Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 2.20
Seeking Happiness, Finding an Ocean of Distress
“[Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī continued lamenting about the consequences of loving Kṛṣṇa:] “My dear friend, I do not understand the regulative principles given by the creator. I loved Kṛṣṇa for happiness, but the result was just the opposite. I am now in an ocean of distress. It must be that now I am going to die, for My vital force no longer remains. This is My state of mind.”
What the purport teaches
- Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī tells Her friend that She cannot understand the regulative principles given by the creator.
- She loved Kṛṣṇa for happiness, but the result seems to Her to be just the opposite. She describes Herself as being in an ocean of distress.
- Her lament is so intense that She feels Her vital force no longer remains. She describes this as Her state of mind.
Try this today
Read this lament slowly, giving particular attention to the contrast between hoped-for happiness and felt distress.
Ask yourself
How does the phrase “an ocean of distress” help you hear the depth of Her lament?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.