sah dhirah–A sober person yah–who visaheta–can tolerate etan–these vegan–urges— vegam–the urge vachah–of speech, vegam–the urge manasah–of the mind, vegam–the urge krodha–of anger, vegam–the urge jihva–of the tongue, [the urge] udara–of the belly, [and] vegam–the urge upastha–of the genitals— api–also sisyat–can instruct imam–this sarvam–entire prthivim–world.

The urge of speech, the urges of the mind and anger,
the urge of the tongue, the urges of the belly and the genitals—
the sober person who can control all these urges
can instruct the entire world.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

গুরুকৃপা-বলে লভি’ সম্বন্ধ-বিজ্ঞান ।
কৃতিজীব হয়েন ভজনে যত্নবান্ ॥১॥

guru-krpa-bale labhi’ sambandha-vijnana
krti-jiva hayena bhajane yatnavan [1]

labhi’–Attaining vijnana–a proper conception sambandha–of [their] relationship (with the Lord) krpa-bale–by the mercy, guru–of Sri Guru, krti–fortunate jiva–souls hayena–become yatnavan–engaged bhajane–in service [to the Lord]. [1]

Attaining a proper conception of their relationship with the Lord by the mercy of Sri Guru, fortunate souls engage in the Lord’s service.

সেই জীবে শ্রীরূপ-গোস্বামি মহোদয় ।
‘উপদেশামৃতে’ ধন্য করেন নিশ্চয় ॥২॥

sei jive sri-rupa-gosvami mahodaya
‘upadesamrte’ dhanya karena nischaya [2]

sri-rupa-gosvami-mahodaya–Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu nischaya–certainly dhanya karena–has blessed sei–such jive–souls ‘upadesamrte’–with Sri Upadesamrta. [2]

Srila Rupa Goswami has certainly blessed such souls with Sri Upadesamrta.

গৃহী গৃহত্যাগী ভেদে দ্বিপ্রকার জনে ।
উপদেশ ভেদ বিচারিরে বিজ্ঞগণে ॥৩॥

grhi grha-tyagi bhede dvi-prakara jane
upadesa bheda vicharibe vijna-gane [3]

[There are] dvi–two bhede–different prakara–types jane–of people— grhi–householders [and] tyagi–those who have renounced grha–the household— [and] vijna-gane–the wise vicharibe–will conclude [that there are] bheda–different upadesa–instructions [for each of them]. [3]

There are two types of practitioners—householders and renunciants, and the wise will conclude that there are different instructions for each of them.

গৃহী প্রতি এই সব উপদেশ হয় ।
গৃহত্যাগী প্রতি ইহা পরাকাষ্ঠাময় ॥৪॥

grhi prati ei saba upadesa haya
grha-tyagi prati iha parakasthamaya [4]

saba–All ei–these upadesa–instructions haya–are prati–for grhi–householders, [and] prati–for tyagi–those who have renounced grha–the household, iha–they [are] parakasthamaya–of utmost importance. [4]

All these instructions are for householders, and they are of utmost importance for renunciants.

বাক্যবেগ মনোবেগ ক্রোধবেগ আর ।
জিহ্বাবেগ উদর-উপস্থবেগ ছার ॥৫॥
এই ছয় বেগ সহি’ কৃষ্ণনামাশ্রয়ে ।
জগৎ শাসিতে পারে পরাজিয়া ভয়ে ॥৬॥

vakya-vega mano-vega krodha-vega ara
jihva-vega udara-upastha-vega chhara [5]
ei chhaya vega sahi’ krsna-namasraye
jagat sasite pare parajiya bhaye [6]

[Those who] sahi’–tolerate ei–these chhaya–six chhara–base vega–urges—vega–the urge vakya–of speech, vega–the urge mano–of the mind, vega–the urge krodha–of anger, vega–the urge jihva–of the tongue, ara–and vega–the urges udara–of the belly [and] upastha–genitals— asraye–in the shelter krsna–of Krishna’s nama–Name pare–can sasite–control jagat–the world [and] parajiya–conquer bhaye–fear. [5–6]

Those who tolerate the six base urges—the urges of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals—by taking the shelter of Krishna’s Name can control the world and conquer fear.

কেবল শরণাগতি কৃষ্ণভক্তিময় ।
ভক্তিপ্রতিকূল ত্যাগ তার অঙ্গ হয় ॥৭॥

kevala saranagati krsna-bhaktimaya
bhakti-pratikula tyaga tara anga haya [7]

kevala–Exclusive saranagati–surrender [is] bhaktimaya–made up of devotion krsna–to Krishna. tyaga–Rejecting [that which is] pratikula–unfavourable bhakti–to devotion haya–is [one of] tara–its anga–limbs. [7]

Exclusive surrender is made up of devotion to Krishna. Rejecting that which is unfavourable to devotion is one of its limbs.

ছয় বেগ সহি’ যুক্ত-বৈরাগ্য-আশ্রয়ে ।
নামে অপরাধশূন্য হইবে নির্ভয়ে ॥৮॥

chhaya vega sahi’ yukta-vairagya-asraye
name aparadha-sunya ha-ibe nirbhaye [8]

[Those who] sahi’–tolerate chhaya–these six vega–urges asraye–in the shelter yukta–of proper vairagya–renunciation [will] nirbhaye–with fear ha-ibe–become sunya–free aparadha–from offences name–to the Name. [8]

Those who tolerate these six urges in the shelter of proper renunciation will without fear become free from the offences to the Name.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

sri-sri-godrumachandraya namah

I offer my obeisance to the moon of Sri Godrumadwip.

yat-krpa-sagarodbhutam upadesamrtam bhuvi
sri-rupena samanitam gaurachandram bhajami tam
natva grantha-pranetaram tika-karam pranamya cha
maya virachyate vrttih piyusa-parivesani

I serve Gaurachandra, from the ocean of whose mercy the nectar of instruction, the Upadesamrta, was produced and brought to the world by Sri Rupa. Offering my obeisance to the author of this text (Sri Rupa) and the commentator (Sri Radha Raman Das), I write this commentary that showers that nectar, Piyusa-varsini-vrtti.

anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama
(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: Purva-vibhaga, 1.11)

[“Pure devotion is constant endeavour to please Krishna that is free from fleeting desires and unobstructed by exploitation and renunciation.”]

The practice of devotion based on the acceptance of the favourable and rejection of the unfavourable that is prescribed in this verse is extremely necessary for devotees. Acceptance of the favourable and rejection of the unfavourable are not limbs of pure devotion itself, but are limbs of surrender, which gives one the qualification for devotion and is the primary characteristic of faith.

anukulyasya sankalpah pratikulya vivarjanam
raksisyatiti visvaso goptrtve varanam tatha
atma-niksepa karpanye sad-vidha saranagatih
(Vaisnava-tantra)

[“Accepting the favourable, rejecting the unfavourable, confidence that Krishna will grant His protection, embracing Krishna’s guardianship, fully offering oneself, and humility are the six limbs of surrender.”]

In this verse, rejection of the unfavourable is prescribed. One who can meticulously tolerate the urges of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals can instruct the entire world.

sokamarsadibhir bhavair akrantam yasya manasam
katham tatra mukundasya sphurtti-sambhavana bhavet
(Sri Padma-purana)

[“The Lord does not appear in the hearts of those who are disturbed by lamentation, anger, and other disorders.”]

Lust, anger, greed, bewilderment, pride, and envy—it is known through the purport of this verse that these disturbances always arise in the human mind and engross it in the mundane through the urge of speech—using words that disturb others; the urge of the mind—various desires; the urge of anger—using harsh words; the urge of the tongue—craving the six different tastes, namely sweet, sour, astringent, salty, pungent, and bitter; the urge of the belly—eating excessively; and the urge of the genitals—craving male-female union. As a result, no pure practice of devotion takes place within the heart. Our Acharya Srila Rupa Goswami started first of all with this verse to make the hearts of those endeavouring to serve fit for devotion. Trying to check these six urges is not itself the practice of devotion. Rather, it is the practice of making oneself fit to enter the temple of devotion. There are instructions for checking these six urges on the path of karma and the path of jnan, but such methods should not be followed by devotees. Hearing about Krishna’s Name, Form, Pastimes, and so forth, chanting about them, and remembering them is itself devotion.

During devotional activities, these six urges arise and disturb the practice of immature practitioners. At that time, in their endeavour to give up the ten offences to the Name through unconditional surrender, devotees are able to avoid these obstructions by the mercy of the Name and the power of pure devotees’ association.

srutvapi nama-mahatmyam yah priti-rahito ’dhamah
aham-mamati-paramo namni so ’py aparadha-krt
(Sri Padma-purana)

[“Fallen souls who, even after hearing the glories of the Name, have no love for the Name and remain engrossed in the conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are offenders to the Name.”]

Devotees practise proper renunciation (yukta-vairagya); they should not practise dry renunciation. Thus, there is no prescription for them to give up all contact with material affairs. As soon as the urge of the mind—thirst for the mundane—goes away, the urges of the eyes, nose, and ears become controlled. Therefore, those who conquer the six urges and follow the soul conquer the world. This instruction to tolerate these urges is mainly for householder devotees, as renunciants have already completely given up all these urges before renouncing their homes.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

কৃষ্ণেতর কথা বাগ্বেগ তার নাম ।
কামের অতৃপ্তে ক্রোধবেগ মনোধাম ॥১॥

krsnetara katha vag-vega tara nama
kamera atrpte krodha-vega manodhama [1]

katha–Talk itara–unrelated krsna–to Krishna— nama–the name tara–of this [is] vega–the urge vag–to speak. vega–The urge krodha–of anger [and that] dhama–position mano–of the mind [arise] atrpte–from nonfulfilment kamera–of desires. [1]

Talk unrelated to Krishna is known as the urge to speak. The urges of anger and the mind arise from unfulfilled desires.

সুস্বাদু ভোজনশীল জিহ্বাবেগ-দাস ।
অতিরিক্ত ভোক্তা যেই উদরেতে আশ ॥২॥

susvadu bhojana-sila jihva-vega-dasa
atirikta bhokta yei udarete asa [2]

bhojana-sila–Those who eat susvadu–very palatable [foods are] dasa–slaves vega–of the urge jihva–of the tongue, [and] bhokta yei–those who eat atirikta–too much [follow] asa–the desire udarete–of the belly. [2]

Those who eat very palatable foods are slaves to the urge of the tongue, and those who eat too much follow the urge of the belly.

যোষিতের ভৃত্য স্ত্রৈণ কামের কিঙ্কর ।
উপস্থবেগের বশে কন্দর্প-তৎপর ॥৩॥

yositera bhrtya straina kamera kinkara
upastha-vegera vase kandarpa-tatpara [3]

[Those who are] bhrtya–servants yositera–of women [and] straina–henpecked [are] kinkara–servants kamera–of lust, [and those who are] vase–under the control vegera–of the urge upastha–of the genitals [are] tatpara–captivated kandarpa–by Cupid. [3]

Those who are servants of women and henpecked are slaves of lust, and those who are controlled by the urge of the genitals are captivated by Cupid.

এই ছয় বেগ যার বশে সদা রয় ।
সে জন গোস্বামী করে পৃথিবী-বিজয় ॥৪॥

ei chhaya vega yara vase sada raya
se jana gosvami kare prthivi-vijaya [4]

se jana–Persons [under] yara–whose vase–control ei–these chhaya–six vega–urges sada–always raya–remain [are] gosvami–masters of the senses; vijaya kare–they conquer prthivi–the world. [4]

Those who always keep these six urges under their control are goswamis; they conquer the world.

Anuvrtti

দয়ানিধি গোরহরি কলিজীবে দয়া করি’
শিক্ষাষ্টকে শিখাইল ধর্ম্ম ।
তাঁহার শ্রীমুখ হতে যা শিখিল ভালমতে
প্রভু রূপ জানি’ সেই মর্ম্ম ॥১॥
জীবেরে কল্যান-খানি প্রেমরত্ন মহামণি
গ্রন্থরত্ন সরলে লিখিল ।
গৌরভক্ত-কণ্ঠহার ‘উপদেশামৃত’ সার
রূপানুগে রূপ নিজে দিল ॥২॥

dayanidhi gaurahari kali-jive daya kari’
siksastake sikhaila dharma
ta̐hara sri-mukha hate ya sikhila bhala-mate
prabhu rupa jani’ sei marma [1] jivera kalyana-khani prema-ratna mahamani
grantha-ratna sarale likhila
gaura-bhakta-kanthahara upadesamrta sara
rupanuge rupa nije dila [2]

daya kari’–Being merciful jive–to the souls kali–in the Age of Kali, dayanidhi–the ocean of mercy gaurahari–Sri Gaurahari sikhaila–taught dharma–the proper way [in His] siksastake–eight verses of instruction known as Siksastakam. rupa prabhu–Sri Rupa Prabhu, ya–who sikhila–learned [this] bhala-mate–perfectly hate–from ta̐hara–His sri-mukha–divine mouth [and] jani’–understood marma–[the] purport sei–of it, likhila–wrote [a] sarale–simple, ratna–jewel-like grantha–book [explaining it which is] khani–a mine kalyana–of good fortune jivera–for the soul [and] mahamani–the greatest of gems— ratna–a jewel prema–of divine love. rupa–Sri Rupa nije–himself dila–gave anuge–the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa kanthahara–a necklace [meant to be worn by all] bhakta–the devotees gaura–of Sri Gaura, [known as the Upadesamrta, which is] sara–the essence [of all] amrta–nectarean upadesa–instructions. [1–2]

Being merciful to the souls in the Age of Kali, the ocean of mercy Sri Gaurahari taught dharma in His eight verses of instruction known as the Siksastakam. Sri Rupa Prabhu, who learned this perfectly from the divine mouth of the Lord and understood its purport, wrote a simple, jewel-like book explaining it which is a mine of good fortune for the soul and the greatest of gems—a jewel of divine love. He personally gave his followers this necklace meant to be worn by all devotees of Sri Gaura known as the Upadesamrta, which is the essence of all nectarean instructions.

কাল্পনিক নব্যমত নাম বা করিব কত
ভক্তিপথে যারে বলে ‘ভেল’ ।
মায়াবাদী কৃষ্ণ ত্যজি’ মুখে শুধু গোরা ভজি’
ভোগের বিলাসে বিন্ধি’ শেল ॥৩॥
ক্লেশ পায় অবিরত জড়কামে হয়ে হত
‘উপদেশামৃতে’ মানে যম ।
শ্রদ্ধা করি’ পাঠ করি’ লাভ করে গৌরহরি
জানে রূপপদ বিনা ভ্রম ॥৪॥

kalpanika navya-mata nama va kariba kata
bhakti-pathe yare bale ‘bhela’
mayavadi krsna tyaji’ mukhe sudhu gora bhaji’
bhogera vilase bindhi’ sela [3] klesa paya avirata jada-kame haye hata
‘upadesamrte’ mane yama
sraddha kari’ patha kari’ labha kare gaurahari
jane rupa-pada vina bhrama [4]

kata va–How many kalpanika–imaginary navya–new mata–conceptions yare–which bale–are known [to be] ‘bhela’–counterfeit pathe–on the path bhakti–of devotion nama kariba–shall I name? mayavadi–Illusionists tyaji’–reject krsna–Krishna, sudhu–merely mukhe–by mouth bhaji’–serve gora–Gora, bindhi’–pierce [themselves with] sela–the spear vilase–of the pleasure bhogera–of enjoyment, [and] klesa paya–suffer avirata–constantly, haye–having been hata–ruined [by] jada–material kame–desires. [They] mane–consider ‘upadesamrte’–the Upadesamrta [their] yama–death (Yamaraj). patha kari’–By studying [it] sraddha kari’–faithfully, [however,] labha kare–souls attain gaurahari–Gaurahari [and] jane–understand pada–the feet rupa–of Sri Rupa, vina–free from [all] bhrama–misconceptions. [3–4]

How many imaginary new conceptions which are known to be counterfeit on the path of devotion shall I name? Illusionists reject Krishna, serve Gora merely by mouth, pierce themselves with the spear of selfish enjoyment, and suffer constantly, ruined by material desires. They consider the Upadesamrta their death. By studying it with faith, however, souls attain Gaurahari and understand Sri Rupa, free from all misconceptions.

