The following is a transcription of a discourse on Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in India (date unknown)

 

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja was famous for his travelling throughout the world and preaching the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta; he was also famous for his unique ability to present the confidential topmost goal of life as well as the means to attain it. In Vṛndāvana and Mathurā, from 1990 to 1992, he gave small classes on Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, dāsa Gosvāmī’s heartfelt prayers for entering the excellent highest service attainable by the soul)

tvaṁ rūpa-mañjari sakhi! prathitā pure ’smin
puṁsah parasya vadanaṁ na hi paśyasīti
bimbādhare kṣatam anāgata-bhartṛkāyā
yat te vyadhāyi kim u tac chuka-puṅgavena

Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (1)

[My dear friend Rūpa Māñjarī! You are well known in Vraja for your chastity; you don’t even look at other men’s faces. It is, therefore, surprising that although your husband is not at home, your lips, which are as beautiful as red bimba fruits, have been bitten. Has this perhaps been done by the best of parrots?]

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī is first praying to his Gurudeva – not to Śrīla Yadunandana Ācārya, nor to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī or Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. They are all gurus and Svarūpa Dāmodara is one of the best. Still, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī first offers his prayers to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, to whom he has dedicated his life and from whom he has received so much confidential guidance.

Before writing Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was thinking, ‘I should write a maṅgalācaraṇam, an auspicious invocation.’ As soon as he picked up his pen, he at once entered ardha-bāhya-daśā (half internal, half external consciousness) and then antara-daśā (internal consciousness). In that inner state, in his form as Śrī Rati Mañjarī, he saw the smiling face of Śrī Rūpa Māñjarī and noticed some unnatural marks – bite marks – on her lips. Rūpa Māñjarī also smiled.

Rati Mañjarī considers herself to be a new sakhī and Rūpa Mañjarī to be her śikṣā-guru. Actually, there is no word ‘śikṣā-guru’ in that realm, but there is a transcendental conception of śikṣā-guru there. It can also be said that Śrī Lalitā-devī and Śrī Viśākhā-devī are the śikṣā-gurus of all the sakhīs. Because I am speaking in this mundane world, I am using the words of this world. I cannot explain these topics in transcendental language, so my words may sound mundane.

Intending to pray to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī entered deep into antara-daśā (internal trance), where he saw Rūpa Mañjarī with some cuts on her lips. In a joking manner, he said as Rati Mañjarī, “You are famous in Vraja as a chaste lady. However, although your husband has been gone for four or five days and has not yet returned, I see that you have fresh cuts on your lips from a few hours ago or maybe from last night. I think that perhaps a small parrot has come and mistaken them for a bimba fruit.” Rūpa Mañjarī then glanced towards Rati Mañjarī and, being very pleased with her, smiled still further.

Therefore, in the third verse, it will be stated, “Tvam eva rati-mañjari pracura puṇya-puñjodayā – O Rati Mañjarī, you are the most fortunate gopī in Vraja.” In that third verse, Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī has given a blessing. Although the third verse is in Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, these are not the words of Rati Mañjarī or Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, but rather the blessings of Rūpa Mañjarī. Rūpa Mañjarī has blessed Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī: “You can write, and whatever you write will be the best composition.”

In this world, we have a guru and are his disciples, but in rāgānuga-bhakti (internally), the guru is like a friend. Viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā. There is no formal relation between guru and disciple in the spiritual realm as there is in this world. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī used to address Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as a guru, and he respected him as such. Inwardly, however, he saw him as a sakhī, as Rūpa Mañjarī, as he will further reveal in the third verse.

Throughout Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, he prays to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, “All my prayers for service are like flowers. I am creating a garland of these flowers and, making them fragrant with the tears of my eyes, I am offering them to you.”

He is telling this to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, not to Kṛṣṇa. All the verses of Vilāpa-kusumāñjali are in connection with both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, yet he especially directs his heart to Rādhā. Rūpa Mañjarī is very near and dear to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and therefore, to achieve Her mercy, he is praying herein to Rūpa Mañjarī.

