The Wise Man

Since no one can trace the history of the living entity's entanglement in material energy, the Lord says that it is beginningless. By beginningless it is meant that conditional life exists prior to the creation; it is simply manifested during and after the creation. Due to forgetfulness of his nature, the living entity, although spirit, suffers all kinds of miseries in material existence. It should be understood that there are also living entities who are not entangled in this material energy but are situated in the spiritual world. They are called liberated souls and are always engaged in Krishna consciousness, devotional service.

The activities of those who are conditioned by material nature are taken into account, and in their next life, according to these activities, they are offered different types of material bodies. In the material world the conditioned spirit soul is subjected to various rewards and punishments. When he is rewarded for his righteous activities, he is elevated to the higher planets where he becomes one of the many demigods, and when he is punished for his abominable activities, he is thrown into hellish planets where he suffers the miseries of material existence more acutely.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives a very nice example of this punishment. Formerly a king used to punish a criminal by dunking him in the river, raising him up again for breath and then again dunking him in the water. Material nature punishes and rewards the individual entity in just the same way. When he is punished, he is dunked in the water of material miseries, and when he is rewarded, he is taken out of it for some time. Elevation to the higher planets or to a higher life status is never permanent. One must again come down to be submerged in the water. All this is constantly going on in this material existence; sometimes one is elevated to higher planetary systems, and sometimes one is thrown into the hellish condition of material life.

In this regard Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recites a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam taken from the instructions of Narada Muni to Vasudeva, the father of Krishna (SB 11.2.37):

bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad
isad apetasya viparyayo 'smrtih
tan-mayayato budha abhajet tam
bhaktyaikayesam guru-devatatma

In this quotation from the nine sages who were instructing Maharaja Nimi, maya is defined as "forgetfulness of one's relationship with Krishna." Actually, maya means "that which is not." It has no existence. Thus it is false to think that the living entity has no connection with the Supreme Lord. He may not believe in the existence of God, or he may think that he has no relationship with God, but these are all "illusions," or maya. Due to absorption in this false conception of life, man is always fearful and full of anxieties. In other words, a godless concept of life is maya.

One who is actually learned in the Vedic literatures surrenders unto the Supreme Lord with great devotion and accepts Him as the supreme goal. When a living entity forgets the constitutional nature of his relationship with God, he is at once overwhelmed by the external energy. This is the cause of his false ego, his false identification of the body with the self. Indeed, his whole conception of the material universe arises from this false identification with the body, for he becomes attached to the body and its by-products. To escape this entanglement, he has only to perform his duty and to surrender unto the Supreme Lord with intelligence and devotion and with sincere Krishna consciousness.

A conditioned soul falsely thinks himself happy in the material world, but if he is favored by the instructions of an unalloyed devotee, he gives up his desire for material enjoyment and becomes enlightened in Krishna consciousness. As soon as one enters into Krishna consciousness, his desire for material enjoyment is at once vanquished, and he gradually becomes free from material entanglement. There is no question of darkness where there is light, and Krishna consciousness is the light that dispels the darkness of material sense enjoyment.

A Krishna conscious person is never under the false conception that he is one with God. Knowing that he would not be happy by working for himself, he engages all his energies in the service of the Supreme Lord and thereby gains release from the clutches of illusory material energy. In this connection, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu quotes the following verse from Bhagavad-gita:

daivi hy ena guna-mayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te

"The divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." (Bg. 7.14)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went on to teach that for each and every moment he is engaged in some fruitive activity, the conditioned soul forgets his real identity. Sometimes when he is fatigued, when he is tired of material activities, he wants liberation and hankers to become one with the Supreme Lord, but at other times he thinks that by working hard to gratify his senses he will be happy. In either case, he is covered by material energy. For the enlightenment of such bewildered conditioned souls, the Supreme Lord has presented voluminous Vedic literatures such as the Vedas, the puranas and the Vedanta-sutra. These are all intended to guide the human being back to Godhead.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given further instructions by explaining that when a conditioned soul is accepted by the mercy of the spiritual master and is guided by the Supersoul and the various Vedic scriptures, he becomes enlightened and makes progress in spiritual realization. It is because Lord Krishna is always merciful upon His devotees that He has presented all these Vedic literatures by which one can understand his relationship with Him and can act on the basis of that relationship. In this way one is gifted with the ultimate goal of life.

Actually every living entity is destined to reach the Supreme Lord. Indeed, it is possible for everyone to understand his relationship with the Supreme. The execution of duties to attain perfection is known as devotional service, and in maturity such devotional service becomes love of God, the factual goal of life for every living being. Actually the living entity is not intended to achieve success in religious rituals, economic development or sense enjoyment. The living entity should not even desire success in liberation, what to speak of success in religion, economics and sense enjoyment. One's real desire should only be to achieve the stage of loving transcendental service to the Lord. The all-attractive features of Lord Krishna help one in attaining this transcendental service, and it is by such service in Krishna consciousness that one can realize the relationship between Krishna and himself.

Concerning man's search for the ultimate goal of life, Caitanya Mahaprabhu relates a story from the commentary of Madhva which occurs in the Fifth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (Madhva-bhanya) Sarvajna to a poor man who came to him to have his future told. When Sarvajna saw the horoscope of the man, he was at once astonished that the man was so poor, and he said to him, "Why are you so unhappy? From your horoscope I can see that you have a hidden treasure left to you by your father. However, the horoscope indicates that your father could not disclose this to you because he died in a foreign place, but now you can search out this treasure and be happy." This story is cited because the living entity is suffering due to his ignorance of the hidden treasure of his Supreme Father, Krnna. That treasure is love of Godhead, and in every Vedic scripture the conditioned soul is advised to find it. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, although the conditioned soul is the son of the wealthiest personality—the Personality of Godhead—he does not realize it. Therefore Vedic literatures are given to him to help him search out his father and his paternal property.

The astrologer Sarvajna further advised the poor man: "Don't dig on the southern side of your house to find the treasure, for if you do so you will be attacked by a poisonous wasp and will be baffled. The search should be conducted on the eastern side where there is actual light, which is called devotional service or Krnna consciousness. On the southern side there are Vedic rituals, and on the western side there is mental speculation, and on the northern side there is meditational yoga."

Sarvajna's advice should be carefully noted by everyone. If one searches for the ultimate goal by the ritualistic process, he will surely be baffled. Such a process involves the performance of rituals under the guidance of a priest who takes money in exchange for service. A man may think he will be happy by performing such rituals, but actually if he does gain some result from them, it is only temporary. His material distresses will continue. Thus he will never become truly happy by following the ritualistic process. Instead, he will simply increase his material pangs more and more.

The same may be said for digging on the northern side, or searching for the treasure by means of the meditational yoga process. By this process a person thinks of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, but this merging into the Supreme is like being swallowed by a large serpent. Sometimes a large serpent swallows a smaller one, and merging into the spiritual existence of the Supreme is analogous. While the small serpent is searching after perfection, he is swallowed. Obviously there is no solution here. On the western side there is also an impediment in the form of a yakna, an evil spirit who protects the treasure. The idea is that a hidden treasure can never be found by one who asks the favor of a yakna in order to attain it. The result is that one will simply be killed. This yakna is the speculative mind, and in this case the speculative process of self-realization, or the jnana process, is also suicidal.

The only possibility then is to search for the hidden treasure on the eastern side by the process of devotional service in full Krnna consciousness. Indeed, that process of devotional service is the perpetual hidden treasure, and when one attains to it, he becomes perpetually rich. One who is poor in devotional service to Krnna is always in need of material gain. Sometimes he suffers the bites of poisonous creatures, and sometimes he is baffled; sometimes he follows the philosophy of monism and thereby loses his identity, and sometimes he is swallowed by a large serpent. It is only by abandoning all this and becoming fixed in Krnna consciousness, devotional service to the Lord, that one can actually achieve the perfection of life.