রূপানুগজনপদ লভিবারে সুসম্পদ
রূপানুগজন-প্রীতি তরে ।
রূপ-উপদেশামৃত শুদ্ধ-হরিজনাদৃত
অযোগ্যেও সমাশ্রয় করে ॥৫॥

rupanuga-jana-pada labhibare susampada
rupanuga-jana-priti tare
rupa-upadesamrta suddha hari-janadrta
ayogyao samasraya kare [5]

labhibare–To attain susampada–the divine wealth pada–of the feet anuga-jana–of the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa [and] tare–to priti–please anuga-jana–the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa, samasraya kare–take full shelter, ayogyao–even [if you are] unqualified, rupa–in Sri Rupa’s upadesamrta–Upadesamrta, [which is] adrta–revered [by] hari–the Lord’s suddha–pure jana–devotees. [5]

To attain the divine wealth at the feet of Sri Rupa’s followers and to please them, take full shelter, even if you are unqualified, in Sri Rupa’s Upadesamrta, which is revered by the Lord’s pure devotees.

গৌরকিশোর প্রভু ভক্তিবিনোদ বিভু
শুদ্ধভক্তি যেই প্রচারিল ।
সেই শুদ্ধভক্তি-সূচী বদ্ধজীব যাহে শুচি
পাইবার তরে এক তিল ॥৬॥
রূপানুগ-পূজ্যবরা শ্রীবার্ষভানবী হরা
তাঁহার দয়িত-দাস-দাস ।
রূপানুগ-সেবা-আশ শ্রীব্রজপত্তনে বাস
‘অনুবৃত্তি’ করিল প্রকাশ ॥৭॥

gaura-kisora prabhu bhakti-vinoda vibhu
suddha-bhakti yei pracharila
sei suddha-bhakti-suchi baddha-jiva yahe suchi
paibara tare eka tila [6] rupanuga-pujya-vara sri-varsabhanavi hara
ta̐hara dayita-dasa-dasa
rupanuga-seva-asa sri-vraja-pattane vasa
anuvrtti karila prakasa [7]

paibara–To obtain eka–one tila–sesame seed tare yei–of the suddha–pure bhakti–devotion pracharila–propagated [by] gaura-kisora prabhu–Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj [and] bhakti-vinoda vibhu–Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, sei–the suchi–compendium suddha–of pure bhakti–devotion yahe–by which [the] baddha–conditioned jiva–souls [become] suchi–pure, dasa–this servant [of] dayita–the beloved dasa–servant ta̐hara–of Her— sri-varsabhanavi–Sri Vrsabhanu’s daughter hara–Sri Radhika, vara–the supreme pujya–object of worship anuga–for the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa— [whose] asa–aspiration [is] seva–the service rupa–of Sri Rupa’s anuga–followers [and whose] vasa–residence [is] sri-vraja-pattane–in Sri Vraja Pattan, prakasa karila–has written [this] anuvrtti–sub-commentary known as the Anuvrtti. [6–7]

To obtain a drop of the pure devotion propagated by Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, pure devotion by which the conditioned souls are purified, this servant of the beloved servant of Sri Vrsabhanu’s daughter Sri Radhika—the supreme object of worship for Sri Rupa’s followers—whose aspiration is the service of Sri Rupa’s followers and whose residence is in Sri Vraja Pattan, has written this sub-commentary known as the Anuvrtti.

Within immersion in the material world, three types of urges are seen: the urge of speech, the urge of the mind, and the urge of the body. When the soul falls into the hands of these three urges, the soul cannot attain the highest good. Therefore, the soul who can tolerate these urges, instead of becoming controlled by worldly objects, is capable of conquering the world.

The urge of speech refers to the scriptural discussion of the impersonalists, the scriptural reasoning of the followers of the karma-kanda for the fruits of action, and the talks of whimsical enjoyment by those who desire ends other than Krishna. The propensity for speech that is pertinent to the service of the Lord is the result of tolerating the urge of speech; it is not produced by the urge of speech. The unexpressed urge of speech, even though it is not something that is uttered aloud, is another type of endeavour to speak about experience of a subject other than Krishna.

There are two types of urges of the mind: sympathetic affection and hostile anger. Affection for the beliefs of the illusionists, fondness for the beliefs of the karmis, and belief in the view of the anyabhilasis are the three types of sympathetic affection. Remaining indifferent upon seeing the activities of the jnanis, karmis, and anyabhilasis is the mind’s unexpressed urge for sympathetic affection. The nonfulfilment of desires unrelated to Krishna, non-attainment of the results of actions, and the non-attainment of liberation are the causes of anger. Thinking of Krishna’s Pastimes is the result of tolerating the urge of the mind; it is not produced by the urge of the mind.

There are three types of urges of the body: the urge of the tongue, the urge of the belly, and the urge of the genitals. All types of animal meat, fish, crab, eggs, and the parts of any carcass produced from semen and blood, all of which are unofferable, as well as growing plants, vines, and vegetables, the various products of the cow, and so on—desire to consume any of these items aroused by desire for any of the six tastes is the urge of the tongue. The sadhus avoid excessive chilli, amla, and other such items. Consuming haritaki, supari, other ingredients for pan, and pan itself; smoking tobacco, ganja, and other substances; and drinking fermented alchohol and other intoxicants are all included within the urge of the tongue. By honouring the Lord’s remnants, pure souls attain deliverance from the hands of the urge of the tongue. Although offerings for the Lord are very tasty, they are not produced by the urge of the tongue for those who honour them as prasadam. If, however, honouring them becomes a ploy to fulfil a material desire to enjoy the first-class, highly palatable items that are part of the Lord’s Pastimes on the pretext that they are prasad, then that is also included within the urge of the tongue. A renounced Vaisnava’s desire to consume very costly and tasty items offered to them for the satisfaction of the demigods in a rich man’s house is also included within the urge of the tongue. If the urge of the tongue is indulged, various forms of bad behaviour and bad association are liable to ensue.

jihvara lalase yei iti-uti dhaya
sisnodara-parayana krsna nahi paya
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 6.227)

[Sriman Mahaprabhu instructed: “Those who run here and there to satisfy the desires of the tongue and are preoccupied with the belly and genitals cannot attain Krishna.”]

bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 6.236)

[“Do not eat fancy food, and do not wear fancy clothes.”]

The urge of the belly most of the time accompanies the urge of the tongue, and those who are engrossed in the belly and genitals most of the time become sickly. When we eat too much, various types of worldly problems arise. Those who eat excessively are slaves of the urge of the belly. By honouring Krishna’s prasadam, following Ekadasi and other rites related to Krishna, and developing the propensity to serve Krishna, the urge of the belly is controlled.

The urge of the genitals is of two types: regulated and unregulated. Mature persons married according to scriptural regulations follow the duties of household life (grhastha-asram dharma) and control the urge of the genitals through regulated activity. The unregulated form of the urge of the genitals is of various types, such as rejecting scriptural and social regulations and taking another person’s spouse, desiring the eight types of sense gratification, behaving artificially and deceitfully, and satisfying the senses by forbidden means. Becoming free from the hands of the urges of the tongue, belly, and genitals is the duty of both householders and renunciants. In Prema-vivarta (7.10–13), Sri Jagadananda Pandit has written,

vairagi bhai gramya-katha na sunibe kane
gramya-varta na kahibe yabe milibe ane
svapaneo na kara bhai stri-sambhasana
grhe stri chhadiya bhai asiyachha vana
yadi chaha pranaya rakhite gaurangera sane
chhota haridasera katha thake yena mane
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
hrdayete radha-krsna sarvada sevibe

[“Brother, a renunciant should neither listen to village talk nor discuss village news when they meet with others. Brother, do not converse with women, even in dreams. Brother, you have left women at home and come to the forest. If you want to maintain your love for Gauranga, then remember the story of Chhota Haridas. Do not eat fancy food, and do not wear fancy clothes. Always serve Radha and Krishna within your heart.”]

Those who can completely tolerate the six urges of speech, the mind, and the body that have now been described are masters of the senses (goswamis). When souls are in the hands of these six urges, they are fit to be called slaves of the senses (go-dasas). Only those who are masters of their senses are servants of Krishna. Those who are slaves of their senses are slaves of illusion, and therefore, if they are to become devotees of Krishna, then they have no way other than surrendering at the feet of those who are masters of their senses. Prahlad Maharaj has said that those with uncontrolled senses can never become servants of the Lord (SB: 7.5.30–1):

matir na krsne paratah svato va
mitho ’bhipadyeta grha-vratanam
adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram
punah punas charvita-charvananam
na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum
durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah

[“Inclination towards Krishna never develops by the association of others, by one’s own efforts, or by the combination of both for those who are attached to household life, who enter darkness because of their uncontrolled senses, and who again and again chew the chewed. The wicked-minded, who value external ends, cannot understand that Visnu is the highest end.”]

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
prapanche padiya agati ha-iya
na dekhi upaya ara
agatira gati charane sarana
tomaya karinu sara [1]

O Lord! Having fallen into the material world and become depraved, I see no other way: shelter at Your feet is the only shelter for the fallen. I have accepted You as my be-all and end-all.

karama geyana kichhu nahi mora
sadhana bhajana nai
tumi krpamaya ami ta’ kangala
ahaituki krpa chai [2]

I have no piety or knowledge. I have no practice or service. You are merciful, and I am most needy. I pray for Your unconditional mercy.

vakya-mana-vega krodha-jihva-vega
udara-upastha-vega
miliya e saba samsare bhasaye
ditechhe paramodvega [3]

The urges of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals have united together, cast me adrift in the ocean of material existence, and caused me terrible distress.

aneka yatane se saba damane
chhadiyachhi asa ami
anathera natha! daki tava nama
ekhana bharasa tumi [4]

After many endeavours to subdue them, I have given up hope. O Lord of the helpless! I call Your Name. You are my shelter now.

Verse Two

अत्याहारः प्रयासश्च प्रजल्पो नियमाग्रहः ।
जनसङ्गश्च लौल्यञ्च षड्भिर्भक्तिर्विनश्यति ॥२॥

atyaharah prayasas cha prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas cha laulyan cha sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati [2]

bhaktih–Devotion vinasyati–is destroyed sadbhih–by these six: atyaharah–over-accumulation, prayasah–over-endeavour, prajalpah–unnecessary talk, agrahah–negligence niyama–of rules (and agrahah–obsession niyama–about rules), sangah–association jana–with nondevotees, cha–and laulyah–fickle-mindedness.

Over-accumulation,
over-endeavour,
unnecessary talk,
misapplication of rules,
association with nondevotees,
and fickle-mindedness—
devotion is destroyed by these six faults.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

অত্যাহার প্রয়াস প্রজল্প জনসঙ্গ ।
লৌল্যাদি নিয়মাগ্রহ হলে ভক্তিভঙ্গ ॥১॥

atyahara prayasa prajalpa jana-sanga
laulyadi niyamagraha hale bhakti-bheda [1]

[When] atyahara–over-accumulation, prayasa–over-endeavour, prajalpa– unnecessary talk, sanga–association jana–with nondevotees, laulya–fickle-mindedness, niyamagraha–misapplication of rules, adi–and so on hale–occur, bhakti–devotion [becomes] bheda–obstructed. [1]

When over-accumulation, over-endeavour, unnecessary talk, association with nondevotees, fickle-mindedness, and misapplication of rules occur, devotion becomes obstructed.

গৃহত্যাগি-জনের সঞ্চয় অত্যাহার ।
অধিক সঞ্চয়ী গৃহী বৈষ্ণবের ছার ॥২॥

grha-tyagi janera sanchaya atyahara
adhika sanchari grhi vaisnavera chhara [2]

janera–For persons [who are] tyagi–renunciants grha–of home, [any] sanchaya–accumulation [is] atyahara–atyahara, [and] grhi–for householder vaisnavera–devotees, [being an] adhika–excessive sanchari–accumulation [is] chhara–bad. [2]

For renunciants, any accumulation is atyahara, and for householder devotees, excessive accumulation is bad.

ভক্তি-অনুকূল নয় যে সব উদ্যম ।
প্রয়াস-নামেতে তার প্রকাশ বিষম ॥৩॥

bhakti-anukula naya se saba udyama
prayasa namete tara prakasa visama [3]

se saba–All udyama–endeavours [that] naya–are not anukula–favourable bhakti–to devotion namete–in name [are] prayasa–prayasa; prakasa–occurrences tara–of them [are] visama–condemnable. [3]

All endeavours that are not favourable to devotion are called prayasa; occurrences of them are condemnable.

গ্রাম্যকথা প্রজল্প-নামেতে পরিচয় ।
মতের চাঞ্চল্য লৌল্য অসত্তৃষ্ণাময় ॥৪॥

gramya-katha prajalpa namete parichaya
matera chanchalya laulya asat-trsnamaya [4]

parichaya–The identity namete–in name [of] gramya–village katha–talk [is] prajalpa–prajalpa. chanchalya–Restlessness matera–of the mind [produced by] asat–material trsnamaya–desire [is] laulya–laulya. [4]

Village talk is called prajalpa. Restlessness of the mind produced by material desire is called laulya.

বিষয়ী যোষিৎসঙ্গ তত্তৎসঙ্গী আর ।
মায়াবাদী ধর্ম্মধ্বজী নাস্তিক প্রকার ॥৫॥
সে সব অসৎসঙ্গ ভক্তিহানিকর ।
বিশেষ যতনে সেই সঙ্গ পরিহার ॥৬॥

visayi yosit-sangi tat-tat-sangi ara
mayavadi dharma-dhvaji nastika prakara [5] se saba asat-sanga bhakti-hanikara
visesa yatne sei sanga parihara [6]

visayi–Materialists, sangi–those who associate yosit–with women, sangi–those who associate tat-tat–with them, mayavadi–illusionists, dharma–religious dhvaji–hypocrites, ara–and nastika–atheists— saba–all se–these prakara–types asat–of bad sanga–association [are] hanikara–destructive bhakti–of devotion. [With] visesa–great yatne–care, parihara–avoid sei–such sanga–association. [5–6]

Materialists, those who are attached to the opposite sex, their companions, illusionists, religious hypocrites, and atheists—the association of such persons is destructive to devotion. With great care, avoid all such association.

নিয়ম-অগ্রহ, আর নিয়ম-আগ্রহ ।
দ্বি-প্রকার দোষ এই ভক্ত-গলগ্রহ ॥৭॥

niyama agraha ara niyama agraha
dvi-prakara dosa ei bhakta-galagraha [7]

[Being] agraha–negligent niyama–of rules ara–and [being] agraha–obsessive niyama–about rules— ei–these dvi–two prakara–types dosa–of faults [are] galagraha–burdens bhakta–to devotees. [7]

The faults of both being negligent of rules and being obsessive about rules are burdens to devotees.

