Living Raganuga Bhakti

Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami

Bhakti Books

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Published by Bhakti Books @ 2018
On behalf of Sri Sri Hari Bhakti Pracarini Sabha
Completed in Kartik, October 2018
ISBN 978-0-9560757-8-9

Other publications of Bhakti Books:

Śrī Ślokāmritam – The Sublime Nectar of Vaisnava Verses
Śrī Ślokāmritam Bindu – A pocket version of Śrī Ślokāmritam
Srimad Bhagavad Gita - The Beautiful Song of God
Bhakti Yoga Basics – A Beginners Guide to Bhakti
Vaisnava Etiquette – A Handbook of Rules for Vaisnava Conduct
Vedic Sonic Sound – The Benefits of Chanting Hare Krishna
Love Yourself, Love Krishna – 72 Affirmations for Self-compassion
A Sweet Taste of Bhakti –Prabhupada Srila Premgopal Goswami
The Essence of Prema Bhakti Candrika - Prabhupada Premgopal Goswami
Sadhana Samput (Part One) - Prabhupada Srila Premgopal Goswami
Sri Radha Dasyam – Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami
Sri Kirtanamritam – The Gaudiya Vaisnava Song Book

For eBooks and paperback copies visit amazon.com/Dau Dayal (Dauji) Das
Email: daudayaldas@gmail.com

Acknowledgements:
Govardhan das for recording the lectures, raising the funds for printing and
coordinating book distribution, Dau Dayal (Dauji) das for transcribing,
editing, sloka research, layout and coordinating overall book production,
Madhavendra Puri for editorial advice and Preface, Madhavi dasi for cover
design, and all the other devotees who contributed to making of this book.

Printed by Gokul Offset PVT Ltd. Delhi

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Contents
Preface 5
Introduction 7

1. Our Dharma as Humans is to Realize Who We Are 11

2. This Material Life is Meant only for Spiritual Realization 35
3. Do Little, but Do it with Love in Your Heart 65
4. Krishna is controlled by Love 95
5. Preparing to Serve Sri Radha 125
6. Manjari Bhava and Manjari Svarupa 141
7. The Speciality of Manjari Bhava 169
8. Further Aspects of Radha Dasyam 191
9. Ananga Manjari’s and Rupa Manjari’s Grace 205

Sloka Index 223

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 Ṭhākura Vaiṣṇava-pada
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
ṭhākura vaiṣṇava-pada, avanīra su-sampada,
śunô bhāi, hôiyā eka-mana
āśraya lôiyā bhaje, tā’re kṛṣṇa nāhi tyaje,
āra saba mare akāraṇa (1)
The lotus feet of the venerable Vaiṣṇavas are the greatest treasure
in the world. O brother, please listen with rapt attention. Śrī Kṛṣṇa
never forsakes one who, having taken shelter of the Vaiṣṇavas,
lovingly worships Him. All others perish without purpose.
vaiṣṇava-caraṇa-jala, prema-bhakti dite bala,
āra kehô nahe balavanta
vaiṣṇava-caraṇa-reṇu, mastake bhūṣaṇa binu,
āra nāhi bhūṣaṇera anta (2)
There is nothing more powerful than water that has washed the
lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, to give the strength to attain prema bhakti.
There is no greater ornament than the dust of the lotus feet of a
Vaiṣṇava to serve as the ornament for one’s head.
tīrtha-jal pavitra guṇe, likhiyāche purāṇe,
se-saba bhaktira pravañcana
vaiṣṇavera pādodaka- sama nahe ei saba,
ĵā’te haya vāñchita-pūraṇa (3)
The purifying qualities of water from holy places have been stated in
the Purāṇas, but such benedictions cheat one of the wealth of bhakti.
Actually, the water from holy places is not as purifying as water that has
washed the feet of Vaiṣṇavas, by which one’s spiritual desires are fulfilled.
vaiṣṇava-saṅgete mana, ānandita anukṣaṇa,
sadā haya kṛṣṇa-parasaṅga
dīna narottama kānde, hiyā dhairya nāhi bāndhe,
mora daśā kenô hôilô bhaṅga (4)
The heart feels joyful at every moment in the company of Vaiṣṇavas,
where topics of Kṛṣṇa are always being heard and discussed. With a
restless heart, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura cries, “Why have I been
torn away from their association?”

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 Preface

When we get the chance to hear harikatha about manjari bhava and
Radha dasyam from a Gaudiya Vaisnava, an exalted raganuga
devotee, it is certainly a festive occasion for every one of us. But
when the taste for Vraja raga in our hearts is tender, we tend to be
absorbed in the festive mood and we may miss the fine points of
such confidential harikatha. This book offers a reader with such a
tender heart the possibility to once again “hear” some fine points of
these talks, which took place in Kartik 2014 in Sri Radha Kunda, and
relish them in solitude through this edited transcription.

Some of the points in the following nine lectures have been adjusted
by the speaker himself, Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami, during
the editing phase. All nine talks are also available as audio or video
recordings as a primary source for those who prefer to hear it directly
from the speaker.

We are very happy that Premgopal Goswami speaks such confidential

harikatha for us in the English language and shares his heart with us.
Furthermore, he continues to speak on this elevated subject in
English, for instance in November 2017 in Navadwip (already
published in English and in Hindi under the title Sri Radha Dasyam)
and in September 2018 in Europe (we are praying for an edited
transcription). On these two occasions the subject was Radha
dasyam, focusing particularly on manjari bhava and manjari seva, the
loving service of the confidential maidservants to Sri Radha and Her
beloved Krishna in the kunjas of Vraja. The last few lectures in the
present book also discuss this most elevated devotional service,

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performed under the guidance of either Ananga manjari or Rupa
manjari through the medium of one’s Guru manjari. We will let the
readers discover and relish for themselves the nectar of pure love
which shines brilliantly through the words of Premgopal Goswami.

About forty devotees from various sangas attended this harikatha.

Certainly Sriman Mahaprabhu is very pleased that devotees from
different sangas come together on these sacred occasions to hear
and relish such special harikatha.

Shortly after visiting different Babajis in Radha Kunda on 18th of

November 1973, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote
in the Preface to his own translation of The Nectar of Instruction by
Srila Rupa Goswami, “Upadeśāmṛta constitutes the first instructions
for neophyte devotees. One should follow these instructions very
strictly.” And in his purport to verse 11 he writes, “Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura writes in this connection that Sri Radha-kunda is the most
select place for those interested in advancing their devotional service
in the wake of the lady friends (sakhis) and confidential serving maids
(manjaris) of Srimati Radharani. Living entities who are eager to
return home to the transcendental kingdom of God, Goloka
Vrindavan, by means of attaining their spiritual bodies (siddha-deha)
should live at Radha-kunda, take shelter of the confidential serving
maids of Sri Radha and under their direction engage constantly in Her
service. This is the most exalted method for those engaged in
devotional service under the protection of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.”

Ekādaśī, 20th October 2018

Madhavendra Puri das

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 Introduction
The purpose of human life is to realize who we are and who our Eternal
Beloved is. This is the basics of spiritual life, of our eternal dharma as
spirit souls, without which we remain bound by ignorance and continue
our spiritually unconscious existence as the ‘living dead’ of this world.
Bhakti yoga basics means to realize that we are spirit souls and we have
an eternal relationship with the Supreme Being. But raganuga bhakti
(the bhakti of spontaneous attraction of the heart) takes us further. The
goal of raganuga bhakti is to realize our eternal identity - our spiritual
form (svarupa) - and our eternal loving devotional relationship with the
Divine Couple, Sri Radha-Krishna. The purpose of this material creation,
and the meaning of existence, is to love. We were born to love, we were
created for love, we are expansions of love and the nectar of pure love is
our natural inheritance. However, one may naturally ask, what and
where is such real love? What is the ultimate, sweetest love possible for
us in this life?

The ultimate goal (sadhya vastu) of life for human beings, according to
pure bhakti (raganuga bhakti) is manjari bhava – the mood of being a
gopi maidservant of Srimati Radhika, the Supreme Goddess of Love and
the pleasure giving potency of Krishna. The only way to relish Krishna in
His most attractive, most beautiful, sweetest form in Varaja is to lovingly
serve Srimati Radhika – Radha dasyam. She has the highest, sweetest
love for Him – Krishna prema. To taste this prema, and to experience
Srimati Radhika’s love for Sri Krishna, we have to realize our manjari
svarupa, our spiritual form and inherent nature as Her confidants, Her
expansions as young gopis whose love and very existence is exclusively
dedicated to Her.

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This is the unprecedented treasure bestowed upon us by Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu as well as the confidential essence of His teachings. That is
why we call ourselves ‘Gaudiya Vaisnavas’. Gaudiya means followers of
Gauranga Mahaprabhu (in Gaura lila) and followers of Srimati Radharani
(in Krishna lila). Sri Gauranga is the combined form of Radha and Krishna
but He is more Radha than Krishna because He has taken on Her bhava,
Her mood of exclusive love for Krishna. This inconceivable form of
divinity, combining the loving ecstasies of both Radha and Krishna, is
also the most inconceivably merciful. His unprecedented compassion is
His bestowing upon us, the most degraded and fallen people of Kali
yuga, the highest benediction, the highest imaginable thing for a spirit
soul – the confidential service of Srimati Radhika as Her manjari
maidservants.

Forgetting Sri Radha-Krishna's lotus feet we have fallen from our own
pure nature and become entangled in maya's trickery of successive
happiness and distress. However, by practising bhakti yoga and by
faithfully following the instructions of Sri Guru, of our spiritual
predecessors, and of the scriptures, this illusion gradually vanishes and
our pure nature can manifest. Knowledge of our svarupa (siddha
pranali) is part of the diksa process according to our Gaudiya Vaisnava
sampradaya. Therefore as part of proper initiation Sri Gurudeva grants
the disciple acquaintance with his or her svarupa. Thereafter when the
pure nature of the sadhaka - his or her manjari svarupa - is awakened,
the remembrance of Sri Radha-Krishna, the embodiments of sweetness,
becomes strong and we remember our Eternal Companion. This is what
real love is. This is the pinnacle of devotion and the ultimate goal of
raganuga bhakti.

In July 1971 in New York, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

explained the line ‘gopi jana vallabha’ from the devotional song he
always sang before giving harikatha – ‘Jaya Radha Madhava’. He said

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laconically, “So, the purpose of Krishna Consciousness is to become one
gopi jana.” Of course we couldn’t quite understand what he meant. It
was Srila Narayan Maharaja who explained to us three decades later
what Srila Prabhupada meant. Gopi means Sri Radha and jana means
Her followers, the manjaris. So in a hidden way Swamiji said that the
purpose of pure bhakti is to cultivate the mood of a manjari (manjari
bhava) and to realise our spiritual form of a manjari (manjari svarupa) - a
loving maidservant of Srimati Radhika (Radha dasyam).

Who is the topmost Krishna Conscious? Krishna prema mayi Sri Radha.
Krishna Consciousness means raganuga bhakti. Srila Prabhupada
derived the term ‘Krishna Consciousness’ from the line krishna bhakti
rasa bhavita matih – ‘Krishna bhakti is that consciousness which is
absorbed in spontaneous loving devotion for Sri Krishna’ (Cc Madhya-lila
8.70). Spontaneous means raganuga bhakti. This sloka delineates
raganuga bhakti. Therefore it is clear that all our acaryas in the Gaudiya
Vaisnava line since Mahaprabhu teach that manjari bhava is the essence
of Krishna Consciousness. We are not just raganuga but even more
specifically we are followers of Sri Radha in madhurya bhava. We are
Radha sneha adhika which means that our primary love and loyalty is to
our Swamini Srimati Radhika (and not to Krishna). Therefore, anyone
who holds a different conception of what Krishna Consciousness is
about, misses the essence of pure bhakti and the essence of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu’s teaching (anarpita-carim cirat karunyavartinah kalau
samarpayium unnatojjvala rasam sva bhakti sriyam – ‘He has descended
to give us the unprecedented treasure of manjari bhava’ - (Vidagdha-
madhava, Srila Rupa Goswami, & Cc Adi 1.4).

Now nearly two decades later, Prabhupada Srila Premgopal Goswami is

taking us even further, opening the secret treasure chest of Sri Radha
dasyam and revealing the heart of raganuga bhajan - the loving moods

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of the manjaris. Therefore, he is the most magnanimous and has the
highest kind of compassion (bhuvi grinanti ye bhuri-da janah – Gopi gita
- SB 10.31.19)

How comforting it is to know who we are and what the purpose of our
life is. We are manjari maidservants of Srimati Radhika and the goal of
our life is to realize this; to realize our manjari svarupa and our seva to
our Swamini. We shall therefore endeavour to accept what is favourable
for attaining this ultimate goal of pure transcendental love and reject
what is unfavourable. And the most favourable thing is to associate with
a sadhu who has the same mood one is aspiring for, and who is
affectionate to oneself (bruyuh snigdhasya sisyasya – SB 1.1.8). Those
who hear, read and share with others the words of such sadhus will
imbibe their rasik, confidential moods.

The topics of manjari bhava and Radha dasyam discussed in this book
are very esoteric, confidential and rasik. It is not meant for the general
readership of the bhakti literature. The readers should look into their
own hearts and if they do not feel spontaneous attraction to such topics
– this book is not for them. For those who do find it inspiring for their
bhajan, we hope you relish the nectar therein.

Through the following discourses about raganuga bhakti, given by

Prabhupada Srila Premgopal Goswami (in Sri Radha Kunda, October
2014) we can become acquainted with these exalted spiritual topics and
relish the special sweetness of our soul connection with the Divine
Couple. We pray that by the blessings of Sri Gurudeva and the Vaisnava
sadhus we may get a glimpse into our pure spiritual nature as loving
maidservants of our Swamini Srimati Radhika and become eligible to
serve the Divine Couple in the kunjas of Vraja, the land of pure love.
The Editor

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Chapter One

Our Dharma as Humans is to Realize Who We Are

(And who is Our Eternal Beloved)

Joy Nitai!

You know something about bhakti? Our line is raganuga bhakti. All
the acaryas showed their feelings and realizations in their writings.
The six Goswamis and their followers showed us how we can fulfil
the purpose our life as human beings and spirit souls.

You may have heard that there are fourteen planetary systems: Bhu
– the middle planetary system where we are now, then Bhuva,
Svaha, Maha, Jana, Tapa and Satya loka. Beyond that is karana (the
causal ocean), then Vaikuntha, then Vraja. And then the seven lower
planetary system below us, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala,
Rasatala and Patala. Within these fourteen planetary systems, there
is only one place where it is possible to perform our sadhana-bhajan.
And that place is this loka (world) - bhu (planet earth) - this material
world where we are now. We are criticizing this world, so many
problems here, but without this place no one can perform their
bhajan. Not even the demigods (in Svaha, the heavenly planets), not
even the siddhi (perfected) mahatmas in the other upper planets.
According to the scriptures, there are living entities in every loka
(every planet). That’s why even the demigods envy the humans in
this material world. They pray to Krishna, “Please allow us to take
birth as a human in the material world, on planet earth.” But very
few of them get the chance to come here in a human form.

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That’s why we are so fortunate (to have taken birth here in a human
form). Therefore while we are here we have some duty, we have a
special dharma to fulfil. What is our duty as a human being? What
should we do in this life? What is the purpose of our life? We spend
so much time in material pursuits. But is this our dharma as human
beings? To earn so much money? To go along with all this material
enjoyment? No! We have to realize ourselves. Realize our svarupa
(spiritual form). That’s why when Sanatan Goswami met with Sri
Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu he put this most important question to
Him: Who am I?
‘ke āmi’, ‘kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya’
ihā nāhi jāni—‘kemane hita haya’

ke āmi—who am I; kene—why; āmāya—unto me; jāre—give trouble;

tāpa-traya—the three kinds of suffering; ihā-this; nāhi jāni-do not
know; kemane—how; hita—my welfare, my purpose in life; haya-is.
“Who am I? Why do I suffer here from the threefold types of
material misery? If I do not know this, how can I attain my ultimate
benefit?” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila, 20.102)

This is quite a surprising question. Do you think Sanatan Goswami

doesn’t know who he is? Then why did he ask such a question? He
asked this question for us, for our benefit. They (the Six Goswamis)
are very close associates of the Supreme God. They have all this
knowledge. They know the answer. They have realized everything.
But they are doing this for us. To give us some training, some lessons.

We have to train our minds to be in a searching mood; to have the

desire to ask such questions. If we don’t have this desire for

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searching to realize what is our mission, to ask such essential
questions: Who am I? Ke ami. Why are we suffering? Kene amaya
jare tapo traya. If we don’t have this knowledge of how we can live
our life, we cannot get any real benefit. Iha nahi jani, kemone hita
hoy. We do not have this knowledge, but we do have the desire to
get the ultimate happiness, never ending happiness, and that’s why
we are always searching in this material world after it. Sometimes we
get something from this material world but after some time we reject
it. “Oh, no! This isn’t it. It doesn’t give me the eternal happiness I was
looking for. I don’t get the same pleasure from it as before.” This is
because our sub-conscious mind, the citta, is comparing this
happiness with the eternal happiness we have been searching for
and is not satisfied with the temporary pleasure we get here in the
material world. Then we go looking for another pleasure. This longing
for eternal happiness, how can we get it? How can we live our lives in
a way that will give us eternal bliss, not temporary material
happiness?

That’s why all our previous acaryas, our spiritual ancestors, share
their feelings and the realizations of their sadhana-bhajan with us.
This is raganuga bhajan – to follow in their footsteps. What is
raganuga bhajan? Why is it called raga-anuga? Raga means deep
attachment; not only attachment but attachment with love,
attachment with eternal love, the supreme eternal love, the highest
love. This is raga. Anuga means following. Following whom? Those
who have such pure love (The eternal associates - ragatmika jana -
who have raga, deep loving attachment to Krishna). That’s why we
have to follow them. We have to develop this attachment, but to
whom? To Krishna and His associates. We are spirit souls so we have

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to develop attachment for the Supersoul. But raganuga is higher
than this. We have to develop attachment to Krishna in His form as
the beloved of the gopis. That’s why we have to follow the Vraja
rasika jana (the topmost relishers of rasa in Vraja). Not all the eternal
associates of Krishna in Vraja but specifically the rasika jana who
have this realization, this supreme attachment to Srimati Radharani
and Her followers, the gopis and manjaris. That is raganuga bhakti.

How should we perform our bhajan in our life? If you think “I have to
do this because it’s my duty” this is not raganuga, not your eternal
dharma, but only a temporary duty. Raganuga bhajan is our eternal
duty and bhajan is our main goal in life. We are involved with
material life but this is meant only to support our spiritual activities
and our goal of realizing our spiritual nature. Not to cover it. If you
have a problem in material life you cannot continue with your
bhajan. So we accept something in this material world as mine. We
are doing so many things, so many projects, and then maya - the
deluding material potency of Krishna in the form of Sukracarya (the
false guru) – gives us a different consciousness, making great efforts
to deviate us from our bhajan and make us forget that bhajan is our
priority. Then we start believing that material life is the main thing
and spiritual life is simply a part of our material life. That’s why we
cannot really go inside in our raganuga life. To go deep in bhajan we
first have to be determined to make our spiritual activities, our
bhajan, the most important thing in life. We must realize that our
material life is meant only to support our spiritual activities. We are
here in this material world only to help our spiritual life. In other
words, this human form has been granted to us only for making it

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possible to do bhajan and realize our svarupa and our eternal love
for Yugal (The Divine Couple).

That’s why there are so many relationships here in the material

world. Different relationships will give you different moods: different
kinds of feelings, different kinds of love, and different kinds of
knowledge. For example, friends: There are so many different kinds
of friends: close, closer, and closest. Some are closer than others.
Some are very intimate friends, those with whom we can share
everything. Sons, daughters, wives, girlfriends, father, mother,
grandfather, grandmother – each one of these relationships will give
you a different mood. Why? Why do we get so many different kinds
of relationships in our life? Because we have to serve Krishna with all
these different kinds of love. This world is our school which helps us
practice all the different moods with which we may serve Krishna.
That’s why He is akila rasamrita murti (the embodiment of all kinds
of relationships or all transcendental mellows).
akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrtiḥ
prasṛmara-ruci-ruddha-tārakā-pāliḥ
kalita-śyāmā-lalito
rādhā-preyān vidhur jayati
akhila-rasa-amṛta-mūrtiḥ—the embodiment of rasa, transcendental
mellows of love, namely śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and
mādhurya; prasṛmara—spreading forth; ruci—by His bodily luster;
ruddha—who has subjugated; tārakā—the gopī named Tārakā (a
vipakṣa-gopī, representing a rival group to that of Śrī Rādhā); pāliḥ—
the gopī named Pāli (or Pālikā, a tatastha-gopī, representing a
neutral group); kalita—who has accepted; śyāmā—the gopī named
Śyāmalā (a suhṛt-pakṣa-gopī, representing a friendly group); lalitaḥ—
Lalitā sakhi (a sva-pakṣa-gopī, belonging to Rādhikā’s own group);

15
rādhā-preyān—dearmost beloved of Śrīmatī Rādhikā (priya – beloved
or preyān - who endeavours to please Her to the utmost); vidhuḥ—
the moon, Śrī Kṛṣṇa; jayati—all glories to.
Let Śrī Kṛṣṇa, be glorified! By virtue of His expanding
attractive features, He subjugated the gopīs named Tārakā and Pāli
and accepted Śyāmā and Lalitā as His very self. He is Śrīmatī
Rādhārāṇī’s dearmost beloved, always endeavouring to please Her to
the utmost degree. He is the reservoir of rasa (blissful mellows) for
devotees in all transcendental mellows. (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu
1.1.1 & Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 8.142)

Who is Vidhu? Do you know what Vidhu means? It means a moon,

Krishna is like a moon. But it has another meaning, “He can destroy
all our darkness of ignorance, because like the moon He dispels our
suffering.” [For the gopis He dispels their suffering of separation from
Him]. Yet there is another meaning, “He who purifies our hearts.”
Krishna will take our mind and cleanse it properly. He will sweep out
all the dirt from our minds and hearts. No one else but Krishna can
do this, that’s why He is known as Vidhu, the purifying one. However,
Krishna will do this only if we become absorbed in thinking about
Him (become Krishna conscious) but not in a general way. He loves to
get some attachment from us. He is waiting for us to become
absorbed in Him with love. That’s why whatever little you do (in
bhakti or in life) - do it with love.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna praised all the senses, the ears, the
eyes, etc.
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat, sarvato 'kṣi-śiro-mukham

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 sarvataḥ śrutimal loke, sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati
sarvataḥ—everywhere; pāṇi—hands; pādam—legs; tat—that;
sarvataḥ—everywhere; akṣi—eyes; śiraḥ—heads; mukham—faces;
sarvataḥ—everywhere; śruti-mat—having ears; loke—in the world;
sarvam—everything; āvṛtya—pervading; tiṣṭhati—exists.
Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and
faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists,
pervading everything. (Bhagavad Gita, 13.14)

He has placed His senses everywhere. Therefore our dharma is to

remember Krishna and serve Him with our senses, isn’t it? And why is
He placing all His sense everywhere? Because He is watching to see:
“Wherever you call Me, I will hear you.” He doesn’t have to come to
you because He is already here. He is always waiting to reciprocate
with us. But we are not calling Him, we are not praying to Him, we
are not chanting His name. He is waiting for us but we don’t have this
realization, this eagerness for Krishna. If you chant only one time in
your life, “O Krishna, I am Yours!” then you can follow this mood,
that “I am Yours.” Even if you only chant once “O Krishna I am Yours”,
from your heart, He will never forget this. He will wait for you here
(pointing to his heart). He will always be there in front of you. He will
try and give you the consciousness that, “Here I am, I am present
right here.” Whenever you get this mood for Krishna He will certainly
appear to you. That’s why He places His sense everywhere. Sarvato
pani padam tat. He wants to see how we cry for Him, “O Krishna,
please hug me.” He loves to hear how we are talking about Him. He is
here. Whenever we talk about Krishna with love, then He is present.
He is watching everything. He wants to see how much you love to

17
hear His katha. He will hear you; He will manifest Himself, directly or
indirectly, for giving you encouragement. He loves to exchange love
with us, to give and receive love. As soon as we talk about Him, He is
eager to hear us and to exchange His love with us. Otherwise He
reserves the right to hide Himself from us.

He promised in the Gita ye yatha mam prapadyante I will reciprocate

with you according to how you approach Me.
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
ye—all who; yathā—as; mām—unto Me; prapadyante—surrender;
tān—them; tathā—so; eva—certainly; bhajāmi—reciprocate, reward,
worship; aham—I; mama—My; vartma—path; anuvartante—follow;
manuṣyāḥ—all men; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ—in all
respects.
“Depending on how one approaches Me, I reciprocate with
them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of
Pṛthā (Arjuna).” (Bhagavad Gita, 4.11)

Krishna is using a very nice word here. He uses the word bhajami.
Bhajami means worshiping, isn’t it? Tam aham bhajami, I am
worshiping You. So why does Krishna use this word here? Aham
bhajami, He says, “You must know this: ‘All of you are worshiping
Me, but I am worshiping My devotees.’ I love to stay in their love. I
love to think about them. It is not only they who are thinking about
Me, I am also thinking about them! Because whenever I come to My

18
devotees, My pure devotees, I feel some pleasure in My mind and so
I reciprocate with some love, some mood, some activity.” These
devotees, to whom Krishna is referring, are all raganuga devotees.
They can share their love with Krishna. That’s why if we can get this
realization and feeling in our life, then our bhakti becomes raganuga
bhakti: A free exchange of love. How? Because there are so many
rules, but for raganuga bhakti there are no rules. The only rule is the
heart. There is only one condition, a pure heart, our heart must be
pure.

One example is Rupa Goswami. He was talking with some devotees

and he asked, “Do you know who can get Krishna?” and the devotees
answered with so many things from the scriptures. Then Prabhupada
(Rupa Goswami) said, “No, no, no. I am not such a scholar. I don’t
have so much knowledge of the scriptures. You must explain this in
one simple sentence. Who can get Krishna in their life?” Then
everyone stopped and said, “We don’t know this.” And Rupa
answered, “If you just say, ’I need Krishna in my life’, then Krishna
will come to you. Don’t you know this? It’s as simple as that, if you
want Krishna - you will get Krishna. You only have to get this desire, “I
need Krishna in my life.” He and His beloved Radharani are my
eternal companions.

We are following the process of bhakti, we are chanting Harinam, we

are doing puja, we are taking prasad, we are hearing (or reading)
harikatha, and we are trying to follow our spiritual ancestors (our
previous acaryas). But the most important part of our bhajan is to
get this desire (lobha - transcendental greed). If you don’t have this
desire, that “I need Krishna”, if you don’t have this realization that
you need Krishna in your life, then you cannot develop your faith,

19
your realizations, never. First you have to realize this basic point.
Krishna is watching our hearts. We can only serve Him by our love,
not by anything else. Not by these expensive clothes and dresses
(lavish Deities’ outfits), not by jewellery, not by puja, not by offerings
of food. You can only serve Krishna by your love, by your heart. He is
only searching for this: How much love we have for Him. Whenever
we offer something to Him, He doesn’t care whatever stuff is there, if
there is no love, if there is ego, He will not accept it. He will not
accept it if it’s devoid of love because He is drinking our love, He is
eating our love, He is accepting our love, He is only eager for our
love. If you have this love, if you have this eagerness, that “O Krishna,
I NEED YOU! Only You!” If you tell Krishna, “I need you”, then Krishna
will say, “How much do you want Me?” If you say, “I only need You! I
have no one in this world but You.” Krishna will ask, “Anything else
you want from Me?” If you say, “No, only You”, He will ask, “Why?
Why do you want Me?” Just say, “I don’t know!”

We get this feeling, this exclusive loyalty, from Srimati Radharani,

isn’t it?

asundara sundara sekhara va, gunair vihina guninam varo va

(Vidagdha Madhava)

Whether Krishna is beautiful or not, whether He is the crown jewel of

all wise persons or not, whether He loves me or hates me, Krishna is
my ultimate goal, my ultimate love.

Lalita and Visakha, the closest, most intimate sakhis of Srimati

Radharani, once asked Her, “O Radhe, why do you have this craziness
for Krishna?” We know that for love there are some conditions.

20
Generally, others are searching for some condition: Is he beautiful?
Then they love. Is he very qualified? Then love. Is he wealthy, very
rich? Then love. In all relationships we are searching for some
qualities, searching for wealth or beauty, all these are the medium
for love. And at the same time love is also there. Why do you love
him? Because I love him. Because he has very strong love for me,
that’s why I love him. The sakhis say, “O Radhe, we know that You
love Krishna. Is it because of His beauty? But He is black! He has
nothing, no good qualities. Yes He can control the cows in a good
way, OK, that’s good. But for love that doesn’t matter. And if you say
He loves You, but we see that sometimes He goes to another woman,
sometimes to Candravali, sometimes to Syama. Then why are you so
crazy for Him?” Then Srimati Radharani answered, “Listen sakhis, I
am not searching for anything. Perhaps He loves Me - perhaps He
doesn’t. But I never search, I never question how much love He has
for Me. I know Him. But if you ask Me ‘Why do you love Him?’ (I
would say) ‘I don’t know. I cannot say why. I love Him because I love
Him; even if He doesn’t reciprocate.’” This is unconditional love!

In raganuga bhajan we are trying to catch this love for Krishna in our
life. “Why do you want Krishna?” “I don’t know!” Krishna is searching
for love. He will ask: “Why are you calling Me? What do you want?
What do you want from Me?” If the sadhaka will say, “OK, OK, do
you know why I love You, why am I worshiping You? Because I am in
maya. I need money, I need happiness from this material world, the
highest happiness, the highest pleasure.” Certainly Krishna will give it
to us. Certainly if the sadhaka will even once say, “Yes Krishna. I
worship You because of this. I need money, I want this or that from

21
You” certainly He will give it you, because Krishna loves all His
bhaktas.
kṛṣṇa yadi chuṭe bhakte bhukti mukti diyā
kabhu prema-bhakti nā dena rākhena lukāiyā
kṛṣṇa—Lord Kṛṣṇa; yadi—of course; chuṭe—goes away; bhakte—unto
the devotee; bhukti—material enjoyment; mukti—liberation; diyā—
offering; kabhu—at any time; prema-bhakti—love of God; nā—does
not; dena—give; rākhena—keeps; lukāiyā—hiding.
If a devotee wants liberation or material sense gratification
from the Lord, Krishna easily grants it, but prema bhakti He keeps
hidden. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 8.19)

Krishna is very clever. He is very clever, because He knows that they

will pray from their soul, from their heart. Their consciousness is so
attached to this material world that if they pray to Him they will only
pray for something material. But if you reject (decline to receive
anything from) Krishna, then He will be yours. “What do you want
from Me?” “Nothing!” “But I want to give you something!” “But I
don’t want to take anything from You.” “Then why are you
worshiping Me?” “I don’t know.”
If you allow Him to reciprocate then He will become free from you
(He will no longer be indebted). But if you reject Him and not ask
anything from Him, then he will be yours. He will try to free Himself
from (being indebted to) the sadhaka by giving him bhukti (sense
enjoyment), pleasure from this material world, wealth, material
opulence, name and fame. Or He will offer you mukti (liberation). If
you accept mukti, then Krishna will be free from you. But if you reject
it, “No, no, no. I don’t want mukti.” “Then why do you worship Me if

22
you don’t want to get anything from Me?” “I don’t know. I love to
worship You, that’s why I am worshiping You.”
As long as you want something from Krishna, you will think of Him.
But when you refuse to accept anything from Krishna, Krishna will be
thinking of you. Krishna wants to see this mood in our hearts. I want
Krishna – without any conditions. I want Him unconditionally without
any expectations. I need Krishna – without any preconditions. I don’t
want anything from Him.

Devotees have so many moods towards Krishna: Shanta bhakta,

dasya bhakta, sakhya bhakta, vatsalya, madhurya. For example,
Bahulāśva, he was the king of Mithila. He was very wealthy and he
was worshiping Krishna with so much opulence. He was a king but he
worshiped Krishna as the King of all kings. He had this mood. “O
Krishna, You have given me so much wealth, yet You should give me
more so that I could show everyone else how to worship You
opulently.” He prayed to Krishna for more money, more wealth – for
Krishna’s seva. Not for himself. He liked to worship Krishna in such a
way, with his wealth. Suddha bhaktas (pure devotees) like the
brahmana Shrutadeva, they don’t worship Krishna for anything
material, “O Krishna, please don’t give me any material pleasure,
material enjoyment, I don’t want such things. If You want to give me
something then give me more service, more pressure, more poverty.
If I always have material problems, pain and distress – then I can see
You inside me. But if you give me material opulence, I will forget You.
I will become entangled in maya. So I don’t want it at all.” Is there
any difference in their prema? There is a difference in their mood,
but not in the degree of their prema. Krishna Himself compared their
moods when He was there in Mithila. It’s a very nice story. When

23
Shukadev Goswami was explaining about the power of bhakti, he
said,
kṛtvā hariṁ prema-bhājaṁ
priya-varga-samanvitam
bhaktir vaśīkarotīti
śrī-kṛṣṇa-karṣiṇī matā
Bhakti, devotional service, is known as śrī-kṛṣṇa-karṣiṇī, which means
that she fully controls Kṛṣṇa in so many ways, through the power of
love. [Alternative translation: Suddha-bhakti overpowers Sri Krishna
and all His dearmost associates with prema; this very ability to attract
Sri Krishna is actually the inherent nature of Bhakti-devi] (Rupa
Goswami, Bhakti-rasamrita sindhu 1.1.14)

And Sukadev Goswami explained to king Parīkṣit, “Oh Parīkṣit, you

know, bhakti has such power that she can bewilder the mind of
Krishna for the sake of His devotees’s love.” When devotees start
worshiping Krishna with pure bhakti, then bhakti will do something
for them. What will she do? She will bewilder their minds, both
bhakta and Bhagavan. (There are three eternal principles), Bhakti,
bhakta and Bhagavan. Bhakti Devi will bewilder the mind of the
bhakta and at the same time she will also bewilder Bhagavan. She
will do it in such a way that after a while Krishna will develop such an
attachment that He will not be able to stay away from such a
devotee. He will not walk to the devotees, He will run to them. He
cannot wait. Krishna will run to be with them.

Parīkṣit was surprised, “How is this possible? Is he talking about

Krishna? How can Krishna do this?” Sukadeva Goswami said, “O

24
Parīkṣit, you are asking how Krishna can do this? He has indeed done
like this. Let me tell you about it.” Then he told Parīkṣit this story of
Krishna and His two devotees in Mithila, Shrutadev and Bahulāśva.
These two devotees lived in the same place but had two different
moods. One was Bahulāśva. He was the king, rajasik (in the mode of
passion) and one was a very poor brahmana, Shrutadev. He was just
living a very simple life in the forest of Mithila. They both worshipped
Krishna in a very devoted way and by their worshiping Krishna
personally came to them. Whenever they offered something Krishna
would personally accept it. When they bathed His feet, everyone
could see that His feet became wet (even though He was) far away in
Dwaraka. Whenever they worshipped Krishna’s lotus feet in Mithila,
Krishna’s associates could see that His feet became wet in Dwaraka
(hundreds of miles away). Krishna became attached to them because
of their pure devotion. Every day when they offered some food they
would ask,” O Krishna, is this OK for You?” And at the same time, in
Dwaraka, Krishna will answer, “Yes, I have accepted this.” Then one
day they decided to go and see Krishna in Dwaraka because they
wanted to know what Krishna likes. They had a question in their
minds, “Does He like what we are offering?” Both got this confusion
in their minds, that “I am worshiping Krishna in so many ways, but
what does He really like?” Then both decided (coincidentally) at the
same time to go to Dwaraka. Krishna was happy to know this and
started dancing. Krishna was there in Dwaraka sitting and talking with
all his ministers, He was the king of Dwaraka but suddenly Krishna
started to dance. Everyone was surprised, “Oh! Why are You
dancing?” Krishna said, “You know, tomorrow my dear devotees will
come, you will see them.” “Who will come?” they asked. “OK”
Krishna said, “Just wait and tomorrow, you will see.”

25
Both Bahulāśva and Shrutadev were deeply attached to their deity of
Krishna. They couldn’t go away from their deities. They had such
intense attachment that for them the deity was not merely a deity
but Krishna Himself. They got Krishna in the deity. And indeed
Krishna was in the deity form. They would offer everything to their
deity in Mithila, and Krishna will accept it in Dwaraka. So they tried to
start their journey, they tried to leave for Dwaraka but they could
not. Because one after another their daily seva (different daily
services) to their deity would have to be performed and they could
not leave the seva undone. Every day they would decide, “Tomorrow
after Mangal Arati I will start for Dwaraka.” But they couldn’t because
they thought, “Every day after Mangal Arati I am dressing Krishna,
and He likes that I dress Him. Therefore let me do this first, then I’ll
go.” After doing the Sringara (dressing and decorating the deity) they
thought, “Krishna likes that I do the arcana (deity worship
procedure), so let me do this first and then I’ll go.” Padya, arghya,
acamaniya, etc. After the arcana was done they thought, “OK, after I
offer balya bhoga (breakfast offering to the deities) I will start.” After
balya bhoga they wanted to start but thought, “I will offer Raja
bhoga (lunch prasadam) first because perhaps Krishna will not accept
it if someone else would offer it. So let me do that and in the
afternoon I will start my journey.” Then they decided to do shayan
(put their deities to rest after lunch). Then they had to honour the
Raja bhoga prasadam. Then they thought, “If someone else comes to
wake Krishna up after shayan, He will not be happy.” This is because
Krishna is abhimanyu, He may get angry. He will say, “’If Bahulāśva
does not come, I will not get up.’ Therefore it’s better if I do it
personally myself.” Then the time for leaving had gone, evening
came and they couldn’t leave that day. “Perhaps tomorrow we will

26
leave.” In this way, the days passed one after another but they
couldn’t leave their deity of Krishna.

They could not start their journey because they were really attached
to their deities. Meanwhile Krishna was waiting for them in Dwaraka.
He stopped all His daily duties and simply waited for them to come,
“Tomorrow they will come so I should be prepared and not get
distracted by My duties.” After a few days Krishna said, “OK, OK, now
I realize that both of them are so attached to My deity form and to
serving their deity that they cannot leave their deities and come
here. Therefore I must go to them. No problem!” He called His
chariot driver, “Daruka! Prepare My biggest chariot. I want to go
somewhere.” Daruka asked, “Prabhu! Where do You want to go?”
Krishna said, “Don’t ask any questions. Just follow My order.” Daruka
then brought the best chariot with the most powerful horses, “OK
Prabhu, I am ready.” And they drove away to Mithila.

There is a special quality of Bhakti Devi. When she goes to devotees

she never goes alone. She will meet them with all of Krishna’s near
associates kṛtvā hariṁ prema-bhājaṁ priya-varga-samanvitam.
She attracts Krishna in such a way that when Krishna goes to a
devotee all His close associates go along. Therefore just as Krishna
was about to go to Mithila, all the great sadhus were also attracted
to go and see Krishna. The Sapta (seven) Rishis, Vyasadeva, Devarshi
Narada, Sukadeva. All of them came there to meet Krishna at the
same time. Then Narada asked, ”O Krishna, where are You going?”
Then Krishna said, “O Devarshi! Come, come, come with Me.” priya-
varga-samanvitam. Krishna arranged for all the sadhus to come with
Him. By His mystic power all the sadhus could fit in Krishna’s chariot.

27
Then Narada asked, “O Krishna where are You going?” Krishna said,
“To visit one tirtha (holy place).” “Tirtha? What tirtha? You are tirtha
personified, Bhagavat-tirtha, all the tirthas reside in You. How can
You go to a tirtha?” Krishna said, “Bhakta tirtha. I am going to where
My pure devotees are worshiping Me with Love. I am going to see
Bahulāśva and Shrutadev in Mithila. All My devotees are known as
tirtha padam, in their footsteps all the tirthas reside. All holy places
are known as tirthas, but where My pure devotees reside, that place
is known as a maha-tirtha (supremely holy place). Now I am going to
such a maha-tirtha, Mithila.”