Sri Krishna Janmashtami at ISKCON Bangalore

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Teachings to Sanatana Gosvami

From the instructions of Lord Chaitanya to Sanatana Gosvami we can understand the science of God as it relates to God's transcendental form, His opulences, and His devotional service. Indeed, everything is being explained to Sanatana Gosvami by the Lord Himself. At that time, Sanatana fell at the feet of the Lord and with great humility asked about his own real identity. "I am born of a lower family," Sanatana said. "My associations are all abominable, and I am fallen, the most wretched of mankind. I was suffering in the dark well of material enjoyment, and I never knew the actual goal of my life.

Indeed, I do not even know what is beneficial for me. Although I am what is known in the world as a great learned man, I am in fact so much of a fool that I myself even think that I am learned. You have accepted me as Your servant, and You have delivered me from the entanglement of material life. Now please tell me what my duty is in this liberated state."

By this plea, we can understand that liberation is not the final word in perfection. There must be activities in liberation. Sanatana clearly says, "You have saved me from the material existence. Now, after liberation, what is my duty?" Sanatana further inquired, "Who am I? Why are the threefold miseries always giving me trouble? And finally, tell me how I can be relieved from this material entanglement? I do not know how to question You about the advancement of spiritual life, but I beg that You kindly, mercifully, let me know everything that I need know."

This is the process of accepting a spiritual master. One should approach a spiritual master, humbly submit to him and then inquire from him about one's spiritual progress.

The Lord was pleased by Sanatana's submissive behavior, and He replied, "You have already received benediction from Lord Krishna, and therefore you know everything and are free from all the miseries of material existence." The Lord further pointed out that because Sanatana was in Krishna consciousness, he was naturally, by the grace of Krsna, already conversant with everything. "Because you are a humble devotee," the Lord continued, "you are asking Me to confirm what you already know. This is very nice." These are the characteristics of a true devotee. In the Narada-bhakti-sutra it is said that one who is very serious about developing Krsna consciousness has his desire to understand Krsna fulfilled very soon by the grace of the Lord.

"You are a suitable person to protect the devotional service of the Lord," Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued. "Therefore it is My duty to instruct you in the science of God, and I will explain everything to you step by step."

It is the duty of a disciple approaching a spiritual master to inquire about his constitutional position. In conformity to that spiritual process, Sanatana has already asked, "What am I, and why am I suffering from the threefold miseries?" The threefold miseries are called adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. The word adhyatmika refers to those miseries caused by the mind and body. Sometimes the living entity suffers bodily, and sometimes he is distressed mentally.

Both are adhyatmika miseries. We experience these miseries even in the womb of our mother. As we well know, there are many types of miseries that take advantage of the delicate human body and give us pain. Miseries inflicted by other living entities are called adhibhautika. These living entities need not even be large, for there are many—such as bugs—that can make us miserable even while we are sleeping in bed.

There are many insignificant living entities, like cockroaches, that sometimes give us pain, and there are also other living entities who are born on different kinds of planets and who give us miseries. As far as the adhidaivika miseries are concerned, these are natural disasters that originate with the demigods of the higher planets. For instance, we sometimes suffer from severe cold or hot weather, from a thunderbolt, or from earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts and many natural disasters. In any case, we are always suffering from either one or a combination of these three kinds of miseries.

Sanatana's inquiry was therefore an intelligent one. "What is the position of the living entities?" he asked. "Why are they always undergoing these three kinds of miseries?" Sanatana had admitted his weakness. Although he was known by the masses of people as a greatly learned man (and actually he was a highly learned Sanskrit scholar), and although he accepted this designation, he did not actually know what his constitutional position really was and just why he was subjected to the threefold miseries.

Approaching a spiritual master is not just a fashion but is a necessity for one who is seriously conscious of the material miseries and who wants to be free of them. It is the duty of such a person to approach a spiritual master. In this regard, we should note similar circumstances in Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna was perplexed by so many problems involving whether to fight or not, he accepted Lord Krsna as his spiritual master. It was also a case of the supreme spiritual master instructing Arjuna about the constitutional position of the living entity.

In Bhagavad-gita we are informed that the constitutional nature of the individual entity is spirit soul. He is not matter. As spirit soul, he is part and parcel of the supreme soul, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. We also learn that it is the duty of the spirit soul to surrender, for only then can he be happy. The last instruction of Bhagavad-gita is that the spirit soul surrender completely unto the supreme soul, Krsna, and in that way realize happiness.

Here also, Lord Caitanya, answering the questions of Sanatana, repeats the same truth. There is a difference, however. Here Lord Caitanya does not give the information about the spirit soul that is already described in Bhagavad-gita. Rather, He begins from the point where Krsna ended His instruction. It is accepted by great devotees that Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, and from this point of view He begins His instruction to Sanatana from the point where He ended His instructions to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita.

"Your constitutional position is that you are pure living soul," the Lord told Sanatana. "This material body cannot be identified with your real self; nor is your mind your real identity, nor your intelligence, nor false ego. Your identity is that of eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord Krsna. Your position is that you're transcendental. The superior energy of Krsna is spiritual in constitution, and the inferior external energy is material. Since you are between the material energy and the spiritual energy, your position is marginal. Belonging to the marginal potency of Krsna, you are simultaneously one with and different from Krsna. Because you are spirit, you are not different from Krsna, and because you are only a minute particle of Krsna, you are different from Him."

This simultaneous oneness and difference always exists in the relationship between the living entities and the Supreme Lord. From the marginal position of the living entities, this conception of "simultaneously one and different" can be understood. The living entity is just like a molecular particle of sunshine, whereas Krsna may be compared to the blazing, shining sun itself. Lord Caitanya compared the living entities to blazing sparks from a fire and the Supreme Lord to the blazing fire of the sun. In this connection, the Lord cites a verse from Visnu Purana (1.22.52):

eka-desa-sthitasyagner
jyotsna vistarini yatha
parasya brahmanah saktis
tathedam akhilam jagat

"Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy."

The energy of the Supreme Lord is transcendental and spiritual, and the living entities are part and parcel of that energy. There is another energy, however, called material energy, which is covered by the cloud of ignorance. This energy, which is material nature, is divided into three modes, or gunas (goodness, passion and ignorance). Lord Caitanya quoted from Visnu Purana (1.3.2) to the effect that all inconceivable energies reside in the Supreme Personality of the Lord and that the whole cosmic manifestation acts due to the Lord's inconceivable energy.

The Lord also said that the living entities are known as ksetrajna, or "knowers of the field of activities." In the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the body is described as the field of activities, and the living entity as ksetrajna, the knower of that field. Although the living entity is constitutionally conversant with spiritual energy, or has the potency to understand spiritual energy, he is covered by the material energy and consequently identifies the body with the self. 

This false identification is called "false ego." Deluded by this false ego, the bewildered living entity in material existence changes his different bodies and suffers various kinds of miseries. Knowledge of the living entity's true position is possessed to different extents by different types of living entities.

In other words, it is to be understood that the living entity is part and parcel of the spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord. Because the material energy is inferior, man has the ability to get uncovered from this material energy and utilize the spiritual energy. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that the superior energy is covered by the inferior energy. Due to this covering, the living entity is subjected to the miseries of the material world, and, in proportion to the different degrees of passion and ignorance, he suffers material miseries. Those who are a little enlightened suffer less, but on the whole everyone is subjected to material miseries due to being covered by the material energy.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also quoted from the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita in which it is stated that earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego all combine together to form the inferior energy of the Supreme Lord. The superior energy, however, is the real identity of the living being, and it is because of that energy that the whole material world functions.

The cosmic manifestation, which is made of material elements, has no power to act unless it is moved by the superior energy, the living entity. It can actually be said that the conditioned life of the living entity is due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord in the superior energy. When that relationship is forgotten, conditional life is the result. Only when man revives his real identity, that of eternal servitor to the Lord, does he become liberated.

Sanatana Gosvami

vande 'nantadbhutaisvaryam
sri-caitanya-mahaprabhum
nico 'pi yat-prasadat syad
bhakti-sastra-pravartakah
[Cc. Madhya 20.1]

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, by whose mercy even a person in the lowest form of life can find direction in transcendental devotional service to the Lord.
 

