Who's touch is Radha feeling while being massaged?

Vilapa-kusumanjali, verse 20, part 2 | Lecture by Pratibha Goswami

Verse 20:

»When may this maidservant, after washing Your lotus feet and brushing Your teeth with a twig, seat You in the bathroom and, having anointed You with very fragrant oils, massage You there?«

Video

0:56:43 h

Podcast

The verse opens with Tulasī brushing Rādhey jū's teeth while narrating sweet pastimes of Ṭhākur jī. Ananta dās Bābājī describes the intimate scene — including when Rādhā uses a tongue cleaner and gently rocks her body — a moment of exquisite tenderness. The instruction is for the devotee to meditate in their siddha-deha (spiritual form) to truly taste these pastimes rather than just hear them intellectually.

Explanation by Pratibhā Gosvāmī (03:17 (Opens in a new window))
A detailed narration of the sweet incident when Rādhey jū rocks in pastime with Ṭhākur jī. The topic of pūrva-rāga is introduced — the state of first seeing each other, the very first awakening of love. A verse from Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's Prema Bhakti Candrikā is cited: prema bhakti sudhā-nidhi, tāhe ḍubo niravadhī, āra yoto kṣāra-nidhi prāya "Always dive in the nectar-ocean of loving devotion; everything else is like an ocean of alkali." The contrast is stark — prema bhakti is the only ocean worth drowning in.

Glimpses:
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura (08:15 (Opens in a new window)–09:43 (Opens in a new window))
Caitanya (09:57 (Opens in a new window)–10:59 (Opens in a new window)) — the teaching to relish even a tiny drop; and the key point that we can touch and smell Rādhey jū and Ṭhākur jī's body only through our siddha-deha — not with the gross material senses.

Continued Reading (12:05 (Opens in a new window))
The profound statement: Tulasī's touch is just like Kṛṣṇa's touch. This elevates Tulasī devī's sevā to the highest level of intimacy in Vṛndāvana-līlā.

Glimpse:
How to Become Addicted to Prema (27:55 (Opens in a new window)–29:05 (Opens in a new window))

Reading Continues (29:50 (Opens in a new window))
Tulasī is serving Rādhey jū while reminding her of previous pastimes with Kṛṣṇa — the sevā of memory woven into the sevā of body.

Līlā (32:17 (Opens in a new window)) Rādhey jū goes to bathe in the Yamunā.
Kṛṣṇa silently tries to sneak in — a playful, intimate pastime full of the mood of mādhurya (sweetness).

Līlā: Prema Mādhurī Bhāī jī (40:45 (Opens in a new window))
A personal account of receiving darśana on Govardhana parikramā — a living testimony of Ṭhākur jī's grace in the present day.

Glimpse:
(45:40 (Opens in a new window)–46:40 (Opens in a new window)) "Ṭhākur jī comes when you call him."

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Bibliography

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Goswāmī: Śri Śri Vilāpa Kusumāñjali, comments by Ananta dās Bābājī, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Seva Sadan Trust, Kolkata 2014