Note that it is not ‘he’ who is saying this, but ‘she.’ Rati Mañjarī is telling Rūpa Mañjarī: “O Rūpa Mañjarī sakhī, I have heard that you are famous in Vraja for your chastity to your husband. No one is equal to you. At the same time, I see something I cannot understand, and I have a doubt. Your husband has gone to buy cows, and over four or five days have passed. He has not yet returned because he is searching for a special cow. Still, I see a mark on your lips, which are as red as a very soft bimba fruit. That blackish parrot, always flitting and flying here and there, may have taken your lips to be a delicious bimba fruit. He wanted to taste that bimba fruit, which is why your lips are cut.”

Before Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī wrote this first verse, when he had been in antara-daśā in the mood of Rati Mañjarī, Rati Mañjarī had gone to see Rūpa Mañjarī, who at that time was full of joy. Perhaps they had met shortly after rāsa-līlā.

The inner meaning of Rati Mañjarī’s statement is: “I see today that Kṛṣṇa has met with you, and therefore your lips are cut. Can you describe what happened?” At once, Rūpa Mañjarī took Rati Mañjarī in her arms and wept. She could not answer directly, but with her eyes and mood, she said, “Yes, Kṛṣṇa has done this.”

It may be said that Rati Mañjarī is offering praṇāma, obeisances, by this utterance, but the word ‘praṇāma‘ is not in the verse. Her mood and prayer are so much greater than a praṇāma, and, hearing her poetic words, Rūpa Mañjarī at once became so glad.

In the next verse Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī prays:

sthala-kamalini yuktaṁ garvitā kānane ‘smin
praṇayasi vara-hāsyaṁ puṣpa-guccha-cchalena
api nikhila-latās tāḥ saurabhāktaḥ sa muñcan
mṛgayati tava mārgaṁ kṛṣṇa-bhṛṅgo yad adya

Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (2)

“O sthala-kamalini!” Kamalini means ‘lotus,’ and sthala-kamalini means ‘land-lotus.’ The kamala blooms in sunlight, and the kamalini blooms at night by candra-prakāśa (the moon’s light). The word candra in this connection refers to Kṛṣṇacandra.

“You are laughing. Why are you laughing? Is there anything behind this? I think that in this moonlit Vṛndāvana forest, you have fully blossomed; softness, fragrance, and honey all abound in you. You laugh because you are quite proud. Ladies are quite proud when their husbands obey them and try to please them at any cost. You are proud because you understand that all other gopīs are nothing compared to you. You laugh like you are puṣpa-guccha-cchalena, several lotuses in one cluster.” Here, the word guccha, a cluster of flowers, implies that Śrīmatī Rādhikā is resplendent with laughter, glances, and so on. And, because Rūpa Mañjarī vicariously experiences what Rādhikā experiences, she also manifests these symptoms.

Rati Mañjarī continues, “The bee loves flowers. In this Vṛndāvana, there are so many flowers, each more beautiful than the other. You are the most fragrant, however. Therefore, not flying here and there, that bee, that black Kṛṣṇa-bee, has left all other lotus flower-like gopīs and came only to you. You have bound Him by your fragrance, beauty, sweetness, and other qualities. Will you have mercy upon me so that I can realize and taste all that you taste? Please give me a little of your mercy.”

Devotee: You once said that when Kṛṣṇa approaches Rūpa Mañjarī, she says, “Rādhe! Rādhe!” and runs away. You have said that she has no desire to meet personally with Kṛṣṇa. Her only interest is to be with and serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is implied in the verse. Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī is a sevikā (maidservant) of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. When Śrīmatī Rādhikā sends a sakhī like her to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as a messenger, Kṛṣṇa may propose to her in all kinds of ways – but she always refuses His advances. Śrīmatī Rādhikā has full faith in these sakhīs because they act in such a way that She has no chance to doubt them.

This type of kamātmikā-prema, or kamarūpa rāgātmikā-prema, is not sambhoga-icchāmayī (entailing direct enjoyment with Kṛṣṇa); it is tat-tad-bhāva-icchāmayī (enjoying via the enjoyment of Śrīmatī Rādhikā), and it has a speciality. If the mañjarīs do not have kāma, they cannot be kāmānuga. They have kāma, but it is in the anugatya (under the guidance) of Rādhikā. It is not independent of Her. By Rādhikā’s wish, Kṛṣṇa sometimes approaches the mañjarīs, for without this, they cannot be considered in the category of kāmānuga, but they reject His advances.

