asty eva rajan bhavato madhudvisah

padaravindasya gunanuvadane

ratir durapa vidhunoti naisthiki

kamam kasayam malam antar-atmanah

TRANSLATION:

Sanat-kumara continued: My dear King, you already have an inclination to glorify the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such attachment is very difficult to achieve, but when one has attained such unflinching faith in the Lord, it automatically cleanses lusty desires from the core of the heart.

PURPORT:

satam prasangan mama virya-samvido

bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah

taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani

sraddha ratir bhaktir anukramisyati

(SB 3.25.25)

By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As silver becomes shiny by being polished, the heart of a materialistic person is cleansed of lusty desires by the good association of devotees. Actually the living being has no connection with this material enjoyment nor with lusty desires. He is simply imagining or dreaming while asleep. But by the association of pure devotees, he is awakened, and immediately the spirit soul is situated in his own glory by understanding his constitutional position as the eternal servant of the Lord. Prthu Maharaja was already a self-realized soul; therefore he had a natural inclination to glorify the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Kumaras assured him that there was no chance of his falling victim to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. In other words, the process of hearing and chanting about the glories of the Lord is the only means to clarify the heart of material contamination. By the process of karma, jnana and yoga, no one will succeed in driving away contamination from the heart, but once a person takes to the shelter of the

lotus feet of the Lord by devotional service, automatically all dirty things in the heart are removed without difficulty. (End of Srila Prabhupada’s purport.)

HH Radhanath Swami:

Sanat Kumar along with his brothers were previously immersed in Brahaman realization of the Absolute Truth. As four year old children they were in such a state of transcendentalism that they were completely aloof to all desires in this material world, no greed, no envy, no pride, not a tinge of lust. They did not even recognize the dualities that keep everyone utterly captivated with material desires.

When their own father Lord Brahma ordered them to marry to assist him in creating progeny within this universe they refused. It is not so easy refusing Lord Brahma. He happens to be the most powerful person in the entire universe. They are children, they were completely fearless, they were above material energy but when they experienced the sweetness of devotional service they considered their Brahman realization to be insignificant, of no relevance whatsoever. Srila Rupa Goswami explains it in such a wonderful way. His description is literally factual. It is not just an emotion – that compared to the vast unlimited ocean of the happiness one derives from pure devotional service the ananda, the ecstasy of Brahman realization is not even a single tiny drop of happiness.

Here Sanat Kumar is revealing his own heart to Maharaj Prthu. What you have King is the most priceless treasure that is the most difficult thing to achieve within this world, an attraction to hear about and glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Out of the 8 400 000 species of life within material existence everyone is seeking subtle or gross sense gratification. It is a place were maithunya-agara, everyone is shackled by passionate desires selfish egoism. Actually any selfish desire we have is a symptom on envy because everything is meant for Krishna’s enjoyment. To have the desire to enjoy anything is a symptom of envy.

Envy is a pollution, it is an unnatural foreign element to the soul. In essence it is disease, the root of all disease. Our constitutional nature is to be enjoyed, to serve, to want Krishna to enjoy us, to assist Krishna in enjoying His creation. That is the consciousness of every living being in the spiritual world. You cannot be there unless you have this pure state of selfless devotion.

In the spiritual world all walking is dancing, all speaking is singing. Everyone is twenty-four hours for all of eternity in bliss, united with one function – to just give pleasure to Sri Sri Radha Gopinath, such a wonderful world! There is only love. Any propensity other than love cannot exists in the spiritual world. There is unlimited variegatedness but they are all extraordinarily wonderful ways of expressing love. Even anger in the spiritual world is just a very, very pleasing way of expressing love. Nothing exists except love. Our bodies are made out of love, our minds are made out of love, every tree, every plant, every person, the sky, it is all made out of love. It is all pervading love and love is reciprocated because

everything is personal in the spiritual world and the nature of the soul in its pure state is to love Krishna so there can be nothing but love. Love it not selfish, love is always selfless, love is always with the concern of the welfare and the happiness of the beloved, love is a state of complete, inhibited, unconditional giving of every aspect of our very existence for the pleasure of the object of our love within and without. There is not even the slightest inclination except to please Radha Gopinath for those who have love. In that ecstatic trance everyone is in complete unity. The diversity of the unity is something very, very pleasing and extraordinary but everyone is in complete unity because they know that’s the way to please Krishna.