একে স্বাধিকারগত নিয়মে-বর্জ্জন ।
আরে অন্য-অধিকার নিয়ম-গ্রহণ ॥২৮॥

eke svadhikaragata niyama varjana
are anya-adhikara niyama grahana [8]

eke–In one, [there is] varjana–rejection niyama–of the rules gata–meant sva–for one’s adhikara–stage, [and] are–in the other, [there is] grahana–adherence niyama–to rules [meant] for anya–others’ adhikara–stages. [8]

In one, there is rejection of the rules meant for one’s stage, and in the other, there is adherence to the rules meant for stages other than one’s own.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

In this second verse also, there is discussion only of rejecting the unfavourable. The six faults of atyahara, prayasa, prajalpa, niyamagraha, jana-sanga, and laulya are detrimental to devotion. Atyahara means excessive accumulation, collection, or stocking. Stocking is forbidden for renunciants; for householder devotees, atyahara means stocking more than is necessary to live. Prayasa: those who aspire for devotion should not, like materialists, engage in activities that are contrary to devotion or materialistic endeavours. Prajalpa means time-wasting, unnecessary village talk. There are two types of niyamagraha: having attachment to rules for a lower stage when one has reached a higher stage and being negligent of rules that are nourishing to devotion. Jana-sanga means the association of persons who are not pure devotees. Laulya means being indecisive, that is, fickle-minded, in the association of persons of various conceptions and being attracted to insignificant matters. Criticism of sadhus, which arises from prajalpa, and considering the gods to be independent [of the Supreme Lord], which arises from laulya, are offences to the Name.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

অত্যন্ত সংগ্রহে যার সদা চিত্ত ধায় ।
‘অত্যাহারী’ ভক্তিহীন সেই সংজ্ঞা পায় ॥১॥

atyanta samgrahe yara sada chitta dhaya
‘atyahari’ bhakti-hina sei samjna paya [1]

sei–Those yara–whose chitta–minds sada–always dhaya–run [after] atyanta–excessive sangrahe–accumulation samjna paya–become known as ‘atyahari’–hoarders hina–devoid bhakti–of devotion. [1]

Those whose minds always run after excessive accumulation become known as atyaharis (hoarders) devoid of devotion.

প্রাকৃত বস্তুর আশে ভোগে যার মন ।
‘প্রয়াসী’ তাহার নাম ভক্তিহীন জন ॥২॥

prakrta vastura ase bhoge yara mana
‘prayasi’ tahara nama bhakti-hina jana [2]

‘prayasi’–‘Over-endeavourer’ [is] nama–the name tahara–for those jana–persons hina–devoid bhakti–of devotion yara–whose mana–minds ase–desire bhoge–enjoyment [of] prakrta–material vastura–objects. [2]

Those whose minds desire to enjoy material objects are known as prayasis (over-endeavourers) devoid of devotion.

কৃষ্ণকথা ছাড়ি’ জিহ্বা আন কথা কহে ।
‘প্রজল্পী’ তাহার নাম বৃথা বাক্য বহে ॥৩॥

krsna-katha chhadi’ jihva ana katha kahe
‘prajalpi’ tahara nama vrtha vakya vahe [3]

‘prajalpi’–‘Prattler‘ [is] nama–the name tahara–for those [who] chhadi’–avoid katha–discussion krsna–of Krishna [and] kahe–speak [with their] jihva–tongues [about] ana–other katha–subjects; vakya vahe–they speak vrtha–uselessly. [3]

Those whose tongues avoid discussing Krishna and speak about other subjects are known as prajalpis (prattlers) who speak gibberish.

ভজনতে উদাসীন কর্ম্মেতে প্রবীণ ।
বহ্বারম্ভী সে ‘নিয়মাগ্রহী’ অতি দীন ॥৪॥

bhajanete udasina karmete pravina
bahvarambhi se ‘niyamagrahi’ ati dina [4]

se bahvarambhi–Exhibitionists [who are] udasina–indifferent bhajanete–to service [and] pravina–expert karmete–in worldly activities [are] ‘niyama-agrahi’–transgressors of the rules [and] ati–extremely dina–low. [4]

Exhibitionists who are indifferent to service and expert in material affairs are niyamagrahis (transgressors) of the rules and extremely low.

কৃষ্ণভক্তসঙ্গ বিনা অন্য সঙ্গে রত ।
‘জনসঙ্গী’ কুবিষয়-বিলাসে বিব্রত ॥৫॥

krsna-bhakta-sanga vina anya-sange rata
‘jana-sangi’ kuvisaya-vilase vivrata [5]

[Those who remain] vina–apart [from] sanga–the association krsna–of Krishna’s bhakta–devotees [and are] rata–attached sange–to the association anya–of others [are] ‘jana-sangi’–fraternisers vivrata–intent [upon] kuvisaya–indecent material vilase–enjoyment. [5]

Those who avoid the association of Krishna’s devotees and associate with others are jana-sangis (fraternisers) intent upon indecent material enjoyment.

নানাস্থানে ভ্রমে যেই নিজ স্বার্থ তরে ।
‘লৌল্যপর’ ভক্তিহীন সংজ্ঞা দেয় নরে ॥৬॥

nana-sthane bhrame yei nija svartha tare
‘laulya-para’ bhakti-hina samjna deya nare [6]

nare–People samjna deya–designate [those] yei–who bhrame–wander [in] nana–various sthane–places tare–for [their] nija– own svartha–purpose [as] laulya-para–fickle-minded [and] hina–devoid bhakti–of devotion. [6]

People designate those who wander here and there for their own purpose as laulya-paras (fickle-minded) and devoid of devotion.

এই ছয় নহে কভু ভক্তি-অধিকারী ।
ভক্তিহীন লক্ষ্যভষ্ট বিষয়ী সংসারী ॥৭॥

ei chhaya nahe kabhu bhakti-adhikari
bhakti-hina laksya-bhrasta visayi samsari [7]

ei–These chhaya–six [types of people are] kabhu nahe–never adhikari–qualified bhakti–for devotion. [They are] samsari–worldly, visayi–materialistic, laksya-bhrasta–misdirected, [and] hina–devoid bhakti–of devotion. [7]

These six types of people are never qualified for devotion. They are worldly, materialistic, misdirected, and devoid of devotion.

Anuvrtti

The jnanis’ excessive accumulation of knowledge, the karmis’ accumulation of results, and the anyabhilasis’ excessive accumulation are called atyahara. The jnanis’ regulations, the karmis’ austerities, rites, and so on, and the anyabhilasis’ pursuit of women, children, wealth, and so on are called prayasa. The jnanis’ scholarship for the purpose of wrangling over scripture, the karmis’ fondness for pious activities, and the anyabhilasis’ talk of sense gratification are called prajalpa. Eagerness to follow regulations from the scriptures about jnan meant for the attainment of liberation, attachment to the regulations of the scriptures for rituals meant for the attainment of urine-like enjoyment in this world, and establishing, like utilitarians, adherence to regulations suited to one’s own situation meant for the attainment of temporary happiness are called niyamagraha. Indifference to regulations meant for the attainment of devotion, considering one’s own wayward behaviour to be love for Krishna, and holding one’s own condemnable condition in high regard are also niyamagraha.

sruti-smrti-puranadi-pancharatra-vidhim vina
aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate
(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: Purva-vibhaga, 2.99)

[“Resolute devotion to the Lord devoid of the guidance given in the Srutis, Smrtis, Puranas, and Pancharatras produces only misfortune.”]

Sri Kalyana-kalpa-taru (Upadesa: 17–19):

mana tore bali e varata
apakka vayase haya vanchita vanchaka paya
vikaile nija-svatantrata

O mind, I tell you this message: at an unripe age, alas, you were cheated by cheaters, and you sold them your independence.

sampradaye dosa-buddhi jani’ tumi atma-suddhi
karibare ha-ile savadhana
na nile tilaka-mala tyajile diksara jvala
nije kaile navina-vidhana [2]

Considering the system faulty, you have become concerned with purifying yourself. You do not wear tilak or a mala. You have given up the ‘pain’ of initiation and made a new method for yourself.

purva-mate tali diya nija-mata prachariya
nije avatara buddhi dhari’
vratachara na manile purva-patha jale dile
mahajane bhrama drsti kari’ [3]

Applauding your previous ideas, you have preached your own conception and considered yourself an Avatar. You have not observed rites or the codes of conduct. Seeing mistakes in the great souls, you have thrown the previous path in the water.

pho̐ta diksa mala dhari’ dhurta kare suchaturi
tai tahe tomara viraga
mahajana-pathe dosa dekhiya tomara rosa
patha prati chhada anuraga [4]

Because scoundrels accept tilak, initiation, and a mala and behave deceitfully, you have disdain for these things. Seeing faults in the path of the great souls, you have become angry and given up attachment to it.

ekhana dekhaha bhai svarna chhadi’ laile chhai
ihakala parakala yaya
kapata balila sabe bhakati va pele kabe
dehante va ki habe upaya [5]

Now look, brother! If you reject gold and collect ashes, your present and future will be ruined. You say everyone is deceitful, but when will you attain devotion? At death, what will be your means of deliverance?

ki ara baliba tore mana
mukhe bala prema prema vastutah tyajiya hema
sunya-granthi anchale bandhana [1]

O mind, what more shall I say to you? You say aloud, “Prema prema”, but in reality you reject gold and tie an empty knot in your cloth (you think and show that you have prema but in fact you do not).

abhyasiya asru-pata lampha jhampha akasmat
murchchha-praya thakaha padiya
e loka vanchite ranga prachariya asat-sanga
kamini-kanchana labha giya [2]

You practise shedding tears, jumping about, and fainting on cue. Performing this act to cheat people, you acquire women, wealth, and bad association.

premera sadhana bhakti tate naila anurakti’
suddha prema kemane milibe?
dasa-aparadha tyaji’ nirantara nama bhaji’
krpa hale suprema paibe [3]

O mind, the means to attain divine love is devotion. If you have no attachment to that, how will you attain pure divine love? When you avoid the ten offences, constantly serve the Name, and receive mercy, then you will attain true divine love.

na manile subhajana sadhu-sange sankirtana
na karile nirjane smarana
na uthiya vrksopari tanatani phala dhari’
dusta-phala karile arjana [4]

If you do not follow the proper practice—engaging in chanting in the association of the sadhus—and do not remember the Lord while in solitude—if you do not climb the tree and pick its fruits—then you will only get rotten fruit.

akaitava krsna-prema yena suvimala hema
ei phala nrloke durlabha
kaitave vanchana matra hao age yogya-patra
tabe prema haibe sulabha [5]

Genuine divine love for Krishna, like pure gold, is very rarely found in human society. By deceiving others, you simply cheat yourself. First become a fit recipient. Then you will easily attain divine love for Krishna.

kame preme dekha bhai laksanete bheda nai
tabu kama prema nahi haya
tumi ta varile kama mithya tahe prema-nama
aropile kise subha haya [6]

Brother, look! There is no difference between the appearances of lust and love, yet lust is never love. If you choose lust and falsely consider it love, how will you attain good fortune?

kena mana kamere nachao prema-praya ?
charma-mamsa-maya kama jada-sukha avirama
jada-visayete sada dhaya [1]

O mind, why does lust make you dance as though you have divine love? Lust—constant desire for material happiness—is based on flesh and blood. Under its influence, you constantly run after material objects.

jivera svarupa dharma chit-svarupe prema-marma
tahara visaya matra hari
kama-avarane haya prema ebe supta-praya
prema jagao kama dura kari’ [2]

The soul’s natural function, in its spiritual form, is in essence divine love, and its sole object is the Lord. Alas! Covered by lust, that love is now nearly asleep. So, awaken that love and drive lust away!

sraddha haite sadhu-sange bhajanera kriya range
nistha-ruchi-asakti udaya
asakti ha-ite bhava tahe prema pradurbhava
ei krame prema upajaya [3]

From faith, association with sadhus, and the practice of devotion, constancy, taste, and attachment develop. From attachment, ecstasy and divine love manifest. Divine love develops in these stages.

ihate yatana yara sei paya prema-sara
krama-tyage prema nahi jage
e krama sadhane bhaya kena kara durasaya
kame prema kabhu nahi lage [4]

Those who adhere to these stages attain true divine love; divine love does not develop by rejecting them. O mind, why do you fear these stages of practice and behave wickedly? Divine love never manifests from lust.

natakabhinaya praya sa-kapata prema bhaya
tahe matra indriya-santosa
indriya-tosana chhara sada kara parihara
chhada bhai aparadha-dosa [5]

Like the make-believe of an actor, your deceitful show of divine love is simply gross sense gratification. Give it up forever! Brother, give up your sins and offences.

The association of impersonalist jnanis who are seekers of liberation, the association of karmis who seek the fruits of their actions, and the association of anyabhilasis who seek immediate sense gratification are called jana-sanga. When we attain the association of souls surrendered to the Lord, the association of these materialists will leave us of its own accord. Desires for liberation and enjoyment, and all inclinations to pursue worldly sense pleasure are called laulya. Atyahara, prayasa, prajalpa, niyamagraha, jana-sanga, and laulya—our propensity for subservience to Krishna is lost because of these six propensities. In the illusory environment, we develop the desire to become a master, and even our ability to understand that devotion to Krishna is supreme is destroyed. When we use these six propensities for Krishna, we develop devotion, but otherwise, when we apply them to things other than Krishna, we fall from the path of devotion.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
arthera sanchaye visaya-prayase
ana-katha-prajalpane
ana-adhikara niyama-agrahe
asat-sanga-samghatane [1] asthira siddhante rahinu majiya
hari-bhakti raila dure
e hrdaye matra para-himsa mada
pratistha, sathata sphure [2]

O Lord! Accumulating wealth, endeavouring for worldly ends, discussing topics unrelated to You, following rules meant for persons in other stages, associating with non-devotees, and being fickle-minded— I have remained absorbed in these faults, and devotion to You has remained far away from me. Only vengefulness, pride, desire for prestige, and deceit arise in my heart.

e saba agraha chhadite narinu
apana dosete mari
janama viphala ha-ila amara
ekhana ki kari hari [3]

I have not been able to abandon any of these attachments, and I now die because my own faults. My birth has become useless. What should I do now, O Lord?

ami ta’ patita patita-pavana
tomara pavitra nama
se sambandha dhari’ tomara charane
sarana la-inu hama [4]

I am fallen, but Your pure Name is the purifier of the fallen. Embracing this relationship, I have taken shelter at Your feet.

Verse Three

उत्साहान्निश्छयाद्धैर्यात्तत्तत्कर्म्मप्रवर्त्तनात् ।
सङ्गत्यागात्सतोवृत्तेः षड्भिर्भक्तिः प्रसिध्यति ॥३॥

utsahan nischayad dhairyat tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato-vrtteh sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati [3]

bhaktih–Devotion prasidhyati–is nourished sadbhih–by these six: utsahat–enthusiasm, nischayat–conviction, dhairyat–perseverance, pravartanat–engaging [in] tat-tat–favourable karma–activities, tyagat–giving up sanga–[bad] association, [and] vrtteh–following the conduct satah–of the great souls.

