[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on July 8th, 1997, in Holland, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 21]
Srila Gurudeva: Gita is saranagati. Arjuna told Narada, “I am a bosom friend of Krsna. He gives these teachings to lower-class people, those who are not devotees yet. Saranagati is the doorway of bhakti. It is not bhakti, but the doorway. Those who follow saranagati will enter in the bhakti line; and then sraddha, nistha, ruci, asakti, bhava, prema, and all other advanced stages of love will develop. Saranagati is not bhakti, and yet Krsna told me, ‘You should offer everything—your heart, mind, body, and senses to Me.’ It is like an upahasa, ridicule for Me. Sakhas are situated on a very high level of devotion, but this saranagati is still external. If someone wants to be a devotee he will accept saranagati. It is like a doorway, an entrance by which we can enter into bhakti. Yet, Krsna was teaching me that saranagati.”
Arjuna asked Narada, “Do you think that I have no saranagati; that I am not the sakha of Krsna?” Narada replied, “O yes, you have crossed over all these things. You have crossed over saranagati. You are already in the realm of bhakti. You are not a sadhaka jiva; therefore, nistha, ruci, asakti and bhava are all in you. You are perfect. You have no defect and no anarthas—nothing. Moreover, your bhakti is not a mixture of jnana, karma, yoga, and tapasya. You are an ekantika bhakta.” Krsna’s instructions in Bhagavad-gita have been told for sadhakas, not for siddhas. Arjuna is not a sadhaka; he is a siddha. He has crossed over that level. After this comes santa-rasa. Who are devotees in santa-rasa? Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanatana and Sanandana. Arjuna has crossed so much beyond this. He’s not like Sanatana and so forth. They cannot even touch the dust of the lotus feet of Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, Sahadeva and Draupadi. The Pandavas are so high.
If anyone comes to advise me, “You should go and choose any good guru, serve him and offer everything to him. And you should chant at least sixteen rounds.” Is this proper, or not proper? Suppose I am chanting daily one lakh of holy names, I am always absorbed in bhakti, and I inspire hundreds and thousands of peeople. Then someone comes and says, “Oh, if you cannot chant 16, then you can chant 8 rounds daily. And don’t take eggs, wine, fish, and so on. And you should not have any girlfriend.” If he tries to teach me in this way, it is okay? I will say, “Oh yes, yes, I will do that. I will follow you”. Similarly, Arjuna is saying, “Krsna has taught me these things in the Gita.” It is like this.