When Krishna and His associates came to Mithila, both Bahulāśva

and Shrutadev came to meet Him and invited Krishna to their home.
Bahulāśva invited Krishna to his palace. Shrutadev said, “O Prabhu,
Thank You. We are so fortunate. It is our duty to visit You but You
have come to visit us. I have nothing to offer You, but please come
anyway. All I can offer You is my love.” Both devotees invited Krishna
at the same time. Now Krishna was in trouble. “Which one should He
go to first? Big problem! To whom should I go first? If I go to
Bahulāśva first, Shrutadev will not be happy. He will think, “Krishna
went to the king first because I am poor and I have nothing to offer
Him.” If He goes to Shrutadev first, then Bahulāśva will be unhappy.
Therefore Krishna thought, perhaps I should compare their love. One
is a king, the other a poor brahmana. Their love is not the same.
Their mood is different. One is rajasik, a king, the other a poor
brahmana. Both worship Me with love. All kings worship Me with
opulent offerings and for Me that is OK. But Srutadev has no
opulence. Perhaps I should see which one of them has more love for
Me and I will go to that person first; then the other one. But Krishna

28
was surprised when he compared their love in His heart – it was the
same. Therefore Krishna became two (expanded into two identical
forms) and also made all His associates manifest a second identical
form. All except Sukadeva who got the benediction from Krishna to
remain one and be able to witness this pastime. One group of Krishna
and His associates went with Bahulāśva and one went with
Shrutadev. That is the most important thing: Their mood was
different but their prema, love, was the same. Who had the greatest
prema? Both had the same degree of prema. That’s why we have to
follow the associates of Krishna, the rasika jana. If we don’t follow
them, we cannot get this lesson, we cannot get this knowledge about
prema simply by our ability (by our own efforts). We can get
realization only if we follow them. Narottam Mahasaya in Prema
Bhakti Candrika has said this. Again and again he said, “You must
follow, you must follow, you must follow.” Bhakti is anugatya mayi
(consists of following in the footsteps of guru and Vaisnavas).

mahā janera jei patha tāte habe

anūrata pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
sādhana-smaraṇa-līlā ihā te nā kara
helā kāya mane kariyā sūsāra
mahā janera—of the mahājanas; jei—that which; patha—path;
tāte—in that; habe—will be; anūrata—attached; pūrbāpara—
previous and later; kariyā—doing; bicāra—consideration; sādhana—
practise; smaraṇa—remembrance; līlā—pastimes; ihā te—in this;
nā—not; kara—do; helā—neglect; kāya-mane—with body and mind;
kariyā—doing; sūsāra—essence.

29
 The essence of sādhana bhakti is to carefully consider and
follow the path outlined by the previous and the present mahājanas
(great saintly personalities). One should not neglect the practice of
remembering the pastimes of the Lord, for devotional service should
be performed with the mind as well as the body. (Prema Bhakti
Candrika, Song 2, text 2)
What is your sadhana? Lila smarana, meditating about these
pastimes (of Radha-Krishna in Vraja). How? Now this subject comes,
this manjari mood. If you don’t have the manjari form (svarupa), you
cannot go there. You cannot enter the pastimes. Sadhana smarana
lila. Your manjari form must be there to remember all these
pastimes. This will come in your bhajan. When you meditate, you will
also be able to see yourself there (in the pastimes). With this body?
With this material form? NO! You have to recognise yourself there in
your manjari form. iha te na karo hela, kaya mane kariya susar. You
have to do this with both your external activities and your internal
activities. Meditate and at the same time you have to worship. How?
This we will know if we follow our predecessors, the previous
acaryas,
mahā janera jei patha tāte habe
anūrata pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
The essence of sādhana bhakti is to carefully consider and follow the
path outlined by the previous and the present mahājanas.
Here in this pyar (two lines) we have two things. We have to be very
careful about whom you are following. You have to follow your
tradition. You should follow someone from the same tradition (same
line, same guru parampara – disciplic succession). If you follow

30
someone from another line, yes you can see, you can get knowledge
from another tradition, BUT you have to follow your own line
tradition. Guru, param guru, paratparam guru, paramesvara guru, in
that way. That’s why the parampara is the most important part in
our bhajan. That’s why Parīkṣit says, Parampara vihina ‘stu –
sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ
“If one does not follow one’s own disciplic succession, his initiation
mantras are useless.” (Padma Purana).

If you don’t take the diksa mantra in a proper parampara, from your
tradition, it will not work. You will not get this benefit. It will not
develop your mind and heart for your sadhana-bhajan. It will not
support you. It will not give you such power. But then why does
Narottam Mahasaya say you must be careful (discriminating) about
this? Do we have the ability to judge (discriminate between the
various instructions of) our predecessors? Do we have this right? “O
they didn’t do something properly.” No! We don’t have the right to
judge them. And Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu also said, “You
should not judge, you should not be confused (entertain doubts)
about your ancestral, disciplic succession of acarayas.” In Srimad
Bhagavatam there are some points about this. Even if someone
composes slokas which are not according to grammar, not according
to scriptural rules, imperfectly composed, still they are to be
accepted as perfect (SB 1.5.11). In the commentaries of Visvanatha
Cakravartipad and Jiva Goswami this is discussed. If some acaryas
have stated something not exactly according to grammar, how to
reconcile this? Jiva Goswami resolved this by saying iti asama. Asama
means, “rishinam uktam vidhyatam.” You must know that if the
Rishis (Vaisnava sages) Vyasadev, Sukadeva say something we should

31
not judge it or be confused about it (we should take it on faith that it
is true). Only you have to follow (what they teach). You have to
follow. Because they have realized the truth. Sukadeva Goswami said
this.
tarko ’pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ
tarkaḥ—argument; apratiṣṭhaḥ—not substantial; śrutayaḥ—Vedas;
vibhinnāḥ—various conclusions; na—not; asau—that; ṛṣiḥ—a great
sage learned in the Vedas; yasya—whose; matam—opinion; na—not;
bhinnam—separate; tattvam—truth; dharmasya—of religious
principles; nihitam—situated; guhāyām—hidden in the heart of;
mahā-janaḥ—the great saintly devotees of the past; yena—by which
way; gataḥ—traversed; saḥ—that; panthāḥ—the path.
Dry arguments are inconclusive and the Vedas give varying,
sometimes contradictory, conclusions. One is not considered a Riṣi
unless one’s philosophical conception is different from others.
Consequently, the confidential truth of dharma cannot be gleaned
from the Vedas or the Riṣhis but lies hidden in the heart of pure
devotees. Therefore one should accept only the pure path advocated
by those pure devotees, the mahājanas. (Mahābhārata, Vāna parva
313.117; CC Mad 17.186, 25.57)
PG: mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ - We must follow the path
outlines by the great saintly souls. Sukadeva was completely
detached from anything material; he was not bewildered by maya or

32
anything. He was free from everything. He said this in Srimad
Bhagavatam and this means we shouldn’t judge what the mahajanas
say, we only have to follow it faithfully (accept it as it is). We must
follow it properly. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also said the same thing.
Again and again He advised us in the same way: You should not
judge. You should not speculate about it – just follow the scriptures.
Then why did Srila Narottam das Thakura say this:
pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
We should know the instructions of the previous acaryas in our line
and carefully consider whether we are following it purely or mixing it
with other things.
mahā janera jei patha tāte habe anūrata
pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
sādhana-smaraṇa-līlā ihāte nā kara helā
kāya mane kariyā sūsāra
mahā janera—of the mahājanas; jei—that which; patha—path;
tāte—in that; habe—will be; anūrata—attached; pūrbāpara—
previous and later; kariyā—doing; bicāra—consideration; sādhana—
practise; smaraṇa—remembrance; līlā—pastimes; ihāte—in this;
nā—not; kara—do; helā—neglect; kāya-mane—with body and mind;
kariyā—doing; sūsāra—essence.
The essence of sādhana bhakti is to faithfully follow the path
outlined by the previous and the present mahājanas (great souls,
acaryas). One should use one’s intelligence to carefully discriminate
between what is essential for cultivating one’s love and what is not.

33
Do we have the ability to judge our previous acaryas? (Can we use
our intelligence to discriminate between what is essential in their
instructions and what is superfluous for our practice of raganuga
bhakti?)
Why did Narottam das Thakura say this (pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra)?
We will find this out tomorrow. We will hear about this tomorrow
and we will hear how to live our life in a raganuga way.

Hari Bol!

34
Chapter Two

This Material Life is meant only for Spiritual Realization

How can we live our life in raganuga bhakti? (Be it) in our practice, in
our activities, in our spiritual life as well as our material life? Both
lives complement each other. You cannot ignore one at the expense
of the other. You cannot ignore material life because it is only in this
material world, with your material body, that you can practice your
bhajan. On the basis of material life you can practice your spiritual
life. This material life is meant only for spiritual life. And we have to
lead both lives in the same way at the same time. Sastra, the
scriptures, say that we have to control this short life. And our
practice will be the same. Just practice following the followers of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. To begin with, Sriman Mahaprabhu has given
us basic knowledge about how to be a good person:
etāvaj janma-sāphalyaṁ
dehinām iha dehiṣu
prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā
śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā
etāvat—up to this; janma—of birth; sāphalyam—perfection;
dehinām—of every living being; iha—in this world; dehiṣu—toward
those who are embodied; prāṇaiḥ—by life; arthaiḥ—by wealth;
dhiyā—by intelligence; vācā—by words; śreyaḥ—eternal good
fortune; ācaraṇam—acting practically; sadā—always.
‘It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare
activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence
and words.’ (SB 10.22.35)

35
 prāṇinām upakārāya
yad eveha paratra ca
karmaṇā manasā vācā
tad eva mati-mān bhajet
prāṇinām—of all living entities; upakārāya—for the benefit; yat—
whichever; eva—certainly; iha—in this world or in this life; paratra—
in the next life; ca—and; karmaṇā—by work; manasā—by the mind;
vācā—by words; tat—that; eva—certainly; mati-mān—an intelligent
man; bhajet—must act.
‘By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must
perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this
life and the next.’ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.12.45)

If you have a row with your neighbours (or with your fellow
devotees), with your friends, with your relatives, if you have no good
behaviour, no good relationships with them, than all your spiritual
activities will give you zero benefit. Then again Mahaprabhu says,

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra
bhārata—of India; bhūmite—in the land; haila—has become;
manuṣya—human being; janma—birth; yāra—anyone; janma—such
a birth; sārthaka—fulfillment; kari’—doing so; kara—do; para—
others; upakāra—benefit.
One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of
India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the
benefit of all other people. (Cc Adi-lila 9.41)

36
When you take birth as a human here in this world – here Bharata is
not only India, Bharata means this entire world. When you are here
as a human, you have some duty to help others. How? By giving
money? No, (The best way to help others is) by giving them good
consciousness, Krishna consciousness. Then our life would be
successful; then we can say we are human. That’s why it’s essential
that we hear this and know this in our practice of raganuga bhakti.

Yesterday when we stopped this katha (spiritual discourse) to take

rest, we quoted one verse,

mahā janera jei patha tāte habe anūrata

pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
The essence of sādhana bhakti is to carefully consider and follow the
path outlined by our spiritual predecessors while distinguishing
between the previous and the recent mahājanas (great saintly
personalities). (Prema Bhakti Candrika, 2.2)

How will we get this knowledge? How can we get this supreme
prema in our life? We don’t have the realization to search for it. And
we don’t have very long to search. Our life span in this Kali yuga is
very short.
prāyeṇ ālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya
kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ
mandāḥ sumanda-matayo
manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ
prāyeṇ—almost always; alpa—meager; āyuṣaḥ—duration of life;
sabhya—member of a learned society; kalau—in this age of Kali

37
(quarrel); asmin—herein; yuge—age; janāḥ—the public; mandāḥ—
lazy; sumanda-matayaḥ—misguided; manda-bhāgyāḥ—unlucky; hi—
and above all; upadrutāḥ—disturbed.
O learned one, in this iron age of Kali, men almost always
have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided,
unfortunate and, above all, always disturbed. (SB 1.1.10)

Most of us in this Kali yuga have very short duration of life. So we

don’t have much time (to enquire into it). There are millions of
scriptures; there are millions of ways (paths) to follow. We don’t
have the ability to search or the intelligence to recognise what is
good and what is bad (what’s the essence of the scriptures). So in
front of us there is only one way, one choice, to follow our previous
acaryas. This is the simplest and easiest way to find this prema in our
life. Srila Narottam das Thakura advised us in this way, “You should
follow the previous acaryas” mahā janera jei patha tāte habe
anūrata. Yudhisthira also said this to Dharmaraja, mahā-jano yena
gataḥ sa panthāḥ - We must follow the path outlined by the great
saintly souls (the mahajanas).
In a similar verse Narottama das Thakura says to us, “You must follow
the predecessors.” But then he qualified this by adding:
pūrbāpara kariyā bicāra
One must distinguish between the previous and the later mahajanas.
We must be able to discriminate between what’s favourable and
what’s unfavourable for our raganuga bhajan. And we have to
discard what’s unfavourable and accept only what’s favourable. But
how to distinguish? We don’t have the knowledge or the ability to do

38
so. Then why did Thakura Mahasaya say that we must discriminate
between the previous and the later mahajanas? Jiva Goswami
reconciled this by dividing our predecessor mahajanas into two
groups: Those who came before Sriman Mahaprabhu and those who
came after Him. He explained that before Sriman Mahaprabhu there
were all kinds of different prema upasana, worshiping Krishna with
love, but they all aspired for gopi bhava. There were so many
different groups of worshipers. The Rishis of Dandakaranya, they
were more than million. All of them worshiped Krishna as their lover.
All of them desired to get Krishna as their lover. Whom did they get
this desire from? Prema at that time was not for Krishna, it was for
Ramacandra. All the Rishis at the time of Ramacandra worshiped
Ramacandra as their lover, in beloved mood. When Ramacandra
Prabhu went to Dandakaranya while searching for Sita devi who was
kidnapped by Ravan, He met the Rishis and when the Rishis got His
darshan, they prayed, “Now You are here after a long time, You have
to fulfil our desire.” Thus they explained their paramour mood. That
is, the mood in their hearts was to have Lord Ramacandra as their
lover. After they prayed to Ramacandra, He said, “Now it is not
possible. I have taken ‘eka patni vrat’, the vow to marry only one
wife. I cannot have many priyas (beloveds). I am Maryada
Purusottama (the personification of perfectly following dharma or
proper etiquette). You must worship Krishna. He is Lila Purusottama
(the incarnation of amorous pastimes). He can accept millions of
priyas. He has this ability and that nature. I am His special form but
he is the Supreme. He can fulfil your desire. He can accept you in

39
paramour mood.” So the Rishis started to worship Krishna in this
beloved (paramour) mood. Prabhu Ramacandra said, “You should
worship Him in the mood of the gopis because in Dvapara Yuga He
will come here for you. But you must chant and practice with this
mood. Only by this mood you can get Krishna and Krishna prema.”
Not only the Rishis. There were others also who wished to attain
Krishna in this mood. Some of the personified Vedas worshiped
Krishna in gopi bhava. This means that worshiping Krishna in gopi
bhava did not start at the time of Mahaprabhu but long before.
Mahaprabhu re-established and fine-tuned the worship of Krishna in
gopi bhava. Then what is the difference between these two groups of
mahajanas? Sriman Mahaprabhu gave us the mood of the manjaris
(manjari bhava). The manjaris are also gopis, isn’t it? But they are a
special group of gopis whose exclusive object of love is Srimati
Radharani rather than Krishna. They are manjaris because of their
special mood. Before Mahaprabhu’s time everyone worshiped
Krishna in gopi bhava. So why should we accept this manjari bhava?
Why not gopi bhava? Why not be like all these Rishis? Why not be
like Bilvamangala Thakura? This is because they worshiped Krishna
without Srimati Radharani. When you are worshiping Krishna without
Srimati Radharani it means you are worshiping only fifty percent of
Krishna, or twenty percent, or not at all. Without His svarupa shakti
He is not Krishna, but only His impersonal Brahman feature.
rādhayā mādhavo devo mādhavenaiva rādhikā
vibhrājante janeṣu

40
"Among all persons, it is Śrī Rādhā in whose company Lord Mādhava
is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His." (Ṛg-pariśiṣṭa
- the supplement of the Ṛg Veda).
Wherever Radha is – Krishna is also there. When Radha is not there,
Krishna is not there either. When Sri Krishna is with Radha He is
known as Madan Mohan, Radha sange yada bhati tada madana
mohan.
rādhā-saṅge yadā bhāti
tadā ‘madana-mohanaḥ’
anyathā viśva-moho ‘pi
svayaṁ ‘madana-mohitaḥ’
rādhā-saṅge—with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; yadā—when; bhāti—shines;
tadā—at that time; madana-mohanaḥ—the enchanter of the mind of
Cupid; anyathā—otherwise; viśva-mohaḥ—the enchanter of the
whole universe; api—even though; svayam—personally; madana-
mohitaḥ—enchanted by Cupid.
The female parrot said, “When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is with
Rādhārāṇī, He is the enchanter of Cupid; otherwise, when He is
alone, He Himself is enchanted by erotic feelings even though He
enchants the whole universe.” (Cc Madhya lila 17.216)

When Srimati Radharani is with Krishna He is Madana Mohan. That is

because Srimati Radharani is the supreme power (energy, potency,
shakti) of Krishna. When you leave Srimati Radharani out and go to
Krishna without Srimati Radharani, He is without His power. What is
the use of Krishna without His power, without His svarupa shakti
Srimati Radharani? What is the use of Krishna who has no prema,

41
who has no heart? It is useless because we have to exchange our love
with the heart of Krishna. But Krishna’s heart is not with Him, the
heart of Krishna is always with Srimati Radharani. If you do not go to
Srimati Radharani, you cannot go to Krishna. That is why you have to
go through Srimati Radharani to Krishna. That’s why without Srimati
Radharani’s mercy no one can achieve Krishna prema. Without
Srimati Radharani He has no heart, He has no prema, He has no
power - He has nothing. Then what would we do with such a
‘Krishna’? All our predecessors before Sriman Mahaprabhu
worshiped Krishna in gopi bhava but they worshiped Krishna without
Srimati Radharani. That’s why Sriman Mahaprabhu, coming with the
mood of Srimati Radharani, clarified this samskara (impression). He
refined it by introducing this treasure of manjari bhava. You have to
worship Krishna in gopi mood but not directly, only through Srimati
Radharani. That’s why the gopis who were previously the Rishis and
personified Vedas could not join the rasa lila directly. Some of them
had to leave their body first, some of them joined the rasa lila by
their consciousness, some by the journey of the soul. It is written like
this in the scriptures, because of not following Radha, not being
under Her guidance. Only if they follow the mood of Srimati
Radharani, then they’ll be allowed in the rasa dance. Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu gave us this supreme practice of raganuga bhajan,
because He wanted to give us this ‘hundred percent Krishna’ (Krishna
in His most complete form as the lover of Radha). If you have
separate love for Krishna (without Radha), then He will come to you
but not as Krishna. He will not exchange His love with you because
He cannot accept this prema in His form as Bhagavan. He can only
accept our worship in aishvarya - the mood of awe and reverence. He
will appear to us as Bhagavan (the Supreme Personality of Godhead),

42
as Ishvara (the supreme controller) but not as Vrajendra-nandana
Krishna (Krishna in Vraja, the Lover of Radha and the gopis). We are
not worshiping the Supreme Godhead, we are worshiping Krishna.
Yes, He is the Supreme Godhead, there is no doubt, but in raganuga
bhakti we do not accept Him as the Supreme Godhead, only as a
cowherd boy, only as the beloved of Radha. When we have such love
- for Radha’s Krishna, in manjari bhava - then He will reciprocate with
us. Not otherwise. Because He said, “I love this mood.”

There are all kinds of love. In our bhajan there are two different
moods. One is tadiyata – “Krishna I am Yours.” And one is madiyata –
“Krishna You are mine.” The first one is giving all the responsibility to
Krishna. The other is accepting all the responsibility for Krishna. If
Krishna is yours it means you have to take care of Him in a good way.
If you have love for Him in parental mood – vatsalya bhava – then
you have to take care of Krishna as your son, your little son.
Raganuga bhajan it is not a matter of duty but of spontaneous love.
If you practice your bhajan thinking “This is my duty” then it is not
raganuga. Raganuga must be connected with your heart. You have
to feel this love. When you have the spiritual mood that you worship
Gopal, then you have to take care of the details; you cannot feed
your children too much at a time. You have to feed them little bit at a
time. Every two hours you have to give them some food. In the same
way you have to take care of Gopal. Then it is raganuga. In the same
way, if you have friendly mood (sakhya bhava), then you have to do
like this in friendly mood. For example all the friends of Krishna they
act like this:

43
 sakhā śuddha sakhye kare skandhe arohaṇa
tumi kon baḍa loka, tumi āmi sama –
(Krishna says:) My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship,
saying, 'What kind of big man are You? You and I are equal.'
aiśvarya-jñānete saba jagat miśrita
aiśvarya śithila preme hāni mora prīta
āmāre īśvara māne āpanake hīna
tā’ra preme vaśa āmi, na hai adhīna
āmāke ta’ ye ye bhakta bhaje yei bhāve
tāre se se bhāve bhaji-e mora svabhāve
mora putra, mora sakhā, mora prāṇa pati
ei bhāve yei mora kare śuddha bhakti
āpanake baḍa māne, āmāre sama hīna
sei bhāve hai āmi tāhāra adhīna
mātā more putra bhāve karena bandana
ati hīna jñāne kare lālana pālana
sakhā śuddha sakhye kare skandhe arohaṇa
tumi kon baḍa loka, tumi āmi sama
prīya yadi māna kari’ karaye bhartsana
veda stuti haite hare sei mora mana
ei śuddha bhakti laña karimu avatāra

kariba vividha vidha abdhuta vihāra

44
(Krishna says): "The entire universe is filled with the conception of
My majesty (aishvarya), but love weakened by that sense of majesty
does not satisfy Me. If one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and
oneself as a subordinate; I do not become attracted by that love, nor
can it control Me. In whatever transcendental humour, rasa, My
devotee worships Me, I reciprocate accordingly. That is my nature. If
one cherishes spontaneous loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as
a son, a friend or the beloved, regarding oneself as superior and
considering Me equal or even inferior, I become subordinate to
them. Mother sometimes binds Me as her son. She nourishes and
protects Me, thinking of Me as utterly helpless. My friends climb on
My shoulders in pure friendship, saying, 'What kind of big man are
You? You and I are equal.' If my beloved consort reproaches Me in a
sulky mood, that steals My mind away from the reverential mood of
the hymns of the Veda. Taking such pure devotees with Me, I shall
descend and sport in various wonderful ways." (Cc. Adi-lila. 4.17-27)

In Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Krishna das Kaviraja Goswamipad has

described these things: He described the words of Bhagavan.
Bhagavan said that, “I want to get this love in that way.” How?
Parental mood in that way? Friendly mood in that way?
sakhā śuddha sakhye kare skandhe arohaṇa.
The love between friends is based on trusting each other, visvasa.
This trust is more than hundred percent. It’s known as visrambhiya
pravana rati, more than anything. When Krishna lived in Vrindavan
He said to everyone, “After I finish My task in Mathura, I will come
back.” But He said this to His friends, Sridama, Sudama, Dama,
Vasudama, that, “I’ll come every day in this forest. You can meet me

45
there. Every day you must go with the cows. I’ll meet you there; I’ll
be there in the forest of Vrindavan.” After Krishna went to Mathura
He went to Dwaraka and He never came back. Then He sent Uddhava
to bring some message to sooth the hearts of all His associates in
Vrindavan. Father, mother, all His other associates and mainly the
priyas (His beloved gopis). He mentioned all of them, “You must say
this (bring My message) to My mother and father and to all the other
people of Varja, especially for the gopis, because they are waiting for
Me.” But He didn’t mention His cowherd friends. Uddhava was
surprised because when he went to Vrindavan he saw that the
cowherd boys were playing in the forest. They were playing with the
calves and cows. They were shouting and playing (as if Krishna never
left). Uddhava was surprised, “They are playing and enjoying like
this? But how possible if Krishna is not there?” Because they were
playing there with Krishna! They were not playing alone, they were
playing with Krishna. That’s why they had this pleasure (were happy).
That is friendly mood. Friends will not discriminate, “O you are rich,
you are high caste, you are low caste.” In friendship there are no such
distinctions. All are equal. And sometimes the friends will control
Krishna. Krishna said, “I like this mood, when My friend defeats Me
(in a wrestling match), he will ride on My shoulders. I love this
feeling, I love this mood, when they win and ride on my shoulders.” If
you want this friendly mood, then you have to desire such mood
(that “Krishna and me are equal”). Is it difficult? No. It’s not
impossible. If you have this desire, then Krishna will give you this
mood. You don’t have to develop such mood. Just continue your

46
bhajan and Krishna will grant you this mood. When you have this
beloved mood, then you have to go with this beloved mood. prīya
yadi māna kari’ karaye bhartsana / veda stuti haite hare sei mora
mana – “If my beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, this
steals My mind away from the reverential mood of the hymns of the
Veda.”
Krishna wants His priya in that way; that His priya will come to Him
and if sometimes He will do any mischief, She will chastise Him. “Get
out of My kunja. I don’t want to see You here.” She can chastise, She
can control Him by love. Not by stick, by love. You know, in the
hymns of the Vedas Krishna is the Supreme Godhead, He is the
controller of everything, but at the same time He wants to be
controlled by the love of His devotees, by His sadhakas. He wants to
be controlled by His raganuga sadhakas, not by the general
devotees. Only by those who have this attachment, this special mood
for Him.

Sometimes when you will continue this in your practice, then so

many different kinds of moods will come. In friendship, there are so
many moods. In beloved (gopi bhava) there are so many moods. If
we hear the prayers of Krishna’s beloveds, Candravali has a special
mood, Shyama has her special mood, Citra has some special mood,
and Srimati Radharani has Her special mood – madanakhya
mahabhava, the topmost form of prema. There is no comparison (to
Her mood). When you continue with your heart in a good way, then
this different mood will come. Because Krishna is ‘akila rasamrita
murtih’, He only wants to drink rasa. He is the ocean of all rasas.

47
Five rasas are the most important: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya,
madhurya (neutral adoration, servitude, friendship, parental love and
conjugal love). These five are known as mukhya (primary rasas) and
then the seven secondary ones (gauna rasas): hasya (comedy),
adbhuta (amazement), roudra (anger), vira (chivalry), karuna or doya
(compassion), bhayanaka (fear, horror), vibhatsa (disgust). However,
there are millions of moods and Krishna wants these moods of love
from us. He wants to exchange all these rasas with us. So how will we
get this taste? When we are just beginning our bhajan, how will we
get this taste for Krishna? Will He give this rasa to us? No. The
sadhaka has to go for it. The sadhaka has to draw out this rasa from
Krishna. Rupa Goswamipad has said,

rasa visesa visesta visestayena parikara bhagavata adi bhava

visisyate (BRRS)

There are different moods: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura.

If you have a special (specific) mood, visesa, very special, if you have
a very specific mood, then you can squeez out this juice, the rasa,
this special mood, from Krishna also. Why from Krishna? Because
Krishna is like ikshudanda. What is ikshudanda? Sugar cane. He is like
a sugar cane. Full of rasa; sweet juice. But if you’ll ask the sugar cane
for some juice, he cannot give it. There is a process you have to
follow if you want to taste its sweetness. You have to get one sugar
cane stick, then you have to take one part in your teeth, then you
have to chew it quite hard, then you can taste its juice. Isn’t it?
Similarly, just like when we are tasting sugar cane juice in the
material world, we need strong teeth to taste Krishna. What are
these strong teeth? Bhakti! Yatha bhaktir mamorjita -

48
 na sādhayati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā
na—not; sādhayati—brings under control; mām—Me; yogaḥ—the
yoga system; na—nor; sāṅkhyam—the system of Sāṅkhya philosophy;
dharmaḥ—pious activities within the varṇāśrama system; uddhava—
My dear Uddhava; na—not; svādhyāyaḥ—Vedic study; tapaḥ—
austerity; tyāgaḥ—renunciation; yathā—as; bhaktiḥ—devotional
service; mama—unto Me; ūrjitā—strongly developed.
My dear Uddhava, I can only be controlled by pure
(raganuga) bhakti. I cnnot be controlled by ashtanga yoga (the mystic
yoga system to control the senses), impersonal monism, analytical
study of the Absolute Truth, study of the Vedas, practice of
austerities, giving in charity, or through the acceptance of sannyasa.
(SB 11.14.20)

If you want to taste (relish the sweetness of) Krishna you need a very
strong process. Otherwise you cannot. But how will we get these
strong teeth? When we are just starting, when we are beginning our
bhajan, we don’t have such strong teeth, we are not so strong. Then
how will we get this taste for Krishna? There is, however, one way.
You can see in Radha Kunda there are so many sugar cane stalls. They
have some special machine (a juice press) by which they can get the
juice out of the hard canes and then you can drink this sugar cane
juice very easily, isn’t it? In our bhakti way, bhakti path, there is also
one special way of getting the juice from Krishna. Do you know who

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can take out (relish) all the juice from Krishna? Do you know who this
is?

Dauji: You! Sri Guru!

Premgopal: Sri Gurudeva! Essentially it is only Sri Gurudeva who can

give you this taste. He will take out (extract) this juice for you.
Gurudeva will take out this juice from Krishna to give his disciples a
taste of Krishna. He will give it to you. Only little bit at first; he will
give only a little bit of taste. But just see, how much taste there is
even at the beginning! If you want to get more, then you’ll have to do
this sadhana bhajan. If you want to taste more and more, then you’ll
have to do all these practices. Then you’ll get some idea in which way
you have to go. Even after million times of trying you will not get it,
then Gurudeva will give you this hundred percent. Only by his
blessings we can get this, we can open the door. We can get greed
for it. No qualifications are required at the beginning of raganuga
bhakti. But we must get the blessings of Sri Gurudeva.

At the very beginning of Sri Prema Bhakti Candrika, Narottam das

Thakura has given us the essence: sri guru carana padma, kevala
bhakati sadma – The lotus feet of Sri Guru are the abode of pure
bhakti – this means raganuga bhajan. That’s why he said, kevala
bhakati sadma. This is not general bhakti. Kevala bhakti means
hundred percent pure. There is not a trace of aishvarya (worshiping
Krishna with a mood of awe and reverence).

śri guru-caraṇa-padma, kevala bhakati-sadma,

vando mui sāvadhāna mate
jāhāra prasāde bhai, e bhava toriyā jāi,

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 kṛṣṇa-prāpti hoya jāhā ha’te (1)
The lotus feet of Sri Gurudeva are the abode of unalloyed
prema-bhakti for Krishna. I very carefully worship and serve those
lotus feet. By his mercy, O brother, we can cross over material
existence and attain Sri Krishna.

sri guru carana padma. At the beginning we have to worship the

lotus feet of Sri Gurudeva. Why? Why do we need to do this? Why do
we have to worship his lotus feet? (This is) because if you want
someone, then you have to go to his home. If I want something from
you I have to go to your home and call you. Then you’ll come out and
then I can fulfil my desire (ask you for what I want). Similarly in
raganuga bhajan we need this kevala bhakti. Kevala bhakti means
uttama bhakti? Isn’t it? Actually it means more. It means higher than
uttama bhakti. Kevala means completely devoid of aishvarya. There
is no scent of aishvarya. Why is it superior to uttama bhakti? Is
kevala bhakti and uttama bhakti not the same? No. Some of the
present acaryas are saying that kevala bhakti and uttama bhakti are
the same. But they are not the same. For uttama bhakti there are
some preconditions.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
anya-abhilāṣitā-śūnyam—devoid of desires other than those for the
service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; jñāna—speculative knowledge aimed at
impersonal liberation; karma—fruitive activities; ādi—artificial
renunciation, yoga for mystic powers, and so on; anāvṛtam—not
covered by; ānukūlyena—favourable; kṛṣṇa-anuśīlanaṁ—cultivation

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of service to Kṛṣṇa; bhaktiḥ uttamā—first-class devotional service
(The prefix ānu indicates ānugatya – ‘under guidance, following in the
footsteps’. Ānu also means ‘continuous, uninterrupted, like an
unbroken stream of honey’ – bhakti is always under guidence).
“The cultivation of activities that are meant exclusively for
the pleasure of Sri Krsna, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of
service to Sri Krsna, performed through all endeavours of the body,
mind and speech, and through the expression of various spiritual
sentiments (bhavas), which is not covered by jnana (the cultivation of
knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward-
seeking activities), and which is devoid of all desires other than the
aspiration to bring happiness to Sri Krsna, is called uttama-bhakti,
pure devotional service.” (Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11 & Cc
Madhya 19.167)

There are some conditions here. There is the desire only for Krishna.
You shouldn’t have any other desire. Your bhakti should not be
covered by jnana and karma. And it must be favourable to Krishna.
This is the condition; it must be favourable to Krishna. If you say it
must be favourable for Krishna, you are saying there is something
opposite. What is not favourable for Krishna? Is there any practice
which is not favourable? anukulyena krsnanu silnam. Anukulyena
means in favour of Krishna. If you say anukulyena (favourable) then
there is also pratikulyena (unfavourable). There must be some
practice in pratikul, against Krishna. What is this? Both practices are
the same. When we say someone is a good devotee of Krishna, very
pure devotee, very strict and very strong devotee of Krishna, when
someone has got this mood that he is all the time with Krishna, very
attached to Krishna, all his activities are connected with Krishna –

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sleeping, thinking, eating, drinking – all his activities are dovetailed
with Krishna, then we’ll say he is attached to Krishna. He doesn’t
know anything but Krishna. He is always thinking about Krishna. If
this condition is for any great devotee who is always thinking of
Krishna, then we’ll have to include some of Krishna’s enemies like
Kamsa, Sisupala and Dandavakra. All of them were always thinking of
Krishna, isn’t it? In that sense they were really attached to Krishna.
Then why aren’t they known as devotees? Why? (This is) because
their practice, their anusilanam, was not anukulyena, not favourable.
Not out of love. It was out of fear, hatred and envy. All these
unfavourable moods were there. That’s why it is known as pratikulya,
against Krishna. In uttama bhakti this is the essential condition, it
must be favourable to Krishna. However, kevala bhakti is free from
any conditions. Because when you achieve this stage of kevala
bhakti, then you become free from all these rules. In such a state of
consciousness all of one’s thinking is spontaneously connected to
Krishna, without Krishna it will not come in the heart. Before
attaining such a stage you must do something, saranagati (surrender
or taking shelter of Guru and Krishna). There are fixed rules:

ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ
prātikūlyasya vivarjanam
rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso
goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā
ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye
ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ
The six types of surrender are: (1) to accept that which is favourable
to Krishna-bhakti; (2) to reject that which is unfavourable; (3) to have

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the strong faith “Bhagavan will protect me”; (4) to have dependence,
thinking “Bhagavan will maintain me”; (5) to be fully self-surrendered
(atma-samarpana); and (6) to be humble. (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 11.676)

Anukulyasya sankalpa, you have to take a vow to accept Guru and

Krishna. You have to accept all the activities which are favourable for
bhakti, and reject all the activities which are against guru and
Krishna, against your Istadeva. Here Rupa Goswami used very nice
words. He could have simply said pratikulyasya varjanam, but for
emphasis he added an extra word ‘vi’, vivarjanam. ‘Vi’ means vishesh,
special (strongly rejecting the unfavourable). It means you have to
leave behind all unwanted thoughts and habits; reject all activities
against Guru and Krishna in such a decisive way that they should go
out from your heart forever. And in this way it will not manifest again
in a different form. That means, “O this is bad, I should not do this.”
These unfavourable things may be in your heart but you stop them
with your power. You control yourself. ‘Vivarjanam’, in that way
acting in an unfavourable way will not come in your heart. When we
start our raganuga bhajan, when we take shelter of the lotus feet of
Sri Gurudeva, we have to take shelter in such a way (with firm
determination). We have to take a firm vow. We must do only those
activities which Sri Gurudeva likes, which Sri Krishna likes. I should
not do anything which may displease guru and Krishna. Then
raksisyatiti visvaso, we have to keep our strong faith that Guru and
Krishna will protect me, and goptritve varanam, they will maintain
me. Hundred percent faith. Not only hundred percent, three
hundred, four hundred, million percent. Then it will happen.
Otherwise it will not work. You will not get the benefit. When we
have confusion about something, then you cannot get the benefit.

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This is true not only for getting blessings but for everything. Even in
material life also, if you make a decision but you have some
confusion or doubts, you will not get the result you want. In the same
way, in our spiritual life, when you take shelter of Gurudeva then you
have to keep your faith in him hundred percent; that he will take care
of you. You have to have this faith that “He will take care of me
because I have surrendered myself hundred percent. When I give
everything to him, then it is his responsibility to take care of me”.

Next is atma nikshepa (self-surrender), throw yourself at his lotus

feet, by mind and by heart, throw yourself at the lotus feet of Sri
Gurudeva. After that all the control of your senses will not belong to
you, Guru will control it, Krishna will control it. Because we have
given up our independent mood. If you just think of rasa lila, you
should remember that part when all the gopis came to Krishna in the
middle of the night. Krishna was questioning (testing) them, (to see)
if they really want to join the rasa lila or not; (to see) if they have
strong greed for it. He said so many things to put the gopis off. He
used many strong words. And after He finished talking, the gopis said
to Him, “O Krishna, we are very poor women, we don’t have so much
knowledge of the scriptures, we only have love for You; only for You.
And we offer our hundred percent love, our hearts, to You. We have
surrendered at Your lotus feet. And after this we have not kept
anything for ourselves. After hearing Your words we do not have the
desire to stay here with You. We are trying to go away from You but
we cannot, pada ... pada mulam.... We are trying to leave this place
but we cannot, our feet won’t go. Our senses are not following our
minds. They are not following our words. We are giving order to our
legs, “O legs, we want you to take us away from here. Krishna has

55
said such strong words of rejection to us that we don’t want to stay
here. But still we are here. You see Krishna? We want to go but we
cannot. Because we have surrendered, we have offered ourselves
hundred percent to You, our minds, our hearts, our all senses now
belong to You. They are not following our thinking. They are not
obeying our desire. They only want Your association.”

We desire this kind of mood, gopi mood (of complete surrender),

that after we have surrendered, we will not have to control our
senses, He will control our mind and senses. To whom we surrender?
To Guru and Krishna. This is atma nikshepa. Like a ball. When the
ball is in your hands, you can play with it; you can do so many things
with it. But when you throw this ball to someone else, you no longer
control it. It’s no longer in your hands. The other can control it, not
you. We have to throw ourselves in such a way at the feet of Guru
and to Krishna. This is the most important thing; this is the
foundation of our raganuga bhakti. Without this surrender no one
can enter raganuga bhakti. We have to take shelter, surrender in
such a way.

And finally, karpanye (humility) or utkantha (enthusiasm, spiritual

greed). Desire, eagerness for Krishna, only for Krishna. In your heart
there should be only one desire, exclusive eagerness, and it must be
for Krishna. If you have more than one desire in your heart, then
Krishna will think, “OK, OK, their desire is not one-pointed, then I
don’t have to go there.” (This is) Because Krishna doesn’t like that
you share your love for Him with anyone. When your love is only for
Krishna, then Krishna will be eager to exchange His love with you.
Otherwise He will teach you. We should follow all His lila, His
pastimes. If you cheat Krishna - He will cheat you. He will promise

56
you He will come but He will not. That’s why we need this (exclusive)
love, only for Krishna. And by guru’s blessings, when we go to (take
shelter of) Gurudeva, then by this surrender, by this saranagati, you
can get his blessing, his causeless mercy.

In Brahma Stuti, when Brahma praised Krishna, he said, “O, now I

know how one can get You.” Krishna said, “OK, please tell Me.” Then
Brahma said,
jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva
jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir
ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām
jñāne—for knowledge; prayāsam—the endeavor; udapāsya—giving
up, discarding resolutely; namantaḥ—offering obeisances; eva—
simply; jīvanti—live; sat-mukharitām—chanted by the pure devotees;
bhavadīya-vārtām—topics related to You; sthāne—in their material
position; sthitāḥ—remaining; śruti-gatām—received by hearing;
tanu—with their body; vāk—words; manobhiḥ—and mind; ye—who;
prāyaśaḥ—for the most part; ajita—O unconquerable one; jitaḥ—
conquered; api—nevertheless; asi—You become; taiḥ—by them; tri-
lokyām—within the three worlds.
[Lord Brahma prayed to Krishna:] “Those who want to
realise You should completely surrender unto You. While remaining
situated in their established social positions, they should give up all
intellectual attempts to understand the Supreme Truth by mental
speculation and instead hear from self-realised devotees about Your
personality and transcendental pastimes. Whatever situation they
may find themselves in, they should stay in that situation but they
should progress by fully dedicating their mind, body, and words to

57
You. Thus they will certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are
otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds (In this
way the Infinite, who is never conquered by anyone, becomes
conquered through love).” (SB 10.14.3/CC Madhya-lila 8.67)

“O Prabhu, you know, first of all you have to leave all these external
activities like jnana (speculative knowledge aimed at impersonal
liberation), like karma (fruitive, reward seeking activities), you have
to give up all these activities. jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam. Then you have to take
shelter of pure devotees.” “Why?” Krishna asks, “O Brahma, you
want Me. Then why do you have to go to My devotees? If you want
Me then you have to come to Me.” Brahma answers, “O Prabhu, it’s
true that I need You, I want You in my life. I want to exchange my
love with You. But the surprising thing is that Your heart has been
stolen by Your pure devotees. You yourself have said that Your pure
devotees are in Your heart and You are in their hearts.
sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham
mad-anyat te na jānanti nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api
sādhavaḥ—the pure devotees; hṛdayam—in the core of the heart;
mahyam—of Me; sādhūnām—of the pure devotees also; hṛdayam—
in the core of the heart; tu—indeed; aham—I am; mat-anyat—
anything else but me; te—they; na—not; jānanti—know; na—not;
aham—I; tebhyaḥ—than them; manāk api—even slightly.
The pure devotees are always within the core of My heart,
and I am always in the heart of My pure devotees. My pure devotees
do not know anything else but Me, and I do not recognize anyone
else besides them as mine. (SB 9.4.68/CC Adi-lila 1.62)

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“That’s why Your heart is not with You. That’s why if I want to
exchange my love with Your heart, I have to go to Your pure
devotees. Because they have Your heart. That’s why I’ll go to them.”
Krishna says, “OK. Then what will you do with them?” Brahma says,
san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam. “When I take shelter at the lotus
feet of Your pure devotees, then You will infuse all the tattvas
(philosophical truths) and bhavas (spiritual moods) in my heart. You
will describe all the lilas and how one should follow the path to attain
Your prema. You will explain everything through them and by this I
will attain You.”

