When they returned to Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja brought Śrīla Gurudeva into his room and affectionately fed him mahā-prasāda. After breakfast, Gurudeva sat at the feet of Ācārya Kesarī and inquired submissively, “O Guru Mahārāja, please instruct me. What is the goal of life and what is the means to attain it?”
“Unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate objective of life,” Ācārya Kesarī said, “and pure devotional service is the means to awaken that love. ‘I am Kṛṣṇa’s servant and He is my eternal beloved’—this is the pure and natural sentiment of the jīva. In material existence, the qualities of māyā have an inebriating effect on the living entities who have turned away from Kṛṣṇa, and cause them to consider the body to be the self—or I—and objects or people in relation to the body as mine; consequently, they consider maintaining their temporary physical bodies to be the supreme goal of life. The natural state of water is liquidity but, due to external circumstances, water becomes solidified into ice. Ice is the temporary nature of water. Upon reaching a natural climate, water will regain its original liquid state. Similarly, having forgotten their real dharma as a soul who is the loving servant of Kṛṣṇa, living beings in the material world are absorbed in activities aimed at the pleasure of their temporary body and senses. They do not know their spiritual nature, or eternal dharma.
Even if one performs austerity and spiritual practices for millions of lifetimes, if the true goal is not kept in mind, then the result of all actions will lead to further material engagement.
“By taking food for the soul, living entities can realize their relation with Kṛṣṇa and thus be liberated from māyā and attachment to their physical and subtle bodies. Soul food is devotional service, bhakti-yoga, with the purpose of attaining one’s eternal form as a loving servant of Kṛṣṇa. If a person worships Kṛṣṇa but has a motive apart from becoming situated in his identity as Kṛṣṇa’s servant, then all his actions will be useless—like mixing sugar inside the ocean, spraying perfume in kerosene, or putting decorations on a corpse. Worldly people consider that if their senses are healthy and happy, then their souls, and even Bhagavān Himself, are pleased. They do not understand that the desire for sensual pleasure is the root cause of their suffering in material bondage.
“Faithfully hearing hari-kathā awakens the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of His eternal beloved companions of Vraja, and helps the soul blossom into its true form. Each soul has a unique individuality that cannot be altered by association. If one plants a variety of seeds in the same plot of land—and nourishes them with the same water, air, and light—the resulting sprouts will exhibit their own particular nature, even though they have all been subject to the same conditions. The eternal form of every soul is unique and imbued with individual moods for the service of Kṛṣṇa. There are five basic rasas of the soul in relation to Kṛṣṇa: neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental affection, and romantic love. Among these, the mood of serving Kṛṣṇa as a beloved is the most exalted.
“If you want to clearly understand these spiritual truths,” Ācārya Kesarī said, “you should read the Jaiva Dharma. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura extracted the essence of all Vedic scriptures and composed Jaiva Dharma in a concise and straightforward narrative.” Ācārya Kesarī handed Gurudeva a copy of the Jaiva Dharma from his bookshelf. He then said, “Ultimate reality, the goal of life, and the process to attain that goal and enter eternal Vraja, where Kṛṣṇa resides with His beloveds, are all described in this monumental book.”
“In what manner should I read?” Śrīla Gurudeva asked. “Without mercy, spiritual truth cannot be realized.”
“You must have a deep desire to understand, and as you read, pray from the core of your heart to the divine personalities who are present within the text. Comprehension will not come simply by reading or hearing; you must remember these truths and incorporate them into your life. This will attract the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Kṛṣṇa will accept your service and grant His mercy when you have steady devotion for Him. You will then realize all these esoteric truths.”
“A child is humble and remains dependent on his mother,” Śrīla Gurudeva said, “but when he matures, he acquires knowledge and becomes independent and distant. How can I always stay with Guru and Vaiṣṇavas and never become proud of scriptural learning?”
“Independent study certainly leads to pride and takes one away from Vaiṣṇavas,” Ācārya Kesarī said, “but learning acquired under guidance will give knowledge of your spiritual relationship with Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. If you surrender to Vaiṣṇavas and remain in their care, you will transcend bondage to the physical body and realize the nature of the soul. You will then fathom a fraction of Kṛṣṇa’s infinite glory and your own insignificance in comparison. In this way you will remain humble. You will become proud if you amass knowledge without applying the lessons of sāstra in your life. Hence it is imperative to personally practice and not only impart lofty teachings to others.”
Śrīla Gurudeva was eager to read Jaiva Dharma. The book was in Bengali, which Gurudeva had only a modest knowledge of, so he dedicated himself to studying the language alongside the text of Jaiva Dharma. He quickly bridged the differences in understanding between Hindi and Bengali, and would inquire from Ācārya Kesarī and the maṭha residents when he was unsure of anything. After reading the third chapter, he approached Ācārya Kesarī and humbly asked, “Guru Mahārāja, in Jaiva Dharma, Sannyāsī Ṭhākura receives a vision of transcendental Māyāpura and Navadvīpa-dhāma. How can I also have this great fortune? When I look around, all I see are objects of this world.”
“Stay always with the Vaiṣṇavas, who are closely related to the dhāma, while maintaining a prayerful mood and readiness to serve. Then everything will be revealed to you in due course.”
“How can I advance in bhakti?” Gurudeva inquired. “What limbs of bhakti are most important for me to practice?”
“In bhakti-sādhana, sādhu-saṅga is essential. Śrī Guru is a pure sādhu; therefore, of all the limbs of devotion, the first is to accept the shelter of a genuine guru. You should accept initiation from a qualified guru and follow his instructions and devotional example.
guru-pādāśraya dīkṣā gurura sevana sad-dharma-śikṣā-pṛcchā sādhu-mārgānugamana
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.115
[On the path of bhakti, one must: (1) accept a genuine guru; (2) accept initiation from him; (3) serve him; (4) receive instructions from the spiritual master and make inquiries in order to learn devotional service; (5) follow in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas and follow the directions given by the spiritual master.]
Ācārya Kesarī continued, “Guru sends his disciples to train under the guidance of Vaiṣṇavas who are more advanced than them, who possess a similar mood, and who are affectionately disposed towards them. Sādhakas (practitioners) should reside in the dhāma in such association, hear hari-kathā, serve the Deities, and chant harināma. Chanting harināma is itself the most important limb of bhakti. Sanātana Gosvāmī explains in the Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta (2.3.158):
kṛṣṇasya nānā-vidha-kīrtaneṣu tan-nāma-saṅkīrtanam eva mukhyam tat-prema-sampaj-janane svayaṁ drāk śaktaṁ tataḥ śreṣṭhatamaṁ mataṁ tat
[Among the many ways to glorify Kṛṣṇa, the congregational chanting of His holy name is the greatest because it has the power to instantly award the treasure of pure love for Kṛṣṇa.]
“Kṛṣṇa has many names,” Ācārya Kesarī said, “of which some are secondary—such as Jagannātha and Nārāyaṇa—for they are related to this material universe. Those names of Kṛṣṇa that are related to the transcendental abode of Vraja are primary—such as Gopī-jana-vallabha, Rādhā-ramaṇa, Gopīnātha, and Yaśodā-nandana—for they bestow the wealth of pure love. You should chant those names of Kṛṣṇa that the Vraja-devīs sing when they yearn to meet with Kṛṣṇa. These are present in various songs of our ācāryas. More specifically, you should incessantly chant the mahāmantra, which is composed of eight pairs of names, and contains sentiments of both union and separation of the Divine Couple Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Steady practice of the mahāmantra without offenses will soon grant perfection.”
[Excerpted from the Bhakta Bandhav Publication “Sri Guru Darsana“]