Pinnacle of Devotion

The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual. Because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical, His name is never conditioned by the laws of material nature…

Although Vṛtrāsura played the role of a demon, he expressed his great desire to love Kṛṣṇa. Just as a chaste lady who chants and remembers her husband’s glories without any reason or desire for personal gain, so the pure devotee serves Kṛṣṇa. This is a very important teaching of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This history and that of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja are very significant. Hearing about them, we try to imbibe their qualities…

Even if we do not have a spontaneous desire to serve Kṛṣṇa in the mood of the Vrajavāsīs, we can at least know from śastrā that Kṛṣṇa’s three-fold bending form is very beautiful. Although He is Yaśodā-maiyā’s small son, He is the God of gods, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even Brahmā and Śaṅkara cannot fully understand His identity…

vande ‘haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpam sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁs taṁ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya devaṁ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca This one verse offers obeisances to gurudeva, to our śikṣā-guru, to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates, and to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Their associates. When we are in a hurry and do not have time…

It is useless. Simply cutting jungles is useless if one’s mood is not to construct bhakti in the hearts of devotees. This is the essential factor. We have not come to this world to create many material constructions for our comfort. Our Gosvāmīs and ācāryas are very powerful and have also cut jungles, but we are not so powerful. If we concentrate only on trying to cut the jungles of sahajiyās, Māyāvādīs, and sense enjoyers – even in the name of ‘making devotees’ – we will be affected by those same contaminations…

Let us try to enter deeply into kṛṣṇa-bhakti, taking initiation (dīkṣā) in a real way2 so that we can have a permanent connection with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We should also honor a person who has not yet received dīkṣā but is chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name, for he is trying to be part of Kṛṣṇa’s family. Even if he rebukes us, we should still honor him. We should criticize only our undeveloped, unconscious mind. The mind is so wicked. Each morning we should…

The gopīs, on the other hand, were not living in Kṛṣṇa’s palace, nor was He supporting them with food, clothing, or any material facility. Therefore, they were not in any way subordinate to Him. Rather, like Him, they were independent. They could chastise Him, whereas He could not chastise them. They would say, “Go from here. You do not support us. We take nothing from You. We are not obliged to You.” He could not pacify them very easily…

Now come with me to Dvārakā and see one of the two kinds of mādhurya-rasa, namely svakīya-rasa, the love of Kṛṣṇa’s lawfully wedded wives. In Dvārakā, svakīya is the best rasa of all, and Kṛṣṇa’s 16,108 queens are the excellent examples. Of these queens, eight are most prominent, among them Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāmā are prominent, and among these two queens Satyabhāmā is the most exalted…

The brilliance of unnatojjvala-rasa is unparalleled, and it is this love that all of ourācāryas in the Gauḍīya sampradāya have come to this world to teach. Our ācāryas did not come to taste what Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to taste, but to give this same rasa which He came to distribute. The distribution of unnatojjvala-rasa is the main reason for His advent, but not the foremost, supreme reason. It is the primary external reason. As mentioned above, the primary internal reason was to taste Rādhā’s mood, and the second was to answer the call of Advaita Ācārya…