The mañjarīs are like the small flowers of a creeper. If one pours water on the root of a creeper, all the flowers and all the leaves will be nourished. Similarly, when Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa meet, whatever Rādhā is experiencing – by Her mouth, face, and body – is experienced by them. Whatever She experiences by tasting Kṛṣṇa, they also experience.

Have you heard this verse?

śrī-rūpa-mañjarī-karārcita-pāda-padma
goṣṭhendra-nandana-bhujārpita-mastakāyāḥ
hā modataḥ kanaka-gauri-padāravinda
samvāhanāni śanakais tava kiṁ kariṣye

Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (72)

[O Rūpa Mañjarī, when golden-complexioned Rādhikā is lying with Her head in Kṛṣṇa’s lap and Her feet in your lap as you massage them, will you, [with an indication] from the corners of your eyes, give me your mahā-prasādam sevā of gently massaging Her feet while you fan Her?]

Not only this verse, but all the verses of Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali confirm the idea that the only desire of the mañjarīs is to serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā in Her service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. All rūpanuga Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas remember these verses and utter them daily.

This service is our final goal. You will be so fortunate if you somehow have greed for this service after hundreds of thousands of births. The qualification for this will come by the grace of a gopī who is manifest in this world as a rāgānuga Vaiṣṇava, and when you achieve his grace, it will be very easy to remember all these prayers and pastimes. It is not easy to remember in your present stage, but at that time, remembrance will come easily and automatically without any endeavour.

Devotee: You have said previously that by Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s arrangement or indication, Lord Kṛṣṇa meets with some other gopīs or mañjarīs. At the time of rāsa-līlā, Kṛṣṇa dances with all gopīs. Is that also Rādhikā’s desire or arrangement?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is an example of nara-līlā. Her desire was there, but it was not shown outwardly. She wanted it inwardly, but if She had revealed her inner desire, She would not have left the rāsa arena. The other gopīs would not have understood Her superiority, and there would not have been rāsa.

There are many types of rāsa-līlās. Vāsanta-rāsa was seen in trance by Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī, and he has written about this in his Śrī Gīta-govinda: Once, rāsa was going on at Candra Sarovara, near Govardhana, for the period of Brahmā-rātri (Lord Brahmā’s night). During that time, Candra (the Moon) stayed fixed in one place, watching everything, and that place is therefore called Candra Sarovara. During that rāsa-līlā Śrīmatī Rādhikā thought, “Kṛṣṇa is sporting with all the gopīs as well as with Me. He is neglecting Me.” Seeing Him with all the other gopīs, She disappeared from the arena of the rāsa and entered a kuñja.

The author of Gīta-govinda has written, “Smarati mano mama kṛta parihāsam.” When Śrīmatī Rādhikā was greatly suffering in deep viraha-rasa (separation), continually weeping for Kṛṣṇa, a sakhī – either Lalitā, Viśākhā, or Rūpa Mañjarī – approached Her. Rādhikā was weeping so bitterly that She could barely maintain Her external consciousness. When the sakhī asked, “Why are You weeping?” Śrīmatī Rādhikā replied, “Smarati mano mama kṛta parihāsam – My heart remembers only the joking pastimes that Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with Me.”

How does Kṛṣṇa joke? He thinks, “Śrīmatī Rādhikā should become angry with Me. Then, when Her anger is gone, and She is pleased, I will have a greater chance to serve Her.”

