Once the late Sripada B. S. Govinda Maharaja—spiritual heir to the Sri Caitanya Saraswata Math, that noble and dignified institution of Srila B R Sridhara Maharaja—referring to all of the followers of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura said, “We are all living on the remnants of Swami Maharaja.” In this he was referring to the preaching campaign of our Srila Prabhupada.

This is heartening to think of for those of us who are Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and grand-disciples, and to a large degree it is factual. Although there are those who preached and practiced independently of our Guru Maharaja, and amongst them some individuals possess more love for Krishna than all of Srila Prabhupada’s followers combined, they too are indebted to him for the dignity he has brought to the Gaudiya sampradaya, and for having manifest the desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura as a most willing servitor of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura.

This line of Thakura Bhaktivinoda is, in our estimation, the orthodoxy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He was the seventh Goswami, following in the footsteps of Sri Rupa, Sanatana, Sri Jiva, and others. Srila Prabhupada used to say that his mission was the mission of Bhaktivinoda. In the language of Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta, we are all “Bhaktivinoda parivara,” and by the grace of our Srila Prabhupada we have a noteworthy place in this most honorable family.

Outside of our family, there are other admirers of Mahaprabhu. They too, although in many instances only in a material sense, are also living off the remnants of our Srila Prabhupada. Although some have recognized his contribution and pay tribute to him with real spiritual feeling on occasions such as this, considering him to be the one who fulfilled the prophecy of their Lord, they are in the minority. They are great persons who have the spiritual standing to recognize that outside of their own formal lineage the true spiritual decent of Mahaprabhu appeared in the form of his personage, shedding light worldwide on the seventh Goswami and his spiritual heir: the Prabhupada of our Prabhupada. Others also pay tribute to our Prabhupada, acknowledging that they too are living by his mercy. To them he has brought material prosperity to their religious profession. Although our Gurudeva himself abhorred such professional Vaishnavism, he has nonetheless shown such persons mercy. Were it not for our Srila Prabhupada, they would have remained guides, but on a not-so-well trodden path in the religious jungle of the world, and thus they would be professionals with few patrons. In Vrindavana he criticized them, and in Vrindavana today they live on that which is but his remnants in the form of followers that would know nothing of their religion were it not for him.

Our Guru Maharaja is praised for right and wrong reasons, and those who criticize him do so at their own expense. Thus we are the descendants of a great acarya of the orthodoxy of Sriman Mahaprabhu. Yet we must ask ourselves, “Are we living on his remnants such that within the orthodoxy we are outside his grace?” We should be sure that such is possible. Are we but living on that which he has done and doing nothing for him, claiming all the while that it is we who are his followers, and for that matter, we alone? If this is the case, it is we who will draw nothing but his displeasure, despite our words of praise in his name on this occasion.

What then does it mean to be Prabhupada’s follower? This question presses his true follower both on this day and on every day of his or her life: What does he stand for, and what could he not stand? How much of each is within us, and how willing are we today to root out that which he could not stand, and thus to stand next to him, living for that which he represents?

It is not an institution that he embodied, rather an ideal that an institution formed around for the sole purpose of facilitating the embrace of that high ideal. It is this ideal that is the legendary house in which the whole world can live.

Some may object that he gave both institution and ideal, and to separate the two is to do away with both. Such persons have little understanding of the nature of his institution. If his institution is synonymous with his ideal, it is not the institution these objectors identify with. The institution that is one with his ideal has moving walls, and secret doors. It is not laukika, but alaukika. It is not a rigid structure in which everything is set in stone. It’s rules are made to be broken, in as much as they serve only to promote the life of love that overrules the life under law.

This servitor knows only too well of his own experience in love. When the morning announcement was regularly broadcast, “Only the sannyasis and GBC will be allowed to accompany Srila Prabhupada on his morning walk,” he was nonetheless quick to accompany His Divine Grace and often win his attention, as Srila Prabhupada would ask of his insignificant preacher disciple, “What are they saying?” referring to the common people who were encountered in the course of distributing Prabhupada’s teachings. To the common man and woman, Prabhupada’s house was open to the uncommon ideal of Sri Caitanya.

Srila Prabhupada represents this, and in this his heart pines for all to embrace it. Even those aforementioned who live not for that which he stands. He beckons to all of them as well to live as Mahaprabhu Sri Krishna Caitanya has taught: not merely in precept, but in practice. In this it is we, his disciples and grand-disciples, who more than anyone else must hearken to his call. If we do this, nothing else will do more to inspire all in connection with Gaudiya Vaishnavism in modern times to rejoice in the realization that they are living on the remnants of our Srila Prabhupada, and digesting this, they will rise to the spiritual platform, dance with us and chant Srila Prabhupada’s holy name, that of Sri Krishna Caitanya, purely. The name of Sri Krishna Caitanya belongs to Srila Prabhupada. In this sense it is his, for no one but one who lives in the reality of “Krishna is mine (mamata),” the zenith of Vraja’s theistic attainment, could give that name away to one and all as our Prabhupada did. May he bless us with his holy remembrance on days such as this and every day hereafter.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura once instructed a disciple at the time of initiation into the Hare Krishna mantra that Krishna should be allowed to land in our hearts, just as an army is landed by the navy. An army is carried by a ship, and when they have landed, the fight begins, and they capture the country, just as Julius Caesar said, “Veni vidi vici: I came, I saw, I conquered.” So, we have to allow Krishna to land in our hearts. Then the fight will begin.

