You have taken service from Radharani

One of Hansaduta Maharaja's buses dropped them off at a village ten kilometers down the main Delhi-Agra road. From there they will hitch-hike from village to village towards Agra. Hansaduta Maharaja has asked Srila Prabhupada if he can record him singing some bhajanas. He wants to make a record for sankirtana distribution. Prabhupada has agreed, despite the fact that he has great difficulty speaking very much at the moment due to his high blood pressure. So at about 6:00 a.m. this morning, Hansaduta set up some simple recording equipment in Srila Prabhupada's bedroom. His Divine Grace played the harmonium and recorded Hari Hari Biphale. Harikesa Swami accompanied him on mridanga and I played the karatalas. Prabhupada's classes are becoming noticeably shorter. His high blood pressure makes it a strain for him to speak for an extended period. Still, long or short, his speaking is imbued with the same depth and power, and his realizations illuminate the text and the hearts of the devotees. This morning's verse described the lamentation of Draupadi for her five dead sons. Prabhupada began by making a social observation. "Draupadi's five sons were killed-five sons by five husbands. You know the history of Draupadi. She had five husbands, which is forbidden nowadays; although in some hilly districts still this system is current, that one woman has five or six husbands. This practice was there even in high circle; that is now forbidden." He told us how Draupadi came to have five husbands. "So when Draupadi was gained by Arjuna, the five Pandavas were in the forest incognito. So when they came to their mother in jubilation, they exclaimed, 'Mother, we have got a very nice jewel.' So mother said, 'All right, my dear sons, enjoy it, all of you, five.' So on the order of mother they accepted Draupadi as a common wife. But that does not mean she had many sons-only five sons. By the five husbands, one son. That is also another system. Not competition that each husband will produce dozens of children, no." Prabhupada said it was natural for Draupadi to lament. Even though she and her husbands were directly connected to Krishna, they still had to undergo suffering. "Not that because one is Krishna conscious there will be no material suffering; actually, those who are Krishna conscious, they have no material suffering. Although it appears that they are suffering, they are not suffering. They can accept any so-called suffering and accept it as mercy of Krishna. Tat te 'nukampam su-samikshamano bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam. And he rather thanks Krishna, that 'I had to suffer many more times, but You have minimized it, giving me little suffering. So it is Your mercy.' And if anyone lives on that attitude?everything taken as Krishna's mercy?then he is guaranteed to go back home, back to Godhead. Mukti-pade sa daya-bhak. Daya-bhak means his going back to home, back to Godhead, is exactly like the inheritance of property by the son. We should learn from the Pandavas that Krishna was always present with them, still they had to suffer so much material tribulations. They were never unhappy, neither they requested Krishna that 'My dear friend Krishna, You were always with us, still we had to suffer.' Never expressed that. That is pure devotion. Never try to take benefit from Krishna, simply try to give benefit to Krishna. This is pure devotion." To further illustrate his point he said, "Perhaps you know that once upon a time Rupa Gosvami desired that 'If I would get some nice foodstuff, I would have invited Sanatana Gosvami and cook some nice food.' He desired like that. They were living in Vrindavana, here and there, under the shade of a tree. They had no stock, nothing. So one very beautiful girl came and offered rice, dal, ghee. She said, 'Baba, we have got some festival.' In this country they address saintly person as Baba. So she offered so many things, and he immediately invited Sanatana Gosvami?they were living separately. And Rupa Gosvami was very good cook also, so he prepared very nice preparation and offered to Sanatana Gosvami prasadam. So Sanatana Gosvami astonishingly inquired that 'Where you got all these nice things in this forest?' So he told the whole story, that 'In the morning I desired, and in just a few hours time, little time, one very beautiful girl came and offered this ingredients.' So after hearing the description of the beautiful girl, Sanatana Gosvami could understand that she was Radharani. So immediately he chastised Rupa Gosvami, that 'You have taken service from Radharani. This is not good. We are trying to give service to Radharani, and you have taken service from Radharani.' "So this is Vaishnava consideration. They are firmly determined not to bother Krishna with anything. Simply to serve Him. Anukulyena krishnanusilanam. Similarly, Krishna also finds opportunity when to serve His devotee. This is the reciprocation. The devotee wants to serve Krishna without any return, and Krishna also wants to serve devotee whenever there is opportunity. This is the transaction of love: not to take anything return." Yet although the Pandavas were such brilliant examples of surrender to Krishna, Prabhupada went on to tell us that here in Vrindavana there were devotees whose devotion went even beyond theirs. "The topmost surrendered devotees are the gopis. There is no more higher exalted devotees than the gopis. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommended that the gopis, ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita. There is no better type of worshiping Krishna than the method by which gopis worship Krishna. Their love was so intense that they did not care for any family, any honor, or any prestige?nothing. That is the highest, topmost loving stage of Krishna. And Krishna also loved the gopis, so much so that Krishna asked them that 'You cannot expect any return from Me for your ecstatic love. I cannot give you. It is beyond My power.' So they purchased Krishna. And the topmost gopi is Radharani. So we should not consider these gopis' dealings with Krishna as ordinary material dealings."