​Why does Radharani not wear tilaka?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, why does Raghavani not wear Tilak? Actually, there is the mood in which every devotee has an eternal relationship with Krishna. And, everything is oriented around that mood of service to Krishna. So, for example, the mood of how Raghavani serves Krishna is different from the way Yashodamayi serves Krishna.
And, that is different from the way Hanuman serves Rama. So, every devotee has his own mood or his or her own mood based on their relationship and everything is oriented accordingly. So, now the idea of putting a Tilak on one’s forehead that indicates that God is our master.
And, his feet we put on our head. And, Tulsi indicates of course that we are putting God with his consort. She is his consort.
She is on his feet always. Now, the thing with Radharani is that for all of them also Krishna is their master. But the relationship is not primarily of a master and servant.
The relationship is of a lover and beloved. That way you will see that even Yashodamayi, she doesn’t wear Vakshanath Tilak that way. She is not just Radharani.
For one who is the mother of God, she will not put the feet of God on her head. It will not be appropriate according to the mood. So, in Vrajya, the whole mood is the mood of intimacy.
And, in that mood of intimacy, anything that comes in their way, that is put aside. So, for example, the gopis often are not even conscious that Krishna is there. They know that knowledge is there.
Just as there is sun in the daytime and although there are stars also in the sky in the daytime, the stars cannot be seen because the sun is so bright. So, like that, the love of the gopis for Krishna in his intimate form is so great that the knowledge of his greatness is like the stars. And, the sun of their love obscures those stars.
So, like that, everything that is suited for the mood of Radharani serving Krishna, that is there. And Krishna himself doesn’t want that intimate mood to be impeded, to be interrupted by knowledge of his Aishwarya. In Chetan Charitam, it is said that, आईश्वर्यशिथील प्रेमा नाईश्वर्यभुयाय that if the love for the Lord is weakened, is made cold by knowledge of Aishwarya, आईश्वर्यशिथील प्रेमा नाईश्वर्यभुयाय, नाईश्वर्यभुयाय, then नाईश्वर्यभुयाय, the Lord is not satisfied by that kind of love.
That’s why in general the Vrajavasis do not externally demonstrate themselves, show anything, any marker that they are directly devotees of Krishna. It’s not just Tilak, and of course she would not put Tulsidevi because she is herself, Tulsidevi is her expansion. All the goddesses, all the female are the expansion of Radharani.
But Vraja is in the mood of affection, intimate affection. And that’s why those symbols, those things which are symbols of subordination primarily, they are not prominent in Vraja. The Gopis also know that Krishna is God, but that is not prominent in their awareness.
And because they are actively serving Krishna in a particular mood where the mood is of affection, there for the sake of affectionate reciprocation, the symbols of subordination are not demonstrated much.