In short
- He belongs to the Radhavallabh Sampradaya, founded in Vrindavan in the sixteenth century.
- In that tradition Shri Radha is at the centre of worship, not a companion beside Krishna.
- So his instruction is specific: not simply remember God, but take the Radha naam.
- You need no initiation to begin, and nothing about it requires going to Vrindavan.
The short answer
He says Radha because the tradition he was initiated into places Shri Radha at the centre of worship rather than beside it. Everything he teaches, down to which name he tells you to chant, comes out of that.
Not simply remember God, but take the name of Radha.
He treats that name as the most direct route open to an ordinary person, which is why it is the first thing he gives a new seeker and the last thing he repeats at the end of a satsang.
The tradition behind it
The Radhavallabh Sampradaya was founded by Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu in the sixteenth century, at Vrindavan. It is one of the principal Vaishnava traditions of Braj, and it has stayed comparatively small and comparatively local for five centuries.
The name is itself the argument. Radhavallabh means the beloved of Radha, so even Krishna is named here by his relationship to her rather than the other way round.
At the centre, not beside
In many paths Radha appears as Krishna's companion. Here the order is reversed: she is held as supreme, and Krishna is described through her.
That is a doctrinal position, not a stylistic preference, and it is why a devotee of this tradition does not hear "Radha Radha" as leaving Krishna out. To take her name is, in this understanding, to be standing exactly where he is.
It is in his own name
His full name is Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. The word Hit is the honorific of the Radhavallabh Sampradaya and comes down from its founder, Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu.
He received diksha into the tradition from Shri Hit Gaurangi Sharan Ji Maharaj in Vrindavan. The name he was given then, and the name he tells others to chant, come from the same source.
Two texts that say the same thing
Shri Hit Chaurasi
The eighty four pads of Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, in Braj Bhasha: the founding text of the tradition, still sung in the kunjs of Vrindavan. Read all 84 pads.
Radha Kripa Kataksh
A Sanskrit hymn addressed entirely to Shri Radha, asking for one thing: a single merciful glance. Read it with the meaning.
His daily satsang
The same handful of instructions every morning, in roughly the same words, all of them resting on the name. The six he repeats.
What it means for your own practice
- The name to take is Radha, in whatever language you think in
- No initiation, fee, posture, fixed hour or minimum count is required
- It can be done walking, cooking or commuting; a mala helps but is not needed
- Continuity matters far more than the number
The practical side, including what the first month usually feels like, is in how to start naam jap.
What it is not
It is not a claim against any other name or path, and he does not present it as one. It is the route his own tradition walks, described plainly.
Nor is it a reason to leave your life. He left home at thirteen and tells householders to stay householders: family, job and duty are where the practice is tested.
This is a fan website, not the official site of Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj. The article summarises what he teaches in public satsang; it does not quote him. If something here is wrong, tell us and it is corrected the same week.
