Part 3
Conclusion
A Drop of Divine Love
Only Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu can give the conception of full-fledged theism. It is His grace, His sweet will. It is His own wealth, not the property of many. Kṛṣṇa is an autocrat. He is the highest. And whomever He selects to receive His own wealth will get it. No one can raise the question of “no taxation without representation”—there is no room for that sort of slogan here.
In order to explain this for our benefit, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur, taking himself as a fallen soul, says, “My position is that of a servant of Kṛṣṇa, but I am devoid of Kṛṣṇa. What am I? I am a slave of Kṛṣṇa, a slave of the Lord, but I am devoid of my master? What an ironic thing it is.” You can wail, you can repent, you can mourn, but all rights are reserved by Him. And when you awaken to that higher stage of self-surrender, you will get that wealth. But still, we must conceive that Kṛṣṇa is above all law. Otherwise, surrender *
If we analyze the very basis of surrender, we must ask where does surrender begin? In full surrender, there are no rights. Whenever any rights are established, surrender becomes unnecessary. We cannot think, “We must fight for our innate rights.” To a certain extent we may try for our rights in this world, but in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes this mentality has no place.
Even the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, cannot enter there, what to speak of others. It is inconceivable. Kṛṣṇa is not under any law or within anyone’s fist. “All rights reserved.” Everything is His sweet will. But He is absolute good; that is our solace. We cannot enter His domain as a matter of right. Even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, and Lakṣmīdevī cannot enter there. But still, if we take the path chalked out by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, we can enter and achieve a position there.
It is so dear, so rare, so valuable and desirable. We must look for the magnanimity of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu which is aspired for by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. They are praying for a drop of His mercy, but Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu brought that here in a flood and inundated everyone with that nectar, a drop of which is rarely to be had or even thought of. We must approach His mercy with such an attitude of hankering and expectation. His gift is so great and magnanimous—who can understand it? With two verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one from the mouth of Kṛṣṇa Himself, and the next from the mouth of Uddhava, He takes us straight to that highest place, eliminating so many external things.
Kṛṣṇa says:
na tathā me priyatama ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ
na cha saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr naivātmā cha yathā bhavān
“O, Uddhava! Neither Brahmā, nor Śiva, nor Baladeva, nor Lakṣmī, nor even My own self are as dear to Me as you are.”
And Uddhava says,
āsām aho charaṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ svajanam ārya-pathaṁ cha hitvā
bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām
“The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons, and other family members, who are very difficult to renounce, and they have sacrificed even their religious principles to take shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, which are sought after even by the Vedas. O! Grant me the fortune to be born as a blade of grass in Vṛndāvana, so that I may take the dust of those great souls upon my head.”
The gradation of theism can be traced from Lord Brahmā, the creator of the universe, to Kṛṣṇa’s intimate friend Uddhava in Dvārakā. And Uddhava takes us directly to Vṛndāvana to reveal the highest devotion, eliminating various prospects in our progressive march towards divinity. We have to march on. And the way is that of surrender, of loving devotion, not mere formal devotion.
vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād
vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ
rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛtāplāvanāt
kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevām vivekī na kaḥ
“Superior to the spiritual realm of Vaikuṇṭha is Mathurā, where Śrī Kṛṣṇa first appears. Superior to Mathurā is the Vṛndāvana forest where Kṛṣṇa enjoyed the rasa dance. Better still is Govardhana hill, which was the site of even more confidential pastimes of love. But best of all is Rādhā-kuṇḍa, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana hill, and holds the supreme position because it is overflooded with the nectar of the highest kind of divine love. Who is acquainted with the science of devotion who will not aspire for the divine service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī at Rādhā-kunda?”
We must place our faith in these subtle things. Only through faith of a finer order can we be led to that highest quarter. The highest conception is in the heart of Kṛṣṇa, and we have to enter into the heart of Kṛṣṇa, not any other place.
