C. Bhaktivedanta gives us some more on the nature of Radha:

She is the personified hladini sakti (the pleasure-giving energy of the Lord's internal potency), and therefore She is the only source of enjoyment for Sri Krsna.

Sri Krsna cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Radha and Sri Krsna are identical. The sandhini portion of Sri Krsna's internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Sri Krsna, and the same internal potency, in the hladini feature, has presented Srimati Radharani, who is the attraction for the all-attractive. No one can match Srimati Radharani in the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna.

So here we see the description of Radha and Krishna as being manifestations of a single person. Krishna is the manifestation of the Sandhini potency, described in a previous verse as God's energy of eternal existence, or reality. And Sri Radha is the personifed Hladini potency, the manifestation of the lords sweetness, beauty, charm, ecstacy, etc.

Some may argue that Radha is a separate person from Krishna. That she is the personified devotional potency of love for Krishna. They may say she is one and different from Krishna, a unique individual. As we have seen this is not supported by shastra, sadhu, or guru. Next Bhaktivinoda tries to explain what is meant by Radha as Potency or Shakti.

From Bhaktivinoda's Jaiva Dharma:

"The potency and the possessor of the potency are not different."

The meaning, then, is that the potency does not exist apart from its substance. The only true substance is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of potencies. The nature of the potency is either to be a quality of the Supreme Lord, or submissive to His will.

When it is said that the potency has pure consciousness, that means that because the potency and the master of potencies are not different, therefore, like the master of potencies, the potency also has a form of spiritual consciousness, has desires that are at once fulfilled, and is beyond the touch of the three modes. It is not a mistake to say these things.

Will and consciousness are qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By itself, the potency does not possess will, but rather it carries out the will of the Supreme. For example, you have power, and by Your will, your potencies act. If you say, 'the power acted', then that means that the possessor of the power was actually behind the action. To say that 'the power acted' is only to use a figure of speech.

In truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has only one potency. When she performs spiritual actions, she is called spiritual potency, and when she performs material actions, she is called the material potency, or maya.

As A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami has written:

As already explained, Krsna and Radha are one in two. They are identical. Krsna expands Himself in multi-incarnations and plenary portions like the purusas. Similarly, Srimati Radharani expands Herself in multi-forms as the goddesses of fortune, the queens and the damsels of Vraja. Such expansions from Srimati Radharani are all Her plenary portions. All these womanly forms of Krsna are expansions corresponding to His plenary expansions of Visnu forms. These expansions have been compared to reflected forms of the original form. There is no difference between the original and reflected forms. The female reflections of Krsna's pleasure potency are as good as Krsna Himself.

So this brings us to the point of Radha Krishna lila. In the lila we can read that Radha and Krishna are in love. But at the same time we have been educated to learn that they are two bodies, one soul, one person. How can one person be in love with him/her self manifested in a different body ?

Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana explains in his Govinda Bhasya, the acclaimed Gaudiya commentary on the Vedanta Sutra:

By touching the goddess of fortune, who is actually Himself, the Lord enjoys transcendental bliss. It is like a person gazing at his own handsomness in a mirror

Different from His spiritual potency (para sakti) is the potency of the Lord's form (svarupa-sakti). The Sruti-sastras and other scriptures explain that through the svarupa-sakti the Supreme Lord manifests as the best of males, and through the para sakti the Lord manifests His various transcendental qualities.

Manifesting as the Lord's pleasure potency (hladini sakti), the para sakti appears as Sri Radha, the jewel of teenage girls

He explains here that the Lords qualities are manifested through the para-sakti, and what is the manifestation? That is Sri Radha, the hladini sakti. The lords qualities are manifested in Radha. Through the svarupa-sakti's sandhini aspect the lord manifests as the best of males, but it is Radha who is actually manifesting the lords various transcendental qualities. In other words it is Sri Radha who is really the highest manifestation of God, superior to Krsna.

