From the editor: Today is Radhastami, or the appearance day of the Supreme Goddess, Radha, in the Bhakti Yoga Tradition, celebrated by millions all around the world. Happy Radhasthami!
This poem is based of the divine qualities of Srimati Radharani, or the Supreme Feminine Divine; the Goddess, in the bhakti yoga tradition...
by Braja Sorensen
Radhika, Queen of Vraja-dhama
Replete with qualities, full of charm,
Krishna’s darling, Varshana’s girl,
The reigning queen of all three worlds.
O child of Varshana, fair and sweet,
We pray now at Your lotus feet,
One drop of bhakti please bestow,
That service to You we may always know.
‘Tis sweetness she personifies,
A fresh young girl with restless eyes,
Bright smiles grace her lotus face,
Krishna is maddened by her taste.
Sri Radha’s voice, a sweet, clear sound,
Her lilting song makes His heart pound,
Expert in every female art,
Her love has bound Sri Krishna’s heart.
O child of Varshana, fair and sweet,
We pray now at your lotus feet,
One drop of bhakti please bestow,
That service to you we may always know.
Auspicious marks adorn Her form,
From Krishna’s side She cannot be torn;
Shy and gentle, ever-sweet,
The world bows to Her lotus feet.
Her modesty, known far and wide,
Matched only by Her gentle side,
Always patient, very grave,
With elders She knows how to behave.
O child of Varshana, fair and sweet,
We pray now at Your lotus feet,
One drop of bhakti please bestow,
That service to You we may always know.
The shelter of all devotees,
Who beg before Her on their knees,
“One drop of bhakti please bestow,
Upon this fallen helpless soul!”
Her silken cloth is sheer perfection,
To all She gives Her pure affection,
Obliged by the love of Her dear friends,
To please them She’ll go to all ends.
By Krishna alone She is enjoyed
But cunning still, with Him She toys
Yet always She is merciful
She is Krishna’s favorite girl.
O child of Varshana, fair and sweet,
We pray now at Your lotus feet,
One drop of bhakti please bestow,
That service to You we may always know.
All the residents of Gokula,
Deposit their love in Her in full,
Her heart the abode of pure bhakti,
Her love for Krishna is plain to see
O child of Varshana, fair and sweet,
We pray now at Your lotus feet,
One drop of bhakti please bestow,
That service to You we may always know.
The poem is based on the 25 qualities of Srimati Radharani:
1) She is sweetness personified;
2) She is a fresh young girl;
3) Her eyes are always moving;
4) She is always brightly smiling;
5) She possesses all auspicious marks on Her body;
6) She can agitate Krishna by the flavor of Her person;
7) She is expert in the art of singing;
8) She can speak very nicely and sweetly;
9) She is expert in presenting feminine attractions;
10) She is modest and gentle;
11) She is always very merciful;
12) She is transcendentally cunning;
13) She knows how to dress nicely;
14) She is always shy;
15) She is always respectful;
16) She is always patient;
17) She is very grave;
18) She is enjoyed by Krishna;
19) She is always situated on the highest devotional platform;
20) She is the abode of love of the residents of Gokula;
21) She can give shelter to all kinds of devotees
22) She is always affectionate to superiors and inferiors;
23) She is always obliged by the dealings of her associates
24) She is the greatest among Krishna's girlfriends
25) She always keeps Krishna under her control
I am a writer, author, poet, photographer, home-brewed gourmand and cow lover hailing from the beaches of Australia. I’ve lived in on the banks of the sacred Ganges River in Mayapur, West Bengal, since the turn of the century. Lost & Found in India was first published in India in 2013 (Hay House International), then rereleased internationally in 2015 (Torchlight Publications). It was my first mainstream book, the second is Mad & Divine (2015). I have other published works in the Vaishnava genre: 18 Days: Sri Panca-tattva’s Mayapur-lila (2004), and India & Beyond: Plane Reading for Part-time Babajis (2012). I worked for some years on a nine-volume treatise on the sacred lands of India through the Vaishnava perspective of pastime, pilgrimage, and philosophy, Nava-vraja-mahima, authored by Sivarama Swami (Lal Publishing, 2013). I am currently working on five books for publication in 2015 & 2016: Of Noble Blood, my first novel; Yoga In The Gita, a series I worked on for two years with writing partner Catherine Ghosh; Kavita: A Search for Transcendence, my first novella; A Conscious Life, an A-Z daily handbook from the Bhagavad-gita, and A River Runs Through Me: Outer Trauma, Inner Healing. I write regularly for several online and print magazines internationally while waiting for Vogue to see the light and give me a damned column…
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
This poem so sweetly and beautifully describes Radha's qualities and the desire in the devotee's heart to enter into her service. Thank you so much for sharing this here, dear Braja, and making it the grand start to what has been a most fruitful and fulfilling poetry project this year, by Radha's mercy! And that of her sevakis, like you. Jaya Sri Radhe!
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DeleteWow. Just wow. I was going to make something like this a project for today, but anything I tried would be a faint shadow of this gem. Braja-sevaki at her best, living up to her name. Jaya Radhe!
ReplyDeleteOh how kind of you to say that, Swamiji....thank you....
DeleteVery much appreciated. Jaya Sri Radhe
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