The sadhaka should follow by tanu-van-manobhir in three ways, by

his body - physically; by mind - mentally, and by words, that is by
kirtan and harikatha. Kayika, vacika, manasika (by body, words and
mind). In these three ways one has to worship Krishna. “Then I shall
worship You while staying in my place (my life circumstances), I do
not have to search for You, Krishna, because You will come to me; I
will sit down, I will not go anywhere, I only have to follow the
footsteps of the pure devotees.” Then Krishna said, “O Brahma, it is
not so easy. Why? Because you know, My duty is to think about so
many devotees.” Brahma replied, “Yes. I know. You have explained
that You are their life air, their smiling, their happiness, their distress,
their everything. You are their life.” Then Brahma said, “If somebody
comes to You and they are very new, can You show this new person
Your hidden treasure?” Krishna said, “No. Never. You never show
your hidden treasure to someone new you hardly know. Only to
someone who is very near and dear to you, someone you can trust,
but not to everyone.” Brahma said, “Then how can Your pure
devotees show Your hidden truth, Your tattva, to new persons if they

59
think that You are their hidden treasure? How will they show You?”
Then Brahma explained, “Prabhu, I will tell You how.” Bruyuh
snigdhasya sisyasya guravo guhyam apy uta – to the submissive
disciple the Guru will reveal all the confidential tattvas (secret
philosophical truths).
vettha tvaṁ saumya tat sarvaṁ
tattvatas tad-anugrahāt
brūyuḥ snigdhasya śiṣyasya
guravo guhyam apy uta
vettha—you are well conversant; tvam—Your Honor; saumya—one
who is pure and simple; tat—those; sarvam—all; tattvataḥ—in fact;
tat—their; anugrahāt—by the favor of; brūyuḥ—will tell;
snigdhasya—of the one who is affectionately submissive; śiṣyasya—
of the disciple; guravaḥ—the spiritual masters; guhyam—secret; api
uta—endowed with.
And because you are submissive, your spiritual masters have
endowed you with all the favours bestowed upon a gentle disciple.
Therefore you can tell us all the confidential truths you have learned
from them. (SB 1.1.8)

This is the point which explains why Gurudeva will explain all the
secrets of raganuga bhajan, isn’t it? Bruyuh snigdhasya sisyasya
gurave guhyam apy uta, to such a surrendered disciple the guru will
open his heart and reveal everything, hundred percent. To such a
disciple who is very near, who is very soft hearted and who is
following the words of his Gurudeva. Sri Gurudeva will never hide
anything in his heart from such a disciple who has this mood,
snigdasya (submissive and affectionate), soft-hearted and loyal,

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mindful of his Gurudeva. Whatever his Guru says, he just follows it.
Gurudeva has said, you should not speculate about my orders, ajna hi
guru mam.... One should not speculate on the words of Gurudeva.
When Guru will see that the disciple has such a faithful mood, he will
open his heart. When Guru will see this mood, he will be pleased.
When the sadhaka is well established in all six aspects of saranagati,
when he surrenders hundred percent, then this mood of snigdha
(affection) will come to him. Then Sri Gurudeva will open his heart
hundred percent and reveal his confidential moods. He will not hide
anything. He will share all his treasures, all his realizations. He will
share everything. (This is natural) because all the property of the
father belongs to his children, isn’t it? If my father has some
property, I will automatically inherit it. Similarly, the guru will give all
his treasures to his true disciples, all his property. What’s the
property of the Guru, temples? ashrams? money? No! The property
of the guru is his bhajan. Sri Gurudeva is practicing his bhajan not for
himself. Sri Gurudeva is performing his bhajan for all his disciples. He
is praying not for himself, but for his disciples. He will share
everything when he sees that the disciple is ready to get these
realizations. When the disciple is ready to receive the guru’s feelings,
guru will share his feelings and his mood with the disciple. Then he is
known as ‘guru’ not ‘laghu’. ‘Guru’ means heavy, ‘laghu’ means light.
Guru is heavy. Sri Gurudeva is so kind. By his blessings everything
becomes possible.

By his blessings, as Brahma said, he will explain all these truths of

Krishna bhajan. He will explain these lilas (Krishna’s pastimes). He will
explain why we should do this, why we need to worship Krishna. He
will explain this to us. He will awaken our consciousness. (This is)

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because we are stuck in our minds and our mind is attached to this
material world. That is the Guru’s first duty: To turn our mind from
the outer world (external absorption in material reality) to the
internal one (internal absorption in spiritual reality). At the beginning
of our bhajan, Sri Guru will teach who we are. By his blessings we will
know ourselves. We are not nitya Krishna dasa, we are not the
servants of Krishna. When our practice continues properly, when we
practice bhajan sincerely under guidance, then another identity will
manifest, a superior identity. What identity? Radha pada dasi. We
are not the servants of Krishna. We are all the maidservants of
Srimati Radharani. We have to follow Her. We have to follow Her
desire. We have to follow Her mood, Her order.

Today is Bahulastami, the appearance of Sri Radha Kunda. It’s a very

auspicious day. You will get the same prema (as Radha has for
Krishna) if you take bath in Sri Radha Kunda tonight. Krishna Himself
has said this. “I have the same love for Srimati Radharani as I have for
Her Kunda.” Next time you take bath in Radha Kunda, certainly you
will get this prema. Krishna is always manifesting this prema. He is
always showering this prema, all the time. We are always taking bath
in Radha Kunda, then why are we not getting this prema when
Krishna said this? Why? How many times have we bathed in Radha
Kunda? Is Krishna lying to us? No! If what Krishna says is true, then
the reason we don’t get prema in our hearts is because we cannot
contain such prema. Prema needs a proper container but our heart
cannot contain it. If you don’t have the ability to carry this prema,
then prema will refuse to come to you. We have to prepare
ourselves, get this eligibility (make the container of our heart capable
of containing prema). Then we can get this prema. There are so many

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things written here (confirming this) in the scriptures. Prabhu
Narottama Mahasaya said this: Je gauranger nama laya, ta’ra haya
premodaya – Prema will arise within the heart of one who takes
Gauranga’s name (from the song ‘Gaurangera Du’ti Pada’). If you
chant one time the name of Sri Gauranga, then suddenly you’ll get
prema in your heart. After chanting the name of Gauranga so many
times, why isn’t prema coming? Because we don’t have the eligibility
to realize, to feel this prema in our hearts. It is given to us freely – but
we cannot take it. We have a thick skin like rhinoceros. That’s why we
cannot get it. Then how can we get this prema? Is there anything we
can do to feel this prema in our hearts? This we will hear (find out)
tomorrow.

Getting prema is not so easy. To realize this, to feel this prema is not
very easy in our life. We are chanting the maha mantra, we are
chanting Nitai Gauranga, but prema is not coming to us. Why? There
is a reason why it is not coming. How can we prepare ourselves so
that we can get this prema in our life? We will know this tomorrow.

Hari Bol! Jay Nitai!

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 Gaurāṅgera Du’ṭī Pada
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
gaurāṅgera du’ṭī pada, ĵā’ra dhana sampada,
se jāne bhakati-rasa-sāra
gaurāṅgera madhura līlā, ĵā’ra karṇe praveśilā,
hṛdaya nirmala bhelô tā’ra (1)
That person for whom the two lotus feet of Śrī Gaurāṅga are his wealth
and property knows the essence of bhakti-rasa. That person for whom
the sweet pastimes of Gaurāṅga have entered the ears is pure in heart.
ĵe gaurāṅger nāma laya, tā’ra haya premodaya,
tā’re muĩ ĵāi balihāri
gaurāṅga-guṇete jhure, nitya-līlā tā’re sphure,
se-jana bhakati-adhikārī (2)
Within one who takes Gaurāṅga’s holy names, prema arises. I heartily
glorify such a person. To one whose eyes stream tears in appreciation
of Gaurāṅga’s transcendental qualities, the Divine Couple’s eternal
pastimes become manifest. Such a person is qualified for bhakti.
gaurāṅgera saṅgi-gaṇe, nitya-siddha kôri’ māne,
se-ĵāya vrajendra-suta-pāśa
śrī gauḓa-maṇḍala-bhūmi, ĵebā jāne cintāmaṇi,
tā’ra haya vraja-bhūme vāsa (3)
One who reveres Gaurāṅga’s personal associates as eternally perfected
souls goes to the transcendental abode of Vrajendra-suta (the son of
the king of Vraja). One who knows the land of Śrī Gauḓa-maṇḍala to be
spiritual touchstone achieves residence in the land of Vraja .
gaura-prema-rasārṇave, se taraṅge ĵebā ḍube,
se rādhā-mādhava-antaraṅga
gṛhe vā vanete thāke, ‘hā gaurāṅga’ bô’le ḍāke,
narottama māge tā’ra saṅga (4)
One who dives into the waves of the ocean of gaura-prema becomes
a confidential associate of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. Whether a person
lives in his home as a householder or in the forest as a renunciant, if
he exclaims, “Hā Gaurāṅga!” Narottama dāsa begs for his association .

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Chapter Three

Do little, but Do it with Love in Your Heart

Joy Nitai!

Now we will continue our katha about raganuga bhajan. Now we will
learn how to practice and develop kevala bhakti. How we can get this
kevala bhakti (spontaneous love for Krishna in Vraja mood) in this
life. Why do we need this ‘kevala bhakti’ for our raganuga bhajan?
Why? Because only in this ‘kevala bhakti’ there is no aishvarya mood
(the conception of God in awe and reverence). Yes, Krishna is Svayam
Bhagavan (the Supreme personality of Godhead Himself) but at the
same time He is premika (the supreme beloved), rasika (relisher of
prema). Not only rasika, He is the crown jewel of all rasikas.
Rasikendra cudamani (or ‘rasikendra-siromani’) - the topmost
connoisseur of mellows or rasas.

What is the difference between a general devotee and a rasika one?

In the rasika mood the devotees desire to taste rasa, they want to
taste the highest relish in any mood. And Krishna likes to taste their
mood. Krishna likes to exchange His love in four moods: dasya,
sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya (servant mood, friend mood, parental
mood, lover-beloved mood). And among these He likes three best:
sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. If you have even a little bit of
aishvarya in your bhakti, then you cannot exchange your love in
these three moods, as a friend, as a father or mother, or as a lover
and beloved. Not possible. When you have this aishvarya mood, it
means you are in dasya rasa. Aishvarya mood can only give you this
dasya (mood of being a servant of Krishna). Yes, in raganuga bhajan

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we are also following the mood of dasya. Our mood is one of service,
serving Krishna and Srimati Radharani in their intimate pastimes, but
this service is not in dasya mood. That’s why it is known as manjari
mood. Why has Sriman Mahaprabhu instructed us to follow
madhurya rasa and not other moods like dasya, sakhya and
vatsalya? Most of us are worshiping Gopal in our house, isn’t it?
Serving Gopal is vatsalya mood. But at the same time we are all
manjaris and all the manjaris are in madhurya rati (sweetness or
conjugal mood). Is it not contradictory? Parents should not be in
madhurya rasa, but we are worshiping Gopal. Is it wrong? No! It is
not wrong. It is also right to worship Gopal because if we are not
practicing (how to serve) in all the other moods, then we cannot
reciprocate in madhurya rati. If you want to know about madhurya
rati, then you have to know the culture here, according to scriptures,
what women and girls are doing in the mood of a woman with their
lover, with their husbands, with other relatives. They approach
different people with different moods in different times (according to
time and circumstances). When they are serving (their household)
like when they are giving food, washing clothes, this is their service
mood – dasya. When they are talking with their husband or lover,
joking, playing, this is friendly mood. When they take care of their
husbands they approach them in parental mood, “We have to do
this.” They are controlling and protecting at that time. That is
parental mood. And in intimate times, it is madhurya rasa. This mood
is the highest. All the other rasas are included in madhurya rati. All
the qualities of the other rasas are included in madhurya rati. There
are stages in moods: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.
Madhurya is the highest stage. Dasya has a special mood (mamata
and seva vritti – ‘mineness’ – ‘I am yours’ - and a desire to serve).

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Sakhya has the special mood of friends (visrambha - intimacy based
on feelings of equality – ‘You are mine’) and at the same time they
have the mood of dasya as well because His friends, when they are
playing with Krishna, they have sakhya mood. But when Krishna gets
tired, at that time they are serving Krishna. They fan him for air; they
feed him, they do pada seva (massaging His feet). This means that
sakhya mood also includes dasya mood. Without this mood no one
can serve. When you are serving, taking care of someone, you need
this mood of a servant; otherwise you cannot serve. Similarly, in
vatsalya mood, when children are growing up the parents take care
of them – that time they are in parental mood (nourishing, protecting
and chastising). At the same time when they are serving their
children by giving bath, giving food, etc. That time they have a
servant mood – dasya. When their children grow up, they are
teaching them and sometimes playing with them in sakhya mood.
When the children make some mistake, the parents will control
(chastise them), “No, don’t do it that way, do it in this way.” That
means in parental mood the two other moods are included (dasya
and sakhya). In the same way, in madhurya rasa, all other rasas are
included. If you are worshiping Krishna in madhurya rasa it means
you can serve, you can play, you can exchange your love, you can do
everything with Krishna. You don’t have to serve Him separately, or
play with Him separately (to the exclusion of other rasas). Someone
has asked me, “Can you serve Krishna in a friendly mood (within
madhurya rasa)?” Yes. In madhurya rati there is friendly mood also,
sakhya bhava. If you are worshiping in madhurya rati, in manjari
mood, this includes friendly mood as well. You are worshiping
Krishna in sakhya bhava also. That is why we have to exchange our
love in all moods. The five main rasas, santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya,

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madhurya, are known as mukhya (primary) rasas. And the seven
rasas: hasya (comedy, humour), adbhuta (astonishment, wonder),
raudra (anger), vira (chivalry), karuna (empathy, compassion),
bhayana (fear, horror), vibatsa (disgust) – these are known as gauna
(secondary) rasas. We have to worship Krishna in these five moods.
Sriman Mahaprabhu appeared here in this world, in Kali Yuga, to give
us these special four moods of Vraja. Chale bhaver bhakti jna na
chaiye. Dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya. Because only in these
four you can be without aishvarya. Svayam Bhagavan likes to
exchange His love with us in such a mood (completely free of awe
and reverence). This is kevala bhakti. What is kevala? What is
madhurya?
aiśvarya-jñānete saba jagat miśrita
aiśvarya-śithila-preme nāhi mora prīta
aiśvarya-jñānete— knowledge of My opulences and majesty; saba—
all; jagat—the world; miśrita—mixed; aiśvarya-śithila-preme—love
enfeebled by aishvarya (the conception of My majesty); nāhi—there is
not; mora—My; prīta—attraction.
[Krishna thought:] “Knowing My opulences (as the Supreme
God), the whole world looks upon Me with awe and reverence. But
love weakened by such reverence does not attract Me.” (Cc Adi 4.17)
āmāre īśvara māne, āpanāke hīna
tāra preme vaśa āmi nā ha-i adhīna
āmāre—Me; īśvara—the Lord; māne—regards; āpanāke—himself;
hīna—low; tāra—of him; preme—by the love; vaśa—controlled;
āmi—I; nā ha-i—am not; adhīna—subservient.

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 “If one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and himself as a
subordinate, I do not become subservient to his love, nor can it
control Me. (Cc Adi 4.18)

Just think of all the associates of Braja. They have seen all the great
(majestic) activities of Krishna like the killing of asuras (demons).
These asuras, Krishna defeated all of them very easily, very little
sweat (sic). It is very surprising to see this. If you saw that such a little
boy kills a big asura, you’d be amazed. But the Vrajavasis are not
surprised. Whenever they get any problem they’ll ask Krishna, “O
Krishna! What should we do?” They are not at all surprised to see all
this (the amazing feats of Krishna). This is madhurya. If they say that
Krishna did this big thing, this (astonishing) action – that would be
aishvarya (thinking that He is God). But they only think about their
relationships with Him (as their friend or son or lover). sa sambhava
satya krtyam bhava. The Vrajavasis never accept Krishna as God. “I
should not think (of him) in that way.” Ma (mother) Yashoda’s friends
tell her, “You should not chastise Krishna in that way. He is not an
ordinary boy. You must know that perhaps He is Narayan (the
aishvarya, majestic form of Krishna in Vaikuntha). Maybe he has
some power, he is not a normal boy, he is not like the other boys;
perhaps he appeared here.” The people of Vraja asked Ma Yashoda
so many times like this after all the astonishing pastimes performed
by Krishna but she always replies, “O, No! Don’t say this about my
son, otherwise he will make offences. If he gets this mood that, “I am
not a normal boy, I have some power, I am some demigod” – that will
be aparadha (offence) for him. He will become proud. He will end up
being a bad boy (bad mas). Krishna’s father Nanda baba has the same
mood. He refuses to see Krishna as anything other than an ordinary

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boy. This is madhurya mood. Spontaneous, human-like (but
transcendental) pastimes. Sriman Mahaprabhu has instructed us to
follow this mood, because Krishna likes to be worshiped without
aishvarya.

How will we get this kevala bhakti? Simply by our bhajan? Yesterday
we discussed that there are so many (seemingly contradictory) things
in the scriptures. Isn’t it?
je gaurāṅgera nāma loya, tā’ra hoya prema doya,
tāre mui jāi bolihārī
gaurāṅga guṇete jhure, nitya-līlā tā’re sphure,
se jana bhakati adhikārī
e—who; gaurāṅgera—of Lord Gaurāṅga; nāma loy—chants His
name; tāra—his; hoy—it is affected; premodoy—the awakening of
divine love; tāre—unto him; mui—I (say); jāi bolihari—bravo, very
nice!; gaurāṅga-guṇete—appreciating the qualities of Lord
Gaurāṅga; jhure—(if someone) cries; nitya-līlā—then the Lord's
eternal pastimes; tāre—unto him; sphure—are manifest; se jana—
that person; bhakati-adhikārī—is qualified to perform bhakti.
Prema will awaken for that person who takes Gauranga’s
holy names. I give my heart and soul to him and exclaim, “Bolihari!
All glories to you!” If anyone feels ecstasy and cries by simply hearing
the transcendental qualities of Sri Gauranga, he at once understands
the eternal loving affairs between Radha and Krishna, and to them Sri
Radha-Krishna’s nitya-lila (eternal daily pastimes), will manifest.
(Gaurangera Du’ti Pada, Narottama dasa Thakura)

If you chant the name of Sri Gauranga, prema will appear in your
heart. Even if chanted only one time! Only one time! You don’t have
to chant thousands or millions of times. Only once! Simply by

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chanting one time you will get prema in your heart. Sriman
Mahaprabhu gave us ‘prema nama sankirtan.’

caturtha ślokera artha ei kaila sāra

prema-nāma pracārite ei avatāra
caturtha—fourth; ślokera—of the verse; artha—the meaning; ei—
this; kaila—gave; sāra—essence; prema—love of Godhead; nāma—
the holy name; pracārite—to propagate; ei—this; avatāra—
incarnation
“I have given the essential meaning of the fourth verse: This
incarnation [Sri Gauranga] descends to give love of God (prema) by
the chanting of the holy name.” (Cc Adi 4.5)
Sri Gauranga said, “Whenever you chant the maha mantra, prema
will appear in your heart.” Yet we are chanting every day, so many
times, the name of Gauranga and the maha mantra. We are always
chanting, isn’t it? Then why is it that prema is not coming? Why is it
that tears of prema are not flowing from my eyes? Where are my
tears? I am chanting the maha mantra just for practice, but where
are the tears? This is because first of all we have to get this trust, this
faith; absolute faith in the power of the holy name. If we have even a
drop of confusion and doubt in our hearts, then this prema will not
manifest. It will appear in your heart, it is there. If you are chanting
the maha mantra it means prema is in your heart. It cannot be
wrong. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said this. Prema nama pracarite
(I will come to preach the holy name imbued with prema). He gave us
this prem nam. Which one comes first? Prema or harinama? Jiva
Goswamipad used a very nice formula from nyaya (the study of logic)
jnanat karate. If you throw a pot it makes a sound when it falls to the

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ground. Which comes first, the sound or the fall? It comes together
at the same time. Prem and nam come together. Mahaprabhu has
woven a garland of prem and nam. This means that when you are
chanting the maha mantra, prema automatically appears in your
heart. But it is not manifesting, because we have so many doubts.

How can we destroy all these doubts? There are several ways,
according to scriptures, to do that. But in raganuga bhajan,
surprisingly, if you’ll try to do it simply by knowledge, these deep
feelings will not come. Even if you have so much intelligence, so
much knowledge about this, still the realizations will not come. We
have to balance (reconcile) this (knowledge and feelings or bhava).
It’s true that without knowledge one cannot develop the practice.
But if we follow the process and the rules without feelings, this
prema mood, prema realization will not come. That’s why Sriman
Mahaprabhu asked Raya Ramananda about sadhya sadhana tattva
(the ultimate goal and the means)

prabhu kahe,—“paḍa śloka sādhyera nirṇaya”

prabhu kahe—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said; paḍa—just recite;
śloka—a verse from the revealed scriptures; sādhyera—of the aim of
life; nirṇaya—to ascertain;
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Raya, “Recite a
verse from the revealed scriptures establishing the ultimate goal of
life.” (Cc Madhya 8.57)

He said, “O Raya, I want to get your answer only from the scriptures
(I will only accept your answer if it’s backed by scriptural evidence in
the form of slokas). Because without scriptures this will be simply

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sentimental, it will break the rules set by Krishna Himself.
Mahaprabhu said this. And Ramananda Raya gave all his answers
according to the scriptures.

prabhu kahe, “eho bāhya, āge kaha āra”

rāya kahe,—“jñāna-śūnyā bhakti—sādhya-sāra”
prabhu kahe—the Lord said; eho—this; bāhya—external; āge—
ahead; kaha—speak; āra—further; rāya kahe—Rāmānanda Rāya
replied; jñāna-śūnyā bhakti—devotional service devoid of attachment
to knowledge; sādhya-sāra—the essence of the perfection of life.
After hearing this answer, Mahaprabhu, as usual, rejected it,
considering it to be external devotional service. He again asked
Ramananda Raya to speak further, and Ramananda Raya replied,
“Pure devotional service devoid of the desire for knowledge is the
essence of perfection.” (Cc Madhya 8.66).

This was followed by the sloka jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta

eva which says, “Give up the desire for knowledge and replace it with
the desire for bhakti” (SB 10.14.3).
At the end of their conversation Ramananada Raya explained about
Radha tattva, quoting evidence from the scriptures. Then
Mahaprabhu agreed, “Yes! This is the highest, most confidential
knowledge” Yet He went on to ask, “Is there something more?”
prabhu kahe,—ei ‘sādhyāvadhi’ suniścaya
kṛpā kari’ kaha, yadi āge kichu haya
prabhu kahe—Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied; ei—this; sādhya-
avadhi—the highest limit of perfection; su-niścaya—certainly; kṛpā
kari’—being merciful to Me; kaha—please speak; yadi—if; āge—
further; kichu haya—is there something.

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 Sri Caitanya Mahprabhu said, “This is certainly the limit of
perfection, but please be merciful to Me and speak further if there is
more to it.” (Cc Madhya 8.96)

This Radha tattva, Radha prema, is the highest thing. But beyond this
He asked another question. “O Raya, do you know more that you can
tell Me?” Then Ramananda Raya said, “Yes, I know, there is more.
But I cannot give you answer (evidence) from the scriptures for this.”
Ramananda Raya continued, “What You have asked me about, I have
written something; from my realizations I have written a song. If You
like, then I can sing it. If You like, I can explain this. But You must
know it is from my heart, not from the scriptures.” Then he sang his
song:
pahilehi rāga nayana-bhaṅge bhela
anudina bāḍhala, avadhi nā gela
nā so ramaṇa, nā hāma ramaṇī
duṅhu-mana manobhava peṣala jāni’
e sakhi, se-saba prema-kāhinī
kānu-ṭhāme kahabi vichurala jāni’
nā khoṅjaluṅ dūtī, nā khoṅjaluṅ ān
duṅhukeri milane madhya ta pāṅca-bāṇa
ab sohi virāga, tuṅhu bheli dūtī
su-purukha-premaki aichana rīti

“‘Alas, before we met there was an initial attachment

between us brought about by an exchange of glances. In this way
attachment evolved. That attachment has gradually grown, and there
is no limit to it. Now that attachment has become a natural sequence
between us. It is not that it is due to Krishna, the enjoyer, nor is it

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due to me, as the enjoyed. It is not like that. This attachment was
made possible by mutual meeting. This mutual exchange of
attraction is known as manobhava, or Cupid. Krishna’s mind and my
mind have merged together. Now, during this time of separation, it is
very difficult to explain these loving affairs. My dear friend, though
Krishna might have forgotten all these things, you can understand
and bring this message to Him. But during Our first meeting there
was no messenger between us, nor did I request anyone to see Him.
Indeed, Cupid’s five arrows were our via media. Now, during this
separation, that attraction has increased to another ecstatic state.
My dear friend, please act as a messenger on my behalf, because if
one is in love with a beautiful person, this is the consequence.’ (Cc
Madhya 8.194)

Raya Ramananda is Visakha in Krishna lila and therefore, in his gopi

svarupa, he knows the mind and heart of Srimati Radhika and
therefore can explain it to Mahaprabhu who is Krishna aspiring to
relish and experience the loving moods of Srimati Radharani.
This is a very nice topic, the highest topic. What is this? This is prema-
vilasa-vivarta - a high level of prema experienced when Radha and
Krishna exchange their roles. This stage is most astonishing and the
ultimate expression of loving exchanges.
Because when Sriman Mahaprabhu asked this question, “Do you
know more?” Then He appeared to Ramananda Raya not as
Mahaprabhu but as Radha and Krishna combined. Radha became
Krishna and Krishna became Radha, they were exchanging roles. This
prema is the highest one. There is nothing higher than this. And this
is Gaura prema: the highest stage of all prema, of all realizations.

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However, even though Ramananda Raya did not speak this from the
scriptures, still it was not against the scriptures. He explained this
prema from his heart. That’s why we have to use this ‘heart
intelligence’; we should not always use our material intelligence
because our realizations will not come by our material intelligence.
Not possible. It is from the heart (that we can get such spiritual
realizations). (In other words, spiritual reality cannot be perceived by
our eyes or by the mind; it can only be realized with the heart,
because the heart is the portal for the spiritual realm, not our mind
or our intelligence).

Why is Krishna performing this pastime, appearing with the mood

and golden complexion of Srimati Radharani? No answer is there. The
scriptures will not give us the answer, why has He done like this. He
has nothing to do. He has everything in Goloka Vrindavan. He can
stay there; He can do all His pastimes there. Why has He appeared
here in this material world, in bhauma (earthly) Vrindavan? This is
because of this love, because of prema. He wanted to taste this
highest prema and this prema He can only get here on earth, not
there (in Goloka Vrindavan where long-term separation doesn’t
exist). In Gaura lila there is only one mood, all moods are there but it
is mixed with dasya. That’s why, after Mahaprabhu’s time, Srinath
Pandit, gave us this key sloka about raganuga bhajan,

ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛṇdāvanaṁ

ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇā yā kalpitā
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalaṁ premā pum-artho mahān
śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhor matam idaṁ tatrādaro naḥ paraḥ

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ārādhyo—worshipable; bhagavān—the Supreme Lord; vraja-īśa-
tanayaḥ—the son of the Lord of Vṛndāvana, Nanda Mahārāja; tat-
dhāma—His abode; vṛṇdāvanam—Vṛndāvana; ramyā—pleasing;
kācit—which; upāsanā—the process of worship; vraja-vadhū—of the
gopīs of Vraja; vargeṇā—by the group; yā—and; kalpitā—performed;
śrīmad-bhāgavatam—Śrīmad Bhāgavatam; pramāṇam—the
standard authority; amalam—spotless; premā—pure love of Kṛṣṇa;
pum-arthaḥ—the ultimate goal of life for human beings; mahān—the
great; śrī-caitanya—of Śrī Caitanya; mahāprabhoḥ—’mahā’
indicates mahābhāva Srimati Rādhikā and ‘prabhu’ indicates rasarāja
mahābhāva Kṛṣṇa; matam—the conception; idam—this; tatra—that;
ādaraḥ—regard; naḥ—of us; paraḥ—the highest.
Bhagavan Vrajendra-nandana Sri Krishna is our only
worshipful object. In the same way that He is worshipful, so is His
transcendental abode, Sri Vrindavan Dhama. The mood in which the
young brides of Vraja (the gopis, especially Srimati Radhika) worship
Him is the highest, most perfect form of pure love. Srimad
Bhagavatam alone is the immaculate scriptural evidence of this and
Krishna-prema is the supreme objective of life (the fifth and ultimate
goal of human life - beyond mundane religiosity, economic
development, sense gratification and impersonal liberation). This is
the conception and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Gaura-
vani). We hold this conclusion (siddhanta) in supreme regard and
have no inclination or regard for any other conclusions or opinions.
(Srinath Pandit, quoted in Caitanya-manjusa by Srila Visvanath
Cakravarti Thakura)

He mentioned very clearly aradhya Bhagavan – we should worship

Krishna who is Bhagavan. Which Krishna? There are so many Krishnas
(so many forms or expansions of Krishna but Krishna is still one, the
non-dual Absolute Truth). Rupa Goswami has said this, “Yes I know

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there are so many Krishnas. You know only one Krishna but I know
three Krishnas.”
vraje kṛṣṇa—sarvaiśvarya-prakāśe ‘pūrṇatama’
purī-dvaye, paravyome—‘pūrṇatara’, ‘pūrṇa’
vraje—in Vṛndāvana; kṛṣṇa—Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva-aiśvarya-prakāśe—
manifestation of His full opulence; pūrṇa-tama—most complete; purī-
dvaye—in Dvārakā and Mathurā; para-vyome—and in the spiritual
world; pūrṇa-tara—more complete; pūrṇa—complete.
Krishna is complete in the spiritual sky [Vaikuntha], more
complete in Mathura and Dvaraka, and He is most complete in
Vrindavana, Vraja, due to His manifesting His full sweetness there.
(Cc Madhya 20.398)
hariḥ pūrṇatamaḥ pūrṇa-taraḥ pūrṇa iti tridhā
śreṣṭha-madhyādibhiḥ śabdair nāṭye yaḥ paripaṭhyate
hariḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pūrṇa-tamaḥ—most
complete; pūrṇa-taraḥ—more complete; pūrṇaḥ—complete; iti—
thus; tridhā—three stages; śreṣṭha—best; madhya-ādibhiḥ—middle,
etc.; śabdaiḥ—by the words; nāṭye—in books on dramatics; yaḥ—
who; paripaṭhyate—is proclaimed.
This is stated in the dramatic literatures as “perfect,” “more
perfect” and “most perfect.” Thus Lord Krishna manifests Himself in
three ways—perfect, more perfect and most perfect.
prakāśitākhila-guṇaḥ smṛtaḥ pūrṇatamo budhaiḥ
asarva-vyañjakaḥ pūrṇa- taraḥ pūrṇo ’lpa-darśakaḥ
prakāśita-akhila-guṇaḥ—having all transcendental qualities
manifested; smṛtaḥ—is understood; pūrṇa-tamaḥ—most perfect;

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budhaiḥ—by learned scholars; asarva-vyañjakaḥ—having qualities
not fully manifested; pūrṇa-taraḥ—more perfect; pūrṇaḥ—perfect;
alpa-darśakaḥ—still less fully manifested.
When the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not
manifest all His transcendental qualities, He is called complete. When
all the qualities are manifested, but not fully, He is called more
complete. When He manifests all His qualities in fullness, He is called
most complete. This is the version of all learned scholars in the
devotional science.
kṛṣṇasya pūrṇatamatā vyaktābhūd gokulāntare
pūrṇatā pūrṇataratā dvārakā-mathurādiṣu
kṛṣṇasya—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; pūrṇa-tamatā—being most perfect;
vyaktā—manifested; abhūt—became; gokula-antare—in the domain
of Gokula Vṛndāvana; pūrṇatā—completeness; pūrṇa-taratā—more
completeness; dvārakā—in Dvārakā; mathurā-ādiṣu—and Mathurā,
and so on.
The most complete qualities of Krishna are manifested in
Vrindavan, and His complete and more complete qualities are
manifested in Dvaraka and Mathura respectively. (Bhakti-rasamrita-
sindhu 2.1.221–223)

I know three Krishnas, purna Krishna, purnatara Krishna and

purnatama Krishna, the highest one. Who is purnatama Krishna?
That Krishna who manifests all his qualities fully. All His qualities
mean sixty four qualities. Bhagavan has 60 qualities in all His
svarupas, in all His avataras. But Krishna is svayam Bhagavan, not
only Bhagavan, He is the original Supreme Godhead, the highest.

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That’s why He has four more extra qualities in Vrindavan. Which
four?
līlā premṇā priyādhikyaṁ mādhuryaṁ veṇu-rūpayoḥ
līlā—pastimes; premṇā—with transcendental love; priya-ādhikyam—
an abundance of beloveds; mādhuryam—sweetness; veṇu-rūpayoḥ—
the form of the flute and His beautiful, sweet form.
Krishna (in Vrindavan) has four specific transcendental
qualities, His wonderful pastimes, abundance of beloveds (the gopis),
His sweet form and His flute. (Cc Madhya 23.84)
sarvādbhuta-camatkāra-līlā-kallola-vāridhiḥ
atulya-madhura-prema-maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ
tri-jagan-mānasākarṣi-muralī-kala-kūjitaḥ
asamānordhva-rūpa-śrī-vismāpita-carācaraḥ
sarva-adbhuta-camatkāra—bringing wonder to all; līlā—of pastimes;
kallola—full of waves; vāridhiḥ—an ocean; atulya-madhura-prema—
with incomparable conjugal love; maṇḍita—decorated; priya-
maṇḍalaḥ—with a circle of gopis; tri-jagat—of the three worlds;
mānasa-ākarṣi—attracting the minds; muralī—of the flute; kala-
kūjitaḥ—the melodious vibration; asamāna-ūrdhva—unequaled and
unsurpassed; rūpa—by beauty; śrī—and opulence; vismāpita-cara-
acaraḥ—astonishing all moving and non-moving living entities.
Apart from these sixty transcendental qualities, Krishna has
an additional four transcendental qualities, which are not manifested
even in the personality of Narayan. These are: (1) Krishna is like an
ocean filled with waves of pastimes that evoke wonder within
everyone in the three worlds (lila madhurya). (2) In His activities of
conjugal love, He is always surrounded by His beloved gopis (prema
madhurya). (3) He attracts the minds of all three worlds with the

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melodious vibration of His flute (venu madhurya). (4) His personal
beauty and sweetness are beyond compare (rupa madhurya). No one
is equal to Him, and no one is greater than Him. Thus Vrindavan
Krishna astonishes all living entities within the three worlds. (Cc
Madhya 23.82-83)

Lila adhikyam – very special pastimes, Priya adhikyam – priyas

(beloveds). These priyas are not by force. Krishna said (to the gopis),
“You are My priyas by love.” By love He has so many priyas. Then His
special form, madhurya rupaya (His sweet form). Such special beauty
you will not see in any other avatars. But the gopis say, “O Krishna,
You are black. You have no qualities, not even beauty.” (“You are
black both outside and inside”). And venu madhurya. You will not see
these extra four qualities manifest in any other avatar, only in
Krishna. When He manifests less than 64 qualities He is either purna -
perfect or purnatara - more perfect. But only when He manifests 64
qualities He is purnatama, most perfect – Krishna who is the beloved
of Radha in Vraja. Where he manifests all of His 64 qualities, then He
is krisna sa purnatama... adbhuta gokula antare
ei kṛṣṇa—vraje ‘pūrṇatama’ bhagavān
āra saba svarūpa—‘pūrṇatara’ ‘pūrṇa’ nāma
ei kṛṣṇa—the same Kṛṣṇa; vraje—in Vṛndāvana; pūrṇa-tama
bhagavān—the most complete manifestation of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead; āra—other; saba—all; svarūpa—forms;
pūrṇa-tara—more complete; pūrṇa—complete; nāma—named.
Sri Krishna is in His most complete form only in Vrindavana.
Elsewhere all His expansions are either complete or more complete.
(Cc Madhya 20.402)

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Therefore Mahaprabhu said, “Only in Vraja, only in Vraja.”
sarva tyaji’ jīvera kartavya kāhāṅ vāsa?’
‘vraja-bhūmi vṛndāvana yāhāṅ līlā-rāsa’
sarva—everything; tyaji’—giving up; jīvera—of the living entity;
kartavya—to be done; kāhāṅ—where; vāsa—residence; vraja-
bhūmi—the land known as Vrajabhūmi; vṛndāvana—the holy place
named Vṛndāvana; yāhāṅ—where; līlā-rāsa—Lord Kṛṣṇa performed
His rāsa dance.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Where should the living
entity live, abandoning all other places?” Ramananda Raya replied,
“He should live in the holy place known as Vrindavana or Vrajabhumi,
where the Lord performed His rasa dance.” (Cc Madhya 8.254)

There is only one place where the jivas (living entities) should live.
That is Vraja. Why? Why should they live there? Because Krishna is
there, full with all His qualities! Krishna is there with all His beloved
associates, especially the gopis, especially Srimati Radharani. Krishna
is there without any aishvarya. That’s why all the jivas have to live
there. If they want to get the eternal bliss, ananda, then they have to
exchange their love with this Krishna, not with purntara or purna
Krishna. That’s why He said, don’t visit Dwaraka, or Mathura Dhama.
The entire Vraja is sometimes known as Mathura puri, but Mathura is
the residence, the kingdom of king Kamsa. That’s why Mahaprabhu
said don’t visit this place or you’ll get the mood of aishvarya. And
Dwaraka is forbidden for all raganuga bhaktas, raganuga sadhakas.
If you go there then Srimati Radharani will not allow you here in Vraja
again. You cannot come back if you go to Dwaraka. If you do, all the
kinkaris of Radha they will kick you and throw you out of Vraja. You’ll

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not be allowed to enter here. This is because “You have visited king
Krishna and our Krishna is not a king.”

There is a nice story about Kurukshetra. When Krishna went there

from Dwaraka to meet the Vrajavasis in grahan (on the occasion of a
solar eclipse), all the gopis saw that He was dressed like a king. There
was no flute, there was a sword. No peacock feather, but the crown
of a king. When He came in front of them they covered their head.
Krishna said, “Hei, look at Me. I am Krishna.” They said, “No, no, You
are not Krishna. Our Krishna is not like this. Our Krishna is not a king.”
Then Krishna tried to instruct them in tattva: knowledge from jnana,
karma, so many things. “OK, you should do this and that.” But the
gopis were disappointed, “O Krishna, we think that You have
forgotten everything about our relationship. You have forgotten
about love.”
āhuś ca te nalina-nābha padāravindaṁ
yogeśvarair hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ
saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ
gehaṁ juṣām api manasy udiyāt sadā naḥ
āhuḥ—the gopīs said; ca—and; te—Your; nalina-nabha—O Lord,
whose navel is just like a lotus flower; pada-aravindam—lotus feet;
yoga-īśvaraiḥ—by the great mystic yogīs; hṛdi—within the heart;
vicintyam—to be meditated upon; agādha-bodhaiḥ—who were
highly learned philosophers; saṁsāra-kūpa—the dark well of material
existence; patita—of those fallen; uttaraṇa—of deliverers;
avalambam—the only shelter; geham—family affairs; juṣām—of
those engaged; api—though; manasi—in the minds; udiyāt—let be
awakened; sadā—always; naḥ—our.
The gopis spoke thus: Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a
lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have

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fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are
worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly
learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be
awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons
engaged in household affairs. (SB 10.82.48)

“O Krishna, we think You have forgotten us, You have forgotten what
our hearts are like. That’s why You are instructing us from the
scriptures. But You know, we never went to any school to learn
scriptures. We cannot read the scriptures. We don’t have this kind of
intelligence to realize any tattva (philosophical truths). We only know
about love. We tried to give You this but You never accepted it. We
tried but we failed. That’s why You have forgotten everything. You
are advising us to think (meditate) about You and after a long time
we will be able to get You in our hearts. But this is all for Your
devotees, sadhakas. We are not Your sadhakas. We love You.
Whenever we try to forget You, we cannot. But if we think about You
and remember You, we faint out of separation. Our citta
(consciousness) goes out of our hearts. We become senseless,
unconscious. Whenever we think about You, Your name, it is so
powerful that it can give liberation from the samsara ocean (of
repeated birth and death in this material world). Yes, Your name can
give mukti to the sadhakas. But we are already muktas (liberated).
We don’t need to get this mukti from You. We don’t have this desire.
When we think of You even for a moment, we drown in the viraha
sindhu - ocean of separation. We sink very deeply. Your name doesn’t
have the power to take us out from this viraha sindhu. Then how to
solve this? We are like Cakora birds who live only by drinking the
nectar from the moon rays”.

