When the Lord descends, He is invariably accompanied by His loving associates. Five thousand years when Sri Krishna descended in His original form, as a cowherd boy in Vrindavan, Srimati Radharani accompanied Him in Her original form. She appeared exactly two weeks after the appearance of Sri Krishna on the eighth day of the waning moon (ashtami). Srimati Radharani was found on a lotus flower by Vrashabhanu and his wife Kirtida near the village of Barsana, a few miles away from Nandagrama. It is said that Srimati Radharani first opened Her eyes only when Sri Krishna appeared before Her. Until that time Her eyes were closed. Understanding the mellows of the relationship between Krishna and Radha is impossible from the mundane perspective. Understanding madhurya-rasa (devotion at the platform of intimacy), which is the highest level of relationship of a devotee with Krishna, is only possible in the most elevated stages of bhakti where there is not even a tinge of material contamination. Therefore Svarupa Damodara Gosvami has written: "The loving affairs of Radha and Krishna are not ordinary, material loving affairs, although they appear like that. Rascals and fools misunderstand Krishna to be an ordinary man. They do not know Krishna's transcendental nature. They try to imitate Krishna's rasa-lila, His dancing with the Gopis". There is no offense greater than this. Devotees starting on the path of bhakti must carefully avoid such offenses. They must simply pray to Srimati Radharani, as their most compassionate Mother, for mercy, for bhakti and for an opportunity to serve Sri Krishna.
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