Enthusiasm,
conviction,
perseverance,
engaging in favourable activities,
giving up bad association,
following the conduct of the great souls—
devotion is nourished by these six qualities.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

আনুকূল্য-সঙ্কল্পের ছয় অঙ্গ সার ।
উৎসাহ বিশ্বাস ধৈর্য্য তত্তৎকর্ম্ম আর ॥১॥
সঙ্গত্যাগ সাধুবৃর্ত্তি করিলে আশ্রয় ।
ভক্তিযোগ সিদ্ধি লভে সর্ব্বশাস্ত্রে কয় ॥২॥

anukulya-sankalpera chhaya anga sara
utsaha visvasa dhairya tat-tat-karma ara [1]

sanga-tyaga sadhu-vrtti karile asraya
bhakti-yoga-siddhi labhe sarva-sastre kaya [2]

sarva–All sastre–the scriptures kaya–say [that] asraya karile–if you take shelter in chhaya–the six sara–most important anga–aspects sankalpera–of accepting anukulya–the favourable— utsaha–enthusiasm, visvasa–conviction, dhairya–perseverance, [engaging in] tat-tat–favourable karma–activities, tyaga–abandoning [bad] sanga–association, ara–and vrtti–following the conduct sadhu–of the sadhus— [then] labhe–you will attain siddhi–perfection yoga–in the practice bhakti–of devotion. [1–2]

All the scriptures say that if you take shelter in the six most important aspects of accepting the favourable—enthusiasm, conviction, perseverance, engaging in favourable activities, abandoning bad association, and following the conduct of the sadhus—then you will attain perfection in the practice of devotion.

ভক্তি-অনুষ্ঠানে উৎসাহের প্রয়োজন ।
ভক্তিতে বিশ্বাস দৃঢ় ধৈর্য্যাবলম্বন ॥৩॥
যে কর্ম্ম করিলে হয় ভক্তির উল্লাস ।
যে কর্ম্ম জীবনযাত্রা-নির্ব্বাহে প্রয়াস ॥৪॥

bhakti-anusthane utsahera prayojana
bhaktite visvasa drdha dhairyavalambana [3]

ye karma karile haya bhaktira ullasa
ye karma jivana-yatra nirvahe prayasa [4]

[There is] prayojana–the necessity utsahera–for enthusiasm anusthane–in the practice bhakti–of devotion, drdha–firm visvasa–conviction bhaktite–in devotion, avalambana–recourse to dhairya–perseverance, karma–actions ye–by which, karile–when performed, haya–there is ullasa–development bhaktira–of devotion, [and] prayasa–endeavour karma–in actions ye–by which [there is] yatra nirvahe–maintenance jivana–of [one’s] life. [3–4]

Enthusiasm for devotional practice, firm conviction in devotion, perseverance, activities by which devotion develops, and activities by which one’s life is maintained are all necessary.

অসৎসঙ্গ-ত্যাগে হয় সঙ্গ-বিবর্জ্জন ।
সদাচার সাধুবৃত্তি সর্ব্বদা পালন ॥৫॥

asat-sanga tyage haya sanga-vivarjana
sadachara sadhu-vrtti sarvada palana [5]

vivarjana–Avoidance sanga–of association haya–occurs tyage–by giving up asat–bad sanga–association. sarvada–Always palana–follow achara–the practices sad–of the sadhus [and] vrtti–the conduct sadhu–of the sadhus. [5]

Give up association by rejecting bad association and always follow the conduct and practices of the sadhus.

ত্যাগী ভিক্ষাযোগে আর গৃহী ধর্ম্মাশ্রয়ে ।
করিবে জীবন-যাত্রা সাবধান হযে ॥৬॥

tyagi bhiksa-yoge ara grhi dharmasraye
karibe jivana yatra savadhana haye [6]

tyagi–Renunciants [should] savadhana haye–carefully yatra karibe–maintain [their] jivana–lives yoge–by the practice bhiksa–of begging, ara–and grhi–householders [should do so] asraye–under the shelter dharma–of the codes for proper conduct. [6]

Renunciants should carefully maintain their lives by begging, and householders should do so by following the codes for proper conduct.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Maintaining one’s life and practising devotion are both necessary for devotees. In the first half of this verse, activities that are favourable to the practice of devotion are prescribed, and in the second half, the way devotees should maintain their lives is prescribed. Devotion is perfected by utsaha, nischaya, dhairya, practices that are nourising to devotion [tat-tat-karma-pravartana], sanga-tyaga, and sadachar or sad-vrtti. Utsaha means eagerness for devotional practice. By indifference, devotion is lost. Practice with adoration is utsaha. Nischaya means firm conviction. Dhairya means not slackening in one’s engagement in the process even after seeing delays in the attainment of the goal. There are two types of activities that are nourishing to devotion: prescribed actions and restrictions on actions. Hearing, chanting, and so on are the prescriptions; giving up one’s own enjoyment or happiness for Krishna’s sake and other such activities are the restrictions. Sanga-tyaga means giving up the association of irreligious persons, women, the condition of being henpecked, men who associate with women, and nondevotees—materialists, illusionists, atheists, and religious hypocrites. Sad-vrtti means the conduct followed by the sadhus and the means by which they maintain their lives. For renunciants, sad-vrtti means begging, and for householders, it means acting according to the rules for their social role and function (varna and asram).

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

ভজনে উৎসাহ যার ভিতরে বাহিরে ।
সুদুর্ল্লভ কৃষ্ণভক্তি পাবে ধীরে ধীরে ॥১॥

bhajane utsaha yara bhitare bahire
sudurlabha krsna-bhakti pabe dhire dhire [1]

[Those] yara–who [have] utsaha–enthusiasm bhajane–for service, bhitare–within [and] bahire–without, dhire dhire–gradually pabe–will attain bhakti–devotion krsna–to Krishna [even though it is] sudurlabha–most difficult to attain. [1]

Those who have enthusiasm for service, within and without, will gradually attain devotion to Krishna even though it is most difficult to attain.

কৃষ্ণভক্তি প্রতি যার বিশ্বাস নিশ্চয় ।
শ্রদ্ধাবান্ ভক্তিমান্ জন সেই হয় ॥২॥

krsna-bhakti prati yara visvasa nischaya
sraddhavan bhaktiman jana sei haya [2]

sei–Those jana–persons yara–who [have] visvasa–belief [and] nischaya–conviction prati–in bhakti–devotion krsna–to Krishna haya–are sraddhavan–faithful [and] bhaktiman–devoted. [2]

Those who have belief and conviction in devotion to Krishna are certainly faithful and devoted.

কৃষ্ণসেবা না পাইয়া ধীরভাবে যেই ।
ভক্তির সাধন করে ভক্তিমান্ সেই ॥৩॥

krsna-seva na paiya dhira-bhave yei
bhaktira sadhana kare bhaktiman sei [3]

sei–Those yei–who kare–engage in sadhana–the practice bhaktira–of devotion dhira-bhave–with perseverance [despite] paiya na–having not attained krsna–Krishna’s seva–service [are truly] bhaktiman–devoted. [3]

Those who engage in the practice of devotion with perseverance despite having not attained Krishna’s service are truly devoted.

যাহাতে কৃষ্ণের সেবা কৃষ্ণের সন্তোষ ।
সেই কর্ম্মে ব্রতী সদা না করয়ে রোষ ॥৪॥

yahate krsnera seva krsnera santosa
sei karme vrati sada na karaye rosa [4]

[They are] sada–always vrati–engaged karme–in activities sei yahate–in which [there is] seva–service krsnera–to Krishna [and] santosa–satisfaction krsnera–for Krishna, [and] rosa karaye na–they do not become angry. [4]

They always engage in activities by which Krishna is served and satisfied, and they never become angry.

কৃষ্ণের অভক্তজনসঙ্গ পরিহরি’ ।
ভক্তিমান্ ভক্তসঙ্গে সদা ভজে হরি ॥৫॥

krsnera abhakta-jana-sanga parihari’
bhaktiman bhakta-sange sada bhaje hari [5]

bhaktiman–The devoted parihari’–leave sanga–the association jana–of persons [who are] abhakta–non-devotees krsnera–of Krishna [and] sada–always bhaje–serve hari–the Lord sange–in the association bhakta–of the devotees. [5]

The devoted leave the association of persons who are not devotees of Krishna and always serve the Lord in the association of the devotees.

কৃষ্ণভক্ত যাহা করে তদনুসরণে ।
ভক্তিমান্ আচরয় জীবনে মরণে ॥৬॥

krsna-bhakta yaha kare tad anusarane
bhaktiman acharaya jivane marane [6]

bhaktiman–The devoted acharaya–act anusarane–in accordance [with] tad–that yaha–which bhakta–the devotees krsna–of Krishna kare–do, jivane–in life [and] marane–in death. [6]

The devoted follow what the devotees of Krishna do, in life and in death.

এই ছয় জন হয় ভক্তি-অধিকারী ।
বিশ্বের মঙ্গল করে ভক্তি পরচারি’ ॥৭॥

ei chaya jana haya bhakti-adhikari
visvera mangala kare bhakti parachari’ [7]

ei–These chaya–six [types of] jana–people haya–are adhikari–qualified bhakti–for devotion, [and] mangala kare–they uplift visvera–the world parachari’–by propagating bhakti–devotion. [7]

These six types of people are qualified for devotion, and they uplift the world by propagating devotion.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Remaining indifferent to all the practices, principles, and topics of interest that exist related to the pursuits of jnan, karma, and anyabhilas, and engaging exclusively in the practice of devotion is utsaha.

ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh
(Srimad Bhagavad-gita: 2.69)

[“Those who have full self-control are awake in that which is night for all beings, and all beings are awake in that which is night for the sages who see.”]

“Devotion to the Lord is the soul’s one and only aim of life.” This is nischaya. “Conviction in any of the three paths of jnan, karma, or anyabhilas cannot produce any good; the soul should follow the path of devotion exclusively.” Such firm conception is nischaya.

“The three paths of jnan, karma, or anyabhilas make the soul restless. The path of devotion is the only steady path for the pure soul.” Such firm conviction is dhairya. “The path of devotion will never cause anyone any harm.” Such conception is dhairya.

ye ’nye ’ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah
aruhya krchchhrena param padam tatah
patanty adho ’nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah
tatha na te madhava tavakah kvachid
bhrasyanti margat tvayi baddha-sauhrdah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 10.2.32–3)

[“O lotus-eyed Lord, those who consider themselves liberated but are devoid of devotion to You have impure intelligence. They ascend to the supreme abode with great difficulty but then fall down from there because they have no regard for Your feet. Your devotees, however, O Lord, who are bound by affection for You, never fall from the path.”]

khanda khanda hai’ deha yaya yadi prana
tabu ami vadane na chhadi hari-nama
(Sri Chaitanya-Bhagavat: Adi-khanda, 16.94)

[Srila Haridas Thakur: “Even if this body is cut into pieces and I breathe my last, I will never stop chanting the Name of the Lord.”]

Understanding that all the duties prescribed for jnanis and karmis are distinct from service to Krishna, remaining indifferent to them, and engaging in the practices of devotion is tat-tat-karma-pravartana. Performing the activities that are appropriate for one’s own stage amongst the three stages of devotees and not making a show of performing the activities meant for a stage different from the one in which one is situated is tat-tat-karma-pravartana.

Understanding that jnanis, karmis, and anyabhilasis are all materialistic fools and avoiding their association is sanga-tyaga. Only the association of devotees is desirable. Jnanis and other nondevotees do not honour those who associate with devotees. So, let all one’s efforts to obtain honour from seekers of enjoyment [karmis] and seekers of liberation [jnanis] be gone. One should not maintain any connection with such persons whatsoever.

In seekers of liberation, the conditioned ego is predominant, and in their endeavour to overcome their conditioning, they engage in transitory practices. The thirst of seekers of enjoyment is similarly only temporary, and there is no need to even mention the anyabhilasis in this regard. We should avoid these three types of transitory egotists and follow the conduct of the devoted sadhus who always remain in the shelter of the Name. The pursuits of karma, jnan, and anyabhilas are never steps on the path of devotion.

jnana-vairagyadi bhaktira kabhu nahe anga
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.141)

[“Knowledge and renunciation are never limbs of devotion.”]

These three paths, separate from devotion, are unreal, that is, non-eternal.

yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akinchana
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
manorathenasati dhavato bahih
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 5.18.12)

[“All the gods and all virtues reside within those who have unconditional devotion to the Lord. Where are the virtues of non-devotees of the Lord who wander desirously in search of temporary external ends?”]

Thus, only the practice of devotion is sadhu-vrtti, and only following the sadhus is the path of devotion.

Enthusiasm for Krishna’s service, conviction in Krishna’s service, steadiness in Krishna’s service, engaging in activities for the purpose of Krishna’s service, avoiding the association of nondevotees of Krishna, and following the devotees of Krishna—devotion develops by engaging in these six practices.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
bhajane utsaha bhaktite visvasa
prema-labhe dhairya-dhana
bhakti-anukula karma-pravartane
asat-sanga-visarjana [1]

bhakti-sadachara ei chhaya guna
nahila amara, natha!
kemane bhajiba tomara charana
chhadiya mayara satha [2]

O Lord! Enthusiasm for devotional practice, conviction in devotion, the wealth of perseverance in attaining divine love, engagement in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejection of bad association, proper devotional behaviour—I have never had these six qualities. O Lord! How shall I serve Your feet and give up connection with Maya?

garhita achare rahilama maji’
na karinu sadhu-sanga
laye sadhu-vesa ane upadesi
e bada mayara ranga [3]

I have remained immersed in condemnable behaviour and never associated with the sadhus. Still, I wear the dress of a sadhu and instruct others. This is a great trick of Maya.

e hena dasaya ahaituki krpa
tomara paiba, hari!
sri-guru-asraye dakiba tomaya
kabe va minati kari’ [4]

In this condition, I will receive only Your unconditional mercy. O Lord! When will I, under the shelter of Sri Guru, humbly call out to You?

Verse Four

ददाति प्रतिगृह्णाति गुह्यमाख्याति पृछ्छ्हति ।
भुङ्क्ते भोजयते चैव षड्विधं प्रीतिलक्षणम् ॥४॥

dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prchchhati
bhunkte bhojayate chaiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam [4]

dadati–Giving, pratigrhnati–accepting, guhyam akhyati–speaking confidentially, prchchhati–asking, bhunkte–eating, cha–and bhojayate–feeding— [these are] eva–certainly sad–the six vidham–types laksanam–of characteristics priti–of love.

Giving and accepting gifts,
discussing and enquiring about confidential matters,
and giving and partaking of foods
are the six characteristics of love.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

অসৎসঙ্গ ত্যজি’ সাধুসঙ্গ কর ভাই ।
প্রীতির লক্ষণ ছয় বিচারি’ সদাই ॥১॥

asat-sanga tyaji’ sadhu-sanga kara bhai
pritira laksana chhaya vichari’ sadai [1]

bhai–Brother, tyaji’–give up asat–bad sanga–association [and] sanga kara–associate sadhu–with the sadhus, [and] sadai–always vichari’–observe chhaya–the six laksana–characteristics pritira–of love. [1]

Brother, give up bad association, associate with the sadhus, and always engage in the six exchanges of love.