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The moon rays emanate nectar which is known as sudha and the
Cakora birds live only by drinking this nectar. The gopis are saying,
“We are Cakora birds. We only live by the moon. But our moon has
left Vraja. This is not a happy arrangement. That’s why we are so
weak now. If You want to give us back our life, You have to appear in
Vraja. Our candra (moon) is Krishna-candra. Not this ordinary candra.
When You will reappear in Varja, when Your moon will rise in Vraja,
then this sudha, nectar will fall from the moon rays of Your presence.
Then we will get our life back. And then they told Krishna, “You
should come back to Vraja.” Krishna said, “You can come with Me
when I go back to Dwaraka. Previously when I was in Vraja I had no
power to make any decisions about you because I was not a king. I
couldn’t take care of you. But now that I am the king of Dwaraka I
can take care of you properly. All of you can come with me.” The
gopis said, “Thank You Krishna but no. We have no desire to go to
Dwaraka. We don’t wish to divide our love with Your wives. If we go
to Dwaraka we will have to share You with Your wives, no thank You.
It’s good that You go back to Dwaraka (The gopis were speaking
sarcastically). Because our Krishna is a cowherd boy, not a king.” All
the gopis, especially Srimati Radharani, were feeling so much pain in
their hearts because of separation but they rejected this king Krishna
(Dwarakadish Krishna who is an expansion of the original Vrajenda
nandana Krishna). Because they only want that Krishna who has no
aishvarya mood, not even a little drop of aishvarya. Not this kingly
aishvarya either. They only wanted Krishna as this Gopal, as a
cowherd boy.

That’s why Sriman Mahaprabhu advised us to accept this mood (of

madhurya). Because only here in Vraja you can get that Krishna who

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has all sixty four qualities. You can only taste Krishna’s special extra
four qualities in Vraja if you have kevala bhakti in your heart. And
you can get this kevala bhakti, this highest prema, when you have no
confusion (regarding this truth about Krishna). You need this visrama
pradhana rati (loving attachment imbued with intimacy).
Mahaprabhu said it and this means it will be there, that kind of faith,
that kind of desire, and ‘focus minding’ (one-pointedness). How will
we get this in our life? Narottama das Thakura said we need
samskaras (spiritual impressions) on our mind. We are doing
everything (in our sadhana-practice). We are doing puja, we are
chanting the maha mantra, we are reading granthas (scriptures or
books on bhakti), we are hearing harikatha, we are singing bhajans,
we are doing everything. However, we do all this things thinking that
it is our duty (Vaidhi mood). We don’t do it out of love. Yes, it is our
duty to follow the process of bhakti, but if you go on doing your
bhajan as a matter of duty - you’ll get some benefit - but you won’t
get prema.

Krishna has promised in the Bhagavad Gita that He will reciprocate

according to our bhajan:
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; yathā—as; ye—they; prapadyante—as they
serve; (to) mām—Me; tathā—so; eva—certainly; aham bhajāmi—I
love, serve, reciprocate; (with) tān—them; manuṣyāḥ—men;

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anuvartante—follow; mama vartma—My path; sarvaśaḥ—in all
respects.
O Partha (Arjuna)! In whichever way a person renders service
unto Me, I serve them (reciprocate) in that very same way. Everyone
follows My path in all respects. (Bg 4.11)

However, this is true only if you serve Him with love, with deep
attachment. You have to realize that when you are offering anything,
for instance water for padyam (foot washing), you have to realize,
“Now it’s cold, it’s winter time, I have to offer Him warm water.”
However, before you offer it you have to check the water
temperature to see that it is not too hot. But this offering must come
from your heart, as your seva. “I am worshiping Krishna.” But the
mood should be “I am not worshiping Him, I am taking care of Him.”
This is madiyata – ‘Krishna You are mine’. When you have this
madiyata mood in your heart, then prema will manifest. It is there (in
an unmanifest form). Because there you are chanting maha mantra,
Gaura mantra, Nitai name, Gaura name – prema is there (inherent in
these mantras and names) but it is not manifesting. It will manifest
when you’ll do everything with this madiyata mood, that ‘Krishna is
mine’, it is my pleasure (my labour of love) to take care of Him.
Krishna is my boy, Krishna is my lover, Krishna is my friend, Krishna is
my Prabhu, if I will not take care of Him, who will take care of Him?

Krishna says, “All My devotees worship Me in tadiyata mood – ‘I am

Yours’. This is also worshiping. ‘I am Yours’ means you are giving
your responsibilities to Him. “Let Him take care of me.” This means
you are abandoning your duty. “I am giving my responsibilities to You
then how can I take care of You? I cannot.” This is tadiyata prema. If

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you want to follow this raganuga bhajan, you need the madiyata
prema – ‘Krishna You are mine!’. You have to realize that “If I will not
take care of Krishna, who will take care of Him?”

There is one very nice story of Sanatan Goswamipad. He used to go

to Mathura for bhiksha (begging alms – a traditional way for
mendicants to get food). He wouldn’t beg much, only go to three or
four houses, and then return to his bhajan kutir (place of bhajan)
where he would offer it all to Madan Gopal (his worshipful deity).
There was one house of Vrajavasis and if you went there you would
see the mother cooking kitchery early in the morning. She used a
Neem stick to stir the kitchery and with the other end of the same
stick she cleaned her teeth (in India they use a Neem stick to brush
and clean teeth but it’s considered unclean to use the same stick for
cooking). Every day Sanatan Goswamipad watched this until one day
he asked her, “Who is it you are cooking for?” The mother answered,
“For my lala (small boy). He is still asleep but when he wakes up he
will be hungry. That’s why I have to make this kitchery for him. He
loves it.” One day Sanatana Goswami said, “I want to see your child.”
The mother said, “OK, but be quiet because he is still asleep.” When
Sanatan Goswami entered the bedroom followed by the mother he
was surprised because the child was no other than Gopal (the
woman’s deity of Gopal Krishna). Then he said, “O, how can you cook
like this for Gopal?” The woman said, “Why? Is there anything
wrong?” Sanatana answered, “You shouldn’t do this. You are using
the same stick for cooking and for your teeth? How can you do this?
You shouldn’t clean your teeth with the same stick you use for
cooking, because then the kitchery becomes ucchishta, your
remnants, it becomes contaminated and you can’t offer it to Gopal.

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It’s aparadha – an offence to Him.” The mother asked, “Then how
should I cook for Gopal?” Then Sanatana instructed her, “After you
get up you have to brush your teeth, take a shower, change your
dress, and then you can make kitchery in a properly clean state. But
don’t use this stick for kitchery. You should use another spoon. And
during the cooking you shouldn’t touch your lips or your mouth with
your hand. You shouldn’t touch your feet or your clothes. This
(cooking) must be very pure.” The mother agreed, “OK, OK, I am
making so many mistakes, I shouldn’t do it again.”

The next morning, this Vraja mother started cooking according to the
instructions of Sanatan Goswami. First she took a shower, then she
put on a new dress, then she cleaned the kitchen. By the time she got
to offer the breakfast to Gopal it became very late. But Gopal was
getting impatient. He cannot wait so long for His food; after all he is
only a little boy. And little boys like to get food as soon as they wake
up. They’ll cry to their mother, “O mama, mama, give me something
to eat.” Gopal was so hungry and the kitchery was so late that after
three days He became angry with Sanatan Goswami. He told him,
“Because of you I am getting kitchery so late. I have to wait with an
empty stomach. I am starving for breakfast. It’s only because of you.
Why did you say these things to maiya (mother)? I taste her prema,
not this kitchery. You cannot offer Me this kind of prema like she
does. I get this prema from her. You stop this. Tell her to make the
food like she did before.” Gopal told Sanatan Goswami off using
strong words. Next morning Sanatan Goswami told the mother, “O
maiya, you should do like (you did) before.” Mother said, “Why? But
you told me to do this properly!?” Sanatan replied, “No, no, no, if you
continue cooking according to my instructions, Gopal will beat me!

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He has to wait too long for His breakfast. Just do it like you did
before.”

This is prema. It doesn’t follow any rules and regulations, only

spontaneous love. This is an exchange of love. This is an example of
madiyata mood. Brij-maiyi (the Vraja mother) offered her prema in
madiya bhava. She was worshiping Gopal as her baby, not by words,
by heart. That’s why she could cook in that way without following the
usual rules. She thought, “If I brush my teeth and clean myself and
change dress before cooking I will make my baby wait. I shouldn’t
make him wait for His kitchery.” That’s why she was cooking without
wasting time, without changing clothes. That’s why she was brushing
her teeth and cooking at the same time. She was not thinking “This is
ucchishta, I am not so pure, I can’t cook in this unclean state.” She
was only thinking, “I can’t make my baby wait for his food, I
shouldn’t.” This is madiyata (feeling mamata, ‘mineness’ towards
Gopal).

In raganuga bhajan, this madiyata mood is most important. When

you have this madiyata mood, then prema will manifest from your
heart. It is there. It is already there (in potentiality) but now it is
hidden away (unmanifest). Why is it so? Because we have so many
doubts, because we have this duty mood (vaidhi bhakti) that “I have
to do this (out of duty rather than out of love).”

Do little, but do it with love. Whatever little you do, do it with prema
in your heart. Not from your head. Bhajan is in the heart, not in the
mind. If you are using your mind for bhajan then realizations will not
come. This is our mistake. Where we use our mind we should use our
heart and where we should use our heart we use our mind. That is

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our biggest problem. For survival in this material world we have to
use our brain and our intelligence, but we are using our heart, that’s
our problem. We are so absorbed, so attached (emotionally) to this
material reality. And in bhajan we use our brain. I have to do this, I
have to do that. Running, running, running, always (mindlessly)
restless. No. Use your heart for Bhajan. You must keep your heart
only for Krishna. You must keep your heart only to serve Radharani.

For (functioning in) this material world you have to use your
intelligence, you have to use your brain. That’s why there are two
parts. Heart and brain (mind). You can’t use both (simultaneously).
You have to choose (discriminate between the voice of the mind and
the voice of the heart). For bhajan there is the heart, for this material
world there is the brain (mind). When you use your heart for your
bhjana, then it will give raganuga bhakti.

In your bhajan you need to use your intelligence, that’s true. That’s
why Sriman Mahaprabhu has given us all these things. But this
knowledge, we should know which knowledge we should keep in
mind: Only for correcting ourselves when making some mistakes. All
this material stuff we are keeping here (in our heads). But all the
important things we have to keep here in our hearts. That’s why after
sadhana-sadhya tattva in the conversation between Mahaprabhu
and Raya Ramananda, He asked once again, “Alright, for our bhajan
we need some supporting knowledge. Without this supporting
knowledge no one can go further in their bhajan.”

prabhu kahe,—“kon vidyā vidyā-madhye sāra?”

rāya kahe,—“kṛṣṇa-bhakti vinā vidyā nāhi āra”

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prabhu kahe—the Lord inquired; kon—what; vidyā—knowledge;
vidyā-madhye—of all kinds of knowledge; sāra—the essential one;
rāya kahe—Rāmānanda Rāya answered; kṛṣṇa-bhakti—devotional
service to Kṛṣṇa; vinā—except; vidyā—knowledge; nāhi—there is not;
āra—any other.
The Lord inquired, “Of all types of knowledge, which is the
most important?” Ramananda Raya replied, “No knowledge is
essential other than knowledge of Krishna bhakti.”

Why has Mahaprabhu asked all these questions at the end of

Ramananda samvad? Did He need the answers? No. He did it for our
benefit. He wanted to teach us which knowledge we should keep in
our heads, and which we should keep here in our hearts. For feelings,
for realizations, we have been given this heart. For knowledge, our
brains are there. That’s why Mahaprabhu had asked Raya
Ramananada, one question after another, which will support our
bhajan. We have to keep that knowledge which will support our
bhajan, which will help us develop our consciousness, which will
support us developing our feelings and realizations.

Then He asked which is the greatest sampada (treasure)? To be rich

in love for Radha-Krishna. Which is the greatest distress in our life?
To be separated from the devotees. Where should all living entities
live? Vrindavan. What should all the jivas think about? Loving service
to Sri Radha-Krishna. What should the jivas chant? The Holy Names.
Mahaprabhu asked all these questions and Ramananda Raya
answered them. This supporting knowledge is the most important
part of our bhajan. If we have this knowledge, then we can make
progress in bhakti and develop our consciousness. Without this

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knowledge no one can develop or go further. That’s why we should
know what we should keep and what we should reject from our
minds and intelligence. Otherwise it will drive us in the wrong
direction. Which knowledge we have to keep? Why did Mahaprabhu
ask all these questions? What is the most important part of this for
developing our raganuga bhajan? All these questions were about
raganuga bhajan. What was the essence of all these questions? Why
did Mahaprabhu take the trouble to ask all these questions? Do we
have to follow exactly everything he said in that way in our life to
cultivate our raganuga bhajan? And how should we follow? This we
will find out tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will hear what Mahaprabhu had asked and what

Ramananda Raya had answered. Tomorrow we will discuss all these
topics. Do we have to follow exactly (literally) what Ramananda Raya
said? Or did he say something else behind his words (some
underlying meaning)? We will hear this tomorrow.

Hari Bol!

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 Ĵadi Gaurāṅga Nahitô
Vasudeva das
(According to some opinion this song is by Śrīla Narahari Sarakāra)

(ĵadi) gaurāṅga nahitô, tabe ki hôitô, kemône dhôritô de?

rādhāra mahimā, prema-rasa-sīmā, jagate jānātô ke? (1)

If Śrī Gaurāṅga had not appeared, then what would have become
of us? How would we have survived? Who could have taught the
world about the glories of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the topmost
limit of prema-rasa?

madhura vṛndā-vipina-mādhurī, praveśa-cāturī-sāra

varaja-ĵuvatī-bhāvera bhakati, śakati hôitô kā’ra? (2)

Who would have had true insight to enter the sweet rapture of the
forest of Vṛndā-devī and the power to render loving service in the
mood of the damsels of Vraja?

gāo punaḥ punaḥ, gaurāṅgera guṇa, sarala hôiyā mana

e bhava-sāgare, emôna dayāla, nā dekhi ĵe eka-jana (3)

With a simple heart, always sing about Gaurāṅga’s glorious

qualities. I cannot see even one person as compassionate as He in
this ocean of material existence.

gaurāṅga bôliyā, nā genu galiyā, kemône dhôrinu de

vasudeva-hiyā, pāṣāṇa diyā, kemône gôḓiyāche (4)

Even though I chant ‘Gaurāṅga’, my heart has not melted. How do

I continue to maintain this body? How has Narahari been created
with a stone in place of a heart?

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Chapter Four

Krishna is controlled by Love

Haribol!

Now in our bhajan life we are in the practice stage and for this stage
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us some knowledge to support our
practice, because for raganuga bhajan, both consciousness and
intelligence are most important. Intelligence means not this material
intelligence. Not all types of knowledge support our bhajan, our
consciousness. Which knowledge we should keep? Which knowledge
is the most important for our life? For both our material and spiritual
life?

That’s why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Raya to give

us the essence of knowledge.

prabhu kahe,—“kon vidyā vidyā-madhye sāra?”

rāya kahe,—“kṛṣṇa-bhakti vinā vidyā nāhi āra”
prabhu kahe—Mahaprabhu inquired; kon—what; vidyā—knowledge;
vidyā-madhye—in the midst of knowledge; sāra—the essence; rāya
kahe—Rāmānanda Rāya answered; kṛṣṇa-bhakti—devotional service
to Kṛṣṇa; vinā—without; vidyā—knowledge; nāhi—there is no; āra—
any other.
Mahaprabhu inquired, “Of all types of knowledge, which is
the most important?” Ramananda Raya replied, “No knowledge is
important other than the transcendental devotional service of
Krishna.” (Cc Madhya 8.245)

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“Oh Raya, do you know which knowledge is the foundation of all
knowledge?”

Here, he did not ask about the best knowledge – he asked about the
seat of all knowledge. Ramananda Raya answered, “Yes I know this.
Prabhu, you are asking about the seat of all knowledge, but I’m
saying to you, there is no real knowledge; no other knowledge except
the knowledge of Krishna bhakti. It is only by this knowledge that all
the jivas (spirit souls) who can perform bhajan, having attained this
human form, can achieve the highest bliss, ananda.

“O Raya! (Said Mahaprabhu) There are so many other kinds of

knowledge. Millions. Because in this world there are millions of
tattvas (philosophical truths), and for realizing any tattva you need
the relevant knowledge. In this way there are million kinds of
knowledge, but you are speaking only about Krishna bhakti?”

“Oh Prabhu (Raya replied), This was not from my heart. It was said by
one of the greatest devotees Vyasadeva.” All the scriptures describe
this. We cannot say Vyasadeva wrote the scriptures, no, because
scriptures are self-manifested (apuruṣāya – not man-made). We can
say he was the medium. That’s why all the Rishis (ancient sages)
know this and accept this to be true. They realized this and then they
wrote this. And Vyasadeva did this first (was the original compiler of
the Vedic scriptures). After he described it (verbally) he wrote all the
scriptures. He divided the Vedas into four parts. Then to make the
knowledge of the Vedas very easy to understand, he compiled all the
śrutis, the Upanishads (scriptures that explain and expand on the
Vedas). But even then his mind was not satisfied. He was lamenting
because he realized that the jivas of that time, their mind was not

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going in the direction of bhakti. Even after compiling all the Vedic
scriptures, the jivas’ minds were absorbed in this material world.
That’s why he was crying. (Vyasadeva lamented), “Oh, maybe I made
some mistakes.” But he could not understand what was his mistake.

Then he got guru kripa (the mercy of guru). Devarṣi Narada

(Vyasadev’s guru) came to visit him and said, “O Vyasa, what has
happened to you? Why are you looking morose like this? I think both
by mind and physically you are not well? What is wrong with you?”

Vyasadeva said, “Yes Gurudev. I am OK physically but not mentally.”

Narada said, “Why? What is wrong?”

Vyasadeva said, “(The reason I am upset is) because after I did this
great work to compile all the scriptures, and this was not for me, I did
this for the benefit of all the jivas; still they are not following it. So
maybe I made some mistake. They are not taking to it. But I don’t
understand why (what is missing in my compilation of the Vedas).”

Then Narada answered,

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva

jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir
ye prāyaśo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyām
jñāne—for knowledge; prayāsam—the endeavor; udapāsya—giving
up completely; namantaḥ—offering obeisances; eva—simply;
jīvanti—live; sat-mukharitām—chanted by the pure devotees;
bhavadīya-vārtām—topics related to You; sthāne—in their material
position; sthitāḥ—remaining; śruti-gatām—received by hearing;

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tanu—with their body; vāk—words; manobhiḥ—and mind; ye—who;
prāyaśaḥ—for the most part; ajita—O unconquerable one; jitaḥ—
conquered; api—nevertheless; asi—You become; taiḥ—by them; tri-
lokyām—within the three worlds. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.3)
"Completely giving up all intellectual attempts to understand
the Supreme Truth, those who want to realize You, Krishna, should
completely surrender unto You. They should hear from sadhus (self-
realized souls) about You and Your transcendental pastimes.
Whatever life situation they may find themselves in, they should stay
there, but they should progress by fully dedicating their mind, body,
and words to You. In this way the Infinite, Who is never conquered by
anyone, becomes conquered through love."

“Oh yes, I know. All this work was for the jivas, not for you. You did
this only for helping them. But you know, even if there is no
selfishness, no self-desire, but still your efforts are not offered to
Krishna, then all these activities are useless. If Krishna bhakti is not
the goal, there is nothing! No benefit whatsoever! You will not get
any benefits from this when your activities are not offered to Krishna.
By describing the scriptures you have thrown all the jivas into the
ocean of knowledge, but you didn’t show them the coast, in what
way they can get across this ocean to the safe shore. Which way
they’ll swim and safely get to the shore? This you have to show them.
This shore is Krishna bhakti.”

After Narada gave him this advice, Vyasa had spoken (and later
compiled) the Srimad Bhagavatam. And this scripture is the essence
of all scriptures. That’s why Srimad Bhagavatam is known as Maha
Purana because it is the essence of all scriptures and that essence is
bhakti yoga. Narada said to Vyasadeva, “You have to realize why all

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the jivas should take shelter of Krishna; you have to realize this for
yourself.” Then by bhakti yoga, Vyasadeva realized this truth himself.

bhakti-yogena manasi
samyak praṇihite 'male
apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ
māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayām
bhakti—devotional service; yogena—by the process of linking up;
manasi—upon the mind; samyak—perfectly; praṇihite—engaged in
and fixed upon; amale—not impure ; apaśyat—saw; puruṣam—the
Personality of Godhead; pūrṇam—fully; māyām—energy; ca—also;
tat—His; apāśrayām—under full control.
Thus Vyasadeva fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by
linking it in devotional service (bhakti-yoga) without any tinge of
impurity, and thus he saw Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, fully,
along with His external energy, which was under His full control.
(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.4)

yayā sammohito jīva

ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam
paro 'pi manute 'narthaṁ
tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate
yayā—by whom; sammohitaḥ—illusioned; jīvaḥ—the living entities;
ātmānam—self; tri-guṇa-ātmakam—conditioned by the three modes
of nature, or a product of matter; paraḥ—transcendental; api—in
spite of; manute—takes it for granted; anartham—things not

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wanted; tat—by that; kṛtam ca—reaction; abhipadyate—undergoes
thereof.
Due to this deluding material energy (maya), the living
entities, although transcendental to the three modes of material
nature, considers themselves to be a product of material nature and
cherish material desires. Thus they undergo the reactions of material
miseries (karma). (SB 1.7.5)

In his mind Vyasa saw it all; there was the purna purusha, Sri Krishna,
fully present, along with maya (the deluding material potency of
Krishna) and the jivas (spirit souls). Both are included in Krishna, but
Maya is not like the jiva. tat apsrayam, no-one can see her, yet we
can realize her (by her effect on the jivas). There is some paradox
here. Vyasa realized that by maya (the bewildering potency), all the
jivas are thinking in that (deluded) way, maya bewilders their minds.
That’s why even though in truth all the jivas are nitya (eternal), by
maya’s influence they are thinking they are anitya (not eternal).
They are thinking they are from this material world. Only by Krishna’s
mercy one can get free from this deluding potency of maya. Only
then can one get delivered from the clutches maya. Otherwise no
one can get free from her grip.

Then Ramananda Raya described Srimad Bhagavatam. He described

this to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: In Srimad Bhagavatam it is written
that only by bhakti can one get the mercy of Sri Krishna; only by
bhakti can one get Krishna hundred percent. Krishna will manifest for
the sadhaka (practitioner) who will worship Krishna in pure bhakti.
Krishna will give himself to such a devotee. That is bhakti. That is
sanatan dharma (our eternal dharma).

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In Srimad Bhagavatam 11th canto, Nimi Maharaja asked this
question. How can one realize Krishna.

ye vai bhagavatā proktā

upāyā hy ātma-labdhaye
añjaḥ puṁsām aviduṣāṁ
viddhi bhāgavatān hi tān
ye—which; vai—indeed; bhagavatā—by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead; proktaḥ—spoken; upāyāḥ—means; hi—indeed; ātma-
labdhaye—for realizing the Supreme Soul; añjaḥ—easily; puṁsām—
by persons; aviduṣām—less intelligent; viddhi—know; bhāgavatān—
to be bhāgavata-dharma; hi-certainly; tān—these.
Even ignorant living entities can very easily come to know the
Supreme Lord Krishna if they adopt those means prescribed by
Krishna Himself. The process recommended by the Lord is
bhagavata-dharma - devotional service to Himself. (SB 11.2.34)

“Please explain about this confidential subject. If we have this ability

to hear, please explain this to us. I am asking about this method by
which Sri Krishna can give Himself to the sadhaka.”

Then Kavi Yogendra explained, “This bhakti knowledge is the highest

and the best of all knowledge, because by bhakti you can get Krishna,
and when Krishna is yours, when you have this knowledge about
Krishna tattva, then all other knowledge will manifest inside your
heart.”

All the Rishis have stated that the Gopal mantra is the king of all
mantras [the Gopal mantra, also known as Krishna mantra, is the

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sound manifestation of Krishna and by chanting this mantra, Krishna,
who is the presiding deity of this mantra, will manifest to the
chanter] By the knowledge of gopijana vallabha (the last part of the
Gopal mantra), by realizing this mantra, you can get all knowledge.
When you have this knowledge about Krishna tattva then all other
knowledge will manifest in your heart. When you have knowledge
about Krishna tattva that means you have all other knowledge.

That’s why we have to keep this mood of bhakti in our hearts; realize
it in our hearts. Knowledge is a function of the mind but wisdom and
realization belong in the heart. This knowledge of bhakti will support
and help us to develop our internal mood of devotion. But at the
same time not all knowledge is favourable. What kind of knowledge
will support your bhakti? Only knowledge which is favourable for our
bhakti but doesn’t cover our bhakti. Sri Rupa Goswami described this
in one key sloka,

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
anya-abhilāṣitā-śūnyam—devoid of desires other than those for the
service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; jñāna—speculative knowledge aimed at
impersonal liberation; karma—fruitive activities; ādi—artificial
renunciation, yoga for mystic powers, and so on; anāvṛtam—not
covered by; ānukūlyena—with a favourable mood; kṛṣṇa-
anuśīlanaṁ—cultivation of service to Kṛṣṇa; bhaktiḥ uttamā—first-
class devotional service. (The prefix ānu indicates ānugatya – ‘under
guidance’, bhakti is always under the guidance of Sri Guru and
Vaisnavas; ‘anu’ also indicates ‘continuous, uninterrupted, like an
unbroken stream of honey’- bhakti must always be under guidance).

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 Uttamā bhakti, pure devotional service, is the cultivation of
activities that are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It is
the uninterrupted flow of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, performed through all
endeavors of body, mind and speech, as well as through expression
of various spiritual sentiments (bhāvas). It is not covered by jñāna
(knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation), karma (reward-seeking
activities), yoga or austerities; and it is completely free from all
desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. (BRS
1.1.11/Cc Madhya 19.167)
Your bhakti should not be covered by gyana yoga (the yoga
of cultivating knowledge about the Supreme Lord instead of
cultivating devotion). That means you can accept some part which
will support your bhakti. In our practice there are some parts from
yoga practice. We are doing pranayama. We are doing some
breathing exercises in our daily practice like prana and apana. This is
all part of the path of yoga. In bhakti yoga we may accept this part
from hatha yoga, but we are using it to develop our bhakti. We do
pranayam to help us focus and enter meditation. Because without
meditation, you cannot chant with lila smaran (chanting while
remembering the pastimes of Radha-Krishna). For lila smaran you
need this meditation. For without this meditation, no one can enter
the lila smaran. Therefore such meditation is helpful on the path of
bhakti yoga. We are accepting so many things from other paths, but
only those things which will help our bhakti. In this way, we have to
continue our bhakti with that which is favourable to devotion. That’s
why Sriman Mahaprabhu advised that this knowledge you should
keep in your mind to support your bhakti.

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First they established that bhakti yoga is the foundation and essence
of all knowledge, then Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Raya:

Oh Raya, what is the greatest activity in this material world? What is

the supreme engagement?

‘kīrti-gaṇa-madhye jīvera kon baḍa kīrti?’

‘kṛṣṇa-bhakta baliyā yāṅhāra haya khyāti’
kīrti-gaṇa-madhye—among all glorious activities; jīvera—of the living
entity; kon—which; baḍa—greatest; kīrti—glory; kṛṣṇa-bhakta—a
devotee of Kṛṣṇa; baliyā—as; yāṅhāra—of whom; haya—there is;
khyāti—the highest reputation.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then asked Rāmānanda Rāya, “Out
of all glorious activities, which is the most glorious?” Rāmānanda
Rāya replied, “To be a devotee of Krishna is the most glorious activity
and a devotee attains the supreme fame.” (Cc Madhya 8.246)

“O Prabhu, you know, we may be a Krishna bhakta, but how is this

the greatest thing? How is this activity the highest activity?” The
greatest activity is that by which one can become immortal. Simply
by lifetime, no one can get this immortality because if you are born,
that means it is fixed that you have to die sooner or later. But how
will one get this immortality. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked this,
by which activities one can get this immortality.

“Yes Prabhu, one can get this immortality by worshipping Krishna in a

mood of spontaneous love, raganuga bhakti. This means one has to
be a Krishna prema bhakta.”

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If we are simply devotees, Krishna bhakta, it is not enough to attain
immortality. There are three stages of devotees. What is a bhakta?
When we say, “devotee, bhakta,” it means one must be a Krishna
bhakta. He cannot be called a ‘Siva bhakta’ or ‘Shakti bhakta’ – No!
All such names are wrong. Who is a bhakta? Bhakta means one who
is the store (abode) of bhakti.

Bhakti ashraya (shelter) means, the pot, the container of bhakti. Who
is the store of bhakti, he is bhakta. Bhakti Devi is the beloved of Sri
Krishna. If you are taking shelter of Bhakti Devi, she will take you to
Krishna, not to Siva or to Shakti, because she is the lover of Krishna.
You can say Shakti sadhaka (practitioner) or Siva sadhaka but not
‘Siva bhakta’.

So being a Krishna bhakta is the most general kind of devotee. They

are following bhakti according to rules and regulations, Vaidhi bhakti.
It’s the normal way, like duty, it is our dharma if we are born in a
human form to worship God. So worshipping Krishna out of duty
means no attachments, no feelings, no realizations. It is based on
something like fear – “O, if I’m not worshipping I may get so many
problems. So I have to worship Krishna for not getting any problems
in my life.” That is a general devotee.

There are three kinds of Krishna: purna, purnatara and purnatama

[Krishna is perfect but even in perfection there are gradations: the
impersonal aspect of Krishna (Brahman) is perfect; the Supersoul in
the heart (Paramatma) is more perfect, and Bhagavan, the personal
aspect of God, is the most perfect. Then Bhagavan Krishna has three
degrees of intimacy with His devotees. Some worship Him in awe and
reverence, aisvarya mood. Some worship Krishna in spontaneous

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love in the moods of friendship or parental affection. And the gopis
worship Krishna as their conjugal lover. That Krishna is purnatama,
the most perfect and complete and rasika form of Krishna].

Aishvarya devotees are those who have affection and attachment to

Mathura and Dwaraka avatars (expansions of Krishna) or other
Vishnu avatars. They love to worship Krishna’s opulences. Like lord
Brahma. Like all the demigods. They love to be astonished by
Krishna’s opulences. They like to see His aishvarya. That’s why they
are praying in that way, that, “We are not qualified to touch your
feet.”
svayaṁ tv asām yātiśayas try-adhīśaḥ
svārājya-lakṣmy-āpta-samasta-kāmaḥ
baliṁ haradbhiś cira-loka-pālaiḥ
kirīṭa-koṭīḍita-pāda-pīṭhaḥ
svayam—personally the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tu—but;
asāmya-atiśayaḥ—who has no equal or superior; tri-adhīśaḥ—the
master of three places, namely Goloka Vṛndāvana, Vaikuṇṭhaloka
and the material world, or the master of Mahā-Viṣṇu,
Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, or the master of
Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara, or the master of the three worlds (the
higher, lower and middle planetary systems); svārājya-lakṣmī—by His
personal spiritual potency; āpta—already achieved; samasta-
kāmaḥ—all desirable objects; balim—a presentation or taxation;
haradbhiḥ—who are offering; cira-loka-pālaiḥ—by the predominating
deities of different planets; kirīṭa-koṭi—by millions of helmets; īḍita—
being worshiped; pāda-pīṭhaḥ—whose lotus feet.
“‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the master of the
three worlds and the three principal demigods (Brahmā, Viṣṇu and

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Śiva). No one is equal to or greater than Him. By His spiritual potency,
known as svārājya-lakṣmī, all His desires are fulfilled. While offering
their dues and presents in worship, the predominating deities of all
the planets touch the lotus feet of the Lord with their helmets. Thus
they offer prayers to the Lord.” (SB 3.2.21)

“Oh Prabhu, we have no right to touch your feet. We came here to

pray to You.” The Lord said, “OK, then, pray, I want to listen. What do
you want to pray for?” Then Brahma said, “O Prabhu, You know just
to see Your opulences, they are so astonishing that I am speechless.
Why? Because to compare You to anything will be like criticizing you.
Because when I pray, if I’ll say “O Prabhu, give me shelter at Your
lotus feet.” You may reply, “O Brahma, are My feet not more
beautiful than the lotus?” What can I say? I have no answer; because
Your feet are thousands times more beautiful than the lotus. But
when You come in front of me Your appearance is so overwhelming
that I become afraid to say anything. That is why I fear that when I
offer You prayers I may be criticizing You, making ninda (offence).
That’s why I stopped trying to pray by words.”

The Lord said, “Then you will go back without offering Me any
prayers?”

“No, no Prabhu! I know you can accept our moods as a form of

praying. You are bhāva-grāhī-janārdana. [He who takes only the
essence of a devotee's mood. Krishna hankers for the loving mood,
the bhava, of His devotee - not for the activity through which the
bhava is expressed. Krishna sees how much our heart is pure for

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serving Him. Krishna does not see the wording, the composition of
our prayers, or the number of rounds we have chanted. He only
hankers for our love]. You are so merciful that You can accept praying
by moods. We will offer our pranamas to You and we’ll touch our
crowned heads to the ground. By touching our crowns to the ground
there will be a loud sound and this tinkling sound will be our offering
of prayers. And You must accept this sound as our praying. Within
the clashing sound of our crowns, Prabhu, there is everything, all that
we want to pray to You.”

The demigods and other devotees who worship Krishna in aishvarya

love to see these opulences. They are Krishna bhaktas. They love to
worship Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, as the greatest King, the
Supreme Lord and the Supreme Controller. But this kind of devotion
which is weakened by aishvarya will not get you immortality.

Then higher than this is Krishna prema bhakta. Who is Krishna prema
bhakta? Sukadeva Goswami described it nicely. There is some nice
story to illustrate this. Krishna had one devotee, Sudama Vipra. It is in
the 10th canto, 81st chapter. And he started in that way. [Sudama
Vipra was a very poor brahmana who brought Krishna only a handful
of broken rice, but Krishna snatched that simple offering and ate it in
great pleasure because Sudama had deep prema for Him. Then
Krishna gave him an opulent palace even though Sudama did not ask
for anything].

You know, Krishna had this premi devotee. That means all these
devotees are the property of Krishna. Krishna is the treasure of His
devotees, but the devotees are the treasure of Krishna. Such premi
devotees are the great treasure of Krishna and that’s why He is

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keeping them in a good way, protecting them and looking after them
(Like in Sudama Vipra story). Pariksit Maharaja has used this word,
janārdana, Krishna is the protector and guardian of His devotees.

When do we look carefully after something? When that something is

very important for us. Isn’t it? We carefully keep those things which
are very important for us. When Krishna carefully keeps (maintains
and guards) these devotes, this means these devotees are very
important for Him. Such devotees are known as Krishna prema
bhakta. They are the treasure of Krishna. How did they get this
position? Why are they known as Krishna prema bhakta? Because
they are exclusively devoted to Krishna. Their devotion, their prema,
is only for Krishna. They are not thinking about themselves but only
about Krishna. They are taking food, they are thinking, they are
sleeping, they are crying. But all their activities, even all their daily
activities, everything is for Krishna, not for themselves.

In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asked about all sadhakas

(practitioners of spiritual life), “O Krishna, who is the best and the
most important sadhaka for You?”
arjuna uvāca
evaṁ satata-yuktā ye
bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate
ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ
teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ
arjunaḥ uvāca—Arjuna said; evam—thus; satata—always; yuktāḥ—
engaged; ye—those who; bhaktāḥ—devotees; tvām—You;
paryupāsate—properly worship; ye—those who; ca—also; api—
again; akṣaram—beyond the senses; avyaktam—the unmanifested;

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teṣām—of them; ke—who; yoga-vit-tamāḥ—the most perfect in
knowledge of yoga.
Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect,
those who are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or
those who worship Your impersonal Brahman form? (BG 12.1)

“Who is the supreme in front of You, the topmost transcendentalist?

The devotees? The gyanis? The yogis? The karmis? Who is the
supreme, the greatest of them all?” When Arjuna ‘mixed them all in
the same pot’ (mentioned all of them in the same breath), Krishna
became somewhat angry to see His devotees put on the same level
as the other sadhakas. “O Arjuna, what are you saying, you shouldn’t
compare My devotees with other sadhakas (like the gyanis and
yogis).”

“Why? Why is that Krishna?”

“Because you know, My devotees are completely attached to Me.

They are totally absorbed in thinking about Me and My activities.”
mayy āveśa. They are properly absorbed in My bhakti. They are
totally absorbed in thinking about Me.
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
mayy āveśya mano ye māṁ
nitya-yuktā upāsate
śraddhayā parayopetās
te me yuktatamā matāḥ
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
mayi—upon Me; āveśya—completely absorbed; manaḥ—their minds;
ye—those who; mām—Me; nitya—always; yuktāḥ—engaged;

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upāsate—worship; śraddhayā—with faith; parayā—transcendental;
upetāḥ—endowed; te—they; me—by Me; yukta-tamāḥ—most
perfect; matāḥ—are considered.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna said: “Those
who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in
worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by
Me to be most perfect.” (BG 12.2)

“They are always connected with Me. They are not thinking about
themselves. They have no self-interest. That’s why I consider them
the topmost. te me yuktatamā matāḥ. They are the supreme ones
and cannot be compared to any other sadhakas. mayi te teṣu cāpy
aham.
samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
mayi te teṣu cāpy aham
samaḥ—equally disposed; aham—I; sarva—bhūteṣu—to all living
entities; na—no one; me—to Me; dveṣyaḥ—hateful; asti—is; na—
nor; priyaḥ—dear; ye—those who; bhajanti—render transcendental
service; tu—but; mām—unto Me; bhaktyā—in devotion; mayi—are in
Me; te—such persons; teṣu—in them; ca—also; api—certainly;
aham—I.
I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all.
But those who render loving devotional service unto Me are in Me,
and I am also in them. (BG 9.29)

“They are in My heart and I am in their hearts. If you could see My

heart then you would see them in there. If you could see in their

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hearts, you would see only Me there. There is nothing else there,
only Me. All of these devotees, they are inside My heart.”

sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ

sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham
mad-anyat te na jānanti
nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api
sādhavaḥ—the pure devotees; hṛdayam—in the core of the heart;
mahyam—of Me; sādhūnām—of the pure devotees also; hṛdayam—
in the core of the heart; tu—indeed; aham—I am; mat-anyat—
anything else but me; te—they; na—not; jānanti—know; na—not;
aham—I; tebhyaḥ—than them; manāk api—even by a little fraction.
The pure devotees are always within the core of My heart,
and I am always in the heart of My pure devotees. My devotees do
not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but
them. (SB 9.4.68)

Then Arjuna said, “O Krishna, does that mean that You too have this
mood of partiality? But You say, samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu, ‘I am
equally disposed to all jivas.’ na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ, ‘All the
jivas are equal in front of Me’”
Krishna answered, “Yes that is true! I am impartial, but you are
talking about My devotees whose lives are exclusively dedicated to
Me. When they have this affection to Me, I reciprocate accordingly.
“They only know Me and so I know them. I am always thinking about
them, because they are thinking about Me. All My activities are for
them, to please My devotees. They are always trying to please Me,
and so I am always trying to please My devotees. Aham bhajami. Not

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only they are worshiping Me, but I am also worshiping them. I like to
worship My devotees; they are worshipable for Me.”

“O Arjuna, perhaps you have asked in a hidden way, by mind, “Then

why are you not worshipping all the other devotees, why are you not
worshiping all the devotees equally?”

Arjuna said, “You say ‘aham bhajami’, but You are not worshiping all.
You are just reciprocating. They are worshiping and You are giving
something. This is give and take policy, business. But this word,
‘bhajami’ is higher than everything. Why are you worshipping your
premika devotees (and not everyone)?