Although Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal pastimes with the gopīs (mādhurya-līlā) are supreme, they cannot stand alone: there are many other things which are present in His pastimes. Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with His friends and parents are essential in supporting His pastimes of amorous love. Conjugal love is, of course, the main thing, but still it is dependent on the other paraphernalia of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. There must be Kṛṣṇa’s family and friends and all the different groups of servitors. Even the environment of Vṛndāvana itself also has its valuable part to play.
And what is Vṛndāvana? The sands of the river Yamunā, the jungle, the birds, peacocks, and deer, the cows, cowboys, and caves of Govardhana hill, the motherly relatives—everything is there, and it is well-designed and most suitable for the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Vṛndāvana is necessary for the pastimes of Rādhā and Govinda. When Rādhārāṇī meets Kṛṣṇa in Kurukṣetra, Her mind runs to Vṛndāvana. She thinks, “Kṛṣṇa is here and I am also here,” but Her mind runs to Vṛndāvana. In Kurukṣetra, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is hankering for the environment of Vṛndāvana; She wants to have Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s company there. All of Kṛṣṇa’s paraphernalia and divine associates have their own unique value, and cannot be eliminated.
Rādhā-Govinda cannot be taken away from Vṛndāvana anymore than Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu can be taken away from Navadwīpa. The whole thing is a system. One part cannot be snatched away from the other parts. All the devotees have a necessary part to play in order to create the harmony of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Otherwise, it would not be living, but dead, artificial, useless. It cannot even be imagined. Kṛṣṇa-līlā is an organic whole.
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī says, “My mind is running straight towards Vṛndāvana. I have the main object of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa Himself, but it is useless without the favorable paraphernalia of Vṛndāvana.” So Rādhārani’s pain of separation rises to the highest point in Kurukṣetra, where She has attained the object of Her union after a long separation. There, Kṛṣṇa is very close, but, without being surrounded by the favorable paraphernalia of Vṛndāvana, She cannot have the real advantage of union. In this way, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur has explained the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in Kurukṣetra.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur once revealed the importance of Kurukṣetra in a unique way. The words of our Guru Mahārāj were mostly very revolutionary. When I was a beginner with only two years or so in the Gauḍīya Maṭh, I was in charge of the Kurukṣetra temple. Once, I came to the Calcutta headquarters at the hired house in Ulṭā Ḍāṅgā for the yearly preaching festival. After the festival I was to return to Kurukṣetra. Śrīla Prabhupāda was thinking of opening a “Theistic Exhibition” in Kurukṣetra, showing with dioramas how Kṛṣṇa and His friends came there from Dvārakā, and the gopīs came there from Vṛndāvana.
It is mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that during the solar eclipse, they came to bathe in Rāma-hrad*, a sacred lake in Kurukṣetra. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to show that pastime with a diorama, and so the exhibition was arranged. He ordered handbills to be printed, and twenty thousand circulated in the area, inviting people to come for the exhibition.
In this connection, he told us, “You all know that only the bogus, hollow people and men of shallow thinking like Vṛndāvana.” I was very much perplexed to hear this. I had been told that Vṛndāvana is the highest place of spiritual perfection. I had heard that one who has not mastered his senses cannot enter Vṛndāvana. Only the liberated souls can enter Vṛndāvana and have the opportunity of discussing Kṛṣṇa-līlā. Vṛndāvana is for the liberated souls. Those who are not liberated from the demands of their senses may live in Navadwīpa, but the liberated souls may live in Vṛndāvana. Now Prabhupāda was saying that the shallow thinkers appreciate Vṛndāvana, but a man of real bhajana, real divine aspiration, will aspire to live in Kurukṣetra.
Hearing this, I felt as if I had fallen from the top of a tree. “What is this?” I thought. I am a very acute listener, so I was very keen to catch the meaning of his words. The next thought he gave us was that Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur, after visiting many different places of pilgrimage, remarked, “I would like to spend the last days of my life in Kurukṣetra. I shall construct a cottage near Rāma-hrada and pass the rest of my life there. Kurukṣetra is the real place of bhajana.”