What is the proposal of Krishna consciousness, and what is the proposal of so many other conceptions? They are all giving us their assurances from time immemorial, saying, “I shall give you this, I shall give you that,” but the Krishna conception will enter and say, “My claim is this: the whole thing is mine, and you are all trespassers.” The fight will begin; the unwanted things are sure to withdraw, and Krishna consciousness will capture the whole heart. This is the process. Krishna consciousness has only to land within our hearts. Somehow or other, from a pure devotee, a bit of real Krishna consciousness should enter through our ears into our hearts, and Krishna will supply whatever is required. One who has imbibed even a slight regard for Krishna consciousness is assured of success in spiritual life, today or tomorrow.

We may have erected high walls on all sides to protect ourselves so that Krishna consciousness may not enter, but Krishna is a thief, and a thief requires no invitation. No preparation is necessary for his welcome. He will enter for his own interest, and that is our consolation. Our solace is that Krishna is a thief. Maya has erected her high walls on all sides, but nothing is sufficient to stop Krishna consciousness. Krishna is a thief, and stealthily he will enter one day.

A devotee may become hopeless, thinking, “The enemy is within my own house; my own kinsmen are my enemies. I am hopeless.” We may become disappointed, but Krishna consciousness will not leave us in any way. Krishna will persevere, and in due course of time, he will conquer. And other things, no matter how closely related they may be in private and well-protected rooms in our hearts, will have to go. They must take leave from every corner of our hearts. Krishna will conquer. Krishna will capture the whole thing. The unwanted lusty desires of our heart are foreign things. They are only mushrooms. Like mushrooms, they come out; they have no permanent stability or root. They are not rooted to the soil. We may think that what we have stored in our hearts is very near and dear, and that is already mixed with us as a part of our existence, but when Krishna consciousness enters, that will all float like mushrooms.

After all, they are mushrooms; they have no footing, no connection with the soil. They are only floating. All material interests are only floating on the surface. They are not deeply rooted within and without the whole of our existence. Only Krishna consciousness is present everywhere, within all parts of our existence. So, the mushrooms will have to vanish one day. This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.8.5)

pravistah karna-randhrena
svanam bhava-saroruham
dhunoti samalam Krsnah
salilasya yatha sarat

When Krishna enters the heart through the ear, he captures the lotus of the heart and then gradually makes all the dirt in the heart disappear. Just as when the autumn season comes, all the water everywhere becomes pure, so also, when Krishna enters our hearts, all the impurities within will gradually vanish, and only Krishna will remain forever.

This article originally appeared in Search for Sri Krishna: Reality the Beautiful (pdf).

Barring women from being Catholic priests is not the result of sexism 2,000 years ago, it’s because women cannot fulfill a basic function of the priesthood, “standing in the place of Jesus,” a leading British Catholic thinker argued Monday.

“This teaching is not at all a judgment on women’s abilities or rights. It says something about the specific role of the priest in Catholic understanding – which is to represent Jesus, to stand in his place,” argued Father Stephen Wang in a statement sent out by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.

It’s rare for the Catholic Church to defend its fundamental positions in this way.

Wang was responding to the announcement that campaigners for female priests will plaster posters on London buses next month during the pope’s visit to London.

The ads read “Pope Benedict – Ordain Women Now!” and will be on 15 double-decker buses running in some of London’s main tourist areas, including Parliament and Oxford Street, said Pat Brown, a spokeswoman for Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO).

The group spent “in excess of 10,000 pounds” ($15,500) on the ads and is hoping donations will help make up at least part of that cost, Brown told CNN Friday.

Wang rejected both the tone and the content of the ads, saying that while an atheist ad campaign last year was “hesitant and ended with gentle exhortations,” this one ends “with a shout.”

And it’s based on a fundamental misunderstanding, said Wang, the dean of studies at London’s main seminary for Catholic priests, Allen Hall.

Pope John Paul II declared in 1994 that the church has no authority to ordain women, a position confirmed a year later by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. At the time, Ratzinger was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the arbiter of Catholic Church dogma.

Wang called the late pope’s position “surprising,” saying John Paul had meant he did not have the power to change “something that has been such a fundamental part of Christian identity from the beginning.”

The bottom line is that Jesus chose 12 men – and no women – to be his apostles, Wang argues.

The choice was “deliberate and significant, not just for that first period of history, but for every age,” Wang says.

Men and women are equal in Christianity, he continues, but “this does not mean that our sexual identity as men and women is interchangeable. Gender is not just an accident.”

He compared the role of a priest to that of an actor playing King Arthur or British soccer star Wayne Rooney in a movie.

“No one would be surprised if I said I wanted a male actor to play the lead,” he said, admitting the analogy was “weak.”

But, he said, “it shouldn’t surprise us if we expect a man to stand ‘in the person of Christ’ as a priest, to represent Jesus in his humanity – a humanity that is not sexually neutral.”

The Catholic women’s group says that in addition to its bus campaign, it plans to hold a vigil September 15, the day before the pope’s visit, outside Westminster Cathedral.

The group also plans to demonstrate at Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury – the head of the Church of England – during his meeting with the pope.

And members plan to hold a banner along the route of the popemobile, the secure vehicle which carries the pope, in London.

Pope Benedict plans to visit England and Scotland September 16-19. It will be the first state visit to the United Kingdom by a pope, according to the British Foreign Office. John Paul’s trip in 1982 was officially a pastoral visit.

44. sri-krsna rukmini-kanta gopi-jana-manohara |
samsara-sagare magnam mam uddhara jagad-guro ||

O Krishna! Husband of Rukmini! Stealer of the gopis’ minds! O spiritual master of the universe! Deliver me, for I have fallen into the ocean of repeated birth and death.