So even though it is explained that Krsna is actually Radha Himself, and when He touches Her it is like He is looking in a mirror, still this is bringing transcendental bliss. How is this possible? Wouldn't God desire or need to have a relationship with another actual person for the relationship to be real as opposed to play acting?

Again Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana explains this point in Govinda Bhasya:

Is it not true that amorous love is possible only when there are two: the lover and the beloved ? If there is no difference between the lover and the beloved, then love is not possible between them.

Although the Lord and His para sakti are not different, still, for enjoying different pastimes, They are manifested as different. In this way the Lord's desires are perfectly and completely fulfilled.

Even though the Lord's potency and the Lord Himself, the shelter of that potency, are one, still, because the Lord is the best of males and His potency is the jewel of young girls, when They are together there is naturally the perfection of blissful amorous pastimes.

"when They are together there is naturally the perfection of blissful amorous pastimes."

Here we have the answer. Blissful amorous pastimes are perfected by their rasa. In other words their rasa is for the sake of perfecting lila, perfecting the pastimes of Vraja. They are one person having a relationship in two forms in order to create perfect pastimes.

So the truth is it takes two to tango. The pastimes of the lord are manifested for the ecstacy they bring. Although Radha and Krsna are the central figures of the lila, their rasa is compared to one person looking into a mirror.

Radha and Krsna are one and the same, if we leave that out of the equation then everything we believe about their relationship in their lila is wrong.

Jiva Goswami has written in Priti-sandarbha (10)12:

In the spiritual world, the Supreme Lord has unlimited spiritual forms, all are expansions of Himself illuminating that world. With each one of those forms, the Lord enjoys pastimes with a single individual liberated soul.

The real rasa in the spiritual world is not between Krishna and His personal expansions who are all identical to Himself, they appear to have real relationships with each other in the lila, but that is done to create a perfect pastime for the jivas there. The real rasa is between God and the jivas.

Someone may complain:

"If Radha and Krishna don't feel anything for each other, then why did Krishna come as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to feel, taste and understand Sri Radha's love for Him? Krishna Himself was wondering how Radha can love Him so much, and how much happiness She feels because of this love. Having these desires, Krishna took Radha's mood and complexion and came here to fulfill these desires."


They are one person, it's not that they don't feel anything out of some kind of strangeness, the feelings they exhibit in lila are for the necessity of that lila.

Mahaprabhu came to teach. Don't think that he didn't really know what Radha feels. That is a metaphor. Just looking at this from a larger perspective we can gain an idea of this. How many times has Mahaprabhu had the same exact pastimes on numerous planets? 10 times? 100? 100,000,000,000 times? Who can say? How long have these pastimes been going on? How long is forever?

Besides that Radha and Krishna are one person in two forms, of course Krishna knows what Radha experiences, He is Radha.

The metaphor is that Krishna experiences more pleasure as Radha, His higher or more confidential identity is female. As already pointed out above from the Govinda Bhasya:

By touching the goddess of fortune, who is actually Himself, the Lord enjoys transcendental bliss. It is like a person gazing at his own handsomness in a mirror

Different from His spiritual potency (para sakti) is the potency of the Lord's form (svarupa-sakti). The Sruti-sastras and other scriptures explain that through the svarupa-sakti the Supreme Lord manifests as the best of males, and through the PARA SAKTI the Lord manifests His various transcendental qualities.

Manifesting as the Lord's pleasure potency (hladini sakti), the PARA SAKTI appears as Sri Radha, the jewel of teenage girls

The Supreme Lord's personal qualities, the enjoying aspect (hladini sakti), is manifested as Sri Radha.

This is the point of Mahaprabhu's lila. We are told that Krishna was intrigued by the fact that Radha's enjoyment was millions of times greater then His own.

CC Adi 4.133: "I taste the bliss to which the object of love is entitled. But the pleasure of Radha, the abode of that love, is ten million times greater.