Krishna explained, “Because I want to get prema.” Krishna wants to

get prema from His devotees! Which prema? Not the prema mixed
with opulence mood, aishvarya mood. No.

aiśvarya-jñānete saba jagat miśrita

aiśvarya-śithila-preme nāhi mora prīta
aiśvarya-jñānete—with knowledge of the opulences; saba—all;
jagat—the world; miśrita—mixed; aiśvarya-śithila-preme—prema
enfeebled by opulence; nāhi—there is not; mora—My; prīta—
attraction.
“Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me
with awe and reverence. But devotion weakened by such reverence
does not attract Me. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi lila 3.16)

“Where devotees worship Me in the mood of aishvarya, it means

their prema is very light [made weak by aishvarya]. Krishna says, “I
like to get prema. I like to exchange My love with this prema. And

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this prema must be without aishvarya: aiśvarya-śithila-preme nāhi
mora prīta —prema enfeebled by opulence does not attract Me. My
heart is not attracted by such activities, by aishvarya. Yes, I like to
reciprocate. Yes I did promise (in the Bhagavad Gita) to reciprocate.
That’s why if somebody worships Me, I’ll give something. But, kṛṣṇa
yei bhaje sei boḍa catura – Only the most highly intelligent can
worship Me in spontaneous love. Only those who are very clever can
come and play with Me.”
All those devotees who are worshipping Krishna in opulence
(aishvarya mood of awe and reverence towards Krishna) they’ll get
material pleasure, or mukti (liberation), but not prema. Krishna is
always hiding prema. He doesn’t like to give prema to those devotees
who are worshipping Him with aishvarya. But all the devotees
practicing raganuga bhajan (worshiping Krishna in spontaneous love,
in the mood of Vraja) they are not waiting for Krishna to give them
prema. They are stealing prema from Krishna.
Jigam sri kṛṣṇa bhaje sei atura, Krishna is very clever, very tricky. He
is trying to play with us. But all those who worship Him with this pure
prema, they are more clever than Krishna. Krishna is catur (very
clever), but the premi devotees are boda catura, more clever than
Krishna. Krishna is trying to hide this prema from them, but they are
stealing this prema from Him. These are pure devotees. That is the
greatest thing. And Krishna loves this – He loves to be defeated by
those devotees who are worshipping Him with pure love. He likes to
be controlled by such pure love.

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That’s why when Sukadeva Goswami was describing sakhya prema
(prema in the friendship mood or fraternal rasa), he said, in a joking
mood, atha sri krsna bhagavan sridama parajayah, even though
Krishna is Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord, he was defeated by Sridam
sakha. Sridam defeated him very easily. Sridam challenged Krishna,
“Come on! You are defeating all the asuras (demons) and maybe
some ego is coming in your heart and you are showing off to us? You
think you are so powerful? All the people of Vraja think you are
something special? Come on. Come wrestle with me. I will prove that
you are nothing special.” So they had a wrestling match. Krishna
tried, with all his might, His entire prowess, all His opulence to defeat
Sridam. First he tried with His human-like power as a cowherd boy.
Then he tried with His Bhagavan power. But he couldn’t. He faced
failure. He was defeated by Sridam. And after Sridam defeated
Krishna and while sitting on His chest, he demanded “Now you have
to promise me to tell everyone that you have nothing special, no
special power! Do you agree?”

“Ok, ok, I promise!”

“You must say this to all the Vrajvasis (residents of Vraja), that you
are defeated now. You have been defeated by me, promise?”

Krishna loves it. It is not against His mood. He loves to be defeated by

his devotees’ love. He likes to defeat all the asuras (demons) to
protect his devotees, but at the same time he loves to be defeated by
His premika devotees; rasika devotees. He loves to be defeated in a
love game. He loves to be defeated by prema. Not only in this game
of wrestling, He loves to be defeated by the gopis, by their pure love.
That’s why He always runs to Srimati Radharani to apologize. That’s

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why he says to the gopis in rasa lila: na pāraye 'haṁ, I cannot
reciprocate with you.

na pāraye 'haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ

sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ
saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā
na—not; pāraye—am able to make; aham—I; niravadya-saṁyujām—
to those who are completely free from deceit; sva-sādhu-kṛtyam—
proper compensation; vibudha-āyuṣā—with a lifetime as long as that
of the demigods; api—although; vaḥ—to you; yāḥ—who; mā—Me;
abhajan—have worshiped; durjara—difficult to overcome; geha-
śṛṅkhalāḥ—the chains of household life; saṁvṛścya—cutting; tat—
that; vaḥ—of you; pratiyātu—let it be returned; sādhunā—by the
good activity itself.
(Krishna tells the gopis), “I am not able to repay My debt for
your spotless love, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection
with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all
domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your
own glorious deeds be your compensation.” (SB 10.32.22)

“I have nothing. I cannot repay you for your love. Because I have
nothing (I have no prema). In front of (faced by) your love, I have
nothing to offer. There is nothing I can offer to reciprocate with your
love. Therefore, if you want, you can accept Me as your servant.
Whatever you say, I will follow your words. If you say ‘Krishna do this,
I will do that’. If you say, ‘Krishna go to sleep’, I’ll go to sleep. If you
say, ‘Krishna, stand up!’ I’ll stand up. I’ll follow all your words. But if
you say, “O Krishna, you took so many things from us. We offered

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You everything, our love, our mind, heart, everything! Now in truth
You have to give us something. You have to reciprocate!” “But I
cannot do this. Your love for Me is so much greater than My love for
you that I do not have this ability to reciprocate, I have nothing in
front of your love (faced with your love I am just a beggar of prema).”

Krishna loves to be defeated in love. Therefore, in raganuga bhakti,

we are practicing this highest love. We are practicing to get this love.
That’s why when we dovetail our material life with our spiritual life,
then our raganuga bhajan is complete. You can make a complete
circle, including both material and spiritual life, because these
moods, this prema, this practice, you have to start from this material
life, from where you are now situated. These are the words of Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita. We have to follow this. When Sanatan
Goswami asked Mahaprabhu about our spiritual life, about our
sadhana, about our dharma, Mahaprabhu said, “We don’t need so
many things, only three things are necessary:

jīve doyā nāme ruci vaiṣṇava sevana

iha chāra dharma nāhi śuna sanātana
“Hear, Sanātana! Compassion for all living beings, taste for chanting
the holy name, and service to the Vaiṣṇavas—apart from these there
is no other eternal dharma.” (Caitanya Mangal)

jiva doya means compassion or love for all jivas, all spirit souls. First,
love everyone. All the jivas. All jivas, not only human beings. All the
jivas, all forms of life. If you have love for everyone, then you will get
the taste of harinam. When you have no love in your heart, you’ll not

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get the taste from maha mantra. For this reason, for this realization,
we have to make our hearts soft. Kulisha kancid. You know what this
means? Kulish means ‘thunder’. We shouldn’t make our heart like
thunder. Numb, hard. We have to make our hearts soft, very soft, like
water. When the heart is soft like water, it will naturally flow towards
the lotus feet of jugal (The Divine Couple). We have to make our
hearts in the shape of Krishna, make our hearts like Krishna. Then we
can realize the second thing, taste in chanting. Then we can feel the
sweetness of the maha mantra and get a taste for harinam. That’s
‘nāme ruci’.

And the third thing is Vaisnava seva. You must have this mood of
service. If you don’t have this mood of service, then ego will come in
your heart. Ahankara (false ego, literally ‘aham kara’ – “I am the
doer”). (You will think): ‘I’m a great devotee’ ‘I’m a great Vaisnava’.
When this ahankar, this ego comes in your heart, it means you are in
danger of falling down from your bhajan path very soon. You have to
be very careful about this ego that it will not come in your heart. You
have to firmly reject this mood. When this ego will come, then prema
will go out from your heart. Because false ego and prema, they are
against each other.

Where there is ahankar – there is no prema. We have to go inside

this prema sindhu (the ocean of prema). We have to play in the
prema sindhu. Not to just to paddle in it. Ahankar is like an ‘air pillow’
(a float). When you have this air pillow tied on your chest, you cannot
go inside (dive deep in) the water. It will take you up. No matter how
many times you’ll try to go in, it will take you up. So we have to take
out this air pillow from our chest. Destroy this false ego, but how?
How will we destroy this ego, this ahankar? Only by this service

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mood. When you are serving someone, if you are simply helping, that
is not service. You have to get this mood of service. Helping someone
to get some things, this is also good, but in the bhakti path, dhana,
giving charity is not important. Charity is not our way. Charity is also
based on ahankar, ego. ‘I have so many things I am giving’ this also
creates ahankar. In the karma kanda, the path of karma, giving
charity is also one kind of austerity. By performing austerities you can
get some punya (pious credit) but not prema. If you want to get
prema, you have to serve all the devotees, serve all the jivas.
Vaisnava sevan. Who is a Vaisnava? Sriman Mahaprabhu said you
have to serve the Vaisnavas. Then who is a Vaisnava? Whom do we
have to serve? Everyone! Because Krishna is everywhere, He is in the
heart of all jivas. Where Krishna resides, that person is a Vaisnava.
Because Krishna is inside everyone, we have to see Him in all these
jivas.

We should remember the story of Tukaram, the great devotee of

Viṭṭhaladev from Maharastra, the city of Pandarpura. And for the
service of Viṭṭhalnath he used to go to some houses to get biksha
(begging alms), and what he’ll get by biksha he’ll offer to Viṭṭhaladev,
and then he will take the remnants. But once it happened that for 3-4
days he couldn’t get anything by biksha, and couldn’t offer anything
to his Prabhu, Viṭṭhalnath. And so he didn’t take Prasad for four days.
After four days he finally got some flour, made some chapattis and
offered this to Viṭṭhalnath.

After the bhoga was offered and he was about to get this prasad, the
prasad was there on a plate, and he went inside his kutir to get some
water, and then one dog came and took the chapattis and ran away.
When Tukaram came back and saw the dog running away with the

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chapattis, he called out to the dog: “O Gopal, please come back and I
will give you the chapattis, I haven’t put the butter on the chapattis
yet. These chapattis are very hard for you, please come back and I
will put the butter on the chapattis for you.” He was calling (seeing)
this dog as Gopal. Can you imagine? He was seeing his Viṭṭhalnath in
this dog also. That’s why he was calling this dog ‘Gopal’. If Gopal
(who came in the form of a dog) will eat these chapattis it will hurt
his mouth because the chapattis without butter are so hard.

In this way, a sadhaka has to see Krishna inside of everyone. When

the sadhaka will see Krishna in everyone, then they’ll get this service
mood. Then their helping will not be (merely) giving charity but will
be serving. Seva. Then everything they do will be like Krishna seva. In
our sadhana, in raganuga bhajan, it is not enough to worship only
Krishna. We also have to worship the devotees. Then our worship will
be hundred percent perfect, otherwise not.
Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhika, Krishna said, "Worshiping My devotees
is better than worshiping Me directly." (SB 11.19.21).
Parīkṣit Maharaja asked Sukadeva Goswami, “How can one get this
highest success by the use of his senses?”
sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān gṛṇīte
karau ca tat-karma-karau manaś ca
smared vasantaṁ sthira-jaṅgameṣu
śṛṇoti tat-puṇya-kathāḥ sa karṇaḥ
sā—that (is); vāk—power of speech; yayā—by which; tasya—His;
guṇān—qualities; gṛṇīte—one describes; karau—pair of hands; ca—
and; tat—His; karma—work; karau—doing; manaḥ—mind; ca—and;
smaret—remembers; vasantam—dwelling; sthira—within the

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unmoving; jaṅgameṣu—and moving; śṛṇoti—hears; tat—His;
puṇya—sanctifying; kathāḥ—topics; saḥ—that (is); karṇaḥ—an ear.
Actual speech is that which describes the qualities of the
Lord, real hands are those that work for Him, a true mind is that
which always remembers Him dwelling within everything moving and
nonmoving, and actual ears are those that listen to purifying topics
about Him. (SB 10.80.3)

śiras tu tasyobhaya-liṅgam ānamet

tad eva yat paśyati tad dhi cakṣuḥ
aṅgāni viṣṇor atha taj-janānāṁ
pādodakaṁ yāni bhajanti nityam
śiraḥ—head; tu—and; tasya—of Him; ubhaya—both; liṅgam—to the
manifestations; ānamet—bows down; tat—that; eva—only; yat—
which; paśyati—sees; tat—that; hi—indeed; cakṣuḥ—eye; aṅgāni—
limbs; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; atha—or; tat—His; janānām—of the
devotees; pāda-udakam—the water which has washed the feet;
yāni—which; bhajanti—honor; nityam—regularly.
An actual head is one that bows down to the Lord in His
manifestations among the moving and nonmoving creatures, real
eyes are those that see only the Lord, and actual limbs are those
which regularly honor the water that has bathed the Lord's feet or
those of His devotees. (SB 10.80.4)

Sukhadev Goswami asked Maharaja Parīkṣit, “Why do you want to

listen to more Krishna katha?” This conversation happened before
the story of Sudama Vipra in the Tenth canto, chapter 80 of Srimad
Bhagavatam. Just before this conversation, Sukhadeva Goswami

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started one new lila of banga candra (Krishna’s disappearance lila).
All the listeners, the devotees and Rishis headed by Parīkṣit Maharaja
were really surprised. Because that is the mood of prema:

akaitava kṛṣṇa-prema, yena jāmbūnada-hema,

sei premā nṛloke nā haya
yadi haya tāra yoga, nā haya tabe viyoga,
viyoga haile keha nā jīyaya
akaitava kṛṣṇa-prema—unalloyed love of Kṛṣṇa; yena—like; jāmbū-
nada-hema—gold from the Jāmbū River; sei premā—that love of
Godhead; nṛ-loke—in the material world; nā haya—is not possible;
yadi—if; haya—there is; tāra—with it; yoga—connection; nā—not;
haya—is; tabe—then; viyoga—separation; viyoga—separation;
haile—if there is; keha—someone; nā jīyaya—cannot live.
“Prema, pure love for Krishna, just like ‘gold from the Jamba
River’, does not exist in human society. If it existed, there could not
be separation. If separation were there, one could not live.” (Cc
Madhya 2.43)

Krishna prema is very, very pure, akaitava (causeless). It’s like pure
gold. If anyone will get this prema by the mercy of guru and the
devotees of Krishna, if you will get it in your heart, then it will never
go away from your heart. Kabu na haya yoga. It will never leave your
heart. And viyoga haile keha nā jīyaya, if it will leave your heart, then
you could not live. That is the mood of Krishna prema.
After a long time, when all the pastimes of Krishna ended, and
Sukhadev started the lila of banga candra (the disappearance of
Krishna), suddenly the feelings of separation arose in his heart, and
Parīkṣit Maharaja asked Sukhadeva to speak more Krishna lila

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because he didn’t want it to end. Then Sukhadev said: “Why do you
want to hear more Krishna katha?” This is because without Krishna
no one can make their senses perfect: sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān
gṛṇīte. He asked about the tongue, ears, mind, hand, eyes. What did
he ask? What is the great success, the perfection, of our tongue, of
our ears, our mind, and our eyes? Is it only if they are connected with
Krishna, or is there something more?

Sukhadev was surprised to hear this question from Parīkṣit, “Oh

Parīkṣit, you are really great. What I have spoken (the two verses
above), you have realized perfectly. You are perfectly right.”

Why did Parīkṣit say this? What is our position? We’ll hear more
tomorrow…..About śravaṇa, kīrtana and smaraṇa.

Haribol! Joy Nitai!

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 Hari Hari! Kabe Mora Hôibe Sudina?
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
hari hari! kabe mora hôibe sudina?
bhajibô śrī rādhā-kṛṣṇ a hôiyā premādhīna (1)
O Hari! When will that auspicious day be mine when I will serve Śrī
Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, being controlled by prema?
suyantre miśāiyā gābô su-madhura tāna
ānande kôribô dũhāra rūpa-guṇa-gāna (2)
Accompanied by musical instruments, I will sing sweet melodies. In
great bliss I shall perform songs that glorify the form and qualities of
the Divine Couple.
‘rādhikā-govinda’ bôli’ kāndibô uccaiḥ svare
bhijibe sakala aṅga nayanera nīre (3)
While singing “Rādhikā-Govinda,” I will weep loudly, and my entire
body will become soaked by the tears from my eyes.
ei bāra karuṇā karô rūpa-sanātana
raghunātha dāsa mora śrī jīva jīvana (4)
O Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī! O Śrī Raghunātha
dāsa Gosvāmī! O Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, my life and soul! Be merciful to
me now!
ei bāra karuṇā karô lalitā-viśākhā
sakhya-bhāve śrīdāma-subala-ādi sakhā (5)
O Lalitā and Viśākhā! O Śrīdāma, Subala, and other friends in
sakhyabhāva! Be merciful to me now!
sabe mili’ karô dayā pūruk mora āśa
prārthanā karôye sadā narottama dāsa (6)
All of you together, please be merciful and let my desires be fulfilled.
Narottama dāsa constantly prays in this way.

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Chapter Five

Preparing to Serve Sri Radha

Joy Nitai!

We continue with the conversation between Śukadeva Gosvāmī and

Mahārāja Parīkṣit in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked
more questions because he wanted to hear more harikatha. He
asked what kind of consciousness one needs to prepare for one’s
death.
kathayasva mahābhāga yathāham akhilātmani
kṛṣṇe niveśya niḥsaṅgaṁ manas tyakṣye kalevaram
kathayasva—please continue speaking; mahābhāga—O greatly
fortunate one; yathā—as much as; aham—I; akhila-ātmani—unto the
Supreme Soul; kṛṣṇe—unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; niveśya—having placed;
niḥsaṅgam—being freed from material qualities; manaḥ—mind;
tyakṣye—may relinquish; kalevaram—body.
O greatly fortunate Śukadev Gosvāmī, please continue
narrating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so that I can fix my mind upon the
Supreme Soul, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus, being completely freed from
material qualities, I can happily relinquish this body. (SB 2.8.3)

Śukadev asked, “Why do you want to hear more Krishna katha?” King
Parīkṣit said, “If we have no connection with Krishna in our life, it
means we have nothing!” If we have no connection with Krishna it
means all our senses are useless. Everyone has some inherent duty
(dharma) to follow. If one is not following one’s duty – it is wrong.
Just like the senses each has its own duty. The eyes see, the ears hear
and the tongue tastes. Then they are successful senses. Otherwise
they are useless. “O Parīkṣit, why do you say that our senses are

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successful?” Then Parīkṣit said, sadhaka jayantam sadhanam prapte.
We can say that our tongue is successful when it is eager to chant Sri
Krishna’s name. Not as a matter of duty, but with love. The
eagerness, lobha (spiritual greed) is most important. If you have no
lobha, eagerness, greed for Krishna katha and Krishna nama, then
yogati yoga samastas, it is simply duty, ritual. “Parīkṣit, why do you
mention the tongue first before all the other senses? We know the
mind is the leader of all the senses. But you started with the tongue.
Why?” Parīkṣit answered, “O Muni! You know, this tongue is the start
of all our activities. Our tongue will drive all the other senses. If our
tongue will always engage in Krishna’s service, then all the other
senses will follow and engage in Krishna’s service.” When your
tongue doesn’t have this desire to serve Krishna’s name and Krishna
katha, the other senses will not follow either. They will follow
whatever the tongue is doing. That’s why in scriptures it is said that
by these material senses we cannot realize Krishna because He is
adhokṣaje (transcendental, not perceivable by the senses). adhokṣaje
means you cannot touch it, cannot see it, cannot hear it, and cannot
smell His nice aroma by your material senses. But it is said in
scriptures,
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
ataḥ—therefore (because Kṛṣṇa’s name, form and qualities are all on
the absolute platform); śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma-ādi—Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name,
form, qualities, pastimes and so on; na—not; bhavet—can be;
grāhyam—perceived; indriyaiḥ—by the blunt material senses; sevā-
unmukhe—to one engaged in His service; hi—certainly; jihvā-ādau—

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beginning with the tongue; svayam—personally; eva—certainly;
sphurati—become manifest; adaḥ—those (Kṛṣṇa’s name, form,
qualities and so on).
"No one can understand the transcendental nature of the
name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through his materially
contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated
by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name,
form, quality and pastimes of Krishna revealed to him." (Bhakti-
rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234 & Cc. Madhya 17.136)

When your mind becomes favourable to Krishna then it will manifest

automatically. And He also said, jihvadau – beginning with the
tongue. If, first of all, your tongue will chant the maha mantra, your
tongue explains Krishna katha, then all the other senses will follow
this. That’s why we have to control our tongue first and foremost.

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ

jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt
vācaḥ—of speech; vegam—urge; manasaḥ—of the mind; krodha—of
anger; vegam—urge; jihvā—of the tongue; vegam—urge; udara-
upastha—of the belly and genitals; vegam—urge; etān—these;
vegān—urges; yaḥ—whoever; viṣaheta—can tolerate; dhīraḥ—sober;
sarvām—all; api—certainly; imām—this; pṛthivīm—world; saḥ—that
personality; śiṣyāt—can make disciples.
"A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the
mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue,
belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world."
(Upadeśāmṛta 1)

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Why did Rupa Goswami say vaco vegam, the first thing you have to
control is the tongue? Because by controlling the urge to speak we
can engage it in devotional activities and avoid nonsense talks.
This is the process. That’s why Parīkṣit Maharaja began with the
tongue. Sa vag yaya tasya gunan.
sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān gṛṇīte
karau ca tat-karma-karau manaś ca
smared vasantaṁ sthira-jaṅgameṣu
śṛṇoti tat-puṇya-kathāḥ sa karṇaḥ
sā—that (is); vāk—power of speech; yayā—by which; tasya—His;
guṇān—qualities; gṛṇīte—one describes; karau—pair of hands; ca—
and; tat—His; karma—work; karau—doing; manaḥ—mind; ca—and;
smaret—remembers; vasantam—dwelling; sthira—within the
unmoving; jaṅgameṣu—and moving; śṛṇoti—hears; tat—His;
puṇya—sanctifying; kathāḥ—topics; saḥ—that (is); karṇaḥ—an ear.
Actual speech is that which describes the qualities of the Lord,
real hands are those that work for Him, a true mind is that which
always remembers Him dwelling within everything moving and non-
moving, and actual ears are those that listen to sanctifying topics
about Him. (SB 10.80.3)

When your hands are engaged to serve Krishna then you can say that
your hands are successful. Śukadev asked, “Parīkṣit, if your hands are
engaged only in serving Krishna, do you consider them successful?”
Parīkṣit said, “No. You have to engage your hands in serving both
Krishna and His devotees. When you can serve both with equal
respect, then you can say your hands are successful.” Train your
mind to always think about Krishna. See Him everywhere. When you

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see the clouds you can think, Krishna’s body effulgence. When you
see cows, you can remember go caran lila (cow herding pastimes).
Playing with the cowherd boys, controlling the cows. When you see
a river, suddenly you’ll see the Yamuna there. When your mind think
in that way, meditate in that way, you will always be absorbed in
Krishna consciousness. Then you can say your mind is successful.
When you hear Krishna katha then you can say your ears are
successful.
śiras tu tasyobhaya-liṅgam ānamet
tad eva yat paśyati tad dhi cakṣuḥ
aṅgāni viṣṇor atha taj-janānāṁ
pādodakaṁ yāni bhajanti nityam
śiraḥ—head; tu—and; tasya—of Him; ubhaya—both; liṅgam—to the
manifestations; ānamet—bows down; tat—that; eva—only; yat—
which; paśyati—sees; tat—that; hi—indeed; cakṣuḥ—eye; aṅgāni—
limbs; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; atha—or; tat—His; janānām—of the
devotees; pāda-udakam—the water which has washed the feet;
yāni—which; bhajanti—honor; nityam—regularly.
A successful head is one that bows down to the Lord in His
manifestations among the moving and non-moving creatures, real
eyes are those that see only the Lord, and actual limbs are those
which regularly honour the water that has bathed the Lord's feet or
those of His devotees. (SB 10.80.4)

When you offer your pranama, you have to offer not only to Krishna,
but to His devotees as well. “Oh Śukadev, you must know that the
devotees are also a form of Krishna. That is why I use the word
ubhaya-lingam. When you will offer your pranama to Krishna and at
the same time to Krishna’s devotees, then you can say your head is

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successful. When you take darshan of Krishna and Krishna’s devotees
with strong eagerness, with great lobha, then you can say your eyes
are successful. Your body will be successful when you drink the
caranamrita (the foot bathing water) not only of Krishna but also of
His devotees. First you need to drink the bhakta caranamrita.
Because it is said that three substances are very powerful and
important for our bhajan:
bhakta-pada-dhūli āra bhakta-pada-jala
bhakta-bhukta-avaśeṣa—tina mahā-bala
ei tina-sevā haite kṛṣṇa-premā haya
punaḥ punaḥ sarva-śāstre phukāriyā kaya
bhakta-pada-dhūli—the dust of the lotus feet of a devotee; āra—and;
bhakta-pada-jala—the water that washed the feet of a devotee;
bhakta-bhukta-avaśeṣa—and the remnants of food eaten by a
devotee; tina—three; mahā-bala—very powerful.
ei tina-sevā—rendering service to these three; haite—from; kṛṣṇa-
prema—ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa; haya—there is; punaḥ punaḥ—again
and again; sarva-śāstre—all the revealed scriptures; phu-kāriyā
kaya—declare loudly.
The footdust of the devotee, the water that has washed the
feet of a devotee and the remnants of food left by a devotee are
three very powerful substances. By rendering service to these three
(i.e. taking them) one attains the supreme goal of ecstatic love for
Krishna (Krishna prema). In all the revealed scriptures this is loudly
declared again and again. (Cc Antya 16.60-61)

The dust from the lotus feet of the devotees, their caranamrita and
their maha prasad remnants - their adharamrita (the nectar of lips) -
These three have great power, maha-bala. Because by these three

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we will get the power to do bhakti, we will get the kripa (mercy) to
achieve bhakti and prema. It depends on kripa. Then why are we
practicing? If everything depends on kripa (mercy) then why are we
practicing bhakti? Because we have to prepare ourselves to (be able
to) carry this bhakti, to contain this prema bhakti. If we have no
knowledge how to use this prema and how to use this bhakti, then
we cannot do anything with this bhakti and prema. That’s why we
need both kripa and sadhana - practice That’s why we follow the
scriptures which prescribe so many rules. We are chanting, we are
hearing harikatha, we are doing puja etc. But how will we get this
prema? By the causeless mercy of the pure devotees. Then we will
get prema. Otherwise by our own efforts we cannot get prema. No
one can enter without mercy. We cannot establish it and we cannot
produce prema in our hearts. No one can produce prema in this
material world. Prema doesn’t come by sadhana.
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema sādhya kabhu naya
śravaṇādi śuddha-citte karaye udaya
nitya-siddha—eternally established; kṛṣṇa-prema—love of Kṛṣṇa;
sādhya—to be gained; kabhu—at any time; naya—not; śravaṇa-ādi—
by hearing, etc.; śuddha—purified; citte—in the heart; karaye
udaya—awakens.
Krishna-prema is an eternally established reality; it is not
brought about by sadhana. It manifests itself by the mercy of Sri
Gurudeva in the heart when the heart is purified by hearing, chanting
and so on. (Cc Madhya-lila 22.107)

(The word nitya-siddha has been used in this verse in order to clarify
this point. Prema is an eternally established reality (nitya-siddha). It
always exists in the hearts of the pure devotees, the eternal

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associates (nitya-parikaras) of Krishna. This nitya-siddha-prema can
be infused in the purified heart of the sadhaka only by associating
with someone who has it).

It is not sadhya (produced by sadhana), it is nitya siddha. No one can

produce prema. They will get it only by the mercy of Sri Gurudeva, or
the pure devotees. That’s why we need this mood of service, not only
for Krishna but especially for His devotees. Why Mahaprabhu always
emphasized, “You need service mood, you need service mood, you
need service mood.” Because you have to serve Krishna and Srimati
Radharani. But how do we know how to serve Them, how do we
learn how to serve Them? We have to practice how to serve Them by
serving the devotees. Why are we here in this material world? Why
are we doing bhajan? Because we have to learn how to serve. We
have to serve Krishna by the instructions of Srimati Radharani.
However She will order, we have to follow, we have to carry out this
order. We should not speculate or deliberate on Her instructions.
That’s why we need this service mood in our life. Otherwise no one
can get this causeless mercy. We are so fallen. By our own efforts we
cannot get this mercy, the blessings from Sri Krishna and Srimati
Radharani. That is why we need the support of the devotees, that by
their blessings we can get such mercy from Srimati Radharani. Sri
guru-rupa-sakhi (Gurudeva in his/her manjari svarupa) will introduce
us to Srimati Radharani and then our raganuga bhajan will start.
rādhā-sanmukha-saṁsaktiṁ sakhī-saṅga-nivāsinīm
tām ahaṁ satataṁ vande guru-rūpāṁ parāṁ sakhīm
I forever worship my Guru, who in his form as an
exalted sakhī manjari is happily immersed in the company of Śrīmatī
Rādhikā and the other manjari sakhīs.

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First we have to practice properly and when we are prepared, when
we are ready to serve, then what will happen? Narottam das Thakura
has described this very nicely in his Prarthana kirtan,

śrī-rūpa paścāte āmi rahiba bhīta hañā

doṅhe pūnaḥ kahibena āmā pāne cāñā
sadaya hṛdaye doṅhe kahibena hāsi
kothāya pāile rūpa! ei nava dāsī
śrī-rūpa-mañjarī tabe doṅhā vākya śuni
mañjūlālī dila more ei dāsī āni
ati namra-citta āmi ihāre jānila
sebā-kārya diyā tabe hethāya rākhila
heno tattva doṅhākāra sākṣāte kahiyā
narottame sevāya dibe niyūkta kariyā
śrī-rūpa—Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī; paścāte—behind; āmi rahiba—I will
remain; bhīta hañā—timidly; doṅhe—both of Them; punaḥ—again;
kahibena—will order; āmā pāne—at me; cāñā—by looking; sadaya
hṛdaye—kind-hearted; doṅhe—Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; kahibena—speak;
hāsi—smilingly; kothāya pāile—where have you got; rūpa!—O Rūpa;
ei nava dāsī—this new maidservant; śrī-rūpa-mañjarī—Śrī Rūpa
Mañjārī; tabe—then; doṅha bākya śuni—hearing Their words;
mañjūlālī—Mañjūlālī; dila more—brought me; ei dāsī āni—this new
maidservant; ati namra-cita—very meek and humble; āmi—I; ihāre—
her; jānila—understood; sevā-kārya—service; diyā—by giving; tabe—
then; hethāya—here; rākhila—I had kept; heno tattva—such truth;
doṅhākāra—Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; sākṣāte kahiyā—directly speaking;
narottame—Narottama dāsa; sevāya—in the service; dibe niyūkta
kariyā—will be engaged.
Seeing me standing timidly behind Śrī Rūpa, Rādhā and
Kṛṣṇa, with kind hearts will again smilingly ask Śrī Rūpa, “Where have
you brought this new maidservant from?” Hearing this, Śrī Rūpā will

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answer: “Mañjūlālī brought her and gave her to me. I could
understand her to be very meek and humble, therefore I kept her
here to engage her in Your service”. After telling this to Śrī Rādhā and
Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rūpa will mercifully engage Narottama in Their service.
(Lalasa, song 19)

Narottama das Thakura’s guru is Lokanath Goswami who is Manjulali

manjari in Krishna lila. Manjulali manjari is a follower of Sri Rupa
manjari. When a sadhaka is ready to identify with his siddha svarupa,
then what will happen? Narottama das Thakura describes this,
“When I was prepared, then my guru, Manjulali manjari took me and
she gave me to Rupa manjari. Then Rupa manjari tested my mind.
She judged my mind, my heart and my activities to see whether I am
prepared or not. When she was satisfied, she took me to Jugala
Kishor. You know, it was a really nice scene there. Sri Radha Govinda
were sitting on a swing in the nikunja bower, in a very nice garden. I
was surprised to see all the flowers of the six seasons blossoming
simultaneously. They were playing with each other. There were some
sakhis and some manjaris. They were swinging the swing and Srimati
Radharani was scared that she will fall down from the swing so she
held on tightly to Krishna. And Krishna was joking with her. He was
saying to the manjaris, “Go on! Swing it higher!” and Srimati
Radharani was saying, “No. No. No. Please slow down.” So Krishna
was enjoying that Srimati Radharani was embracing Him tightly out
of fear. He was enjoying this. I was seeing this blissful scene from
outside through the cracks in the foliage. Radharani and Krishna were
playing and Krishna was joking with Her. All the other sakhis and
manjaris they were enjoying this transcendental fun. But when Rupa
manjari came to them, they stopped. They looked at me with smiling
faces. sadaya hrdaya donhe kahibena hasi. When they looked at me I
realized that they have known me for a long, long time. This was not
our first meeting. In that way they were smiling at me and said, “O Sri
Rupa, where have you gotten this new dasi?” Then Rupa manjari

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explained about me. “You know that kishori, Manjulali? She brought
to me this new dasi. Before I brought her here I tested her heart and
mind. I have found that this new dasi is very soft-hearted. You will be
pleased with her service.” In that way Rupa manjari introduced me
to them. “You will be happy to engage her in Your service. ati namra-
citta ami haibe janila seba-karya niya tabe hethaya rakhila. When I
found that she is very soft hearted and she wants to serve You, then I
decided to introduce her to You.”

Radharani doesn’t have to directly engage all the manjaris. The

yuthesvari (group leader) of the manjari group will engage the
sadhakas in the service of the Divine Couple. Rupa manjari or Ananga
manjari will engage the sadhakas in the service. Here Narottama das
Thakura has said, ati namra-citta ami “When I have found her to be
very soft hearted, I engaged her in Your service. I know You will enjoy
her service.” Then they accept (that manjari). When Rupa manjari
introduces in that way, then they feel, “O very nice. You can do this.”
Then the new manjari feels, “This is not the first time we meet. I have
known them for a long time.” Bhakti and prema. By bhakti and by
prema it will become possible. Bhakti and prema will introduce the
sadhaka to Yugal Kishor, through the yuthesvari in that way, “She is
qualified for service.” That’s why we have to prepare our hearts for
this, that’s why we have to practice in a sincere way if we want to
serve Sri Radha Govinda.

What is the highest stage in our Raganuga bhajan? First, the basic
stage is practice to develop our consciousness towards Krishna,
because we have to serve Krishna. That’s why when we start our
raganuga bhajan we have to develop our consciousness towards
Krishna. We have to know about Him. What He likes, what he
doesn’t. How he likes to be served. When this stage will mature, then
when this manjari svarupa will appear, when you become attached
to your manjari svarupa, then your consciousness will turn to Srimati

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Radharani. Then the sadhaka will not be so attached to Krishna. Then
he will know only about Srimati Radharani because for the manjaris,
Srimati Radharani is the all in all. They do not desire to meet Krishna
separately. They will not accept this. That’s why in the scriptures,
according to the mood of the manjaris, it is said then when they see
Radha and Krishna together, they feel great pleasure, eternal bliss in
their hearts. If they have to serve Krishna separately, they will not
accept this. They have no desire for this. Why? Why do they want
Srimati Radharani? Why are they following the instructions of Srimati
Radharani? Because all the manjaris are parts of Her - Her
expansions. The manjaris are a part of Her heart, more so than the
sakhis. The manjaris are even more intimate than the sakhis. Srimati
Radharani can share everything with the manjaris. She will feel
completely relaxed in their company. The manjaris are following
Srimati Radharani because they love to serve Krishna with Srimati
Radharani, not without Her. Not without Srimati Radharani because
they know that if they want Krishna separately, then Krishna will
cheat them. Then they’ll have to cry. Krishna will do the same as
what He does with Radharani and the other gopis. That’s why they
love Krishna, they have the same love for Krishna, but they only love
Krishna with Srimati Radharani. When the Divine Couple perform
Their pastimes, the manjaris feel Their pleasure in their hearts.
Sometimes Krishna will get attraction for the manjaris. But when He
goes to them, they refuse, “No, no, no. You shouldn’t come to me.
You should go to Srimati Radharani. She is there waiting for you. Why
have you come here?”

There is one very nice pastime. One day Sri Krishna says to Srimati
Radharani, “O Radhe! Your manjaris are very nice. They are very soft
hearted, very beautiful, very loving-hearted.” When Krishna was
praising the manjaris like this, Radharani smiled. Krishna had so many
words of praise for the manjaris. They are good-natured; they are
beautiful, very soft hearted, very loving-hearted. After He spoke like

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this Radharani said, “O Krishna, I know you are just speaking like this.
I know everything about them but this is my advice to You: Don’t
ever try to play with them. They love You but they are attached to
Me. If You’ll go to them (for amorous purposes) they’ll refuse You
and say, “No. This is not possible. We have given our bodies to
Swamini.” Krishna proudly boasts, “I am Madan Mohan (the
bewilderer of Cupid). I can bewilder anybody’s heart.” But He cannot
bewilder the manjaris. He may try, but what happened? Radharani
said, “Look over there. There are some manjaris. They are very
beautiful and very qualified. You may go to them. Try and seduce
them.” So Krishna went to one manjari who was all alone by herself
picking flowers. Krishna started flirting with her with His tricky words.
“O you are very beautiful, you are very nice. Come on. Come with Me
into this kunja. We can play. We can enjoy together.” But she was
not answering. Not a single word. She just ignored Him and
continued picking flowers. After a long time Krishna became
frustrated, “Perhaps Radharani was right. They are not attached to
me. OK, one last try.” He grabbed her hand and said, “Come on. You
can pick flowers later.” When He forcefully held her hand she got
angry with Him, “O Krishna. Don’t you dare! Don’t do this. Why are
you holding my hand? Stop it! We are the servants of Srimati
Radharani – not Yours.” Krishna let go of her hand and said, “Then
why are you serving Me?” The manjari said, “We are only serving You
because of Radharani. She wants this. We are the servants of Srimati
Radharani. Only when She orders us to serve You – we do so.
Otherwise we have nothing to do with You.” Krishna said, “O, does it
mean you have no love for Me?” The manjari replied, “Yes. We do
have love for You. We do not serve without love. We are serving with
love. But we love You only with Srimati Radharani! Not without
Srimati Radharani. When You are beside Srimati Radharani, then we
accept You, otherwise not. When You go to any other gopi, then we
are not Your servants. We only follow the instructions of Srimati
Radharani. Our only desire is to serve Her, but if she likes us to serve

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You only then we serve You. We have this desire to serve You
together, not alone. What You have done is wrong. Go to Srimati
Radharani. When You’ll be there with Her, then we can serve You.
When You are without Srimati Radharani, if You come alone to us, we
see You only as one cowherd boy, nothing else.”

Does that mean that they have no love for Krishna? No respect for
Krishna? What is this mood of the manjaris (manjari bhava)? They
are attached exclusively to Srimati Radharani. Bhavolasa rati. They
want to serve Srimati Radharani and they only serve Krishna by the
desire of Srimati Radharani and under Her guidance. Does it mean
they don’t want to serve Krishna? No. They want to serve Him but
only when He is with Her. They have everything, all love and respect
for Krishna, but that is the special mood of the manjaris. If one sakhi
(nayika) gets this opportunity to be alone with Krishna, they will
reciprocate with Him. But the manjaris won’t. That’s why the
manjaris are not in beloved mood (conjugal mood, kamatmika
bhava) and not in dasya. They are serving the Divine Couple, doing
their duty. What is their duty? To serve Radha-Govinda. Then why
are they not in dasya? Because they have love for Krishna but they
only love Him and serve Him when He is with Srimati Radharani. That
is the special mood of the manjaris. What is this great attachment
between the manjaris and Srimati Radharani? Why are they following
Srimati Radharani? Even though they do have strong love for
Krishna? But they refuse Krishna if He proposes them? Why? Krishna
has this desire to play with them, to exchange His love with them and
they have love for Him, madhurya, but at the same time they will
always refuse Him (if He approaches them with amorous intention).
Why?
Devotee: They have something better. The pleasure they get from
experiencing Radhika’s moods is much greater than the pleasure they
would get by directly consorting with Krishna. Manjaris have more
fun!

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Premgopal Goswami: Yes. What is this feeling? Why are they
following Srimati Radharani? What is this great attachment they have
for Her? And how does Srimati Radharani engage them in the service
of Krishna? We will hear this tomorrow!

Devotees: Jaya! Jaya! Sri Radhe!

Another devotee: Can you tell us this in brief?
Prabhupada Srila Premgopal Goswami: No. You cannot explain this in
two sentences. Now it’s late. We started late. We came directly here
from Vrindavan. I sent a message to Dauji that we are on the way but
that we’ll be late.
Devotee: We enjoy how you come to us. This is some special lila.

PG: Yes. Now some special mood will come. Tomorrow we will hear
more about the special mood of the manjaris and why they follow
Srimati Radharani. Joy Nitai!

