Śukadeva Gosvāmī gave advice to Parīkṣit Mahārāja. He said, “I have told you many histories and spoken of many vratas, including cāturmāsya-vrata. But this last vrata is only for the followers of śṛṅgāra-rasa—the Vraja-devīs’ footstep followers.”
The sādhana-siddha gopīs followed this kātyāyanī-vrata. Externally, it was like they were cheating ordinary mundane people. But internally they offered themselves at the lotus feet of the nitya-siddha Vraja-devīs, and attained Kṛṣṇa’s service.
They followed this one-month process. They woke up in the early morning and continuously sang Kṛṣṇa’s glories throughout the day. One by one, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes appeared in their heart. The power of the mantra was with them, as well as its presiding deity. Gurudeva is always present with the mantra that he gives his disciples. If they chant this mantra, Gurudeva and his help will always be with them.
Yogamāyā is situated in Vṛndāvana. She is Bhagavati Paurṇamāsī, and she is Vṛndā-devī. With all her expansions she protected and took care of all the Vraja-devīs. The Vraja-devīs performed worship and chanted this mantra everyday, and on this day today Kṛṣṇa Himself came and gave them darshan. Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, the aṣṭa-sakhīs, and nitya-siddha mañjarīs also came on this last day and gave their darshan. This means that they accepted the sādhana-siddha gopīs, and were ready to give them training. Kṛṣṇa arranged this whole situation to make them the eternal servants of the nitya-siddhas. Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained all these glories of kātyāyanī-vrata to Parīkṣit Mahārāja.
The followers of this kātyāyanī-vrata will never have to come again in the cycle of birth and death. They will never remember any mundane līlā. They will cross beyond this world. Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard a lot of hari-kathā, but he had not chosen, “Which group should I follow? Should I follow Prahlāda Mahārāja, Dhruva, or others, or should I follow the sakhās, the servants, or whom?” Śukadeva Gosvāmī did not hide anything. He spoke everything openly, and implied, “The rest is up to you.”
What was Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s choice? When Śukadeva Gosvāmī disappeared after speaking Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, mother Uttarā came to Parīkṣit Mahārāja and said, “Dear son, the seven days have passed and soon you will leave. I am a lady, and your mother. Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained many things in his hari-kathā. But what should I follow? What is necessary for me now? What is the best and easy process? Please tell me.”
Then Parīkṣit Mahārāja told his mother. “I know the desire of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. The reason he came. The reason Kṛṣṇa sent him here. He is the footstep follower of the Vraja-devīs. He taught me this. I tell you now; there is no need to follow so many things. Only be appointed to Kṛṣṇa. But in what way? The same way the Vraja-devīs followed. They knew only that Kṛṣṇa was their beloved. By following the Vraja-devīs’ footsteps, Kṛṣṇa will surely accept you. But if you follow any other’s footsteps, He will not be so pleased. He will give you a bribe, cheat you and send you far away. You will never have him as your good friend, relative, or beloved. Oh mother, just follow the Vraja-devīs’ moods, desires, and footsteps in all respects, thinking, ‘Kṛṣṇa is my lover.’
Mother Uttarā said, “Yes. Now I understand. Before, I saw you as my son and Śukadeva Gosvāmī as a man. But now I see that everything is created in this world by the power of svarūpa-śakti. There is no man or woman in this world. All beings and things are the expansions of svarūpa-śakti and under Her management. Svarūpa-śakti gives the uniform of a man, lady, animal, or other—only for Kṛṣṇa’s service. If we go to svarūpa-śakti, She will give the desire for svarūpa-siddha-bhakti. Then we will not run for the gratification of our body, mind and senses. We will not pray and beg to any person for the happiness of our own bodies. We will no longer be greedy for material enjoyment.”
Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Parīkṣit Mahārāja how Kṛṣṇa gave a boon to the Vraja-devīs after their performance of kātyāyanī-vrata.
na mayy āveśita-dhiyāṁ
kāmaḥ kāmāya kalpate
bharjitā kvathitā dhānāḥ
prāyo bījāya neśate
Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 10.22.26“The desire of those who fix their minds on Me does not lead to material desire for sense gratification, just as barleycorns burned by the sun and then cooked can no longer grow into new sprouts.”
If anyone seriously follows this vrata, then they will continuously think of Kṛṣṇa, and then the fires of material urges, such as lust and anger, will be destroyed. Just like a grain that has been roasted will not sprout if planted. In the same way, if anyone follows kātyāyanī-vrata with the body, their body will never disturb them. Their senses will not go for recreation, for lust, or any other way. They will be appointed to Kṛṣṇa. But they must follow sincerely, and with eagerness for this benediction.
Kṛṣṇa Himself gave this boon. Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and the Vraja-devīs came and accepted the sādhana-siddhas into their training—into sevā kuñja. They gave good training and then, the next year, Kṛṣṇa called them all during śāradiya-rāsa. When the gopīs heard the call of Kṛṣṇa’s flute they ran to meet Him, and those who had good relation with the nitya-siddhas had no obstacles. Those who did not have good relation however, were arrested in their homes by their family members. At that time they left their bodies in their homes and went with their soul body to meet with Kṛṣṇa. Yogamāyā arranged the same deity form of each gopī when they went to meet with Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa dance. People thought, “My sister is present.” “My wife is present.” “My daughter is present in the house.” But they left their body and went with the nitya-siddhas. Those who have very close and sweet relation with the nitya-siddhas are always kept nearby.
The Vraja-gopīs followed this vrata once in Vraja-maṇḍala. Nowadays, we follow year after year. But why doesn’t our desire change?
The conclusion is given in śāstra.
Ananya. We must have one pointed desire. If our desire is not one pointed, ananya, and inside we have desire other than unalloyed bhakti for Kṛṣṇa, then all our spiritual activities we perform will not nourish the creeper of devotion, rather, they will increase the strength of our anarthas. We may hide our true desire, but if we don’t wish to be clean within, and don’t think we suffer from the burning sensation of our anarthas within, yet we still perform so much worship, vrata and tapa, all our endeavor will flow away into the drain. For example: If you are a farmer, and make a canal to bring water from a river to your field, but rather than connecting the canal from the river to your farm, you take it to a sewer drain, all is lost. God and Śrī Guru want to clean us. But when Guru comes to do surgery, we cry and suffer, and pray for him to let us be as we are in māyā. Therefore Kṛṣṇa purifies our desires slowly. But He doesn’t reject the followers of this vrata. They will never be lost.
Kṛṣṇa says—
nehābhikrama-nāśo ‘sti
pratyavāyo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya
trāyate mahato bhayāt
Bhagavad-gītā 2.40“If anyone follows this dharma, then they will never lose any of the result. By following even a little, a great result will come.”
śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe
yoga-bhraṣṭo ‘bhijāyate
Bhagavad-gītā 6.41
“If they become fallen, die, or fall deeply into misfortune in this life, then in their next birth they will be born in a good family and get good association.”
Kṛṣṇa said—
tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
bhajann apakvo ‘tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
ko vārtha āpto ‘bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 1.5.17“If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Krsna consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities perfectly?”
If anyone follows sva-dharma, then they will slowly progress and will go up, not down. But for those who don’t follow, there is no guarantee. They only look at faults and throw insults. What benefit will they get? Kṛṣṇa says if anyone follows even a little bit, He protects them.
Therefore, just chant this mantra in the early morning, remember the example of the Vraja-gopīs, and offer obeisance. In this month stay in the holy dhāma, near the bank of the Yamunā, and pray to the Vraja-devīs with verses like Gopi-gīta and others. This will never be lost. This will give us great profit. After some time, you will make a connection to the mahā-bhāgavata Vrajavāsīs. This is the result of kātyāyanī-vrata.