Sri Prabodhananda comments, “The word sri preceding Krishna’s name in this verse indicates that he possesses all excellences and that by his beauty he attracts the entire universe.” His beauty is so extraordinary that it casts a spell of attraction on himself. When he sees the effects of his beauty on Radha, he desires to experience it himself through her eyes. Once in Dvaraka, he saw his reflection in a jeweled pillar and found himself irresistibly drawn to it. In Dvaraka, Krishna is the husband of Rukmini, Maha Laksmi herself. Thus in her company he is, in the words of Sri Prabodhananda, “the possessor of the greatest riches and the king of kings.”

Krishna alone is the jagad-guru, or the macrocosmic expression (samasti) of the guru principle (guru-tattva), because he is the source of the knowledge that all gurus disseminate; indeed, he is that knowledge. Whereas Krishna is the samasti-guru, all others who represent him are called vyasti, or microcosmic manifestations of guru-tattva. Thus Gaudiya Vaisnava gurus generally do not adopt the title jagad-guru, which they reserve for Krishna and even more so for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna in acarya-lila, the role of world teacher.

45. kesava klesa-harana narayana janardana |
govinda paramananda mam samuddhara madhava ||

O Kesava! Deliverer from distress! Narayana! O Janardana! O Govinda! Supreme form of bliss! Madhava! Please deliver me.

Here Brahma concludes his salutations and in the remaining three verses of the first section of Gopala-tapani gives his final instructions.

46. atha haivam stutibhir aradhayami yatha yuyaµ tatha panca-padam
japantah sri-krsnam dhyayantah samsrtim tarisyatheti hovaca hairanyah ||

In this way I worshiped him with these hymns. Now you should meditate on Krishna in the same way, chanting the fivefold mantra. By so doing, you will cross over the ocean of material existence. Thus Brahma concluded his discourse to the sages.

According to Prabodhananda Saraswati, after chanting the hymns in salutation to Krishna, Brahma became immersed in love for Krishna as the import of his praise penetrated his heart. As a result, the knowledge of how to please Krishna became fully manifest in his heart. Brahma then chanted more hymns not found in the text of Gopala-tapani, which were not only more joyful and filled with wonder, but which revealed his desire to serve Krishna in a particular sentiment. ((Gaudiya commentators differ on which sentiment this is. Most understand it to be the sentiment of manjara-bhava, which is the predominant sentiment of the sampradaya, while others,
such as Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, understand it to be that of a gopa, sakhyabhava.
Commenting on ÇB 2.9.30 (yavat sakha sakhyur ivesa te krtah), Srila Prabhupada writes,
“Brahma is definitely situated in the humor of friendship with the Lord. . . . It is clearly exhibited
herein that Lord Brahma is related to the Personality of Godhead in the transcendental humor
of friendship.”)) This is the implication of the word aradha-yami (I worship) in this verse.

47. amum panca-padam mantram avartayed yah sa
yaty anayasatah kevalam padam tat |
anejad ekam manaso javiyo
naitad deva apnuvan purvam arsad iti ||

Whoever chants the fivefold mantra will easily attain the undivided realm of liberation [described in the Isopanisad]: “The Lord, though fixed in his abode, is swifter than the mind, so none of the gods can capture him, however quickly they may run. He knows all before everyone else.”

Liberation for the devotees (vaisnava-mukti) is here identified with attaining the undivided realm (kevalam padam), Krishna’s abode. Although this is the acme of spiritual accomplishment, the devotee nonetheless easily attains it (anayasatah) because simply hearing and chanting about Krishna with love or without ulterior motive is itself synonymous with such liberation.

The third and fourth lines of this verse also appear in Isopanisad (4), which is another well-known Vaishnava Upanisad. These lines stress the transcendental nature of Krishna and his abode, which are not limited by time and space, being swifter than or beyond the mind. Krishna pervades all time and space and thus cannot be captured, nor can his abode be attained by those remaining within the material cell and sentence of space and time, even if they are gods of this world. In this regard, Sri Prabodhananda refers to the instance in which Krishna revealed his abode to the inhabitants of Vrindavana in response to Nanda’s questions about their next life. In particular he refers to SB 10.28.14–15, verses often cited by Jiva Goswami when he writes about Goloka. ((See Gopala-campu 2.29.80, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 3.4.76, Ujjvala-nilamani 15.3.19, and
Brahma-samhita 5.5 as examples.))

When Nanda heard Varuna praise Krishna, describing him as the Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan of the advaya-jnana-tattva that constitutes ultimate reality, he was astonished. He related this wonderful incident to the cowherd community and later, on their behalf, asked Krishna what they could expect in their next life. Krishna took them to Akrura Ghata, and as they immersed themselves in the water of the Yamuna under his direction, he gave them a mystic vision of Goloka Vrindavana, the heavenly expression of earthly Vrindavana. He revealed to them that they would go from his humanlike lila (nara-lila) to his godly lila (deva-lila), which are essentially nondifferent from one another. They are, that is, constituted of the same bhavas, although there are some differences in the details of the lilas’ expression.

Upon receiving this revelation, the cowherd community was overjoyed to know that they would be together with one another, along with their children, cows, and houses, in a setting much like their present surroundings. The natural environment would be the same as that found along the banks of the Yamuna and at the foot of Mount Govardhana, surrounded by lush forest. Such is the mystery of Krishna’s abode. Intimate involvement with the infinite requires that the infinite take on a finite appearance.