This material world is like a prison house for those who have any other desire than to love Krishna. It is also considered to be like a hospital. The Vaisnavas are like the doctors in the hospital. They are here to heal us but all the patients are suffering from various aspects of the disease of selfishness and suffering terribly. Even the innocent little animals are somehow or the other trying to be the enjoyer. Human society is just developed on this principle of being the enjoyer. To be attracted to hear and glorify Krishna is actually and expression of our desire to love God. Krishna only reciprocates with love, bhakti nothing else! Krishna does not personally care for our austerities or our knowledge or our wealth or our material capabilities or our acquisitions and attainments within this world of death but even the simplest devotee even that little spider that kicked the sand on the rocks between Ramesvaram and Sri Lanka, even that little spider conquered the heart of Rama. Krishna is attracted by love.

srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah

punya-sravana-kirtanah (SB 1.2.17)

When Krishna within our hearts sees that we are developing an attraction, an attachment to hearing and chanting His glories He sees that as an expression of love and He responds by fulfilling the desire of that love that our heart becomes completely pure, cleansed of all egoistic selfish desire. How is that possible? Sanat Kumar is telling Prthu Maharaj here that how fortunate he is. This attraction to hear about Krishna to chant the glories of the Lord is so rare it is so precious.

Srila Prabhupada quotes from Lord Kapiladev that such attraction to hear the glories of the Lord is the natural result of associating with sincere devotees. That is the basis of our bhakti. There are many millions of people in this land of India who gather together to hear the teachings, the pastimes and the glories of the Lord but their hearts are not being cleansed because they are not hearing from the devotees. This is a very, very subtle but critical scientific understanding that we must have. Those who do not believe in eternal personality of Godhead, in the eternal principle of devotional service in the spiritual world cannot actually have attraction for the Lord. Their attraction is misplaced. When you hear the glories of Rama, when you hear the glories of Krishna and His avataras from Srimad Bhagavatam form who believes that ultimately the form and the pastimes of the Lord are in the state of pure

goodness but they are temporarily manifested within this material world but ultimately the highest state of liberation is to enter into the impersonal Brahman were there is no personality, were there is no qualities, were there is no pastimes, were there is no name, were there is no you and me there is only the oneness.

That state of consciousness is permeating whatever they speak and people who become very attracted to that message they are not actually becoming attracted to the personality of Godhead. They are being attracted to the misconception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead – like a shadow. The shadow appears to have the same form as the substance but there is not really anything in the shadow. Therefore it is very, very important that the value of the association of devotees is carefully understood. In that association all of these misconceptions can be eradicated otherwise it is simply impossible.

Krishna manifests Himself through the hearts of His devotees; there is no other way. Just like in Jagannath Puri when that very, very learned scholarly brahmana came from Varanasi, Bhagavanacarya heard his writings about Lord Jagannath, so beautiful, such wonderful praise of the Lord that he wanted Lord Caitanya to hear it but Lord Caitanya will listen only to that which is spoken with sincere and simple devotion. Anything else creates pain to His heart. So as a service Srila Svarup Damodar Goswami would screen all literatures or any speaker before they could approach the Lord. So this devotee spoke in such a way it sounded just like he was glorifying Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannath. However Svarup Damodar Goswami could understand his intention. He wasn’t attracted by his poetic glorification at all. In fact he told the person, “Because you have written this you are going to hell.” Hare Krishna! Strong! Because he had the impersonal misconception. He did not understand whom the Lord ultimately and truly is.

In the association of devotees the eternal nature of the soul is awakened. The other day we were discussing the mahaprakash lila of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, sata-prahariya bhava. Twenty-one continuous hours He fulfilled all of His devotee’s desires. Why is that pastime so special? Especially because the prayers that those devotees offered are the very essence, the conclusion and the way of achieving the highest goal, it is a fact! You can read all the Vedic literatures, you can study Srimad Bhagavatam and read it over a hundred times and not understand what Sukadev Goswami is really trying to tell you. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was personally glorifying Sripada Madhavendra Puri He explained this principle that one can never understand the essence and conclusions of the Vedas or life itself just by study, in fact by anyway because the Vedas are Krishna and Krishna reveals Himself according to His own sweet will in reciprocation to our particular intention. The only way to really understand what is really bhakti is through the examples of the Vaisnavas. What do the devotees pray for? What do the devotees value? All of our spiritual advancement is based on how we please Krishna. These devotees in Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lilas, they thought us how to please Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Without pleasing him we can make no spiritual advancement. He is pleased by our attitude, by our inclinations, by our desires. So the lord personally through His associates is revealing the hearts of His devotees just to teach us what pleases Him.

