Kṛṣna and Rādhā as servants
Kṛṣna and Rādhā as servants of their devotees
In the Prīti-sandarbha 63,
bhagavad-ānandaḥ khalu dvividhaḥ: svarūpānandaḥ svarūpa-śakty-ānandaś ca
|antimaś ca dvividhaḥ: mānasānanda aiśvaryānandaś ca |
tatrānena tadīyeñu mānasānandeñu bhakty-ānandasya sāmrājyaṁ darśitam |
Jīva Bābāji has shown that the Supreme Lord enjoys four types of pleasure:
- one from simply being situated in his being,
- another that comes from his immeasurable opulences,
- another that arises from his mind;
- and the last and best, one that is derived from the love of his devotees.
In the Bhāgavata-purāṇa 10.86.59, kṛṣna is described as bhagavān bhakta-bhaktimān - "the devotee of his devotees."
Similarly, it is written in the Caitanya-bhāgavata:
kṛṣna tāhā pūrṇa koren, jāhā māgen bhṛtya
|
bhakta-vāñchā-pūrti bhinna nāhi anya
kṛtya ||
"Kṛṣṇa gives whatever is prayed for by his servant. He has no duty other than to fulfill the wishes of his devotees." (CBh, 3.2.478)
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the chief of Vrindavan's milkmaids; she is the presiding deity of the competent devotion. Nevertheless, she herself is incapable of creating any change or transformation in the determination of the mañjarīs to exclusively serve her, their mistress.
Even though she is the source and abode of the innumerable goddesses of fortune, she still feels herself to be indebted to the mañjarīs. She is the reservoir of unlimited compassion and is always anxious to fulfill the desires of all the devotees, but the mañjarīs' only desire is service to her, and they will have nothing else of her. These are confidential and difficult facts that are not known to all, secrets only the select few can comprehend.
When Lord Gaurāṅga, the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, appeared on this earth, Rādhā's dearest maidservant, Rūpa Mañjarī, also appeared as Rūpa Bābāji. The following incident from Śrī Rūpa's life will help clarify the above statement. At one time, Rūpa Bābāji was living and performing his bhajan at a place called Tero Kadamba, which lies halfway between Nanda Gram and Javat (Yāvaṭa) in the district of Braj.
One day he thought to himself that if he only had some milk and sugar he could prepare some condensed milk (khīr) to offer his deity and then serve it as sacred remnants (prasād) to his spiritual master, Sanātana. Only a few moments after having this thought, a young girl came by carrying milk and sugar, which she gave to him, telling him to make khīr for his deity. Having done this, she went away. Rūpa then did as he had been told; he boiled the sugar and milk down into a sweet and delicious preparation for offering up to Kṛṣṇa.
Afterwards he gave the sacred remnants to Sanātana to enjoy. While Sanātana was eating, he was seized by uncontrollable spasms of ecstasy. When he had calmed down somewhat, he inquired from his brother where he had gotten his ingredients. Rūpa told him the story of the Vrajavāsī girl. When he had heard the entire account, Sanātana immediately realized that it had in fact been Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī herself who had come personally bearing gifts for them.
But Sanātana was concerned because, despite the great blessing Rādhā had given them, she was their goddess, and they were her servants. As the proper relation of served and servant had thus been reversed, he therefore strictly forbad Rūpa accepting any such gifts in the future (Bhakti-ratnākara, 5.1311-30).
Sanātana Bābāji called this servitude to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī "the most uncommon and elevated of all spiritual goals" in his commentary on his own Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.1.21: sarvāsādharaṇa-parama-mahā-sādhya-vastu,