Krishna’s descent (avatara) to the material plane of experience involves the manifestation of all that is dear to him, his svarupa-sakti. His svarupa-sakti represents his singular nature expressed in a plurality of family members, friends, lovers, and so on—expressions in celebration of his own completeness, his delight. The svarupa-sakti is his primary sakti, the fountainhead of all of his innumerable saktis, by which the Absolute expresses itself, even by creating and maintaining the world in all of its facets. For example, the sakti involved in sustaining the world has its origin in Krishna’s svarupa-sakti in the form of his divine mother, Yasoda. She is a manifestation of his adhara-sakti within the general category of his svarupa-sakti. ((Adhara-sakti is a subcategory of the sandhini-sakti, which is one of the three principal constituents of the svarupa-sakti.)) What we know as the sustaining force has at its source a personified expression of motherhood in the drama of Krishna lila, where the person who is reality plays. When this divine play manifests within the material plane, we have an instance of the cause appearing within the effect and, in doing so, appearing in many respects as an aspect of the effect.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Fire is not a product of wood, although it may appear to be so when we rub two sticks together and sparks manifest. Rsis conceived of fire as a manifestation of the sun stored in wood, which is also a product of the sun, as a tree cannot grow without the sun. Similarly, Krishna is indirectly the cause of the world and directly the cause of his lila’s manifestation within the world. This lila is the fire of the sun of his unmanifest lila. As fire is the essence of the sun, so too is Krishna’s earthly manifestation the essence of his transcendental reality. His humanlike lila is the essence of his godly lila.

Transcendence is generally considered the result of culturing detachment. Attachment to ephemeral material names and forms on the part of one who is eternal is illusion. When we stand back and view the material predicament with the unbiased eye of detachment, we get a clearer picture of the nature of material existence. We see that all material manifestations are here today but gone tomorrow. Only that which sees remains, not that which is seen. Yet the seer does not see himself in all of this, and thus his identification with the seen leaves him in a perpetual identity crisis life after life, as one material manifestation transforms into another. Thus ignorance is attachment, and knowledge expresses itself in detachment.

How then are we to understand the attachment of the cowherds for Krishna, for one another, for their hearth and home? How can this be the acme of transcendental experience? The answer lies in distinguishing between knowledge and love. While knowledge expresses itself as detachment, love is about attachment. Is love, then, necessarily material and only knowledge the domain of the spirit? If this were so, the domain of the spirit would hardly be a home, but more like a peaceful state of hovering in suspended animation.

However, if we look more closely at knowledge, we will see that love is concealed within it. Refraining from lustful exploitation of our partner is also an expression of love, even though all the overt signs of loving affection may be absent. Similarly, the seed of love is concealed within the transcendental knowledge that arises from a life of insightful detachment and spiritual practice. It will manifest in the pure hearts of the truly wise when they interact with the world in knowledge of its proprietor. Such healthy interaction finds all material manifestations venerable in relation to their source. All problems are transformed into opportunities for service, which is the basis of true love. The ongoing cultivation of this love of God in the company of advanced devotees involves seeing everything in relation to him and results in meeting him on intimate terms. This result is played out in perfection within the drama of Krishna lila, where forms and relationships are all expressions of the will of Krishna—his delight manifesting through his svarupa-sakti.

Thus Goloka, Krishna’s abode, is beyond time and space. Although Krishna himself resides there forever fixed, never stepping foot outside, he is at the same time moving faster than the mind and thus is never to be apprehended by any mental or intellectual exercise. Stop the mind and allow the soul to live its own life—the life that Krishna alone knows is best for you in his service. That which is known to him, he will reveal to you and it will manifest in your heart purified through spiritual culture as if it were your own desire to associate with him on intimate terms as a member of the cowherd community. Such enlightened life is transcendental bewilderment in which the godhood of Krishna is suppressed by the bond of intimate love. When in such bewilderment (yogamaya) Nanda asked Krishna about the cowherds’ next life, he showed them, to their delight, that it does not get any better than this—life in Krishna lila.

When he was going to America, on the journey he expressed his feeling to play with Krishna in sakhya-rasa: kata bane chutachuti bane khai lutaputi sei din kabe habe mor, “Running and frolicking in the many forests of Vraja, I will roll on the ground in spiritual ecstasy. O when will that day be mine?” This was his “Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna.” When he was passing through the Atlantic, he gave vent to feelings that may be the salient points in his Vraja lila. It struck me like that, Vrindavana sakhya-rasa.

When he departed from this consciousness of worldly preaching propaganda, then he is there. It is clearly expressed in these sayings there in the Atlantic. He discovered the unmanifest (aprakata) pastimes in Vrindavana, and in Vrindavana he established Krishna-Balarama and Gaura-Nitai. That is indicative of sakhya-rasa. From this we can conclude that he is in sakhya-rasa, and he has entered into those pastimes. This is my understanding about his present position. He has expressed himself, his eternal position, the acme of his aspiration. In Vrindavana he has established Balarama and Krishna and Nitai-Gaura, and he is saying like that, Nitai-Gaura are Krishna and Balarama. It’s almost clear that he comes from that group. And now he’s again there. Hare Krishna.

He expressed his own position in eternal lila in his poem. I conjecture like that. Hare Krishna! In his diary in Bengali he wrote, “Today I cooked some bati-caccari. It was quite delicious. So I ate something. Today I expressed my inner feelings to my friend and wrote a poem about that.”

And that friend came to his aid. He was so earnest in his prayer to Krishna that he might be able to discharge the duty that had been given to him by his Guru Mahåråja that Krishna came down to help him, his friend helped him in this propaganda work. So saktyavesa-avatara. I take him; I cannot but take him to be so.

Addressing Krishna he wrote, “You are my eternal friend. Forgetting you, I have come to this world and I have been suffering the kicking of Maya, the goddess of misconception. If you come to help me in this campaign, then after finishing this I can again join you. When I shall be united with you again. I shall wander along with you the whole day in keeping the cows in the forest. Running this side and that side in the jungle, in the forest. And then, lutaputi, to fall on the ground in different shows of play. I aspire after that day. I have got this good chance to serve my Gurudeva. For that reason my heartfelt appeal to You is that You please come to help me. I am Your eternal servitor; therefore, so much aspiration I have got for You. You, no other, are my only resort.”

