Radha: The Supreme Nayika of Gaudiya Vaishnavism

By Steven J. Rosen

Essence of beauty and relationship,

Quintessence of bliss and compassion,
Embodiment of sweetness and brilliance,
Epitome of artfulness, graceful in love:
May my mind take refuge iall essences.
-- Prabodhananda Sarasvati

When I first joined the modern-day Hare Krishna movement in the cold winter of
1972,1 I had no idea that it regarded Radha, the feminine form of the Divine, as
its supreme worshipful Deity. In fact, in some ways, it envisions Radha as
superior to Krishna, the male Godhead. But if all this was unknown to me -- who
studied the movement in earnest --- it was even more of a mystery to my sister
Carol, who, in recent years, has been exploring the idea of feminism. I watched
this develop. As she devoured book after book on the failures of patriarchy and
man-made societies, she came to see me -- her brother, whom she viewed as
worshipping a male God -- as a victim of sexist philosophers, as someone duped
by those who have little regard for women. In other words, she knew that I
revered Krishna, who is clearly male, and this was enough to put me in league
with those who belittled her gender.

It confused her, though, to see that I was not full of macho double-talk, that,
despite my worship of a male God, I was fair and even-minded -- I did not speak
down to women, and I even seemed to have high regard for them. She decided I was
bright enough to confront directly: Why do you worship that blue boy, Krishna?
Why see God as male at all? she asked. Why not envision Him as female?

Well, I answered quickly and annoyed, as if a two-minute conversation could sum

up a persons theological perspective, He's God. And besides, I added, we
shouldn't merely envision God as we like. We learn about him from authoritative
sources, the scriptures, whether the Vedas, from India, or the Western
scriptures, like the Bible or the Quran.

But how do you know? she asked. Maybe those books are leading you on. I would
say that God would have to be the ultimate Female, with sensitivity and the
ability to nurture -- qualities usually found in women.

But isn't that sexism coming from the opposite direction? I knew this question
would make her think twice. If God is ultimately the supreme female, wouldn't
that leave men out of the equation? Wouldn't that be saying that the female form
is better than the male form? You'd be guilty of the very thing that you claim
patriarchal religion is guilty of.

This gave her reason to pause. But you still say that God is male? I stopped her
in her tracks. First of all, I began, according to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the core
of the Krishna tradition, God is both male and female -- isn't this a more
egalitarian vision of God?

Well, maybe -- if it's true, she said, still skeptical of a tradition (and a
brother) that she had all but trained herself to see as sexist. Look, I said,
Krishna is described as God in much of the Puranic literature and in the great
Epic Mahabharata as well. These texts classify Him as God because He has all the
qualifications of God. An example: How do you know the President of the United
States is the President? You know he's the President because he has the
qualifications of the President. He has certain credentials. It's not that you
can just envision that somebody is the President and then, Puff !, he's the
President. No. So if you study Krishna closely, you'll see that He is full in
all opulences: strength, beauty, wealth, fame, knowledge, and renunciation.
Anyone who has these qualities in full is God.

She was getting restless. She had heard all this before, and she felt I was
getting off the subject of God as Female. But Krishna consciousness goes
further, I continued. Radha is the female manifestation of God. She is the
ultimate Female. So we see God as both male and female.

My sister smiled. She had something up her sleeve: If you acknowledge that God
is both male and female, why does your central mantra -- that prayer you're
chanting all the time -- why does that focus on Krishna, the male form of God?

Radha: Goddess Supreme

What my sister didn't know was that the Maha-mantra, the prayer to which she was
referring, was a prayer to Radha first, and to Krishna only second. Do you know
the mantra I chant, the one you're talking about? She started to recite it --
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I was pleased. Do you know what the Hare part of that
chant means?

No, she admitted.

It's a strong request to Radha, the Godhead in female form. By chanting Hare,
one beseeches Mother Hara (another name for Radha).2 Hare is the vocative form
of Hara.3 Basically, the mantra is asking Mother Hara, Radha, to please engage
me in Krishna's service.

You mean the Hare Krishna chant is a prayer to the female form of God?

Absolutely. I got her attention. Tell me, she said with growing curiosity, What
does the word Radha mean?

It means She who worships Krishna best.

Aha! my sister quipped. Then Radha is NOT God. If She's His best worshipper,
then She is obviously distinct from Him!

