Fulfilling the Will of Krishna

BSG: Yes, some question?
Question: We have a question from Ajita Kṛṣṇa prabhu.
BSG: Yeah.
Question: Please, explain why Īśvara Purī already being in the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went as it is said in Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa Chapter 11, Text 123 to serve Kṛṣṇa, to some other places. Why didn't he stay and serve Mahāprabhu?
BSG: You can say the will of Kṛṣṇa. The will Mahāprabhu. Most often the devotees, of course they want to stay with Mahāprabhu. Everyone wants to stay with Mahāprabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu, He wants to be with Mahāprabhu. He is restless with madness, anticipating His pastimes with Mahāprabhu. We hear when He's growing up in Ekacakra, after some time, some sannyāsī comes and begs him from Hāṙāi Paṇḍita, which is a heartbreaking pastime. As I said to Gurudeva once, I said, "Some say it was Mādhavendra Purī."

And Gurudeva said "Yes. Some say." He was like neither confirming nor denying, but then, Nityānanda Prabhu goes to so many holy places. Nimāi Paṇḍita is in Navadvīpa. But, as eager as His heart is to join with Him, He knows that time has not come. So He's waiting, He visits Vṛndāvana. What does He say? He was astonished to find that there was no one there. You know, a mysterious statement. And then He says, "Where'd everybody go?"
And they say, "Haven't you heard? Kṛṣṇa has appeared in Navadvīpa. All of Vaikuṇṭha emptied out and everybody went there."
And we here also in that regard,
sadopāsyaḥ śrīmān dhṛta-manuja-kāyaiḥ praṇayitāṁ
vahadbhir gīr-vāṇair giriśa-parameṣṭhi-prabhṛtibhiḥ
[Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 3.66]

Śiva, Brahmā and a host of other gods and goddesses, donning the forms of human beings, Brāhmaṇas, Brāhmaṇīs and otherwise, and they're appearing in Navadvīpa to get a glimpse of Mahāprabhu. So Nityānanda Prabhu, He wants to join with Mahāprabhu. But the time comes. The famous meeting at the house so Nandan Ācārya, where officially Nityānanda Prabhu and Mahāprabhu are meeting. He wants to be with Mahāprabhu.
They're in Purī. Mahāprabhu, after doing His public service, He wants to go into His private life, and internal culture with Svarūpa Dāmodara. And by that, I mean to say He has no real external. His external aspect is all divine, but He wants to cultivate the deep sentiments of the heart of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī, which during the daytime He's trying to avoid for fear of exhibiting uncontrollable ecstatic sentiments.

We're told, and mostly in the association of His devotees that is achieved, but at night, the deep feelings of separation come out. But when in Guru Mahārāja's words after He's done His public service, and Advaita writes His mystic poem, more or less giving Him leave. And Mahāprabhu, saying to Svarūpa Dāmodara, "What does this mean?"
And Svarūpa Dāmodara, he doesn't really want to say what it means, himself, saying "I suppose You know."
And Mahāprabhu, in a half-joking way, He says like, "Advaita Ācārya is like one of those people we see in Bengal." or at [Bāṅglā] tina nambara ṭyāṅk. "They commission a Deity for a festival, some religious performance. They bring the Deity there, and after the performance, they toss them in the Kuṇḍa." in the pond. He's saying so Advaita,
tulasī-dala-mātreṇa
jalasya culukena vā
vikrīṇīte svam ātmānaṁ
bhaktebhyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ
[Gautamīya Tantra, quoted in Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Ninth Vilāsa, Text 261]

With a palm full of Gaṅgā water, and Tulasī leaves, Advaita Ācārya brought Him down. Saying now, "I answered His request, spread nāma-saṅkīratana everywhere, liberated so many people and I guess He doesn't need Me anymore. He's finished with that Deity."
But He's a little joking because what He's saying is, Advaita Ācārya's sort of saying that, "That purpose of Your pastimes has been fulfilled. Now You're free to engage in your internal culture, which is the real purpose of your descent." As given, recorded by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī in his notes, and referenced by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī in Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 1.6] That He wants to experience the position of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī.

And around this time, He tells His beloved Nityānanda Prabhu, you go to Bengal, and don't come every year for this Ratha-yātrā. Just, You go preach in Bengal. Because ontologically speaking, and from rasa-vicāra, and Guru Mahārāja has told us, we see evidence of this in the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. The madhura-rasa pastimes do not take place in the presence of Balarāma. He has to be engaged in some other pastimes. In the presence of Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī behave in a particular way. So here, Mahāprabhu wants to go into this exclusive culture. Rrādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalita in the company of Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara. Svarūpa Dāmodara-Rāmānanda Rāya. Lalitā-Viśākhā.