দান গ্রহ স্ব-স্ব-গুহ্য জিজ্ঞাসা বর্ণন ।
ভুঞ্জন ভোজনদান সঙ্গের লক্ষণ ॥২॥

dana-graha sva-sva-guhya jijnasa varnana
bhunjana bhojana-dana sangera laksana [2]

dana–Giving [and] graha–accepting [gifts], jijnasa–asking [about and] varnana–describing sva-sva–personal [and] guhya–confidential [matters, and] bhunjana–eating [and] dana–giving bhojana–food [are] laksana–the characteristics sangera–of association. [2]

Giving and accepting gifts, asking about and describing confidential matters, and eating and distributing food are the characteristics of such association.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Association with non-devotees is unfavourable to devotion and should therefore be rejected. The association of pure devotees, which purifies the effects of association with non-devotees, is necessary for persons engaged in devotional practice. Love, in the form of association with sadhus that is nourishing to devotion, is prescribed in this fourth verse. Lovingly offering devotees things that are necessary for devotees, accepting things given by devotees, speaking about confidential matters with devotees, asking devotees about confidential matters, eating food given by devotees, and feeding devotees—these are the six characteristics of real love. Through them, one should serve the sadhus.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

দ্রব্যের প্রদান আর আদান করিলে ।
গোপনীয় বাক্যব্যয় আর জিজ্ঞাসিলে ॥১॥
ভোজন করিলে আর ভোজ্য খাওয়াইলে ।
প্রীতির লক্ষণ হয় যবে দুই মিলে ॥২॥

dravyera pradana ara adana karile
gopaniya vakya-vyaya ara jijnasile [1]
bhojana karile ara bhojya khaoyaile
pritira laksana haya yabe dui mile [2]

laksana–The characteristics pritira–of love haya–appear yabe–when dui–two [devotees] mile–meet, karile–engage pradana–in giving ara–and adana–acceptance dravyera–of articles, vakya-vyaya–speaking ara–and jijnasile–enquiring [about] gopaniya–confidential matters, [and] bhojana karile–eating ara–and bhojya khaoyaile–feeding [one another]. [1–2]

Love is expressed when two devotees meet, give and accept articles, speak and enquire about confidential matters, and eat and feed one another.

ভক্তজন সহ প্রীতি সঙ্গ ছয় এই ।
অভক্তে অপ্রীতি করে ভাগ্যবান্ যেই ॥৩॥

bhakta-jana saha priti sanga chhaya ei
abhakta apriti kare bhagyavan yei [3]

ei–These [are the] chhaya–six [types of] priti–loving sanga–association saha–with bhakta-jana–devotees. [Those] yei–who [are] bhagyavan–fortunate apriti kare–do not express [such] love abhakta–towards non-devotees. [3]

These are the six types of loving association with devotees. Those who are fortunate do not express such love towards nondevotees.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

The characterisitcs of love have been described to illustrate the subject of association. Illusionists, that is, seekers of liberation; enjoyers of the fruits of their actions, that is seekers of prosperity and materialists, and anyabhilasis—if one develops affection for these three groups, then one’s devotion is destroyed by the faults produced by their association. One should not give advice, articles, or anything else to these three groups; giving the Name of the Lord to those who have no faith is an offence, and if one accepts advice regarding liberation or enjoyment from them, one will develop affection for them. One should not advise them about the service of Krishna. Thakur Narottam (Pbc: 9.19) said,

apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha

[“Do not speak here and there about your service to the Lord.”]

They do not need to hear about confidential secrets because those who oppose the Lord are self-destructive. One should not eat anything that has been touched by any of them. If one does, then one has to take in some part of their tendency to enjoy matter separately from Krishna.

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile nahe krsnera smarana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 6.278)

[“If you eat materialistic people’s food, your mind becomes contaminated, and if your mind is contaminated, you cannot remember Krishna.”]

One should not feed these three types of materialists. Mutual affection increases by the acts of both feeding and eating. When souls develop affection for persons who are loving and like-minded, then they develop in those respects. The practices of accepting and giving articles, speaking and hearing about confidential topics, and eating and feeding should be given up with persons who are not like-minded.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
dana, pratigraha, mitho gupta-katha,
bhaksana, bhojana-dana
sangera laksana— ei chhaya haya
ihate bhaktira prana [1]

O Lord! Giving and accepting gifts, conversing about confidential matters, and eating and distributing food—these are the six characteristics of association. Within them is the spirit of devotion.

tattva na bujhiye jnane va ajnane
asate e saba kari’
bhakti harainu samsari ha-inu
sudure rahile hari [2]

Not understanding this truth, and knowingly or unknowingly associating with non-devotees in all these ways, I have lost devotion and become a worldly person. You have thus remained far away from me, O Lord!

krsna-bhakta-jane ei sanga-laksane
adara kariba yabe
bhakti-mahadevi amara hrdaya-
asane basibe tabe [3]

When I will honour Krishna’s devotees through these six forms of association, then the great goddess of devotion will sit on the throne of my heart.

yosit-sangi jana krsnabhakta ara
duhu̐-sanga parihari’
tava bhakta-jana sanga anuksana
kabe va ha-ibe hari [4]

O Lord! When will I abandon the association of both those who associate with the opposite sex and non-devotees, and constantly associate with Your devotees?

Verse Five

कृष्णेति यस्य गिरि तं मनसाद्रियेत
दीक्षास्ति चेत्प्रणतिभिश्च भजन्तमीशम् ।
शुश्रूषया भजनविज्ञमनन्यमन्य-
निन्दादिशून्यहृदमीप्सितसङ्गलब्ध्या ॥५॥

krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti chet pranatibhis cha bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya-
nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya [5]

adriyeta–Honour manasa–with the mind tam–those yasya–from whose giri–mouth krsna iti–the Name of Krishna [appears]. [adriyeta–Honour them] pranatibhis–with obeisance chet–if asti–they are diksa–initiated cha–and bhajantam–serve isam–the Lord. [adriyeta–Honour] susrusaya–with service vijnam–an expert bhajana–in devotion, [who is] ananyam–exclusive, [whose] hrdam–heart [is] sunya–free ninda–from criticising anya–others adi–and so forth, [and whose] sanga–association [is] ipsita–the most desirable labdhya–to attain. [5]

Honour within the mind
those who chant Krishna’s Name,
honour with obeisance
those who are initiated and serve the Lord,
and honour with service
those who are expert in devotion,
who are exclusively devoted,
whose hearts are free from the duality
of criticising and praising others,
and who are the most desirable association.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

অসৎ লক্ষণহীন গায় কৃষ্ণনাম ।
মনেতে আদর তাঁতে কর অবিশ্রাম ॥১॥

asat laksana-hina gaya krsna-nama
manete adara ta̐te kara avisrama [1]

avisrama–Always adara kara–honour manete–within the mind ta̐te–those [who are] hina–free asat–from bad laksana–qualities [and] gaya–chant nama–the Name krsna–of Krishna. [1]

Always honour within the mind those who are free from bad qualities and chant the Name of Krishna.

লব্ধদীক্ষ কৃষ্ণ ভজে যেই মহাজন ।
প্রণমি’ আদর তাঁরে কর সর্ব্বক্ষণ ॥২॥

labdha-diksa krsna bhaje yei mahajana
pranami’ adara ta̐re kara sarva-ksana [2]

sarva–At all ksana–times, adara kara–honour pranami’–by offering obeisance tare mahajana–great souls yei–who [have] labdha–received diksa–initiation [and] bhaje–serve krsna–Krishna. [2]

Always honour with obeisance great souls who are initiated and serve Krishna.

ভজনচতুর যেই তাঁরে কর সেবা ।
কৃষ্ণময় সবে দেখে সবৈষ্ণব যেবা ॥৩॥
শত্রু মিত্র সদসৎ কিছু না বিচারে ।
সর্ব্বোত্তম সঙ্গ বলি’ সেবহ তাঁহারে ॥৪॥

bhajana-chatura yei ta̐ra kara seva
krsnamaya sabe dekhe suvaisnava yeba [3] satru mitra sad asat kichhu na vichare
sarvottama sanga bali’ sevaha ta̐hare [4]

seva kara–Serve ta̐ra–those yei–who [are] chatura–expert bhajana–in devotion. bali’–Consider sanga–the association suvaisnava–of [such] great Vaisnavas, yeba–who dekhe–see [that] sabe–everything [is] krsnamaya–full of Krishna [and] vichare na–do not conceive kichhu–at all satru–of enemies [and] mitra–friends [or] sad–good [and] asat–bad, [to be] uttama–the best sarva–of all [and] sevaha–serve ta̐hare–them. [3–4]

Serve those who are expert in devotion. Consider the association of such great Vaisnavas, who see Krishna within everything and do not conceive of enemies and friends or good and bad, to be the best of all and serve them.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.2.46)

[“Those who love the Lord, befriend the devotees, are merciful to the innocent, and ignore the inimical are intermediate devotees.”]

According to this teaching, as long as a practitioner remains in the stage of an intermediate devotee, they should serve the devotees. Because advanced devotees see Krishna’s presence everywhere, they make no distinctions between friends and enemies, devotees and non-devotees, and so on. Intermediate devotees engage in service. In this fifth verse, their behaviour towards devotees has been prescribed. Intermediate devotees should keep away from those who associate with women and other nondevotees, and thus remain free from their faults. But because less intelligent beginners lack understanding of their relationship of the Lord (sambandha-jnan), intermediate devotees should know them to be innocent and be merciful to them. Upon hearing the Name of Krishna from their mouths, intermediate devotees should honour them within the mind according to their relationship with them. If initiated persons (beginners) engage in the service of the Lord, then intermediate devotees should honour them with obeisance. Intermediate devotees should gratefully honour great devotees who are free from the tendency to criticise others, knowing them to be most desirable association. Serving the Vaisnavas in this way is the source of all perfection.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

কৃষ্ণ সহ কৃষ্ণনাম অভিন্ন জানিয়া ।
অপ্রাকৃত একমাত্র সাধন মানিয়া ॥১॥
যেই নাম লয় নামে দীক্ষিত হইয়া ।
আদর করিবে মনে স্বগোষ্ঠী জানিয়া ॥২॥

krsna saha krsna-nama abhinna janiya
aprakrta eka-matra sadhana maniya [1] yei nama laya name diksita ha-iya
adara karibe mane sva-gosthi janiya [2]

[Those] yei–who janiya–know krsna–Krishna [to be] abhinna–nondifferent saha–from nama–the Name krsna–of Krishna, maniya–follow aprakrta–spiritual sadhana–practices eka-matra–exclusively, [and] laya–take nama–the Name, ha-iya–being diksita–initiated name–into the Name— adara karibe–honour [them] mane–within [the] mind, janiya–knowing [them to be] sva-gosthi–members of [your] own family. [1–2]

Those who know Krishna and His Name to be nondifferent, follow spiritual practices exclusively, chant the Name, and are initiated—honour them mentally and know them to be members of your own family.

নামের ভজনে যেই কৃষ্ণসেবা করে ।
অপ্রাকৃত ব্রজে বসি’ সর্ব্বদা অন্তরে ॥৩॥
মধ্যম বৈষ্ণব জানি’ ধর তাঁর পায় ।
আনুগত্য কর তাঁঁর মনে আর কায় ॥৪॥

namera bhajane yei krsna-seva kare
aprakrta vraje vasi’ sarvada antare [3] madhyama vaisnava jani’ dhara ta̐ra paya
anugatya kara ta̐ra mane ara kaya [4]

[Those] yei–who seva kare–serve krsna–Krishna bhajane–by serving namera–the Name [and] sarvada–always vasi’–reside [in] aprakrta–supramundane vraje–Vraja antare–within— jani’–know [them to be] madhyama–intermediate vaisnava–devotees [and] dhara–grasp ta̐ra–their paya–feet. anugatya kara–Be subservient ta̐ra–to them mane–with mind ara–and kaya–body. [3–4]

Those who serve Krishna by serving the Name and always reside in supramundane Vraja within their heart—know them to be intermediate devotees and grasp their feet. Be subservient to them mentally and physically.

নামের ভজনে যেই স্বরূপ লভিয়া ।
অন্য বস্তু নাহি দেখে কৃষ্ণ তেয়াগিয়া ॥৫॥
কৃষ্ণেতর সম্বন্ধ না পাইয়া জগতে ।
সর্ব্বজনে সমবুদ্ধি করে কৃষ্ণ-ব্রতে ॥৬॥
তাদৃশ ভজনবিজ্ঞে জানিয়া অভীষ্ট ।
কায়মনোবাক্যে সেব’ হইয়া নিবিষ্ট ॥৭॥

namera bhajane yei svarupa labhiya
anya vastu nahi dekhe krsna teyagiya [5] krsnetara sambandha na paiya jagate
sarva-jane sama-buddhi kare krsna-vrate [6] tadrsa bhajana-vijne janiya abhista
kaya-mano-vakye seva’ ha-iya nivista [7]

[Those] yei–who labhiya–have realised [their] svarupa–true self bhajane–by serving namera–the Name, nahi–do not teyagiya–cast aside krsna– Krishna [and] dekhe–see vastu–anything anya–else, paiya na–do not accept [any] sambandha–connection [with anything] jagate–in [this] world [that is] itara–unrelated krsna–to Krishna, buddhi kare–consider sarva-jane–everyone [to be] sama–equally vrate–engaged [in service] krsna–to Krishna— janiya–know tadrsa–such vijne–experts bhajana–in devotion [to be] abhista–desirable [and] nivista ha-iya–intently seva’–serve [them with your] kaya–body, mano–mind, [and] vakye–words. [5–7]

Those who have realised their true self by serving the Name, do not see anything other than Krishna in this world, do not accept any connection with anything in this world that is unrelated to Krishna, and consider everyone to be equally engaged in Krishna’s service—know such experts in devotion to be most desirable and intently serve them with your body, mind, and words.

শুশ্রুষা করিবে তাঁরে সর্ব্বতোভাবেতে ।
কৃষ্ণের চরণ লাভ হয় তাহা হতে ॥৮॥

susrusa karibe ta̐re sarvatobhavete
krsnera charana labha haya taha hate [8]

susrusa karibe–Serve ta̐re–them sarvatobhavete–in all respects, [and] hate–through taha–that labha haya–reach krsnera–Krishna’s charana–feet. [8]

Serve them in all respects and thereby reach Krishna’s feet.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih
(Sri Bhakti-sandarbha: 283)

According to the purport of this verse, the Vaisnavas say that initiation (diksa) is the process by which desire for material enjoyment is given up and supramundane experience is realised. The Name of Krishna and Krishna are one supramundane truth, and the urge to speak of anything unrelated to Krishna cannot remain within those who exclusively take shelter of Krishna’s Name and chant the Name understanding that the Name, above all else, is the object of service and worship for fortunate souls. We should honour such devotees surrendered exclusively to the Name with the mind. The Name exists within the Pancharatrika mantra, and therein it is prescribed to take shelter of the Name with realisation of the soul’s relationship with the Lord. No one has any chance of becoming a servant of the Lord except those who are surrendered to Krishna’s Name. In the Lord’s instructions to Sri Sanatan in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 22.67–8), we find,

yahara komala sraddha se ‘kanistha’ jana
krame krame te̐ho bhakta ha-ibe ‘uttama’
rati-prema-taratamye bhakta tara-tama

[“Those whose faith is soft are beginners. Gradually, they will become advanced. There is gradation amongst devotees according to the gradation in their attachment and love.”]

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 15.105–6, 11):

satyaraja bale, “vaisnava chiniba kemane?
ke vaisnava, kaha ta̐ra samanya laksane”
prabhu kahe, ”ya̐ra mukhe suni eka-bara
krsna-nama, sei pujya, srestha sabakara
ataeva ya̐ra mukhe eka krsna-nama
sei ta’ vaisnava, kariha ta̐hara sammana”

[“Satyaraj Khan asked, ‘How can I recognise a Vaisnava? Who is a Vaisnava? Please tell me their general characteristics.’ The Lord answered, ‘Those from whose mouth we once hear Krishna’s Name are worshippable. They are the best of all. Therefore, those in whose mouth Krishna’s Name has once appeared are Vaisnavas. Honour them.’”]

In Srimad Bhagavatam (11.2.47):

archayam eva haraye pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu chanyesu sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

[“Those who faithfully worship the Lord in the Deity but not in His devotees or others are beginner devotees.”]