This is not true, I said. God is the person who does everything best. As He says
in the Gita: I am the original seed of all existences, I am the heat in fire . .
. the life of all that lives . . . the intelligence of the intelligent . . .
the strength of the strong É Of bodies of water I am the ocean . . . Of
immovable things I am the Himalayas . . . Of letters I am the letter A. In other
words, He is the first and best in all fields. Who could worship Krishna better
than He Himself? No one. Therefore, He manifests as Radha, His female form, and
shows that He is His own best worshipper. As Radha He is God the worshiper, and
as Krishna He is God the worshiped. Worshiper and worshipped par excellence.
And, in this way, both are equal.

Tell me more, she said.

From the Gaudiya Vaishnava point of view, the divine feminine energy ( shakti)
implies a divine energetic source ( shaktiman). Thus, the goddess as she
manifests in the various Vaishnava traditions always has a male counterpart.
Sita relates to Rama; Lakshmi corresponds to Narayana; Radha has Her Krishna. As
Krishna is the source of all manifestations of God, Sri Radha, His consort, is
the source of all shaktis, or feminine manifestations of cosmic energy. 4 She is
thus the original Goddess.

Vaishnavism can be seen as a type of Shaktism -- though it is not generally

classified as such -- wherein the purna-shakti, or the most complete form of the
divine feminine energy, is worshipped as the preeminent aspect of divinity,
eclipsing even the male Godhead in certain respects. For example, in Sri-
vaishnavism, which is another lineage of the Vaishnava tradition, Lakshmi (a
primary expansion of Sri Radha) is considered the divine mediatrix, without whom
access to Narayana is not possible. In the Gaudiya line, Radha is acknowledged
as the Supreme Deity, for it is said that She controls Krishna with Her love.
Perfect spiritual life is unattainable without Her grace.

In traditional Vaishnava literature, Krishna is compared to the sun and Radha to

the sunshine. Both exist simultaneously, but one is coming from the other.
Still, it is a misperception to say that the sun is prior to the sunshine -- as
soon as there is a sun, there is sunshine. More importantly, the sun has no
meaning without sunshine, without heat and light. And heat and light would not
exist without the sun. Thus, the sun and the sunshine co-exist, each equally
important for the existence of the other. It may be said that they are
simultaneously one and different.

Likewise, the relationship between Radha and Krishna is that of inconceivable

identity in difference. They are, in essence, a single entity --God -- who
manifests as two distinct individuals for the sake of interpersonal exchange. As
the tradition teaches: Lord Krishna enchants the world, but Shri Radha enchants
even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all. Sri Radha is the full
power, and Lord Krishna is the possessor of full power. The two are not
different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures. They are indeed the same,
just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are
nondifferent. Thus, Radha and Krishna are one, although They have taken two
forms to enjoy a relationship. 5

Radha Tattva

My sister demanded to know more specific information about Radha: Who is She?
What is the theology behind Her essential nature?

I began to summarize Radha Tattva, or the truth about Radha: Sri Radha is
foremost of the gopis, ableto please Krishna with little more than a glance
(though He has a difficult time pleasing Her). However, Radha feels that Her
love for Krishna can always expand to greater heights, and therefore She
manifests as the many gopis of Braj, who fulfill Krishna's desire for
relationship (rasa) in a variety of ways.

The gopis are considered the ' kaya-vyuha' of Sri Radha. There is no English
equivalent for this term, but it can be explained as follows: If one person
could simultaneously exist in more than one human form at a single time, then
those forms would be known as the kaya (body) vyuha (multitude of) of that
particular individual. In other words, they are the identical person, but
occupying different space and time, with different moods and emotions. As Radha
and Krishna's sole/soul purpose is to engage in loving exchange, the gopis exist
to assist Them in this love.

Basically, the gopis are divided into five groups, the most important being the
Parama-preshtha-sakhis (the eight primary gopis). These gopis are named: Lalita,
Vishakha, Chitra, Indulekha, Champakalata, Tungavidya, Rangadevi, and Sudevi.
Many details of their lives and service -- including each one's parents' names,
spouse's name, skin color, age, birthday, mood, temperament, favorite melody,
instrument, closest girlfriends, and so on -- are described. These elements form
the substance of an inner meditation, or sadhana, which is designed to relieve
the practitioner of the spiritual amnesia that afflicts all conditioned souls --
it helps them to realize who they really are in terms of their eternal identity
in the spiritual realm. Through this meditation one gradually develops prema, or
love for Krishna.