Śrīmatī Rādhikā told Her sakhī that once, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa was once sitting with Her after rāsa, He said to Her, “O Priye (darling beloved), O Candra, I am so pleased with You.” He had said ‘Candra,’ indicating Candrāvalī, knowing She was Rādhikā, to make Her angry. He continued, “O Priye, I am Yours. I do not belong to anyone else, O Priye Candra.” Hearing this, Śrīmatī Rādhikā became furious and said, “Never speak to Me again. I will have no connection with You. Go to Candra at once and remain with her. Don’t come to Me at any time.” Kṛṣṇa then prayed to Her, “Please excuse My offence. I have committed a great mistake. I promise that I will never do this again.” He had done that only in jest, but still, He ‘admitted’ His fault and prayed, “Please forgive Me.” His hands were cupped like a beggar’s, and His pītāmbara (yellow cloth) was hanging from His neck.

After sharing this with Her sakhī, Rādhikā became restless and could no longer speak; She could only think of Kṛṣṇa.

Another time, Kṛṣṇa sent a gopī to Rādhikā, telling her, “Go and tell Rādhikā that I am praying to Her. Tell Her I will never commit an offence again in My entire life and that She must forgive Me.” However, hearing Kṛṣṇa’s message and simply weeping, Śrīmatī Rādhikā told the messenger, “I will not do so.” When that gopī returned to Kṛṣṇa and repeated Rādhikā’s words, Kṛṣṇa exclaimed that again a dūtī (messenger) should go to appease Rādhikā, and this time, He became the messenger in the dress of a very beautiful gopī. He was decorated with sixteen kinds of ābharaṇas (decorations) and thirty-two kinds of bhāvas (ecstatic ornamentations), and His many bhāvas made Him look exquisite. Decorated with various coloured unguents, He approached Rādhikā and bowed down before Her.

At first, Rādhikā could not recognize Him. She saw a very beautiful gopī and asked ‘Her,’ “Who are You?”

Śrī Kṛṣṇa replied, “Kṛṣṇa has sent Me to You. I am a dāsī of Kṛṣṇa, and He has sent Me to beg You to forgive Him. He has made a mistake; He admits that. So, please do not be angry with Him. He is certainly faultless, and He cannot commit any offence. He is very rasika and loves You more than any other gopī. Now He weeps continually, and upon hearing and seeing His weeping, all the creepers, trees, and other beings are also weeping. You alone are not affected.”

Hearing this, Rādhikā’s heart melted, and She said, “Sakhī, what shall I give You? I wanted Him to admit His fault and come to Me, so I’m very much pleased with You.” She took that sakhī in Her arms, and when She did so She at once understood, “Oh, this is Śyāmasundara!”

Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī explains in Śrī Gīta-govinda that when Śrīmatī Rādhikā left the rāsa-līlā and entered the kuñja, Kṛṣṇa came and placed His head at Her lotus feet. He prayed to Her, “Smara-garala-khaṇḍanaṁ mama śirasi maṇḍanam dehi pada-pallavam udāraṁ – Your lotus feet are like a vast reservoir of water that can extinguish a great fire. I am burning in the fire of separation from You.” Garala means poison, and smara means kāma, or love. “I am burning in separation with a desire to meet with You. Now I have caught hold of Your lotus feet; only these feet can relieve Me of that fire. Dehi pada-pallavam udāraṁ. Now I offer My head at Your lotus feet. Please decorate My head with those feet.”

Śrīmatī Rādhikā became happy and said, “Yes, I am ready to go to the rāsa-sthalī (the arena of rāsa-līlā), but please do one thing: My hair and braid have become disarrayed, so please fix them.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa then very happily began to comb Her hair. Śrīmatī Rādhikā held up a mirror in front of Her to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s face – how joyfully He was serving Her. Then She said, “Now, please place ornaments on My body and ankle bells on My feet,” and Kṛṣṇa did that.

This is called svādhīna-bhartṛkā, wherein Śrī Kṛṣṇa is fully under the control of His beloved. Convinced now that He wants Her more than any other gopī, Śrīmatī Rādhikā accompanied Him to the rāsa-sthalī.

This pastime took place during vāsanta-rāsa, and it shows that Śrīmatī Rādhikā inwardly likes to arrange for Kṛṣṇa to meet with other gopīs, but outwardly, for rāsa, Her mood manifests differently.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa also acts in this way. Once, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and all the gopīs were meeting together in Vṛndāvana, and at that time Śrīmatī Rādhikā became angry. Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to talk to Her, but She was not in a mood to talk. Kṛṣṇa then became very unhappy and said, “If You refuse to speak to Me, I’m going.” He then entered a nearby kuñja and pretended to be asleep.