Why? Service is more valuable according to the intensity of its necessity. Shrewd merchants seek a market in wartime because in that dangerous position, money is spent like water, without any care for its value. They can earn more money if a war comes. In the same way, when Śrīmatī Rādhārani’s necessity reaches its zenith, service to Her becomes extremely valuable. According to its necessity, service is valued. And in Kurukṣetra, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is in the highest necessity because Kṛṣṇa is so close, but Their Vṛndāvana-līlā is impossible. In a football game, if the ball is just inches from the goal, but again comes back, it is considered a great loss. In the same way, after a long separation, Kṛṣṇa is there in Kurukṣetra, so the hankering for union felt by His devotees must come to its greatest point, but because He is in the role of a king, they cannot meet intimately. The circumstances do not allow the Vṛndāvana-līlā to take place. So at that time, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī needs the highest service from Her group, the sakhīs.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur says that in that situation, a drop of service will draw the greatest amount of prema, divine love. In the pastimes of Rādhā-Govinda, there are two aspects: sambhoga, divine union, and vipralambha, divine separation. When Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are very near to each other, but can’t meet intimately, service at that time can draw the greatest gain for the servitors. Therefore, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur says, “I shall construct a hut on the banks of Rāma-hrad in Kurukṣetra and contemplate rendering service to the Divine Couple. If I can achieve that standard where the prospect of service is so high, then there is no possibility of returning to this mundane plane at any time.”
Upon arriving in Kurukṣetra, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī said:
priyaḥ so ’yam kṛṣṇaḥ sahachari kuru-kṣetra-militas
tathāhaṁ sā rādhā tad idam ubhayoḥ saṅgama-sukham
tathāpy antaḥ-khelan-madhura-muralī-panchama-juṣe
mano me kālindī-pulina-vipināya spṛhayati
“O My dear friend, now I am at last reunited with My most beloved Kṛṣṇa in Kurukṣetra. I am the same Rādhārāṇī, and He is the same Kṛṣṇa. We are enjoying Our meeting, but still I wish to return to the banks of the Kālindī, where I could hear the sweet melody of His flute sounding the fifth note beneath the trees of the Vṛndāvana forest.” (Padyāvalī)
Wherever Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa are, Vṛndāvana is necessary. And Vṛndāvana means the favorable paraphernalia. In this way, Vṛndāvana is unique.
When Kṛṣṇa met the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana in Kurukṣetra, He first came to Nanda and Yaśodā’s camp after their long separation, to show parental respect to them. In the midst of their great disappointment, they felt, “Oh, our boy has come to see us at last.” It was as if life had returned to the dead. After some courtesy was shown to them, Kṛṣṇa made arrangements to meet privately with the gopīs, and suddenly He appeared in their camp. Externally, Kṛṣṇa was the leader of so many kings in India. And the gopīs had come from some unknown quarter, where they lived in the jungle in the society of milkmen. Externally, they had no position, and Kṛṣṇa held the highest position in the political and royal society. He was the central figure, like the eyeball in every eye. And they were in a helpless, poor and neglected condition. The gopīs pleaded with Kṛṣṇa, saying:
āhuś cha te nalina-nābha padāravindaṁ
yogeśvarair hṛdi vichintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ
saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambam
gehaṁ juṣām api manasy udiyāt sadā naḥ
The group of gopīs told Kṛṣṇa, “O You who have a lotus navel, we know that the great master yogis who have nothing to do with this mundane world try to meditate upon Your holy lotus feet. Their interest is in higher realization in the conscious world. They are said to center their highest attention on Your lotus feet. And those who are busy elevating their life in this world of exploitation are also busy worshiping Your lotus feet to escape the entanglement of action and reaction. The center of interest for the elevationists (karmis) and the salvationists (jñānis and yogis) is Your lotus feet.
