Today is Radhastami, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, Lord Krishna’s pleasure-giving potency and eternal consort. Srila Prabhupada explains,
“We pray to Radharani because She is the pleasure potency of Krsna. Krsna means ‘all-attractive.’ But Radharani is so great that She attracts Krsna. So today we should try to understand the position of Srimati Radharani and offer our obeisances to Her.
tapta-kancana-gaurangi
radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi
pranamami hari-priye
‘I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krsna.’
“Radharani is hari-priya, ‘very dear to Krsna.’ Approaching Krsna becomes very easy when done through Radharani, through the mercy of Radharani. If Radharani recommends, ‘This devotee is very nice,’ then Krsna immediately accepts us, however great a fool we may be. Because we have been recommended by Radharani, Krsna accepts us. Therefore in Vrndavana you’ll find all the devotees chanting Radharani’s name more than Krsna’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are addressing one another with, ‘Jaya Radhe!’ They are glorifying Radharani. They’re more interested in worshiping Radharani than in worshiping Krsna, because however fallen I may be, if some way or other I can please Radharani, then it will be very easy for me to understand Krsna.
“Otherwise, if you try to understand Krsna by the speculative process, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service and just try to please Radharani, Krsna will be gotten very easily, because Radharani can deliver Krsna. She is such a great devotee—the emblem of the greatest devotee.” (Lecture on Radhastami, August 29, 1971, London, adapted from BTG, Sep/Oct 2014)
Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami prays,
bhajami radham aravindam netram
smarami radham madhura smitasyam
vadami radham karuna bharardram
tato mama nyasti gatir na kapi
“I worship Sri Radha, who has eyes like lotus flowers. I remember Sri Radha, who smiles so sweetly. I glorify Sri Radha, who is full of mercy. I have no destination but Her.” (Stavavali, Sri Visakhanandabhidha-stotra 131)
Hare Krishna.
—Giriraj Swami