After Lord Chaitanya accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa), He traveled all over India. During this period He went to Maldah, a district in Bengal. In that area there was a village named Ramakeli, where two government ministers of the Nawab Hussain Shah's regime lived. These two ministers were named Dabira Khasa and Sakara Mallika, and they were later to be renamed Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami. Being inspired by Lord Caitanya, they decided to retire from government service and join His sankirtana movement.
 

Upon making this decision, the two brothers at once took steps to leave their material engagements, and they appointed two learned brahmanas to perform certain Vedic religious rituals that would enable them to achieve complete freedom for the devotional service of Krsna. These preliminary activities are known as purascarya. These ritualistic functions demand that three times a day one worships and offers respects to his forefathers, offers oblations to a fire, and respectfully offers food to a learned brahmana. Five items—time, worship, offering of respect, offering of oblation into the fire and offering of food to a brahmana—comprise purascarya. This and other rituals are mentioned in the hari-bhakti-vilasa, the authoritative book of directions.
 

After performing these religious rituals, the younger brother, Sakara Mallika (Rupa Gosvami), returned home with an immense amount of money which he had acquired during his government service. Indeed, the silver and gold coins he brought back filled a large boat. After arriving home, he divided the accumulated wealth first in twain and distributed one part to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas. Thus for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he distributed fifty percent of his accumulated wealth to persons engaged in the Supreme Lord's transcendental loving service.

Brahmanas are meant to understand the Absolute Truth, and once they understand the truth and actually engage in the loving service of the Lord, they can be called Vaisnavas. Both brahmanas and Vaisnavas are supposed to be fully engaged in transcendental service, and Rupa Gosvami, considering their important transcendental position, gave them fifty percent of his wealth. The remaining fifty percent was again divided in twain—he distributed one part to his relatives and dependent family members, and the other he kept for personal emergencies.
 

Such distribution of personal wealth is very instructive for all who desire to be elevated in spiritual knowledge. Generally a person bequeaths all his accumulated wealth to his family members and then retires from family activities in order to make progress in spiritual knowledge. Here, however, we find the behavior of Rupa Gosvami to be exemplary; he gave fifty percent of his wealth for spiritual purposes. This should serve as an example for everyone. The twenty-five percent of his accumulated wealth which he kept for personal emergencies was deposited with a good business firm, since in those days there were no banks. Ten thousand coins were deposited for expenditures incurred by his elder brother, Sanatana Gosvami.
 

At this time Rupa Gosvami received information that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was preparing to proceed to Vrndavana from Jagannatha Puri. Rupa Gosvami sent two messengers to get actual information of the Lord's itinerary, and he made his own plans to go to Mathura to meet the Lord. It appears that Rupa Gosvami got permission to join Lord Caitanya, but Sanatana Gosvami did not.

Therefore Sanatana Gosvami entrusted the responsibilities of his government service to his immediate assistants, and he remained home to study Srimad-Bhagavatam. In fact, he even engaged some ten or twenty learned brahmanas and began an intensive study of Srimad-Bhagavatam in their company. While he was thus engaged, he submitted sick-leave reports to his employer, the Nawab. However, the ruler was so anxious for Sanatana Gosvami's advice in government matters that he suddenly appeared at his house. When the Nawab entered the house where Sanatana Gosvami and the brahmanas were assembled, they all stood up to receive him respectfully, and they offered him a place to sit.
 

"You have submitted sick reports," the Nawab told Sanatana Gosvami: "But I sent my physician to see you, and he reported that you have no illness at all. Since I did not know why you were submitting sick reports and not attending to your service, I have personally come to see you. Frankly, I am much perturbed by your behavior. As you know, I completely depend on you and your responsible work in government. I was free to act in other matters because I was depending on you, but if you do not join me, your past devotion will be spoiled. Now, what is your intention? Please tell me."
 

On hearing this, Sanatana Gosvami replied that he was unable to continue work and that it would be very kind of the Nawab to appoint someone else to execute the work that was entrusted to him. Upon hearing this, the Nawab became very angry and said, "Your elder brother lives like a hunter, and if you also retire from the administration, everything will be finished." It was said that the Nawab used to treat Sanatana Gosvami like a younger brother. Since the Nawab was principally engaged in conquering different parts of the country and also in hunting, he depended largely on Sanatana Gosvami for government administration. Thus he pleaded with him: "If you also retire from government service, how will the administration carry on?"
 

"You are the governor of Gauda," Sanatana Gosvami replied very gravely, "and you punish different kinds of criminals in different ways. So you are at liberty to punish anyone according to his activity." By this reply Sanatana Gosvami was indicating that since the governor was engaged in hunting animals and in killing men to expand his kingdom, let both of them suffer according to the acts they were performing.

The Nawab was intelligent, and he understood Sanatana Gosvami's purpose. He left the house in an angry mood, and shortly afterward he went off to conquer Orissa. He ordered the arrest of Sanatana Gosvami and commanded that he be held until he returned. 

Upon learning that his elder brother had been arrested by the Nawab, Rupa Gosvami sent information that ten thousand coins were being held in the custody of a grocer in Gauda (Bengal) and that this money could be used as ransom for his brother. Sanatana also offered five thousand coins to the keeper of the jail in which he was being held in custody. He advised the jailkeeper to gladly accept the five thousand coins from him and let him go because by accepting the money he would not only be materially benefited but would also be acting very righteously by freeing Sanatana for spiritual purposes.
 

"Of course I can let you go," the jailkeeper replied, "for you have done many services for me, and you are in government service. However, l'm afraid of the Nawab. What will he do when he hears that you are free? l'll have to explain everything to him. How can I accept such a proposal?" Sanatana then invented a story which the jailkeeper might submit to the Nawab—as to how he had escaped—and he raised his offer to ten thousand coins. Greedy to get the money, the jailkeeper agreed to the proposition and let him go. In the meantime, Rupa Gosvami, with his younger brother Sri Vallabha, had started for Vrndavana to meet Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
 

Sanatana then proceeded to go to see the Lord. He did not travel on the open road but went through the jungles until he arrived at a place in Bihar called Patada. There he rested in a hotel, but the hotelkeeper was informed by an astrologer employed there that Sanatana Gosvami had some gold coins with him. The hotelkeeper, desiring to get the money, spoke to Sanatana with seeming respect.

"Just take your rest tonight," he told him, "and in the morning I shall arrange for you to get out of this jungle trap." However, Sanatana was suspicious of his behavior, and he inquired from his servant Isana whether he had money, and Isana told him that he had seven gold coins. Sanatana did not like the idea of the servant carrying such money. He became angry with him and said, "Why do you carry this death knell on the road?"
 

Sanatana at once took the gold coins and offered them to the hotelkeeper. He then requested that the hotelkeeper help him through the jungle. He informed him that he was on a special journey for the government and that since he could not travel on the open road, it would be very kind if the hotelkeeper would help him through the jungles and over the mountains.
 

"I understood that you had eight coins with you, and I was thinking of killing you to take them," the hotelkeeper confessed. "But I can understand that you are such a good man that you don't have to offer me the money."
 

"If you don't accept these coins, then someone else will take them from me," Sanatana replied. "Someone will kill me for them, so it is better that you take them. I offer them to you." The hotelkeeper then gave him all assistance, and that very night he helped him get past the hills.
 

When Sanatana emerged from the hills, he requested that his servant go home with the one coin that he still had with him, for Sanatana decided that he would go on alone. After the departure of his servant, Sanatana felt completely free. With torn clothing and a waterpot in hand, he began to proceed toward Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. On the way, he met his rich brother-in-law who was also in the government service and who offered him an excellent blanket, which Sanatana accepted at his special request. Then he parted from him and went on alone to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Benares.
 