“And what are we? We are simple people from the country with cows as our wealth. We are animal traders who live in the country, trade in the cow business, and sell curd and milk on the outskirts of society. We are neither scientific exploiters, nor are we the kind of exploiters who do research in the world of consciousness. We only know family life. We have no other qualifications. We are busy with our family life in the lower section of society. But in our audacity, we pray that if at any time You would kindly condescend to extend Your lotus feet to our negligible hearts, we would think ourselves blessed. We are busy in our family matters. We do not know scriptural life or the methods of the salvationists. We know nothing of yoga, jñāna, Vedānta or the Vedas. Our ultimate concern is neither with scriptures or moral standards. We hold a negligible position in society and simply pray that in the midst of our family life we may remember Your holy lotus feet. Please grant this to us. We can’t expect anything more from You.” That was their petition.
Kṛṣṇa replied to them, saying:
mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpate diṣṭyā
yad āsīn mat-sneho bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ
“Yes, I know. People want devotion to Me to achieve eternal life. To cross the limit of mortality and to have eternal life, they come to Me and worship Me. For these reasons they want My service, but fortunately for you, you have some natural affection towards Me. That will ultimately bring you to Me.”
That is the formal or superficial meaning of what was spoken by Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. But the great preceptors of our line have squeezed out another meaning from these prayers. They are conscious of the real, private relationship between the two parties, so they have drawn out another meaning based on the divine sentiment between the lover and beloved.
When the gopīs prayed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra, their real meaning was this: “Oh, we remember that one day You sent Uddhava to console us. He recited many scriptural references about how the whole world is mortal, how it is nothing, how we shall all have to die—affection has no great value; attachment must be cut out. He said that we must try to liberate ourselves from any attraction for the environment and attain salvation. You wanted to tell all these apparently sweet things to us through Uddhava. “Now, You Yourself are also showing us the same path. You say that You are great and that everyone should try, for their highest interest, to think of You.” This explanation is found in Chaitanya-charitāmṛta. The gopīs tell Kṛṣṇa, “Do You think we are yogis who will be satisfied with abstract meditation on You? Can we be satisfied by imagination? We are not a party to that. Neither are we karmīs, fruitive workers who are incurring a great debt from nature, who come to Your door to get relief, praying, ‘O God, please relieve us from all our previous sins.’ We do not belong to either of these two sections. “What are we? We want to live with You as Your family. We are interested neither in abstract thinking, nor in using You to clear off the faults of karma to nullify our sinful activities. We don’t want to use You for any other purpose. We want to have a direct family life with You. Don’t You know that? And still You send messages through Uddhava, and now this! Aren’t You ashamed of Yourself?” This is their inner meaning.
Kṛṣṇa’s answer also has an inner aspect. He replies, “You know, everyone wants Me. Through devotion they want Me to help them attain the highest position in the world of eternal benefit. If they have a connection with Me, they consider themselves fortunate. But on the other hand, I consider Myself fortunate because I have come in touch with the valuable affection that I found in your hearts.”
The gopīs read the inner meaning in that way. And when Rādhārāṇī could see into the inner meaning of Kṛṣṇa’s reply, She became satisfied. “Wherever He may be in the physical sense,” She thought, “At heart, He is mine alone.” She composed Her troubles within and returned to Vṛndāvana thinking, “He cannot but come to join our party again very soon.”
In Padyāvalī, Śrīla Rupa Goswāmī reveals the inner meaning of this verse. When Kṛṣṇa came to the camp of gopīs in Kurukṣetra, He suddenly found Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and stooped down as if to touch Her feet. Rādhārāṇī began backing away, saying, “What are You doing! You are trying to touch My feet?” she shuddered, “You have done nothing wrong. You are my master. You are at liberty to do whatever You want. I am Your maidservant and should try with every nerve to satisfy You. You have committed no crime. I am the criminal. How? I still drag on My body and life. This is My crime—I could not die from Your separation! Still, I show My face to the public—I am not worth Your divine affection. The whole burden of breaking the law of love is on My head.”
