(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Radhastami)
Radharani has the potency to fully capture Krsna and fully satisfy Krsna but then comes the greatest mystery. The greatest mystery is that Krsna leaves Vrndavan, he leaves Srimati Radharani in separation. And she is in great separation of Krsna and Krsna is always promising to return from Mathura to Vrndavan but he doesn’t. He just leaves her in that condition of separation. So, how is this happening?
It is stated that this mood of separation, of love and separation, is the greatest love, the highest love that one can experience for Krsna because it is said that when one is in separation from Krsna, the attachment to Krsna increases many, many times. The eagerness to be with Krsna, the remembrance of Krsna is even stronger than when it is in the presence of Krsna. So this is the most puzzling aspect of all of the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu which is the core of this movement, that ultimately, that love of God, which Srimati Radharani experiences for Krsna in a mood of separation, is the topmost experience of the love of God. It’s bewildering!
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur wrote a very nice, small book known as the Prema-Samputa. And basically, the book describes how Srimati Radharani is living in Yavat. At that time, she is married, although her husband is described to be like a shadow personality and is never really in any contact with his wife. It is said that Srimati Radharani, in that state in Yavat, is in the ultimate condition of separation of Krsna because then she is married, she had a mother-in-law who is always watching her, making it extremely difficult to meet with Krsna. And Krsna himself is described as not being faithful. Krsna is described as having many loving relationships with so many gopis, so many devotees. So, how is this?
So, one day in the courtyard of her house, appeared a very beautiful female form, more than just ordinary looking, practically looking like a goddess. Srimati Radharani immediately sent a servant to find out who this personality was but the personality would not speak, she would not say a word.
So Srimati Radharani finally went herself and said, “We can understand that you must be suffering from some great sadness and that is why you are not speaking but rest assured that you are in good company here of young girls who can understand your sorrows so it is a great relief to the heart when you speak. When you speak of your sorrows, you will feel some relief. So please tell us what is the cause of your sadness?”
At first, the goddess didn’t want to speak but eventually she spoke and she explained that indeed she was a goddess, a demi-goddess, who had appeared and who had come to see Srimati Radharani due to a great sadness in her heart and she wanted to express it now, upon Radharani’s request. And the sadness that the goddess was feeling in her heart was due to the way Krsna was treating Radharani. That was just too much, really. I mean how could Krsna, how could Krsna not be faithful when she was so dedicated in pure love. That was the point she was raising and that was the cause of her distress.
She said, “I cannot tolerate it any longer. We demi-gods, we are witnessing everything. Everything I saw, everything he did and I cannot tolerate it any longer, the way he is treating you by leaving you in separation.”
Then Srimati Radharani responded and said, “No, you are not understanding. No, no, no.” She said, “This is all external. Externally we are separated. When Krsna is leaving Vrndavan, then externally we are separated but actually in reality we are never separated. We are never separated.” She said, “Because we are one in mind, one in thought, one in heart, one in feeling. Our love is so intensely one. It is, therefore we are never separated even when we appear to be separated. We can only think of each other therefore we are never separated.”
The goddess was not so convinced. She said, “Hmmm. I don’t know what to make of this. Maybe this is your feeling. Maybe you feel like that because your love for Krsna is so pure and unadulterated that you cannot even think of him in a negative way so maybe your love for him is there, you are always thinking of him but how do you really know that his love for you is equal - totally, totally dedicated to you? I am not convinced. I am not sure.”
Radharani again repeated, “No. Definitely, definitely we are one. We are never separated for a moment.”
Then the goddess said, “Hmmm, alright. I will believe it. I will believe it if you, if you by thinking of Krsna, can bring him here. Then I will understand that you are not separated and that your thought and his thought are one and that by your thought, immediately he will be aware of your desire and that he will be brought here.”
So Srimati Radharani agreed. “Okay, I will do it.”
And she then meditated on Krsna in a deep thought, with a deep desire for Krsna to come and in the cause of her concentration, she closed her eyes. It was at that moment that the demi-goddess changed her form back to the original form of Krsna and when Srimati Radharani opened her eyes, Krsna stood there in front of her. In this way, Krsna was testing, he was testing the love of Srimati Radharani to see how much she actually was fully dedicated to him and, even though she was in separation, that her love was in no way diminished by this feeling of separation.
So Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur, in this way, sheds some light on that great mystery of separation and how actually the devotee in separation from Krsna is experiencing the greatest love because when one is loving Krsna, the slightest moment, the slightest moment of not being with Krsna becomes overwhelming. For us it is like, “Yeah, nice Krsna. Radha Radhanath, very nice. Maha-mantra, very nice. Swamis talking about Radha and Krsna, very nice. And what’s next?” The mind gets restless. Three swamis speaking, restless minds.
”How long is this gonna go on?”
“Forever!”
So our eagerness is not there, that Srimati Radharani experiences such eagerness that as soon as Krsna’s not there, there is that separation. But immediately, her remembrance of Krsna is so intense, so intense, so absorbed that there is actually no separation at all. Difficult to understand, difficult to understand for us but if for a moment, if we contemplate on the explanation of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur, maybe we can understand a little better.
Krishna-katha means narrations about Lord Krishna. There are two Krishna-kathas: narrations spoken by Krishna and narrations spoken about Krishna. The Bhagavad-gita, is the narration or the philosophy on the science of God, spoken by Krishna Himself. 
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