When he reached Benares, he understood that the Lord was there, and he became overjoyed. He was informed by the people that the Lord was staying at the house of Candrasekhara Acarya, and Sanatana went there. Although Caitanya Mahaprabhu was inside the house, He could understand that Sanatana had arrived at the door, and He asked Candrasekhara to call the man who was sitting there. "He is a Vaisnava, a great devotee of the Lord," Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. Candrasekhara came out to see the man, but he saw no Vaisnava at the door. He saw only a man who appeared to be a mendicant. The Lord then asked to see the mendicant, and when Sanatana entered the courtyard, Lord Caitanya hurriedly came to see and embrace him. When the Lord embraced him, Sanatana became overwhelmed with spiritual ecstasy, and he said, "My dear Lord, please do not touch me." But both of them embraced each other and began to cry. 

Seeing Sanatana and Lord Caitanya acting thus, Candrasekhara was struck with wonder. At length, Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Sanatana to sit down with Him on a bench. He was touching the body of Sanatana with His hand, and Sanatana asked Him again, "My dear Lord, please do not touch me."

"I am touching you just for My purification," the Lord replied, "for you are a great devotee. By your devotional service you can deliver the whole universe and enable everyone to go back to Godhead."
The Lord proceeded to quote a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam to the effect that a person who is a devotee of Lord Krsna and is one hundred percent engaged in devotional service is far better than a brahmana who is versed in all the Vedic literatures but who does not engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Because he is carrying the Supreme Lord within his heart, the devotee can purify everyplace and everything.
 

In the Vedic literatures it is also stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not recognize a person who is very learned in all the divisions of the Vedas, but, rather, He likes a person who is a devotee, even though he may be born in a low family. If one offers charity to a brahmana who is not a devotee, the Lord does not accept; but if something is offered to a devotee, the Lord accepts. In other words, whatever a person wishes to offer the Lord may be given to His devotees. 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu also quoted Srimad-Bhagavatam to the effect that if a brahmana is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, then he is lower than the lowest of the low, even though he may be qualified with the twelve brahminical qualities and born in a high family. A devotee, although born in a candala (dog-eater) family, can purify his whole family for one hundred generations, past and future, by devotional service, whereas a proud brahmana cannot even purify himself. It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (13.2):
 

aksnoh phalam tvadrsa-darsanam hi
tanoh phalam tvadrsa-gatra-sangah
jihva-phalam tvadrsa-kirtanam hi
sudurlabha bhagavata hi loke

"O devotee of the Lord, to see you is the perfection of the eyes, to touch your body is the perfection of bodily activities, and to glorify your qualities is the perfection of the tongue, for it is very rare to find a pure devotee like you."
 

The Lord then told Sanatana that Krsna is very merciful and is the deliverer of fallen souls. "He has saved you from Maharaurava," the Lord said. This Maharaurava, or hell, is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam as a place meant for persons who are engaged in killing animals, for it is stated there that butchers or animal eaters go to that hell.
 

"I do not know the mercy of Krsna," Sanatana replied, "but I can understand that Your mercy upon me is causeless. You have delivered me from the entanglement of material life."

Then the Lord inquired: "How did you get free from your custody? I understand that you were arrested." Sanatana then narrated the whole story of his release. "I have seen your two brothers," the Lord then informed him, "and I have advised them to proceed toward Vrndavana."
 

Lord Caitanya then introduced Candrasekhara and Tapana Misra to Sanatana, and Tapana Misra pleasantly invited Sanatana to dine with him. The Lord requested Candrasekhara to take Sanatana to a barber and make him "gentle," for Sanatana had grown a long beard which Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not like. He not only asked Candrasekhara to provide Sanatana with a bath and clean shave but with a change of clothes as well.
 

After bathing, Candrasekhara gave him some good cloth. When Lord Caitanya was informed that Sanatana did not accept new garments but later accepted only some used garments from Tapana Misra, He was very glad. The Lord went to Tapana Misra's house for lunch and asked him to keep food for Sanatana. Tapana Misra did not offer Sanatana food immediately, however, but after the Lord finished His eating there were some remnants of His foodstuff, and that was offered to Sanatana while the Lord took His rest.
 

After resting, Lord Caitanya introduced one Maharastriya brahmana, a devotee of His, to Sanatana, and that Maharastriya brahmana invited Sanatana to accept lunch daily at his place as long as he remained in Benares.
 

"As long as I remain in Benares, I will beg from door to door," Sanatana said. "But the Lord will be so good as to accept this invitation for daily lunch at your house."
 

Lord Caitanya was very much pleased by this behavior of Sanatana, but He noticed the valuable blanket that was given to him by his brother-in-law while en route to Benares. Although Lord Caitanya was overlooking the blanket, Sanatana understood that He did not approve of such a valuable garment on his body, and therefore Sanatana decided to get rid of it. He immediately went to the bank of the Ganges, and there he saw a mendicant washing an old quilt. When Sanatana asked him to trade the old quilt for the valuable blanket, the poor mendicant thought that Sanatana was joking with him. "How is this?" the mendicant upbraided him. "You appear to be a very nice gentleman, but you are mocking me in this unmannerly way.
 

"I am not joking with you," Sanatana informed him. "I am very serious. Will you kindly exchange that torn quilt for this blanket?" Finally the mendicant exchanged his torn quilt for the blanket, and Sanatana returned to the Lord.
 

"Where is your valuable blanket?" the Lord immediately inquired. Sanatana informed Him about the exchange, and the Lord loved him for this and thanked him. "You are intelligent enough, and you have now exhausted all your attraction for material wealth." In other words, the Lord accepts a person for devotional service only when he is completely free from all materialistic possessions. The Lord then told Sanatana: "It would not look good for you to be a mendicant and beg from door to door with such a valuable blanket on your body. It is contradictory and people would look on it with abhorrence."

"Whatever I am doing to become free from material attachment is all Your mercy," Sanatana replied. The Lord was very much pleased with him, and both of them discussed spiritual advancement.
 

Previous to this meeting between Lord Caitanya and Sanatana Gosvami, the Lord met a householder devotee named Ramananda Raya. At that meeting, which is discussed in a later chapter, Lord Caitanya asked Ramananda Raya questions, and Ramananda replied as if he were the teacher of the Lord. However, in this case Sanatana put questions to the Lord, and the Lord answered them Himself.
 

The instructions and teachings of Lord Caitanya are very important for people in general. He teaches the process of devotional service, which is the constitutional occupation of every living entity, for it is every man's duty to advance in spiritual science. Many subjects were thoroughly discussed in the talks between Lord Caitanya and Sanatana Gosvami. Due to the mercy of Lord Caitanya, Sanatana was able to put important questions before Him, and these questions were replied to properly.

By the meeting of Sanatana and Lord Caitanya, we learn that in order to understand spiritual subject matters, one must approach a spiritual master like Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and make submissive inquiries. It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 4.34) that one should approach a man of authority and learn the science of spiritual life from him.

Teachings to Rupa Gosvami

Srila Rupa Gosvami, the younger brother of Sanatana Gosvami, went to Prayaga, the modern city of Allahabad, with his younger brother Vallabha. When the two brothers heard that Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was staying there, they both became very happy and went to see the Lord. At that time the Lord was on His way to visit the temple Bindumadhava. On the way to the temple, the Lord was chanting and dancing, and thousands of people were following Him. Some of these people were crying, and some were laughing. Some were dancing, and some were singing, and some were falling on the ground, offering obeisances to the Lord. In all cases, all of them were roaring the holy name of Krsna. It is said that in spite of being at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna, Prayaga was never flooded until the appearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, at which time the city was overflooded by love of Krsna.

The two brothers, Rupa Gosvami and Vallabha, stayed aloof in an uncrowded place and witnessed the great crowd and wonderful scene. When the Lord danced, He raised His arms and shouted, "Haribol! Haribol!" The people all about Him were astonished to see His wonderful activities. After visiting the temple, the Lord accepted prasada (food offered to the Deity) at the house of a Deccanist (Southern) brahmana. While at the brahmana's home, the Lord was visited by Rupa Gosvami and Vallabha. From a distance the two brothers fell down on the ground to offer obeisances, and they chanted many Sanskrit verses from the scriptures. When the Lord saw Rupa Gosvami offering obeisances before Him, He became very pleased and asked him to get up. The Lord then informed Rupa Gosvami of the causeless mercy of Krsna upon him, for Krsna had just delivered him from a materialistic way of life based simply on pound-shilling-pence.