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 Rādhikā Caraṇa-reṇu
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
rādhikā caraṇa-reṇu, bhūṣaṇa kôriyā tanu,
anāyāse pābe giridhārī
rādhikā-caraṇāśraya, ĵe kare se mahāśaya,
tā’re muĩ ĵāo bôlihāri (1)
Decorate your body with the dust of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s lotus feet, and
you will easily attain Giridhārī. One who takes shelter of Rādhikā’s
lotus feet is a great personality, and I heartily glorify such a soul.
jaya jaya rādhā-nāma, vṛndāvana ĵā’ra dhāma,
kṛṣṇa-sukha-vilāsera nidhi
henô rādhā-guṇa-gāna, nā śunilô mora kāṇa,
vañcita kôrilô more vidhi (2)
All glories to the name of Rādhā, whose abode is Śrī Vṛndāvana. She
is the repository of loving pastimes that bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
If my ears do not hear such narrations of Rādhā’s glories, then destiny
has cheated me.
tā’ra bhakta-saṅge sadā, rasa-līlā prema-kathā,
ĵe kare se pāya ghanaśyāma
ihāte vimukha ĵei, tā’ra kabhu siddhi nāi,
nāhi ĵenô śuni tā’ra nāma (3)
One who always engages in love-filled discussions of Her rasa-laden
pastimes with Her devotees attains Ghanaśyāma. One who is averse
to this will never attain perfection. Let me not even hear the name of
such a person.
kṛṣṇa-nāma-gāne bhāi, rādhikā-caraṇa pāi,
rādhā-nāma-gāne kṛṣṇacandra
saṅkṣepe kahinu kathā, ghucāo manera byathā,
duḥkhamaya anya kathā-dvandva (4)
O brother, by chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name, one attains the lotus feet of
Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and by chanting Rādhā’s name, one attains Śrī
Kṛṣṇa-candra. I have briefly spoken advice by which you may dispel
the sufferings of your heart. Anything other than this will only lead to
further pain and sorrow.

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Chapter six

Manjari Bhava and Manjari Svarupa

Joy Nitai

Today we’ll hear a little bit about the mood of the manjaris, how we
have to meditate, how we have to manifest it by our smarana, by our
meditation. Our siddha (perfected) self as well. When we will be
prepared by our bhajan, by our practice, then by the mercy of Sri
Gurudeva, we’ll know about our siddha svarupa – that means the
manjari svarupa. Gurudeva is not speculating about this. Gurudeva
can see our svarupa (spiritual form), the svarupa of his disciple. Yes,
he can meditate about those disciples who have strong faith in him.
Only those who have strong, unwavering faith in their Gurudeva and
who strictly follow the instructions of Sri Gurudeva – only then can
Gurudeva realize the svarupa of such devotees. Otherwise the
devotee’s svarupa will not come in Gurudeva’s meditation. Both
Gurudeva and his disciple must be connected by heart. The
relationship between guru and disciple is very personal, very
intimate. They may be living far apart, but in their hearts they are in
the same place. By their service, they are in the same place. And the
disciple, the sadhaka, has to get this strong faith in his Sri Gurudeva.
He has to cultivate this attachment to his Gurudeva. Then when the
guru and disciple will be ‘same-hearted’ – which means separate
forms, but by heart they are one. By heart, guru and disciple are in
one form. Very intimate. Also according to the moods both attain,
they are very close to each other. They will share the same mood.
Guru is like an elder sister of the sadhaka in their manjari svarupas –
very near. Perhaps physically, by their age, they are so different.

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Maybe the guru is eighty years’ old and the disciple only twenty
years’ old. Or maybe the guru is only thirty and the disciple eighty
years’ old. It could happen like this. But when both of them are
deeply attached by heart - by love - then they are very near and dear
to each other. Because spiritually the guru is only one day or one
month older than the disciple.

That’s why when both of them are engaged in the service of Sri
Radha Govinda, both of them will be in friendly mood (sakhi bhava).
The disciple at that time has to respect Gurudeva due to Gurudeva’s
superior experience. Not by age. Yes, he is senior, or rather she is a
senior maidservant – yes her, not him. That’s why the sadhaka needs,
we all need, this strong attachment to Sri Guru.

Many times I have been asked about this opposition against talking
about siddha svarupa. It is dismissed, “Oh, that is not important.”
And for judging this issue, I know one devotee, who went to several
gurus only to examine this (issue). And from different gurus he got
different svarupas. Then he concluded, “Just see! I have been to
three gurus and I got three different svarupas!” But, we have to
know that this is not for playing. It’s not a game. If you do this then
you will be cheated by Bhakti Devi again and again. You will never get
your svarupa in this life, it will never manifest to you. And the guru
will not see your svarupa. That’s why the sadhaka has to wait until
that time when he is prepared to go with it (have the sincere greed)
for this sadhana.

Just today where I am staying at Radha Vinod temple, at noontime,

me and Prankrishna Baba, we were together, and one person asked
me about his siddha pranali. He said that he lost the paper that he

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got from his Gurudeva about his siddha svarupa. He said he knew it
in his mind, but he lost the paper. So he asked me about this, if he
could get the chart again. Baba was near me. Suddenly Baba asked,
“You are asking about this, but can you chant the Guru Gayatri? Do
you know it? Tell me first, what is the Guru Gayatri?” This person
couldn’t remember it. Then Baba said “Oh, you don’t even remember
the Guru Gayatri? You couldn’t even memorize it? And you are asking
about the siddha pranali?” Srutidhara was there and he recorded it.
And Baba said to me, “Just see what is happening Prabhu!?” And he
said to this man, “Maybe you have thousands of disciples but you
didn’t know what the Guru Gayatri is? And you are asking for siddha
svarupa?” And then he mentioned some advice from Prabhupada
Prangopal Goswami who always advised his followers to chant the
maha mantra more and more – maybe one lakh every day (64
rounds), then you can realize one drop of this (confidential things).
This is the essence of our practice. And Baba said so many things that
time, about mritika suachya (keeping clean). Then he asked the
devotee, “Do you know something about mritika sauchya, what this
is? It is very important for our raganuga bhajan. This is sadacar
(proper conduct for Vaisnavas). If we want to do raganuga bhajan,
then we have to follow this sadacar very strictly. If we cannot be
clean outside – then we cannot be clean inside (internally). That is
why are doing all these things: Putting tilak, wearing mala, wearing a
Vaishnava dress. Why are we following all this practice? Because first
we have to clean our outside, then only can we clean our inside.

We are fortunate because we can serve Them by this body. Sri Radha
and Govinda allow us to serve Them with this material body. “If you
love us – you can serve.” We are not qualified to serve Them, but we

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are serving – we are trying to serve. That’s why we have to follow this
sadacar. Then we can go inside, then we can purify our inside. And
we have to follow this from the beginning. There are so many things
about sadacar, etiquette. By this we will get the qualities of a
sadhaka, purity, humility and tolerance.

tṛṇād api sunīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā

amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

tṛṇāt api—More humble than downtrodden grass; su-nīcena—being

lower; taroḥ—than a tree; iva—like; sahiṣṇunā—with tolerance;
amāninā—devoid of false ego; māna-dena—giving respect to all;
kīrtanīyaḥ—chanting; sadā—always; hariḥ—the holy names.
(Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said): “Thinking oneself to be
lower and more worthless than an insignificant blade of grass and
being more tolerant than a tree, one should offer due respect to all
without expecting any for oneself. In this mood one can chant the
holy name purely and continuously.” (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3/Cc Ādi 17.31 &
Antya 20.21)

If we have false ego in our hearts, we cannot serve. That’s why we

have to destroy this false ego first. And when will it come? When we
will follow this practice, then realizations will come. When we have
this knowledge about sadachar and etiquette in raganuga bhakti,
then gradually we will get this realization in our hearts.
When we are ready, then Sri Gurudeva will know and realize and will
let us know our siddha svarupa. And he will engage us in the service
of Srimati Radharani. Not Sri Krishna. He will send us to Srimati
Radharani – not to Krishna. That was our topic yesterday, the mood

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of the manjaris. The manjaris are primarily attached to Srimati
Radharani. Why to Her and not to Krishna when they have love,
dedication, prema – everything for Krishna? But they are not
following Krishna, they follow Srimati Radharani. Why are they
following Srimati Radharani and not Krishna?

Because the manjaris have this special mood. They have this desire
only for service, not to get pleasure. They want to experience
pleasure, ananda – you can’t explain the word ananda by ‘pleasure’ -
ananda is not pleasure. The feelings of the manjaris are not pleasure.
Pleasure is connected with this material world. Ananda is spiritual
bliss. The manjaris want to experience this ananda, these blissful
feelings, through Srimati Radharani, because they are all parts of Her.
How will they keep their moods in that way? How they will practice?
How they will they continue their service in that way?

One sadhaka, if he wants to make his mood like a manjari – what

does he have to do? There is such a stage. Narottam das Thakur
explained it very nicely:

sakhīnaṁ saṅginī-rūpām
atmānaṁ vāsanā-mayīm
ājñā-sevā-paraṁ tat-tat-
kṛpalankāra-bhusitām

sakhīnaṁ—of the girlfriends (sakhis or manjaris); saṅginī – female

companion; rūpām—the form; atmānaṁ—self; vāsanā-mayīm— that
desires; ājñā—according to the order; sevā—service; paraṁ—
supreme; tat-tat—various; kṛpa—mercy; alankāra—with ornaments;
bhusitām—decorated

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(Furthermore, one should meditate in this way): “My eternal form is
that of a female companion of the manjaris and I am always
absorbed in that supreme service (in the kunjas of Vraja, to the
Divine Couple) under their guidance. My body is decorated with
various ornaments (the prasadi remnanats of Sri Radha).” (Sri Prema
Bhakti-candrika, 5.11)

Sakhinam - they have to meditate in that way: “We are in this

group.” They have to realize this. In the commentaries it is said,
“sakhinam, Sri Lalita, Sri Rupa, Ananga manjari adi nam sakhini
rupam atmanam dhyayet iti visesa.”

They have to think in that way – that we are in the same group, I am
in the same group of sakhis headed by Lalita, and in the group of
manjaris headed by Rupa manjari and Ananga manjari. First of all the
sadhakas have to feel and realize this. If they get this realization,
then they will feel this attachment and they will be there (in the
kunja pastimes). Otherwise if you are here and you don’t know
anyone there – you cannot enter. If somebody comes here and he
doesn’t know anyone here, what will he do? He cannot do anything.
He cannot talk with others. He has to establish a relationship first. He
has to get to know everyone, make relationships, then he can go with
this group, then he can share. Not otherwise. It’s the same in
transcendental Vraja – when the sadhaka manjari wants to serve
yugal (the Divine Couple), then guru rupa sakhi will engage her in
service. First of all the sadhaka has to feel this deep attachment,
establish relationships with all the other manjaris.

kim bhūtām? ājñāya-sevā-paraṁ

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 ājñā tāsām anu madhya sevā
padam śrī-rādhā-mādhavayor iti śeṣam

Then she can serve. But can she serve by herself? No, ajnaya (by
order). She will serve Them only by following Their order. If you think
that They will simply order you, No! There is no order there. When
the sadhaka will serve Sri Radha-Govinda, then only one gopi can
order everyone – Srimati Radharani. Then why does it say, ajnaya (by
order), by following the orders. Guru rupa sakhi, or the yutheswari
manjari, she will not order, she will indicate – “Oh sakhi, see, maybe
Radha-Govinda need something. Maybe they are sweating. Please
serve them by chamara. Fan them with a chamara (Yak tail fan).”

All the sadhakas have one special service. All the manjaris have one
special seva. Maybe offering tambula, betel leaves. Karpura tambula
(tambula with camphor). Maybe some have to offer chandan (cooling
sandalwood paste). Maybe some have the service of bringing
instruments, offering fruits, offering sugandha, fragrance. In that
way, every manjari has one particular service. But the sadhaka has to
know that she has to perform her service according to time and
circumstances. Maybe you have the seva of fanning by chamara or by
panka. But when it is winter time, can you serve by fanning? Then it
will be seva aparadha (offensive)! Rasa abhasa - that means you are
breaking the rasa, not performing your service according to the time,
according to the mood. We shouldn’t offer this big naivedya (big
feast) early in the morning. No one can eat so much in the early
morning. When They (the deities) wake up, that time she will offer a
little bit – maybe some sweets, some khira, but not too much.

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The sadhaka has to realize this first, everything. According to the
time and mood, she has to feel what They want at that time. That’s
why if we just continue to meditate about this, to think it as a duty,
you will never be able to serve Them. You have to serve Them with
the mood of atmanam, “They are mine. I have to take care of Them. I
have to feel Their needs. I have to feel what They want.” If you don’t
have these feelings, then you cannot serve. And this will come by
practice, when you will meditate in a good way (diligently).

In the Gutika, Siddha Krishna das Baba, Dhyanacandra Goswami, they

explained all these eightfold pastimes. What they described there, is
this happening exactly like this every day? No. If we will read this
carefully you will see that at the end, Krishna das Baba says, ”I have
described only one day’s meditation. It will change. Every day it will
change. Then why did they describe these eightfold pastimes? For
the beginners. For us. For all the sadhakas who want to do this
raganuga bhajan. When we will know these eightfold pastimes we
will see that the place will not change – the time They are here or
there. But what will change are the lilas, and the mood of the lilas.
And this change will come by your meditation, by practice. This is not
speculation, not imagination. You must realize this. Lila spurti
(momentary vision) will happen by the desire, by the eagerness of
sadhaka. The lila will manifest in your heart.

And that’s why the sadhaka has to make his heart as Vrindavan.

anyera hṛdaya—mana, mora mana—vṛndāvana,

‘mane’ ‘vane’ eka kari’ jāni
tāhāṅ tomāra pada-dvaya, karāha yadi udaya,

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 tabe tomāra pūrṇa kṛpā māni

anyera—of others; hṛdaya—consciousness; mana—mind; mora

mana—My mind; vṛndāvana—Vṛndāvana consciousness; mane—
with the mind; vane—with Vṛndāvana; eka kari’—as one and the
same; jāni—I know; tāhāṅ—there, at Vṛndāvana; tomāra—Your;
pada-dvaya—two lotus feet; karāha—You do; yadi—if; udaya—
appearance; tabe—then; tomāra—Your; pūrṇa—complete; kṛpā—
mercy; māni—I accept.

Speaking in the mood of Srimati Radharani, Caitanya Mahaprabhu

said, “For most people, the mind and heart are one, but because My
mind is never separated from Vrindavan, I consider My mind and
Vrindavan to be one. My heart is already Vrindavan, and since You
like Vrindavan, will You please place Your lotus feet there? I would
deem that Your full mercy. (Cc Madhya 13.137)

Is this prayer for Krishna? No. For the raganuga sadhaka this prayer
is for Srimati Radhika. “Oh Radhe, please bestow Your causeless
mercy. I am not really qualified to serve You. But by Your mercy I can
do this. Please allow me to make my heart Vrindavan. And when I
have succeeded to make my heart as Vrindavan, please make all Your
lilas manifest there. I cannot tolerate the separation from You. I am
here; I am here waiting for You. Please make my heart Vrindavan.”

The sadhakas in raganuga bhajan have to do this. When they can do

this, when they can make their heart Vrindavan, then the lilas will
spontaneously appear in the heart. They do not have to artificially try
for this. By the mercy of Srimati Radharani the lilas will come. They
do not have to go anywhere or be anywhere for this. Then the mood

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will come that you will see Krishna and Srimati Radharani everywhere
– in everyone and everything. Even in each other, even in the trees,

Sometimes Sriman Mahaprabhu was embracing a Tamal tree. And he

cried. He teaches us to cultivate this mood, to see Krishna in the
Tamal tree, to see Krishna everywhere. When the sadhaka will get
this mood, then all these lilas and the mood of the lilas will change
from time to time.

Guru will show the sadhaka some ‘points’ (indications of the

svarupa) – dress, name, body colour, kunja, some ‘points’. Does that
mean he doesn’t know the others? Why does he only show some
‘points’ and leaving the others out? There are so many things, so
many subtle things in manjari svarupa. The manjari has relatives, she
has a family life. Can the guru not see all these things? Then why is he
not revealing all these things? Because this is up to the sadhaka to
realize. If the guru will explain everything, then the sadhakas will not
be motivated to realize things for themselves. For instance, when
they get their manjari form, they’ll be around nine or ten years old.
But do they have that age from the beginning? What about the
previous years, when they were seven or eight years old? What was
the mood when she was younger? When did she get this attachment
to Srimati Radharani? All of this will manifest later. When the
sadhaka performs her practice in a good way, then it will appear: Her
various relationships and connections, what she was before she
started her service to Yugal, etc. But it all depends on lobha (pure
spiritual greed) for Radha dasyam. When will this lobha come? When
the sadhaka will be really absorbed in this mood of Srimati Radhika.
And how?

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 tat-tat-kṛpalankāra-bhusitām

My body is decorated with various ornaments (the prasadi remnants

of Sri Radha).” (Sri Prema Bhakti-candrika, 5.11)

What the sadhaka will accept – it must be prasadi (that which has
been offered first to Sri Radha and worn or used by Her). The
sadhaka has to realize, “I am wearing this dress – it is Srimati
Radharani’s prasadi vastra. I am wearing these ornaments - these are
also Srimati Radharani’s prasadi.” By everything she has to be with
Srimati Radharani, in the mood of Srimati Radharani.

kṛpalankāra-bhusitām (kṛpa—mercy, remnants; alankāra—with Her

ornaments; bhusitām —decorated).

I am wearing this because by this I will get the mercy of Srimati

Radharani. Without Her mercy, I’ll not get this kripa, I’ll not get this
service. It’s true that I want to serve Krishna. But this depends on
Srimati Radharani’s desire; when She will allow me, then I can serve,
Otherwise not. Because Krishna is only for Srimati Radharani. As far
as the manjaris are concerned, Krishna is only for Srimati Radharani -
not for anyone else. Everyone else wants Krishna for themselves.

According to the scriptures Srimati Radharani is an expansion of

Krishna, His shakti, hladini-shakti (Krishna’s transcendental pleasure
potency). hladini-shakti is Srimati Radharani. That means the energy
or potency of Krishna. But when sadhakas get the mood of a manjari,
then their meditation changes like this – they no longer consider that
Srimati Radharani is an expansion of Krishna or the hladini shakti of
Krishna. They see Krishna as the heart of Srimati Radharani.

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If we want to get Srimati Radharani’s heart, we have to serve Krishna.
When we serve Sri Krishna – we serve Srimati Radharani’s heart.
Krishna is Srimati Radharani’s heart. We have this love for Srimati
Radharani, we want to serve Her, we want to exchange our love with
Her heart – and that is Krishna. That’s why all the manjaris are
serving Krishna, but they are attached to Srimati Radharani. They
have this (exclusive) love only for Srimati Radharani. They desire to
exchange their love only with Her (not with Krishna). They want to
exchange this prema with Srimati Radharani’s heart. That is why they
are offering their love to Her.

There are so many ways to offer your love to someone else. There
are so many ways you can exchange your love with someone. But all
the manjaris choose this way: To exchange their love, to offer their
love to Srimati Radharani by serving Krishna. (Whatever service they
do for Krishna is only to please Radha and under Her guidance).
When the sadhaka manjari serves Krishna it means she is taking care
of the heart of Srimati Radharani.

You cannot say that this is ‘extraordinary thinking’ (unacceptable).

You cannot say that this goes against the scriptures. No. The
scriptures will guide us up to a certain stage but after this, the
moods, the service, the lilas - they will manifest spontaneously. And
all these things cannot be explained according to scriptures. And you
cannot explain these feelings by words.

Avyam manusya gocaram – inconceivable to the material mind.

Because this feeling of ananda – spiritual bliss - you cannot compare

it with anything we experience on the material platform. When you

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get so much ananda you cannot explain how much. You can say it’s
unlimited, but how can you explain this unlimited ananda? No words
are there.

The beauty of Sri Radha’s prema, the beauty of Sri Krishna is like that.
You cannot explain this ananda, these realizations, this unlimited
sweetness. No one can explain this by words.

Maharshi Vedavyasa (the compiler of the Vedas) could not explain it.
Not even Sukadev Goswami. He had higher realizations then
Vedavyasa, but still he could not. Pariksit maharaja had asked him,
but he could not explain. He said “Oh Pariksit, no one can explain
this, no one can describe this by words. You cannot share such
feelings.” Even Bilvamangala Thakur when he realized the beauty of
Krishna, he explained that when he just felt the beauty of Krishna’s
sweetly smiling face, he could not explain it in words, only madhuram
madhuram madhuram (Sweetness, sweetness and more sweetness).

kusumaśara-śara-samara-kupita-mada-gopī-
kuca-kalaśa-ghusṛṇa-rasa-lasad-urasi deve
mada-mudita-mṛdu-hasita-muṣita-śaśi-śobhā-
muhur-adhika-mukha-kamala-madhurimaṇi līye

kusumaśara—he who shoots flower arrows (i.e., Cupid); śara—

arrows; samara—in the battle; kupita—provoked; mada—ardent;
gopī—the milkmaids; kuca—breasts; kalaśa—jar—like; ghusṛṇa—
sandalwood; rasa—paste; lasad—shines; urasi—chest; deve—my
Lord; mada—amorous; mudita—delightful; mṛdu—gentle; hasita—
smile; muṣita—stolen; śaśi—moon; śobhā—splendor; muhuḥ—at

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every moment; adhika—increasing; mukha—face; kamala—lotus;
madhurimaṇi—sweet beauty; līye—I am absorbed.

I am absorbed in thinking of my Lord. His chest shines with the

sandalwood paste from the pitcher-like breasts of the ardent
milkmaids, who have been incited to amorous battle by Cupid's
flower arrows, and the sweet beauty of His lotus face is magnified at
every moment by His gentle smile, which is full of passionate delight
and which has stolen the splendor of the moon. (Sri Krishna
Karnamrita, 53, Bilvamangala Thakur)

The devotee asked, “How much beauty is there?” Bilvamangala said,

“Oh, I cannot explain. Aho! If my mind will have a tongue, then he
can explain, but how much beauty my eyes see in Krishna they
cannot explain to my mind how much. And then my mind cannot
explain this to my tongue. That’s why I may be able to explain it only
if my eyes and my mind also had a tongue. Otherwise I am simply lost
for words.”

Kunti Devi asked Maharshi Vedavyasa, “How much have you realized
of Krishna’s beauty?” And he replied, “Oh Kunti Devi, you are right, I
got only one drop of this ocean of Krishna tattva. I can only relish this
one drop. And from this one drop I cannot explain even one drop of
my realizations.” This is Srimad Bhagavatam. Whatever little
Vedavyasa realized he put it in the Bhagavatam. No one can explain
this. However, the manjaris are always getting full realizations and
feelings (of Krishna’s beauty and sweetness) through Srimati
Radharani.

When will we get this?

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 kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya
preṣṭhaṁ nija-samīhitam
tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau
kuryād vāsaṁ vraje sadā

kṛṣṇam—Sri Kṛṣṇa; smaran—thinking of; janam—a devotee; ca—

and; asya—of His; preṣṭham—very dear; nija-samīhitam—chosen by
oneself; tat-tat-kathā—to those respective topics; rataḥ—attached;
ca—and; asau—that; kuryāt—should do; vāsam—living; vraje—in
Vṛndāvana; sadā—always.

The devotee who desires raganuga-bhakti should constantly

remember Vrindavan-Krishna, along with Krishna’s beloved
associates who have the same mood he/she aspires for. He/she
should remain engrossed in hearing and speaking the narrations of
their pastimes and always reside in Vraja. (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu
1.2.294, PBC 5.12)

[Editorial: The above sloka along with the one below are the
definition slokas of Raganuga bhakti.

sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ

“One who has intense spiritual longing (lobha) to attain ragatmika-

bhakti follows in the footsteps of the Vrajavasis [such as Sri Rupa
Goswami and Sri Gurudev] who are devoted to raga-marga (the path
of the spontaneous love of the eternal associates in Vraja for Radha-

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Krishna). With his external body (sadhaka-rupa) he should chant and
hear according to the practice of raganuga-bhakti, and with his
internally contemplated spiritual form (svarupa, siddha-deha) given
to him by his guru, he should perform service in his mind (to the
Divine Couple in the kunjas of Vraja).” (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu
1.2.295) End of editorial comment]

Premgopal Goswami: Here in commentaries it is very nicely said:

Smarana sarata param mukhyam…Smaran is the main part of our

bhajan, raganuga bhajan. There are four kinds of smarana:

Nama smarana – chanting the holy names.

Rupa smarana – meditating on the svarupa (spiritual forms)

Guna smarana – meditating on the qualities –

Without knowledge of Radha-Krishna’s qualities, you won’t get the

support of your mind. We need this knowledge to get the support for
our bhajan.

Lila smarana – meditating about the pastimes.

kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya

preṣṭhaṁ nija-samīhitam
Following all the close associates of Sri Krishna: How they exchange
their love with Sri Krishna, we have to follow them – not to imitate.
The sadhaka has to follow this, he should not imitate. If we try to
imitate this, then it will be aparadha. But when the sadhaka will go
up through his stages, when he will be in the raga and anuraga

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stages, then sometime it will manifest, spontaneously. But it is very
rare.

If we know about Lalita Sakhi (A Nabadwip sadhaka who attained the

perfection of his svarupa in his same body) then we will realize this.
By his bhajan he got the mood of a woman. In Gaudiya Vaisnava
Jivani (Saints of Bengal by OBL Kapoor) you’ll find his biography. In his
life he got this mood, and he started to wear saris, ornaments,
everything like a gopi. You cannot criticize this, we shouldn’t criticize
this because at that time he was not imitating. After performing his
sadhana for a long time it came to him, by his bhajan, by his
realization, by his seva. Also the form of his body changed. His tone
of voice changed and became like a woman’s. The shape of his body
changed and became like a woman’s. So many things came in his life,
like a woman. It was not imitation of the moods. When the sadhaka
will get to these stages, then it will appear. Will it happen with
everyone? No; it’s very rare. It will happen very rarely. But all the
sadhakas, when they get this stage, they will be absorbed in this
mood – preshtha nija samihitam - the mood of all the intimate
associates of Sri Radha-Krishna.

At the beginning they will be attracted to all the moods but as they
continue to perfect their bhajan it will be fine tuned and they’ll
become attached exclusively to the sakhis and manjaris. Preshtha
(dear ones) here means all the priya jana, all those in madhurya
(sweetness mood). All the associates who love Krishna (in conjugal
mood) and who are loved by Krishna. This will become the exclusive
focus in the sadhaka’s meditation. For raganuga bhajan, whoever is
performing bhajan in raganuga bhakti – preshtha means the gopis

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and manjaris. Then they will get this exclusive mood, and they will
leave all other moods.

Perhaps you are living in another place – not in Vrindavan, not in

Nabadwip, not in a holy town – but by your practice (of smaran -
meditation) you can turn your place into Vrindavan.

tat-tat-kathā—to those respective topics; rataḥ—attached; ca—and;

asau—that; kuryāt—should do; vāsam—living; vraje—in Vṛndāvana;
sadā—always.

Why does Rupa Goswami say that you have to always live in Vraja?
Perhaps the sadhakas cannot come here to Vraja. Then what should
they do? They should make their place Vrindavan, Vraja. Vraja will
appear in their place. How?

tat-tat-kathā rataḥ ca asau

He has to be always absorbed by activities, by meditation and by

harikatha in Krishna’s seva, in Srimati Radharani’s seva.

Any possible way he has to engage with this seva. When one is in
grihastha (household) life then how will they do this? Perhaps they
have old parents to look after. Is it impossible, when you have family
responsibilities, to perform this raganuga bhajan? No! You can do it
better than when you are single. Then you can practice exchanging
love with your family members. You can engage all your family
members in Krishna seva, and with everyone, all your family, you can
do your bhajan in a good way.

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This was the teaching of Sriman Mahaprabhu. That you have to
perform this raganuga bhajan and at the same time you have to do
all your material activities here.

If you read the granthas - Caitanya-caritamrita, Caitanya-bhagavat,

Caitanya-mangal, Murari Gupta Karcha - about Sriman Mahaprabhu’s
life and his teachings, you will never find this instruction ‘Go to the
forest’ (take the renounced order of life), leave your families, live like
a sannyasi or brahmacari and do your bhajan. You will never find
this advice from Sriman Mahaprabhu. Nowhere! Because in Kali Yuga
preaching is also a part of our bhajan. In raganuga bhajan, when you
are engaging your family members in Krishna’s service, you are
offering one new servant for Krishna. That is also a part of our
raganuga bhajan. With our family life also we can do this. We have
to practice this love. We should not be simply absorbed in material
pleasure with our family members. That’s why most of Mahaprabhu’s
close associates, great devotees, were grihasthas, even Srivasa
pandit. Why did all these eternal associates of Sriman Bhagavan do
their bhajan in this way? Because Sriman Mahaprabhu wanted to
teach us how we could perform our raganuga bhajan in family life.

Many great Vaisnavas were rich grihasthas. If we think about the

Gurudeva of Gadahara Pandit, Pundarik Vidyanidhi, he was very rich,
isn’t it? Sivananda Sen, Ramananda Raya. They were very rich. Do
you think that they were not really attached to this material world, or
to their family relations? No. They were also attached to their
families. Nonetheless, they wanted to serve Sriman Mahaprabhu in a
good way (in spontaneous love). Just memorize the kirtan,
caitanya-dāsa, rāmadāsa, āra karṇapūra

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 tina putra śivānandera prabhura bhakta-śūra

”The three sons of Sivananda Sena, named Caitanya dasa, Ramadasa

and Kavi Karnapura, were all heroic devotees of Lord Caitanya.” (Cc
Adi 10.62)

Sivananda Sen had three sons. Ramananda Raya had five sons. If they
did not have any attachment to family life, how could they have had
children? They wanted to teach us that in family life also you can do
this raganuga bhajan in a proper way; you can serve Krishna and
Srimati Radharani in a good way.

Most of us we are grihasthas. But how will we follow this raganuga

bhajan? That’s why Sriman Mahaprabhu gave us some instructions.
We should not be absorbed too much in material pleasure.

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā

mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

(ātma—the Supersoul; āvāsyam—living everywhere; idam—this

universe; viśvam—all universes, all places; yat—whatever; kiñcit—
everything that exists; jagatyām—in this world, everywhere; jagat—
everything, animate and inanimate;) tena—by Him; tyaktena—
allotted; bhuñjīthāḥ—you may enjoy; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—accept;
kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the property.

(Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is

controlled and owned by the Lord). One should therefore accept only
those things for himself that are set aside as his quota, and one

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should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
(SB 8.1.10 & Cc Madhya 25.101)

We have to live here in this material world like a water drop on a

lotus leaf. If you look at this, you will see the water is on the leaf, but
it doesn’t touch the lotus leaf. We have to become detached like this,
live like this. Govinda das sings,

e dhana, yaubana, putra, parijana

ithe ki āche paratīti re
kamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamala
bhajahū hari-pada nīti re
e—this; dhana—wealth; yauvana—youthfulness; putra—sons;
parijana—family members; ithe—in these; ki āche—what is it?;
paratīti—understanding; re—O!; kamala-dala—on a lotus petal;
jala—like a drop of water; jīvana—this life; ṭalamala—is tottering;
bhajah—you should always worship; hari-pada—the divine feet of
Lord Hari; nīti—the practice; re—O!
“Wealth, youth, sons, and relatives – what real happiness do they
hold? This life is tottering like a drop of water on a lotus leaf – at any
moment it can end. Therefore, serve the lotus feet of Sri Hari.”

We are here in the material world; here is maya, obstacles to bhakti

everywhere. But if we continue with the maha mantra, harinam,
then maya will not touch our hearts. The maha mantra will make one
safe and by this we will be protected because so many problems will
come. But the sadhaka has to fix his mind and become one-pointed
to Krishna. If you have this one-pointedness, then you can engage
yourself in this service. Otherwise not. That’s why we have to follow
these words,

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 tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau
kuryād vāsaṁ vraje sadā

“We should remain absorbed in hearing and chanting the narrations

of Their pastimes and always reside in Vraja.”

The sadhakas have to engage all their activities in serving Srimati

Radharani. By speaking, by sharing your consciousness, your feelings,
with family members. If you are on your own, you cannot share and
you cannot speak and exchange your feelings with anyone. But if you
have your family members there, then you can share your Krishna
consciousness, Srimati Radharani consciousness with them. You can
advise them, do this, don’t do that, to engage them in Krishna’s seva.
In this way you would always be thinking about Krishna, sharing
about Krishna, talking about Krishna and at the same time carry on
doing all your material activities and obligations. When you can
perform your bhajan in that way, you will make your place Vraja.
When you will be absorbed with all your family members in Krishna’s
seva, in Srimati Radharani’s seva and mood, then you can make your
place Vraja. Even if you are so far from Vraja, perhaps in England,
Germany or Italy, but your place will also be Vrindavan, Vraja. In that
way you have to always live in Vraja.

But according to our guidelines from our acaryas, your place must
have two divisions. You have to serve Sri Krishna, you have to go to
the kunja kutir in Vrindavan yoga pitha – but you have to go through
Sri Nabadwip. Without meditation about Sri Nabadwip - no one can
enter Sridham Vrindavan. Because before you can enter Sri Vraja
Vrindavan, you have to get the permission from Gaura Nitai. If They
will allow, then you can enter Vraja.

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That’s why if you follow the eightfold pastimes - Nishanta lila, Prata
lila etc, first you will find (yourself) meditating in Nabadwip yoga
pitha, and then Vraja mandala. Why? Why do we have to go through
Nabadwip? Nabadwip yoga pitha is known as hidden Vrindavan. You
have to serve there in Vraja with prema. Vrindavan, Vraja seva is our
ultimate goal. To enter in Vraja is our final destination. You have to
serve Srimati Radharani and her beloved Govinda in nikunja kutir, but
we have to serve with prema, with pure love. And this prema is
hidden here in Nabadwip, in a secret way. If you are going through
Nabadwip to Vrindavan, then you will get this prema. When you
please Sri Gaurasundar, Sri Nityananda and Sri Advaita by your
service, then They will allow us to enter Vraja. Doyal (merciful) Nitai
will give us prema, “OK, now you can go to Vrindavan, by this prema
you can serve Radha-Govinda in Vraja.” When we get this prema
from Nitai, from Sri Gauracandra, then we can serve Sri Radharani.
That is why we have to go through Nabadwip. So the sadhaka has to
make his place in two divisions –one is Nabadwip and one is Vraja.

There are no boundaries between Nabadwip and Vrindavan because

Nabadwip also is Vraja, it is hidden Vrindavan, hidden Vraja. In Kali
Yuga everyone, all the close associates of Krishna appeared in
Nabadwip in a hidden form. All the gopis, all the manjaris, appeared
here in a male form. That’s why this whole place (Nabadwip) is gupta
(secret) Vrindavan. Only to get this prema, this permission from
them, the sadhaka has to visit Nabadwip, and then the two places
will merge with each other. Then Nabadwip will not be Nabadwip.
Then all will be Vraja.

So the sadhakas who are performing this raganuga bhajan, they have
to cultivate a desire for Radha dasyam. They have to pray for this.

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Whatever you desire in your sadhaka svarupa, you will get it in your
siddha svarupa. So many things may be there in our mind. But if you
have no specific desire for Radha dasyam in your sadhaka form then
you will not get this in your siddha form either. How do you want to
serve Sri Radha-Govinda? This is what we have to meditate about.

Narottam das Thakura has described everything about Yugal seva.

rādhā-kṛṣṇa prāṇa mora yugala-kiśora

jīvane maraṇe gati āro nāhi mora (1)
The youthful Divine Couple – Sri Radha Krishna - are my life and soul.
In life or death I have no other refuge but Them.
kālindīra kūle keli-kadambera vana
ratana-vedīra upara bosābo du’jana (2)
In a keli-kadamba forest on the banks of Yamuna I will seat Yugala-
Kishora on a jeweled throne .
śyāma-gaurī aṅge dibo (cuwā) candanera gandha
cāmara ḍhulābo kabe heribo mukha-candra (3)
I will anoint dark Shyama and golden Gauri with sandalwood paste
scented with cuwa, and then fan Them with a chamara. Oh, when
will I behold Their moonlike faces?
gāthiyā mālatīra mālā dibo dõhāra gale
adhare tuliyā dibo karpūra tāmbūle (4)
I will string garlands of Malati flowers and place them around Their
necks and then place tambula (betel) flavored with camphor in Their
lotus mouths.

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 lalitā viśākhā ādi jata sakhī-vṛnda
ājñāya koribo sevā caraṇāravinda (5)

On the order of Lalita, Vishakha and the other sakhis, I will serve
Their lotus feet. (Sakhi-Vrinda Vijnapti, Prarthana)

Thakur Mahasaya (Narottam das Thakura) says he wants to serve

Yugal in that way, and at the end he says, “Ok, I have this desire, but I
have to follow the orders of Lalita, Vishakha and the sakhis. I’ll not
perform my seva independently, by myself. No. I have no right
because there (in the kunja) I am the most junior. I have to follow the
senior manjaris. They will indicate to me - not give order openly. In
front of the ishtadeva, in front of the deities, in front of one’s guru
(and in front of the king) - according to the scriptures you should not
give orders to anyone – you must not do this. That will be an offense
against them. When Yugal is there, Srimati Radharani is there, only
She can give orders to others, not the sakhis or manjaris. Here the
word ajnya (agya) means to signal or indicate, not order.

I’ll serve Their lotus feet according to their (the manjaris’) indications
or instructions.

At the end of this kirtan Thakur Mahasaya gives the most important
instruction of our bhajan,

śrī kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhura dāsera anudāsa

sevā abhilāṣa kore narottama-dāsa (6)

Narottama dasa, servant of the servants of Sri Krishna Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, yearns for the seva of Sri Yugal Kishor.

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If you don’t have a burning desire to serve, then you cannot serve.
First of all, you need to serve Srimati Radharani and Sri Krishna. But
you should serve Them with all your heart. Otherwise, it will be like a
duty. No! Sri Krishna and Srimati Radharani have millions and
trillions of servants. They only want our service if it comes out of love
– not out of duty. They don’t want our duty, they want our love.

If we are performing our sadhana out of duty, they will not look at
us. If a sadhaka manjari has this strong desire for service, then
Srimati Radharani will allow her to serve. If a manjari has no love, no
desire to render loving service, then Srimati Radharani will not allow
her to serve. That’s why, before anything else, we need this desire,
this pure spiritual greed to give loving service. And we have to
cultivate this desire when we perform our sadhana - that means, in
our sadhaka svarupa, at the beginning, at the practice stage. Why?
Because when Sri Gurudeva will engage you in the service of Srimati
Radharani, then by this eagerness you can serve. Only if they see this
eagerness for service, then They will allow you to serve Them.
ati namra-citta āmi ihāre jānila
sebā-kārya diyā tabe niyukta koriya
ati namra-cita—very meek and humble; āmi—I; ihāre—her; jānila—
understood; sevā-kārya—service; diyā—by giving; tabe—then;
hethāya—here; rākhila—I had kept;
Sri Rupa said, “I could understand her to be very meek and humble,
yet very eager to serve. Therefore I have kept her here to be engaged
in Your seva.”

Yesterday we recited this prayer of Narottam das Thakur. Sri Rupa

Manjari will engage us, will engage me in the service, but she will

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engage me only after she examines the desire in my heart to see if it
is favourable for the service of Sri Radha-Krishna. Then only she will
engage me. And she will explain this to Yugal, to Sri Radha-Govinda.
“Oh Srimati, I examined her heart, and I examined her mood – and I
could see that she has this soft heart full of love. That’s why I have
engaged her in Your service.

How will the sadhaka cultivate this desire, this eagerness for loving
service? How will they meditate, do their bhajan, fix their daily
routine? When they will practice keeping in their mind what they
want to achieve in their siddha svarupa.

Here Narottam das Thakura has said,

jūgala-caraṇa sebi niraṇtara ei bhābi
aṇūrāge thākiba sadāya
sādhane bhābiba jāhā siddha-dehe pāba tāhā
rāga pathera ei se upāya

jūgala-caraṇa—the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; sebi—serving;

niraṇtara—constantly; ei—this; bhābi—think; aṇūrāge—with
attachment; thākiba—will remain; sadāya—always; sādhane—will
practice; bhābiba—will think; jāhā—whatever; siddha-dehe—in the
spiritual body; pāba—will receive; tāhā—that; rāga pathera—of the
path of spontaneous attachment; ei—this; se upāya—the process.

