Sri Radharaman Charan Das
Sri Radharaman Charan Das (1853-1905), popularly known as Barha (great) Baba, was a significant figure the Hindu tradition of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. An important practice in this tradition is sakhi bhâva, cultivating the prayerful feeling (bhâva) of being a girl (sakhi) among those accompanying the divine couple, Radha and
In a biography about Radharaman Charan Das by O.B.L. Kapoor, we find this description of Jai Gopal and other disciples residing with Charan Das in his ashram -
Externally he was always engaged in service, but internally his bhâva was that of a sakhi . He imagined that the ashram was the kunja [garden] of Radha and the Vaisnavas in the ashram were her sakhis, and that his service of the ashram and the Vaishnavas was service to Radha and her sakhis. Some other Vaishnavas of the ashram also had sakhi bhâva. As an external aid to that bhâva they kept their heads covered with a part of the chadar they wore, like females. They often danced in that bhâva for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath in the temple. 1
In addition to sakhi bhâva, Radharaman Charan Das also advocated sakhi vesh, the practice of wearing the dress (vesh) of a sakhi. Generally, this practice involves a male devotee dressing in a sari while engaged in devotional practices for the sake of strengthening his feeling of being a sakhi. Referring to his own guru’s teachings, Charan Das said –
… in order to make one’s bhâva permanent, one should wear the dress suited to it, speak and behave in a manner suited to it, and think about, meditate upon and do kirtan [devotional singing] of the lila [stories] that suits it. 2
O.B.L. Kapoor narrates this touching anecdote in his biography. In the following paragraphs, he refers to Radharaman Charan Das very respectfully as Babaji Mahashaya –
Everyone danced and sang in ecstasy, but Jai Gopal was weeping constantly. Tears were incessantly flowing from his eyes. Suddenly he fell unconscious near the detities. At this time, Babaji Mahashaya came dancing near him and uttered a mantra in his ear. He got up, flung one end of his chadar over his head, and went and sat in a corner of the temple, sobbing and weeping.
Just then came a man holding a sari in his hands and said, “Jagannath, sitting in my heart, told me that one of you needs a sari. So I have brought it. Who will wear it?” Navadwip Das made Babaji Mahashaya wear the sari. The situation aroused sakhi bhâva in his mind and he began to dance like one possessed by a sakhi of Vraja. Tears of love constantly streamed out of his eyes and sâttvika bhâvas appeared all over his body. Others caught the emotional current emanating from him and they also began to dance and sing madly under the spell of that bhâva.
After about an hour, Babaji Mahashaya came to his own. He then gave the sari to Navadwip and whispered something into his hear. Navadwip went and made Jai Gopal wear the sari. After Jai Gopal had worn it, he brought him near Babaji Mahashaya, holding him by the arm, and made him surrender at his feet.
Baba Mahashaya said in a voice choked with emotion, “Radha has, out of her infinite kindness, bestowed this sublimest and sweetest bhâva upon you. Retain it carefully and be happy. Vesh (outward form) alone will not do any good. You have to live according to this bhâva in thought, word, and deed. In sakhi bhâva, one cannot even for a moment think of one’s own happiness. You have to convert this bhâva into svabhâva, that is, you will have to make it completely your own, your natural disposition. Until this is done the bhâva will not be permanent. The best way of doing this is constantly serving Radha-Krishna according to this bhâva .”
Navadwip Das then asked, “Now, what name should we give him?”
Baba said, “What name do you propose?”
“I wish that he should henceforth be called Lalita Dasi.” Gopal was not Jai Gopal. He was Lalita Dasi in the true sense. He always dressed himself as a gopi , and was like a gopi in thought, word and deed. 3
Now known by a female name - Lalita Dasi - the disciple Jai Gopal hereafter dressed as a woman at all times. For most practitioners of sakhi vesh, female dress is only worn at the time of prayer and worship. But for some extremely committed practitioners, it is worn continuously.
The following story describes another disciple of Charan Das who had assumed female dress during a religious celebration. After such celebrations, he would generally return to his normal dress, but on this occasion –
Everyone changed his dress … but Haridas did not. He only wept when someone asked him to change. He began to look for Baba Mahashaya. But Baba had gone to Radharamana Kunja to rest. He went there and fell at his feet and wept and wept. Baba Mahashaya said, “Haridas, why do you weep” Haridas could not reply. He wept all the more. A new wave of love had begun to surge in his heart resulting in an upheaval that had arrested thought and speech.
Baba Mahashaya understood what had happened to him. But he smiled and cautioned him by saying, “It is all well and good if the bhâva is genuine. But if it is aped the consequences are disastrous. If by the grace of the Lord a particular bhâva develops in the heart of a devotee, he should try to make it permanent. It is not so easy to do so. The mind must be kept strictly under control. It must not be allowed to entertain any other kind of bhâva.
Haridas: Prabhu, I need not tell you what my condition is. You know my heart. It is impossible for me to change this dress. The moment I think of changing, my heart begins to sink. Tell me what I should do.