The Lord accepted the two brothers as His own devotees, and He cited one verse from the scriptures which stated that it is possible for a brahmana, who has studied the four Vedas, to not be accepted as a devotee of the Lord and that a pure devotee could come from a very low family and yet be accepted by Him. Then the Lord embraced the two brothers, and, out of His causeless mercy, touched their heads with His lotus feet. Being blessed in this way, the brothers offered prayers to the Lord in their own words. The prayers indicated that Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krsna Himself, that He had assumed the form and fair complexion of Caitanya and was thus known as Gauranga (the golden one), and that He was the most munificent incarnation of Krsna because He was distributing love of Krsna. Srila Rupa Gosvami also quoted one verse which was later found in the book Govinda-lilamrta (1.2):

yo 'jnana-mattam bhuvanam dayalur
ullaghayann apy akarot pramattam
svaprema-sampat-sudhayadbhuteham
sri-krsna-caitanyam amum prapadye

"Let me surrender unto the lotus feet of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the most merciful Personality of Godhead. He delivers those souls who are merged in ignorance and offers them the highest gift, love of Krsna, and thus makes them mad for Krsna consciousness."

After this incident, Vallabha Bhatta invited the Lord to go to the other side of the Ganges, and the Lord went. From that moment on, wherever the Lord went, Rupa Gosvami would follow Him and stay with Him. Because the Lord felt inconvenienced in crowded places, He asked Rupa Gosvami to accompany Him to a place on the banks of the Ganges known as Dasasvamedha-ghata. For ten days He instructed Rupa Gosvami about the truth of Krsna, the principles of devotional service and the transcendental relationships with Krsna. All of this was described in full detail so that in the future Rupa Gosvami could distribute this science of Krsna in his book Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Indeed, Srila Rupa Gosvami described this incident in the first verse of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, in which he speaks of the causeless mercy of the Lord upon him.

The Supreme Lord is cognizant and all-powerful, and by His causeless mercy He empowers a living entity to receive His mercy. Being under the spell of conditional life, people in general are averse to rendering devotional service and practicing Krsna consciousness. In fact, most people are unaware of the principal teachings of Krsna consciousness regarding one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the ultimate goal of life, which is to return home, back to Godhead. Nor are people aware of the process by which one can return to the spiritual world. Because these important subject matters are unknown to the conditioned soul, Lord Caitanya, out of His causeless mercy, instructed Rupa Gosvami in the principles of devotional service. Later, for the good of the people in general, Rupa Gosvami distributed this information of the science of devotional service.
In the prologue to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.2), Rupa Gosvami wrote the following:

hrdi yasya preranaya pravartito 'ham varaka-rupo 'pi
tasya hareh pada-kamalam vande caitanya-devasya

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Lord Caitanyadeva, because due to His inspiration I feel the desire within my heart to write something about devotional service. For this reason I am engaged in writing this book on the science of devotion known as Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu."

When Lord Caitanya began His instructions to Rupa Gosvami, He first told him, "My dear Rupa, the science of devotional service is just like the great ocean, and it is not possible to show you all its length and breadth. However, I shall try to explain the nature of that ocean by taking just one drop out of it. In this way you can taste it and understand what that ocean of devotional service actually is.

The Lord then explained that within this brahmanda, or universe, there are innumerable living entities who, according to their own fruitive activities, are transmigrating from one species of life to another and from one planet to another. In this way their encagement in material existence has been continuing since time immemorial. In actuality, these living entities are atomic parts and parcels of the supreme spirit. It is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that the length and breadth of the individual soul is approximately 1/10,000th part of the tip of a hair—in other words, it is so small that it is invisible. This is also confirmed in the Svetasvatara Upanisad.

In the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, one of the four Kumaras, known as Sanandana, gave the following speech upon performing a great sacrifice: "O Supreme Truth! If the living entities were not infinitesimal sparks of the supreme spirit, each minute spark would be all-pervading and would not be controlled by a superior power. But if the living entity is accepted as a minute part and parcel of the Supreme Lord he automatically becomes controlled by a supreme energy or power. The latter is his actual constitutional position, and if he remains in this position he can attain full freedom." (SB 10.87.30) If one mistakenly considers his position to be equal to that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes contaminated by the doctrine of nonduality, and his efforts in transcendental life are rendered ineffective.

Lord Caitanya elaborated on these teachings of Srimad-Bhagavatam by pointing out that there are two kinds of living entities—the eternally liberated and the eternally conditioned. The eternally conditioned living entities can be divided into two types—moving and nonmoving. Those entities which cannot move—like trees, for example—remain in one place and are classified as nonmoving entities, and those that move—such as the birds and beasts—are called jangama (moving entities) and are further divided into three categories: those that fly in the sky, those that swim in the water, and those that walk on land. Out of the many millions and trillions of living entities on land, human beings comprise only a small portion. Out of that small number of human beings, most are totally ignorant of spiritual life, are unclean in their habits and have no faith in the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In short, most human beings live like animals.

These can actually be deducted from the number of human beings that comprise human or civilized life. It is very difficult to find a few human beings who believe in the scriptures and the existence of God, or, for that matter, in proper behavior. Those who do believe in the value of these things are known as arya, a word denoting those who believe in advancing in spiritual life. Out of those who believe in the value of the scriptures and the advancement of human civilization, there are two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous.

Those who are righteous generally execute fruitive activities in order to derive some good result for sense gratification. Out of many such persons who engage in righteous activities for sense gratification, only a few come to know about the Absolute Truth. These are called jnanis, empiric philosophers. Out of many hundreds and thousands of such empiric philosophers, only a handful actually attain liberation. When one is liberated, he theoretically understands that the living entity is not composed of material elements but is spirit soul, distinct from matter. Simply by theoretically understanding this doctrine, one can be called liberated, but actually a mukta, or liberated soul, is he who understands his constitutional position as an eternal servant of the Lord. Such liberated souls engage with faith and devotion in the service of the Lord, and they are called krsna-bhaktas, or Krsna conscious persons.

Krsna-bhaktas are free from all material desires. Those who are liberated theoretically by knowing simply that the living entity is not material may still have desires, although they may be technically classified amongst liberated souls. Their main desire is to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally such persons are very much attached to Vedic rituals and righteous activities, performing them in order to enjoy material prosperity. Even when some of them transcend material enjoyment, they still try to enjoy the spiritual world by merging into the existence of the Supreme Lord. Some of them are also desirous of attaining mystic powers through the execution of yoga. As long as these desires are within one's heart, he cannot understand the nature of pure devotional service. When one is constantly being agitated by such desires, he is not peaceful. Indeed, as long as there is any desire for material perfection at all, one cannot be at peace. Since the devotees of Lord Krsna do not desire anything material, they are the only peaceful persons within this material world. This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam:

muktanam api siddhanam
narayana-parayanah
sudurlabhah prasantatma
kotisv api mahamune

"O great sage, out of many millions of liberated persons and persons who have achieved success in mystic yoga, one who is completely devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who is filled with peace is very hard to find." (SB 6.14.5)

In this way Lord Caitanya explained that of the many thousands and millions of living entities wandering in the material world, one who by the grace of Lord Krsna and the spiritual master gets the seed of devotional service is very rare and fortunate. A pious or religious man is generally inclined to worship deities in various temples, but if by chance, even without his knowledge, he offers his obeisances to Lord Visnu or receives the favor of a Vaisnava, a devotee of the Lord, he at that time acquires the asset necessary to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is clearly understood from the life story of the great sage Narada, which is related in Srimad-Bhagavatam. By serving Vaisnavas in his previous life, Narada was favored by the devotees of the Lord and became a great sage. Indeed, amongst sages Narada Muni is considered to be the greatest.
Vaisnavas, or devotees, are usually very compassionate upon conditioned souls.

