In his transcendental visions Śrī Raghunātha dāsa constantly experiences the sweetness of the Divine Couple.

There are no words to express this experience, but he tries as well as he can. The sweetness of God cannot be explained by writing books, therefore the writers of the scriptures call it mūkāsvādanavat: A dumb person can relish sweet mellows, and can feel great ecstasy because of it, but he cannot express it with words. The same goes for God’s sweetness.

Although the great saints who personally experienced God’s sweetness tried to express themselves somehow in their books, one must ultimately practice bhajan in order to see it for oneself. It is not possible to get full savour and experience of this simply by reading books, therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has defined the means to relish rasa in his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhuḥ (2.1.6-7):

bhakti nirdhūta doṣānāṁ prasannojjvala cetasām;
śrī bhāgavata raktānāṁ rasikāsaṅga raṅginām
jīvanībhūta govinda pāda bhakti sukhāśriyām;
premāntaraṅga bhūtāni kṛtyānyevānutiṣṭhatām

“Those who are completely washed of all material contamination by their pure devotion, whose hearts are brightened by spiritual satisfaction, who are very attached to hearing the holy topics of Śrīmad Bhāgavata, who enjoy the blissful company of rasika saints, whose very life is the blissful wealth of devotion to Govinda’s feet, who always discharge the confidential duties of love like hari nāma saṅkīrtana, associating with rasika saints, hearing transcendental topics from them and remembering these topics throughout the day are qualified to relish bhagavat-rasa (the flavor of God).”

Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s heart is suffering the pain of love-in-separation. Separation from Śrīman Mahāprabhu, separation from Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī, and within himself he feels a great want of his Svāminījī. His body is burning in the forest fire of separation, and he anxiously prays: “When will You make me happy?”

What is the happiness of Rādhikā’s maidservants? Not their own satisfaction, but the happiness of the Yugala Kiśora. While Śrī Raghunātha floats on the waves of prayer, which are heightened by the pain of separation, the picture of another transcendental pastime appears to him.

Svāminī and Her Nāgara are approaching him, singing sweet songs with Each other on the bank of Śrī Rādhākuṇḍa. Svāminī places Her lovely arm on the shoulder of Goṣṭha Yuvarāja (Kṛṣṇa, the prince of the meadows), embracing Him.
Svāminī’s arm is elegant because of Her pure love, not just because of Her physical beauty. Hari cannot be subdued with mere physical beauty without love.

In Lalita Mādhava (Act V) it is described how Garuḍa was enchanted by Rukmiṇī’s beauty prior to Her abduction by Śrī Kṛṣṇa:

saundaryāmbunidher vidhāya mathanaṁ dambhena dugdhāmbudher
gīrbāṇair udahāri cāru caritā yā sāra sampan mayī
sā lakṣmīr api cakṣuṣāṁ cira camatkāra kriyāṁ cāturīṁ
dhatte hanta tathā na kāntibhir iyaṁ rājñaḥ kumārī yathā

“When the demigods churned the Milk-Ocean they also churned the ocean of beauty and took the beautiful-natured Lakṣmī-devī, the goddess of fortune from there. Aho! This princess is astonishing my eyes with her beauty in such a way that the beauty of Lakṣmī-devī cannot impress me anymore!”

But when Kṛṣṇa heard Garuḍa’s words He said: sakhe bhavatu kim etena rūpa mātreṇa na hārya hariḥ (ibid.) – “O friend! Let it be! What’s the use of your description? Hari is not just enchanted by physical beauty! Unless that beauty is made out of love it won’t be able to enchant Me! Therefore say something about her love for Me!”

Svāminījī’s arms consists of mahā-bhāva, that’s why they are so lovely. Svāminī’s right arm goes over Śyāma’s back up to His right abdomen and Śyāma places His long left arm over Her left shoulder and makes His left hand reach as far as He can. How many hundreds of desires awaken in Śyāma’s heart after Svāminī touches Him with Her elegant loving arms! Śyāmasundara’s arms are strong, unlimitedly strong, and this beauty becomes very beautiful when they are engaged in Svāminī’s service.

When Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa embrace Each other They begin to sing sweet love songs in an intoxicated state. They relish the beauty of the forest on the bank of Śrī Rādhākuṇḍa, where the trees and vines are full of blooming flowers that are surrounded by bees that are thirsty after their honey, where the deer and hares freely play, where the cuckoos, parrots and cranes are sweetly singing and where the air is filled with the rich fragrance of the blooming lotus-, Kahlāra- and Campaka-flowers.

Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa Themselves illuminate this shore with Their own golden and bluish effulgence.

mādayatīti madana – Cupid intoxicates and love songs, madana gāna, are also intoxicating songs.

Svāminī presses Śyāma’s right abdomen with Her right lotus hand to tap the rhythm. Whatever gap there was between Their bodies disappears now that They firmly embrace Each other.
How much Svāminī enjoys! She sings: e buka ciriyā yekhāne parāṇa, sekhāne tomāre thobo – “I will tear open My chest where My heart is, and I will put You there!”

Śyāma also taps the rhythm on Svāminī’s bosom. Svāminī feels the strength of Śyāma’s arm.

Rasamaya Śyāma and Rasamayī Svāminī! How sweet are Their voices!