Otherwise I will eventually lose my faith. Today I have relation with a mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava, Gurudeva, but the next moment bitterness comes and I run away for sense gratification. But after following this vrata, one’s faith will be firmly fixed.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.18“By regular hearing the Bhāgavatam and by rendering service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is praised with transcendental ślokas, is established as an irrevocable fact.”
Nistha, deep faith, will come. Bhagavati uttama-śloke. All of God’s glories will come as well as deep faith in Him. You will develop a strong relationship with Vaiṣṇavas, and with Guru-pāda-padma. Then you will cry and weep, “Hā Rūpa! Hā Raghunātha! Hā Gurudeva!” You will always pray—
he rādhe vraja-devīke ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ
śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ
ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī jīva-gopālakau
“I am doing vandanā to the Six Gosvāmīs, who were always calling out, “He Rādhe! O Queen of Vṛndāvana! Where are You? He Lalite! O son of Nanda Mahārāja! Where are You? Are You seated beneath the kalpa-vṛkṣa trees of Śrī Govardhana Hill? Or are You roaming in all the forests along the soft banks of the Kalindī?” They were always lamenting, overwhelmed and burning in feelings of great separation as they wandered throughout all Vraja-maṇḍala.”
Then daily we will come to the feet of Govardhana, to the bank of the Yamunā, to Mathurā, and to all Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes places. And by coming to these places, and praying to them, their great mercy will come to us.
Jaiva Dharma tells of how Sannyāsi Ṭhākura saw a Vaiṣṇava chanting. He was crying so much and rolling on the ground in ecstasy. Seeing this, Sannyāsi Ṭhākura thought, “Where can I meet these devotees?”
He got this desire from sadhu-sāṅga, and was able to find his way to Pradyumna kuñja. There he met Bābājī Mahārāja who was doing mānasi-sevā, during brahma-muhūrta, while chanting harināma. Sannyāsi Ṭhākura was not qualified but he had deep desire. By the mercy of Śrī Guru he was able to attain entrance into the eternal pastimes of Rādhā Kṛṣṇa.
The fruit of this vrata is sādhu-saṅga. Desire will come for nitya bhāgavata sevā, constant service of God. All anarthas will be destroyed by the desire for God’s service.
Bhagavati uttama-śloke. Desire will come to hear and remember the glories of God. There will be no more desire for watching movies or playing games. Our desire will be to read spiritual literature.
If there is no mercy, we will have no good desires, and if we have no good desires, then we will go very far from sādhus.
Our ācāryas like Sanātana Gosvāmī, in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, and Kavi Karṇapura Gosvāmī, in Ānanda-vṛndāvana- campū, as well as Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his Gopāla-campū, write about this vrata. The Hari-vaṁśa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Brahma Purāṇa, and many other śāstras speak of this pastime.
What do they tell us? In this kātyāyanī-vrata, the sādhaka first arranges an āsana and says, “O Kātyāyanī Devī. Please call our beloved Kṛṣṇa here to sit. If I call Him, He won’t come. But if you call, He will come. You are Guru and acarya. You have relation with Him. Please call Him.” Next they say, “I am now offering pādya. With nice water scented with the pollen of fragrant flowers, I will wash Kṛṣṇa’s feet. I will never wash the feet of any other but Him. I will do praṇāma and offer myself to only Him.”
If once in one’s life, a person offers praṇāma to Kṛṣṇa, he becomes purified. We offer praṇāma to that Kṛṣṇa, and no other. We have no greed to offer obeisance to any other. Our praṇāma will be only for Kṛṣṇa. “O Paurṇamāsī. O Kātyāyanī Devi, give us this conviction.”
Then we offer arghyam, “I offer you arghya. Please take it and offer it to Kṛṣṇa. Why? This is my puṣpāñjali. I offer everything to Him. My body, mind, and other senses are the paraphernalia for His worship. I have these gifts from the Creator, but they are contaminated because I try to use them for the pleasure of others. I pray to you to make them very strong for Kṛṣṇa’s service.”