Clearly, the tradition sees the love of the gopis as transcendental love of the
highest order, countering accusations of mundane sexuality with clearly defined
distinctions between lust and love. Like the Bride-of-Christ concept in the
Christian tradition and the Kabbalistic conception of the Feminine Divine in
Jewish mysticism, the truth behind gopi-love is theologically profound; it's
said to be the zenith of spiritual awareness. Such love represents the purest
emotion a soul may have for its divine source; the only correlation this may
have to mundane lust is in appearance, an appearance that falls short once one
studies the texts themselves. Because this love is so pure, all Gaudiya
Vaishnavas aspire to taste it. They all want to worship God as the gopis do.

Manjari-Bhava: The Devotees of Radha

Carol now seemed more interested. So are you saying that your religion promotes
worshiping God in the mood of a female lover, that men need to develop the
qualities usually found in women?

Yes, I said. In a sense, that is correct.6 You know, in most male-dominated

traditions, the journey of a masculine hero is seen as a central theme, a
prototype. Every spiritual practitioner tries to emulate the ideal personality
of their particular tradition -- and they see this exemplar as the ultimate
hero, on the supreme adventure. For example, followers of Jesus, or Mohammed,
want to be like their Masters, and this is natural. But Gaudiya Vaishnavism sees
the adventure in feminine terms. It sees its practitioners, generally, as female
assistants to the gopis -- at least they envision themselves as such in their
ultimate spiritual forms -- and the ultimate adventure is one in which one
learns to serve the supreme heroine, Sri Radha.

You see, many prominent Vaishnava authorities -- such as Gopal Guru Goswami,
Dhyanchandra Goswami, and Narottama Dasa Thakur -- brought out the special
significance of Manjari-bhava, which is a process by which one learns to emulate
a very special class of gopi -- a gopi who sees Radha as her Deity, as her life
and soul. This is the unique sadhana that distinguishes Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

To clarify Manjari-bhava, I must reiterate that while most gopis either love
Krishna directly (Krishna- snehadhika) or love Radha and Krishna equally ( Sama-
snehadhika), there is a special kind of gopi whose entire focus is Sri Radha.
They are called prana-sakhis and nitya-sakhis, and they savor an emotion known
as Radha-snehadhika: their love for Radha stands supreme ( Bhavollasa-rati). This
is easily perceived in their peculiar desire to only assist in the loving
affairs of Radha and Krishna, rather than trying to develop their own
relationship with Krishna Himself. This is Manjari-bhava. Even if Radharani
insists, such a manjari will not go to Krishna. This is her determination. She
is selfless. Krishna belongs only to Radha! And a manjari will do whatever is
neccessary to bring Radha and Krishna together. Her primary concern, over and
above her own self-interest, is Radhika's pleasure.

According to David Haberman, Associate Professor of Religion at Indiana

University, the word manjari is itself something of a mystery. 7 Monier-Williams,
author of A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, defines it as a flower, bud, or shoot. 8
More accurately, however, a manjari is a stamen -- the part of a flower that is
closest to its center. This draws on well-known Vaishnava poetics, wherein
devotees of Krishna are likened to fragrant flowers. If Vrndavana -- the
spiritual realm -- is compared to a lotus flower, and Radha and Krishna are
acknowledged as the center, then the gopis may be compared to the petals and the
manjari to the stamens.

The manjari is a beautiful young gopi who is resplendent with all charming
qualitites. She is always pre-pubescent or, at most, thirteen years old. This is
so because, according to Vaishnava canon, this age is one of innocence and
emotional intensity. Being young, the manjari is invariably characterized as an
apprentice to primary gopis, such as Lalita or Vishakha.

In some ways, however, manjaris are considered superior to regular gopis. For
example, when Radha and Krishna desire to engage in their most intimate
transcendental exchanges ( lila), the regular gopis cannot gain entrance. They
are required to leave. The manjaris, on the other hand, are allowed to stay due
to the worldly naivete and purity associated with their young age. In these
private moments, the manjaris serve the needs of the divine couple. The types of
service rendered by the manjaris include fetching water, serving betel nut,
fanning Radha and Krishna, combing and braiding the divine couples hair,
decorating their bodies, massaging their limbs, and entertaining them with food
and dance.9 Thus, only the manjaris witness and relish the most profound lila of
the Lord. They are ultimately the most fortunate of all gopis, and everyone has
an opportunity to join them in their service. It is this mood of loving exchange
-- and, yes, it is to be performed in the spirit of a young female gopi -- that
is considered the most esoteric teaching of the Vedas, and, according to
Vaishnava tradition, it is the greatest and most confidential gift to humanity.