We should honour a devotee who serves Krishna under the shelter of His Name by offering obeisance. Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 16.72):

krsna-nama nirantara ya̐hara vadane
sei vaisnava-srestha, bhaja ta̐hara charane

[“Those in whose mouth the Name of Krishna always appears are great Vaisnavas. You should worship their feet.”]

In the Lord’s teachings to Sri Sanatan (Cc: Madhya, 22.66, 64):

sastra-yukti nahi jane drdha, sraddhavan
‘madhyama-adhikari’ sei mahabhagyavan

[“Those who do not firmly understand scriptural reasoning but have faith are intermediate devotees. They are very fortunate.”]

sraddhavan jana haya bhakti-adhikari
‘uttama’, ‘madhyama’, ‘kanistha’—sraddha-anusari

[“Those who have faith are qualified for devotion. According to their faith, they are advanced, intermediate, or a beginner.”]

In Srimad Bhagavatam (11.2.46):

isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah

[“Those who love the Lord, befriend the devotees, are merciful to the innocent, and ignore the inimical are intermediate devotees.”]

Because intermediate devotees have increased affection for the Name, they constantly worship the Name with intense affection through the sacrifice of chanting and develop divine love for the Lord. By chanting with constant affection for the supramundane Name, they can understand that they themselves are supramundane. They help devotees with comparatively less taste understand their supramundane nature, and they avoid the association of persons who have no affection for the Lord, knowing them to be entirely mundane because they have no realisation of their supramundane nature.

Devotees who have attained self-realisation (svarup-siddhi) through service to the Name, who through meditation have become expert in the process of serving within the Lord’s Pastimes during the eight parts of the day, who are unalloyed, who have no experience of anything other than Krishna because they don’t recognise the separate existence of any visible object without its connection to Krishna, and who have no awareness of the duality of praise and criticism—we should know such advanced devotees to be the best association amongst all like-minded and loving devotees and serve them.

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 16.74–5):

ya̐hara darsane mukhe aise krsna-nama
ta̐hare janiha tumi ’vaisnava-pradhana’

[“Know those by whose presence the Name of Krishna appears in the mouths of others to be advanced Vaisnavas.”]

krama kari’ kahe prabhu ’vaisnava’-laksana
’vaisnava’, ’vaisnavatara’, ara ’vaisnavatama’

[“In a gradation, the Lord described the characteristics of Vaisnavas, referring to them as Vaisnavas, intermediate Vaisnavas, and advanced Vaisnavas.”]

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Madhya, 22.64–5):

sraddhavan jana haya bhakti-adhikari
‘uttama’, ‘madhyama’, ‘kanistha’—sraddha-anusari

[“Those who have faith are qualified for devotion. According to their faith, they are advanced, intermediate, or a beginner.”]

sastra-yuktye sunipuna, drdha-sraddha ya̐ra
‘uttama-adhikari’ sei taraye samsara

[“Those who are expert in scriptural reasoning and have firm faith are advanced devotees. They liberate the world.”]

Srimad Bhagavatam (11.2.45):

sarva-bhutesu yah pasyed bhagavad-bhavam atmanah
bhutani bhagavaty atmany esa bhagavatottamah

[“Those who see the presence of the Supreme Lord within all beings and all beings within the Supreme Lord are advanced devotees.”]

(1) By seeing a connection with Krishna within all objects other than Krishna, advanced devotees have equal vision. Like intermediate devotees, they are devoted to Krishna’s service, and like beginners, they are devoted exclusively to the Name. (2) Intermediate devotees have love for Krishna. They offer service, obeisance, and mental honour to the three classes of devotees. They try to turn conditioned souls towards Krishna, and they ignore those who are inimical to Krishna. Thus, they do not have equal external and internal vision of all things like advanced devotees. If they imaginatively imitate the practices of advanced devotees, then deceitfulness can arise within them, and they can fall down. (3) Beginners, understanding that all good is attained through the Name of Krishna, pursue their own good. They do not, however, fully realise that the seat of an intermediate devotee is higher than theirs and that they need to reach that stage in the future. Intermediate devotees, like beginners, are exclusively devoted to the Name. They constantly chant Krishna’s Name, and gradually attain liberation from the hands of anarthas in the form of their own mundane sentiments simply by chanting the Name instead of performing supramundane service [like advanced devotees]. Beginners with the mentality of being a Guru (Guru-abhiman) often consider themselves advanced devotees and fall down.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
sanga-dosa-sunya diksitadiksita
yadi tava nama gaya
manase adara kariba ta̐hare
jani’ nija-jana taya [1]

O Lord! If those who are free from bad association, be they initiated or yet to be initiated, sing Your Name, I will honour them within my heart, knowing them to be Your own.

diksita ha-iya bhaje tuya pada
ta̐hare pranati kari
ananya-bhajane vijna yei jana
ta̐hare seviba hari! [2]

I will offer obeisance to anyone who has been initiated and serves Your feet, and I will serve anyone who is expert in unalloyed devotion, O Lord!

sarva-bhute sama ye bhaktera mati
ta̐hara darsane mani
apanake dhanya se sanga paiya
charitartha ha-ilu̐ jani [3]

I will consider myself fortunate to meet a devotee who is equally disposed towards all beings. Attaining their association, I will consider myself successful.

niskapata-mati vaisnavera prati
ei dharma kabe paba
kabe e samsara- sindhu-para haye
tava vraja-pure yaba [4]

When will I attain this sincere disposition towards Your devotees? When will I cross over this ocean of material existence and enter Your abode of Vraja?

Verse Six

दृष्टैः स्वभावजनितैर्वपुषश्च दोषैर्
न प्राकृतत्वमिह भक्तजनस्य पश्येत् ।
गङ्गाम्भसां न खलु बुद्बुदफेनपङ्कैर्
ब्रह्मद्रवत्वमपगछ्छ्हति नीरधर्म्मैः ॥६॥

drstaih svabhava-janitair vapusas cha dosair
na prakrtatvam iha bhakta-janasya pasyet
gangambhasam na khalu budbuda-phena-pankair
brahma-dravatvam apagachchhati nira-dharmaih [6]

drstaih–Because [you have] vision dosaih–of the faults svabhava-janitaih–within the inborn nature cha–and vapusah–the body bhakta-janasya–of a devotee iha–in the material world, na pasyet–do not see [them to be] prakrtatvam–mundane. ambhasam–The water ganga– of the Ganges na khalu–never apagachchhati–loses [its nature as] brahma–spiritual dravatvam–liquid dharmaih–because of the nature nira–of water— [because of] budbuda–bubbles, phena–foam, [and] pankaih–mud. [6]

Do not consider devotees in this world mundane
because of faults in their nature and body.
The water of the Ganges never loses its spiritual nature
because of bubbles, foam, and mud, which are natural in water.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

নীরধর্ম্মগত ফেন-পঙ্কাদি-সংযুক্ত ।
গঙ্গাজল ব্রহ্মতা হইতে নহে চ্যুত ॥১॥

nira-dharma-gata phena-pankadi-samyukta
ganga-jala brahmata ha-ite nahe chyuta [1]

ganga–Ganges jala–water [which] samyukta–contains phena–foam, panka–mud, adi–and so on, [which are] gata–inherent dharma–in the nature nira–of water, nahe–is not chyuta–deprived ha-ite–of brahmata–the state of being spiritual. [1]

Ganges water does not lose its spiritual nature because it contains foam, mud, and so on, which are natural in water.

সেইরূপ শুদ্ধভক্ত জড়দেহগত ।
স্বভাব-বপুব দোষে না হয় প্রাকৃত ॥২॥

sei-rupa suddha-bhakta jada-deha-gata
svabhava-vapura dose na haya prakrta [2]

sei-rupa–Similarly, suddha–pure bhakta–devotees haya–are na–not prakrta–mundane dose–because of faults [within their] svabhava–nature [and] vapura–form [that are] gata–inherent jada–in the material deha–body. [2]

Similarly, pure devotees are not mundane because of faults within their nature and form that are natural in the material body.

অতএব দেখিয়া ভক্তের কদাকার ।
স্বভাবজ বর্ণ কার্কশ্যাদি দোষ আর ॥৩॥
প্রাকৃত বলিয়া ভক্তে কভু না নিন্দিবে ।
শুদ্ধভক্তি দেখি’ তাঁরে সর্ব্বদা বন্দিবে ॥৪॥

ataeva dekhiya bhaktera kadakara
svabhavaja varna karkasyadi dosa ara [3] prakrta baliya bhakte kabhu na nindibe
suddha-bhakti dekhi’ ta̐re sarvada vandibe [4]

ataeva–Therefore, dekhiya–upon seeing dosa–the faults svabhavaja–produced by the nature ara–and varna–class bhaktera–of a devotee— kadakara–ugliness, karkasya–roughness, adi–and so on, kabhu na–never baliya–consider bhakte–a devotee prakrta–mundane [and] nindibe–criticise [them. Rather,] dekhi’–see [their] suddha–pure bhakti–devotion [and] sarvada–always vandibe–revere ta̐re–them. [3–4]

Therefore, upon seeing the faults produced by a devotee’s nature or class, such as ugliness or roughness, never consider a devotee mundane and criticise them. Rather, see their pure devotion and always revere them.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

One should not consider pure devotees to be mundane after seeing faults within them. This is what is being taught in the sixth verse. There is no possibility of pure devotees keeping bad association or making offences to the Name. They may, however, have some bodily or innate faults. Bodily faults include being ugly, diseased, deformed, or unsightly because of disease or other causes. Innate faults include being low-class, rough, lazy, and so on. As Ganges water does not lose its nature of being liquid spirit because of mud, bubbles, and foam, which are natural in water, so self-realised Vaisnavas are not contaminated by any mundane fault resulting from their birth or the inherent transformations of the material body. Therefore, if persons practising devotion consider pure Vaisnavas condemnable because they see such faults within them, then they become offenders of the Name.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

শুদ্ধকৃষ্ণভক্ত তাঁর স্বাভাবিক দোষ ।
আর তাঁর দেহ-দোষে না করিহ রোষ ॥১॥

suddha-krsna-bhakta ta̐ra svabhavika dosa
ara ta̐ra deha-dose na kariha rosa [1]

rosa kariha na–Do not become angry [with] suddha–pure bhakta–devotees krsna–of Krishna dose–because of faults [within] ta̐ra–their svabhavika–nature ara–or dosa–faults [within] ta̐ra–their deha–body. [1]

Do not become angry with pure devotees of Krishna because of faults within their nature or body.

প্রাকৃত-দর্শনে দোষ যদি দৃষ্ট হয় ।
দর্শনেতে অপরাধ জানিবে নিশ্চয় ॥২॥

prakrta-darsane dosa yadi drsta haya
darsanete aparadha janibe nischaya [2]

yadi–If, [with] prakrta–material darsane–vision, [such] dosa–faults haya–are drsta–seen, janibe–know nischaya–for certain [that there is] aparadha–offence darsanete–within [such] vision. [2]

If, with material vision, such faults are seen, then know for certain that there is offence within such vision.

হীন-অধিকারী হয়ে মহতেব দোষ ।
সিদ্ধভক্তে হীনজ্ঞানে না পাবে সন্তোষ ॥৩॥

hina-adhikari haye mahatera dosa
siddha-bhakte hina-jnane na pabe santosa [3]

[If someone,] haye–being [of] hina–lower adhikari–qualification, [sees] dosa–faults mahatera–within a great soul, [then] pabe na–they do not find santosa–satisfaction [in having] hina–a lower jnane–conception [of that] siddha–realised bhakte–devotee. [3]

If someone of lower qualification sees faults within a higher devotee, they never find satisfaction in having a lower conception of that realised devotee.

ব্রহ্মদ্রব গঙ্গোদক-প্রবাহে যখন ।
বুদ্-বুদ-ফেন-পঙ্ক-জলের মিলন ॥৪॥
অন্যজন গঙ্গালাভে হেয় কভু নয় ।
তদ্রুপ ভক্তের মল কভু নাহি রয় ॥৫॥

brahma-drava gangodaka-pravahe yakhana
budbuda-phena-panka-jalera milana [4]
anya-jala ganga-labhe heya kabhu naya
tad rupa bhaktera mala kabhu nahi raya [5]

yakhana–When [there is] milana–a meeting jalera–of water [containing] budbuda–bubbles, phena–foam, [and] panka–mud pravahe–with the current udaka–of the water ganga–of the Ganges, [which is] drava–liquid brahma–spirit, ganga–the Ganges kabhu naya–is never heya–contaminated labhe–by mixing [with the] anya–other jala–water. tad rupa–Similarly, mala–contamination bhaktera–within a devotee kabhu nahi–never raya–exists. [4–5]

When water containing bubbles, foam, and mud enters a stream of Ganges water, which is liquid spirit, the Ganges is never contaminated by mixing with the other water. Similarly, a devotee is never contaminated.

সাধুদোষ-দ্রষ্টা যেই কৃষ্ণ-আজ্ঞা ত্যজি’ ।
গর্ব্বে ভক্তিভ্রষ্ট হৈয়া মরে অধো মজি’ ॥৬॥

sadhu-dosa-drasta yei krsna-ajna tyaji’
garve bhakti-bhrasta haiya mare adho maji’ [6]

[Those] yei–who [are] drasta–seers dosa–of faults sadhu–within sadhus tyaji’–disregard krsna–Krishna’s ajna–instructions, garve–out of pride bhrasta haiya–deviate bhakti–from devotion, maji’–fall adho–down, [and] mare–die. [6]

Those who see faults within sadhus disregard Krishna’s instructions, out of pride deviate from devotion, fall down, and die.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

We should not look at a devotee with mundane vision just because there are faults within a devotee’s nature and body. Although bubbles, foam, and mud mix with the water of the Ganges, the water of the Ganges does not lose its nature as liquid spirit under the effect of water’s nature. Similarly, we should not think a devotee lacks devotion because we see mundane faults in them with our mundane vision.

api chet suduracharo bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah
ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvach-chhantim nigachchhati
kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati
(Srimad Bhagavad-gita: 9.30–1)

[“If even a very sinful person serves Me exclusively with devotion, he should be regarded as saintly, for his resolve is perfect. He swiftly becomes a person of virtuous practices and attains constant peace. O son of Kunti, declare to the world that My devotee is never vanquished!”]

Even if a devotee of Krishna does not take birth as a descendant of the Lord or an Acharya, if we do not recognise them as a master of the senses (goswami) and a teacher (prabhu), then we are simply seeing them with mundane vision. A devotee born as a descendant of the Lord or an Acharya and a devotee born in any other lineage are both devotees; we should not see the material faults or qualities of either of their bodies. If we, with worldly vision, conclude that a pure devotee of Krishna is equal to a nondevotee, then we commit offence. If someone who somewhat follows the path of devotion, however, considers themself a devotee and engages in mundane misbehaviour, then they will fall from the path of devotion into the shelter of its sub-branches [jnan, karma, and anyabhilas].

When social or bodily misbehaviour is seen in a pure, exclusive devotee, those who think less of them upon seeing it quickly become offenders of such Vaisnavas. That said, our propensity for devotion is destroyed by the association of those who misbehave according to mundane vision prior to attaining exclusive devotion. If misbehaviour remains within a devotee who is an expert in service, however, those who see that, just by seeing it, become offenders. Therefore, it is forbidden to see devotees within the confines of mundane vision. The presence of such misbehaviour does not destroy exclusive devotion. In the eyes of unintelligent observers, however, it is a great disturbance. Those who do not see pure devotees with mundane vision and instead see their exclusive service quickly become free from such vision of misbehaviour in an advanced devotee and attain for themselves the status of a sadhu.

