Setting the scene...

I've been reading the most wonderful book over the last few months; Radha, from Gopi to Goddess. It's part of my morning reading ritual, where, when I can stay at home and not have to rush anywhere first thing, I enjoy sitting down with a tankard of herbal tea and reading on the sofa.

The book is a collection of essays compiled (and some written) by Harsha V. Dehejia, exploring the concept of Radha through history. Be it through poetry, painting, historical research, dance etc. Super interesting!

My morning reading books are always ones that require a bit more concentration and contemplation, so ones that aren't well suited to a commute on the tube. Also books that are a bit too big to carry in my bag make it into my morning reading :P They take a bit of time to finish these days... as for various reasons my quiet mornings have fallen in number a little. But it's been a haven of a ritual I've developed over the last couple of years, and every time I'm able to enter it, I feel like I'm entering a space where I can be quiet and absorb new knowledge and savour the nourishment that peaceful mornings and learning brings.

Also I'll happily confess that I'm not a super early morning person and sometimes morning reading time doesn't start till after 10am :P

The main man - Jayadeva!

So while I've been learning soooo many things in this book, one of the things that hit home recently is how instrumental Jayadeva was in the creation of Radha. As in, he essentially wrote her into existence.

Bit of a nutshell background for those not familiar - Jayadeva was a 12th century Indian poet, who is best known for writing the epic love song about Radha & Krishna - the Gita Govinda.

Krishna is considered to be a form of Lord Vishnu (sustaining force of the universe - part of the core 'creator-sustainer-destroyer' trinity of Hinduism made up of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). In the stories, Vishnu in his godly form never enters our physical realm, but he does enter our world in the form of a number of avatars, of which Krishna is one.

Radha in comparison, is a mere mortal. A gopi (milkmaid) in the village of Vrindavan, where Krishna also spends his youthful years. And yes, Vrindavan is an actual place in India :)

While Vrindavan is full of gopis who all love Krishna (who can blame them - his beauty and charm and skill with which he plays the bansuri (Indian flute) are stuff of legend), and while Krishna enjoys engaging in amorous games of love with them... there is also one gopi who he loves the most - Radha. And it is their relationship that the Gita Govinda explores. The passion, the longing, the jealousy, the betrayal, the ecstasy of union. She represents every woman, every stage of love on the one hand, and represents the relationship between us as mortals and the divine on the other.

There's a whole world of themes and topics to explore and discuss here, hence it has inspired centuries worth of art, poetry, music, dance, contemplation and devotional practice. I'm not going to even try and get any deeper than I have just done! But it was so fascinating to think about how actually before Jayadeva wrote his poem, the idea of Radha as a standalone and developed character did not exist. There is mention in part of an older text of a favoured gopi, but she isn't afforded more than one line of text really.

So for me it was wonderful to take a moment to give thanks to Jayadeva for bringing Radha to life through his writing. For creating the space for such a rich world of love, devotion and beauty to grow. For giving us an embodiment through which we could discover our hearts and souls.

~ Jai Jayadeva! ~