A sakhī or mañjarī who was watching from a distance saw Him enter there, and, returning to Lalitā and Viśākhā, she told them, “Let us go and see what He is doing there.” Lalitā, Viśākhā, and Śrīmatī Rādhikā went to that place and saw Him ‘sleeping,’ whereas He was thinking, “Let them think I am in a good, sound sleep.”

Lalitā told the others, “This is the best time to steal His flute. When we take it, He will become Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s most obedient servant. Though we need to capture it, we must also be aware that Kṛṣṇa’s arms are like cruel serpents. If He catches us, how will we accomplish our theft?” They proposed that this difficult task could only be performed by Śrīmatī Rādhikā – not by anyone else. She would go and somehow steal that flute.

Silently and stealthily approaching like a cat and with a slight smile, Śrīmatī Rādhikā glanced towards Kṛṣṇa to make sure He was unaware of Her presence. In the meantime, Kṛṣṇa had been hearing the gopīs’ conversation. Inwardly desiring that they steal His flute, He was thinking, “Śrīmatī Rādhikā has not been talking to Me. If She steals My flute, I will have an opportunity to meet Her and speak about many things in many ways. I will do something by force. I will demand, ‘Where have You kept My flute?’ I will catch hold of Her and one, two, three, or four others and create a very good rāsa.” Outwardly, however, He remained silent.

Śrīmatī Rādhikā watched to see whether He was actually sleeping or only pretending to sleep. At first, He held His flute tightly, but because He knew Rādhikā was coming, He loosened His grip. Rādhikā cleverly and silently took the flute and returned it to Her friends. She then gave the flute to a sakhī, who gave it to another, who gave it to another, and finally, She hid it in Her long braid.

After some time, the gopīs heard the leaves rustling, and then they saw Kṛṣṇa come out of the kuñja. He asked them, “Oh, you are here? Where is My flute? You have taken My flute!” As He walked up to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, with Her eyes, She told Him that Lalitā had taken it. When He went to Lalitā and demanded, “Where is My flute? You have taken it!” She told Him that Viśākhā had taken it. He then went to Viśākhā.

In this way, Śrī Kṛṣṇa continued searching, and He continued to ask the gopīs, “Where have you put My flute?” The gopīs ran hither and thither, laughing and clapping, “O, Your only wife is Your flute,” they said. “Now she has gone, but don’t worry. We will cut a piece of bamboo. There are so many bamboos here. Why are You crying for that one?” In this way, they teased Kṛṣṇa, and He replied, “Oh, you don’t know that this flute is My very life.”

At last, Kundalatā-devī arrived on the scene. She is the wife of Subhadra, Upānanda’s youngest son. Upānanda is the brother of Nanda Bābā and is thus Kṛṣṇa’s uncle. In India, the son of one’s uncle is like a brother, and he is also called ‘cousin-brother.’ Subhadra, Kṛṣṇa’s cousin, is older than Him, and Kundalatā is, therefore Kṛṣṇa’s elder sister-in-law.

Kundalatā asked Kṛṣṇa, “Why are You so distressed?” Kṛṣṇa replied, “These gopīs have stolen my flute, and they will not return it. They simply tell Me, ‘Go and take shelter of the feet of Lalitā, or Viśākhā.'” Kundalatā then told the gopīs, “Don’t behave like this. Give Him back His flute. If you do, He will fulfil all your desires.”

There are so many pastimes like this. Kṛṣṇa sometimes pretends to sleep, but He knows everything; for līlā, He does so. And, as far as Śrīmatī Rādhikā is concerned, She is parā-śakti (Kṛṣṇa’s complete, spiritual potency), or svarūpa-śakti (Kṛṣṇa’s intrinsic potency); She also knows everything. Whatever She does is only to please Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa does everything only to please Rādhikā and all the gopīs. This is also true in rāsa-līlā. Kṛṣṇa wanted to please Her, and She wanted to please Him.