So in the mood of Rādhārāṇī, with who? Her two principal assistants, Lalitā-Viśākhā. So He's telling Nityānanda Rāma, Balarāma, like, "You go to Bengal and preach there. And tell everyone about Kṛṣṇa." And of course we know, what does Nityānanda Prabhu do in response to that? He goes, but at first there's some, maybe first year, a little what do you say? Not following 100%. But when he goes there what did we hear? bhaja gaurāṅga kaha gaurāṅga laha gaurāṅgera nāme. Instead of telling everyone about Kṛṣṇa, He saying, "Worship Gaurāṅga. Speak of Gaurāṅga. Take the name of Gaurāṅga." And we can say, "Well, He's violating Mahāprabhu's order. He's not following the instruction. That Nityānanda."

But Guru Mahārāja, quoting Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, he's saying He knows, really.
yathā yathā gaura padāravinde
vindeta bhaktiṁ kṛta-puṇya-rāsiḥ
tathā tathotsarpati hṛdy akāsmad
rādhā-padāmbhoja-sudhambu-rāsiḥ
[Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛta, 88]
He knows that Vṛndāvana is the exclusive domain of the highest section of liberated souls. So who can enter there? Extremely rare indeed. What is that last part of Brahma-saṁhitā? kṣiti-virala, katipaye or something. Gurudeva would quote sometimes. Also, in connection with vedeṣu-
Kṣiti? Virala. Saying katipaye [Brahma-saṁhitā, 5.56], how rare it is.

And in connection with vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau [Brahma-saṁhitā, 5.33], and last verse Upadeśāmṛta, how rare to achieve certain position is, even for the parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. So, but he's saying, "If you fully concentrate all of your serving potential and energy, at the lotus feet of Mahāprabhu ..." who is Mahāprabhu? śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. (Guru Paramparā, 6) This is the way to get that connection. He Nityānanda Prabhu, Balarāma, He knows fully well. So therefore, Narottama can say with great certainty, nitāiyera karuṇā habe, vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe [Nityānanda Niṣṭha Song 1; Manaḥ Śikṣa, 3]; without the mercy of Nityānanda, you cannot enter there. Heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi. [1] Same thing again, so He's sent in that position.

Gadādhara Paṇḍita wants to stay with Mahāprabhu. And he is told by Mahāprabhu, "No. You will stay in Purī, and serve Gopinātha."
Rūpa Gosvāmī wants to stay with Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu is saying, "No. My desire is you will go to Vṛndāvana. And then, following My order, you'll have My association."
Sanātana Gosvāmī wants to stay with Mahāprabhu. And he's told, or Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says, after Mahāprabhu tells him, "Go to Vṛndāvana. Write these books. Excavate the holy places." He's saying, "It is impossible to describe the ..." what's the word? Piteous, pathetic? "The separation of Sanātana Gosvāmī and Mahāprabhu; it's so painful and heartbreaking. It's impossible to describe." yet, he follows the order of Mahāprabhu.

Śacī Mātā, she wants to stay with Mahāprabhu, wants Mahāprabhu to stay with her, Nimāi Paṇḍita. But she realizes that will be the cause of some blame toward Him from the society after taking Sannyāsa, and staying with His mother. So He asks, "What shall I do?"
And she said, "If you can stay in Purī, then from time to time, I will get some news about You." And devotees were coming, going, from Navadvīpa, Purī, all the time. In that way, she makes some sacrifice.
Viṣṇupriyā does not want for separation to take place. So, in so many ways, we see this is the situation, but the Lord, He has His own divine will, and how to use these devotees in different ways. So when it comes to Īśvara Purī, the great disciple of Mādhavendra Purī, and guru of Nimai Paṇḍita, he is lost in the madness of Kṛṣṇa-prema, and the Lord has particular pastimes that are developing, unfolding, evolving in Navadvīpa, and leading to other positions.

So, what is being described as, in the madness of his Kṛṣṇa-prema, he is going to this place, to that place, not out of curiosity, or whim in the ordinary sense, but it's saying, like Guru Mahārāja would say, we can see how Kṛṣṇa-prema plays a man like a doll. So that the Kṛṣṇa-prema within him, that relish is compelling him to go to this place and that place, these different holy places. And it is the will of Kṛṣṇa that the devotee is at the disposal of the will of Kṛṣṇa.
If we say "No, I want to stay here, and not go."
But what is Kṛṣṇa's will? So we'll think of it in that way. The will of Mahāprabhu, the will of Kṛṣṇa. And Mādhavendra Purī, excuse me, Īśvara Purī, in his divine madness, he's going to different holy places, and just as is indicated there, we're saying he purified Navadvīpa. We can think "Well wait. Navadvīpa, isn't that so pure?"