All Vaisnavas who have taken shelter of the path of devotion fall down if they think devotion to the Lord is confined only to descendants of the Lord (Mahaprabhu and His associates), an Acharya, or a Vaisnava and see, with their mundane vision, faults in the body or nature of devotees. They similarly fall down if they fail to understand the transcendental effects of devotion and with low vision try to subordinate an advanced devotee to an intermediate devotee. If we become maddened with pride in our seminal birth, fail to understand the behaviour of perfected devotees, and commit offences at their feet, devotion cannot remain within us. If we do not understand the behaviour of great, realised souls who have developed taste (ruchi) for the Lord’s service and think that they are fallen, then we commit offences to such Vaisnavas. No soul ever attains good fortune by leering at the behaviour or thinking little of Vaisnava Gurus who are great, realised souls. Therefore, thinking, based on mundane vision, that perfected devotees are simply materially conditioned souls, considering them disciples, and trying to ‘bring them to the proper path’ is an offence to such Vaisnavas. Understanding that there is a difference between practitioners who have not developed taste and perfected devotees, we have to understand one of them to be a disciple and the other to be a Guru. We should not give advice to a Guru, and we should not accept advice from disciples. This should be understood.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
nira-dharma-gata jahnavi-salile
panka-phena drsta haya
tathapi kakhana brahma-drava-dharma
se salila na chhadaya [1]

O Lord! Mud and foam, which are natural in water, are seen in the water of the Ganges. Still, the water of the Ganges does not lose its nature of being liquid spirit.

vaisnava-sarira aprakrta sada
svabhava vapura dharme
kabhu nahe jada tathapi ye ninde
pade se visamadharme [2]

Similarly, the body of a devotee is always supramundane. A Vaisnava is never mundane because of their nature or body. Those who nonetheless criticise a devotee commit a terrible sin.

sei aparadhe yamera yatana
paya jiva avirata
he nanda-nandana! sei aparadhe
yena nahi ha-i hata [3]

For such an offence, souls are perpetually subjected to the punishment of Yamaraj. O Son of Nanda! May I never be ruined by such an offence.

tomara vaisnava vaibhava tomara
amare karuna daya
tabe mora gati habe tava prati
paba tava pada-chhaya [4]

Your devotees are Your expansions. May they be merciful to me. Then, my destiny will lead me towards You, and I will attain the shade of Your feet.

ohe!
vaisnava thakura dayara sagara
e dase karuna kari’
diya pada-chhaya sodha he amaya
tomara charana dhari [1]

O venerable Vaisnava! You are an ocean of mercy. Please be merciful to this servant. Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp hold of your feet.

chhaya vega dami’ chhaya dosa sodhi’
chhaya guna deha’ dase
chhaya sat-sanga deha’ he amare
basechhi sangera ase [2]

Please subdue the six urges within me, purify me of the six faults, and give this servant the six qualities. Please give me the six forms of association*. I have sat before you with the hope of attaining such association.

* The six urges are described in the first verse of Sri Upadesamrta: those of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals. The six faults are described in the second verse of Sri Upadesamrta: over-accumulation, over-endeavour, unnecessary talk, misapplication of rules, association with nondevotees, and fickle-mindedness. The six qualities are described in the third verse of Sri Upadesamrta: enthusiasm, conviction, perseverance, engaging in favourable activities, giving up bad association, and following the conduct of the great souls. The six forms of association are described in the forth verse of Sri Upadesamrta: giving and accepting gifts, discussing and enquiring about confidential matters, and giving and partaking of foods.

ekaki amara nahi paya bala
hari-nama-sankirtane
tumi krpa kari’ sraddha-bindu diya
deha’ krsna-nama-dhane [3]

Alone, I do not find the strength to fully chant the Name of the Lord. Please be merciful and give me a drop of faith; give me the wealth of Krishna’s Name.

krsna se tomara krsna dite para
tomara sakati achhe
ami ta’ kangala ‘krsna’ ‘krsna’ bali’
dhai tava pachhe pachhe [4]

Krishna is yours. You are able to give Krishna; you have that power. I am very poor. Calling out, “Krishna! Krishna!”, I run after you.

Verse Seven

यात्कृष्णनामचरितादिसिताप्यविद्या-
पित्तोपतप्तरसनस्य न रोचिका नु ।
किन्त्वादरादनुदिनं खलु सैव जुष्टा
स्वाद्वी क्रमाद्भवति तद्गदमूलहन्त्री ॥७॥

syat krsna-nama-charitadi-sitapy avidya-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rochika nu
kintv adarad anudinam khalu saiva justa
svadvi kramad bhavati tad-gada-mula-hantri [7]

api–Even sita–the sugar candy krsna–of Sri Krishna’s nama–Name, charita–Pastimes, adi–and so on, na syat–does not become rochika–relishable rasanasya–to a tongue [that is] upatapta–afflicted pitta–by the jaundice avidya–of ignorance. nu–Alas! khalu–Certainly, kintu–however, [when] sah eva–it [is] anudinam–constantly justa–honoured adarat–with faith, [then] kramat–gradually [this candy] bhavati–becomes svadvi–relishable [and] hantri–the remover mula–of the root tad-gada–of the disease. [7]

The sugar candy of Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth
is not relishable to a tongue severely afflicted
by the jaundice of ignorance. Alas!
Certainly, however, when it is constantly honoured with faith,
this candy gradually becomes relishable
and eradicates the disease.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

অবিদ্যা-পিত্তের দোষে দুষ্ট-রসনায় ।
কৃষ্ণসঙ্কীর্ত্তনে রুচি নাহি হয় হায় ॥১॥

avidya pittera dose dusta rasanaya
krsna-sankirtane ruchi nahi haya haya [1]

haya nahi–There is no ruchi–taste sankirtane–for chanting krsna–about Krishna rasanaya–on a tongue [that is] dusta–defiled dose–by the fault pittera–of the jaundice avidya–of ignorance. haya–Alas! [1]

There is no taste for chanting about Krishna on a tongue that is defiled by the jaundice of ignorance. Alas!

সিতপল প্রায় কৃষ্ণকথা অনুদিন ।
আদরে সেবিতে রুচি দেন সমীচীন ॥২॥

sitapala praya krsna-katha anudina
adare sevite ruchi dena samichina [2]

praya–Like sitapala–sugar candy, [however,] anudina–constantly sevite–engaging katha–in discussion krsna–of Krishna adare–with faith dena–produces samichina–genuine ruchi–taste [for Krishna]. [2]

Like sugar candy, however, constantly engaging in discussion of Krishna with faith produces genuine taste for Krishna.

কৃষ্ণকাম্য-বিস্মৃতি অবিদ্যা-গদমূল ।
কৃষ্ণসঙ্কীর্ত্তন-ক্রমে হয় ত’ নির্ম্মূল ॥৩॥

krsna-kamya-vismrti avidya-gada-mula
krsna-sankirtana-krame haya ta’ nirmula [3]

mula–The root gada–of the disease— avidya–ignorance, vismrti–forgetfulness [that] krsna–Krishna [is our] kamya–beloved— haya–is ta’–indeed krame–gradually nirmula–uprooted sankirtana–by chanting krsna–about Krishna. [3]

The root of the disease—ignorance, forgetfulness that Krishna is our beloved—is gradually uprooted by chanting about Krishna.

সেই ক্রমে কৃষ্ণনামাদিতে আস্বাদন ।
অনুদিন রাড়ে রুচি হয় অনুক্ষণ ॥৪॥

sei krame krsna-namadite asvadana
anudina bade, ruchi haya anuksana [4]

sei krame–By that means, asvadana–taste [for] krsna–Krishna’s nama–Name, adite–and so on, bade–increases anudina–day by day; [that] ruchi–taste haya–becomes anuksana–constant. [4]

By chanting, taste for Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, increases day by day and becomes constant.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

In this seventh verse is described the process for serving Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, with knowledge of one’s relationship with the Lord (sambandha-jnan) and the qualities that are nourishing to devotion that were described in the third verse. There is no taste for Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth, on a tongue that is infected with the jaundice of ignorance. If, however, the sugar candy of Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, is honoured constantly with faith, then it cures the disease of ignorance and becomes extremely relishable. Souls, particles within the rays from the sun of the supreme conscious being Krishna, are by nature servants of Krishna. Because of the fault of becoming forgetful of Krishna’s service, souls voluntarily embrace ignorance—unconsciousness, abandon their own nature, and lose taste for Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on. By constantly chanting and remembering Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on, with the grace of the sadhus and Sri Guru, however, souls regain their own nature. To the extent that the soul’s true nature re-emerges, taste for the Name gradually increases. Simultaneously, the soul’s ignorance is destroyed. Here, sugar candy is simply an analogy. Sugar candy at first is not pleasing to a tongue infected with jaundice, but gradually, as it is eaten, the candy becomes tasteful to the extent that the jaundice is cured. Therefore, with great enthusiasm, faith, and perseverance, engage in hearing, chanting, and remembrance of the form, Pastimes, and so forth, that the Name of Krishna reveals.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

কৃষ্ণনাম-রূপ-গুণ-লীলা চতুষ্টয় ।
উপমা মিশ্রির সহ স্বাদ তুল্য হয় ॥১॥

krsna-nama-rupa-guna-lila chatustaya
upama misrira saha svada tulya haya [1]

krsna–Krishna’s nama–Name, rupa–Form, guna–Qualities, [and] lila–Pastimes— [these] chatustaya–four haya–are tulya–comparable, upama–by analogy, saha–to svada–the taste misrira–of sugar candy. [1]

Krishna’s Name, Form, Qualities, and Pastimes are comparable, by analogy, to the taste of sugar candy.

অবিদ্যা পিত্তের তুল্য তাতে জিহ্বা তপ্ত ।
জিহ্বার আস্বাদ-শক্তি তপ্তহেতু সুপ্ত ॥২॥

avidya pittera tulya tate jihva tapta
jihvara asvada-sakti tapta-hetu supta [2]

avidya–Ignorance [is] tulya–comparable pittera–to jaundice tate–by which jihva–the tongue [is] tapta–infected. hetu–Because tapta–of [this] infection, jihvara–the tongue’s sakti–power asvada–to taste [goes] supta–dormant. [2]

Ignorance is comparable to jaundice, which infects the tongue. Because of this infection, the tongue’s power to taste goes dormant.

অপ্রাকৃত-জ্ঞানে যদি লও সেই নাম ।
নিরন্তর নাম লৈলে ছাড়ে পীড়াধাম ॥৩॥

aprakrta-jnane yadi lao sei nama
nirantara nama laile chhade pida-dhama [3]

yadi–If lao–you take sei–the nama–Name jnane–with the understanding [that the Name is] aprakrta–supramundane, [and] laile–if you take nama–the Name nirantara–constantly, [then] chhade–you will be able to get rid dhama–of the cause pida–of this disease. [3]

If you chant the Name with the understanding that the Name is supramundane, and you chant the Name constantly, then you will be able to get rid of this disease.

নাম-মিশ্রি ক্রমে ক্রমে বাসনা শমিয়া ।
নামে রুচি করাইবে কল্যাণ আনিয়া ॥৪॥

nama-misri krame krame vasana samiya
name ruchi karaibe kalyana aniya [4]

misri–The sugar candy nama–of the Name [will] krame krame–gradually samiya–pacify [your] vasana–desires, ruchi karaibe–cause [you] to taste name–the Name, [and] aniya–bring [you all] kalyana–good fortune. [4]

The sugar candy of the Name will gradually pacify your desires, give you taste for the Name, and bring you all good fortune.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth are comparable to sugar candy, and ignorance is comparable to jaundice. As even very sweet sugar candy is not tasty to a tongue afflicted with jaundice, so even the very sweet, tasty sugar candy of Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth, are not pleasing to a soul who has been enveloped in beginning-less ignorance as a result of aversion to Krishna. If, however, the sugar candy of Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth, is honoured constantly with faith, then gradually this sugar candy becomes increasingly tasty and the disease of material enjoyment—desire that is averse to Krishna—goes away.

tach ched deha-dravina-janata-lobha-pasanda-madhye
niksiptam syan na phala-janakam sighram evatra vipra
(Sri Padma-purana)

[“O brahman, if the Name is used for the body, wealth, prestige, greed, or evil, then the Name does not produce any quick results.”]

Controlled by ignorance and thus attributing great importance to the body, wealth, prestige, attachment, and the misconception that the Lord and His absence—maya—are nondifferent, souls are unable to understand their own true self. By the power of Krishna’s Name, the soul’s pride produced by ignorance disappears like fog, and service to Krishna then becomes pleasing.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
tomare bhuliya avidya-pidaya
pidita rasana mora
krsna-nama-sudha bhala nahi lage
visaya-sukhete bhora [1]

O Lord! Forgetting You, my tongue, afflicted by the jaundice of ignorance, does not like the nectar of Krishna’s Name and is engrossed in material pleasures.

prati-dina yadi adara kariya
se nama kirtana kari
sitapala yena nasi’ roga-mula
krame svadu haya, hari [2]

If I chant Your Name every day with faith, however, like sugar candy Your Name will destroy the cause of my disease and gradually become tasteful, O Lord!

durdaiva amara se name adara
na ha-ila, dayamaya!
dasa aparadha amara durdaiva
kemane ha-ibe ksaya [3]

My misfortune is that I have never had faith in Your Name. O merciful Lord! How will these ten offences—my misfortune—ever come to an end?

anudina yena tava nama gai
kramete krpaya tava
aparadha yabe name ruchi habe
asvadiba namasaba [4]

Let me constantly chant Your Name. Then, gradually by Your mercy, my offences will go away, I will deveop taste for Your Name, and I will relish the Name’s nectar.

Verse Eight

तन्नामरूपचरितादिसुकीर्तनानु-
स्मृत्योः क्रमेण रसनामनसी नियोज्य ।
तिष्ठन्व्रजे तदनुरागिजनानुगामी
कालं नयेदखिलमित्युपदेशसारम् ॥८॥

tan-nama-rupa-charitadi-sukirtananu-
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram [8]

niyojya–Engage rasana–the tongue [and] manasi–mind kramena–in the gradual process sukirtana–of complete glorification anusmrtyoh–and constant remembrance tan–of His nama–Name, rupa–Form, charita–Pastimes, adi–and so on, tisthan–reside vraje–in Vraja, [and] nayed–spend [your] kalam–time anugami–as a follower anuragi-jana–of those who have deep attachment tad–to Him. iti–This [is] saram–the essence akhilam–of all upadesa–instructions. [8]

Engage the tongue and mind
in the gradual process of chanting and remembering
Krishna’s Names, Forms, Pastimes, and so forth,
reside in Vraja, and spend all your time as a follower
of those who have deep attachment to Krishna.
This is the essence of all instructions.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

নামাদির স্মৃতি আর কীর্ত্তন-নিয়মে ।
নিয়োজিত কর জিহ্বা চিত্ত ক্রমে ক্রমে ॥১॥

namadira smrti ara kirtana niyame
niyojita kara jihva chitta krame krame [1]

krame krame–Gradually niyojita kara–engage jihva–the tongue [and] chitta–mind niyame–in the practices smrti–of remembrance ara–and kirtana–chanting nama–of the Name adira–and so on. [1]

Gradually engage the tongue and mind in the practices of remembrance and chanting of Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so on.

