…Kṛṣṇa is weeping! It seems that Kṛṣṇa is not pleased. Thus, you may think it is not bhakti; but it is bhakti. Because it is favorable to Kṛṣṇa. The services and activities we perform for our holy master, for each and every Vaiṣṇava, and to Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu must be very favorable from our hearts. They are all in one family.
…But, these devotional practices should be performed under the guidance of any bona fide guru, or a śikṣā-guru. Gurudeva is an uttama-mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava. Any mahā-bhāgavata should be considered as one’s śikṣā-guru. We should not think that Diksha-guru is most superior while śikṣā-guru in most inferior. We should not be of this mentality. The position of a śikṣā-guru is not minimized anywhere. The scriptures also glorify the position of the śikṣā-guru along with the Diksha-guru…
…You should try to have a very regular and good association of bona fide devotees. The seed of devotion has been planted in your hearts, but if you don’t water this seed of devotion with the water of hari-kathā; it may dry and be destroyed. You should carefully and diligently tend to this seed of devotion. You should always be in good association and you must also sincerely study scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, and all other books of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Svāmījī, and our Guru-varga. Thus, we should gradually…
We cannot live without air. To maintain this body, you will have to take air, water, and other substances. Anyābhilāṣa must be avoided. But, how can we perform activities that will not be classified as being separate from kṛṣṇa-bhakti? Without performing the most basic actions, we cannot live. The actions we perform must be…
…‘Divya-jñāna hṛde prakāśita.’ What is divya-jñāna? You will have to try to know what divya-jñāna is. ‘Cakṣu-dāna dilā jei janme janme prabhu sei divya-jñāna hṛde prakāśita.’ Chanting, chanting, and also engaging in kīrtana to the accompaniment of the playing of the harmonium, mṛdaṅgas, karatālas, and dancing; but not knowing anything of this divya-jñāna, transcendental knowledge, then what will be the effect? You should try to know the deep underlying moods of this kīrtana. ‘Cakṣu-dāna dilā jei.’ What is cakṣu-dāna?
It is the vision by which you will realize that…
…ISKCON has no father or mother like me. You should understand this. Whether they respect me or not, I will always have full love and affection for ISKCON. I care for them like their father and mother and as a śikṣā-guru. If a disciple abandons the beneficial path and resorts to an unbeneficial one, even though the disciple abandons the guru, the guru can never leave his disciple. So, I can never leave ISKCON, I will have to follow what Svāmījī has ordered me to do, whether the leaders like it or not…
Svāmījī and our Guru-varga embody this dynamic current of bhakti. This current originated from Kṛṣṇa who passed it down to Brahmā and this current culminates in the presence of our guru. If we want to control this current by many rules and regulations, then the current will be stopped. Bhakti is not bound by any artificial rules and regulations. Bhakti is bound by her own rule and regulation—love and affection. By control, everything will be spoiled…
I have told you that Rāya Rāmānanda was like a king, like a viceroy. When they met, he told Caitanya Mahāprabhu. “At first I saw You as a sannyāsī in the renounced order; a very beautiful young sannyāsī. The red coming from Your face cannot be defeated; it is not so hot but more cool like the moon—You have a moonface. At first I saw You as a sannyāsī, but now I am seeing that You are that black Kṛṣṇa. How? I am seeing that You are the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, taking the heart and mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the guidance of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.
“Why am I seeing so?”
Mahāprabhu replied that, “You are a mahā-bhāgavata, a certain type of Vaisnava. Not kanistha adhikārī, not madhyama adhikāra. You are so much more, a maha-bhagavat.”
What are the symptoms of a mahā-bhāgavata? If he will see a cow, at once he will remember Kṛṣṇa and say, “This is Vṛndāvana and Krisna is grazing the cows.” He can stay in any jungle and think, “Oh, this is Vṛndāvana.” He can see any river, sea or ocean and he will think, “Oh, the Yamunā is flowing here.” If he will see any high place, he will say, “Oh, here is Girirāja Govardhana, very near and dear and very much serving. Kṛṣṇa has lifted him with His finger.” He will always see his aradhyadeva, worshipable Kṛṣṇa, and see that all are worshipping. And in Kṛṣṇa he will see all. This is the symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata.
Then he [Rāya Rāmānanda] prayed to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. At first I used to know You as a mad person but now I am seeing by Your grace that You are a topmost Vaisnava; and not only the topmost, but also so merciful. He was very glad. This is the outward result externally. But the internal reason was that He [Caitanya Mahāprabhu] had made up His mind that, “First I should meet there and I should go to the school of Visaka, that is Rāya Rāmānanda, and there I will learn so much. Then I will be qualified to realize Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā.” So He went to the school as a student.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu had taken bath and He was sitting on the bank of the Godāvarī River. The Godāvarī River is very sacred. She is like Laksmi. He was sitting there on the bank. What was He thinking? That, “I will know the greatness of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Her heart.”
At once, this big crowd surrounded. So many learned scholars and Sanskrit paṇḍitas were reciting Vedic mantras and playing on a drum, he [Rāya Rāmānanda] was coming in a palanquin, as a king. When he took off all of his things and wanted to take bath, he saw nearby, not so nearby, but a little far away, the bal sannyāsī. Bal sannyāsī means, a kisora, a young sannyāsī. And while sitting, lakhs and lakhs of sunrays [emanated from Him]. He was astonishing.
“Who is he?” [thought Rāya Rāmānanda].
He was so attractive. But he [Rāya Rāmānanda] was fearing the paṇḍits. “What will they say?” That being a śūdra, he is going to a brahmana sannyāsī. He wanted that, “I should not do it.” But his heart was so stolen and attracted that he could not check himself. (inaudible 4:38) He told the brahmanas, “Wait for me,” and he left his crown and royal dress, and wearing one kaupīna, came like a beggar.