Without even being invited, a devotee will go from door to door to enlighten people and to bring them out of the darkness of nescience by injecting knowledge of the living entity's constitutional position as a servant of Lord Krsna. Such devotees are empowered by the Lord to distribute devotional consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, to the people in general. They are known as authorized spiritual masters, and it is by their mercy that a conditioned soul gets the seed of devotional service. The causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is first appreciated when one comes in touch with a bona fide spiritual master who can bring the conditioned soul to the highest position of devotional life. Therefore Lord Caitanya said that by the mercy of the spiritual master one can achieve the causeless mercy of the Lord, and by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can attain the mercy of the bona fide spiritual master.

Thus by the mercy of the spiritual master and Krsna, one receives the seed of devotional service. He has only to sow the seed in the field of his heart, just as a gardener sows the seed of a valuable tree. After sowing this seed, one has to water it in the form of chanting and hearing the holy name of the Supreme Lord or by taking part in discussions about the science of devotional service in a society of pure devotees.


When the plant of devotional service sprouts up from the seed of devotion, it begins to grow freely. When it is full grown, it surpasses the length and breadth of this universe and enters into the transcendental atmosphere, where everything is bathed in the effulgence of the brahmajyoti. The plant even penetrates this brahmajyoti and gradually enters the planet known as Goloka Vrndavana. There the plant takes shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna. That is the ultimate goal of devotional service. After attaining this position, the plant produces fruit, which is known as the fruit of love of Godhead. However, it is necessary for the devotee, or transcendental gardener, to pour water on the plant daily by chanting and hearing. Unless one waters the plant by chanting and hearing, there is every chance that it will dry up.

Lord Caitanya pointed out to Rupa Gosvami that there was a certain danger to be encountered while watering the root of the devotional plant. After the plant has grown some bit, an animal may come and either eat or destroy it. When green leaves of a plant are taken by some animal, the plant generally dies. The most dangerous animal is considered a mad elephant, for if a mad elephant enters into a garden, it causes tremendous damage to plants and trees. An offense to a pure devotee of the Lord is called vaisnavaparadha, the mad elephant offense. In the discharge of devotional service, an offense to the feet of a pure devotee can create havoc. Thus one has to defend the plant of bhakti by tending it properly and taking care not to commit offenses. If one is cautious, the plant can properly thrive.

There are ten principal offenses which can be committed against the holy name. The first is to blaspheme the great devotees who have tried to spread the glories of the holy name throughout the world. The holy name of Krsna is nondifferent from Krsna, and one who attempts to spread the holy names throughout the world is beloved of Him. Krsna Himself does not tolerate offenses against His pure devotees. The second offense is to deny that Lord Visnu is the Absolute Truth. There is no difference between His name, quality, form, pastimes and activities, and one who sees a difference is considered an offender. The Lord is Supreme, and no one is equal to or greater than Him. Consequently if one thinks that the Lord's names are nondifferent from the names of demigods, he offends. The Supreme Lord and the demigods should never be considered on the same level.

The third offense is to consider the bona fide spiritual master to be a common man. The fourth offense is to blaspheme Vedic literature and authorized scriptures like the Puranas. The fifth offense is to consider the glories attributed to the holy names to be exaggerations. The sixth offense is to concoct perverted theories about the holy name. The seventh offense is to commit sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy name. It is understood that by chanting the holy names one is free from sinful reactions, but this does not mean that one should act sinfully on the strength of chanting.

That is the greatest offense. The eighth offense is to consider that religious rituals, austerity, sacrifices or other forms of renunciation are equal to chanting the holy name. Chanting the holy name is as good as associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pious activities are only means to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they can even be performed for some material reason. The ninth offense is to preach the glories of the holy name of God to a faithless person who is not interested in hearing them. The tenth and last offense is to maintain material attachment even after hearing and chanting the holy names of God. The idea is that by chanting the holy name without offense, one can obtain elevation to the liberated platform. On the liberated platform one is freed from all material attachment. Thus if one chants the holy names and still has material attachments, he must be committing some offense.

There are also other factors which disturb the plant of devotional service. Along with this plant the weeds of material desires also grow. When a person advances in bhakti, it is natural that many persons will come to him requesting to become disciples and will offer him some material gains. If one is attracted by a large number of disciples and material conveniences offered by these disciples and forgets his duty as a bona fide master, the growth of the plant will be impeded. Simply by taking advantage of material conveniences one may become addicted to enjoying material comforts.

It is also considered to be disadvantageous to desire liberation. The only desire should be the desire to render service. Neglect of restrictions and prohibitions is also disadvantageous. The prohibitions are mentioned in the authorized scriptures: One should not indulge in illicit sex life, intoxication, meat eating or gambling. These things are forbidden to one who is attempting devotional service. If one does not follow these principles strictly, there may be a severe disturbance in the discharge of devotional service.

If one is not particularly careful, even by watering the plant of devotional service, unnecessary weeds will grow and hamper progress. The idea is that when one waters a garden, not only does the desired plant grow more rapidly, but the unwanted plants grow also. If the gardener does not see these impediments and take them out, they will overcome and choke the plant of devotion. If, however, one is careful to guard against the growth of unwanted plants, the plant of devotion grows luxuriantly and reaches the ultimate goal, Goloka Vrndavana. When the living entity engaged in devotional service relishes the fruit of love of Godhead, he forgets all religious ritual and improvements in his economic condition. He no longer desires to satisfy his senses, and he no longer desires to become one with the Supreme Lord by merging into His effulgence.

There are many phases of spiritual knowledge and transcendental bliss. On one platform are the ritualistic sacrifices recommended in the Vedas, the execution of austerities and pious duties, and the practice of mystic yoga. These all reward different results to their performer. The rewards of these practices, however, appear to be very glittering as long as one is not elevated to the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Love of God is dormant in everyone, and it can be awakened from its dormant position by the execution of pure devotional service, just as a person bitten by a serpent can be awakened by ammonia.
After speaking in this way about devotional service, Lord Caitanya begins to describe devotional service and its symptoms to Rupa Gosvami.

He explains that in pure devotional service there can be no desire other than the desire to advance in Krsna consciousness. In Krsna consciousness there is no scope for worshiping any demigod or any other form of Krsna, nor is there room for indulgence in speculative empiric philosophy, nor indulgence in fruitive activities. One should be free from all these contaminations. A devotee should accept only those things that are favorable to keep his body and soul together and should reject those things that increase the demands of the body. Only the bare necessities for bodily maintenance should be accepted. By minimizing bodily necessities, one can primarily devote his time to the cultivation of Krsna consciousness through the chanting of the holy names of God.

Pure devotional service means engaging all the senses of the body in the service of the Lord. At the present moment, our senses are all designated because the body is designated. Consequently we think that this body belongs to a particular society or a particular country or a particular family. In this way the body is bound by so many designations. Similarly, the senses belong to the body, and when the body is subject to such designations, the senses are also. Thus the senses engage themselves on behalf of family, society, nation and so on. When they are so engaged, they cannot cultivate Krsna consciousness. The senses must be purified, and this is possible when one purely understands that he belongs to Krsna and that his life belongs to Krsna.

The devotee should see his identity as an eternal servant of Krsna. In this way one can engage his senses in the service of the Lord. Such engagement is called pure devotional service.

A pure devotee accepts the transcendental loving service of the Lord but rejects all kinds of liberation for his personal sense gratification. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.29.11-13) Lord Kapila explains that as soon as a pure devotee hears the glories and transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is seated in everyone's heart, his mind immediately flows toward the Lord, just as the waters of the Ganges flow toward the sea. Such spontaneous attraction to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is most important to pure devotional service. Devotional service is pure when one engages in the service of the Supreme Lord without any motive and without being hampered with material impediments. The pure devotee does not desire to live on the same planet with the Supreme Lord, nor does he desire the same opulence as the Lord, nor does he desire to have the same form as the Lord, nor to live with Him side by side, nor to merge into His existence, etc.

Even if the devotee were offered such rewards by the Lord, he would reject them. The point is that a devotee is so much absorbed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord that he has no time to think of any benefit beyond his immediate engagement. Just as an ordinary materialistic businessman thinks of nothing else when he is absorbed in his business, a pure devotee, when engaged in the service of the Lord, does not think of anything beyond that engagement.