Do not have any worldly conception of this. Always be cautious to avoid even a trace of material conception. Pray to Yogamāyā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and all the sakhīs that no worldly idea will come into your heart by hearing and reading these līlās.

vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ
śraddhānvito ’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ
bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ
hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.39)

[Anyone who faithfully hears or describes the Lord’s playful affairs with the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana will attain the Lord’s pure devotional service. Thus, he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.]

“If anyone deeply hears, tells, reads, or remembers the pastimes of rāsa with great faith, all worldly lust will disappear from his heart at once.”

Śrī Pradyumna Miśra once told Śrīman Mahāprabhu, “I want to hear some hari-kathā.”

Mahāprabhu replied, “I don’t know any hari-kathā, but I have heard hari-kathā from Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya.”

Pradyumna Miśra then went to Rāmānanda Rāya’s home. Seeing that he was not in the outer courtyard, he asked the servant, “Where is he?”

The servant replied, “He is in the inner quarters, in his room.”

Pradyumna Miśra asked, “What is he doing? Will he come out now?”

The servant replied, “No, he will not come out. If you like, you can come at any other time.”

Pradyumna Miśra then asked, “What is he doing?”

The servant replied, “He is with young teenage girls. They are deva-dāsīs (maidservants) of Lord Jagannātha. He is washing, dressing, and decorating these maidservants and teaching them how to dance and sing for the pleasure of Lord Jagannātha.”

Pradyumna Miśra thought, “He is dressing teenage girls? I am a brahmacārī. There is no need to hear hari-kathā from that person. I want to hear from someone like Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī.”

Pradyumna Miśra returned to Mahāprabhu with some disdain. Mahāprabhu asked him, “Have you heard anything from Rāmānanda Rāya?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Pradyumna Miśra was silent. Mahāprabhu knew that he had a sense of disrespect towards Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, and therefore told him, “While seeing these girls, Rāmānanda Rāya is like a tree; like dry wood. No transformation of lust takes place in his body. What to say of these girls; if even a demigoddess would come to him, there would be no reaction in his body or mind. He always remembers rāsa-līlā, and it is he who told Me rāsa-līlā-kathā. First, he explained varnāśrama-dharma, and I told him, ‘This is external. Please explain further.’ At last, he told Me that kāntā-prema, mādhurya-prema, is the greatest perfection of life. He told Me it is also greater than sakhya-rasa and vātsalya-rasa and explained two verses.

“One verse describes how Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared before the gopīs as sākṣān manmatha-manmathaḥ, the enchanter of Cupid:

tāsām āvirabhūc chauriḥ
smayamāna-mukhāmbujaḥ
pītāmbara-dharaḥ sragvī
sākṣān manmatha-manmathaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.32.2)

[Then Lord Kṛṣṇa, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the gopīs. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment, He directly appeared as one who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary people.]

“After singing Gopī-gīta, the gopīs were reunited with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who had been observing them bitterly crying in separation as they sang. Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains that Kṛṣṇa appeared before the gopīs when they were senseless and just about to die. In what manner did He come? Smayamāna-mukhāmbujaḥ. Smaya means prema, or love. He came with so much love. Mukhāmbujaḥ – mukha means ‘face,’ and ambuja means ‘lotus.’ His beautiful face resembles a lotus flower. He was smiling, but He also looked somewhat ashamed. Why? He thought, ‘I have given the gopīs so much suffering.’ Pītāmbara-dharaḥ. He placed His pītāmbara (yellow cloth) around His neck, and His palms were folded in supplication in a mood of prayer, yet He was also smiling. Manmatha-manmathaḥ. Manmathaḥ means ‘one who can enchant others’ minds and hearts by the sweetness of His form and qualities.’

“Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful, and He enchants even Madana (Kāmadeva [Cupid]), who Śaṅkara once burnt to ashes for trying to make Śaṅkara lusty. Kāmadeva was reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is manmatha-manmathaḥ, the origin and enchanter of Kāmadeva.

“Now, in the presence of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa became extremely beautiful, with a smiling face and with some shame, as if He committed an offence. He was now bowing down to them.

