Gopala Radhey Krishna-Further Reading
Gopala Radhey Krishna-Further Reading
- Gopala
- Radhey Krishna
- Govinda
- Sai Krishna
Gopala
Gopala: “Go” refers to the cows and “Pala” means protect. Lord Krishna was born in Mathura to Vasudeva and Devaki but was brought up by his foster parents, mother Yashoda and father Nanda who belonged to the cowherd clan of Brindavan. As Krishna grew up along with other boys of his age, he too tended lovingly to the cows, took them for grazing in the pastures and so on. Thus Gopala means the Lord who played the role of a cowherd. While this is the literal meaning, Baba has explained that Go means beings or souls or individuals.
So Gopala is he who tends the souls who fosters individuals, who keeps them away from harm, who strives to ensure that they remain in peace and happiness. He is the one who protects and provides. He is the one who enacted the role of a cowherd in the Dwapara age, the one who is constantly engaged in the welfare of individuals.
Radhey Krishna
Radhey: Radha refers to the greatest devotee of Lord Krishna. Bhagwan always spoke very highly of Radha and he once said in order to teach wisdom to people at large, Krishna used Arjuna as the instrument to give the treatise of Bhagwad Gita but Radha had a very special purpose. Radha was an instrument to teach people about the secret aspects of devotion, about the love for God. So perfect is her devotion and so devoid of worldly feelings that Radha for centuries has been hailed as the very embodiment of pure love for God. Swami says that Radha teaches us several lessons. In the same set of discourses of 1978, Baba said when you can surrender your actions and thoughts to Krishna, you would have reached the stage of Radha. Therefore Radha doesn’t refer to only to a woman. We should understand that anyone who surrenders himself to Krishna becomes Radha. Radha teaches us that we should not only fill our head with knowledge and wisdom, but we should fill our heart with intense love. She teaches us that, it is better to fill our heart with love, rather than fill the head with knowledge. Radha is teaching us that we should surrender our sensory organs to Krishna, otherwise they will take us along the wrong path. Radha teaches us that we should not believe in the transient and impermanent world. We should rather fix our attention on the permanent aspect of the Lord. She is telling us not to believe in the world and not to fear death and not to forget God. In the three main injunctions for. Radha is telling us in all times and in all the gunas, to enjoy the bliss of the Lord. Radha is teaching us to get rid of jealousy particularly when we see others prosper. Radha was the one who cleared the suspicions of all the Gopikas and made them give up their negative tendencies. These are some of the lessons that Radha teaches us. Let us remember when we too become detached from worldly thoughts, we would also become like Radha.
Govinda
Govinda: “Go” DENOTES COWS. Swami reveals Govinda is one who controls the animal nature in man. The lord who transforms the beastial tendencies in man to higher and nobler aspects of life
Sai Krishna
Sai Krishna: SAI: Sa means Divine. Sai is the one who is divinity himself. One who possesses SAKALA AISHWARYA i.e. All forms of wealth and prosperity, beauty and wisdom.
Krishna: The name Krishna comes from the root word “Karsh” which means to attract or to draw towards as in Akarshana. The Lord by his divine grace and miracles, and amazing powers and by his love, attracts and captivates every heart and draws the mind away from the sensory impulses. Baba says this attribute of attraction is characteristic of divinity. And He adds that the divine attracts with the sole purpose of transforming us, reconstructing us and reforming us. The name Krishna also comes from the root word “Krish” which means to cultivate as a field, for growing crops. The name therefore means He who removes the weeds of negative tendencies from our heart and sows the seeds of positive traits. Krishna cultivates the harvest of joys in the hearts of his devotees.