RADHASTAMI: UDDHAVA, GOPIS & VOTING

Happy Radhastami! The Appearance Day of Radharani, the consort of Krishna, is celebrated in the West on August 25th this year. She first appeared on a half moon night to King Vrishabanu when he was bathing in the Jamuna River. Radha was standing on lily pads in the river. He brought her home to Queen Kirtida.

In my last blog I wrote about my personal experiences of Krishna and the experiences of George Harrison. At the end of the blog, I summed up the basic concepts of the "Uddhava Gita." Uddhava was the sage who was Krishna's cousin who had been taught great spiritual truths by the great sage Brishpati, the sage of the nine heavenly planets. Uddhava wanted to hear the wisdom and last words of Krishna before He left the Earth.

Earlier Uddhava was a messenger and servant of Krishna after Krishna had traveled to Mathura to defeat Kamsa. Krishna had been summoned there by family members. When Krishna went to Mathura, He remained there because He freed His parents and grandfather from prison. King Ugrasena, His grandfather, was re-instated on the throne after the death of Kamsa, the evil demon king.

Krishna appointed Uddhava as His messenger to Nanda, Jashoda and the gopis. Nanda is the King of Vrindavan and Jashoda is the Queen of this village. They are the foster parents of Krishna who raised Him until He went to Mathura. The gopis are the cow girls and women of Vrindavan who were the girlfriends of Krishna.

Radharani is the beloved girlfriend and consort of Krishna. She is grieving, along with the rest of Vrindavan, after Krishna left this village to defeat Kamsa. Before Uddhava presents his message from Krishna, Radha is very sad and depressed about Krishna's departure. A large bumble bee touches her lotus feet and hangs around her for a very long time. She believes the bee is a messenger from Krishna who has come to hear what she has to say about the situation. At first she believes Krishna is unreliable and is now with the city girls and women of Mathura.

Vrindavan is a village where Krishna grew up under the care of Nanda and Jashoda, His foster parents. It is beautiful and picturesque on the banks of the Jamuna River. It is a paradise teaming with cows, peacocks, monkeys and other exotic creatures. Mathura is a major city of the region where His parents and grandfather was imprisoned by the evil Kamsa.

At the end of the conversation with the bumble bee, she begins to realize that Krishna is really everywhere as Uddhava explained to all the gopis. Although He was not physically there, His energy is everywhere because He is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. She tells the bee to forget about her earlier statements she had made on Krishna. She learns from Uddhava that Krishna will return again some day in the future. Physically Uddhava looks a lot like Krishna, so people at first thought Krishna had returned to Vrindavan. Eventually Krishna does return to Vrindavan for a visit of short duration. Uddhava stays four months in Vrindavan during this visit after Krishna had traveled to Mathura.

Why didn't Krishna come back to Vrindavan permanently? Because He wanted to stay with his parents who He couldn't be with in His childhood up to this point. He also wanted to re-instate His grandfather, King Ugrasena, on the throne of Mathura. This was necessary to provide stability and governance since Kamsa was defeated by Krishna. Krishna became the King of Mathura after the death of His grandfather.

Some people say He secretly married Radha in Vrindavan. Other says she was already married at the time. She was a young girl at the time and probably was not married yet when she met Krishna. Because His destiny was in Mathura, He would later marry Princess Rukmini, who became His principle wife. Later He would marry other wives. However when Krishna left the Earth He went to His heavenly abode where Radha is His eternal consort. Radha is an expansion of the goddess Lakshmee, who is the goddess of health, wealth and prosperity. Lakshmee is also known as the goddess of fortune. Krishna was the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Radha was His energy and power. All goddesses are the energy principle in the world. Nothing happens without the female energy. All of social change and progress is through the female energy.

It is good to see that stability was established in Mathura. After a ruler dies or loses an election, the question of succession is very important. We have an opportunity to vote for the next President of the United States soon. We will have the choice of voting by mail, early in person voting or voting on Election Day on November 3rd. Many worked worked and died so that everyone who is a citizen who is an adult 18 years and older can vote. Some countries have kings, but we have a form of democracy where we can choose our representatives, senators and the President and Vice President. As former President Obama and former First Lady, Michelle Obama say, nothing will change unless we take the time to vote. Call your local county election office for details on voting by mail, early in person voting or voting on Election Day on November 3rd. The earlier the better. Make your vote count right now! Hope you will have a great Radhastami!

JAI SHRI RADHA1 JAI SHRI KRISHNA! JAI SHRI VOTING!

Radhapriestess