“These gopīs placed their silken veils on the earth to seat Him, and sitting on that seat; Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared lovely. At that time, He told them:

na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ
sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ
saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.32.22)

[I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahmā. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshipped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.]

“‘I have disappeared from your sight only to hear your words of loving anger and to see your faces in anger. I did this to increase your love for Me and to show the whole world Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s unparalleled condition in separation from Me so that the world would realize Her glory. I did not go anywhere. I was here, but I was hidden.

“‘If I take birth as Lord Brahmā, who has the longest life-span in this entire universe, or even if I have the combined duration of the lives of billions of Lord Brahmās, I will never be freed from My debt to you.’”

“The gopīs asked, ‘Why is that?’”

“Kṛṣṇa replied, ‘Because you have left your husbands and everything else to come to Me. I am indebted to you. And if I tell you to ask from Me anything you like, you will say, “Allow us to serve You.”

Thus, I will become still more indebted. If again I tell you to take any blessing from Me, again you will say, “Allow us to serve You.” In this way, I will never be free from My debt to you.'”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya knows all these truths, and he has induced Me to hear them. So go again. Be assured that he is like a piece of dry wood in relation to this world. He has no material identification. He is like Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopīs, who have no desire in their heart to please themselves:

ātmendriya-prīti-vāñchā — tāre bali ‘kāma’
kṛṣṇendriya-prīti-icchā dhare ‘prema’ nāma

Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.165)

[The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kāma (lust), but the desire to please the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa is prema (love).]

“Kāma is the desire to please one’s senses, and prīti, love, is the desire to please Kṛṣṇa.”

Śrī Pradyumna Miśra went again, and this time, Rāmānanda Rāya was in his courtyard.

Rāmānanda Rāya asked, “Why have you come here?”

Pradyumna Miśra replied, “I requested Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to tell me some hari-kathā, and He replied, ‘I don’t know anything. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya knows everything.'”

Rāmānanda Rāya asked, “What kind of hari-kathā do you want to hear?”

Pradyumna Miśra replied, “I want to hear what you told Caitanya Mahāprabhu – all those topics.”

Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya narrated that hari-kathā, and Pradyumna Miśra became deeply satisfied. He returned to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and told Him, “I feel fulfilled by Your grace.”

The gopīs can give what Kṛṣṇa cannot give. Similarly, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī can give the love of the gopīs, and Lalitā and Viśākhā can give it, but Kṛṣṇa cannot.

Pleased, Mahāprabhu told Pradyumna Miśra, “It is said that I am rasika, the knower and taster of all rasas. But how has this become so?” He gave the credit to Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya, who is likened to a rain cloud which takes water from the ocean. When, during the svāti-nakṣatra (constellation), rains pour down upon the ocean, the oysters within it produce pearls. The water from the ocean becomes clouds by evaporation, and during the svāti-nakṣatra, the water returns to that ocean. At that time, the ocean becomes filled with jewels.

Similarly, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is rasika, but He is not rasika independently. Just as Mahāprabhu hears about or remembers Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopīs with the help of Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya, similarly, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa sports with Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopīs and they converse with Him, then He is rasika. Otherwise, He is nirviśeṣa-tattva (the featureless, impersonal aspect of the Absolute).

sañcārya rāmābhidha-bhakta-meghe
sva-bhakti-siddhānta-cayāmṛtāni
gaurābdhir etair amunā vitīrṇais
taj-jñatva-ratnālayatāṁ prayāti

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 8.1)

[Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is known as Gaurāṅga, is the ocean of all conclusive knowledge in devotional service. He empowered Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who may be likened to a cloud of devotional service. This cloud was filled with the water of all the conclusive purports of devotional service and was empowered by the ocean to spread this water over the sea of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. Thus the ocean of Caitanya Mahāprabhu became filled with the jewels of the knowledge of pure devotional service.]

Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahaprabhu is a boundless, nectarean ocean of the established conclusions of devotion (bhakti-siddhānta), and His devotee Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya is the cloud whom He filled with these conclusions about devotion to Him. When Mahāprabhu experienced the rain of bhakti-tattvas that the Rāmānanda-cloud showered upon Him, He was transformed into an ocean of jewels.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)