But it means from an external point of view, it was overrun with logicians and offenders in different ways, and like that. And by his divine presence it's being purified, upgraded, toward, as Guru Mahārāja said, evolution really is something, it's only evolving toward what it actually is. Just like the sun. The sun has a position. But we may see some evolution in terms of before sunrise, the twilight, then sunrise, and then we see it appears to be achieving some sort of a position. So Navadvīpa has an internal position, but out of the necessity of līlā, there's some opposition group, some logicians, nyāyika logicians and different people who, although they appear to be opposition from one point of view, they're assisting the pastimes, the progress of the pastimes.

So Śrīla Prabhupāda, he liked to quote one first from the Bhāgavatam [10.84.13] that says,
yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicit.
Said that peoples who's intelligence is polluted, they go to holy places to become relieved of their sins. And just accepting that that's something that can be done, it's a karma-kaṇḍika kind of thing. Someone's imposing their lower conception upon the higher. That's their purpose. They want to become relieved of their sins. They're bathing in the gaṅgā, or visiting some holy place.

So he makes the point, he's saying, so in one sense, these places become a collection of what they've left behind. So then, the actual pure devotees, the higher devotees, they go there to how do you say, restore, rejuvenate them. And he's saying, so a person who goes to a holy place not to connect with and interact with an actual saint, it says sa eva go-kharaḥ they are compared to a car a cow or an ass. The ass part, we understand. But generally we're saying, "Well, cow, that's a good thing, I thought." But when it says cow, what it means is it's a reference. Sometimes cows, they give birth to a calf that dies. But that calf that is dead, it's now a dead body, they're licking that. They're giving up so much affection. But the substantial element is no longer there. So that's what they're saying.

To go to a so-called holy place, and not being under the guidance of superior Vaiṣṇavas, is to miss the point. So, when we hear of some great devotee like Īśvara Purī, going to these holy places, on the one side, there's his own internal culture and divine remembrance of that place and the pastimes, what is invoked in his heart and in the case of very exalted devotees, real-time live streaming līlā. They're irresistibly drawn into that. But, from another point of view, it's also beneficial for other people. To get their association.

Just as sometimes we find different associates of Mahāprabhu, they're scattered in different places. So many exalted souls were in what is modern-day Bangladesh, at the time East Bengal. Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi comes to mind, and there were others. And we will think like, "Well why were they there, and not in Navadvīpa?" It's the will of Kṛṣṇa. The plan of the Lord to give those people some association, and also to purify those places. So we shouldn't interpret this in a way to think that it implies any lack of appreciation on the part of Īśvara Purī for Mahāprabhu. That would be erroneous.
But see it from an overview of the will of Kṛṣṇa, intersected with the will of the devotees, and actually the distribution of mercy. So while those great souls, they're attracted to go to those places because of the potency of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, and there, they're experiencing that, then other people get the opportunity to connect with them, to hear from them, interact with them.

Yes.
Question: It is said that you should not reject the mercy. How to understand that? What if you are not a proper receiver?
BSG: I don't think that's your choice, your decision. Generally, this runs counter to the current of Vaiṣṇava thought. Because we're told a devotee will think, "I'm unqualified. I'm disqualified. I'm the most needy." In this direction, so then they're obviously a proper recipient for mercy. To think that you're not a proper recipient of mercy is to say like, "No, I'm doing fine. I don't need any help."

We are told when the poet Allen Ginsberg approached Bobby Kennedy, who at that time he had some, maybe he was the attorney general or something, or no, anyway, he had some position in government. About Prabhupāda needed his Visa extended, otherwise he'd have to leave the country so Allen Ginsberg said, "I'll give him a call." because he receives his calls. He's a famous poet. He likes poetry. And while on the phone, so, he's making the case. He's saying, "Swami is good for America. We should keep the Swami in America. And there's something I'd like you to hear." And Ginsberg, who was an eccentric and did the unpredictable, he starts playing on his harmonium and singing the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. And so Bobby, he's listening on the phone. And he's going, "Very good Allen." And he's pointing in his office down to the White House. He said, "But I think the guy down there needs it more than me."

So, to think you're not the proper one is to indirectly say that you don't need mercy. And the aspiring servitor will never think like that. They will think, "I am needy. I'm the most needy." And that genuine sentiment, we don't want to use the word qualify, because we can cay mercy is in one sense unqualified. But, it puts them in a position of being a likely recipient of receiving mercy. But if we interpret this in the other way, and say this just demonstrates again that this person should receive mercy because they're saying, "Oh maybe I'm not fit for it."
"That's the whole idea." You know?
It's not that you're saying, "No. I think I'm qualified. I've been doing a lot of really good things."
No, they say, "I'm not a proper person. I'm not fit." That's the right mentality. But that said, I mention someone called Gurudeva and asked him over the phone for his mercy and he said, "Kṛṣṇa bless you. Guru Mahārāja bless you." etc. Then, within a week, they called again. Same thing. And Gurudeva said, "What did you do with the mercy I gave you last week? What happened to that?"

