On hearing Raya Ramananda speak, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Yes, yes. This is something but go on. It is not external neither is it internal. I accept what you have to say, but you should go further.”
Sri Raya Ramananda Prabhu then spoke a sloka. The sloka states how a person will only be hungry if he has an appetite and thirst. At that time, any preparation will be tasty. The taste of the preparation is directly proportional to the appetite. Lack of appetite will make even a delicious preparation taste bland and tasteless. On having a lack of appetite, you will say, “Oh what preparation have you made? What kinds of sabjis’ are there? What sort of dahl is there? These preparations are not very good.” Lack of appetite will make you pass comments on the preparation. But if you have a blazing appetite inside you, you will not ask, “What has been prepared?” You will take capattis without ghee and butter with sheer delight.
Without asakti (attachment) and mamata (a sense of possessiveness—myness), prema to Krishna will not be awakened. Prema will follow asakti. The thicker the asakti is, the thicker the prema will be. And Krishna will be controlled.
I will explain on these condensed stages of devotion during the evening classes. You should know all these facets of the realm of devotion; they are very helpful in enhancing your service to Krishna. There are many deep explanations behind them. If you have no prema to Krishna, despite offering lakhs of tasteful preparations, and sixteen types of worship to Him, Krishna will not be happy. And accordingly, we will not be happy, because it has been stated in Srimad Bhagavatham:
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6 The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
11 May 1996, HOLLAND