When Haridas Thakur is praying, “Let me become a dog somewhere in the proximity of the house of Your devotee so that I can attain they remnants of their food. Let that food that has fallen from the mouth of Your devotee be my worshipable object birth after birth after birth.” How can anyone think like that unless they are is such an exalted state of consciousness? So humble, so pure! And then he claimed that, “I am ashamed of myself. I am so low, so fallen, so sinful. Who am I to ask for such an exalted benediction as that?” It is like a simple diseased beggar comes to someone and says, “Make me the Prime Minister of India. Give me a beautiful palace and all the power over all other beings.” How could someone ask for that? They usually ask for a few piasa or a few rupees.

So Haridas Thakur, he is thinking, “I am asking for the most exalted, most precious all pervading treasure in all of creation! Who am I to ask for such a thing? I am asking for the remnants that have fallen from the mouth of a Vaisnava. Please forgive me Lord. I have no right to ask for such a thing.” That is how much he valued service to the devotees and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was crying. He said, “Haridas I have become a prisoner within your heart. Your love has shackled Me forever. I have no freedom, I have no independence.” Just like this beautiful painting of our Srila Haridas Thakur Prabhu. Yasodha Mayi is binding Lord Damodara, the Supreme Absolute Truth. Kuntidevi when she remembered this scene she was astounded. Fear personified is fearful of Krishna and this is a fact!

bhajahu re mana sri-nanda-nandana-

abhaya-caranaravinda re

(Bhajahu Re Mana Sri Nanda-nandana by Govinda Dasa Kaviraja)

When we worship the Supreme Lord Krishna then Krishna appears within our heart. As soon as Krishna appears within our heart then fear has to fly away. It cannot remain there. Where there is Krishna there cannot be fear. Fear is due to ignorance, ignorance is darkness.

krsna -- surya-sama; maya haya andhakara (CC Madhya 22.31)

When there is the presence of sun there cannot be darkness, impossible. When you look at the sun and it is directly in front of your eyes there is no darkness. If you look away from the sun only then is there darkness. You see shadow. Fear cannot exist were there is actual Krishna consciousness because the presence of the sun of Krishna naturally manifests within a devotee who worships Him with love. This is Krishna’s power. How much fear is there in this world? People are so much motivated by fear, fear for their health, wealth, future, fear of their past, fear of the present.

padam padam yad vipadam na tesam (SB 10.14.58)

Danger at every step! Fearful situation. Therefore so much anxiety but fear who has conquered the whole universal creation, as soon as Krishna is present just disappears, cannot stand before Him. That is the power of Krishna; He is feared by fear personified. The controlling nature of the entire material existence is fear. Why? Where there is lust there is fear. Kama – material desire is like the other side of the coin with fear. You cannot have one side of the coin without the other. You may like the one side and not like the other but if you take one the other comes. That is a fact. As long as we have these selfish desires based on the bodily conception of life we are plagued with eminent fear. Therefore the whole world is fearful of death and suffering for themselves and for others but simply by remembering Krishna one time with true devotion fear disappears, cannot stand before Krishna. So Kunti is meditating in this way that fear personified has to escape wherever Krishna is manifesting and yet Krishna is trembling and weeping with lips quivering in fear of Yasodha Mayi.

Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Ladden even George W. Bush cannot put even a particle of fear in Krishna’s heart. Even if all 250 000 soldiers were lined up ready to attack Goloka there would be no fear in anyone’s heart for themselves. Out of love they may fear for Krishna but not for themselves. Krishna is not afraid of anything but here is Yasodha Mayi, simple gopi and Krishna is trembling in fear, weeping in fear, begging for mercy from Mother Yasodha. That is the power of love. There is no greater power than love. It is the only power that can actually conquer the sufferings and miseries of this world. This is Kuntidevi’s glorification. This is the most beautiful and intimate feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How He is imprisoned in the heart of His devotee, how He gives up His independent free will by His own choice to be the prisoner in the heart of His devotee to be conquered by love. Impersonalist can never understand this principle in truth because this is not just a temporary reality, this is just not a concept which is like a step on a ladder that brings you higher and higher and ultimately from the top step you just jump up exist in the sky forever, it is not a steeping stone! It is the eternal highest reality, a reality of personal love between the jivatma and the Supreme, Sri Krishna and because Krishna is imprisoned within the heart of His devotee there is nowhere else that we can find Him. Through no other means can we actually understand what is the Srimad Bhagavatam, what is the Srimad Bhagavatam, what do these pastimes really mean, what is the teachings of Bhagavad-gita actually saying, what is the power of the holy name. These things are only understood when Krishna who is within the heart of His devotee reveals it to us. Therefore association of devotees is the greatest benediction in all of creation. That was Murari Guptas’ benediction also. He did not want anything from the Lord but the Lord, “No you must ask.”

One time Murari Gupta by his lila appeared to be engaged in some scholarly pursuits and he was very, very learned scholar but Lord Caitanya sensed and He puts His devotees in certain states to teach the world some inclination to karma and jnana. Karma means we perform our religious activities for some pleasurable material result and jnana is through our power of discrimination we try to discriminate

between matter and spirit and by cultivation of higher and higher and more intricate forms of philosophical knowledge we can actually become liberated from suffering.

So Nimai Pandit was just a small boy following behind Murari Gupta and everything Murari Gupta was speaking to his students He was imitating. When a child does that it is very irritating. Just like sometimes without even knowing I move my eyebrows and do certain strange things and my brothers little son, just a small boy he just starts imitating exactly when I do these things. It is Krishna through him testing how transcendental I am! So Nimai was just imitating. Murari Gupta would say that this verse can be understood in this way and Nimai would imitate repeating what he said in an exaggerated way - everything he said, the exact same words, the exact same expressions and motions! Murari Gupta was becoming very annoyed in front of everybody else He was just ridiculing him. So Nimai said, “I will reveal everything to you and you will see.”

Murari went home, his wife brought him some prasad and he sat down to take prasad then Nimai actually disguised Himself. He was dressed up so beautifully, He had nice jewelries and garments, some nice cloth and His hair was tied up – so sweet. Murari was just eating his rice and Nimai came a little close, little closer, Murari did not see Him. Then all of a sudden Nimai passed urine right in his rice prasad! Murari Gupta was shocked! He could not say anything he just watched Him. No one does this! And then He smiled and ran away. He said, “Now I am teaching that you cannot mix this karma and jnana with bhakti. It is like mixing urine with prasad!”

During the sata-prahariya bhava Murai asked for a benediction. He is saying, “My Lord I do not want anything but if You will be unhappy that I do not ask anything then I must ask something.” Understand this concept, this is very subtle but sublime. He felt ashamed to ask something from the Lord. Just like Prahlad Maharaj said, “I cannot do business with You. I do not want anything.” But it made the Lord unhappy so they were actually willing to experience what they consider a very, very shameful condition because it pleases the Lord. Murari Gupta refused to ask for anything but he saw it was making Lord Caitanya unhappy and, “His happiness is my happiness.” So he asked but what did he ask for? “Let me always associate with You devotees birth after birth after birth but only that devotee who accepts You as his eternal master, only that person who accepts the role of Your eternal service.” That means not the Mayavadis, not the impersonalists, not the materialist but those who accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead who lives in His eternal abode in His beautiful form of Syamsundar constantly immersed in the rasas of love with Sri Radhika and all of His devotees.

Murari Gupta, Haridas Thakur, Koleveca Sriddhar they all asked birth after birth after birth, this benediction. Koleveca Sriddhar says, “In every consecutive birth I take let me be the servant of Your servants. Let me always remember that beautiful form of Nimai coming to take away everything I have.” Haribol! Nimai was putting him in great poverty by taking away his plantain cups. “Let everything go to You birth after birth after birth. Let me remember You.” Haridas Thakur, “Birth after birth after birth let me get the remnants of You devotees.” Murari Gupta, “Birth after birth after birth after birth after birth

my Lord, every birth I may take let me associate and serve those who consider You the master and who are Your eternal servants.”