So after performing this service, he aspires after a life in the cow-keeping lila of Krishna, and he is appreciating that sort of friendly service of Krishna very much from the core of his heart, his aspiration after finishing his worldly preaching campaign.

I take it that Nityananda Prabhu has given some special recognition to the section of the suvarna-vanik community from which Swami Maharaja has come. He has special grace for that particular section and the preaching about Gauranga, and this is mentioned in the scriptures. The suvarna-vanik are the most favorite section of Nityananda Prabhu. It is mentioned in the sastra, Caitanya-bhagavata. I thought that Nityananda Prabhu is also in charge of preaching about Mahaprabhu’s glory. So I took it that Nityananda Prabhu must have awakened some special dedication in him in his last days which helped him to inundate with such an inconceivable magnitude, the whole of the world.

God works wonders. God’s ways are filled with miracles. We, should be prepared for that. We should be prepared that all the knowledge of this world, all our experience, will prove to be wrong. So it is said, jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva: Be clear of your past experiences, what you have drawn from the world of the senses, empiric knowledge (pratyaksa-jnana). Your tendency will always be to try to push your way into the transcendental world on the strength of mundane knowledge. But this verse is saying, “You fallen people, your capital is the experience of this world, of the senses. But it won’t do, it won’t have any value in that higher plane. What is found there is a new thing, so approach that world with an open mind; understand that everything is possible with the infinite. All your expectations, your past experience, has no value. Why don’t you give up trying to dodge this point?”

The transcendental world is something quite new to us. It is very difficult to get out of this superstition of so-called “truth” here. But still it is necessary that we accept that anything and everything is possible with God. He is the master of impossibilities. Possibility and impossibility are found only in our dictionary, yet even Napoleon wanted to remove the word “impossible.” He said, “‘Impossible’ is a word in a fool’s dictionary.”

How are we to understand that the original guru of our sampradaya becomes bewildered?¹ It is “impossible.” We must suspend our “knowledge” (jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva). We may take it that Krishna is playing hide and seek, perhaps, with Brahma, our gurudeva. It is like a game of hide and seek. Sometimes Krishna is defeating others and sometimes he is defeated.

When Krishna and Balarama are playing with their friends in the jungle, they generally play in two groups. Krishna is in one group and Balarama is in another. Krishna is considered to be less strong than Balarama. Balarama was the strongest person there, and the next strongest was Sridama, so Sridama used to play on the side of Krishna. Whenever Balarama was defeated, he would become enraged. Krishna would diplomatically help his own team, and when Balarama saw that his own team was disloyal due to Krishna’s tricks, he would turn to his younger brother Krishna and say, “I shall punish you!” But Krishna would say, “No, you cannot punish me; Mother Yasoda has entrusted me in your care. You can’t mistreat me.”

One day, Balarama slapped Krishna, but Krishna went to Mother Yasoda and told on him. Balarama was very disturbed and said, “I slap you once, and you complain to your mother that I do not love you? Krishna, how could you do this?” At last Krishna was perplexed and accepted his defeat.

So Krishna lila moves in a crooked way (aher iva gatih premna. . .). This fundamental point, the foundation of our understanding about Krishna lila has been given by Rupa Goswami in this verse. He says, “Don’t be eager to find reason everywhere in the pastimes of divinity. They are naturally crooked. In Krishna lila we shall find that although no party is defective, still, one will find fault with another and begin a quarrel. No defect can be found there. But still, for the necessity of lila, false defects are found, and some quarrel begins. This is the meaning of lila, pastimes: what we find here by necessity, flows there automatically. We can’t try to apply our reason or our standard of measurement to the movements of the infinite. And whatever gain we have made by connecting with that flow of lila will be lost in our attempts to measure it; that will be the only consequence of our analysis. So we should try to have a taste of lila with a submissive attitude. Sometimes reason, logic, and analysis are necessary, but only to preach to the people in general. Only for the purpose of preaching to people addicted to reason do we have to take the help of reason. But when devotion becomes automatic, anuraga, then both reason and scripture are left in the subterranean position. There is no place for scriptural arguments there. To a certain extent, reason is necessary for our development up to vaidhi-bhakti, the elementary stages of devotion. But above that, it has no use.

1. Sridhara Maharaja is here reffering to the Brahma-vimohan lila, wherein Brahma, in some ways the original founder of the Gaudiya sampradaya, becomes bewildered about Krishna’s position.

The rupanuga-sampradaya, the followers of the line of Sri Rupa, are those who have the unique taste of service in the camp of Radharani. In that plane, there is no entrance of any mundane exploitation or renunciation, and not even legalized sastric devotion. The highest kind of devotion is not controlled by any law. It is spontaneous and automatic. Sacrifice to the highest degree is only possible in that camp. The highest kind of divine sentiment is distributed from the camp of Srimati Radharani, and that can never be compared with any attainment hitherto known even in the eternal factor of time and space.

Then, there is another stage for which we should be prepared. Why should we try to enter into the camp of Radharani? Should we think that there, in that better atmosphere, we shall have Krishna’s presence more confidentially? Should we think, “I will have contact with Krishna very intimately,” should we want to enter into that camp? No-we want to avoid the connection of Krishna, but concentrate on the service of Radharani. Why? What more benefit is possible there in the service of Radharari? If we approach Krishna directly to give service to him, we shall be losers. Radharani’s service to Krishna is of the highest order in every way. If we devote our energy to help Radharani, our energy will be utilized in Her service. In this way, she will serve Krishna with her service more enhanced. Then the reciprocation will pass to us through her as our reward. That will be devotion of the highest type (mahabhava ).