“I will constantly desire to serve the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna
with loving attachment. Whatever I contemplate during the practice
stage of devotional service I will certainly achieve upon perfection in
my spiritual body (svarupa).This is the method of raganuga bhakti.”
(PBC 5.8)

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 “Whatever I aspire as a practitioner, I will surely receive in my
spiritual body (siddha deha). It is only a consideration of immaturity
or maturity. In the immature stage, it is called sadhana-bhakti or
regulated devotional service. In the mature stage, it is called prema-
bhakti or loving devotional service. This is the essence and truth of
pure devotional service. (PBC, Raganuga-bhakti-riti, 8-9)

What I want, what I desire in my sadhaka svarupa, I will get this (very
same thing) in my siddha svarupa. There is only the difference
between ripe and un-ripe stages (Just like a mango is the same
mango whether it’s green-unripe or yellow-ripe). What does it mean
ripe and unripe? It depends on how they will meditate about their
seva. This is what Narottam das Thakur has said here, that what we
desire in our practice stage when we are a sadhaka, this very thing
we will get in our siddha svarupa. How to do that? How will the
sadhaka make progress in his or her meditation? This we will hear
tomorrow. It’s very important to understand what is pukka and
apukka (ripe and unripe, mature and immature), what is sadhana-riti,
what is prema-bhakti. Thakur Mahasaya will explain all this
tomorrow.

Joy Nitai!

Devotees: Jay Nitai!

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Chapter Seven

The Speciality of Manjari Bhava

Now we are discussing the intimate topics of raganuga bhajan,
specifically the service of the manjaris and the service of the sakhis.
Why do we prefer the manjaris more than the sakhis? This is because
the sakhis sometimes have the desire to meet directly with Krishna.
They have love for Krishna separately from Sri Radha. All the sakhis
are girl friends of Srimati Radharani. But at the same time all of them
are in this madhura rati, madhurya rasa, so they have this conjugal
mood for Krishna. Because all other priya sakhis like Kalindi, Syama,
Kalita and Candravali are also yutheshvaris (group leaders) they have
their groups, they are not really in this higher mood (of exclusive
loyalty to Srimati Radharani). So sometimes the sakhis have this
desire for Krishna separately from Srimati Radharani. They want to
get ananda with Krishna without Srimati Radharani, even though
they are all the expansions of Srimati Radharani. However, the
manjaris have absolutely no desire for conjugal union with Krishna.

Our acaryas have given the example that if we just think of Srimati
Radharani as the tree, then the sakhis are the branches, and the
manjaris are the flowers, fruits and buds. Who will get the most
ananda from this tree? The flowers and fruits, isn’t it? This is the
speciality of the manjaris. If we want to taste this mood, if we want
to serve the mood of Srimati Radharani, then we have to get (or
aspire for) the mood of the manjaris, manjari bhava.

We can tell the identity of a tree by its flowers and fruits,

phalena paricīyate, by the result you can understand. If someone

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asks which tree is this, then we can tell by seeing the flowers and
fruits. Through the manjaris we will get paricarya (devotional
service). By accepting the identity of the manjaris, we will get this
identity of (and realize) Srimati Radharani’s mood. That’s why we
have to follow the manjaris.

In scriptures it is said,

sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ

“One who has intense longing to attain rāgātmikā-bhakti follows in

the footsteps of the Vrajavāsīs [such as Rūpa Gosvāmī]. With his
external body (sādhaka-rūpa) he should chant and hear according to
the practice of rāgānuga-bhakti, and with his internally contemplated
spiritual body (siddha-rūpa) revealed to him by his guru, he should
perform service in his mind to Srimati Radharani.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-
sindhu, 1.2.295 & Cc Madhya 22.158)

We have to follow. We have to follow - not imitate. lokanusaratah.

anusrata or anusaranya means following, not imitating. But we have
to follow with the same mood. Tat tad bhava lipsuna karya. [tat—of
that; bhava—the mood; lipsuna—eager to obtain; karya— doing].
We have to follow how they are serving Krishna, in which mood? The
sadhaka has to follow exactly in that way, but which is very specific
for them. The sadhakas should not follow the special mood of

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Ananga Manjari or Rupa Manjari, because these manjaris are the
most intimate manjaris of Srimati Radharani. They have some special
mood. Ananga manjari as the younger sister has a special mood, very
similar to that of Srimati Radharani, but she will not cross (compete
with) Srimati Radharani. And the most important girlfriend of Srimati
Radharani is Rupa Manjari. She has a special mood, most intimate
with Radha. When Srimati Radharani is in deep separation mood, She
will share Her words and Her mood with Sri Rupa and the manjaris,
not with the (nayaka) sakhis.

Srimati Radharani can share everything with them, because only the
manjaris know everything. When there are very intimate pastimes,
then all the manjaris will be there. The most intimate manjaris. Not
all the manjaris will be there. Only the most intimate manjaris will be
there. And the sadhaka, in his siddha svarupa, can also be there in
that place, if he/she accepts this special mood, the same bhava, if
she has this deep desire, very strong desire to serve the Divine
Couple. There are so many types of service. When the manjaris serve
Sri Radha Govinda, there are so many types of service, and each one
has so many stages. External service, internal service and most
intimate service.

External service means preparing for Srimati Radharani’s puja.

Srimati Radharani will go for Surya puja, and Rupa or Ananga manjari
will indicate, “Oh, Srimati Radharani is going for Surya puja, go,
prepare everything.” Some of them will pick the flowers and will
make garlands. Some will bring chandan, some naivedya (foodstuffs).
This is external service.

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Internal service is when Sri Radha Govinda are in the nikunja kutir,
enjoying their time with each other. There will be some manjaris, but
not sakhis, because the sakhis will talk and play with Them, but not
serve. Intimate service is only for the manjaris. If any sakhi wants to
do any service at that time, Radharani will not allow them. “No, no,
no. Not you – she (manjari) will do this.”

Why do They want service from the manjaris and not from the
sakhis? Because if you want to serve someone, you have to know
very well what they like and how they like it. If you know everything
about someone then you can serve them in a perfect way. For
serving someone you have to know them very well, intimately. And
the manjaris, how do they know all these very secret things? How do
they know this? Because they are always with Srimati Radharani and
they are constantly thinking only about Srimati Radharani and how to
serve Her. Yes, they are also chanting the name of Krishna, always.
Along with their service, along with all their activities, they are always
chanting the name of Krishna, even though they are meditating on
Srimati Radharani. In Krishna’s name also they are relishing Srimati
Radharani’s prema. They are really absorbed in Srimati Radharani
and Her service. In all ways, they are completely attached to Her.

Kripa alankara bhushitam. They all decorate themselves with the

jewelry of Srimati Radharani’s kripa (jewelry worn previously by Her
and given to them as Her prasadi remnants). They are dressing for
Srimati Radharani. They all wear the prasadi vastra (clothes) of
Srimati Radharani. All their ornaments are the prasadi alankara
(jewelry remnants) of Srimati Radharani. With Her prasadi they get
Her kripa (mercy). But there is something more to it. What is this
kripa alankar, being decorated by Srimati Radharani’s mercy? Do

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they get Her kripa simply by wearing these ornaments and dresses?
Not exactly. Srimati Radharani bestows Her own mood on them along
with Her prasadi ornaments and dresses. This is the secret mercy
bestowed on the manjaris by Srimati Radharani. No one else can get
this special mood – only the manjaris. If you have the mood of the
sakhis, sakhi bhava or general gopis, you cannot attain this mood.
You cannot decorate yourself with this kripa alankar (Her special
mood) - with this jewelry. Because all the other sadhakas (except
those who have manjari bhava) cannot digest this. For instance, not
everyone can digest rich, spicy food. To digest such food you need to
have a strong stomach, strong digestive system. That’s why Srimati
Radharani will not give this special mercy to others - because they
cannot digest it. If others (who have a different mood) will get it,
they won’t be able to digest it, cannot carry it.

Who can get this special kripa, special mercy, from Srimati
Radharani? Can all the manjaris get it? No. Only a very few. Very few
will get to decorate themselves with this kripa alankar, with this
jewelry, and get Her mercy that way. Who will get it? Only the
sadhakas who have this special mood of being very near and dear to
Srimati Radharani. Not those who simply follow and carry out the
instructions. Only those who have this special mood that “She is
waiting for my service.” Kinkari. They are known as kinkaris. Not all
the manjaris will become kinkaris. (The kinkaris anticipate and intuit
Radhika’s needs and desires without Her having to tell them).

Kim karomi? Iti kinkara. [Kim karomyaham - What may I do for You?
How can I serve You]. This kinkara word in feminine gender is kinkari.
Kinkara means a servant who is always waiting from some
instructions from his Prabhu. “Oh Prabhu, please tell me what I

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should do now. I want to please You.” After one service, she will ask
for another. And sometimes she will not even ask but search
(anticipate) what Srimati needs now. She will render some service
without needing to be told. Kinkari means having this searching
(anticipating) mood only for Srimati Radharani. “Oh, They are
sweating!” and she will fan Them with a chamara. “Oh, now They are
thirsty!” and she will offer some sugandhi jal (fragrant water). Yugal
(The Divine Couple) don’t have to say anything like “Please bring
some water?” Even before They say anything, the manjari kinkaris
will have prepared that, because they have this searching
(anticipatory) mood. The sadhakas have to attain this stage of being
a kinkari, not only a manjari. Then you will get this special mercy,
then you will decorate yourself with this special prasadi, very special
mercy of Srimati Radharani.

Srimati Radharani always feels proud of Her kinkaris. She does not
say, “They are my sakhis or my manjaris.” She will say, “They are my
kinkaris.” She will point them out to Krishna – “You see? They are my
kinkaris.”

The sadhaka has to get this strong faith in Srimati Radhika, that She
will say, “They are mine. My kinkaris.” When Srimati Radhika will see
this service mood in the heart of the kinkari, then She will say this of
you, otherwise not. All the sadhakas, that means all of us, we have to
attain this (confidential) stage. Perhaps in this life, perhaps next life,
perhaps after ten lives – but we have to try. We have to be a kinkari
of Srimati Radhika’s lotus feet.

And how will this mood come? Yesterday we were talking about
smarana. Thakur Mahasaya said that smarana is the most important

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part of our bhajan. There are four kinds of smaran: Nama smaran,
guna smaran, svarupa smaran and lila smaran - remembering the
names, qualities, forms and pastimes of the Divine Couple in our
meditation.

Nama smaran, we have to know this. But how exactly are we doing
this? What are we meditating on while we chant the maha mantra?
Nama smaran, you have to meditate exclusively on nama and feel
the power, the prema that comes from the maha mantra. For some
sadhakas this is the best part of our bhajan. Yes, this is true, after you
take shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Gurudeva, nama ashraya, taking
shelter of the maha mantra is our best bhajan, because by the maha
mantra you can attain prema. Special prema. But when you get this
stage of prema, then you have to start another part (anga). But if we
wait to start the next part until after we attain prema, we’ll never
start the next stage! There are so many things, that’s why Narottam
das Thakur said,
sādhana-smaraṇa-līlā ihāte nā kara helā
kāya mane kariyā sūsāra
sādhana—practise; smaraṇa—remembrance; līlā—pastimes; ihāte—
in this; nā—not; kara—do; helā—neglect; kāya-mane—with body and
mind; kariyā—doing; sūsāra—essence.
“One should not neglect the practice of remembering the pastimes of
the Lord, for devotional service should be performed with the mind
as well as the body.” (PBC 2.2)
He gave more importance to lila smarana (remembering the
pastimes). What is your sadhana? lila smarana. He said that by lila
smarana you can attain all the other stages (limbs of bhakti). All

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other kinds of smaran are included in lila smaran. At first when you
meditate about the lilas realizations will not come. But after some
time, some realizations will come. It will come when you will get this
kripa, the mercy of the lilas (pastimes), because everything is
cinmaya (transcendental). Everything connected with Radha and
Krishna is cinmaya, transcendental. All this will reciprocate with your
mood. That’s why you can exclusively worship the maha mantra, you
don’t have to do anything else, just worship the maha mantra. Srila
Haridas Thakur did this. His sadhana was only nama ashraya. By
taking shelter of the maha mantra he attained everything. He could
do that because he was one of the most intimate associates of
Sriman Mahaprabhu. By the power of nama ashraya (taking shelter
of the holy name) Haridas Thakur attained everything.

Mahaprabhu said,

nāma-saṅkīrtana—kalau parama upāya

Nam Sankirtan is the supreme way (to attain perfection) in Kali yuga.
(Cc Antya 20.8)

By practicing lila smaran you will get the benefit of all the other
angas (limbs) of bhakti. By practicing the other angas of bhakti you
will get some benefit but in raganuga bhajan the most important
part of your bhajan is lila smarana. When you get the mercy of the
lilas, the pastimes, you automatically get mercy from everything else.
If you are reading the granthas (the Vedic scriptures), you’ll get
mercy from the granthas. Even if you cannot read because you don’t
know Sanskrit, but you open a Sanskrit book and you look at the
slokas (verses), you will get blessings from the slokas as well.

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In the past when I was studying I received one secret teaching from
my father, from Madangopal Goswami. He said, “Before you go for
any class, always look at the sloka, whatever sloka you are going to
explain in your class. You don’t have to read anything else. But
without looking at the sloka, never go to give class.” Perhaps you
know everything, perhaps you are a great scholar, but you must
know that it all depends on mercy. All things are connected with
Krishna and depend on His mercy, on kripa. So every day you must
look at the granthas. When you are reading any stavas and stutis,
maybe you can recite them from your memory, but when you chant
all these all stavas and kavachas, if you look at them - then you will
get blessings from these slokas, because everything is dependent on
mercy. We cannot do anything by our own efforts. If the sadhaka
gets this mood that “I can do this” - it’s false ego. There is no room
for the word “I” in raganuga bhajan. This “I” word is forbidden. We
are not allowed to speak in that way, to think that we are doing it.
We are performing bhakti as a medium. Sri Nama, the maha mantra,
is manifesting itself through us. We are not the doer - we are only the
medium (the instrument).

sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphurat adaḥ

"No one can understand Krishna as He is by the material senses and

mind. But by His mercy He reveals Himself to the devotees (being
pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him)."
(BRS 1.2.234 & Cc Madhya 17.136]

We are not chanting. When we get this mercy from the maha
mantra, when the maha mantra decides that “I will dance on his
tongue”, then only can we chant.

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Just before this lecture, we were chanting Radha’s name. Do you
think this is easy? Actually it is not possible without Her kripa. If we
did not get the blessings, the causeless mercy, of Srimati Radharani,
so many things will not work – the microphones will not work, the
harmonium will not work, the mridanga will not play, we will have
problems with the throat and our voice will fail. It will not be
possible. It is not very easy. We are very fortunate that Srimati allows
us to chant Her name. We are very fortunate that with this
contaminated material body we can do so. We are very fortunate to
have taken birth in this Kali yuga. Because (in this Kali yuga) we can
attain the mercy very easily. There is some special blessing for all Kali
yuga people, for all the fallen souls of this age. So when we get this
mood that we are doing everything by Their mercy, when we just
focus our mind in that way, then the word ”we” or “I” will disappear.
When this mood will come, “We are doing this by Her mercy”,
Krishna will disappear from this place. There is no Krishna in the
mood of the manjaris, the kinkaris.

Yesterday we mentioned the point about practice and perfection,

seva sadhaka rupena.

sādhane je dhana cāi siddha-rupena tāhā pāi

“Whatever I aspire for as a practitioner, I will surely attain in my

spiritual body at the stage of perfection.” (PBC 5.9)

Narottam das Thakur says that whatever we perform here, whatever

we desire here in our sadhaka svarupa (form of a practitioner) - we
will get this same thing in our siddha svarupa (perfect spiritual form).
Why did he say it in that way? Because you have to fix your mind on

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your desired goal here (at the stage of practice). If you don’t practice
how to serve here, then you won’t know how to serve there. That is
the way of serving. When our guru manjari will say “Yes, she is pukka
(ripe, expert). She is very expert.” Then the yutheswari manjari will
engage us in serving (the Divine Couple). If we are not expert then
how will we serve? If we have no knowledge of how to serve, then
what will happen? So many aparadha (offences) will come.

That’s why Narottam das Thakur said

sādhane je dhana cāi siddha-rupena tāhā pāi

pukka apukka mātra se bicāra

sādhane—in the stage of sadhana; je dhana—the treasure; cāi—

desire; siddha-dehe—in the spiritual body; tāhā pāi—that same I will
get; pakwa apakwa—ripe or unripe; mātra—only; se—that; bicāra—
consideration;

“Whatever I aspire for in the stage of practice, I will surely attain in

my spiritual body. It is only a consideration of it being mature or
immature.” (PBC 5.9)

The same practice that we desire here in our sadhaka svarupa, will
manifest in our siddha svarupa. Apakka, now we are performing, we
are practicing – that means we are apakkha (unripe) - we are not yet
pukkha; that means, we are not expert, we are practicing. We are all
in training. We are getting trained by our guru rupa sakhi. She is
teaching us how to serve expertly. But if you don’t have the desire to
become expert, then you’ll always be apakkha, never pakkha – that

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means expert. If you want to be engaged in your service then you
have to gain expertise, otherwise you will not be there.

There are two stages of bhajan. Sadhana bhakti riti and prema bhakti
riti (bhakti in the stage of practice and bhakti in the stage of
perfection). Before you attain your siddha deha (perfected spiritual
form), your Gurudev will reveal to you your siddha svarupa (spiritual
form) and your practice will start. And when you will be prepared,
when you’ll be an expert in your service, your sadhaka form will be
destroyed and you will attain your siddha deha.

When you perform your sadhana here in your sadhaka form - that is
sadhana bhakti riti, vaidhi bhakti. We are chanting, doing puja,
meditating, everything. And when we will attain the stage of
perfection and perform our bhajan here perfectly, then this form of
sadhaka deha will be destroyed. It’s like a mask (a covering). There is
another form inside the mask. We are here and now we see
(perceive) each other as some man or some woman. But inside these
external forms we are all manjaris. There is no man or woman form
in Vraja. In front of us (in Vraja) there is only one purusha (male) and
that is Krishna. Krishna is the only purusha in Vraja. When you will be
prepared, be an expert, then this mask will come off and this siddha
deha will appear. Then you’ll be engaged directly in the Yugal seva.

What you are doing now in your meditation, smarananga, manasa

seva (service by mind, by one’s mentally conceived spiritual body) -
when you’ll attain your siddha deha that same seva you can do by
yourself directly, in Vraja nikunjas, and this is known as prema bhakti
riti.

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Is that possible? Yes! Directly? Yes! Ramacandra Kaviraja and Srinivas
Acharya Prabhu proved this by their meditation. He was meditating
about one lila, that Radha Govinda were playing in one sarovar,
pond. And suddenly while in the water Srimati Radharani lost her
nupur, ankle bracelet. In his siddha svarupa, she was also searching
inside the pond after the lost nupur. At that time Ramacandra
Kaviraja came there and saw that Srinivas Acharya was deeply
absorbed in meditating in internal consciousness. He entered Srinivas
Acharya’s meditation with his siddha svarupa, because he is also a
manjari. With his manjari svarupa she also entered the pond and
started searching and found Radharani’s nupur. And then she gave it
to Srimati Radharani, “No problem, I have found it.”

Syamananda Prabhu found the ankle bracelet of Srimati Radharani

when he was sweeping the streets of Vrindavan. One girl, exquisitely
beautiful girl, came to Syamananda Prabhu and asked him, “Did you
see one ankle bracelet here when you were sweeping?” “Yes, I have
found it. Is it this one?” “Yes yes, give it to me.” He said, “No – I’ll not
give it to you. I’ll only give it directly to the owner of the bracelet,
only to Her.” Syamananda Prabhu knew that the bracelet belongs to
Her. Therefore he said to the sakhi, “I will not give it to you.” The
sakhi said, “Why? You have to give it to me!” Syamananda said, “No. I
can only give it to the one whose bracelet it is.” And he gave it to
Srimati Radharani directly. She had to come to him, to Syamananda
Prabhu, to get Her ankle bracelet from him. And She put (branded) it
on his forehead and he got this sign. That’s why if you see the tilak
sign of those in Syamananda’s line, it looks like a nupur and it is
known as nupur tilak. They got this tilak form directly from Srimati
Radharani.

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If you have strong attachment to the lilas, you will engage yourself in
remembering and meditating on these lilas. Maybe one day you will
find in the street the prasadi dress of Srimati Radharani. Maybe you
will find the clothes of Srimati Radharani. When Srimati Radharani
and Sri Krishna come to play in Radha Kunda, after changing Her
dress maybe the sakhis will forget to take it and you will find it! You
can find it! If you get this kripa, if you have this strong faith, nothing
is impossible! That’s why we have to have this faith; we have to get
this searching (expectation) mood, a searching heart. We have to
always think about this, “How will I get this mercy? When will I get
the mercy?” We have to always expect it. That’s why we have to
always be absorbed in the lilas.

That’s why we are always following the lilas, the daily eight-fold
ashta-kaliya lila. This is so important for raganuga bhajan. Because
only by this lila smaran we can get it. Exactly at this time, they’ll be
there in that place, and you can see these lilas. Perhaps with slight
variations. For instance, in Radha Kunda lila. Some days in our
smaran it will come that They are playing in Radha Kunda. They are
swimming; they are doing jala keli (amorous water pastimes).
Perhaps another day you can see that they are talking near the bank
of Radha Kunda. They are playing, not inside the water but outside
Radha Kunda. They are joking together. Maybe they are swinging in a
very nice garden just beside Radha Kunda. These lilas will change, but
not the place. According to the time they will always be there, exactly
at that time. That is why it’s very important that we follow this ashta-
kaliya lila and we have to be very careful about the (particular) times.

But do we have to follow exactly according to the times? Let’s say

that now you are starting your meditation and then suddenly

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nishanta lila appears in your mind. Do we continue with this? Yes!
We should continue with this because this is the mercy of the lilas,
when they appear by themselves. We cannot manifest it by our own
effort. We cannot imagine this (the lilas), we can only meditate. The
lila is nitya – eternal. All the lilas are happening all the time. Maybe in
this brahmanda (universe), maybe in another brahmanda. There are
millions of brahmandas. Somewhere the lila is happening right now.
Somewhere the rasa lila is happening, somewhere nishanta lila is
happening, somewhere is pratha lila.

That is why in your meditation when the lila appears spontaneously

then you have to go with that meditation. But when the lila is not
coming, then you go with the particular time period. We have to
follow exactly in that way. When we follow, then we can attain this
place and that service according to Their needs, according to Their
desire. They will not say to the manjaris, do this or do that. The
manjaris have to realize this, to feel this by themselves. If you don’t
have the desire to realize the heart of Radha-Krishna, They will not
take care of you. If you aspire to be manjaris, you should realize that
Sri Radha Govinda should not take care of you, you should take care
of Them. This is the manjaris’ sacred duty. That is their seva.

Narottam das Thakur explained in one very nice verse,

vṛndābane dui jana cari-dike sakhī-gaṇa

samaya sevā rasa sūkhe
sakhīra iṅgita habe camara dhūlāba tabe
tāmbūla jogāba cāṅda-mūkhe

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bṛndābane—in Vṛndāvana; dui jana—both of Them; cari-dike—all
around; sakhī-gaṇa—the sakhīs; samayera—of the appropriate time;
sebā rasa—loving service; sūkhe—happily; sakhīra—of the sakhī;
iṅgita habe—will gesture; camara—the camara; dhūlāba—swinging;
tabe—then; tāmbūla—betel nuts; jogāba—will supply; cāṅda-
mūkhe—in the lotus mouth.

By the indication of the sakhis, I will offer camara and betelnuts in

the lotus mouths of Radha and Krishna. The manjari sakhis, with
Radha and Krishna in their midst, are totally aware of the different
services to be rendered at appropriate times. (PBC 5.7)

The sadhaka is meditating about the lilas according to the times. Sri
Radha Govinda They are playing, they are joking. They are
surrounded by the sakhis. Whatever the time is, we have to follow
the appropriate period of time. The sadhaka has to offer seva
according to the times. Here Narottam das Thakur also said this,
samayera—of the appropriate time; seva rasa—loving service;
sukhe—happily. They are doing Their lila according to the particular
time period of the day. They are enjoying the moments according to
the appropriate time. They will not break this rasa because all of
them, the sakhis, Srimati Radhika and Sri Govinda, they are always
performing according to the rasa. Otherwise that would be rasa
abhasa - breaking the moods. They will not perform any pastime
which is inappropriate to the particular time period. For instance,
They will not go inside Radha Kunda in the middle of the night. That
will be rasa abhasa (overlapping of transcendental mellows).

Narottam das Thakur says, they are enjoying their pastimes according
to the time. And the sadhaka is thinking: Now it is that time, I’ll be
there, and my guru rupa sakhi she will indicate to me, she will

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instruct me. Maybe they are sweating. sakhira ingita habe camara
dhulaba tabe, tambula jogaba candamukhe. Maybe I’ll be there and
at the same time the yutheshvari manjari sakhi will instruct me,
“Can’t you see? They are sweating – go!” She will not say this by
words. She will say this by her eyes. Indicating by eyes is known as
ingita. sakhira ingita habe. When she will say in that way, maybe I’ll
fan Them with a chamara. Another time I may offer tambula, karpura
tambula. In Catu-pushpanjali Rupa Goswamipad explains very secret
pastimes. He explained that maybe I’ll offer, “Oh Radhe, please allow
me to see these intimate pastimes, that I’ll offer You tambula. And
when I offer you tambula, suddenly Krishna will come and He will
take the tambula from You by force and He will put it in His mouth.
Sometimes You will show anger – “Hey! Why are you taking My
tambula by force? You can ask Me. My kinkari can make you another
tambula.” And Krishna will say – “Yes, Radhe. But if Your kinkari
makes Me another tambula, it will not be Your prasad. I want to get
Your prasad Radhe. I want to get Your maha prasad.”

vraja-raja-kumara-vallabha-

kula-sīmanta-mani prasīda me

parivara-ganasya te yatha

padavī me na devīyasī bhavet

vraja-raja - of the king of Vraja; kumara - of the son; vallabha - the

beloved; kula - of the multitudes; sīmanta - in the parted hair; mani -
the jewel; prasīda - please be merciful; me - to me; parivara - of
associates; gaṇasya - of the multitudes; te - of You; yatha - as; padavī
- the path; me - of me; na - not; devīyasī - far away; bhavet - may be.

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“O jewel in the parted hair of the beloveds of the prince of Vraja, let
not the path of Your intimate friends be far from me.” (Catu
Pushpanjali 22)

“O Radhe, please accept me in Your family. I want to serve You, not

from outside. I want to server You as Your family member. Please
allow me. O beloved of Vraja raja-kumar , O crown jewel of all the
women and girls of Vraja, please shower Your causeless mercy on
me. I want to be Your family member (Your intimate associate, a
manjari).”

Maybe Srimati Radharani will ask you, “Why? Don’t you have the
desire to be the family member of Krishna? He is the Supreme
Godhead, he is Madan Mohan. You can enjoy with Him, why don’t
you have this desire to be His family member?

And you will answer, “Oh Radhe, why would I want to be the family
member of someone who is inferior to You? I want to be the family
member of the Supreme One, because I have seen that He is always
praying to You. Sometimes He is begging you for the favour of
touching Your lotus feet. Sometimes He likes to decorate Your lotus
feet, and that’s why He will come in a woman’s dress (disguised as a
manicurist). I have seen sometimes He wants to give You pleasure so
he disguises Himself like a magician. When Krishna always wants to
please You, why will I go to Him? I want to worship the Supreme
One.”

Radha will say, “Don’t you have love for Krishna?”

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“Yes, I have love for Krishna, but only when He is with You. When He
is controlled by Your love. You know Radhe, You are beautiful with
Krishna, and Krishna is beautiful with You.

rādhayā mādhavo devo mādhavenaiva rādhikā/ vibhrājante janeṣu.

(Ṛg Veda pariśiṣṭa)

"Among all of His associates, it is Sri Radha in whose company Lord

Madhava (Krishna) is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious
in His company."

Both of You are beautiful together, not alone. When You are separate
from Krishna You are really not as beautiful. I don’t want to see You
crying. And at the same time I don’t want to see Krishna playing with
other girls. That’s why I want to be Your family member.”

parivara-ganasya te yatha
padavī me na devīyasī bhavet
“Let not the path of Your intimate friends (manjaris) be far from
me.”
“I want to attain this stage as Your family member.”
Srimati will ask, “How do you want to serve Me?”
“Oh Radhe, I want to serve You both together, because I know this,
when I will go to You, You will say to me ‘Do this for Krishna, do that
for Krishna’. You will not accept any service directly if it’s only for
You. That’s why I want to serve You both together.”
“Then how do you want to serve Us?”
“I have so many desires to serve You. I want to relish the nectar of
serving You when You are together, when You meet each other. Then

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a different, higher mood will arise. Not the nectar of Krishna Chandra
alone. I want to taste the nectar of Radha Krishna Chandra.”

Only the manjaris have this mood. All the sakhis have the mood of
the Chakora birds. The Chakora birds are living by drinking the nectar
of the moon rays. They are living only to relish this nectar. The sakhis
say, “Oh Krishna, we sakhis are like Chakora birds – and now we are
dying because You are not here, our Chandra (moon) has
disappeared. Our Chandra is not the moon of this world. Our
Chandra is Krishna Chandra and now He disappeared from Vraja. We
are not getting this nectar and that’s why we are dying. We need this
amrita, this nectar, this sudha. Please come back to Vrindavan.”

The right place of Krishna Chandra is only in Vrindavan, Vraja. Krishna

Chandra means the full moon and it is only from the full moon that
this nectar will shower down. The sakhis are Chakoras and the
manjaris are also Chakora birds but the difference is – they are living
not only by the nectar of Krishna Chandra, but by the nectar of Radha
Krishna Chandra. Their moon is not only Krishna but both Radha and
Krishna together. They are drinking the nectar only when Radha and
Krishna are together. Then only can the manjaris drink this nectar
and by this nectar they can keep alive. That is the special mood of
manjaris.

When Srimati asks the sadhaka manjari “How do you want to serve
Me? In which mood? Do you have any idea of how you want to be
My family member? Do you have any plan?”
You will say, “Yes Srimati, I have so many desires to serve You and I
know the way to do it, only I need Your mercy.”

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Then Radha will say, “Can you explain it to Me?”
“OK Swamini, I will explain it, I will describe how I want to be Your
family member.”
Srimati Radharani will say, “Ok, take your time to think about it and
explain it.” She will give the manjaris some time to plan their
schedule and arrange their seva. She is waiting. And now the manjari
is arranging her schedule and her plans and her moods of how she
wants to be a family member (an intimate maidservant) of
Radharani. If Srimati Radharani will give her some time, then she will
explain all this tomorrow evening, when we meet again.
Then she will explain and we will listen to her from outside because
this is a very secret topic – you have to hear this very carefully. And
which manjari will explain this? Narottam das Thakur will explain all
of this, following in the footsteps of Lokanath Prabhu - Manjulali
manjari - how to be a family member of Srimati Radharani.

Joy Nitai.

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 Vṛṣabhānu-sutā
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
vṛṣabhānu-sutā-caraṇa-sevane, hôibô ĵe pālya-dāsī
śrī rādhāra sukha, satata sādhane, rahibô āmi prayāsī (1)

To serve the lotus feet of the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, I shall

become Her pālya-dāsī (affectionately sheltered maidservant) and
strive to constantly bring Her all happiness.

śrī rādhāra sukhe, kṛṣṇera ĵe sukha, jānibô manete āmi

rādhā-pada chāḓi’, śrī kṛṣṇa-saṅgame, kabhu nā hôibô kāmī (2)

I shall know within my heart that Śrī Kṛṣṇa takes pleasure in Śrī
Rādhā’s happiness, and so I shall never desire to abandon Her lotus
feet and to enjoy separately with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

sakhī-gaṇa mama, parama suhṛt, ĵugala-premera guru

tad-anugā ha’ye, sevibô rādhāra, caraṇa-kalapa-taru (3)

The sakhīs are my supreme well-wishers and my gurus regarding the

loving affairs of the Divine Couple. Remaining faithfully under their
guidance, I shall serve Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet, which are like
wishfulfilling trees.

rādhā-pakṣa chāḓi’, ĵe-jana se-jana, ĵe-bhāve se-bhāve thāke

āmi tô’ rādhikā-pakṣa-pā sadā, kabhu nāhi heri tā’ke (4)

Let anyone aside from Śrī Rādhā’s party be as they are. I am indeed
always exclusively loyal to Śrīmatī Rādhikā and never look upon
those who are not.

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Chapter Eight

Further Aspects of Radha Dasyam

Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami: During these last few days we

have been speaking about raganuga bhajan and there are so many
things, the subtle stages. Now we are following Thakura Mahashaya
(Narottama das Thakura) according to Prema Bhakti Candrika. All the
manjaris will be introduced to either Ananga manjari or Rupa manjari
by their Guru sakhi manjari. And one of these Yuthesvaris (group
leaders) will take her to Sri Radha. That is our goal. That is what we
want to achieve. You have heard that Srimati Radhika asked one
sadhaka manjari, “OK. You want to serve Me? You want to be My
friend? You have prayed to Me for this? Then how do you want to
serve Me? Do you want to serve Me or do you have some separate
desire for serving Krishna?

In Caitanya-caritamrita, 8th chapter - Raya Ramananda Samvad-

Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami explained how Raya Ramananda
explained the mood of Srimati Radhika to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
yadyapi sakhīra kṛṣṇa-saṅgame nāhi mana
tathāpi rādhikā yatne karāna saṅgama
yadyapi—although; sakhīra—of the sakhis (manjaris); kṛṣṇa-
saṅgame—directly enjoying with Kṛṣṇa; nāhi—not; mana—the mind;
tathāpi—still; rādhikā—Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; yatne—with great
endeavor; karāna—causes; saṅgama—association with Kṛṣṇa.
Although the manjaris, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s friends, do not desire to
enjoy themselves directly with Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī makes a

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great endeavour to induce Kṛṣṇa to enjoy Himself with them. (Cc
Madhya 8.212)
Here sakhis means the manjaris. They have no desire to enjoy
directly with Krishna, to get some pleasure from Sri Krishna. But they
experience the same pleasure (that Radharani experiences) from Sri
Krishna through Srimati Radharani (vicariously, because they are
tadadmik, one at heart with Her). That’s why they are not in
servitude mood (dasya bhava) but madhurya. All the manjaris are
serving. Their duty is to serve Sri Radha Govinda. But they are known
as manjaris (flower buds) in madhurya rati. Why? Because they want
to get the anuraga (deep loving attachment) that Srimati Radharani
has for Krishna. That’s why they are serving Them when They are
together (rather than serving Krishna alone, separately from Sri
Radha). If Krishna will go to them to play with them or joke with
them, the manjaris will refuse, because they are loyal to Srimati
Radharani. So here Srimati Radharani is asking how do you want to
follow Her.

Now we have to follow Thakur Mahasaya and what he explains to us

in Prema Bhakti Candrika.
sakhīnaṁ saṅginī-rūpām
atmānaṁ vāsanā-mayīm
ājñā-sevā-paraṁ tat-tat-
kṛpalankāra-bhusitām
One should meditate on oneself as being the maidservant of the
gopis, and in this way one will attain their mercy." (PBC 5. 11)

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They decorate themselves with the prasadi ornaments of Srimati
Radharani. Prasadi dress, prasadi jewels. Why? Because Krishna will
like to see the prasadi remnants of Radha. Krishna will love it. They
have no desire to decorate themselves for their own pleasure, only
for the pleasure of the Divine Couple. They have no desire for self-
enjoyment, self-pleasure. Their only desire is to please Srimati
Radharani. They decorate themselves to please Krishna because they
know that Krishna is the heart of Srimati Radharani and by pleasing
Him they also please Her. When you have some love and you want to
exchange with the object of your love, you exchange your love by
heart, isn’t it? That means you have to take care of his or her heart;
of the one you want to give your love to. You have to follow their
desire. You have to follow their wishes. When Krishna is the heart of
Srimati Radharani, for taking care of Srimati Radharani’s heart, for
pleasing Srimati Radharani’s heart they are doing everything. They
are eating, singing, smiling – all their activities are only for pleasing
Srimati Radharani. They only serve Krishna to please Her.

How will they be family members of Srimati Radharani (completely

loyal to Her)? Now the manjari is saying, “O Srimati Radhika, you
know how I want to be Your family member? Because I know that
You will accept me as Your own when I get such mood for You. That
is why I am following Your close intimate friends, Your sakhis.”
Radharani will ask, “You are following My sakhis?”
“No. Previously I was following Your sakhis too. It’s true (but now I
am following only the manjaris).”
This is the beginning stage of our raganuga bhajan. But raganuga
bhajan goes deeper. First we follow the mood of the gopis in general,

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all the sakhis. But then we begin to follow only the mood of
the manjaris, because manjari mood (bhava) is very much deeper
than the sakhis’. You have to go gradually. You cannot jump. That’s
why at the beginning we have to follow the mood of the gopis (gopi
bhava), then the sakhis. And then (specifically) the manjaris. So here
one sadhaka manjari is explaining in that way:
sakhīnaṁ saṅginī-rūpām
atmānaṁ vāsanā-mayīm
(sakhīnaṁ—of the gopīs; saṅginī—of the intimate companion
(manjaris); rūpām—the form; atmānaṁ—self; vāsanā-mayīm—made
of desires)
“You know, O Sakhi Radharani, I have to collect all the
knowledge. That’s why at the beginning I will follow Your sakhis. And
then I will follow the manjaris. Because I need all the knowledge and
the moods of how they are pleasing You.”
That’s why Rupa Goswamipad said,
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ
“One who has intense longing to attain ragatmika-bhakti follows in
the footsteps of the Vrajavasis (such as Rupa Goswami) who are
devoted to raga-marga. With his external body (sadhaka-rupa) he
should chant and hear according to the practice of raganuga-bhakti,
and with his internally contemplated body (svarupa, siddha-deha)
bestowed upon him by his guru, he should perform service internally
by his mind.”

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You have to follow the associates of Sri Krishna and Srimati
Radharani. And you have to live here in Vraja, not outside of Vraja.
Maybe if physically it is not possible, then mentally. Anyhow, you
have to live here in Vraja.

When you are a manjari, you are not allowed to go out from Vraja
because you always have some service to do. Perhaps you will say
that, “As a manjari I have some specific duty, specific service. Maybe
I’ll get the seva of offering fruits. When my seva will come, I will
serve. And other time I can take rest.” No! Then you will be only a
manjari, not a kinkari. Srimati Radharani, she likes the kinkaris more
than the manjaris. It’s a higher stage. There are many manjaris, but
very few kinkaris. Not all the manjaris are kinkaris. The sadhaka has
to follow all those kinkaris. The sadhaka has (aspire) to be a kinkari,
not only manjari.

That’s why, perhaps you have some specific duty, but always you
have to search for service. If you are waiting for Their (The Divine
Couple’s) order, that when They will give some instruction, “O
manjari, give some water, I’m feeling hot, give some air.” If you are
waiting for Their order, that means you don’t have this serving mood.

When you have love - not as a servant but as a manjari - you do not
have to wait for Their instruction or Their order. They will not say
anything. The sadhaka has to realize exactly what They need at that
time. That’s why Narottam das Thakura says:
sakhīnaṁ saṅginī-rūpām
atmānaṁ vāsanā-mayīm
ājñā-sevā-paraṁ tat-tat-

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 kṛpalankāra-bhusitām
“A sadhaka of raga-marga should internally perceive himself (or
herself) to be one of the young, beautiful gopi beloveds of Sri
Krishna. He should meditate on his/her desired svarupa as a female
companion of Sri Radha’s maidservants, such as Sri Rupa Manjari and
Sri Rati manjari, and adorned in the ornaments mercifully given by
them, he should completely absorb himself in service to Sri Radha-
Madhava according to their instructions.” (PBC 5.11)
I will follow their orders. Yes, I’ll follow all the instructions which I’ll
get from my guru manjari, from my group leader, from Rupa manjari
or Ananga manjari. But at other times, I will look out for seva and
according to Your needs I will serve You, I’ll serve Radha-Krishna; by
Your desire. When I realize that You are feeling hot, both of You –
when You feel something, Krishna will feel it the same. Maybe
physically You are different, but by heart You are one. That means,
when You will feel hot, then Krishna will feel the same. Because both
of You have the same feelings, same desire, at the same time. I’ll
follow my realization (my intuition). That time, I’ll not wait for Your
order.”
(Sri Radha will ask) “But how will you realize this? How will you
realize what I am feeling? Or that I need anything?”
(Sadhaka manjari will reply) “O Radhe, that’s why I am praying to
You, when I will get to be Your ‘family’ member (intimate associate),
then I’ll get these realizations, these feelings, by Your mercy.”
When the sadhaka will be inside this confidential group as a manjari,
she will experience the same feelings as Srimati Radharani because
all of them are non-different by mood. All the manjaris have the
same mood as Sri Radha and can feel Her feelings. As it is said in
Caitanya-caritamrita,

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 sakhyaḥ śrī-rādhikāyā vraja-kumuda-vidhor hlādinī-nāma-śakteḥ
sārāṁśa-prema-vallyāḥ kisalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ
siktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-rasa-nicayair ullasantyām amuṣyāṁ
jātollāsāḥ sva-sekāc chata-guṇam adhikaṁ santi yat tan na citram

All the gopīs, the personal friends of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, are equal to
Her. Kṛṣṇa is pleasing to the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, just as the
moon is pleasing to the lotus flower. His pleasure-giving potency is
known as hlādinī, of which the active principle is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
She is compared to a creeper with newly grown flowers and leaves.
When the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is sprinkled on Śrīmatī
Rādhārāṇī, all Her friends, the gopīs, immediately appreciate the
pleasure a hundred times more than if they were sprinkled
themselves. Actually this is not at all wonderful.’ (Govinda-līlāmṛta
10.16, quoted in Cc Madhya 8.211)

The sakhis and manjaris are the parts of Radharani and Radharani is
like a creeper. Not like a tree – a tree is hard. But a creeper is very
soft. And the sakhis, they are the branches. And the manjaris, they
are the flowers. kisalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ. What
is kisalaya-dala – leaves, but not all leaves, new leaves (buds), very
new leaves. Small, not even green yet. They look reddish, isn’t it, the
colour of new leaves. Manjaris are like these: Flowers. Simply by
seeing the flowers and fruits, you can recognize the tree. When you
see mangos you can say, this is a mango tree. When you see the
jasmine flowers you can say this is a jasmine bush. Manjaris are like
this – that means (they are) the essence of Srimati Radharani’s
moods. Just as fruits and flowers are the essence of a creeper – the

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most beautiful parts of a creeper or a tree – manjaris are like that.
They are the most beautiful part of the creeper of Srimati Radharani.
By flowers we will get pleasure, fragrance. Similarly, by the manjaris
we can get (experience) this pleasure of Srimati Radharani, this
eternal bliss, ananda. Only through the manjaris of Srimati Radha.
And that’s why Caitanya-caritamrita describes it like this:

kisalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ (kisalaya—newly grown;

dala—leaves; puṣpa—flowers; ādi—and so on; tulyāḥ—equal to; sva-
tulyāḥ—equal to Herself).