In this way Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī spoke. And in a similar verse, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu says:
na prema-gandho ’sti darāpi me harau
krandāmi saubhāgya-bharaṁ prakāśitum
vaṁśi-vilāsy-ānana-lokanaṁ vinā
vibharmi yat prāṇa-pataṇgakān vṛthā
“I have not even a bit of divine love for Kṛṣṇa within Me. Not even a scent of love for Kṛṣṇa is to be traced within Me. You may ask, ‘Then why are You shedding tears profusely, uninterruptedly? Day and night, You are always shedding tears for Kṛṣṇa. How do You explain this?’ Oh, you don’t know. I only do this to make a show and deceive the people in general into thinking that I have divine love for Kṛṣṇa. In this way I want to become famous as a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. But I am a hypocrite. Why do I say so? The positive proof is this: I still live. I could not die! If I had any real love for Kṛṣṇa, I would have died from His separation. That is the positive proof that I have no trace of Kṛṣṇa-prema within Me.”
Kṛṣṇa-prema is so high and attractive that once coming in contact with it, no one can maintain his life without it. It is so high, so beautiful, so enchanting—it is heart-swallowing! It is impossible even to conceive of it. Divine love of such a high degree is known as prema. That divine love for Kṛṣṇa is not to be traced in this mundane world. If by chance someone had any experience of that high and vital kind of devotion, then by any separation from that, he would die instantly. It is so beautiful and magnanimous. We are out to search only for that divine love in this world. And Śrīman Mahāprabhu came to distribute that to the world for our sake.
I have heard that a group of people in South America committed collective suicide because they felt that their faithful way of life was going to be destroyed by the present civilization. They could not tolerate that, but rather, they thought, “Let us take poison and leave this world behind. Then we can live safely in the world of our faith. We have no charm for anything in this mundane world. Let us go with peace. We are members of the peaceful world. Let us enjoy that peace which is independent of material acquisition.”
We can agree that there is no charm here that shall make us hesitate to withdraw from this world, but we must also disagree and say that our life in this world is valuable. Why? With this life we can acquire a higher aspiration. We can have the chance of acquiring the goal from this plane. This human life is so valuable that with it we can take the path of the highest divine conception. This human body is highly valued and rarely achieved. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.9.29) it is stated:
labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte
mānuṣyam artha-dam anityam apīha dhīraḥ
tūrṇaṁ yateta na pated anu-mṛtyu yāvan
niḥśreyasāya viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt
“The human form of life is very rarely attained, and although temporary, gives us a chance to achieve the supreme goal of life. Therefore, those who are grave and intelligent should immediately strive for perfection before another death occurs. There are so many forms of life: the aquatics, the vegetable kingdom, the animals, the birds, ghosts and other living beings, but only in this human position do we hold the key to the complete solution of the problems of life.”
If we can use this human life in a valuable way, we can acquire the key by which to become free from the whole chain of life in this troublesome world. We can get rid of the bondage of all sorts of physical and mental troubles. The key is here, in this human form of life. Jīva Goswāmī says that lower life-forms have insufficient understanding to realize the highest truth. And in the higher life-forms, such as demigods, because previously acquired energy or karma has accumulated on all sides, the chief enjoying elements are surrounding the living being. It is difficult to escape the charm of those influences and begin the prospect of a fresh life in a higher plain of consciousness. This human form of life is the most advantageous position to escape this entanglement and reach the highest object of our divine life.
Sometimes people ask, “Why did Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu choose to give the highest conception of divine love—Kṛṣṇa-prema—to the lowest class of people, to the people of Kali-yuga?” But that is the very nature of Śrī Chaitanya-avatāra. Why did the gopīs who are considered to be in the most exalted devotees come from a neglected social position? What is the meaning of the highest conception of magnanimity? What should be its nature? To help the most needy.