So, the general inclination of the sakhis, the confidential maidservants of Radharani, is not to come in direct connection with Krishna. They avoid that. But still, it is the benevolent and generous nature of Radharani to connect them with Krishna on some plea at some time or other. But their innate nature is always to avoid Krishna and concentrate on the service of Radharani. This is confirmed in the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 8. 209):

radhara svarupa-krsna-prema kaIpalata
sakhi–gana haya tara pallava-puspa-pata

By nature, Srimati Radharani is just like a creeper of love of Godhead, and the gopis are the twigs, flowers and leaves of that creeper.” Eternally the twigs, flowers and leaves sprout from the creeper of Srimati Radharani. She is the trunk, and they are branches. This is their relationship.

Yet still, there is another, higher thing. We are known as rupanuga, the followers of Sri Rupa. Why? The service of Srimati Radharani eliminates everything, even Narayana, to go to Krishna. There is the Krishna of Dvaraka, the Krishna of Mathura, and the Krishna of Vrindavana. Then again in Vrindavana, where there is free mixing without hesitation in other camps, Radharani’s camp is the highest. Eliminating all other camps, direct service to Radharani is considered to be the highest. Still, there is another point.

Who is Rupa? Rupa Manjari. Generally the hierarchy in the spiritual world is eternal. New recruits can occupy a particular rank of manjari, assistant, in madhurya rasa. And the leader of the manjaris is Sri Rupa Manjari. What is the special feature in the manjari camp which is not found among the sakhis, girlfriends of Krishna? First there is Radharani, then the camp of her right-hand personal attendant, Lalita. Then, under Lalita, there is Sri Rupa Manjari. What is the unique position of the followers of Sri Rupa? The new recruits can attain to that status. Now, the priviledge of this manjari class we are to conceive most respectfully and attentively.

When Radha and Govinda are in secrecy, in a private place, the sakhis, who are well-versed in the art of that kind of play, because they are a little grown-up, do not like to approach there to disturb their confidential mixing. If the more grown-up sakhis, enter there, both Radha and Govinda will feel shy. So, their presence may create some disturbance. But the younger girls can enter there, and then Radha and Govinda have no hesitation in free mixing. So, in that highest stage of the mixing of Radha Govinda, the free play of Radha-Govinda, these manjaris, the younger girls, can have admission. But the grown-up sakhis cannot have admission there. New recruits may come up to the manjari class. And the manjaris have that sort of special advantage under the leadership of Sri Rupa Manjari. So, they get the best advantage there, the most sacred type of pure service, which is not open even to the sakhis, is open to the manjaris.That is found in Radharani’s camp. So, the position of the rupanugas, the followers of Sri Rupa, is the most profitable position. That has been given out by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. That has been shown by him, and that is fixed as the highest limit of our fortune in Krishna’s concern. This is unexpectable, undesignable and beyond hope, but our prospect lies there in that subtle camp of Sri Rupa Manjari, Rupa Goswami.

So, the camp, the sampradaya of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as the rupanuga sampradaya. There our fate and our fortune is located. Now we have to conduct ourself in such a way that naturally we can connect with that highest, purest spiritual conception, from here. We must not allow ourselves to be satisfied with anything less than this highest ideal. That should be the highest goal of our life. And we must adjust our approach from our present position.

This article originally appeared in Sri Guru and His Grace, The Line of Rupa Goswami.

35. namo vijnana-rupaya paramananda-rupine |
krsnaya gopinathaya govindaya namo namah ||

I offer salutations to Krishna, the Lord of the gopis, the master of the cows and cowherds. He is the embodiment of realized knowledge and possesses a form of supreme bliss.

Prabodhananda Saraswati comments, “‘The embodiment of realized knowledge’ means that everything is known perfectly through him.”

36. namah kamala-netraya namah kamala-maline |
namah kamala-nabhaya kamala-pataye namah ||

Salutations to the lotus-eyed Lord! Salutations to the lotus-garlanded Syamasundara! Salutations to the Lord from whose navel the creation lotus sprouted! Salutations to the husband of the Goddess of Fortune!

37. barhapidabhiramaya ramayakuntha-medhase |
rama-manasa-haµsaya govindaya namo namah ||

I bow down repeatedly to Govinda, [who is also known as] Rama. He is adorned with a crown of peacock feathers; his intelligence is unrestricted. He is like a swan in the pool of the Goddess of Fortune’s, Rama’s, mind.

Govinda’s natural decorations such as his peacock feather crown indicate his unrivaled beauty, which truly needs no ornamentation to shine forth. This is the meaning of his simple decorations of forest wildflowers and unguents made from different colored soils and minerals. Although the peacock feather is a common ornament among Vrindavana’s cowherds, it is particularly dear to Krishna. Thus although Balarama and other cowherds may adorn themselves with peacock plumes from time to time, they do so in imitation of their comrade.

The name Rama in this verse directly refers to Balarama, but it is also indirectly used as an epithet of Krishna, just as it is in the maha-mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Prabodhananda Saraswati gives its indirect meaning as “Krishna with the enchanting form, who brings pleasure to his devotees.” When Rama is used as a name of Krishna, it refers particularly to the lover (or ramana) of Radha. This is indicated by the word Rama in this verse, which is an indirect reference to the gopis and Radha, the source of Laksmi. Govinda, like a swan, swims in the pure mind of Radha (Rama).

This verse of Gopala-tapani is reminiscent of the famous verse from the Bhagavatam’s Venu-gita, which attracted the monist Sukadeva to the recitation of the Bhagavatam and marked the beginning of his conversion to Vaishnavism. He subsequently recited it himself to Raja Pariksit.

barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh karnayoh karnikarambi
bhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam
randhran venor adhara-sudhayapurayan gopa-vrndair
vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirtih

Wearing a peacock-feather ornament upon his head, blue karnikara flowers on his ears, a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanti garland, Lord Krishna exhibited his transcendental form as the greatest of dancers as he entered the forest of Vrindavana, beautifying it with the marks of his footprints. He filled the holes of his flute with the nectar of his lips, and the cowherd boys sang his glories (SB 10.21.5).