If one is so absorbed in the rendering of service, he can be understood to be elevated to the highest position of bhakti. By such transcendental loving service alone can one surpass the influence of maya and relish pure love of Godhead. As long as one desires material benefit or liberation, which are called the two witches of allurement, he cannot relish the taste of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord.

There are three stages of devotional service: The first is the beginning stage of cultivation, the second is the realization of service, and the third, the supreme stage, is the attainment of love of Godhead. There are nine different methods of cultivating devotional service—such as hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.—and all these processes are employed in the first stage. If one is engaged in chanting and hearing with devotion and faith, his material misgivings gradually become vanquished. As his faith in devotional service gradually increases, he becomes assured of a higher perfectional position. In this way one can become firmly fixed in devotion, increase his taste for it, become attached and feel ecstasy. This ecstasy occurs in the preliminary stage of love of Godhead. Attainment of ecstasy is produced by execution of devotional service. When one continues the process of hearing and chanting, attachment grows and assumes the name of love of Godhead.

When one attains the third stage of transcendental love of God, there occur further developments known as transcendental affection, emotion, ecstasy, and extreme and intense attachment. These are technically known by the terms raga, anuraga, bhava and mahabhava. The progress from one stage to another can be compared to the thickening of sugar candy juice. In the first stage sugar candy juice is like a thin liquid. When, by evaporation, it becomes thicker and thicker, it turns into molasses. Finally it turns into granules and becomes sugar, rock candy and so on. Just as liquid sugar juice progresses from one stage to another, similarly transcendental love for the Supreme Lord develops by stages.

When one actually becomes situated on the transcendental platform, he becomes steady. Unless one is so situated, his position may not be steady and he may fall down. When one is actually situated transcendentally, there is no fear of falling down. This stage of understanding is technically called sthayi-bhava. There are even stages beyond this position, and they are known as vibhava, anubhava, sattvika and vyabhicari. After one attains these, there is actually an exchange of rasa, or transcendental activity with the Supreme Lord. This exchange in loving reciprocation between the lover and the beloved is generally called krsna-bhakti-rasa. It should be noted that the transcendental loving exchanges stand on the steadfast position of sthayi-bhava, as explained before. The basic principle of vibhava is sthayi-bhava, and all other activities are auxiliary for the development of transcendental love.

The ecstasy of transcendental love has two components—the context and the cause of the excitement. The context is also divided into two parts—the subject and the object. The exchange of devotional service is the subject, and Krsna is the object. The transcendental qualities are the causes of excitement. This means that the transcendental qualities of Krsna excite the devotee to serve Him. The impersonal (Mayavadi) philosophers say that the Absolute Truth has no specific qualities, but the Vaisnava philosophers say that the Absolute Truth is described as nirguna (without qualities) because He has no material qualities. This is not to say that He does not have spiritual qualities. Indeed, the Lord's spiritual qualities are so great and so enchanting that they can even attract a liberated person. This is explained in the atmarama verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam where it is said that those who are already situated on the platform of self-realization are attracted by the transcendental qualities of Krsna. This means that Krsna's qualities are not material but pure and transcendental.

The higher stage of ecstasy can be characterized by the following thirteen transcendental activities: (1) dancing, (2) rolling on the floor, (3) singing, (4) clapping, (5) bristling of the hairs of the body, (6) thundering, (7) yawning, (8) breathing heavily, (9) forgetting social conventions, (10) salivating, (11) laughing, (12) aching, (13) coughing. All these symptoms are not awakened simultaneously; they act according to the exchange of transcendental relationships. Sometimes one symptom is prominent, and at another time another is prominent.

The transcendental rasas, or relationships, can be divided into five. The initial stage is called santa-rati, wherein one who is liberated from material contamination appreciates the greatness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who attains this stage does not exactly engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, for this is a neutral stage. In the second stage, which is called dasya-rati, a person appreciates his position as being everlastingly subordinate to the Supreme Lord, and he understands that he is eternally dependent on the causeless mercy of the Supreme Person.

At that same time there is an awakening of natural affection, such as is felt by a son who grows up and begins to appreciate his father's benedictions. At this stage the living entity wants to serve the Supreme Lord instead of serving maya, illusion. In the third stage, called sakhya-rati, transcendental love is developed, and one associates with the Supreme on an equal level of love and respect. As this stage is further developed, there is joking and such relaxed exchanges as laughing and so on. On this level there are fraternal exchanges with the Supreme Person, and one is free from all bondage. At this stage one practically forgets his inferior position as a living entity, but at the same time he has the greatest respect for the Supreme Person.

In the fourth stage, called vatsalya-rati, the fraternal affection evinced in the preceding stage develops into paternal affection. At this time the living entity tries to be the parent of God. Instead of worshiping the Lord, the living entity, as a parent of the Supreme, becomes an object of worship for the Supreme Person. At this stage the Lord depends on the mercy of His pure devotee and puts Himself under the control of the devotee to be raised. The devotee in this stage attains the position wherein he can embrace the Supreme Lord and even kiss His head. In the fifth stage, called madhura-rati, there is an actual transcendental exchange of conjugal love between the lover and the beloved. It is at this stage that Krsna and the damsels of Vraja glanced at one another, for on this platform there is an exchange of loving glances, motions of the eyes, pleasant words, attractive smiles, etc.

Besides these five primary rasas, or relationships, there are seven secondary rasas which consist of laughing, having wonderful visions, entering into a chivalrous relationship, experiencing pity, feeling anger and experiencing ghastliness and devastation. For example, Bhisma related to Krsna as a warrior in the chivalrous rasa. Hiranyakasipu, however, experienced an exchange of the ghastly and devastating rasa. The five primary rasas constantly remain within the heart of the pure devotee, and the seven secondary rasas sometimes appear and disappear to enrich the flavors and tastes of the primary ones. After enriching the primary rasas, they disappear.

Examples of santa-bhaktas, or devotees in the neutral stage, are the nine yogis named Kavi, Havi, Antariksa, Prabuddha, Pippalayana, Avirhotra, Dravida or Drumila, Camasa and Karabhajana. The four Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatana) are also examples of this stage. Examples of devotees in the second stage, the dasya stage of servitorship, are Raktaka, Citraka and Patraka in the Gokula rasa. These all function as servants of Krsna. In Dvaraka there is Daruka, and in the Vaikuntha planets there are Hanuman and others.

Devotees in the third stage, the stage of friendship, are Sridama in Vrndavana and Bhima and Arjuna in Dvaraka and on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. There are many others also. As far as those relating to Krsna in paternal love, they include devotees like Yasoda and Maharaja Nanda—that is, Krsna's mother, father, uncle and similar relatives. In conjugal love there are the damsels of Vraja, Vrndavana, and the queens and goddesses of fortune in Dvaraka. No one can count the vast number of devotees in this rasa.

Attachment to Krsna can also be broken down into two categories. On one platform there is attachment with awe and veneration. This type of attachment might be characterized by a certain lack of freedom, and it is exhibited in Mathura and in the Vaikuntha planets. In these abodes of the Lord, the spirit of transcendental loving service is restricted. However, in Gokula Vrndavana, love is freely exchanged, and although the cowherd boys and damsels of Vrndavana know that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they do not show awe and veneration because of the great intimacy of their relationship with Him.