Sometimes Svāminī keeps Her head on Śyāma’s chest and sings:

śyāma baṅdhu! āmāra parāṇa tumi!
kona śubha dine, dekhā tomā sone,
pāsarite nāri āmi
yokhon dekhiye, o cāṅda vadane,

dhairaya dharite nāri
abhāgīra prāṇa, kore ān cān,
daṇḍe daśa bār mari
more koro doyā, deho pada chāyā,

śunaho parāṇa kānu!
kula śīla sob, bhāsāinu jole,
nā jīyābo tuwā vinu!

“Śyāma! O friend! You are My life! I cannot forget that blessed day that I met You! When I saw Your moonlike face I could not stay calm anymore. The heart of this unfortunate girl aches, I’m dying ten times in half an hour! O Kānu (Kṛṣṇa)! Listen! You are My very life! Be kind to Me, give Me the shade of Your lotus feet! I have made My reputation and My family tradition sink in the water (of love)! I cannot live without You!”

How beautiful is Svāminī’s face when She sings this sweet love song! How wonderful are Her gestures! That’s why Tulasī calls Her Subhaga-mukhī (fairfaced girl) here! Śyāma also sings an appropriate love song:

sundari! āmāre kohicho ki?
tomāra pīriti, bhāvite bhāvite,
vibhora hoiyāchi

thira nahe mon, sadā ucāṭan,
soyātha nāhiko pāy
gagane bhuvane, daśa diga gaṇe,

tomāre dekhi sadāi
tomāra lāgiyā, beḍāi bhramiyā,
giri nodī bone bone

khāite śuite, ān nāhi cite,
sadāi jāgaye mone
śuno vinodini, premera kāhini,

parāṇa roiyāche bāndhā
ekai parāṇa, deha bhina bhina,
jñāna kohe – gelo dhāndā

“O beautiful girl! What are You telling Me? I have become absorbed in remembering Your love again and again! My mind never finds peace, it is always agitated and I can find no consolation!
I always see You everywhere, in all ten directions, in the sky as well as on earth! I wander over the hills and the rivers and through the forest, just looking for You! I don’t think of anyone else but You! You appear in My mind even when I eat or sleep! Listen, O Vinodini (giver of joy), to this love story! We are two bodies with one soul!” Jñāna dāsa sings: “Gone is the duality (between Them, as They have now united).”

Svāminī is enchanted by Śyāma’s song and lifts Her arm from His belly up to His neck. She lowers Her face and rewards Śyāma with a kiss. That is a suitable reward for such a sweet love song! There is no limit to Śyāma’s ecstasy! They are freely enjoying, as sweetly as the king of elephants with a she-elephant. There are no sakhīs around here.

doṅhe kohi doṅha anurāga; duhu prema dui hṛde jāga
doṅhe doṅhā koru parihāra; duhu āliṅgai koto bāra
duhu bimbādhare duhu daṁśa; duhu guṇa duhu paraśaṁsa
duhu heri dohāra vayāna; duhu jana sajala nayana
duhu koho madhurima bhāṣa; nirakhaye yadunātha dāsa

“They declare Their love to Each other, and mutual love awakens in Their hearts. They leave Each other and then They embrace Each other again so many times! They bite Each other’s Bimbafruit-like lips and glorify Each other’s qualities. They stare at Each other’s faces with tear-filled eyes and speak sweet words to Each-other, while Yadunātha dāsa watches.”

vana vihāra (forest-sports) – Svāminī picks flowers and decorates Śyāma with them, and Śyāma also picks flowers to decorate Svāminī with. Singing and singing They thus proceed to the bank of Rādhākuṇḍa.
Tulasī’s bliss knows no bounds when she beholds that. When this vision disappears from her she cries, and prays:
“Please come this way once more and look at me! I am all alone here! I will be so happy when I can see Your blissful pastimes here again! You left me behind here on the bank of the kuṇḍa! I will be fulfilled if I can see You one more time again! O Svāmini! Where shall I go if You reject me? My life is dedicated to Your service! May the effulgence of Your toenails shine in my heart and soothe it – that is my long-cherished desire! The shore of Rādhākuṇḍa is illuminated by Your divine effulgence, as You come here dancing and singing. How can I like anything else still after seeing You having come here?”

The more separation Śrī Raghunātha feels, the more he relishes. The more hunger, the more savor. The Gosvāmīs showed this by their example. Crying and crying, the practicing devotee will become overwhelmed and then he will experience all this. These experiences will slacken the bondage of bodily consciousness. The sweetness of the Divine Pair can be fully relished in the consciousness of a maidservant. We will be blessed if we experience these feelings of our great example, Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī!

When this vision vanishes Śrī Raghunātha rolls on the bank of Rādhākuṇḍa and laments:

tava bāhu mṛṇālinī ati sulalita;
vrajendra-nandana tāhe ho’ye āliṅgita
nija subalita bāhu korile arpaṇa;
ānata hoibe tava skandha suśobhana
madhura madana gāna kṛṣṇera sahite;
gāhiyā sumukhi kobe sukha dibe cite
(Śrī Rasika-Candra dāsa)

“Your arms are as lovely as lotus stems and Vrajendra-nandana is being embraced by them. Because He places His own strong arm on Your shoulders they have become beautifully lowered. O Sumukhi! When will You gladden my heart by singing sweet erotic songs with Kṛṣṇa?”

– From the tikas of Srila Ananta das Babaji and Srila Ananda Gopal Goswami to Sri Sri Vilapa Kusumanjali