What 'Ras' in the Vedas Means

Here, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj is saying,

आयो ब्रज रस बेचन वारो
Āyo Braj ras bechan vāro.

So you, “Oh, Shri Krishna has come to Bra! Let’s celebrate!”

Why? Because He is the distributor of that ras. What ras?

जो रस निगमागमहु अगम सोई, देत बनचरिन कहकारो
Jo ras nigmāgamhū agam soi, det bancharin kah kāro

That ras which is indicated in Vedas,

रसो वईसः
Raso vai saḥ

रसग्वं हेवायं लब्ध्वानं धीभवति
Rasagvaṁ hevāyaṁ labdhvā’nam dhī bhavati.

And

रसानां समूह रासः
Rasānāṁ samūha rāsah.

The Vedas describe ras, describes ras leela even. What is rās ras?

Vedas tells these things but these richas of the Vedas who are Divine powers of Shri Krishna are related to His almighty power, so they don’t actually experience His Divine love bliss. The richas of the Vedas are also Divine personalities with a Divine form but they don’t get to actually experience ras.

So that’s why many of those richas of the Vedas begged Shri Krishna,

“Let us also get to experience Maharas!”

So Shri Krishna said, “Okay you can come as gopis when I come. When I take My avatar and I’m going to reveal that Divine bliss on the earth planet, then you can come as gopis. And with the grace of the eternal gopis of Golok, you can also gain entrance into Maharas!”

So many of the gopis were actually richas of the Vedas, but here Maharaj Ji is just mentioning

जो रस निगमागमहु…
Jo ras nigmāgamhuṃ…

The nigam and agam means all Vedas and Shastras. It is agam for them. They can describe it but they haven’t experienced it until Shri Krishna gives them that chance.

But that same ras when Shri Krishna takes avatar, He’s distributing it to the gopis, who although they are themselves the ultimate Divine Saints, the topmost Divine Saints, but they do the leela of being illiterate residents of small villages. They can’t even count to a hundred or sign their name. They don’t know reading and writing in this leela, and Shri Krishna is distributing that Divine love to them? Yes, because they are surrendered to Him and they are selfless. They’re not asking for anything from Him.

So this is the greatness of that ras that it is desired even by the richas of the Vedas, but it is beyond their reach. Without the grace of the gopis and that same ras is available to anyone who worships Radha and Krishna with madhuriya bhav.