CC Adi 4.134: "My mind races to taste the pleasure experienced by the abode, but I cannot taste it, even by My best efforts. How may I taste it?

CC Adi 4.135: "If sometime I can be the abode of that love, only then may I taste its joy."

CC Adi 4.136: Thinking in this way, Lord Krishna was curious to taste that love. His eager desire for that love increasingly blazed in His heart.

Mahaprabhu is Krishna come to taste that which Krishna cannot taste unless he takes on the mood of Radha. In other words we are being taught that God enjoys more as a female then as a male. Mahaprabhu is teaching by example that on the outside God is the masculine all powerful Purusha, Vishnu, Narayana, Krishna. But on the inside God enjoys as a female more so then as a male. God's most confidential identity is ultimately female. That is Gaura lila's metaphoric message. God's inner self is feminine while the outer display is masculine. This is Mahaprabhu's message, this is the inner message of his lila. He is externally a male but internally a female. Radha is Supreme. That is the esoteric teaching he alone brings. He brings the very highest and most intimate conception of God which has never been brought before.

Love can exist only when there is a lover and beloved. When the sastra describes the love between Radha and Krishna that is symbolic of rasa between Radha and a jiva or Krishna and a jiva.


From the Narada Pancaratra on Sri Radhika

vatsala kausala kala
karunarnava-rupini
svarga-laksmir bhumi-
laksmir draupadi pandava-priya
-

She is affectionate (vatsala), expert (kausala), beautiful (kala), and an ocean of mercy (karunarnava-rupini). She is heavenly opulence (svarga-laksmi) and earthly opulence (bhumi-laksmi). She is Draupadi (draupadi), who is dear to the Pandavas (pandava-priya).

Draupadi also is an expansion of Radha as mentioned above. The following is a bit from the Mahabharata on the origins of Draupadi:

Then those Indras, of their shorn glory said, 'We shall go from our celestial regions even unto the region of men where salvation is ordained to be difficult of acquisition. But let the gods Dharma, Vayu, Maghavat, and the twin Aswins beget us upon our would-be mother. Fighting with men by means of both celestial and human weapons, we shall again come back into the region of Indra.'

Vyasa continued, 'Hearing these words of the former Indras, the wielder of the thunderbolt once more addressed that foremost of gods, saying, 'Instead of going myself, I shall, with a portion of my energy, create from myself a person for the accomplishment of the task (thou assignest) to form the fifth among these!' Vishwabhuk, Bhutadhaman, Sivi of great energy, Santi the fourth, and Tejaswin, these it is said were the five Indras of old.

And the illustrious god of the formidable bow, from his kindness, granted unto the five Indras the desire they cherished. And he also appointed that woman of extraordinary beauty, who was none else than celestial Sri (goddess of grace) herself, to be their common wife in the world of men. Accompanied by all those Indras, the god Isana then went unto Narayana of immeasurable energy, the Infinite, the Immaterial, the Uncreate, the Old, the Eternal, and the Spirit of these universes without limits. Narayana approved of everything. Those Indras then were born in the world of men. And Hari (Narayana) took up two hairs from his body, one of which hairs was black and the other white. And those two hairs entered the wombs of two of the Yadu race, by name Devaki and Rohini. And one of these hairs viz., that which was white, became Valadeva. And the hair that was black was born as Kesava's self, Krishna. And those Indras of old who had been confined in the cave on the Himavat are none else than the sons of Pandu, endued with great energy. And Arjuna amongst the Pandavas, called also Savyasachin (using both hands with equal dexterity) is a portion of Sakra.'

Vyasa continued, 'Thus, O king, they who have been born as the Pandavas are none else than those Indras of old. And the celestial Sri herself who had been appointed as their wife is this Draupadi of extraordinary beauty. How could she whose effulgence is like that of the sun or the moon, whose fragrance spreads for two miles around, take her birth in any other than an extraordinary way, viz., from within the earth, by virtue of the sacrificial rites? Unto thee, O king, I cheerfully grant this other boon in the form of spiritual sight. Behold now the sons of Kunti endued with their sacred and celestial bodies of old!'...

