These are some glimpses of nitya-lila and we should remember these conceptions. We should make our mind focused. Keep these with you while chanting harinama. Gradually follow this path and walk on this path. If you will remember Her [Radharani] and Her associates then She will give you power and your mind will not be restless.
Many people say, “I do bhajan, but I am restless. I cannot think of harinama.” So follow the acaryas. If you don't take shelter of the acaryas and follow according to their desire, and you don't know how service is done, then your mind will certainly run. You will not get rasa and so you will run to maya. Follow the rasika Vaisnavas, take shelter of them.
Also, try to follow but do not imitate. Try to do anusarana which means to follow in the footsteps. If you cant do anything else at least remember Radharani’s lotus feet. Take the dust from Her feet on your forehead.
Das Goswami therefore says to always remember that symbol of barley on Her lotus feet. Then She has the ankle bells. So then what do you do? Give Her toe rings, remember how to serve Radharani. Give Her ankle bells. And massage Her feet. Give Her sandal and wash Her feet. Decorate Her feet. Then gradually you will progress. Everyday try to do this while chanting. Start doing this service.
But those who are foolish, and who do not do service while chanting harinama and only shouting and shouting, then what is the benefit for them? How long will you chant harinama in a dry way? You will just get a sore throat and be tired. You wont like it and you will sleep and give it up. You will say, “What is the use? This harinama is useless.”
Some people say, “Oh I don't like chanting,” and others reply, “Oh then watch movies while you chant harinama! You have a mobile or computer. So while you chant, if you cant chant, just watch a few movies. In this way you can chant one lakh of harinama. Then you will like chanting harinama.” This is just like the conception of pigs and dogs. Will you be happy just looking at the pigs in the gutter?
If you come in the path of bhajan then take shelter of Radharani’s feet and then try to serve Her feet. Try to serve Mahaprabhu’s feet. Try to serve Krsna’s feet. What is the ban?
While chanting harinama give them a seat, offer them pranam, offer them flowers, sandal paste, offer them arati. Start this gradually, what is the problem? But you wont do anything and then you complain that you don't get any result. If you don't follow the process then how will you get any result? You are just circling around externally, externally, externally, but not doing any internal service, so how will we then develop mamata? How will we become freed from this material world?
When you come to the ashram then the Guru-varga does not wait. Immediately they give us service. They give us the tendency and absorption in service, otherwise you will neglect rules and regulations. So they give their own tendency. “Do this, do that. This is your service. This is all yours. I am yours. Everything is yours.” Do not feel that you do not have this sense of family or possessiveness. Take ownership of these services. Think, “This ashram is mine. This temple is mine. Gurudeva is mine. The Vaisnavas are mine.” Then we should do this service. By this service we will develop mamata. Then this mamata will pull us and keep us bound to their feet without being able to budge.
However if we have no mamata, no service, we don't do any service, then just like sand that is flying in the air, just like dust that is blowing, we will blow around in the world without finding any peace or happiness. Like today there is a big dust storm and the dust flies around to one place and lands there, then some days later there is another dust storm and it flies somewhere else. You are not fixed anywhere. If we want to enter Paramartha, the transcendental reality, we must take shelter, and what does it mean to take shelter? It means immediately start serving the feet. Start serving the feet, learn how to do this. Das Goswami therefore teaches this process of service. While weeping he says, “Oh I need this service. I desire that service. Please give me that service.” One after another he is praying.
What did he tell before, “Oh I will go to Yavata. Give me some place there and I will clean Your drains and Your courtyard and outside Your house. And then I will use my hair to dry them. I will apply some nice fragrant oil, musk and sandal there and I will make everything nice and fragrant.” He is always praying like this.
This is Krsna’s place, we have a temple, if everything is dirty then how can we please? Shouldn't we do any service? Shouldn't we clean and make it nice and fragrant? What did Narottama Das Thakur do for his Guru? How did Syamananda serve his Gurudeva? Those who have no mamata for service, who have no relation with service, then they will never develop this feeling of possessiveness or ownership. Those who have this sense of ownership, “They are mine, they are my family,” like a mother has mamata for her infant. So the infant should also have mamata for the mother. The Lord has so much love for us but we should also develop love and familial sense for Him. If we don’t serve Him then we can never develop that.
If we do not follow from the beginning.. we should start from the beginning. Serve the feet. We should pray for the service of the feet. “I will give You toe rings and ankle bells and give mahavar on Your feet.” Gradually we can learn this and progress. We can then develop more and more abhilasa and greed.
Those who have not entered in the process of service then there is no such unfortunate person as them, they are always being swallowed by time. The serpent of time is always devouring them inch by inch, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. They are only wasting their time. Even though we have gotten such a great opportunity we do not serve even externally, what to speak of internally. So what will be the result? Only dryness. So Mahaprabhu’s associates show us how they continuously serve externally as well as internally. This is all shown to us as an example.