Swami Saradananda wrote: “When the Master started to practise madhura bhava, he was eager to wear women’s clothing and jewellery. Knowing the Master’s desire, the devoted Mathur provided him with a beautiful and expensive sari from Varanasi, a skirt, a bodice, and a scarf. To complete the transformation, Mathur brought him a wig with curly hair and a set of gold jewellery…. It is no wonder that under the influence of women’s attire, his feminine traits were aroused. But no one could have ever imagined that while immersed in that mood, his movements, speech, smile, glance, gestures, and other actions, as well as his thoughts, would become completely feminine.”
Hriday said: “During that period at Dakshineswar, every morning Uncle would take a basket and pick flowers from the garden. As we watched him, we noticed that he always stepped out with his left foot first, as a woman does. The Brahmani said, ‘When I saw him picking flowers I often mistook him for Radha.’ Every day after collecting flowers, he would make beautiful garlands and decorate the images of Radha and Krishna. Sometimes he adorned the image of the Divine Mother and prayed piteously to Her, as did the gopis to the goddess Katyayani, begging Her to give him Krishna as his spiritual husband.”
Swami Saradananda continued: “Knowing that the vision of Krishna is not possible without Radha’s grace, the Master began to worship her with his one-pointed mind. He remained absorbed in meditation on her loving form and prayed to her unceasingly with a longing heart. As a result, he was soon blessed with the vision of Radha. Her form merged into him like the forms of other gods and goddesses whose visions he had previously realized. He said: ‘It is impossible to describe the incomparable, pure, heavenly beauty and sweetness of Radha, who renounced everything out of her passionate love for Krishna. Her complexion was light yellow like the stamens of the nagakeshara [mesua ferra] flower.’
“For some time following that vision, the Master felt that he was Radha. This happened as a result of deep meditation on Radha’s form and character. He completely lost his sense of a separate identity.”
Gangamata of Vrindaban also saw Radha’s appearance in Ramakrishna. Swami Saradananda wrote: “Gangamata was then about sixty years old. After observing her exuberant love for Radha and Krishna over a long period of time, the local people had come to regard her as a reincarnation of Lalita, the main female confidante of Radha, who had descended to earth to teach people divine love. The Master told us that when she first saw him, she recognized the same manifestation of mahabhava in him that she saw in Radha. She understood him to be a reincarnation of Radha herself, and she addressed him as ‘Dulali,’ darling friend. Gangamata considered herself blessed to have met Dulali without any effort of her own, and realized that her lifelong service and love for the Lord had been fulfilled.”
Swami Vivekananda also saw Radha in the Master, as recorded in The Life of Swami Vivekananda: “One night he dreamt that Sri Ramakrishna came to him and said, ‘Come! I will show you Gopi Radha.’ Narendra [Vivekananda] followed him. After having gone some distance, the Master turned to him and said, ‘Where else will you go?’ Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna transformed himself into the beautiful personality and exquisite form of Radha herself. This so affected the conscious mind of Narendra that whereas formerly, he had only sung songs of the Brahmo Samaj relating to the formless Brahman, he now sang songs on the spiritual love of Radha. When he narrated this dream to his brother disciples, they were amazed. One asked him, ‘Do you believe in the significance of this?’ Narendra answered, ‘Surely I do.'”There is a great mystery hidden in Vivekananda’s vision of Radha.
Vaikuntha Nath Sanyal wrote:
One may be a great monk or a scholar, but one cannot ignore one’s samskaras [tendencies]. They evolve and dissolve by God’s will. Due to the influence of these samskaras, or moral codes, or western education, Narendra disregarded Radha, the blissful aspect of God. The Master thought: If Narendra does not respect Radha, the embodiment of love, he will forever be deprived of the sweet and joyful aspect of life. Moreover, if he were devoid of love, it would not be possible for him to guide the religious order inaugurated by him (Ramakrishna). Previously the Master had established Narendra in the nirvikalpa state by a mere wish. Now, to enrich Narendra with divine love, he wrote with his finger on the bed: ‘Srimati Radhe! Narendrake daya karo [O Srimati Radha, bless Narendra].’ Immediately, like magic or the influence of a great power, Narendra was absorbed in the mood of Radha and prayed: “Where are you, O Radha, the embodiment of love?” Thus, after practising sadhana for three days, the dry philosopher Narendra became softhearted and exclaimed: “I have seen a new light by the grace of the Master. If I had not experienced this love, my life would have been dry and dreary.”
Suresh Chandra Datta recorded: “Once during the dol festival of Krishna, the Master went to the Radha-Krishna temple of Dakshineswar. He was then in the mood of Radha. He began to playfully spray coloured powder on the image of Krishna and sang: ‘While fighting today with colour, let me see whether you win or I win.’ Those who witnessed this sight were overwhelmed.”
✅ Source: ‘How to Live with God’ by Swami Chetanananda
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