Radha: The Supreme Heroine

But tell me more about how Radha plays a prominent role in the Maha-mantra, my
sister anxiously asked. All these details are only abstract philosophy. I mean,
unless She really is part of that mantra you chant incessantly, unless She has
tangible reality in your day-to-day spiritual effort, what does all this
symbolism really mean? All this theology might just be an excuse, a diversion
created by men -- I want to know that Radha is really a prominent feature of the
Maha-mantra.Ó

Well, I told you what Hare means, didn't I ?Ó I asked with some frustration. But,
don't worry, there's more: There's actually an esoteric reading of the Maha-
mantra in which Radha is described as the ultimate heroine ( nayika).
Accomplished devotees meditate on this inner meaning of the mantra, and I think
you'll find it elaborates on the Radha theme to your satisfaction.
Some background information: The Chaitanya-charitamrita states that, The basis
of all spiritual relationships is the hero and the heroine, and, among such
personalities, Sri Radha and Lord Krishna are the best. 10 Rupa Goswami's
authoritative Ujjvala-nilamani further enumerates sixteen duties of perfected
devotees -- with a particular emphasis on Radha and Krishna as the ultimate hero
and heroine: In the conjugal pastimes of Krishna, He is the hero ( nayaka), and
Radha is the heroine (nayika). The first duty of the gopis, or any other
perfected devotees, is to chant the glories of both hero and heroine. Secondly,
they should attempt to create a situation that enhances the hero's attraction
for the heroine, and vice versa. Thirdly, they should try, in various and
creative ways, to induce hero and heroine to approach each other. Then, fourth,
they must try to surrender unto Krishna, and, in so doing, create a happy
atmosphere, which is their fifth duty. The sixth is to give The Divine Couple
assurance in enjoying Their pastimes. The seventh is to dress and decorate Them,
while the eighth to show expertise in expressing Their desires. The ninth is to
take part in the loving exchange by trying to conceal the faults of the heroine.
The tenth is to cheat their respective husbands and relatives by lying about the
whereabouts of lover and beloved. The eleventh is to educate others about this
ultimate relationship. The twelfth involves facilitating the meeting of both
hero and heroine, that They may rendezvous at the proper time. The thirteenth is
to fan Them and make Them comfortable, and the fourteenth is to sometimes
reproach Them. The fifteenth is to instigate conversations, and the sixteenth is
to protect the heroine by various means. These sixteen services are difficult to
understand if one is not grounded in Gaudiya tradition, but what I wanted you to
see is that Radha and Krishna are traditionally conceived in terms of hero and
heroine.

Now, in the Maha-mantra -- Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare
Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare -- there are eight Hares, while
there are only four Krishnas and four Ramas. In Chapter Five of Ujjvala-
nilamani, the work quoted above, Rupa lists eight levels of nayika ,11 and they
correspond to Radha's various moods. It has been described that the eight Hares
in the Maha-mantra are meant to reflect those eight levels.12 Basically, you can
understand them as follows: (1) Abhisarika is one who meets her beloved
secretly, as in a tryst; (2) Vasasajja is one who decorates or embellishes her
body or home to attract her beloved; (3) Utkanthita is one who longs for an
absent lover; (4) Khandita is one who is disappointed because her lover is
spending time with another; (5) Vipralabdha is one who is unhappy because her
lover fails to keep his appointment with her; (6) Kalahantarita is one who
quarrels with her lover and continues to reject him even if it causes her pain;
(7) Prosita-bhartrika is one whose lover has gone far away; (8) Svadhina--
bhartrika is one who controls her lover with pleasant experiences. These eight
categories of heroine are further divided into three secondary categories, but
these are the eight that are represented in the Maha-mantra.13 Again, these
eight forms will have little meaning if you are unfamiliar with Gaudiya
tradition. But you should know that there are volumes and volumes of literature
explaining how Sri Radha experiences all these different moods, giving
descriptive examples from Her legendary pastimes with Krishna. After reading
these elaborate descriptions, it becomes clear indeed that Radha is the ultimate
heroine, or nayika, in the Gaudiya tradition.

Conclusion

My sister was enthralled. I had no idea.

Few do, I said to her. That's why devotees work hard to distribute ancient
India's Vedic wisdom -- we want this knowledge to get out to people.