It is this consciousness that pleases the Lord because this is actually the real expression of love. Lord Caitanya in His own words prayed,

gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah (CC Madhya 13.80)

This statement is so meaningful. It is absolutely contrary to material consciousness. In this world everyone wants to become bigger and bigger and bigger. Is that not true? We want more prestige, we want more beautiful body, we want bigger wealth, bigger influence, bigger enjoyments, etc. Everyone wants to become bigger and bigger. There is so much competition. Why do dogs fight? Did you ever examine the behavior of dogs? Haribol! Dogs fight because they want proprietorship. They will bark and they will bite, howl over a female dog or over a bone or a piece of food or over the illusory sense of control or over a certain area. In the western world so many dogs especially in South East Asia, Thailand, all places have dogs. If you just go near the gate of the house they bark. Why? “This is my house don’t you come, I am in controller. You have no right to come here.”

Srila Prabhupada when he went through immigrations in some of these countries he said, “What is immigrations? It is just barking dogs that’s all.” If there are any immigration officers here you should be complimented because Haridas Thakur wanted to be a dog in a Vaisnavas house! But not that kind of dog! tumi to' thakur, tomara kukur, Bhaktivinode says, “Let me be a dog for you my Lord. You always be my master but the perverted reflection of that consciousness is we think, “I am the controller, this is my property. Who are you? Let me see your visa, let me see your passport. Why have you come here? Woof-woof!” That was Prabhupada’s interpretation of immigrations. Actually everything is the property of Krishna. So when dogs fight they are fighting over proprietorship, over something or some place and in the whole world, individually and collectively so much fighting either for the subtle desires or ego influence, appreciation, control or for the gross facilities.

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam

sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam

jnatva mam santim rcchati (Bg 5.29)

Real peace can only come when we accept Krishna as the proprietor and enjoyer of everything. We have nothing to fight about. So this is the devotee! Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wants to reveals to the world what pleases Him through the prayers of His devotees. They were willing to stay in this material world, that was their humility, “But just let me be with Your devotees and chant Your names with them,” That is the beauty of the association of devotees. It is the place were people actually believe in the supreme eternal form and pastimes of the Lord. It is people who want to please the Lord eternally as His servants.

In the association of devotees the glories of the Lord are being discussed. The teachings of the Lord are being promoted and everyone is united finding the ultimate happiness in loudly glorifying His holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. When we chant the holy names and glories of the Lord as well as hear them Krishna is pleased, when Krishna is pleased within our heart He dispels all of the dirtiness of our hearts. It is not just a mechanical process. It is not that we are just chanting and therefore we are getting purified. We should understand how I am getting purified and why we are getting purified because Krishna is non different than His name. Krishna’s name has sweet will. It is not just a sound vibration. It is God who has incarnated in sound vibration.

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis (CC Antya 20.16)

All the powers of Krishna are within His name and what is the greatest of all saktis of Krishna? His Hladini-sakti, His pleasure potency! Everything is within the name of Krishna, Krishna is His name! Therefore the holy name has a sweet will. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu graphically described that, “If someone is disrespecting and offending My devotees and chanting the holy names then My name will destroy him.” Because the name is Krishna! We are not controlling the name, the name is the supreme controller of all controllers. So when we are chanting in such a way that Krishna is pleased then the holy name, Hare – Srimati Radhika, Krishna – the supreme son of Nanda Maharaj, that personality by Their sweet will cleanses our hearts form within. This is how we become cleansed by the chanting, by the sweet will of the holy name but if we do not have the proper disposition, the proper understanding of who is Krishna and who is His name, if we are not chanting in a spirit of actual devotion as His eternal servants if we are chanting with the desire to become God does that please Krishna? Krishna may give us impersonal liberation but He will not give us Himself, He will not give us what the soul is longing for – pure love. So the lord wants to reveal the essence of what pleases Him through His devotees and there is one consistent theme amongst all the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu – their incredible humility. Examine how Lord Caitanya reveals these truths through His devotees.

