The four sampradāyas follow Keśava-vrata during this month of Vaiśākha. Also, the scriptures recommend the observance of Cāturmāsya-vrata, Puruṣottama-vrata, Kātyāyanī-vrata, and many other types of vratas. On one side are the followers of vaidhī-mārga and on the other side are the followers of the rāga-mārga.
ekāntino yasya na kañcanārthaṁ vāñchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannāḥ aty-adbhutaṁ tac-caritaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ gāyanta ānanda-samudra-magnāḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.3.20
[Unalloyed devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Lord, worship Him in full surrender and always hear and chant about His activities, which are most wonderful and auspicious. Thus they always merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such devotees never ask the Lord for any benediction.]
A one-pointed devotee may or may not follow these vratas. He is governed by spontaneous love and not bound by the constraints of the scriptures. In his book Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī presented the following statements for one-pointed devotees:
evam ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ kurvatāṁ paraṁ-prītyā kṛtyam-anyan na rocate bhāvena kenacit preṣṭhaḥ śrī mūrter-aṅghri sevane syād icchyaiṣāṁ svatantreṇa sva-rasanaiva tad-vidhiḥ vihiteṣv eva nityeṣu pravartante svayaṁ hite ityādy ekāntināṁ bhāti māhātmyaṁ likhitam hi tat
Ekāntika-bhaktas of the Lord consider kṛṣṇa-smaraṇa and kṛṣṇa-kīrtana alone to be the best activities. For the most part, they do not engage in any other limbs of devotion besides these two, which they cultivate with great eagerness and love. Their taste for these limbs is so strong that no other activity can captivate their heart. They cultivate an inherent desire to serve the Lord’s lotus feet in a fixed mood, in accordance with their eternal svarūpa and rasa, with the freedom to give up the regulations which are unfavorable to their mood. This alone is their injunction. The ekāntika-bhaktas are not bound to follow all the rules and regulations which have been given by the ṛṣis. The moods of the one-pointed devotee’s inherent, natural disposition generally remain prominent. This is their glory.]
Sādhakas are the followers of vaidhī-mārga (regulated discipline) that leads to rāga-mārga (spontaneous love and affection). Until transcendental greed awakens in the heart, sincere sādhakas remain in the association of anurāgī Vaiṣṇavas and follow rules and regulations. They observe vratas, all the while praying and aspiring for the moods of the Vraja-devīs. Therefore, the Vaiṣṇava calendar has recommended the observance of this vrata.
Viśākhā-devī is the śikṣā-guru of this month of Vaiśākha. We pray that her advice, instructions, blessings, and mercy may enter our heart, so we can progress on the path of vraja-bhakti and understand the meaning of vraja-bhakti. Therefore, Viśākhā-devī especially helps the sādhakas in this month of Vaiśākha.
Keśavadeva Himself says, “I am a student. I am a follower of the Vraja-devīs. I take training for one continuous month in Śṛṅgāra-vaṭa.”
Viśākhā-devī trains Kṛṣṇa. After Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, He was trained by Rāya Rāmānanda. Mahāprabhu thought, “How can I teach vraja-bhakti to others if I am not trained and established in it Myself? I want to know the glories of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s love.”
śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā- svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.6
[Desiring to understand the glory of Rādhārānī’s love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Śrīmatī Saci-devī, as the moon appeared from the ocean.]
To fulfill His three desires, Kṛṣṇa came in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He went to the banks of the Godāvarī and learned from Rāya Rāmānanda. He continued to learn from Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāya Rāmānanda in the Gambhīrā. He would always discuss vraja-bhakti, vraja-prema, and vraja-sevā with them.
The path of vaidhī-mārga also contains sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana. But rāga-mārga is different from vaidhī-mārga.
Viśākhā-devī is a śikṣā-guru. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has written:
mad-īśā-nāthatve vraja-vipina-candraṁ vraja-vane śvarīṁ tan-nāthatve tad-atula-sakhītve tu lalitām viśākhāṁ śikṣālī-vitaraṇa-gurutve priya-saro- girindrau tat-prekṣā-lalita-rati-datve smara manaḥ
Manaḥ-śikṣā 9
[O mind! Always remember Vraja-vipina-candra Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the life and soul of my Svāminī Śrī Rādhikā, Vrajavaneśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhikā as His beloved, Śrī Lalitā as the unmatched friend of my svāminī, Śrī Viśākhā as the śikṣā-guru in teaching all the gopīs śrī-yugala-sevā, and Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Girirāja Govardhana as those who bestow darśana of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and give the topmost rati for Their lotus feet.]
Kṛṣṇa performed this vrata to learn from His śikṣā-guru, Viśākhā-devī. Dāmodara-vrata is observed to learn from the dīkṣā-guru and Keśava-vrata is observed to learn from the śikṣā-guru.
Kṛṣṇa said, “It is not possible for Me to help and serve the Vrajavāsīs. I try to learn, help, and serve, but I lack the proper intelligence. Everyone serves Me. Not only do all the living entities serve Me, even the perfected souls, the demigods, and My incarnations also serve Me. Everyone follows Me. But I never learnt how to serve or please the Vrajavāsīs.”
When Kṛṣṇa came to Viśākhā-devī to be taught, she told Him, “How can You learn? You must first cool Yourself. You release Your Sudarśana-cakra at the slightest provocation. You have no tolerance or patience. You cannot be taught if You are always scorched by the fire of anger. When You admit Yourself to our training center, You should be humble, sweet, and polite. Then guru’s mercy will come. The guru will not bestow his mercy on the unheeding disciple.
