Hare Kṛṣṇa,
The word “reunion” itself is deeply enchanting. It dissolves the long-accumulated pain of separation and pours soothing relief into the eyes that finally behold the beloved once more. It softens and melts the hearts that have cried in longing, transforming bitterness into sweetness and sorrow into joy. In reunion, love does not merely return—it deepens and becomes ever more precious. Just as a weary traveler finds peace upon returning home after a long and difficult journey, reunion with the beloved Lord drives away all exhaustion, fills the heart with solace, and restores the soul to its true resting place.
Text 9 beautifully sums up the mood of reunion.
“All the gopīs enjoyed the greatest festivity when they saw their beloved Keśava again. They gave up the distress of separation, just as people in general forget their misery when they gain the association of a spiritually enlightened person.”
Similarly, the gopis had their air of life reenter their bodies after Sri Kṛṣṇa returned. Each gopi welcomed the reunion in her own loving way.
“One gopī joyfully took Kṛṣṇa’s hand between her folded palms, and another placed His arm, anointed with sandalwood paste, on her shoulder. A slender gopī respectfully took in her joined hands the betel nut He had chewed, and another gopī, burning with desire, put His lotus feet on her breasts. One gopī, beside herself with loving anger, bit her lips and stared at Him with frowning eyebrows, as if to wound Him with her harsh glances. Another gopī looked with unblinking eyes upon His lotus face, but even after deeply relishing its sweetness She did not feel satiated, just as mystic saints are never satiated when meditating upon the Lord’s feet. One gopī took the Lord through the aperture of her eyes and placed Him within her heart. Then, with her eyes closed and her bodily hairs standing on end, she continuously embraced Him within. Thus immersed in transcendental ecstasy, she resembled a yogī meditating upon the Lord.” (SB 10.32.4-8)
This teaches us that each soul shares a unique and personal loving relationship with our Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. According to the nature and depth of one’s love and devotion, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates perfectly in return. Thus, regardless of the particular rasa one shares with Him, every devotee feels fully complete and perfectly satisfied within their own sthāyī-bhāva. There is no sense of lack or longing for another rasa—no thought of “I wish my relationship were different.” The cowherd boys delight entirely in their sakhya-rasa with Kṛṣṇa and harbor no desire for any other mood. Similarly, Mother Yaśodā, immersed in her vātsalya-bhāva, feels wholly fulfilled in her affectionate service to Kṛṣṇa. This harmonious completeness, born of Kṛṣṇa’s perfect reciprocation with each devotee, is the exquisite beauty of our eternal relationship with Him.
Another profound realization from this lesson is that Kṛṣṇa, too, experiences the pain of separation from the gopīs. In the earlier chapters, we witness the gopīs’ intense anguish as they are torn apart from Him, and a reader might be forgiven for momentarily thinking that Kṛṣṇa appears hard-hearted in allowing them to suffer so deeply. Yet here we are shown that Kṛṣṇa Himself also suffers in separation. His apparent detachment is not indifference, but a deeper expression of love—one that shares fully in the pain it seems to cause.
“Although Kṛṣṇa’s lotus face blossomed with a smile, the suffering of the gopis pained His lotus heart. Kṛṣṇa appeared before the gopis with a yellow shawl draped across His shoulders and hanging down on both sides of His chest. Folding His hands, Kṛṣṇa begged them for forgiveness. “ (SB 10.32.2 Sārārtha-darśini)
Lastly, I had the pleasure of reading how Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura establishes the supreme position of Śrī Rādhā. devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā, rādhikā para-devatā, sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva, kāntiḥ sammohinī parā “Sri Radha is the most beautiful, supremely worshipable goddess. Radha is always totally absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. Radha is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. Radha fulfills all of Kṛṣṇa’s desires, and completely enchants His mind. Radha is the inseparable internal potency of Kṛṣṇa.” (SB 10.32.8 Sārārtha-darśini)
The following section is even more remarkable, as it can be directly correlated with the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
“The Åg-pariśiṣṭa (a supplement to the Åg Veda) says: “Madhava together with Radha, and Radhika together with Madhava are the most radiantly attractive persons in the whole universe.” (SB 10.32.8 Sārārtha-darśini)
“According to the mood of aisvarya, ‘Rama’ refers to Ramacandra, the son of Dasaratha. According to the mood of madhurya, ‘Rama’ refers to Krsna, the relisher of Sri Radha’s association. Whenever the Name ‘Rama’ indicates service to Radha-ramana Krsna, then the word ‘Hare’ which is the vocative form of Hara, refers to Sri Radharani, who is the origin of all spiritual potencies. Sri Radha is known as Hara because She attracts the mind of Krsna. Hari means ‘attracter’. Hare is the vocative form of the word ‘Hara’. There are three Ramas – Rama, the husband of Sita-devi, Rama the husband of Revati and Rama, the lover of Radha.” (Sri Srila Prabhupader Upadesamrta)
Thus ‘Rama’ in the Hare-Krsna maha-mantra indicates Radha-Ramana (or Radha-Madhava – another form of Radha-Ramana).
It is amazing how everything in the rāsa-līlā and Kṛṣṇa’s intimate pastimes with the gopīs ultimately converge in the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 