The mystery of Radha, the female energy of God, had both fascinated and eluded me. After all I had experienced, after all I had read, after all the sadhus I had met, nothing had prepared me for the hidden truth of yoga’s greatest mystery: the mystery of bhakti, or devotion. And now I was learning that the keeper of this mystery was Radha. For the first time it began to dawn on me that these saints of Vrindavan had penetrated into the deepest, most confidential aspect of the spiritual journey.
The secret? That beyond worldly pleasures and beyond the liberation of oneness with God, is an eternal dance, an endless night of love, and the intoxication of one’s very soul. And the one capable of giving entry to this unbearably sweet realm was Radha.
It was their yearning to connect with Radha that allowed these yogis of Vrindavan to demonstrate such intense and genuine humility. By casting aside all interest in yogic powers, they seemed to be drowning in an ocean of divine love. My mind and heart were charmed by this rich theology known as bhakti, the yoga of unconditional love. It seemed to put so many of my mind’s questions, both asked and yet to be asked, in a comprehensive perspective. Although still apprehensive about committing myself to one particular path, I felt a yearning brewing in my heart to follow the path of Bhakti.
After Krishnadas Babaji blessed me, stood up, and walked away along the riverbank, I sat there staring into the river and contemplated on this secret of the feminine divinity. In the Christian church, the adoration of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, inspired both divine love and embittered factions. And the mystery of Mary Magdalene gave rise to secret orders, veiled symbolism, and intrigue. Many Hebrews saw Shekinah as the female aspect of God or the bride of the Sabbath, as did certain students of the Kaballah. And within Islam, there were followers of the Sufi sect who honor the divine feminine in their reverence to Fatima. Now I was finding how from the Vedic, ancient scriptural perspective, Feminine Divinity had always been accepted as truth.
As I looked out onto Mother Yamuna, I pondered on how the nourishing, compassionate side of spirituality is often overruled by the elements of power and control. It impressed me how important it was to pay attention to the feminine aspect of the divine.
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