There is Raghunath das Goswami our prayojana acarya, the acarya of the highest siddhanta of the rasas of Goloka. He was the only heir of the vast wealth of his father and uncle. His father, Govardhana

Majumdara only had one son. His uncle had no children, Hiranya. They had a vast empire of property. They married him into a beautiful, faithful loving wife. He had everything. As they say he had that golden spoon in his mouth but everyday he was running away from it. They had to drag him back, twelve guards at all times just making sure he didn’t escape. He considers the wealth, the luxuries of the world to be like a prison and the amazing thing is that his father and uncle were devotees. They weren’t just atheistic people. They were devotees. In fact they used their wealth so much in the service of the Vaisnavas. That is why when Raghunath das went to Santipura after Lord Caitanya took sannyasa Advaitacarya brought him in to see Lord Caitanya personally because of everyone Govardhan and Hiranya Majumdara, the father and uncle of Raghunath das Goswami were the main people giving contributions for the devotional activities of the Vaisnavas. They were supporting Advaitacarya’s devotional service; they were supporting Jagannath Misra’s devotional service. They were giving donations to all the Vaisnavas without expecting anything in return. They were very charitable and they had faith in Krishna, in bhakti and Vaisnavas but they were karma misra bhaktas. They were devotees but they also were very much getting some satisfaction being proprietors and having control over others. Something like the demigod bhava! They were doing it for Krishna but they were also enjoying nicely themselves. Raghunath escaped when he finally did escape Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu jokingly gave him that example which I am always found of speaking about. He said, “Raghunath Goswami to give up the material attachments that were given to you is impossible, it is simply impossible! Such wealth, such facilities for enjoyment, such comfort, no one can give that up. Only by the mercy of Krishna is that possible. Your father and uncle although they are devotees and they are friends of my father and grandfather therefore I will speak jokingly towards them because among family members we can speak intimately. Their material wealth is like a pit that people go to pass stool and your father and uncle are like two worms living in stool. How much realization you are speaking this, the Lord in the heart knows.

Raghunath das Goswami did not think that he has any qualification to get Krishna’s mercy. He said, “My Lord I don’t know what is Krishna’s mercy. I only know that You have saved me.” The way he approached Lord Caitanya was never directly. He approached Raghava Pandit. He was so humble even though he was such a big person by material standards. When Nityananda Prabhu was at Pannihati sitting under that banyan tree on the bank of Ganga Raghunath felt himself so contaminated, so fallen, so sinful, “How can I even come near Lord Nityananda.” He kept a distance away offering his obeisances, that was his humility. Nityananda Prabhu said, “Raghunath come!” And he just, “How can I come before You?” Nityananda Prabhu had to chase after him and grab him and capture him. This is actually the process of bhakti. We can’t just by our own knowledge or memory or austerities just enter into the spiritual lila of the Lord but if we really have humility then the Lord will come and take us to Him. Then Lord Nityananda Prabhu and all the Vaisnavas blessed him and on that basis he was actually brought directly before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya taught the world by taking the person who was teaching the highest realms of devotion and making him the servant of the servant. “You be the servant of Svarup Damodar Goswami.” Raghunath would not even ask Lord Caitanya any questions. He felt, “How can I approach the Lord directly.” The Lord would just keep coming to him. After renouncing all of that and becoming the very crest jewel of renunciates when Sivananda Sen came back from Puri, back to Bengal the messengers of Raghunath’s father asked Sivananda Sen, “Did you see our son Raghunath

das?” He said, “Yes I have seen. He is the very crest jewel of tapasya. He doesn’t eat practically anything. He just wears the rags from the street. He is so very, very dear to all the devotees.

When someone is proud that person may impress people’s minds but usually that pride does not let you go too deeply into the affection of peoples hearts. Humility actually wins peoples hearts. Raghunath das was so dear to all the Vaisnavas and yet he presented this question to Lord Caitanya through Svarup Damodar Goswami. He said, “Raghunath das wants to know that I have renounced everything of this world and I do not even understand why I did it so what am I supposed to do?” He was presenting himself as being completely ignorant, no pride, total humility! He did not say, “Lord Caitanya, can I have You Govardhana sila?” He was just serving the servants with such humility Lord Caitanya’s heart melted at seeing his humility. He personally gave him what was the most dear possession of His life, the Giriraj sila that He kept hanging from His neck, that was bathed with His tears of love, He offered that to Raghunath and gujal mala representing Srimati Radharani’s mercy. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally had Svarup Damodara and His servants supplying all the articles for him to worship his Govardhana sila to his full satisfaction. Lord Caitanya gave him Himself and gave him all the means to worship Himself and he never asked for anything. What was his state of consciousness when he was living in Vrindavan? At one point he was only eating a little amount of buttermilk a day in the palm of his hand and some days he forgot about it. Now if some of us were performing some tapasya we would probably become quite proud thinking, “Look at that person, he is eating rotis, dhal, subjis, laddhus, hallava, gulab jamuns and I am eating buttermilk!” Hare Krishna! He had no pride in doing that, just the opposite. When he would spend that two or three seconds eating his buttermilk, the only thing he put in his mouth all day, he was actually crying in shame thinking, “I am so addicted to sense gratification that I am taking all this time away from Krishna just to enjoy my senses.” That was Raghunath das Goswami, that was why Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Sri Radha Gopinath are eternally the prisoners within his heart.

Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis, what was their quality that attracted Lord Caitanya’s mercy so much upon them? Yes they were great scholars, yes they renounced the vast wealth of ministers under the king but there were other people with vast wealth and other people vastly learned but they put straw between their teeth, they fell down at the feet of the Lord and they offered such prayers, “We have no qualification for Your mercy, nothing like a dwarf trying to touch the moon, how can we possibly expect Your mercy. We are lower than Jagai and Madhai. We are most abominable. We are just the servants of mlechhas, sinful egoistic persons.” Sanatan Goswami said, “People say that I am learned but I am such an ignorant fool I believe them.” Time and again Lord Caitanya said, “Stop speaking. Your humility is breaking My heart.” Some flowery words do not break the heart of the Lord but their words were the genuine expression of what they felt within the core of their heart. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu empowered them to understand the innermost secrets of His own heart, which is the actual conclusion of all knowledge. He empowered them to disseminate this knowledge to the whole world.

Thakur Haridas when he chanted 300 000 names everyday without the slightest deviation from his vow. 192 attentive offenceless rounds everyday! He did this his whole life. He was already an elderly man

when he came to Puri to meet Lord Caitanya. Mahaprabhu was in His Gambhira, the house of Kasi Misra, He was calling all the devotees, “Come, come!” He was welcoming them, He was embracing them. He was praising each one individually, He was praising their qualities with such love, He was asking, “Where is Haridas? Where is he? I must see him.” The Lord was longing for His devotee. It is not that by getting in the front of the line that you are going to see the Lord. The Lord when He is pleased to see you, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur said, “Don’t try to see Krishna but try to serve Krishna in a way that He wants to see you.’ That is Haridas Thakur. The devotees said, “There he is down the road laying in the dust offering his obeisances.” “Bring him here, bring him here!” Devotees ran out and Haridas said, “How can I come at Lord Caitanya’s house I am so fallen, I am so sinful, I am so degraded, I have no right.” Lord Caitanya understood his heart and He ultimately came out to Haridas and picked him up and embraced him and personally arranged his residence at Siddha-bakula.

Haridas considered himself so fallen he would never even consider going into Jagannath’s temple. The social norms were that if somebody was outcaste by birth they are not allowed in. He was praised by Advaitacarya, the best of all brahmanas to be the best of all brahmanas but he actually felt so fallen he would never go in. Therefore Lord Jagannath would come out of His temple everyday and in the form of Lord Caitanya to bring him mahaprasad with His own hands. This is an incredible story. He was so humble that he would never go in. It is not that he would never go in because he wasn’t allowed. He didn’t go in because he was just too humble to even think about it. The Lord would come out every single day to personally deliver His mahaprasad to him and speak about Krishna to him for hours everyday.

One day when the Lord saw him chanting under the sunlight He brought Lord Jagannath’s mahaprasad toothbrush and out it in the ground and by the Lord’s will that toothbrush became Siddha-bakula tree to give shade to Haridas Thakur. That is the love of the Lord for His devotee. That is how the Lord maintains His devotee. These are the qualities that please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed to the world why He was going to empower Srila Prabhupada to do what no other acarya has ever done before he even began his mission. Just as Haridas Thakur, Mukunda Dutt, Koleveca Sriddhar, Murari Gupta offered their prayers to the Lord and the Lord revealed His will through the hearts of His devotees. Similarly Prabhupada offered his prayer on board Jaladuta, “I do not know how to speak, I have no qualification. Only if You empower me my Lord, only if You make me like Your dancing puppet, I have no knowledge, I have no devotion but You have given me the name Bhaktivedanta now it is up to You Lord to fulfill the real meaning of Bhaktivedanta.” Real spiritual empowerment comes by the sweet will of the Lord when He is pleased by our attitude. Performing service with our body and our words is an important function, essential function to purify he heart but essentially what the Lord accepts is our attitude. The Lord sees from within what is our motivation what is our purpose. In that one beautiful purport, Srila Prabhupada explains this and I will end class because it is becoming late and you are all hungry and tired and I am always doing like this to you. I am sorry. Srila Prabhupada explains in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna accepts the purpose in which everything is offered to Him. This is in reference to Raghava Pandit and