Then we give madhuparka. “May the taste of honey from Kṛṣṇa come in my heart. May Kṛṣṇa accept this sweet drink.” Then they say, “How can I massage Kṛṣṇa. Give me a spiritual body so that I can massage candana, kumkum, arbaṭa, ubṭana and oil on Kṛṣṇa. I will arrange water from the holy tīrthas and then, O Devi, I will bathe Him.” Next they pray, “Devī, please give me instruction on how to dress Him, apply tilaka on His forehead, give Him a fitting place to sit,” and so forth. “For His pleasure I will make khīra, laddu, and all other preparations and offer them to Him. May He accept my service. Please request Him.”
“I will give him tāmbūla, and mukha śuddhi. Then after giving him ācamana, I will perform His ārati. O goddess! May this be my constant service. You are my Guru, my guardian, my guide. Please help me attain this perfection of life.”
The Vraja-gopīs continuously chanted mantra and followed this vrata perfectly. Then in the end Kṛṣṇa came and gave them darshan.
Kṛṣṇa was pleased. He gave them a boon, and then disappeared. Then the nitya-siddha Vraja-devīs accepted the sādhana-siddhas. Then the sādhana-siddhas went to their homes and from that day, they followed the rules and regulations of sannyāsa. They had no attachment or relation with any other. They played, danced, but only with their own group. People could not understand, “Where do they go? What do they do? What is their program?” No could know because they were above māyā.
The light of Māyā-devī did not reflect on them, therefore people in māyā could not see them.
yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ
tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni
sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
Bhagavad-gītā 2.69“While ordinary people sleep, the sage is awake in self-realization, and while the sage sleeps, ordinary people are awake in sense gratification.”
People run for work and business, day and night, only to maintain and feed the body. But those people have no knowledge of the soul and Supreme Soul. Devotees follow the soul and Supreme Soul, and they have no idea of this body, health and sense’s service. But they are happier and more satisfied then mundane people. They have no tension or need to maintain the body, everything runs on automatically. Materialistic people try again and again to maintain themselves, but still they suffer.
The Vraja-devīs are like lotuses in water. Although in the water, they do not get wet. Like a piece of stone that is undisturbed by fire. This is the nature of mahā-bhāgavatas.
Now the next month starts. Today Mahā Lakṣmī says, “Jagannātha, I can’t stay with you any longer. You are not good for me. You like the gopīs and can only think of them. You always favor them. I serve you but you don’t accept any of my service. You don’t like my cooking.” She becomes angry and goes back to her father’s house. Now the ocean is peaceful. There are not so many waves. Why? The daughter of Ratnākara, Lord of the ocean, has returned to her ocean home and her father is thus joyful and makes the ocean peaceful. She is his only daughter. Now Kṛṣṇa, Jagannātha, only eats khicari. Yaśodā Mātā cooks. Why? She is elderly, how can she cook so many things? If you go Nanda-grāma, Varsānā, or Jagannātha’s temple, there is only khicari for this month. After one month Lakṣmī comes back. She thought, “If I don’t go back, He will reject me and call any other.” Therefore she comes back on the 14th of January, Makara-saṅkrānti,and then starts chappan-bhoga, cooking 56 items. Today is the start of the separation of Jagannātha and Lakṣmī, but Jagannātha is very happy and says, “I will go and stay in Vraja with the Vraja-devīs. Outwardly, he shows as if he is very disturbed, but he is very happy within.
Therefore from tomorrow, we will pray Nṛsiṁhadeva mantra, and then for Jagannātha’s pleasure, Maṅgala-gītam. Then we will start maṅgala-āratī from 4:30 to 5:00. Then harināma, kirtan and then class.
Nitāi Gaura Premānande!
Tad-anurāgi-janānugāmī
Following in the footsteps of Bhakta Bāndhav Śrīla Gurudeva,
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
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