Kṛṣṇa asked, “How can I be humble?”
“You will learn when You become a sannyāsī.”
“I have to become a sannyāsī?”
“Yes, You have to become a sannyāsī. It is not possible to learn vraja-bhakti if You don’t first become renounced. You need to take sannyāsa first!”
“How is this possible?”
“You should give up everything; You should be renounced. Become a follower of the Vraja-devīs. By giving Your service, everyone will cleanse You and turn You into a sannyāsī.”
“But how to practically take sannyāsa?”
“All of us have taken sannyāsa.”
pati-sutānvaya-bhrātṛ-bāndhavān ativilaṅghya te ‘nty acyutāgatāḥ gati-vidas tavodgīta-mohitāḥ kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.31.16
[Dear Acyuta, You know very well why we have come here. Who but a cheater like You would abandon young women who come to see Him in the middle of the night, enchanted by the loud song of His flute? Just to see You, we have completely rejected our husbands, ancestors, brothers and other relatives.]
āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.60
[The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana, because the gopīs bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.]
Viśākhā-devī told Kṛṣṇa, “All of us have left everything; so why can’t You leave everything as well? All of us follow You; now why can’t You follow us? Is it possible for You?”
Kṛṣṇa helplessly replied, “No. All of you are ananya (one-pointed). But it is not possible for Me to be ananya like you.”
“Then how will You learn? How will You be trained? You should give up everything first.”
“It is not possible for Me.”
“Then it is not possible for You to follow this vrata.”
Giving in to Viśākhā-devī’s words, Kṛṣṇa said, “Okay. I will do strong tapasyā.”
Viśākhā-devī immediately replied, “Your tapasyā will not work. Who will give You the fruit of Your tapasyā? Who is Your master? Will Śrīmatī Rādhārānī be pleased by Your austerities? No. She will be pleased when You are completely surrendered.”
Kṛṣṇa said, “I taught everyone how to be My devotee.”
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ’si me
Bhagavad-gītā 18.65
[Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this, because you are My very dear friend.]
Viśākhā-devī said, “You consider Yourself to be the tutor; so how can You be taught? You Yourself have not learned anything. You should now learn and follow! All right. All of us will make You humble and quiet. Then it is possible for You to become a sannyāsī. We have one remedy for You.”
Śrī Vidyāpati sings, “Dei tulasī tila, deho samarpinu, Offering Tulasī and sesame, I submit my very body before You.“
Viśākhā-devī told Kṛṣṇa, “Although we offer You Tulasī and sesame, You don’t offer anything in return. You must first offer Yourself.”
“How is this possible? Who will accept Me? I am not alone. I have twenty four incarnations. The horse, boar, tortoise, fish, lion, and many other incarnations are with Me. I have many incarnations and devotees.”
“This is not an issue. We have the power to cleanse You thoroughly and make You humble. And then we will teach You. But, You will have to forget Your own capacity and qualities. Otherwise, how will You learn and imbibe new qualities when Your heart is full of many other personalities? It is not possible to render service like this.”
Kṛṣṇa agreed to Viśākhā-devī’s proposal on the day of Akṣaya-trītīyā. He said, “Yes. I will undergo training.”
The Vraja-devīs pasted sandalwood, camphor, aguru, gorocanā, and kuṁkuma. They smeared this mixture on Kṛṣṇa’s body to cool and cleanse Him. Candana (sandalwood-paste) has the power to cleanse a person thoroughly. Kṛṣṇa found Himself to be completely cooled. He was no longer afflicted by any heat. Very happy, Kṛṣṇa remarked, “The fire in My body has gone away.”
The gopīs asked, “Do You agree to take sannyāsa now?”
“Yes. I agree. But, I will not take sannyāsa in this life. Why? The 60,000 Daṇḍakāraṇya ṛṣis have been chanting the gopāla-mantra for millions of years. They have love for Me. I also left many golden Deities of Sītā that came to life. They also have love for Me. So do the śruticarīs, municarīs, and upaniṣadcarīs. All the Veda mantras have love for Me. What will become of them if I take sannyāsa now? I will practice now and will take sannyāsa in my next incarnation.”
Therefore, Kṛṣṇa left Vraja-maṇḍala when He was ten years old. He wanted to practice renouncing everything. He practiced renunciation for forty-eight years. He did not marry during this period. After forty-eight years, Rukmiṇī cheated Kṛṣṇa by tricking Him into marriage. She sent Him a letter and had Him marry her.
After they were married, Kṛṣṇa told Rukmiṇī, “I am not qualified. I am black. You are a princess. I am a beggar; I have nothing. Śiśupāla is very qualified and better for you. I will return you to him and he can marry you.”
Rukmiṇī fell senseless on listening to Kṛṣṇa’s words. Kṛṣṇa pacified her and said, “I have accepted you. Still, I am neutral.”
Kṛṣṇa then underwent training for more than a hundred years, after which He had Dvārakā destroyed and then left this world.
In His next appearance, Kṛṣṇa appeared in Kali-yuga and took sannyāsa. He again came to Viśākhā-devī, who had come as Rāya Rāmānanda, and learnt vraja-bhakti and vraja-prema in its highest form from her. After having heard from Viśākhā-devī, Kṛṣṇa distributed the glories and specialties of the Vraja-devīs everywhere.