My siwith the Maha-mantra, and that she would never prematurely judge a religion
again, especially Gaudiya Vaishnavism. In addition, she asked me for a prayer
that focuses on Radha's supreme position, something she could chant as a
reminder that Gaudirecognizes -- even emphasizes -- a female form of divinity. I
thought for a moment, and then I shared with her a mantra that was composed by
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great spiritual teacher from the early twentieth
century:

atapa-rakita suraja nahi jani

radha-virahita krishna nahi mani

Just as there is no such thing as sun without heat or light, I do not accept a
Krishna who is without Sri Radha! (Gitavali, Radhashtaka, 8)

My sister was thrilled. She confided in me that she had long prayed to find a
spiritual tradition that acknowledged the value of women, one that viewed
feminine virtues in a positive light. While she is not today a convert to
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, she sees it as a rich tradition with a great deal to offer.

Endnotes

1. For more information on my involvement with the Krishna movement, please see
Satyaraja Dasa, The Agni and the Ecstasy in Back to Godhead Magazine, Volume 24,
Number 7 (Spring 1989).
2. Hare can also refer to Harati, or He who unties the knot of material
existence. This is a reference to Krishna as opposed to Radha. See Chaitanya
Upanishad, Mantra 12 (The Glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, trans.,
Kusakratha dasa, New York: Bala Books, 1984).
3. Gaudiya Vaishnavas emphasize this reading of the Maha-mantra, which is also
legitimate from a linguistic and scriptural point of view. Who was the first
Vaishnava to say that the Hare of the Maha-mantra refers to Sri Radha? This is
something of a mystery. Some say it was first revealed by Manohar Das in his
Anuragavalli (circa 1696 C.E.), where he quotes the earlier Gopal Guru Goswami
as saying that Hare refers to Radhe, or One who steals Krishna's heart. Others
trace it to Narahari Chakravarti's Bhakti-ratnakara (fifth Taranga, verses 2,214
to 2,218), while still others point to Vishvanath Chakravarti's Navami Kshanada
in Gita-chintamani. But I have not yet been able to acsertain the earliest usage
of this now standard Gaudiya Vaishnava interpretation.
4. For more on the theology of Radha, see John S. Hawley and Donna Wulff, eds.,
The Divine Consort: Radha and the Goddesses of India (Berkeley, California:
Berkeley Religious Studies Series, 1982) and also their revised edition, Devi:
Goddesses of India (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996). Also see
Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Volume 8, Number 2 ( Spring 2000) and Volume 10,
Number 1 (Fall 2001). Both issues focused on Sri Radha.
5. Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 4.95-98.
6. For more on the Gaudiya inclination to worship God in a feminine mood, see
David Haberman, Acting as a Way of Salvation: A Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana
(New York: Oxford Univrsity Press, 1988) and my own essay Raganuga Bhakti:
Bringing Out the Inner Woman in Gaudiya Vaishnava Sadhana, in my edited volume,
Vaishnavi: Women and the Worship of Krishna (Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass,
1996).
7. David Haberman, op. cit., p. 189.
8. Sir M. Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, (Oxford, 1899), p.
589.
9. The specific services rendered by the manjaris are discussed by Narottama
Dasa Thakur. See Niradprasad Nath (in Bengali), Narottama Dasa O Tahar
Racanavali (Calcutta, India: Calcutta University Press, 1975), pp. 307-53.
10. Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya, 23.93.
11. Rupa borrows this terminology from Simhabhupala's Rasarnavasudhakara (1.94-
161), almost verbatim. This information was supplied to me in personal
correspondence with Neal Delmonico.
12. For more details on the reading of the Maha-mantra explaining the eight
ÒHaresÓ in terms of the eight kinds of heroines, see Basanti Choudhury, ÒLove
Sentiment and Its Spiritual implications in Gaudiya Vaisnavism,Ó in Joseph T.
OÕConnell, ed., Bengal Vaisnavism, Orientalism, Society and the Arts (East
Lansing: Michigan State University, Asian Studies Center, 1985). I am indebted
to Dr. Choudhury for bringing this interpretation to my attention, both in her
article and in personal correspondence.
13. Regarding the four Krishnas and the four Ramas, they are considered
representative of four heroes in separation and four in union, respectively.
According to Ujjvala-nilamani, the first four heroes are enumerated as follows:
Anakul = One who is inclined to one woman and not to any other; Dakshina = One
who is first inclined to one woman and then develops feelings for another; Satha
= One who speaks sweet words in the presence of his lover but cheats behind her
back; and Dhrishta = One who bears the marks of love play with another but still
beseeches his lover, lying to her face. In all, Rupa lists 96 types of heroes by
explaining variations on these four, but it is these four that are said to
represent the Krishnas in the Maha-mantra. Regarding the four Ramas, they are
said to represent the various types of union ( sambhoga) between hero and
heroine, but this is too detailed to go into here.