The manjaris are like new leaves and flowers. Tulyah - same. But
again he used one word, sva-tulyah which means the same as Srimati
Radharani, the same mood. They have the same mood, the same
feelings; all the manjaris. Sva-tulyah here means Srimati Radharani.
That’s why all the manjaris are directly under the shelter of Srimati
Radharani. Yes, sometimes they’ll be in another group. Sometimes
they’ll follow groups of sakhis – sometimes they’ll be in Lalita Sakhi’s
group, sometimes in Vishakha sakhi’s group. But actually they are
following the instructions of Srimati Radharani, because they have
exactly the same mood as Srimati Radharani.
siktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-rasa-nicayair ullasantyām amuṣyāṁ
jātollāsāḥ sva-sekāc chata-guṇam adhikaṁ santi yat tan na citram
siktāyām—when sprinkled; kṛṣṇa-līlā—of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa;
amṛta—of the nectar; rasa-nicayaiḥ—by drops of the juice;
ullasantyām—shining; amuṣyām—of Her, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; jāta-
ullāsāḥ—having awakened pleasure; sva-sekāt—than her own
sprinkling; śata-guṇam—a hundred times; adhikam—more; santi—

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are; yat—which; tat—that; na—not; citram—wonderful. (Govinda-
līlāmṛta 10.16, quoted in Cc Madhya 8.211)

From where is this sloka quoted in Caitanya-caritamrita?

From Govinda-līlāmṛta! Here the last line explains exactly the mood
of the manjaris. To make the trees and creepers grow, we have to
give water, some food for the plants. Here also, the manjaris, and
these plants, all of them, they need some water and food. Which
water this plant of Srimati Radharani’s creeper needs? Krishna
lilamrita rasa - The flavour or rasa of Krishna’s nectarean pastimes.
Only by this krishna lilamrita rasa, by this water you can grow this
plant! But is it only by the lilas (pastimes)? No! It is by everything
related to Krishna. If the manjaris say or do anything that is
connected with Krishna, it is favourable for their seva to Radha.

In Their lilas, so many times, due to separation, Srimati Radharani

loses Her senses (faints). When the sakhis start to chant the name of
Krishna, when they start to talk about Krishna, when they put some
dust from Krishna’s lotus feet on Srimati Radharani’s forehead, She
immediately gets her senses again (regains consciousness). It is
spontaneous. By this water of Krishna lilamrita rasa the creeper of
Radharani is nourished. This means everything which is connected
with Krishna. And the food for this plant is the mood of Krishna
bhava. That is the mood. When you are taking care of this plant, then
you will get this love. We should cultivate a strong desire,
great lobha (greed) for taking care of this plant. This mood,
this lobha (great eagerness), is the food for this plant. And here all
the manjaris want to experience this pleasure of Krishna through
Srimati Radharani! Why? If we think about trees, if we don’t water

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the root, the tree will die. When you put water and food on the root,
then the branches and the flowers, all of them, they’ll get their food
(nourishment) from the root. If you want to give more food and you
think to water and feed the branches, no, you can put lots of water
there, food on the branches. But the result (would be that) both the
branches and the tree will die. Flowers and branches, they get their
food from the root.

For the manjaris, Srimati Radharani is the root. They need this bliss,
this ananda from Krishna but if He will offer it directly to them, they
will not accept it, because they are getting their nourishment through
Srimati Radharani. That’s why they are going to Krishna through
Srimati Radharani. Because if Krishna will come to them, and try to
give them His love directly, they cannot accept it, they will not accept
it. They will only accept it through Srimati Radharani.
That is why when Krishna will go to them, they’ll pray to Krishna,
“Why are you here?” Maybe He will ask them, “You have no desire to
exchange your love with me directly?” The manjaris will say, “Yes, I
do have love for You, I want to exchange my love with You. But
Krishna, You cannot. If you really want to exchange your love with us,
with all the manjaris, you will have to go to Srimati Radharani.
Because You are the heart of Srimati Radharani. And in the same way
all the manjaris’ hearts are Srimati Radharani. I appreciate Your
desire. I like Your desire. I want to exchange my love with You. Please
go to Srimati Radharani because my heart is there with Her. My heart
is not with me. When You go to Srimati Radharani and exchange Your
love with Her, only then, through Her we can experience this
pleasure.”

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That is why, because they are all parts of Srimati Radharani, because
they have the same heart, because their heart is Srimati Radharani’s,
sometimes it happens that when Krishna is engaging in very intimate
pastimes with Srimati Radharani - there are so
many sringar rasa stages. If some mark will come on the body of
Srimati Radharani, it will appear on the body of the manjaris. Because
they are tadatmika, one with Her. That is why they have no self-
desire (self-interest) – that, “I want to play with Krishna, I want to
exchange my love with Krishna.”

All this the sadhaka manjari is explaining to Srimati Radhika. “O

Srimati, when You will allow me into Your family, then I will get (to
be) a part (of You). Where? In Your heart.” (Radha will say:) “Why will
I give you this part in My heart?” (Then sadhaka manjari will say:)
“Because I will follow all Your desires.”

And this is according to the moods that by love, when one is

following someone with strong eagerness, with strong love, then the
other’s heart will melt. Only by love you can melt the heart. Not by
anything else. Only by love! And you are karuna mayi (made of
mercy). That is why I am praying,”
apara karunam pura puritam
mano radhe prasida nijane devi
nija dasya sada spriha ruci
“I know You are karuna mayi - You have lots of compassion in Your
heart. You are so kind that if someone will offer her love to You then
you will accept them.”
parivar gane yatha sate tuwa padavim bhavet

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“I want to be in that mood. I want to get this tuwa padavi, this title,
to be Your kinkari.”

(Radha will ask) “You don’t have this desire to get self-identity?”
Because in this world, everyone is trying to establish their self-
identity. Radharani will ask sadhaka manjari, “Don’t you have this
desire to get your self-identity?” “Yes, I do have this desire. That is
why I’m praying to You. And I want to get this identity (svarupa) of
‘Radha pada dasi’ (or Radha palya dasi, a surrendered maidservant
at Radha’s lotus feet). I have no other desire. I want to be a
maidservant at Your lotus feet.”

karunam guhataye bharam utha vrindavana cakravartini

“O Srimati, I came to You. I am praying to You. Please! Please allow
me to join You. What would you have me do, to become Your ‘family’
member?”
Radha will say, “How do you want to serve Me? Why do you want to
be My ‘family’ member (intimate associate)?”
“Because I want to get such ananda. I want to see all the lilas, all the
intimate pastimes. How You control Him by Your love.”
“Perhaps Sri Krishna will make some mistake, and you are refusing
Him, “No no no!” But Krishna will try to please You with sweet words
to break Your maan (sulky anger). He is praying to You by sweet
words, joking, praying, trying to please You but You are refusing Him.
And when all this trying will fail, Krishna will take your lotus feet and
say, “Please, please forgive Me, please forgive Me Radhe.” Perhaps at
that time, You will order me, “Hey kinkari, are you not seeing what
He is doing? He is disturbing Me. Get Him out from My kunja!” “What

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will you do then? O! By My instruction, will you push Krishna out of
My kunja?”
“No! No! Srimati, because I know You. If I’ll do this, after a while You
will cry for Krishna and again You will order me, “O kinkari, go and
see where is Krishna, bring Him to Me. I cannot tolerate the
separation.” That’s why when Krishna will try to please You by taking
Your lotus feet, repeatedly apologizing, but You are refusing Him and
You are ordering me again and again to get Him out of the kunja - I
will not obey Your order but, O Srimati, I’ll wait and I’ll see this nice
game, this play of love. Then I’ll say, behind Your back, to Krishna, “O
Krishna, why are you doing always like this, why are You cheating our
Swamini Srimati Radharani?” And Krishna will beg me, “O manjari,
what should I do now. I want to please Her. If Radharani will refuse
Me, then I have nothing left to live for. I will die.”
I will say to Him, “No, no, no! Go and get some flowers. Because
Srimati, She likes flowers, and I think You know better than me which
flowers She likes most.” Behind your back I’ll instruct Krishna, and He
will go to bring some flowers, and will come back to you with some
Madhavi pushpa (flowers). And He will offer these flowers with His
both hands. But He will not offer these flowers to Your hands. He will
offer these flowers to Your lotus feet.”
In this way, when He will finally succeed in pleasing You, at that time
You will be tired, because it took a long time. And He will apologize,
“Please forgive me! I took such a long time.” Then I’ll get
the camara and I’ll fan You with it to relieve Your fatigue. But not
only You - both of You.”
“But ai manjari, I was also tired before, when I was refusing
Madhava. Why didn’t you fan Me then?” “Because I wanted to serve

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both of You together, when Madhava will be beside You, when You
will drink the nectar of each other’s lips and You will see the beauty
of His face, both of you will be absorbed in prema, and at that time I
want to serve You. I want to help You increase Your love. Both of You
together. During Your intimate meeting, Krishna will play with You,
and sometimes He will play with Your hair also. Therefore, after Your
amorous meeting, your hair will be in disarray. Then I will re-arrange
Your hair and decorate it with flowers and garlands. Hey Radhe, in
this way, I want to serve You always. That is why I am praying that
You please accept me as a kinkari, accept me as a manjari. Accept me
as a maidservant of your lotus feet. I want to be your maidservant,
not anyone else’s. I’ll follow exactly Your words, Your desire. That is
why I am praying. I want to get this Krishna prema. I cannot get this
Krishna prema, the taste of Kishna prema by myself. But I can get it
through You. That’s why, O Srimati, please accept my prayer.” After
Hearing this prayer of the sadhaka manjari, She will say, “OK, I have
to think about it. I have to think if I will accept you or not.”
Why does Srimati Radhika say this? Why cannot She right away
engage the aspiring manjari in Her kunja seva? Actually, She does not
really need to think about it, rather, She has to consult and discuss it.
With whom She has to consult? To whom She will talk? Tomorrow
She will explain this. Tomorrow we will hear what happens and who
Srimati needs to consult with and discuss this.

Haribol! Joy Nitai!

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Chapter Nine
Ananga Manjari’s and Rupa Manjari’s grace
Yesterday we were praying to Srimati Radharani to engage us in our
eternal duty, our eternal service. But when the sadhaka manjari will
go to Her, to Srimati Radharani, She will ask so many questions, She
will listen to everything, all the prayers (for service), and then She will
say to the sadhaka manjari,
“OK. Wait – I have to ask. I have to consult with someone about you.”
With whom She will consult about this new manjari? With Ananga
manjari. Because Ananga manjari, you may say, is the topmost
manjari among all the manjaris. Yes, Rupa manjari is also there, but
Rupa manjari mood is not exactly the same as Srimati Radharani’s
mood. If Ananga manjari - the younger sister of Srimati Radharani - is
there, She will say to Ananga Manjari,
“This sadhaka manjari came to Me (asking to be engaged in My
service). Please examine her to see if she is prepared to serve Me
according to her mood and desire.”

Then sometimes Ananga manjari will request Rupa manjari, “Please

examine this manjari according to Radharani’s order.” And
sometimes she will follow Srimati Radharani’s order directly. Why
does Srimati Radharani have to discuss this with the leading manjaris,
with Ananga manjari or with Rupa manjari? Does She not have the
right to engage the sadhaka manjari directly in Her seva? Yes, She
can, but She will not do this, because an experienced servant will
know how to serve well, in the proper mood. If there is a discrepancy
in the seva, up and down (unsteady service), then the sadhaka
manjari will not pass the test. In this way (through Ananga or Rupa

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manjaris) Srimati Radharani will test the new manjari to see if she will
fit with Her mood. The manjaris have the same mood, but at the
same time they also have their special individual mood. That’s why
the yūtheśvarī manjaris, the group leaders, they will examine the new
sadhaka manjari.

This is what Narottam das Thakura has said in his prayer

ei nava-dāsī bali śrī-rūpa cāhibe
hena śubha-kṣaṇa mora kata-dine habe
When will the auspicious moment come, when Śrī Rūpa
Mañjarī will accept me as her maidservant?
śīghra ājñā karibena—dāsi hethā āya
sebāra susajjā-kārya karaha tvarāya
When will she order me saying, “Quickly make arrangement
for the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Quickly arrange for Their
fancy garments and ornaments." (PBC song 18)

Sri Rupa manjari will examine me and she will check everything to
see if I have the required qualities or not. Then she will take me to
Yugal Kishor (the Divine Couple), to Srimati Radharani. Then when
sadhaka manjari will be there, sometimes both of Them, Sri Krishna
and Srimati Radharani, They will ask the new manjari something
because she has already been engaged by the yūtheśvarī manjaris.
Srimati or Krishna will ask,

“How would you like to do your seva? Which seva is good for you?
Which seva do you like most?” If the sadhaka manjari will say, “Yes, I
want to decorate You, both of You, I want to make garlands, I want to
play instruments or sing for You, I like this most of all.”

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If the sadhaka manjari will say it in this way, that “I like this
(particular) seva, I like to serve You in that way” then the ‘mood of
manjari will fail’ (she will fail the test). Why?

Dauji: Because she wants to serve Them according to her desire

rather than asking Them, “What is Your desire?”
Madhavananda Baba: “Or knowing what is Their desire.”
Premgopal Goswami: Yes. Exactly! The manjaris have to know how
they have to serve according to Their (Radha-Krishna’s) desire – not
to have any self-desire. They have to follow Their instructions and at
the same time understand (anticipate) the needs of Yugal – Sri Radha
Madhava (even without any instructions). They have to realize
exactly what They need at any specific time. If the manjari does what
she desires, that is self-desire. This mood is for the sakhis, not for
manjaris. Sakhis can speak in that way; explain their mood in this
way. All sakhis have this mood, they can follow their own desire, but
manjaris always follow Radhika’s desire.

That’s way Narottam das Thakura, when he explains the moods of

seva, service, he sings,
kālindīra kūle keli-kadambera vana
ratana-vedīra upara bosābo du’jana (2)
In a keli-kadamba forest on the banks of Yamuna I will seat
Yugala-Kishora on a jeweled throne .
śyāma-gaurī aṅge dibo (cuwā) candanera gandha
cāmara ḍhulābo kabe heribo mukha-candra (3)

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I will anoint dark Śyāma and golden Gaurī with sandalpaste scented
with cuwā, and then fan Them with a cāmara. Oh, when will I behold
Their moonlike faces?
gāthiyā mālatīra mālā dibo dõhāra gale
adhare tuliyā dibo karpūra tāmbūle (4)
I will string garlands of Malati flowers and place them around
Their necks and then place tambula (betel) flavored with camphor in
Their lotus mouths. (Sakhī-Vṛnda Vijñapti (Prayer to the Sakhis),
“Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora” – Prarthana, song 49)
All the moods of service are there, all the parts of manjari
seva. If we follow the siddha svarupa (of a particular manjari), then
perhaps she has some special seva, offering garlands or chandan
(sandalwood paste), following a particular order – ājñā (pronounced
agya), offering naivedya (food), offering prayers, some specific seva.
But a manjari will have all the qualities (the ability to do any needful
seva), the desire to serve in all possible ways. They must be expert in
all kinds of seva. That is the special quality of the manjaris. If you are
just following your own seva, that “This is my specific seva” and you
are trying to be perfect with your particular seva, but not do other
kinds of seva, it means you are not a kinkari, your seva is fixed,
specific. But when it’s not the time for your seva, then what? Will you
sit idle in one place? Take a nap? “I have no seva now; I can sleep a
little bit?” No! When you don’t have your specific seva, at that time
you have to realize and search (anticipate) which seva you can do.
This is the mood of a kinkari. Kim karomi ‘ham – “What can I do?
How may I serve Them?” Kinkari means, they are not waiting for

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orders or instructions. They are waiting for (anticipating) what They,
The Divine Couple, need.

And during the seva, what do they do? What is their mood? The seva
must always be done in three ways. There are three ways of serving,
by body, by speech and by mind. kāyika, physical; vācika, vocal;
and mānasika, mental or by meditation. You have to do your seva
always in these three ways: physically, mentally and by speech; by
words. How? Maybe you are doing your seva. Say one particular
seva like making garlands. And while you are doing this seva you can
do the other two kinds. How? Together you have to chant the name.
During Yugal (the Divine Couple’s) seva, which name should you
chant? Which name? The maha mantra? No! This is not the time for
the maha mantra.
Devotee: “Radhe Shyam!”
PG: No! Not even “Shyam!” Only “Radhe, Radhe!” Only Radharani’s
name. Why? Because there is such power in Her name. Krishna said,
Svayam Bhagavan says, that “If someone will chant (the first syllable
of Her name) “Ra”, immediately I will give him bhakti. And even
before he will finish saying this name by “Dha” - I will run to him to
hear how he is singing or crying for My Radharani. I want to see this. I
want to hear this.”
This is fixed (i.e. this is certainly so, without a doubt). That’s why it is
said in Brahma-vivarta Purana and some other Purana that the sakhis
and the manjaris, they appear from Srimati Radharani’s body directly,
from the pores of Her skin. They have appeared from Her. That’s why
they are the parts of Srimati Radharani. You are also, when you are
meditating, when you have this siddha svarupa, it means you are also
a part of Srimati Radharani. This (manjari) svarupa is fixed. You are

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there too. When you are performing your seva (with your mentally
conceived spiritual body of a manjari), you are getting perfection
here in this material world at the same time (simultaneously). That’s
why all the manjaris, they are doing everything, all possible kinds of
service for Srimati Radharani.

Here Narottam das Thakur, in his own words, some nice words,
explains that when the sadhaka manjaris are serving Yugal, they will
explain to Yugal how they want to perform their seva. The manjari
will explain this to Yugal, to both, “O Radhe, You know, first I will
watch all of them, all your sakhis then all the manjaris. I will follow
them. And then after seeing me, testing me, when they will accept
me in their group, then what should I do?”
e-sabhara anūgā haiyā prema-sevā nibo cāyā
iṅgite būjhibo saba kāje
rūpa gūṇa dagamagi sadā haba anūrāgī
basati kariba sakhī mājhe
e-sabhara—of these; anūgā—following; hai’ā—being; prema-sebā—
loving devotional service; niba cāyā—will beg; iṅgite—by gesture;
būjiba—will understand; saba—all; kāje—services; rūpa gūṇa—with
beauty and qualities; dagamagi—jubilant; sadā—always; haba—will
be; anūrāgī—attached; basat—reside; kariba—will do; sakhī mājhe—
among the sakhīs.

I will beg from these sakhis the loving service of Radha and Krishna
and understand the various required services simply by their
gestures. I will be overwhelmed by the beauty and qualities of Radha-
Krishna. I will be always attached to Them and live amongst the
sakhis. (PBC 5.6)

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I’ll follow all of them. Because I know that only by their kripa can I
realize Your mood. When I will get this realization, these feelings,
then I can do my seva by myself, but I’ll not do this. I’ll follow all of
them. I’ll ask them first. I’ll ask them if I have any seva. If I am
qualified, then please, allow me to do some seva. prema-sevā nibo
cāyā (prema-sevā —loving devotional service; nibo cāyā —will beg). I
will ask for seva. Krishna will ask, “My seva?” “No, no, no, not Your
seva. I am asking for Radharani’s seva. But when I will serve Srimati
Radharani, when I’ll go to Srimati Radharani, She may send me to You
to serve You. In that way I can serve both of You. I want to serve both
of You. But when I will ask for seva, I will only ask Srimati Radharani
for seva.”
iṅgite būjhiba saba kāje – (iṅgite—by gesture; būjibo—will
understand; saba—all; kāje—services). All the manjaris, my senior
manjaris, they will not say anything. Rather, they will indicate
something, by their eyes, by their fingers, and I have to know these
hints, by eyes, by fingers. In front of You they will not order me
directly. When I understand all these gestures then I will be qualified.
Perhaps in the beginning I will not realize that they have given some
indication by their eyes, at first I won’t realize this was some
instruction for me. But ‘time to time’ (after a while) when I follow
them, I will get to realize this knowledge about their gestures, how
they give these indications, by their eyes and by their fingers.
iṅgite būjhibo saba kāje
rūpa gūṇa dagamagi sadā haba anūrāgī
iṅgite—by gesture; būjiba—will understand; saba—all; kāje—
services; rūpa gūṇa—with beauty and qualities; dagamagi—jubilant;
sadā—always; haba—will be; anūrāgī—attached.

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 “Always I want to see the beauty of You both together. Hey Krishna,
you are not beautiful alone, only with Srimati Radharani. But You
know Krishna, if You will compare, Srimati is more beautiful than You.
You know Krishna, I can serve You but really if I will serve Srimati
Radharani, that is my real pleasure. If She is happy - I am happy. But I
know She will not accept my seva, because She has also this same
mood to serve. In the Gutika, where the moods of the manjaris are
described, there is some explanation of how they serve. How do the
manjaris serve? They have to serve both externally and internally,
they have to serve mentally and at the same time they have to serve
Yugal by their senses,
sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the
service of the Lord, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul
renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is
freed from all material designations, and, simply by being engaged in
the service of the Lord, one's senses are purified. (Cc Madhya 19.170)

By their indriyas, their senses, they’ll serve Krishna but it depends on

the desire of Srimati Radharani.
yadyapi sakhīra kṛṣṇa-saṅgame nāhi mana
tathāpi rādhikā yatne karāna saṅgama
Although the sakhis (manjaris), Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s girl friends, do
not desire to enjoy themselves directly with Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī

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makes a great endeavor to induce Kṛṣṇa to enjoy Himself with them.
(Cc Madhya 8.212)
They do not have this desire to enjoy directly with Krishna. But
sometimes Srimati Radharani sends them to Krishna, “O, go and play
with Krishna. Please Him.” If they make Krishna happy, Srimati
Radharani will get a hundred times more pleasure than Krishna
because She also has this desire to please Krishna. When Krishna will
get this pleasure with the manjaris - She will get a hundred times
more pleasure than Him.

But the manjaris, they will never go directly (independently) to

Krishna. They will only go by the instructions of Srimati Radharani.
rūpa gūṇa dagamagi
rūpa gūṇa—with the beauty and qualities of Radha-Krishna;
dagamagi—I will be jubilant.
They will say to Krishna, “Yes, we love to see Your beauty together.
And we always want to see this. At the same time we want to see
the beauty when you will meet together with all the other sakhis, all
the other manjaris.
vasati kariba sakhī mājhe
(vasati—stay; kariba—I will; sakhī mājhe—among the sakhīs)
“I don’t want to serve You alone. I do not have any desire to
serve You alone without Srimati Radharani and the other manjaris.”

vṛndābane dui jana cari-dike sakhī-gaṇa

samayera sebā rasa sūkhe
sakhīra iṅgita habe camara dhūlāba tabe
tāmbūla jogāba cāṅda-mūkhe

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By the indication of the sakhīs, I will offer camara and betel nuts in
the lotus mouths of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The sakhīs, with Rādhā and
Kṛṣṇa in their midst, are totally aware of the different services to be
rendered at appropriate times. (PBC 5.7)

When You will be in a very nice nikunja kutir in Vrindavan surrounded

by all the sakhis and manjaris, they will serve according to the time
and circumstances,
samayera sebā rasa sūkhe sakhīra iṅgita habe
samayera—of the appropriate time; sebā rasa—loving service;
sūkhe—happily; sakhīra—of the sakhī; iṅgita habe—will gesture.
Then maybe my guru manjari or my yūtheśvarī - my group
leader - she will instruct me. “See! Yugal is sweating, They are feeling
hot. You should give some air (fan) camara dulabo kabe. When my
guru manjari will indicate to me, then I will give You air with a
camara (Yaktail fan). adhare tuliyā dibo karpūra tambula - I’ll offer
You tambula (betel nuts). Hey Radhe, sometimes Krishna will take
this tambula from Your mouth by force.

I will enjoy, I will enjoy this game. You will be angry with Him and say,
“O, why have You taken My tambula? If you want, she (the manjari)
will give You another one.” And Krishna will say, “O Radhe, yes, she
can give me another tambula. But it is not your prasad (remnants). I
like to enjoy your Prasad.” I will offer this tambula to You and You
will touch this tambula by your lips, and suddenly Krishna will snatch
this tambula. In this way I can offer tambula to both of You. I will give
You one tambula but both of You will get it. In that way I want to
serve You both together.

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 jūgala-caraṇa sevi niraṇtara ei bhāvi
aṇūrāge thākibo sadāya
sādhane bhāvibo jāhā siddha-dehe pābo tāhā
rāga pathera ei se upāya
I will constantly desire to serve the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna
with loving attachment (anuraga). Whatever I contemplate during
the practice stage of devotional service (sadhana), will certainly be
achieved upon perfection in my spiritual body (siddha deha). This is
the process on the path of Raganuga bhakti. (PBC 5.9)

Now Narottama das Thakur says this is the way of raganuga

bhajan. rāga pathera ei se upāya (rāga pathera—on the path of
raganuga; ei—this is; se upāya—the way, the process}.
Whatever the sadhaka manjari will meditate on here during the
practice stage (sadhana), she will get in the stage of perfection.
sādhane bhāvibo jāhā siddha-dehe pābo tāhā
sādhane—in the stage of practice; bhāvibo—will meditate on; jāhā—
whatever; siddha-dehe—in the spiritual body; pābo—will
attain; tāhā—that.
If I will not practice here, I will not get the seva there. Why
are we here in this material world? For practicing something. This is
the world of practice, not perfection. Perfection is in the spiritual
world. At the beginning we have to practice about love. Practice how
to exchange our love. In Raganuga bhajan there are two stages:
Sadhana bhakti riti (process) and prema bhakti riti (perfection).
Sadhana bhakti riti is also known as vaidhi bhakti (the process of
regulated devotional service – bhakti in practice). If someone says

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that vaidhi bhakti is not raganuga bhakti, this is incorrect. Vaidhi
bhakti is a part of raganuga bhakti. And when we become realized
and achieve the perfection of prema, we no longer have to practice
anything. Yet even in the stage of perfection, the sadhaka continues
his practice. Why? Because at that stage the practice will happen
spontaneously, automatically.

You don’t have to chant the maha mantra – that time it will manifest
spontaneously on your tongue. You don’t have to think or meditate
on the lilas (pastimes), they will appear spontaneously in your heart.

Dauji: kabe habe sei din amar (Bengali: When will this day be mine?).

PG: Kabe habe (when will it be)! If we practice, then habe habe, it will
certainly happen. If we will not perform our practice in a good way,
then we will always have to ask kabe habe? – When oh when?

That’s why we are here in our sadhana bhakti riti. We are practicing
to get this perfection, to get these spiritual qualities, to attain the
stage of perfection. When the sadhaka will attain this stage, then
prema bhakti riti will start. There are no strict boundaries (between
the two stages). It will come spontaneously. No one can say that now
you are in the sadhana bhakti stage and now you are in prema bhakt
riti. No, it is more like a continuum. But at that time it will come
automatically, spontaneously. The meditation, the eagerness, the
desire – abhilasa, the greed – lobha, the intense enthusiasm –
utkantha. All these will come. The acaryas have promised us.
However, before this stage, no one will get these symptoms.
Otherwise, our mind will divert from this path.

So many things have been indicated here for manjari mood (bhava).

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First, attention (being very conscious). Second, focused mind. Third,
desire (to get spiritual perfection). Fourth, eagerness, spiritual greed
– lobha. And the fifth and most important part is pure love, prema,
kevala bhakti. If the sadhaka has these five qualities, then he or she
will attain this position of being a kinkari.

We, the sadhakas, are practicing to attain such elevated stages, these
qualities. This is not easy. Not like a fruit that you just take from tree
and eat. No. You have to try hard; very strong and very deep practice
is needed for this.
Dauji: But Prabhu, what about the stage of bhava bhakti riti?
PG: Yes, bhava bhakti is one of the early stages before prema, but it’s
a continuum. There are all these stages, prema, sneha, maan,
pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, mahabhava etc. But for now we are
just trying to attain this first one, to achieve this stage of prema.
Bhava is so high, so far, it’s near maha-bhava. We have to cross all
these stages before reaching the highest perfection. But now we are
just trying to perfect our sadhana bhakti. (Rupa Goswami outlines
three stages of bhakti: Sadhana, bhava (the first ray of prema) and
prema. (This bhava is different from the bhava stage of prema)).
What Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said to Raya Ramananda when he
was explaining the ultimate goal of life, He said that before prema
bhakti it is all external. Only when he got to prema bhakti,
Mahaprabhu said, sarva sadhya sara (prema bhakti is the essence of
perfection). When Raya Ramananda mentioned bhava, Mahaprabhu
said “Yes, this is alright, but please go further.” This bhava bhakti is
like the door to prema bhakti riti, but you have to go inside.

sādhane je dhana cāi siddha-dehe tāhā pāi

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 pakka pakka mātra se bicāra
pākile se prema-bhakti apakwe sādhana rīti
bhakati-lakṣaṇa-tattva sāra
“Whatever I aspire for as a practitioner (sadhaka), I will surely receive
in my spiritual body. It is only a consideration of immaturity or
maturity. In the immature stage, it is called sadhana-bhakti or
regulated devotional service. In the mature stage, it is called prema-
bhakti or loving devotional service. This is the essence and truth of
pure devotional service (i.e. raganuga bhakti).” (PBC 5.9)
narottama dāse kahe ei jena mora haye
braja-pūre anūrage vāsa
sakhī-gaṇa-gaṇanāte āmāre gaṇibe tāte
tabahuṅ pūriba abhilāṣa
narottama dāse—Narottama dāsa; kahe—says; ei jena—may this;
mora haye—happens to me; braja-pūre—in Vṛndāvana; aṇūrage—
feelings of love; bāsa—reside; sakhī-gaṇa—the sakhīs; gaṇanāte—
counting; āmāre—me; gaṇibe—will count; tāte—among them;
tabahuṅ—then; pūriba—will be purified; abhilāṣa—desire

Narottama dasa prays, “O my Lord, please allow me to live in Braja

and count me as one of the sakhis. Then only my desires will be
fulfilled.” (PBC 5.10)

Narottam das Thakur is saying that “Oh Radhe, I have so many

desires. I have so many desires. But all my desires will be fulfilled
when You will allow (accept me into Your service). Without Your
consent, I cannot do anything. I have these desires; I want to live in
Your dhama, in Vraja. But I want to live there with anuraga, with

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love, with my heart. So many people now are living in Vraja, so many
people. Are they all getting the benefit of living here? No! If you
have no sraddha (faith), if you have no realization, you will not get
any benefit. And also, if you are physically living here in Vraja, then
you have to follow the rules very strictly and not do any offense to
anyone. If we have no attachment to Vraja, then we will not get
these benefits. You will get something, very little, some sukriti (pious
credit), some kripa (mercy). That’s why we all want to live in Vraja, or
in any holy place like Nabadwip. But first of all they need this
attachment to the dhama to be there. They have to get this strong
faith in this holy place, this dhama.
cintāmaṇi-bhūmi, kalpa-vṛkṣa-maya vana
carma-cakṣe dekhe tāre prapañcera sama
“The land there is touchstone and the forests abound with desire
trees. Material eyes see it as an ordinary place.” (Cc Adi 5.20)
śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo
drumā bhūmiś cintāmaṇi-gaṇa-mayī toyam amṛtam
kathā gānaṁ nāṭyaṁ gamanam api vaṁśī priya-sakhī
cid-ānandaṁ jyotiḥ param api tad āsvādyam api ca

“The damsels of Vrindavana, the gopis, are supreme goddesses of

fortune. The enjoyer in Vrindavana is Sri Krishna. The trees there are
all wish-fulfilling trees, and the land is made of transcendental
touchstone. The water is all nectar, the talking is singing, the walking
is dancing, and the constant companion of Krishna is His flute. The
effulgence of transcendental bliss is experienced there everywhere.
Therefore Sri Vrindavana dhama is the only relishable abode.” (Sri
Brahma-samhita 5.56)

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First we have to get this kind of faith to get the benefit of living in the
Dhama. The dust there is not ordinary. bhūmiś cintāmaṇi-gaṇa-mayī
- It is like cintamani, wish fulfilling dust. kalpa-taravo drumā - all the
plants and trees are not ordinary; they are all kalpa taru - wish
fulfilling desire trees. toyam amṛtam - The water is not ordinary
water, it is nectar. kathā gānaṁ - All the associates of Radha-Krishna,
the real Brijabasis (residents of spiritual Vraja), their speaking is like
singing. nāṭyaṁ gamanam api - Their walking is like dancing. If you
have this realization then you will get this benefit from living in the
dhama.
Narottam das Thakur, as a sadhaka manjari, says to Srimati
Radharani, “Oh Radhe, I want to live in Your place, I want to live in
Vraja with deep anuraga (love). Then my desire will be fulfilled.”

If the sadhaka manjari has these feelings, this realization, then they
will get the benefits from living here, or staying here. Yes, we are
touching this holy place. We are touching this holy Dhama by our
feet. Can you imagine how much offences we are always doing? We
are touching this cintamani, this holy dust, by our feet! Sometimes
with shoes! The sadhaka has to realize this. If we will get these
realizations, these truths, that this dust is transcendental, the trees
are wish fulfilling, the water is nectar, then they will get the mood of
a manjari, this softness of heart. Then their head will always bow
down to touch the ground of this holy Dhama. Then they will know
how to follow the instructions, how to follow the senior devotees,
when they have this realization, when they have this kind of deep
respect. We need śraddhā.

Dauji: Faith.

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Not only faith. You can’t explain śraddhā simply by the word ‘faith’. It
means much more: Respect, eagerness, deep (unwavering) faith,
everything is there.
'śraddhā'-śabde—viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
The word 'śraddhā' means unflinching faith in something sublime, in
transcendental reality. (Cc Madhya 22.62)

The sadhaka needs this kind of 'śraddhā' to begin with. Then false
ego will never come in the heart of the sadhaka. When the sadhaka
will get this realization, this 'śraddhā' in their minds and in their
hearts, then this false ego will not come. For the sadhaka, ego is the
greatest problem, the greatest obstacle. That’s why we first have to
realize the transcendental nature of these holy places.
That’s why Narottam das Thakur says, not only once but again and
again and again, if I will get this anuraga brijavasa (deep loving
attachment for living in Vraja dhama) – if I can live here with this high
respect, this deep love, then only my desires will be fulfilled. Not
otherwise.
“Oh Radhe, please bless me to attain such a mood. First I need this
abhilāṣa (spiritual desire) and śraddhā (unflinching faith). Then I can
follow Your sakhis and manjaris.”
Narottam das Thakur explained this to us. Yes, we are practicing
devotees. That’s why we have to always remember where we are,
what we are doing, everything about our activities, we have to be
aware of all these things.
Dauji: Be conscious.
PG: Be conscious in all our activities. Be conscious about where we
are. Otherwise our bhajan will stop. Perhaps you will continue your
practice but the benefits will not come. Be conscious not to make

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offences. Especially be conscious to avoid guru aparadha and
Vaisnava aparadha (offences to Guru and Vaisnavas). If you want to
continue your bhajan then you have to be careful about this. Mainly
be careful about aparadha. Sins you can throw away from your heart
by chanting the holy name, but aparadha will destroy your bhajan.
That’s why we have to be extremely careful about all these things.
Tomorrow is Diwali. And the boys want me there to do the fireworks.
So today is the last class. When we will meet again, we will continue
these classes and go deeper to describe the very special moods of
the manjaris, according to various scriptures, and how to engage
there in majari seva, the service of the manjaris. These lectures were
the basics of raganuga bhajan, but we have to go deeper. My hope is
that until we meet again, all of you will continue this practice, your
bhajan.
Devotee: With your blessings!
Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami: Yes, Nitaichand will bless you.
Radharani will bless you to continue your practice and share your
feelings, your realizations, share your bhajan with each other. When
you share, it will develop. Prema is increasing, developing by sharing,
by love, only by giving love. When you give money it will not last, but
when you share your love it will expand more and more. Share your
love, share your feelings, share your bhajan, and carry on until we
meet again.
By Radharani’s desire, if She will allow me, perhaps I can come again
next Kartik. If Radharani allows me to enter Her place, Her holy
dhama. Because even now I am outside Her mood and I am waiting
to be allowed in. But I hope that sooner or later we will all meet here
again.
Joy Nitai!

222
Sloka Index
āhuś ca te nalina, 83
aiśvarya-jñānete, 44, 67, 113
akaitava kṛṣṇa-prema, 122
akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrtiḥ, 15
āmāre īśvara, 68
ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ, 53
anyābhilāṣitā, 52, 102
apara karunam, 201
ārādhyo bhagavān, 76
asundara sundara, 20
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, 126
bhakta-pada-dhūli, 130
bhakti-yogena, 99
bhārata-bhūmite, 36
caturtha ślokera, 70
cintāmaṇi-bhūmi, 220
eho bāhya, 72
ei ‘sādhyāvadhi’, 73
ei kṛṣṇa vraje, 81
ei nava-dāsī, 206
e-sabhara anūgā, 210
etāvaj janma, 35
evaṁ satata, 109
hariḥ pūrṇatamaḥ, 77
iṅgite būjhibo, 212
je gaurāṅgera, 69
jīve doyā nāme ruci, 117
jñāne prayāsam, 57, 97
jūgala-caraṇa sevi, 215
kālindīra kūle keli, 207
kathayasva mahābhāga, 125
223
‘ke āmi’, ‘kene āmāya, 12
kīrti-gaṇa-madhye, 104
kon vidyā, 91, 95
kṛṣṇa yadi chuṭe, 22
kṛṣṇasya pūrṇatamatā, 78
kṛtvā hariṁ, 24
līlā premṇā, 79
mahā janera, 29, 33
mayy āveśya, 110
na pāraye 'haṁ, 116
na sādhayati, 49
nāma-saṅkīrtana, 176
narottama dāse kahe, 219
nitya-siddha, 131
paḍa śloka, 72
pahilehi rāga, 73
parivara-ganasya, 187
prakāśitākhila, 78
prāṇinām upakārāya, 36
prāyeṇ ālpā, 38
rādhā-saṅge, 41
rādhā-sanmukha, 132
rādhayā mādhavo, 41
rasa visesa, 48
sā vāg yayā, 120, 128
sādhana-smaraṇa, 175
sādhane je dhana, 178, 179,
sādhavo hṛdayaṁ, 58, 112
sakhīnaṁ saṅginī, 192, 196
sakhyaḥ śrī-rādhikāyā, 197
samo 'haṁ sarva, 111
sampradāya-vihīnā, 31
sarva tyaji’ jīvera, 81
sarvādbhuta-camatkāra, 80
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ, 17
sarvopādhi, 212
sevā sādhaka, 170 194
śīghra ājñā, 206
siktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa, 198
śiras tu tasyobhaya, 121, 129
'śraddhā'-śabde, 222
śri guru-caraṇa, 51
śrī-rūpa paścāte, 133
śriyaḥ kāntāḥ, 220
Madhurena Samapayet
224
svayaṁ tv asām, 106
tarko ’pratiṣṭhaḥ, 32
tṛṇād api sunīcena, 144
vāco vegaṁ, 127
vettha tvaṁ, 60
vraja-raja-kumara, 185
vraje kṛṣṇa, 77
vṛndābane dui jana, 183, 214
yadyapi sakhīra, 191, 213
yayā sammohito, 99
ye vai bhagavatā, 101
ye yathā māṁ, 18 86
225