So Rūpa and Sanātana, they're approaching Mahāprabhu with a straw between their teeth, deploring their own position or condition, but saying, "Therefore we're fit candidates to receive Your mercy. We think so." And we see that thread consistent throughout the expressions of Vaiṣṇavas.
"You won't find a most suitable candidate because there's no one more fallen than I. And that will be the real test of the purifying power of your mercy if it can affect a man like me."
Any other question?
Question: Should we fight for seva, or if there is someone who can do it better than us, or can do it at all, we should give him or her the way?

BSG: Well both. Sometimes Gurudeva encouraged some healthy shall we say competition between servitors worth over some particular service, but taking it that both are qualified in they're showing some attachment, that they would like to continue doing this service, fighting in that way. But from a higher point of view, Guru Mahāraja mentions the case of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And saying Her general tenor is to promote others. That's Her first line. To promote others. She wants others to do the seva for Kṛṣṇa. And She wants it to expand and extend to others. And I recall within the first week of joining, hearing, "Prabhupāda said when someone is newly recruited, comes to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that Rādhārāṇī, She goes to Kṛṣṇa and says, Kṛṣṇa, You must accept them. They're better than Me." Which is impossible, but it's showing a particular type of heart. And how can Kṛṣṇa refuse Her? She's saying, "Kṛṣṇa, You must accept them. They're better than Me." Impossibility, but nonetheless Her mood. So Śrīla Guru Mahārāja's saying, She's always promoting others. But when She sees that there is no one qualified to do a particular service, then She does that service Herself.

So Guru Mahārāja also encouraged managers in a particular way. It's common sense understanding. Someone is in a position of managing a group of devotees, someone comes forward. They think, "Oh, there's a variety of services that need to be done. You can do this." That anyone can understand. But Śrīla Guru Mahārāja made another point. He said, "Actually ..." And it's thematic with his guru disciple conception, that, actually the guru is serving the disciple. So he said, "The manager, what they should be careful to see his what is the desired service from the upper world from Kṛṣṇa, Mahāprabhu, etc. what is the desired service from the server, and how can I assist them in achieving that?"

That's a very different way of thinking. Rather than thinking, "I've got these different things that need to be done, and you've come forward, so help me do that." And that's good. We're not saying that's not good. That's also a good thing, but on a deeper look, the person in the so-called superior position, they should be thinking, "I'm the servant of the devotee. There are an aspiring servitor of Kṛṣṇa. How can I assist them in doing the service that's expected from them?" That's a higher more mature sort of vision.
So Guru Mahārāja's telling us, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She's thinking according to what all these servitors, there's service that needs to be done to Kṛṣṇa and She seeing all these servitors, how they can serve Kṛṣṇa, and she wants to promote that. That's Her mercy and Her grace. But, when She sees there is no qualified person, then She realizes, "I need to do the service Myself."

So when we see that someone, and we know really, truly, that someone is more qualified to do a particular service, and we're talking about Godbrothers and Godsisters, we should promote them. Not thinking like, "No, I want to do that. And I'm going to fight to do that. Even though I can't do it as well as they can." What is that ego? What compels that?
But rather, "No, there's a particular service." Let's make it something simple or more easy to understand. It's making a pot of sweet rice. And we might say like, "I want to do that. And although I have a tendency to burn sweet rice, add salt instead of sugar and ruin it, time and time again, and this person makes perfect sweet rice, in the best way, I'm going to fight them so that I can do it." I'm giving an extreme to make a point.

We should think, "No. They're the best one at doing this. I think they should do it also. Maybe I can assist them in doing it." That would be a better attitude. But if they say, "Well, but there's no one else to do it but you."
Then you'll say, "I'll try not to burn it. I'll remember to add sugar instead of salt. I'm going to try and do this the best I can. I don't think I'm the best person, but as you say there's no one else to do this seva. I'm ready to do it." That's okay. But not to prevent others.
Guru Mahārāja said one of the hallmarks of progressive devotion is to feel some pain in one's heart, if someone's not doing so well or they're going down and to feel some happiness or joy if you see another devotee is making progress. He saw that is healthy and progressive. But, if we say, there's two qualified servitors, equally qualified, but only one can do the seva, if someone, they think, "I can do this seva the best." Not an ego assertion, but, "I think I can do the desired service the best." then they can fight for that. But generally speaking, the tenor of Vaiṣṇavas is to think of themselves as unqualified.

Just as when someone is asked to speak, Guru Mahārāja's appearance day will come, and someone will say, this devotee who's conducting the ceremony, someone's always conducting the ceremony, they will say, "And now so-and-so will speak."
Very often, that Vaiṣṇava will begin their talk by saying, "I'm not at all qualified to speak. There are so many here who are more qualified than me. Yet, so-and-so Mahārāja has asked me to say something, and with the blessings of you all, I will now attempt to say something in glorification of our divine master. And then they begin their talk, but by first acknowledging they're not qualified, and there are more qualified people present. But they don't say, "Therefore I'm not going to say anything." No. They say, "I've been asked and by the grace of the Vaiṣṇavas, by your mercy, perhaps I can say something that is a fitting glorification. And now I will try to glorify our divine master." So that is the general tenor of the Vaiṣṇavas.