And because Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu comes from the highest position, He cannot give ordinary things, and His attention must be drawn to the most needy. Is it unnatural? The highest magnanimity must take notice of the lowest and most needy. And if He wants to help them, He will do so with His own coin. He cannot distribute to them only glass or stone chips. When He has the opulence of jewels and gems, why should He search for stone chips to distribute to the lowest level? He must extend to the lowest and poorest people what He thinks to be real wealth.
So we should all fall at the feet of the great Messiah, Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. His devotees say, “If we had to conceive of a place where Gaurāṅga had not appeared, we could not maintain our lives. We shudder to think of living without such a magnanimous friend as Śrī Gaurāṅga,” How could one live his life without Gaurāṅga? It is impossible. The world is not worth living in without Gaurāṅga.
Śrī Gaurāṅga is most magnanimous. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates the Pañcha-tattva have come to raise all souls from their fallen condition. Generally, only deserving persons can gain entrance into Vṛndāvana, into Kṛṣṇa-līlā. But as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa Himself has come down to cure the offenders of their offenses and grant them entrance into Vṛndāvana. Simply by chanting the names of the Pañcha-tattva and by remembering Their līlā, we can be purified even from the lowest position and prepare for participation in Vṛndāvana līlā.
In Goloka Vṛndāvana, Rādhā-Govinda are enjoying Their pastimes of divine love within Their own circle. And there is another quarter, where Rādhā-Govinda are combined as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu—Kṛṣṇa Himself in the mood of Rādhārāṇī is tasting His own sweetness with His entourage. We have to realize this through the recommended process. Who is Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu? He came here to bestow upon us the gift that will promote us to the highest goal of life.
To bring Śrī Gaurāṅga nearer to our soul is to get, even unconsciously, a guarantee of our achievement in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. For the fallen souls it is more useful to cultivate devotion for Śrī Gaurāṅga. That will give us the complete fulfillment of life with the least trouble. Devotion to Gaurāṅga will not lead us to any haphazard or misconceived Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but real Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We can have full Kṛṣṇa consciousness—plus something more. What is that? The distribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Goswāmī, the giver of Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta, the most valuable theological literature that has ever seen the light of day, has written:
kṛṣṇa-līlā amṛta-sāra, tāra śata śata dhāra,
daśa-dike vahe yāhā haite
se chaitanya-līlā haya, sarovara akṣaya,
mano-haṁsa charāha’ tāhāte
“What is Kṛṣṇa-līlā? It is the real essence of nectar. It is the gist of sweetness, happiness, and ecstasy. The sweetness of the sweetest thing that can ever be conceived is represented in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. Then what is Chaitanya-līlā? In Chaitanya-līlā, that sweet nectar of Kṛṣṇa-līlā is flowing in all ten directions in hundreds of streams as if from a fountain. That fountain is Chaitanya-līlā.” Although Chaitanya-līlā appears later than Kṛṣṇa-līlā, Chaitanya-līlā is the source, the foundation. We see that Kṛṣṇa appeared in Dvāpara-yuga, in the previous age, and then Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu appeared later, in Kali-yuga. Still, Their līlā is eternal. First there is the giver, then the gift. And the gift of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is that in all the ten directions, He is distributing unlimited streams of sweet Kṛṣṇa-līlā to the world.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Goswāmī concludes, “O devotees, come! Like so many swans, you must swim in the lake of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes. From that lake Kṛṣṇa-līlā is flowing to the world in different streams. Devotees, like clouds, take nectar from that lake, and distribute that nectar freely to the fortunate souls. Come and live in that lake. Ask the swan of your mind to take shelter in that lake. May that swan swim in the nectarine lake of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s life and precepts, from where so many hundreds of streams of nectar are flowing in all directions. O devotees, I offer this humble prayer to you.”
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