The Loving Chastisement of Our Well-wishers

Once, there was a king who had a very qualified son. But one day the king strongly chastised the prince and, unable to tolerate this, the prince left his father’s kingdom. When the prince was outside the country, no one offered him any respect, and he ended up finding work as a menial servant in a hotel. The king was very worried for his son’s wellbeing and requested his minister to find his son and bring him back. The minister agreed, but told the king that it might take some time. He searched everywhere without success. Then finally, one day the minister saw the prince, who now appeared to be like an orphan boy, and he was working extremely hard in a hotel restaurant for merely a few scraps of leftovers. He had a very emaciated appearance and was covered with mosquito bites.

The minister approached the hotel manager, requesting a chance to do unpaid service. The manager agreed, and the minister started to serve the hotel and the prince, bringing him water, feeding him, and fanning him at night. Seeing the minister taking care of every detail, the prince wondered why he was helping him. After many months of serving, the minister had made a close friendship with the prince. One day the minister asked the boy where he was from, whereupon the prince started to weep bitterly. He told the minister that he was the son of a king, but due to his immense pride, he had left the palace and the kingdom after being chastised by his father. The minster suggested that the prince return, but the boy refused, saying that he wasn’t qualified. Finally, after a long time, the minister convinced the lost son to go back to the king.

We are all part of God’s family, but we have left Him. We have come to this world and become like orphans and refugees. When the minister returned with the prince, both the prince and the king were very happy.

We are all suffering like the prince, and Kṛṣṇa is worried for our condition. God wants you to be happy, and in order to show you how to be eternally happy, He sends His ministers, who are His empowered representatives. They come here and mercifully accept everyone, speak Kṛṣṇa’s glories to us, and give us love and blessings. They come and collect the jīvas that are willing to go to the transcendental world. We are very lucky to come in contact with these great personalities. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that this is vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam. Kṛṣṇa’s messengers give us the nectar of bhakti-rasa, vraja-rasa and thus rejuvenate us. Then we gain relation with the lotus feet of the Vraja-devīs. Thus we become free from all disturbances and cease to rotate through the 8,400,000 species of life. Then very soon we will go to the transcendental realm and be happy forever.

Pure knowledge, which is called vadhū and vidyā, is our life and soul. Jīvanam is ādi-rasa, vraja-rasa, and prema-rasa. This love is everything. The fallen jīvas run to other living entities to find love and fulfillment in this world, but it is all dry like a desert. Genuine love is paravidya, transcendental knowledge. When this pure knowledge comes into the heart of the jīva, the jīva automatically goes to transcendental Vraja. But devoid of this knowledge, the jīva runs here and there like a madman. Possessing this pure knowledge, one is able to offer oneself to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. This process of offering oneself however, does not mean to become a burden, rather, it means to be completely engaged in Śrī Guru and Kṛṣṇa’s service throughout our lifetime.

One day a Mullah went to a mosque and prayed, “Oh Allah, I have surrendered to you.” Then he prostrated himself on the floor and called out, “Oh Allah, please come and feed me! Oh Allah, please shelter and clothe me! Oh Allah, please relieve all my burdens!” This is not surrender. Real surrender means to be engaged twenty-four hours a day in sevā.

chāppānna daṇḍa rātri-dine
jāne nā rādhā-govinda vine

Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī would only rest for four daṇḍas (two hours and twenty-four minutes) a day, and while sleeping he would have darśana of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and serve Them. This is real surrender. Yaśodā Mātā and the gopīs are completely surrendered. Complete surrender is called sarvātma-snapanaṁ.