...And observing the Pandavas in the forms of those Indras of old, and Arjuna also in the form of Indra sprung from Sakra himself, king Drupada was highly pleased. And the monarch wondered much on beholding that manifestation of celestial power under deep disguise. The king looking at his daughter, that foremost of women endued with great beauty, like unto a celestial damsel and possessed of the splendour of fire or the moon, regarded her as the worthy wife of those celestial beings, for her beauty, splendour and fame. And beholding that wonderful sight, the monarch touched the feet of Satyavati's son, exclaiming, 'O great Rishi, nothing is miraculous in thee!' The Rishi then cheerfully continued, 'In a certain hermitage there was an illustrious Rishi's daughter, who, though handsome and chaste, obtained not a husband. The maiden gratified, by severe ascetic penances, the god Sankara (Mahadeva). The lord Sankara, gratified at her penances, told her himself. 'Ask thou the boon thou desirest' Thus addressed, the maiden repeatedly said unto the boon-giving Supreme Lord, 'I desire to obtain a husband possessed of every accomplishment. Sankara, the chief of the gods, gratified with her, gave her the boon she asked, saying, 'Thou shall have, amiable maiden, five husbands.' The maiden, who had succeeded in gratifying the god, said again, 'O Sankara, I desire to have from thee only one husband possessed of every virtue?' The god of gods, well-pleased with her, spake again, saying, 'Thou hast, O maiden, addressed me five full times, repeating, 'Give me a husband.' Therefore, O amiable one, it shall even be as thou hast asked. Blessed be thou. All this, however, will happen in a future life of thine!'

Vyasa continued, 'O Drupada, this thy daughter of celestial beauty is that maiden. Indeed, the faultless Krishna sprung from Prishata's race hath been pre-ordained to become the common wife of five husbands. The celestial Sri, having undergone severe ascetic penances, hath, for the sake of the Pandavas, had her birth as thy daughter, in the course of thy grand sacrifice. That handsome goddess, waited upon by all the celestials, as a consequence of her own acts becomes the (common) wife of five husbands. It is for this that the self-create had created her. Having listened to all this, O king Drupada, do what thou desirest.'

More from the Narada Pancaratra on Sri Radhika

sakalepsita-datri ca
saci sadhvi arundhati
pati-vrata pati-prana
pati-vakya-vinodini
asesa-sadhani kalpa-
vasini kalpa-rupini
-

She fulfills all desires (sakalepsita-datri). She is Saci (saci) (Wife of Indra). She is saintly (sadhvi). She is Arundhati (arundhati) (Wife of Vasistha) She is faithful to Her husband (pati-vrata). Her husband is Her very life (pati-prana). She delights in Her husband's words (pati-vakya-vinodini). She has the power to do anything (asesa-sadhani). All Her desires are automatically fulfilled (kalpa-vasini and kalpa-rupini).


sridamasya sakhi dama-
damini dama-dharini
kailasini kesini ca
harid-ambara-dharini
-

She is Sridama's friend (sridamasya sakhi). She is glorious (dama-damini and dama-dharini). She is Parvati (kailasini). She has beautiful hair (kesini). She wears blue garments (harid-ambara-dharini).


yaga-yoga-hara bhukti-
mukti-datri hiranya-da
kapala-malini devi
dhama-rupiny apurva-da
-

She gives the results of Vedic sacrififces (yaga-yoga-hara). She gives sense gratification and liberation (bhukti-mukti-datri). She gives gold (hiranya-da). As Durga-devi, She wears a garland of skulls (kapala-malini). She is a goddess (devi). Her form is splendid and glorious (dhama-rupini). She gives what has never been given before (apurva-da)


ugra-rupa siva-kroda
krsna-kroda jalodari
mahodari maha-durga-
kantara-sustha-vasini
-

