(This pad is a brief description of the Ras Panchadhyayi of the Bhagwatam.) The intimate Bliss of Radha Krishn, which is unlimited times higher than the Bliss of the Divine yogis, is pouring in Vrindavan.
On the banks of river Yamuna where the grounds are paved with jewels,
And near Vanshivat, in the Sharad Poornima night (of the autumn) when the cool light of the full moon is spraying its charm all over,
In the winsome style of a humble lover,
The enticer of Gopis' hearts, supreme rasik, Krishn, is rejoicing His adored Love, Radha Rani (with a desire to seek Her consent to do maharas as He had promised to the Gopis. Radha Rani looks at Him, lovingly smiles, briefly nods in affirmation, and disappears).
Krishn looked around and found that the flowers of the spring were also blooming in the autumn/fall (which was the indication of the speciality of the occasion and the Grace of Radha Rani).
His self-complacent mind was encharmed with the surrounding beauty,
And the desire to do raas appeared in His heart.
In the meantime, Kamdev, the god of love also showed up with his full romantic powers to try the self- complacency of Krishn.
The sages of Dandak forest, Graced by Bhagwan Ram,
The maidens of the hladini power, Janki ji (Sita ji),
And the richas of the Vedas (who had received the Grace of Krishn), all of them, desiring to receive the Bliss of maharas, appeared in Braj. (They were called sadhan siddha Gopis. Apart from them,)
The nitya siddha Gopis of Golok had also appeared in Braj as Gopis (and they were all anxiously waiting for that particular Sharad Poornima night.
(The time had come, so, Krishn called for the Gopis and played a special note on His flute near Vanshivat.) Hearing the heart-enticing sound of the flute of their beloved Krishn,
All the Gopis of Braj ran to Him, (and formed well organized circles for doing maharas).
Like the lightning and the cloud, Radha and Krishn glorified the center of the maharas.
(When all the preliminaries were done, with the help of His amazing power, yogmaya,) Krishn multiplied Himself into uncountable forms and joined all the Gopis individually. (Thus, there was a continuous line of one Gopi and one Krishn in all the circles.)
(Now the maharas started.) The Gopis, and Radha and Krishn started singing soul-exciting songs in the classical style of various rag with heart-catching tan and alaap,
With the exactings of the seven prime notes, sa-re-ga-ma-pa-ḍha-ni.
At that time, the youthful goddesses of the celestial abodes also came to watch this happening and they were all sitting in their celestial chariots in the sky.
The musical instruments that were used in maharas, like the cymbal, drum etc., were all well tuned and synchronized, and were producing a sweet, soft and loving melody.
(Now the Gopis started dancing with elegant movements of all the five parts of their body.) Swaying, rolling, swinging and moving their body and slim waist,
They are twisting, dancing, walking, stepping and coordinating their heels and steps with the sound and the beat of the drum (mridang).
They are lovingly arching their eye- brows and are darting their sidelong glances (to their beloved Krishn).
The lovely movements of the upper part of their body and neck, and the graceful actions of their arms, hands, and fingers appear as the dancing embodiment of love itself. In this way uncountable groups of Gopis are dancing with Krishn in the maharas.
Dancing in the overtaking joy of His intimate love, their tresses, garments and the ornaments,
Have become untidy and are loosely hanging on their body, because all the Gopis are inebriated with the intoxication of the personal love of Krishn.
They are still playing and dancing with Krishn in an exalted state of the Divine and beyond the guiles of maya,
And their jingle-belled anklets and resonant bangles and waistband are producing an exciting melody of combined tinkling sounds.
All-apt in the loving plays, Rasik Shiromani Krishn,
Is doing soul-exciting leelas and raas.
With His heart-enticing actions and love- inciting words, He is playfully playing
With the Gopis, (who are part of His own personality, in a Divinely expanded mono-dualistic manner), just like a baby child plays with his own image reflected in a large mirror. यथार्भकः स्वप्रतिबिम्बविभ्रमः । भा.).
(The Blissfulness of the Divine leela of maharas is beyond the limits of imagination. Its surprising excellency could be a little understood with the fact that:) Even the birds and the animals of Vrindavan, who happened to glance at the view of maharas, were so enthralled with the lovingness of the scene that they were frozen in excitement, and, like a statue, they kept on looking unblinkingly;
And the static beings, trees and plants etc.
became animated with the Divine animation of the surroundings and felt thrilled (with the liveliness of the maharas that filled the whole of the atmosphere. Their hearts moved, and their subtle senses became alive. Overjoyed with the enchantment of the raas Bliss, that permeated the entire Vrindavan, they began to drip tears of love in the form of sap from their twigs and branches).
In this way, all the beings of Vrindavan were merrily swinging on the wave of the ocean of Divine love.
Seeing the incredible charm of maharas from the sky, god moon, drowned in the spell of love, lost his track, and the vanity of Kamdev to try his powers on Krishn was blown away (at the very first glimpse of maharas, and he fainted with the excessive joy of watching the blissful appearances of the Gopis).
(Such was the charming effect of the maharas.) The Seva Kunj, where Radha Krishn danced, is great; Vrindavan dham, where maharas happened is great;
The Gopis, who are like the crown jewel among all the rasik Saints, are great;
And the greatest of them is Swamini Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Who revealed this supreme Bliss along with Krishn.
And those Saints are also great who, with the Grace of the Gopis and Radha Krishn, watch this leela of maharas. (So, Glory to Seva Kunj, Glory to Vrindavan, Glory to the Gopis of Braj, Glory to Raseshwari Radha Rani and Krishn, and glory to those Saints who follow Them.)
Live recorded kirtan during the Sharad Poornima Celebration 2024 from Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple of JKP Radha Madhav Dham, Austin, TX.
Song Credits:
Song - Saras-surați-ras saras so rați-ras सरस- सुरति-रस सरस सो रति- रस
Singer - Chirag bhaiya
Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj
Lyrics Composer - Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj
JKP Radha Madhav Dham podcast is available on various podcast apps.
Saras-surați-ras saras so rați-ras सरस- सुरति-रस सरस सो रति- रस / Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj / Sharad Poornima 2024