In the five principal transcendental relationships, awe and veneration are sometimes impediments obscuring the Lord's actual greatness and sometimes they actually impede one's service to the Lord. When there is friendship, paternal affection and conjugal love, however such awe and veneration are reduced. For instance, when Krsna appeared as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, His parents prayed to the Lord with awe and veneration because they understood that the Supreme Lord Krsna or Visnu had appeared before them as their little child. This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.44.51). Although the Supreme Lord was present as their child, Devaki and Vasudeva began to pray to Him. Similarly, when Arjuna saw the universal form of the Lord, he was so afraid that he begged pardon for his dealings with Krsna as an intimate friend. As a friend, Arjuna often behaved unceremoniously with the Lord, and upon seeing the awesome universal form, Arjuna said:

sakheti matva prasabham yad uktam
he krsna he yadava he sakheti
ajanata mahimanam tavedam
maya pramadat pranayena vapi
yac cavahasartham asatkrto 'si
vihara-sayyasana-bhojanesu
eko 'thavapy acyuta tat-samaksam
tat ksamaye tvam aham aprameyam

"I have in the past addressed You as 'O Krsna,' 'O Yadava,' 'O my friend,' without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses." (Bg. 11.41-42)

Similarly, when Krsna was playing jokes on Rukmini, she feared that Krsna might leave her and became so perturbed that she dropped the fan with which she was fanning Him and fainted, falling unconscious on the floor. As far as Yasoda, Krsna's mother in Vrndavana, is concerned, it is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 10.8.45):

trayya copanisadbhis ca
sankhya-yogais ca satvataih
upagiyamana-mahatmyam
harim samanyatatmajam

The Personality of Godhead, who is worshiped by all the Vedas and Upanisads, as well as by the sankhya system of philosophy and all authorized scriptures, was considered to be born in her womb. It is also stated (SB 10.9.12) that Mother Yasoda bound the child Krsna with a rope, as if He were an ordinary son born of her body. Similarly, there are other descriptions of Krsna's being treated as an ordinary person (SB 10.18.24). Indeed, when He was defeated in games with His friends, the cowherd boys, Krsna would carry them—notably Sridama—on His shoulders.

Regarding the dealings of the gopis with Sri Krsna in Vrndavana, it is described (SB 10.30.36-40) that when Sri Krsna took Srimati Radhika alone from the rasa dance, She thought that Krsna had left all the other gopis. Although they were all equally beautiful, He satisfied Her in this way, and She began to think proudly, "My dear Lord Krsna has left the beautiful gopis, and He is satisfied with Me alone." In the forest, She told Krsna, "My dear Krsna, I am unable to move anymore. Now if You like You can take Me wherever You desire." Krsna replied, "Come lean against My shoulder," and as soon as He said this, He disappeared, whereupon Srimati Radhika repined greatly.

When Krsna disappeared from the scene of the rasa dance, all the gopis began to repent, saying, "Dear Krsna! We have come here and have left aside our husbands, sons, relatives, brothers and friends! Neglecting their advice, we have come to You, and You best know the reason for our coming here. You know that we have come because we are captivated by the sweet sound of Your flute. But You are so cunning that in the dead of night You have left girls and women like us! This is not very good for You."

The word sama means controlling the mind and keeping it from being diverted in various ways by fixing it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one's mind is fixed on the Supreme Lord, he is known to be situated on the sama platform. On that platform the devotee understands that Krsna is the basic principle behind everything that is within one's experience. This is also explained in Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 7.19). Such a person can understand that Krsna is present in everything and is distributed all over the cosmic manifestation. Although everything is under the control of the Supreme Lord and is situated in His energy, everything is nonetheless different from Krsna in His personal form.

It is also stated in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu that one who understands this, whose intelligence is fixed on Krsna, has attained the platform of sama. Moreover, the Supreme Personality of Godhead says: samo mannisthata buddheh: Unless one is elevated to the platform of santa-rati, he cannot be fixed in knowledge of the greatness of Krsna or of the diffusion of His different energies, which are the cause of all manifestations. This same point is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.19.36):

samo mannisthata buddher
dama indriya-samyamah
titiksa duhkha-sammarso
jihvopastha jayo dhrtih

Stability of mind can be achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called sama. When one is ready to tolerate all kinds of sufferings in order to control the senses and keep the mind steady, that is called titiksa, or tolerance. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and genitals, that is called dhrtih. From dhrtih, one becomes dhira, pacified. A pacified person is never disturbed by the urges of the tongue and the genitals.

If one can fix his mind on Krsna without deviation, he can attain a steadfast position in Krsna consciousness, santa-rasa. When one attains santa-rasa, unflinching faith in Krsna is established, and all material desires cease. These specific characteristics of santa-rasa—unflinching faith in Krsna and cessation of all desires which are not connected with Krsna—are common to all other rasas as well, just as sound is generally present in all other elements (air, fire, water and earth) because it is produced from the sky. Similarly, these two characteristics of santa-rasa are present in other transcendental relationships, such as dasya (servitorship), sakhya (fraternity), vatsalya (paternal affection), and the madhura-rasa (conjugal love).

When we speak of non-Krsna, or desire which has no connection with Krsna, this does not mean that anything exists without Krsna. Actually there cannot be anything "non-Krsna" because everything is a product of the energy of Krsna. Since Krsna and His energies are identical, everything is Krsna indirectly. For example, consciousness is common to every living entity, but when consciousness is purely centered on Krsna (Krsna consciousness), it is pure, and when consciousness is centered on something other than Krsna, or when it is directed to sense gratification, it may be called non-Krsna consciousness. Thus it is in the polluted state that the conception of non-Krsna comes. In the pure state, however, there is nothing but Krsna consciousness.

Active interest in Krsna—the understanding that Krsna is mine or that I am Krsna's, and that therefore my business is to satisfy the senses of Krsna—is typical of a higher stage than the neutrality of the santa-rasa. Simply by understanding the greatness of Krsna, one can achieve the status of santa-rasa, in which the worshipable object may be the impersonal Brahman or Paramatma.

Worship of the impersonal Brahman and the Paramatma is conducted by those engaged in empiric philosophical speculation and mystic yoga. However, when one develops even further in Krsna consciousness, or spiritual understanding, he can appreciate that the Paramatma, the Supersoul, is the eternal worshipable object, and he surrenders unto Him. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate (Bg. 7.19): "After many, many births of worshiping Brahman and Paramatma, when one surrenders unto Vasudeva as the supreme master and accepts himself as the eternal servitor of Vasudeva, he becomes a great transcendentally realized soul."

At that time, due to his thick and thin relationship with the Supreme Absolute Truth, one begins to render some sort of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the neutral relationship known as santa-rasa is transformed into dasya-rasa, servitorship.On the platform of dasya-rasa, the greatest quantity of awe and veneration of the Supreme Lord is exhibited. That is, in the dasya-rasa, the greatness of the Supreme Lord is appreciated.

It should be noted here that on the platform of santa-rasa there is no spiritual activity, but on the platform of dasya-rasa, service begins. Thus in the dasya-rasa the quality of the santa-rasa is exhibited, and, in addition, there is consciousness of the transcendental taste of service.

Transcendental qualities are certainly present in the santa-rasa and dasya-rasa, but beyond these there is another quality, confidential attachment, which is pure transcendental love. This loving confidence in the Supreme Personality is technically known as visrambha. On the platform of visrambha, fraternity, there is no sense of awe or veneration towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Thus in the transcendental fraternal relationship known as sakhya-rasa, there are three transcendental characteristics: the sense of greatness, the sense of service, and the sense of intimacy without awe or veneration. Thus in the sakhya-rasa, the relationship of fraternity, the transcendental qualities are further increased.

Similarly, on the platform of paternal affection (vatsalya-rasa) there are four qualities. In addition to the three qualities already mentioned, there is the sense that the Supreme Lord is dependent on the mercy of the devotee. As a parent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotee sometimes chastises the Lord and considers himself to be the Lord's maintainer. This transcendental sense of being the maintainer of the supreme maintainer is very pleasing both to the devotee and to the Supreme Lord.

The Lord instructed Srila Rupa Gosvami to write the transcendental literature named Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the science of devotional service, and indicate therein the substance of these five transcendental relationships. It is explained in that great literature how the transcendental relationship of santa-rasa, taking the shape of unflinching faith in Krsna, is further developed into dasya-rasa with the spirit of service, and then to sakhya-rasa or undeterred fraternity, and further to the transcendental platform of paternal love, wherein one feels himself to be maintaining the Lord. All these relationships culminate on the highest platform of conjugal love (madhura-rasa), wherein all these transcendental relationships exist simultaneously.