Babaji: Bhâva and vesh [dress] should not be adopted on someone’s advice. They are gifts of the Lord. You must do as inspired by Him.
Haridas: I know that the bhâva I have is no one’s gift except yours. I could never even imagine that this could happen to me. You kindly tell me how I should preserve what you have given.
Babaji: The essence of râgânuga or bhâvânuga bhaki [devotion led by emotions] is anugatya, that is walking on the footsteps and under the guidance of those who are the ideals of your bhâva. Bhakti means submission and obedience. Any kind of independence is detrimental to it.
Haridas: Kindly tell me how I should behave towards persons other than those who have sakhi bhâva?
Babji: You should have the [self image] of an ordinary householder milkmaid and regard everyone as superior to you. You must not dine or sleep or sit alone with a man who has the [self image] of being male. Also, you must not sit alone with a female. You must not keep the company of persons whose bhâva is opposed to yours and you must not have any contact with your kinsfolk.
Haridas went back to Jhanjapita Math. When Baba Mahashaya went there, Lalita Dasi asked, “What is the name of this new sakhi?”
Babaji: You decide what name should be given to her, considering her bhâva and disposition.
Lalita Dasi: We do not know. You give her the name you think best.
Babaji: From her kirtan [devotional singing] and behavior yesterday, it appears that she is an adept in the function of a duti (female messenger). She should, therefore, be named Vrinda Dasi.4
For a male to live as a woman for the sake of spiritual growth is a radical practice, so one would expect it to be a rare occurrence. Nevertheless, Radharaman Charan Das described one more disciple who adopted sakhi vesh full-time –
Baba: Sometime ago, a twenty-year-old boy named Advita Das took mantra from me and went to Vrindavan. After seeing all the holy places connected with the lila [stories] of Sri Krishna, he went to Barsana. There, he lived with vairagya [asceticism] and swept the
One day, Radharani asked him in a dream to dance before Her in the vesh [dress] of a gopi [milkmaid]. He ignored this as a mere dream. After three days, Radharani again appeared to him in a dream and said, “You did not dance as I had said. Tomorrow I shall send you the dress of a gopi. You wear and dance before Me. Remember, that is your siddha vesh [spiritual dress].”
The next day in the evening, an old lady came with a sari and a blouse and said to him, “Baba, you dance before Radharani every day. I like your dance very much. I give you this sari and blouse so that you may wear them while dancing.”
He began to dance in that dress. Slowly, he became so much attached to the dress that he could not give it up, howsoever much he tried. People began to call him Kishori Dasi. 5
That Radharaman Charan Das allowed male disciples to live as women in his ashram was apparently not acceptable to some of his contemporaries who considered this practice non-scriptural and inappropriate. But according to Charan Das, this practice is scripturally sound and completely acceptable to the Vaishnava tradition. In the following passage, Charan Das defends this practice when confronted by a critical religious scholar who saw some of Charan Das’s disciples wearing sakhi vesh -
Vimala Babu: Some of them have adopted sakhi vesh. Have you asked them to do so?
Babaji: No, they have done so of their own.
Viumala Babu: Why don’t you prevent them?
Babaji: I do not see anything wrong in it. Sometime ago there was some criticism against it. I consulted my Gurudeva [teacher]. He said, “The essence of the teachings of the Goswamis is that in order to make one’s bhâva permanent, one should wear the dress suited to it, speak and behave in a manner suited to it, and think about, meditate upon and do kirtan [devotional singing] of the lila [stories] that suits it.
Vimala Babu: Can you prove the necessity of this kind of vesh with reference to the shâstras [scriptures] and can you cite any instance in which the associates or followers of Mahaprabhu [Caitanya, the founder of this tradition] have in the past worn this kind of vesh?
Babaji: The importance of vesh has been asserted by all the shâstras. It is according to the shâstras that the Brahmins wear the sacred thread, which is a sign of brahminhood and is helpful in sâdhana. Similarly, the orange colored clothes and the tridanda [staff] of a sannyâsi [monk], the rudraksha [beads] and lion’s skin of a Shaiva, and the tilaka and kanthi of a Vaishnava are enjoined by the shâstras.
As for the associates of Mahaprabhu, many of them have put on vesh according to their bhâva. Nityananda Prabhu, who had the bhâva of Balarama, used to put on vesh according to that bhâva. Almost all of his associates who had sakhya bhâva [attitude of being God’s friend] used to put on gopa vesh (dress of cowherds). Gadadhara Praphu used to put on gopi vesh [dress of the milkmaids]. Abhirama Thakura used to carry a flute, which was appropriate to his sakhya bhâva. Lokananda Das Thakura, Narahari Sarkar Thakura and some other devotees of Srikhanda sometimes met Maahaprabhu in the vesh of nadiya nâgari (ladies of Navadwip), and sometimes went about in the vesh of milkmaids of Vraja carrying pots of milk or curd.
Besides, have the shâstras said anywhere that vesh according to bhâva should not be adopted to convert bhâva into svabhâva [permanent nature]? I think not. 6
Notes: