Glossary: R
- Radha (-rani, Radhika)
- Krishna’s original pleasure potency, from whom all His internal energies expand. She is His eternal consort in Vrindavana and the most dedicated and beloved of His devotees.
- Radha-Damodara
- the presiding Deities of ISKCON’s Gita-nagari farm in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
- Radha-Damodara party
- a large group of ISKCON preachers who traveled throughout the United States during the 1970s, named for the presiding Deities who traveled with them.
- Radha-desha
- an ISKCON center in Belgium.
- Radha-Gopivallabha
- the presiding Deities of the ISKCON temple in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Radha-Govinda-Madhava
- the presiding Deities of ISKCON’s New Mayapur community in France.
- Radhashtami
- the festival celebrating Radharani’s birth.
- raga
- attachment; traditional Indian melodies.
- raganuga-bhakti
- The stage of sadhana-bhakti in which one’s practice of devotional service to Krishna becomes spontaneous and follows in the mood of one of Krishna’s eternal associates in Vraja.
- ragatmika
- the spontaneous devotional mood of the inhabitants of Vrindavana, according to their loving attachment.
- Raghunatha (Raghupati, Raghavendra)
- Lord Ramachandra, “the Lord of the Raghus.”
- Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
- one of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana.
- Raghunatha dasa Goswami
- one of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana.
- Raghus
- The dynasty of the Koshala kingdom, descended from King Raghu, the great-great-grandfather of Lord Ramachandra.
- Raivata Manu
- A son of Priyavrata who became the fifth Manu, after his brother Tamasa.
- Raivata
- A mountain in Gujarat currently known as Girnar. It is near Junagarh.
- rajas
- passion.
- raja-vidya
- lit., “the king of knowledge.” The topmost knowledge i.e., to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead; Krishna consciousness.
- Raja-yoga
- understanding of the form of the absolute within many forms, realized through the practice of the eightfold yoga system (ashtanga-yoga).
- rajo-guna
- Among the three modes of material nature, the mode of passion. It impels ambition and activity.
- Rakshasas (Rakshas)
- Man-eating demons who dwell in forests.
- rakshasi
- A female Rakshasa.
- Rama (-chandra)
- An incarnation of the Supreme Lord as a perfect righteous king, born as the son of Dasharatha and Kaushalya. Rama is also a name of Lord Krishna, meaning “the source of all pleasure,” and a name of Lord Balarama and Lord Parashurama. As part of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, refers to the highest eternal pleasure of Lord Krishna; may also refer to Lord Balarama or Lord Ramacandra.
- Rama
- Lakshmi, the “giver of pleasure” to Lord Narayana.
- rama-katha
- Sacred narrations of the glories of Lord Ramachandra.
- Rama-navami
- Lord Ramachandra’s appearance day.
- Ramanuja (-acharya)
- The founding acharya of one of the four Vaishnava sampradayas in Kali-yuga.
- Ramapriya
- The spiritual planet created in the material world by Lord Vaikuntha, the fifth manvantara-avatara, to rival the Svargaloka of Indra.
- Ramayana
- The epic history of Lord Ramachandra. The original version was written by the sage Valmiki, a contemporary of Lord Rama.
- Ranganatha
- The reclining Deity of Vishnu residing near Tiruchchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. In the neighborhood of this temple Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed with Venkata Bhatta and his family for four months.
- Rantideva
- A pious king who fasted forty-eight days and was then tested by demigods headed by Brahma and Siva. The demigods came in the guise of a brahmana, then a shudra, and finally a candala, each of whom begged portions of the food the king was to use to break his fast, finally leaving him without even water to drink. Because he tolerated all this, he received the blessings of the Supreme Lord.
- rasa
- “Transcendental taste.” The five primary spiritual rasa are moods in relationship with the Supreme Lord: reverence, servitude, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal love. Rasa also indicates the boundless pleasure enjoyed in such reciprocations.
- rasa (-lila)
- Krishna’s divine dance with the gopis, the grand celebration of their conjugal love.
- rasabhasa
- incompatible mixing of rasas.
- rasa-tattva
- the truth of transcendental mellows.
- rasayana
- An Ayurvedic tonic.
- rasgulla
- a typical Bengali sweet, consisting of balls of fresh curd, cooked and soaked in a sugar syrup.
- rasika
- A pure devotee competent to relish the tastes of loving reciprocation with the Supreme Lord.
- Ratha-yatra
- The yearly festival in Puri during which Lord Jagannatha, His brother Lord Baladeva, and Their sister Subhadra move in procession, each on their own cart, from their temple to the Gundicha temple, which represents Vrindavana. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would observe this Gundicha-yatra with great festivity in the company of His devotees.
- rati
- attachment.
- Ravana
- The demonic king of Lanka who conquered the universe and abducted the wife of the Supreme Lord Rama, who therefore invaded his kingdom and killed him.
- Rig Veda
- One of the four Vedas, the original revealed scriptures. It records hymns that glorify the demigods and forces of nature who embody the energies of the Supreme Lord.
- Rik-suktas
- The hymns of the Rig Veda, numbering 1,024.
- Rishabha (-deva)
- An empowered incarnation of the Supreme Lord who set the standard of an ideal king, gave valuable instructions to his one hundred sons, and then became an exemplar of complete renunciation.
- rishi
- A Vedic sage. The first rishis were the “seers” of the Vedic hymns, who perceived the eternal mantras in their meditation and passed them on to human society.
- Rohini
- The wife of Vasudeva who was the mother of Krishna’s principal expansion, Balarama.
- Romaharshana
- After dividing the original Veda into four, Vyasadeva entrusted this disciple with the Puranas and epic histories. Later, in an assembly of sages at Naimisharanya, when Romaharshana failed to stand up from his speaker’s seat to honor Lord Balarama, Lord Balarama killed him and installed Romaharshana’s son Ugrashrava in his place.
- ruchi
- lit., “taste.” A stage in the practice of Krishna consciousness in which one develops a natural attraction or “taste” for the activities of devotional service.
- Rudra
- Lord Siva.
- Rudras
- Eleven expansions of Lord Siva who control the forces of destruction in the material world.
- Rudra-sampradaya
- One of the four authorized Vaishnava schools. It was founded originally by Lord Siva and reestablished in the Kali-yuga by Sri Vishnu Svami.
- Rukmi
- A son of King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha and brother of Rukmini, Krishna’s first wife.
- Rukmini (-devi)
- Krishna’s first wife, the mother of Pradyumna, nine other illustrious sons, and one daughter. She is Krishna’s principal queen in Dvaraka.
- Rupa Gosvami
- One of the six Goswamis of Vrindavana, principal followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Rupa is the prime authority on the science of rasa, loving exchanges with God, which he explained in his Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu and Ujjvala-nilamani. He was also an eminent playwright and poet. Most Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider themselves rupanugas, followers of Rupa Goswami.
- Rupa-manjari
- Rupa Goswami’s eternal form as a gopi-manjari.
- rupanuga
- a follower of Rupa Goswami.