In this verse the Vraja gopis are meditating on Krishna entering the forest with his cowherd friends and cows. In the Venu-gita’s seventh verse, they actually begin to voice their love:

aksanvatam phalam idam na param vidamah
sakhyah pasun anavivesayator vayasyaih
vaktram vrajesa-sutayor anavenu-justam
yair va nipitam anurakta-kataksa-moksam

O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Maharaja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by their friends, driving the cows before them, they hold their flutes to their mouths and glance lovingly on the residents of Vrndavana. For those who possess eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision than this (SB 10.21.7).

In these verses the gopis ostensibly glorify the love of the cowherds for Rama and Krishna, describing the supreme object of vision as the sight of Rama and Krishna entering the forest with their friends and cows. How much better is it, then, to be in that picture and enter the forest along with them? This is the gopas’ great fortune, and this wistful statement by the gopis indicates a certain jealousy toward Krishna’s friends, for whom there are no obstacles to spending the entire day with Krishna. These verses thus support the cowherds’ subjective reality, in which they consider fraternal love to be most desirable.

However, Rama and Krishna together are not the object of love for the gopis headed by Radha. They mention Rama in this verse only to veil their love for Krishna, which they cannot express as openly as the cowherds can. By mentioning Balarama and the cowherds along with Krishna, they dissimulate their conjugal paramour love for Krishna. Furthermore, if a practitioner’s heart follows the love of the gopis, these verses will speak to him accordingly and he will have no difficulty making Balarama disappear from the poetry of this Bhagavatam verse altogether.¹ Those in gopi-bhava will hear the gopis in these verses speaking of only Krishna.

In the present Gopala-tapani verse, Brahma says that Govinda’s intelligence is unrestricted (akuntha-medhas). This is a reference to the knowing that is automatic within love: when one loves, one knows what to do. This is the intelligence Krishna gives to his unalloyed devotees (dadami buddhi-yogaµ tam) such that they can overcome all obstacles and come to him even, as in the case of the gopis, in the dead of night.²

38. kamsa-vamsa-vinasaya kesi-canura-ghatine |
vrsabha-dhvaja-vandyaya partha-sarathaye namah ||

Salutations to the Lord who destroyed Kamsa and all his retinue, who killed Kesi and Canura, who is the object of Siva’s prayers, and who is the charioteer of Arjuna.

Kamsa-vamsa-vinasaya refers to Krishna’s destruction of Kamsa and his associates, such as the wrestlers Canura and Mustika. Remembering Krishna today in relation to these demon-slaying pastimes will destroy one’s own evil tendencies. To achieve this result, the sadhaka must think deeply and introspectively on the significance of these lilas and make a conscious effort to remove from his heart whatever is unfavorable for spiritual culture.

After Krishna defeated Siva’s devotee Banasura, Lord Siva recognized Krishna’s supremacy and prayed to him. This lila is referred to here with the words vrsabha-dhvaja-vandyaya.³ As Partha-sarathi, Arjuna’s charioteer, Krishna demonstrates his most endearing quality of loving submission to his own devotees, bhakta-vatsalya.

39. venu-vadana-silaya gopalayahi-mardine |
kalindi-kula-lolaya lola-kundala-dharine ||

Salutations to the cowherd who is addicted to playing his flute, who defeated the snake Aghasura, who enjoys playing on the banks of the Kalindi, and who wears swinging earrings. ((Prabodhananda Saraswati cites the alternative reading, valgave for dharine, which emphasizes the added charm brought by Krishna’s earrings rather than their simple presence.))

One of the most charming aspects of Krishna’s lila is his flute playing, which has amazing powers. Krishna is said to have perfected this art on the full moon night of the harvest moon. At that time he was able to attract the gopis and Srimati Radharani in particular to join him in the forest by sounding the fifth note of his flute. Each gopi heard her own name called when this sound entered her heart through the right ear. This sweet sound awakened such identification with Krishna that all the gopis were able to abandon all their household duties—even the nursing of their infant children—without a second thought. The fifth note of Krishna’s flute is identified with the kama-gayatri mantra, which is to be chanted in connection with the Gopala mantra. Thus there is a connection between Krishna’s flute and spiritual initiation (mantra-diksa), both of which exercise a fascinating and attractive power on all living entities.

In the poetry of the Vrindavana Goswamis, the slaying of Aghasura, commemorated in Krishna’s epithets like Agha-damana,⁴ Agha-bhit,⁵ Aghahara,⁶ and so on, are often juxtaposed with Krishna’s lilas of love with the gopis. The word agha means sin, and Aghasura symbolizes the composite of all sin. Love of Krishna results in the removal of all sin.

40. vallavi-nayanambhoja-maline nrtya-saline |
namah pranata-palaya sri-krsnaya namo namah ||

I make repeated salutations to Sri Krishna, garlanded by the lotus eyes of the cowherd girls, the joyous dancer who protects those who surrender to him.

According to Sri Prabodhananda, the lotus eyes of the gopis are compared to Krishna’s perpetual garland because they are always fixed on him.

41. namah papa-pranasaya govardhana-dharaya ca |
putana-jivitantaya trnavartasu-harine ||

Salutations to you, O Lord, the destroyer of sin, the lifter of Govardhana. Salutations to you who put an end to the lives of Putana and Trnavarta.