She manifests the terrible form of Durga-devi (ugra-rupa), where She sits on Lord Siva's lap (siva-kroda). She sits on Lord Krsna's lap (krsna-kroda). She rests on the milk-ocean (jalodari). She descends to the material world (mahodari). She happily lives in a great forest that is like an unapproachable fortress (maha-durga-kantara-sustha-vasini).


tatharjuna-sakhi bhaumi
bhaimi bhima-kulodvaha
bhuvana mohana ksina
panasakta-tara tatha
-

She is Arjuna's friend (arjuna-sakhi), a resident of the earth (bhaumi), very exalted (bhaimi), born in an exalted family (bhima-kulodvaha), a resident of the material worlds (bhuvana), charming (mohana), slender (ksina), and fond of betelnuts (panasakta-tara).


vatsala kausala kala
karunarnava-rupini
svarga-laksmir bhumi-
laksmir draupadi pandava-priya
-

She is affectionate (vatsala), expert (kausala), beautiful (kala), and an ocean of mercy (karunarnava-rupini). She is heavenly opulence (svarga-laksmi) and earthly opulence (bhumi-laksmi). She is Draupadi (draupadi), who is dear to the Pandavas (pandava-priya).


anviksiki sastra-rupa
sastra-siddhanta-karini
nagendra naga-mata ca
krida-kautuka-rupini
-

She is the science of logic (anviksiki), the Vedas personified (sastra-rupa), the teacher of the Vedas' final conclusion (sastra-siddhanta-karini, the beloved of Lord Sesa (nagendra), the mother of the snakes (naga-mata) and playful and happy (krida-kautuka-rupini).


kama-prakasika kaminy
animady-asta-siddhi-da
yamini yamini-natha-
vadana yaminisvari
-

She is an amorous girl (kama-prakasika and kamini). She grants the eight mystic perfections, beginning with anima (animady-asta-siddhi-da). She is in control of Her senses (yamini) and She is the leader of all restrained, self-controlled girls (yamini-natha-vadana and yaminisvari).


brahma-visnu-sivardhanga-
harini saiva-simsapa
raksasi-nasini bhuta-
preta-prana-vinasini
-

She is the other half of Lord Visnu, Lord Siva, and Lord Brahma (brahma-visnu-sivardhanga-harini). She is Lord Siva's beloved (saiva-simsapa). She kills the demonesses (raksasi-nasini). She kills the bhutas and pretas (bhuta-preta-prana-vinasini).

krsnartha-vyakula krsna-
sara-carma-dhara subha
alakesvara-pujya ca
kuveresvara-vallabha
-

She is agitated with the desire to attain Lord Krsna (krsnartha-vyakula). She is the beloved of Lord Siva, who wears a deerskin (krsnasara-carma-dhara). She is beautiful (subha). She is worshiped by Kuvera (alakesvara-pujya) and She is dear to Kuvera's master, Lord Siva (kuveresvara-vallabha).


isvari sarva-vandya ca
gopaniya subhankari
palini sarva-bhutanam
tatha kamanga-harini
-

She is the supreme controller (isvari), worshiped by all (sarva-vandya), reclusive (gopaniya), the giver of auspiciousness (subhankari), the protectress of all living entities (palini sarva-bhutanam), and the wife of Lord Siva who destroyed Kamadeva's body (kamanga-harini).

nilambara-vidhatri ca
nilakantha-priya tatha
bhagini bhagini bhogya
krsna-bhogya bhagesvari
-

She is dressed in blue garments (nilambara-vidhatri). She is Lord Siva's beloved (nilakantha-priya). She is beautiful (bhagini, bhagini, and bhogya), Krsna's happiness (krsna-bhogya), and the queen of transcendental opulences (bhagesvari)