Mahāprabhu wants to interview introduce Rūpa Gosvāmī to the devotee's. And, like Guru Mahārāja, a back pushing man. In the background, Mahāprabhu is asking him to come forward, and we're told, Rūpa Gosvāmī is shy, and doesn't want to say anything. But Mahāprabhu's insisting. The other devotees are making way. Rūpa Gosvāmī comes to the fore, and Mahāprabhu is saying, "Tell us some of these ślokas from the drama that you're writing." And Rāmānanda Rāya starts inquiring, and many beautiful things are said, but at first he's hesitating.
Same thing with Guru Mahārāja. We're told Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, "I want to hear him sing Śrī-Rūpa-Mañjarī-Pada." Guru Mahārāja is in the background. He's hesitating. He's thinking himself unfit, shy, unfit. So much so that the manager of Gauṙīya Maṭha calls another devotee, tells another devotee, who had some reputation as a kīrtanīyā a good singer, like, "You sing." And he starts singing. And Sarasvatī says, "No. I'm not interested to hear a sweet tune. I want to only hear this from his lips." And then Guru Mahārāja began singing.

So he wasn't in some competitive mood with a Godbrother neither was the Godbrother, who stopped singing. He realized. He could've said, "Oh, well I was asked to sing and I'm singing. I will continue." No He thought, "No, Prabhupāda, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, his desire, however much my desire might be, his desire is to hear Śrī-Rūpa-Mañjarī from the lotus lips of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja." so he deferred. That's the general way of the devotees is, thinking themselves unqualified and unfit, to defer to others. But when it is inescapable, or clearly a direct order from guru and Vaiṣṇava, that you are expected to perform a particular seva with folded palms, and a bowed head, they offer themselves, and proceed. Yes.

And, I'm answering generally. These are principles. Just as if someone says like, "Well, when I find myself in certain situations, or with certain problems, do you recommend that I add, subtract, multiply, or divide. What should I do when I find myself in these situations, or with these problems?"
And Guru Mahārāja is saying, "In some instances you add. In others, for other problems, you subtract. Sometimes you multiply. Sometimes you divide. It depends on what the problem is. And sometimes it's a combination of those things." So I'm speaking in principle. Because sometimes people ask a general question, and get some sort of an answer, then they run into a specific situation, and will say, "Mahārāja said this." You know? But does it apply in that situation? All these things have to be thought out carefully.

Question: Guru Mahārāja could you please tell us the story, the history of our Vṛndāvana deities Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rāsa Vihārī jiu?
BSG: That Madhusūdana Mahārāja will tell, tomorrow evening.
Comment: On the instruction, direction, without being qualified.
BSG: Just, next question.
Question: What does satisfaction mean when you do not search anymore?
BSG: That means you're sick. That means you're unhealthy. It's like saying what does satisfaction mean when you no longer eat? You've lost all interest in food. What that tells us is that you're sick, you're ill you're unhealthy. Because healthy means hungry. So every day, hunger reappears doesn't it? Unless we're ill. It's not that you say ... we may say that. Something like, "That was the meal to end all meals." and I guarantee tomorrow you'll be hungry. You know? It's just a matter, it's a level of praise. It's a magnitude of praise to say, "This taste so, if you haven't ever eaten this, it tastes so wonderful, you've never eaten." It's not true, it's a way of speaking.

So, hunger is an indication of health, in the physical sense, and if were going to follow that conceit, what shall we say is that in addressing our hunger, we injest something that is vital. And here, I remember from my days in Germany, they have the word essen for food, and I thought, "Oh, like essential." Essen. So you take in what is essential, then you extract from that what is vital, what promotes vitality, and then you eliminate. So Guru Mahārāja stated this in a principal. Progress means elimination and a new acceptance.

It's the same thing. Sometimes certain things have to be eliminated. And new things accepted. Is not just one final thing. It's a dynamic process of constant elimination and a new acceptance. So, to maintain our health, that's what we do. So for the aspiring servitor also, we have to have some hunger for hearing. In the Bhāgavatam [1.2.8], the famous śloka's there in the beginning, first canto, maybe it's second chapter. Somewhere, first, second chapter. It's said,
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
śrama eva hi kevalam
So it sa ys whatever you're doing, that's dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ, whatever you're doing, if notpādayed yadi ratiṁ, if the end result is not some increased attraction for hearing about Kṛṣṇa, vāsudeva-kathā-ruci some taste for hearing, chanting, remembering about Kṛṣṇa, it says then śrama eva hi kevalam. Then you're wasting your time. So this is the measure. There should be some hunger for these things.

