Haribol, I know I have not written in a while, so to update everyone, I’m fine (No I’m not sick, as everyone seems to think…). Anyway, tomorrow is Radhastami here in Vrindavan. Talking to many locals, Janmastami here was considered, well, a flop… but from seeing the preparations ongoing for Radhastami, it will be quite an event. The decorations all arrived Tuesday, and Radhastami is Friday. Yesterday (Wednesday) they started decorating the temple room, and in the afternoon, tons of flowers showed up in the area across from Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi…..so, it should be quite an event. Yesterday (Wednesday) was also Lalita devi’s appearance day, which means that they offered the deities a beautiful new turquoise colored dress…it was very nice....I am going to leave you with a quote from chapter 1 of the Nectar of Devotion, when Srila Prabhupada is describing Srimati Radharani’s glories:
“Srila Rüpa Gosvämi has stated that devotional service attracts even Krishna. Krishna attracts everyone, but devotional service attracts Krishna. The symbol of devotional service in the highest degree is Rädhäräni. Krishna is called Madana-mohana, which means that He is so attractive that He can defeat the attraction of thousands of Cupids. But Rädhäräni is still more attractive, for She can even attract Krishna. Therefore devotees call Her Madana-mohana-mohiné—the attractor of the attractor of Cupid.
To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Rädhäräni, and devotees in Vrindävana put themselves under the care of Rädhäräni in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Rädhäräni. In Bhagavad-gitä it is confirmed that the mahätmäs, or great souls, are under the protection of daivi prakrti, the internal energy—Rädhäräni. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Krishna, devotional service attracts even Krishna Himself.”
Chaitanya
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