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Now we are at Radha Govinda Mandir. This is the place where Vrndadevi resides. There is no other place in all of Sri Vraja where Vrndadevi is worshiped. Vrndadevi is an expansion of Srimati Radharani and her partial expansion is Tulasidevi in Vaikuntha. Vrndadevi is a very intimate associate and girlfriend of Srimati Radharani. Krsna's expansion as Narayana married Tulasidevi in one of His pastimes. According to the Goswamis, Vrndadevi has a very unique and elevated position in Sri Sri Radha Krsna's pastimes. She arranges the secret and intimate meetings of Srimati Radharani and Krsna. In fact without Vrndadevi's mercy it is not possible to enter into these confidential pastimes even as a listener in an audience. Vrindavan is the land of Vrndadevi, she is the queen and proprietress of Vrindavan and in the past she once offered all of Vrindavan which is her kingdom to the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani. That is why Srimati Radharani is considered the actual queen of Vrindavan and the actual king is Lord Krsna. One day Srimati Radharani was thinking, "Vrndadevi is so wonderful. She has given me everything -- her lands, her kingdom; she is always so helpful, always arranging for me to meet Krsna. I wonder how I can reciprocate and return this favor and do something lovely for her like she has for me." So one day Srimati Radharani called all her most confidential associates like Lalita devi and Vishaka devi and made a plan. They made a beautiful throne, big enough for two and when Vrndadevi came somehow or other they got her to sit down on it, and they did it in such a way that Vrndadevi didn't suspect anything. As soon as she sat down on the throne some other gopis, led by Vishaka, brought Krsna and had him also sit down unsuspectingly next to Vrndadevi. At that time Lalita devi came and playing the role of a priest started chanting all the mantras invoked for a marriage. Srimati Radharani herself exchanged the flower garlands between Krsna and Vrndadevi and got them married. In this way a wonderful wedding ceremony was enacted in this place. This is the mantra for offering leaves to Lord Krsna. It simply means "This is a tulasi leaf." followed by "I offern my respectful obeisances to Sri Krsna." It is not a mantra that is used instead of offering tulasi leaves. If one does not have fresh tulasi leaves then one may offer dried ones. If no dried ones are available then one may use bark. If this is not available one should simply touch the offering with a tulasi twig. Finally if nothing is available chant the holy name of Srimati Tulasi devi and meditate on her being present on the offering. Do not pluck tulasé leaves in the morning before daylight or in the evening after dark, nor at any time on Dvädaçé-téthi, the day following Ekädaçé. Even if the tulasé leaves have become dry because they were cut on the previous day or in the morning, they may still be used in Deity worship.============ REF. PP 5.3: The Worship of Tulasé-devé (tulasé-sevä) no picking on dvadasi according to Hari bhakti vilasa. One of the Tulasi plants I am caring for has developed brown spots on two of her leaves. Does anyone know what this could be from? Could it be some kind of burn from sun or fertilizer? my answer: brown spots could be from both overwatering, or sometimes brown tips indicate magnesium deficiency in the soil. > What is the standard regarding using Tulasi as a medication for devotees? > > Once, at our Mayapur Festival, one Mataji brought Hridayananda Maharaja and 2 other Sannyasis one special banana cake. It travelled some days and in the process became contaminated with some small voracious living entities. Hridayananda Maharaja while on Parikrama became extremely ill with symptoms of food poisoning and we had to bring him back to the Temple on a stretcher (ox cart). We were about to take the three of them to the local hospital to have their stomachs pumped (a not so nice experience), were in the car leaving when Srila Prabhupada stopped us and informed us that we had to make a water with Tulasi leaves and give that to them. If that did not work then we could take them to the hospital for pumping. So, the Tulasi water was administered and they were immediately cured by the Mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Tulasidevi. Of course, this was a special emergency situation, and I do not think that it would justify you making Tulasi Herbal Remedy Tea or Tulasi Poltice for Cure all. The real remedy that Srimati Tulasi devi offers us is the "privilege to engage in devotional service." and the elimination of sinful impediments to our devotional progress. These are the real remedies that we should desire from her. Hari Bol! Ys, Jagajivana dasa The Gandaki River is a manifestation of Srimati Tulasi-devi, whose pastimes are narrated in the Padma Purana. The river Gandaki is found in different parts of Nepal with its seven tributaries. It actually divides Nepal into two. One of the tributaries Kali Gandaki is found at Muktinath, Dawalagiri, Nepal. Another one is Krishna Gandaki at Narayani. The Gandaki kunda near the Radha Krishna temple in Bhaktapur, Bagmati Dist. in Nepal is famous. The Lord blessed Tulasi for her devotion by saying that her hair will become the Tulasi tree without a leaf from which he will not accept any food to him and she herself becomes the river Ghandaki. |