We here in the Caitanya-caritāmṛtam [Madhya-līlā, 8.70], what is that?
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto ’pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate
Says, "You won't get this, what we're aspiring after, after 10 million lifetimes of just doing the right thing, monotonously." But it's saying, the word used there is what is that? Laulyam. And laulyam means, it's interesting. Because it has a mundane meaning, but here, it's been used in a spiritual sense.
Sometimes, we're told laulyam is a bad thing. It means desire. Like the way desire can be so intense. That sort of hunger. So in one place Rūpa Gosvāmī in Upadeśāmṛta [2] is saying that's one of the things that's not good for progressive devotion. The desire, for the hunger for the mundane. But here, we're told this is the purchase price on the spiritual side of things. This genuine hunger that Guru Mahārāja said, it's like hunger, earnestness etc. And that indicates spiritual health.

Once, one of the devotees visiting the maṭha, actually it was Śyāmānanda Prabhu, and he asked Śrīla Guru Mahārāja, hearing this, he said, "So you're saying that what's required is developing this hunger, having this hunger." He said, "Then the next question is like how to get that hunger."
And Guru Mahārāja said, "Associate with the hungry."
And we see Gurudeva, Śrutaśravā Prabhu, Vaiṣṇāva Mahārāja pointed this out. It's unique to Gurudeva, that we could have just relished like a feast on one of the major feast days. So everyone's feeling very satisfied. He said, "But maybe an hour or so later Gurudeva could start talking about prasādam in such a way that it would reignite your hunger." For those who thought they were like satisfied beyond, for days, he could speak in such a way as to reignite that hunger.

So we learn something from that, too. That we may be relatively satisfied with some brush with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or a cursory acquaintance with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And we may think rightfully so, "Oh this is wonderful. This exceeds all my past experience with other things. It's infinitely better than that." That's true, but as Guru Mahārāja said it's something dynamic. Then even in such a position, coming in connection with a higher agent, somebody who has superior hunger, who's able to extract greater quality and greater quantity of this tasteful substance, that takes us to a new level of hankering, so the satisfaction position should not be misunderstood as one that is static.

As Guru Mahārāja was saying, "Not a static ocean." Ocean of joy is quite a concept in and of itself. But Guru Mahārāja would say, "Not a static ocean of joy, but dynamic." Ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.12]. That's Ānanda-vardhana. Means it's ānandam, but it's increasing ānandam. And increasing means it's alive. It's fresh. It's like anything living. Anything alive shows new characteristics. That's one of the qualities of being alive. It's one of the qualities of being alive within Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to show some new qualities, some new characteristics. Some new interest, increased eagerness for tasteful things.
rasa-varjaṁ raso 'py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
[Bhagavad-gītā 2.59]

You can't remain in the neutral position. Guru Mahārāja said that also. When he gave the example riding a bicycle. Or we could say riding a scooter here, whatever. You can't just stay. You have to keep going forward. If you stop going forward, it tips over. You can just stay in that neutral position, balancing. So he said there's a necessity to always make forward progress, to stay upright.
And on this point of satisfaction, when Guru Mahārāja said to me that, he said in the afternoon, and he was sitting there in his chair, what they call a plantation chair, the one with the big long arms, in the morning he sits looking toward Māyāpura in the Yogapīṭha, east, in the afternoon, he reversed. He goes to his other chair, and there's our Deities and he's offering some prayers. But, this is just a very informal time. Maybe Gurudeva's bringing some mail or something. There's no class, that kind of thing. Just, you know.

But Guru Mahārāja's there. He seems very pleased with himself, like he's just thought of something. Because that's something I want to say to you, too. He would tell me sometimes with childlike excitement, and suddenly say, "This just came to me two days ago." and want to share that. Not like, "I realized this in 1942, and I've been saying it ever since." That's okay too, but that's not Guru Mahārāja. That's why, and maybe I'm totally biased, but the books that we made for Śrīla Guru Mahārāja, they were after like another 40 years of inner dialogue and consideration. After he composed so many things, did so many things, this is what came out of him. As they say, after another 40 years of churning, and thinking, and developing, so it should never be thought of as anything less, in fact, if anything, more.

So he'd say, "This came to me, two days ago." He'd be very eager to share that.
So on this particular occasion, he said, "I say, the ultimate reality is dancing." He said, "What do you say?" And he's like (laughter). And I'm, sitting in front, and I'm thinking like, "I've never heard this sort of expression before." And I said, "Wow. The ultimate reality must be dancing." And he repeated, "I say the ultimate reality is dancing. What do you say?" And I didn't know how to respond to that. Then Guru Mahārāja started explaining, and referencing one of the last verses of Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram [66]. The one ātma-siddha-sāvalīla-pūrṇa-saukhya-lakṣaṇaṁ. Pūrṇa-saukhya-lakṣaṇam. Like sulakṣaṇa. Lakṣaṇa. What is the symptom, saukhya, pūrṇa-saukhya, of complete full happiness and satisfaction?