42. niskalaya vimohaya suddhayasuddha-vairine |
advitiyaya mahate sri-krsnaya namo namah ||

I offer repeated salutations to the incomparably great Sri Krishna, who cannot be divided, in whom there is no illusion, who cannot be equaled, who is pure, and who is the enemy of all impurity.

Prabodhananda Saraswati explains that the word niskala means “free from maya.” It literally means “without parts.” Thus he implies that freedom from illusion involves transcending material designations (upadhis) and understanding all parts in relation to the whole (advaya-jnana-tattva). Sri Prabodhananda comments that niskala can also mean one who causes others to take up the path of religion. Kalayati means “to enchant,” and the prefix nis means “completely.” Krishna is he who completely enchants all living beings. Such is the force of charm and affection by which he draws others to dharma. He is enchanting because of his adeptness in the art (kala) of love. Prabodhananda Saraswati offers yet a third meaning for niskala: “One around whose neck hangs (lati) a golden ornament (niska).” Krishna wears such an ornament in the form of a locket holding a picture of Sri Radha, just as Radha wears one containing a picture of Krishna.

The word vimoha indicates that Krishna is so far beyond illusion that he cannot be bewildered by great gods like Brahma, who tested his powers to delude Krishna during the brahma-vimohana-lila only to find him entirely impervious to them. Indeed, the gods themselves are bewildered by Krishna (muhyanti yat surayah).⁷ While he is completely transcendental to illusion, he nonetheless appears like a human being subject to the delusions of love. Thus he is also bewildering even within the context of giving enlightenment. Krishna is so high that he appears low, so enlightened that he appears deluded.

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura maintains that Krishna’s being the enemy of impurity (asuddha-vairin) implies that he removes material impurities from the hearts of those attached to hearing and chanting his glories. In this he has no equal, and indeed Brahma says here that no one can equal him in anything. This is so because he is svayam bhagavan.

43. prasida paramananda prasida paramesvara |
adhi-vyadhi-bhujangena dastam mam uddhara prabho ||

Be merciful to me, O supreme joy! Be merciful to me. Deliver me, O Lord, for I have been bitten by the snake of disease and distress.

In the midst of offering Krishna praise and remembering his wonderful lilas, Brahma spontaneously demonstrates the effects of such salutations. Contemplating and praising Krishna’s greatness—both the majesty of his Godhood and the charm of his subordination to love—the great, highly intelligent, four-headed Brahma realizes his own insignificance and breaks down in tears.

The words vyadhi and adhi represent the sum and substance of material life. Physical pain (vyadhi) is the inevitable result of pursuing material desires, whereas one experiences mental pain (adhi) when such desires remain unfulfilled. The solution to this predicament is to take shelter of Krishna, as Brahma teaches by his own example in this verse. Brahma is, in fact, a great devotee who demonstrates his humility with this prayer, and any suffering he feels is born of feelings of love in separation from Krishna.

1. See the commentary of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in particular.
2. Bg. 10.10. See Swami Tripurari, Bhagavad-gita, 335–37.
3. Siva’s prayers are found in SB 10.69.
4. Namastakam
5. Ujjvala-nilamani 2.14.
6. Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 3.3.50
7. See S.B. 1.1.1.

A common complaint that is voiced in the modern world is that religions are structures by which a privileged  group subjugates

By Srila Sridhara Maharaja

According to the varnasrama system, generally the sudras (laboring class) and ladies are not allowed direct participation in the higher religious functions. Only indirect participation is allowed for them, and they also do not get the sacred thread. Yet a brahmana boy can be found touching the feet of his mother!

The mother will not touch the deity of Narayana, but her son who is worshiping Narayana is touching her feet and taking her feet dust. Such a position is there in the varnasrama system. Women are generally considered unfit or below the standard of engaging in direct service to the Lord, but in the Vaishnava conception there is no such strictness about that.

In my youth some sort of disregard grew in my mind about the lady section: “I must keep far away from them; they are untouchable.” But that notion was amended by my aunt in this way: she noted my nature, my conduct, and once affectionately remarked to me, “Oh, don’t you know that ladies represent Laksmidevi? They belong to the same section, and in them the qualities of sacrifice and submission are very clearly visible, so they should be respected. They should be respected, and the aggressive male nature is to be viewed unfavorably. The feminine ego-conception is an ideal of a very noble type wherein sacrifice, the devotional aspect, is very prominent. Ladies are not aggressors; they are sacrifice personified. Whereas the male nature – that is aggressive.”

Gradually that idea came to me and I learned to appreciate Sita, Draupadi, and so many others, especially the supreme example shown by the gopis. The standard established by the has shown that self-forgetfulness, self-sacrifice, and self-surrender reaches its zenith, its highest conception, in the lady aspect. The passive aspect holds the highest position: that viewpoint came gradually and caused a turnabout within my mind.

Madhura rasa, consorthood, is the highest position, and within Srimati Radharani we find the greatest degree of sacrifice and affection. The males are the aggressors; they are responsible for all the difficulties and troubles, not the ladies. That we possess the aggressive nature of a male is the disease in us. Gradually that perception developed from inside, and ultimately I found that when the female nature is pure and in connection with the supreme of vatsalya rasa and madhura rasa, it holds the highest position in the topmost realm. And our aspiration is for engagement in the service of Srimati Radharani.

The position of Sri Radha is that of the highest service to Krishna, and Radha dasyam has been considered by Mahaprabhu to be the highest attainment. Vasudeva Ghosa says:

(yadi) gaura na haita, tabe ki haita
kemane dharitam de’
radhara mahima premarasasima
jagate janata ke?

Who could disclose this holy, divine fact if Sri Gauranga did not personally appear on this Earth? Who could let us know, who could inform us that the highest servitor is Radharani? But Gauranga did come, and he clearly showed that the highest conception of service is to be engaged in the service of that highest, negative potency.