Damayanti at Pannihati, on the bank of Ganga. They would prepare so many wonderful foodstuffs, bhoga to be brought to Lord Caitanya and he would pack them sew them in a little bag in their hands. So painstakingly they would do their service and she would make just what Lord Caitanya wanted to eat. Then in the next bag there were bitter things because she knew that Lord Caitanya would get some indigestion from the previous thing. So this doesn’t taste good but it is good for His digestion. So Lord Caitanya when He would eat that item that was bitter and not tasty at all He would taste such incredible nectar because He understood the purpose of Damayanti and Raghava Pandit. The purpose was to please Him, to serve Him. So we cannot judge by our eyes necessarily, we cannot always judge things by our senses of what a devotee is actually doing for the Lord. If somebody is doing big, big things, everyone is bowing down, but what is that person’s purpose? It maybe egoistic and the Lord’s satisfaction maybe a lesser priority and another devotee maybe doing something very, very simple! No one knew who was Kolevecca Sridhar. To the world he was just a very, very simple, poor, useless person. People used to just chastise him because he appeared so useless, such a failure in life but his purpose was so pure to please the Lord that the Supreme Personality of Godhead would come every single day for two hours and perform pastimes with him. So the Lord accepts the purpose in which everything is offered. What is our attitude? This must be cultivated. We must perform the services that we are assigned, we must chant our japa according to our vows everyday, we must read Bhagavatam and come to the classes regularly, we must honor and worship the Deities with sincerity, only eat the Lord’s prasad, we must perform our work offering the fruits of our actions for the welfare of others by serving Krishna. We cannot be sentimental and say, “My attitude is good, I don’t have to do these things.” Why should you go to the temple, God is within your heart! Why should you chant the holy names, God already knows that I know His names. Actually if you love someone you must show your love. To the degree we become attached to hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord to that degree we become detached from material aspirations. So we must perform our duties but we must also very carefully cultivate and nourish the proper attitude, the right purpose. It is essential; it is the difference between a devotee who is superficial and a devotee with real spiritual substance. What is our attitude, what is our purpose, that is what Krishna sees, that is what Krishna accepts! It is with that attitude that Krishna reciprocates. How do we understand the attitude of the devotee? So many people speaking Bhagavatam but what is actually the attitude that pleases Krishna when we speak or hear Bhagavatam! That the Lord reveals through His devotees. It is for that reason that the association of devotees is the very sustaining force of our spiritual lives because in that association we can actually develop the proper attitude to hear Srimad Bhagavatam. Really what is bhakti? In one sense bhakti means our attitude, our purpose. Duryodhan was fighting and Arjuna was fighting, one was with bhakti and the other wasn’t. Physically they were doing the same thing, but the attitude, the purpose of Arjuna was simply to please Krishna and Duryodhan, his purpose and attitude was his ego. That is the heart, the very essence of devotion.

trnad api su-nicena

taror iva sahisnuna

amanina mana-dena

kirtaniyah sada harih (CC Adi 17.31)

Humble like the grass laying on the street, tolerant like the tree, offering all respect to others with no expectation for one’s self. With this attitude, with this purpose, which is revealed in all of the intimate associates of the Lord, Krishna becomes a prisoner within our heart. Lord Kapiladev explains to us that if one has this proper attitude in the association of devotees becoming more and more attracted and attached to hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, Krishna becomes conquered in this very life. Srila Prabhupada told us that the powers of maya from without can not disturb the progress of our mission. But when maya comes within, when maya tampers with devotee’s purpose, with their motives, with their attitudes towards each other, towards Krishna’s property then maya can create havoc. So we must be very, very diligent to cultivate and develop the proper devotional spirit and in this light Krishna becomes present as a prisoner of love and when we open our mouths to speak His glories Krishna manifests Himself as He does when we chant His holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Ki Jai!

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!

Ananta koti vaisnava-vrnda ki Jai!

Harinam sankitana Ki Jai!

Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Ki Jai!

Thank you very much! Hare Krishna!