He's saying, "When you are satisfied to the extreme degree or what they call the nth degree ..." He said, "You are unable to contain that joy. The outcome, or the consequence of being fully satisfied to the infinite degree, because it cannot be contained, it manifests as dancing." So he's making the case. Mahāprabhu is the ultimate reality because He can't, in the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, appreciating Kṛṣṇa, He cannot contain the ecstatic joy that He's experiencing, and the outcome is that His arms go and He's madly dancing in ecstasy." So Guru Mahārāja said, "So I say, the ultimate reality must be dancing." If He's,
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
[Śrī Īśopaniṣad Invocation]

We think, "Oh pūrṇam, that means complete." Yeah. That's one way, and a correct way. But also another meaning is like Guru Mahārāja said, pūrṇa-saukhya-lakṣaṇam, you know? Fulfilled, satisfied beyond what can be contained within the heart.
Like the word ecstasy is interesting because maybe the Russian devotees know something. Because it's like Greek. Exstasis. What's the Russian word?
Reply: Ekstaz.
BSG: Ekstaz. So it's like the Greek word. And what that means, just like ecto and what's the opposite word for internal? I'm so happy people don't actually know. Means, they're not wasting their time. It's a very simple word like ecto and the other one.
Huh?
Reply: Endo.

BSG: Endo, there you go. Give that gentleman and nice piece of barfī. Ecto, endo. But exstaz, ecstasy means if you look at it literally, saying is that outside of yourself. That's why the ecto part is there. Saying like in another words, what you're experiencing is so good, it can't be contained inside. You go outside of yourself. There's another meaning of besides me self, which Guru Mahārāja would say from time to time, that means not in a good way. But this means in a good way. So what Guru Mahārāja is saying, what you're experiencing is so wonderful and so fulfilling and satisfying, that the only thing you can do is dance ecstatically, and he's saying do what? And he's vibrating Kṛṣṇa-nāma. There's so much relish of the sweetness, he can't stop vibrating holy name of Kṛṣṇa, so he is madly dancing, chanting Kṛṣṇa-nāma, the supreme positive in the garb of the supreme negative, sweetness itself is tasting itself, going mad as an outcome, and ecstatically singing and dancing.

So as Siddhāntī Mahārāja reminded me once, this caught his ear. It's amazing that he is Siddhāntī Mahārāja, because he would catch these fine siddhāntika points. They were not lost upon him. So, he like hearing Guru Mahārāja say, "The cause is the effect." And this is in relation to Mahāprabhu. That's where it comes from. Guru Mahārāja, the cause is this relishing of Kṛṣṇa-nāma, and tasting this sweetness, the effect is He's saying Kṛṣṇa-nāma and ecstatically dancing. And that's he said, it's like a dynamo, generating ecstatic substance.

So, there's no satisfaction in the conventional sense if that implies achieving some sort of stasis, not ekstaz, staz. Stasis. Non-moving, non-developing, monotonous stasis. This is ecstasy. So it must be a dynamic position. And the demands of Kṛṣṇa conception are such. And what I was going to say is Śrīla Gurudeva, it's in Religion of the Heart, speaking of Siddhāntī Mahārāja, because Gurudeva said to me in his final days, looking through that, and he said to me once, with like delightful surprise, he said, Mahārāja, how did Siddhāntī Mahārāja make this book? He captured all these wonderful things."

I was saying, "Mahārāja, your mercy, and the valuable things you said were not lost upon him, but rather captured by him, collected and presented here." And I told him, because he always wanted to know what I thought of these various publications. And generally, I would say, like once I said, "It's nice." And he mocked, and he went, "It's nice." Like, "That's the best you can do?" But on this book, he was surprised to see like how excited I was about it, and I said "And you can make a case that there are things found in here you won't find in Caritāmṛtam, or any other place."

And Gurudeva said, "Yes, I'm seeing that. And this was given by Siddhāntī Mahārāja." And one of those things was this song, and I believe it is Caṇḍīdāsa, the one about Śyāma-nāma, there. And I can't represent that properly or fully, but one aspect of it is saying that, and now I'm paraphrasing, because it's beautiful poetry, and a beautiful explanation by Śrīla Gurudeva. But the gist is, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī's saying, "You can never be satisfied by any amount of seeing Kṛṣṇa. It's not possible. Why? Because, the end result of that will be you just want more."
There's not, like he's saying, like, "That was a pretty good amount of Kṛṣṇa. I think I'm happy with that. I'll be back next week." You know. Or, "I think that's good for this lifetime." No.

She's saying, "You'll never be satisfied by seeing Kṛṣṇa, smelling Kṛṣṇa, all the different sensual activities that are possible. You'll never reach a satiation point. You'll always be left in the position of hankering for more." And we're back to that laulyam, that hankering, which we're told, that hunger, that hankering, that's the purchase price for Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Is there anything else that's along these lines? Or what is it, or someone asked, this evening?
Question: Yes. One More question. Guru Mahārāja does preaching has its own fashion? How to find out what is up-to-date in the preaching world?

BSG: First, one should be acquainted with Caitanya-caritāmṛtam, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, Upadeśāmṛta, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, all of the books of Śrīla Guru Mahārāja, the books of Śrīla Gurudeva, become thoroughly acquainted with those contents. And then, we can have this discussion.
But, to not reference that, and just like one writer said, who was a theist, he was shocked when some editor who was recruiting him for a publication said, and I'm paraphrasing, but something like, you know, what's hot right now in the world of eternality? What's trending? And he was actually offended by that. He was thinking like, "This can't be a serious question." So first, we have to become acquainted with basic things, and intermediate things and other things, so that we have a proper understanding of what this is. Then we can talk about methods of how to promote this to others.

We may say it's laudable, to in the time of plague, to say that everyone should be vaccinated. No one will argue against that. But, what will be all-important as what is the vaccine? Now is the flu season, and they have different articles about taking flu shots, but then somebody will say, "Is this the flu shot that ..." What's the word? Begins with an N? "Inoculates one from this disease?" So, the vaccine, what is being injected is all-important not just the methodology. What is being given? Is it genuine spiritual substance, or something else?

So we need to be first acquainted with the substance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we can talk about different ways of presenting that. But I would say in general, as a guiding principle, that what you are appreciating about all of this, because sometimes people may get the impression you have to be a designated preacher, you have to be a scholar, and on the basis of what I just said, he said, "Well I'm unfamiliar with all of those books and things you mentioned."
All right. But, what do you appreciate about this? In good faith, you can share that with another person. And that lends to it some authenticity. They can perceive, "Oh. This is sincere. It's genuine." So that would be a general rule, but we owe it to our guru-varga to become acquainted with what it is they're saying is significant. Otherwise, we may place emphasis on things that are not substantial, but just catch our fancy, our whim, that we think, "Oh ..." for some reason. So, we should be careful about those things.

And Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, Guru Mahārāja said his motto,
pūjāla rāgapaṭha gaurava baṅge
mattala sādhu jana viṣaya raṅge
[The Authorized Sri Caitanya-Saraswat Parampara]
Saying, rāga-mārga, rāga-bhakti, that should be kept above as worshipable. We should not try to bring that down into this plane. And what shall we do? The viṣaya raṅge? Guru Mahārāja relates it as some bait. We may use various means, but for what purpose? To bring people in connection with this substance. Not just to be clever, or to dilute the substance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or to conceal the substance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or any such thing in the name of being clever, modern, up-to-date. Those two things have to be there. The actual substance, and then bringing people in connection with that. Not something else.

When Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was serving the press, and they would see the different articles being submitted by different devotees, not in every instance, but we're told, sometimes without reading the whole article, he'd say like, "How many times does he mention Kṛṣṇa?"
And you know, they'd say, like, "This many times." Like it was a lot, or something.
He'd say, "Then that's then, good article." He's not reading all the things they're saying, but they mentioned Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu, and yeah. Then, that's very good. Spent so many words, no mention of Kṛṣṇa, Mahāprabhu, no.

There was a girl, a child in the original days and ISKCON. Her name was Saraswati daughter of Śyāmasundara and Mālatī at the time, and you can see her. She's like three, four years old, and sometimes she's like playing with Prabhupāda, a very fortunate child. But, she would just hear different things, but Prabhupāda was hearing her talking to people and he was saying, "What does it mean to preach?" And he said, "Just like our Saraswati, she will go up to some man, and say, "Do you know who is Kṛṣṇa? Supreme Personality of Godhead." He said, "That is preaching."

She would say, "You know who is Kṛṣṇa? Supreme Personality of Godhead." So, we don't want to be so up-to-date that there's no spiritual substance to be traced in what we're expressing. Then, what was the purpose of all this to begin with? We're told, the greatest fortune in this world is coming connection with Vaiṣṇavas, and to hear the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Right? And then we're saying, "Well, we're going to hide the name of Kṛṣṇa from people." The devotees of Kṛṣṇa are going to hide the name of Kṛṣṇa from people. That cannot be. But, how to present Kṛṣṇa conception, we'll use of our intelligence and skills, but making sure that what we're delivering is spiritual substance, that what we're giving people exposure to is something real, substantial and genuine. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

What did Mahāprabhu say?
Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa
[Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 7.128]
Hare Kṛṣṇa.