ব্রজে বসি’ অনুরাগীর সেবা-অনুসার ।
সর্ব্বকাল ভজ এই উপদেশ-সার ॥২॥

vraje vasi’ anuragira seva-anusara
sarva-kala bhaja ei upadesa sara [2]

vasi’–Reside vraje–in Vraja [and] bhaja–serve sarva–at all kala–times anusara–following seva–the services anuragira–of those who have deep attachment [to Krishna]. ei–This [is] sara–the essence upadesa–of [all] instructions. [2]

Reside in Vraja and serve at all times following the services of those who have deep attachment to Krishna. This is the essence of all instructions.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

In this eighth verse, the process and place for service are prescribed. According to the process for gradual development and for the purpose of attaining constancy in one’s practice (sadhana), engage the tongue and mind in regulated practice of beautiful chanting and remembrance of Krishna’s Name, Form, Pastimes, and so on, reside in Vraja, and spend all your time as a follower of those who have deep attachment to the nectar (rasa) of Vraja. In this service within the mind, it is necessary to reside in Vraja within the mind.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

কৃষ্ণনাম-রূপ-গুণ-লীলা চতুষ্টয় ।
গুরুমুখে শুনিলেই কীর্ত্তন-উদয় ॥১॥

krsna-nama-rupa-guna-lila chatustaya
guru-mukhe sunilei kirtana-udaya [1]

krsna–Krishna’s nama–Name, rupa–Form, guna–Qualities, [and] lila–Pastimes— sunilei–only when souls hear [about these] chatustaya–four mukhe–from the mouth guru–of Sri Guru [can their] kirtana–glorification [of them] udaya–arise. [1]

Only when souls hear about Krishna’s Name, Form, Qualities, and Pastimes from the mouth of Sri Guru can their glorification of them begin.

কীর্ত্তিত হইলে ক্রমে স্মরণাঙ্গ উদয় ।
কীর্ত্তন-স্মরণকালে ক্রম-পথে ধায় ॥২॥

kirtita ha-ile krame smarananga paya
kirtana-smarana-kale krama-pathe dhaya [2]

kirtita ha-ile–As [They] are glorified, [souls] krame–gradually paya–reach anga–the practice smarana–of remembrance. kale–At the time kirtana–of glorification [and] smarana–remembrance, dhaya–souls progress [through] krama–the stages pathe–on the path. [2]

As Krishna’s Name, Pastimes, and so forth, are glorified, souls gradually reach the practice of remembrance. During the period of glorification and remembrance, souls progress through the stages on the path.

জাতরুচি-জন জিহ্বা-মন মিলাইয়া ।
কৃষ্ণ-অনুরাগি ব্রজজনানুস্মরিয়া ॥৩॥
নিরন্তর ব্রজবাস মানস-ভজন ।
এই উপদেশ-সার করহ গ্রহণ ॥৪॥

jata-ruchi-jana jihva-mana milaiya
krsna-anuragi vraja-jananusmariya [3] nirantara vraja-vasa manasa bhajana
ei upadesa-sara karaha grahana [4]

jana–Souls [who have] jata–developed ruchi–taste milaiya–engage [their] jihva–tongue [and] mana–mind, anusmariya–meditate vraja-jana–on the residents of Vraja [who are] anuragi–deeply attached krsna–to Krishna, vasa–reside nirantara–always vraja–in Vraja, [and engage in] bhajana–service [within their] manasa–minds. grahana karaha–Accept ei–this [as] sara–the essence [of all] upadesa–instructions. [3–4]

Souls who have developed taste engage their tongue and mind, meditate on the residents of Vraja who have deep love for Krishna, reside always in Vraja, and engage in service within their minds. Accept this as the essence of all instructions.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

A practitioner who has not developed taste (ruchi) should engage the tongue which is fond of other tastes and the mind which desires other things in chanting, remembrance, and so on, of Krishna’s Name, Form, Qualities, and Pastimes according to the gradual path, and upon developing taste, they should reside in Vraja and spend their time following the residents of Vraja. This is the essence of all instructions. First in the life of a practitioner is the stage of hearing (sravan-dasa). By hearing about Krishna’s Name, Krishna’s Form,Krishna’s Qualities, and Krishna’s Pastimes at that time, the stage of acceptance (varan-dasa) arrives, and then the practitioner begins to chant about what they have heard. By engaging in chanting with their heart, they come to the stage of remembrance (smaran-dasa). The five types of remembrance are known as smaran, dharana, dhyan, anusmrti, and samadhi. Smaran is remembrance mixed with distraction, dharana is remembrance free from distraction, dhyan is meditation on the entire body of the object of meditation, anusmrti is constant meditation, and samadhi is complete constancy in meditation free from any interruption. After the stage of remembrance is the stage of attainment (apan-dasa). At this stage, the practitioner realises their true self. Then, in the final stage, that of fortune (sampatti-dasa), the practitioner attains absolute perfection (vastu-siddhi).

kama tyaji’ krsna bhaje sastra-ajna mani’
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.135)

[“Practitioners give up all selfish desires and serve Krishna according to the directives of the scriptures.”]

By doing this, the practitioner’s taste develops, and when it does:

vidhi-dharma chhadi’ bhaje krsnera charana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.137)

[“They give up their lawful duties and serve Krishna’s feet.”]

ragatmika-bhakti—‘mukhya’ vraja-vasi-jane
tara anugata bhaktira ‘raganuga’-name
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.144)

[“The ragatmika-bhakti of the residents of Vraja is supreme. Devotion that follows them is called raganuga-bhakti.”]

iste svarasiki ragah paramavistata bhavet
tan-mayi ya bhaved bhaktih satra ragatmikodita
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: 1.2.270)

[“Intense natural absorption in one’s beloved is called raga. Devotion based on raga is called ragatmika.”]

ragamayi-bhaktira haya ‘ragatmika’ nama
taha suni’ lubdha haya kona bhagyavan
lobhe vraja-vasira bhave kare anugati
sastra-yukti nahi mane—raganugara prakrti
bahya, abhyantara,—ihara dui ta’ sadhana
‘bahye’ sadhaka-dehe kare sravana-kirtana
‘mane’ nija-siddha-deha kariya bhavana
ratri-dine kare vraje krsnera sevana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.147–8, 151–2)

[“Devotion based on raga is called ragatmika-bhakti. Upon hearing of it, some fortunate souls become greedy for it, and out of such greed, they follow the moods of the residents of Vraja and do not concern themselves with scriptural reasoning. This is the nature of raganuga-bhakti, which has two aspects: an external practice and an internal practice. Externally, in the form of a practitioner, the soul engages in hearing and chanting, and internally, the soul meditates with their spiritual form and serves Krishna in Vraja night and day.”]

seva sadhaka-rupena siddha-rupena chatra hi
tad-bhava-lipsuna karya vraja-lokanusaratah
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: 1.2.294)

[“Those who are greedy for the mood of their chosen resident of Vraja should follow that resident of Vraja and engage in service in their form as a practitioner and in their spiritual form.”]

nijabhista krsna-prestha pachhe ta’ lagiya
nirantara seva kare antarmana hana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.154)

[“They should follow their chosen devotee of Krishna and constantly engage in service meditatively.”]

krsnam smaran janan chasya prestham nija-samihitam
tat-tat-katha-ratas chasau kuryad vasam vraje sada
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: 1.2.293)

[“They should remember Krishna and their chosen devotee of Krishna, be attached to narrations about them, and always reside in Vraja.”]

dasa-sakha-pitradi-preyasira gana
raga-marge nija-nija-bhavera ganana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.156)

[“On the path of raga, servants, friends, guardians, and lovers are classified by their respective moods.”]

The essence of all instructions is to render service within the heart under the guidance of Krishna’s dear devotees who reside in Vraja: the cows, the flute, the kadamba trees, and the other living entities in santa-rasa; Chitraka, Patraka, Raktaka, and the others in dasya-rasa; Baladev, Sridam, Sudam, and the others in sakhya-rasa; Nanda, Yasoda, and the others in vatsalya-rasa; and Radhika, Lalita, and the others in madhura-rasa.

Bhajana-lalasa

hari he!
sri-rupa-gosani sri-guru-rupete
siksa dila mora kane
“jana mora katha namera kangala!
rati pabe nama-gane [1]

O Lord! Srila Rupa Goswami, in the form of Sri Guru, spoke these instructions into my ears: “O beggar for the Name! Understand my words and you will attain attachment to chanting the Name.

krsna-nama-rupa- guna-sucharita
parama yatane kari’
rasana-manase karaha niyoga
krama-vidhi anusari’ [2]

“Engage your tongue and mind in chanting and remembering Krishna’s Names, Forms, Qualities, and Pastimes with great care, following the gradual process.

vraje kari’ vasa raganuga hana
smarana kirtana kara
e nikhila kala karaha yapana
upadesa-sara dhara” [3]

“Reside in Vraja, become a raganuga (a follower of the devotees in Vraja), and engage in remembrance and chanting. Spend all your time in this way and hold this to be the essence of all instructions.”

ha! rupa-gosani daya kari’ kabe
dibe dine vraja-vasa
ragatmika tumi tava padanuga
ha-ite dasera asa [4]

O Srila Rupa Goswami! When will you mercifully grant this beggar residence in Vraja? You are a ragatmika devotee (a devotee with deep loving attachment for Krishna’s service), and becoming a follower of your footsteps is the desire of this servant.

Verse Nine

वैकुण्ठाज्जनितो वरा मधुपुरी तत्रापि रासोत्सवाद्
वृन्दारण्यमुदारपाणिरमणात्तत्रापि गोवर्द्धनः ।
राधाकुण्डमिहापि गोकुलपतेः प्रेमामृताप्लावनात्
कुर्यादस्य विराजतो गिरितटे सेवां विवेकी न कः ॥९॥

vaikunthaj janito vara madhu-puri tatrapi rasotsavad-
vrndaranyam udara-pani-ramanat tatrapi govardhanah
radha-kundam ihapi gokula-pateh premamrtaplavanat
kuryad asya virajato giri-tate sevam viveki na kah [9]

madhu-puri–Mathura, janitah–because of [Krishna’s] birth [there, is] vara–higher vaikunthaj–than Vaikuntha. tatra api–Therein, vrndaranyam–Vrndavan [is higher] rasotsavat–because of the Rasa Dance. tatra api–Therein, govardhanah–Govardhan [is higher] ramanat–because of the amorous play [of He who has] udara–liberal pani–hands. iha api–Herein, radha-kundam–Radha Kunda [is higher] aplavanat–because of the flood amrta–of the nectar pateh–of the Lord gokula–of Goloka’s prema–divine love. kah–What viveki–wise soul na kuryat–would not engage sevam–in the service asya–of it [Radha Kunda], virajatah–situated tate–beside giri–Govardhan? [9]

Above Vaikuntha is Mathura,where Krishna took birth.
Above Mathura is Vrndavan, where Krishna enjoys the Rasa Dance.
Above Vrndavan is Govardhan, where Krishna plays amorously.
And above Govardhan is Radha Kunda,
where the nectar of Krishna’s divine love overflows.
What wise soul would not serve
Radha Kunda at the base of Govardhan Hill?

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

বৈকুণ্ঠ অপেক্ষা শ্রেষ্ঠ মাথুরমণ্ডল ।
তদপেক্ষা বৃন্দাবন যথা রাসস্থল ॥১॥

vaikuntha apeksa srestha mathura-mandala
tad apeksa vrndavan yatha rasa-sthala [1]

srestha–Higher apeksa–than vaikuntha–Vaikuntha [is] mandala–the land mathura–of Mathura, [and higher] apeksa–than tad–that [is] vrndavan–Vrndavan, yatha–where [there is] sthala–the place rasa–of the Rasa Dance. [1]

Above Vaikuntha is Mathura Mandal, and above that is Vrndavan, the place of the Rasa Dance.

তদপেক্ষা গোবর্দ্ধন নিত্য কেলিস্থান ।
রাধাকুণ্ডে তদপেক্ষা প্রেমের বিজ্ঞান ॥২॥

tad apeksa govardhan nitya keli-sthana
radha-kunde tad apeksa premera vijnana [2]

[Higher] apeksa–than tad–that [is] govardhan–Govardhan, sthana–the place [of the Lord’s] nitya–daily keli–play, [and higher] apeksa–than tad–that [is] radha-kunde–Radha Kunda, [where there is] vijnana–full realisation premera–of divine love. [2]

Higher than Vrndavan is Govardhan, the place of the Lord’s daily play, and higher than that is Radha Kunda, where there is full realisation of divine love.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Amongst places of service, Sri Radha Kunda is the highest of all. This is shown in the ninth verse. Because of Krishna’s birth, Mathura is higher than the opulent abode of Vaikuntha in the spiritual sky. Because of the Rasa Dance, Vrndavan is highest within the district of Mathura. Because it is the place of various types of amorous play by liberal-handed Sri Krishna, Sri Govardhan is highest within Vraja. Sri Radha Kunda is situated near Sri Govardhan. Because the nectar of Sri Krishna’s divine love overflows there, it is the highest of all. What soul who is expert in service would not serve Radha Kunda? Such a soul should always reside there, either in their gross or subtle body, and follow the method of service previously described.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

বৈকুণ্ঠ হইতে শ্রেষ্ঠা মথুরানগরী ।
জনম লভিলা যথা কৃষ্ণচন্দ্র হরি ॥১॥

vaikuntha ha-ite srestha mathura-nagari
janama labhila yatha krsnachandra hari [1]

srestha–Higher ha-ite–than vaikuntha–Vaikuntha [is] nagari–the city mathura–of Mathura, yatha–where hari–the Lord, krsnachandra–the moon Sri Krishna, janama labhila–took birth. [1]

Higher than Vaikuntha is the city of Mathura, where the Lord, the moon Sri Krishna, took birth.

মথুরা হইতে শ্রেষ্ঠ বৃন্দাবন-ধাম ।
যথা সাধিয়াছে হরি রাসোৎসব-কাম ॥২॥

mathura ha-ite srestha vrndavana-dhama
yatha sadhiyachhe hari rasotasava-kama [2]

srestha–Higher ha-ite–than mathura–Mathura [is] dhama–the abode vrndavana–of Vrndavan, yatha–where hari–the Lord sadhiyachhe–fulfilled [His] kama–desire rasotasava–for the Rasa Dance. [2]

Higher than Mathura is the land of Vrndavan, where the Lord fulfilled His desire for the Rasa Dance.

বৃন্দাবন হইতে শ্রেষ্ঠ গোবর্দ্ধন-শৈল ।
গিরিধারী-গান্ধর্ব্বিকা যথা ক্রীড়া কৈল ॥৩॥

vrndavana ha-ite srestha govardhana-saila
giridhari-gandharvika yatha krida kaila [3]

srestha–Higher ha-ite–than vrndavana–Vrndavan [is] saila–the mountain govardhana–Govardhan, yatha–where gandharvika–Sri Radha, the best of dancers, [and] giridhari–Krishna, the lifter of Govardhan, krida kaila–play [together]. [3]

Higher than Vrndavan is Govardhan Hill, where Gandharvika, the best of dancers, and Giridhari, the lifter of Govardhan Hill, play together.

গোবর্দ্ধন হৈতে শ্রেষ্ঠ রাধাকুণ্ডতট ।
প্রেমামৃতে ভাসাইল গোকুল-লম্পট ॥৪॥

govardhana haite srestha radha-kunda-tata
premamrte bhasaila gokula-lampata [4]

srestha–Higher ha-ite–than govardhana–Govardhan [is] tata–the bank radha-kunda–of Radha Kunda, [where] lampata–the debauchee gokula–of Gokula [lets] amrte–the nectar prema–of divine love bhasaila–overflow. [4]

Higher than Govardhan is the bank of Radha Kunda, where the debauchee of Gokula lets the nectar of divine love overflow.

গোবর্দ্ধন-গিরিতট রাধাকুণ্ড ছাড়ি’ ।
অন্যত্র যে করে নিজ কুঞ্জ পুষ্পবাড়ী ॥৫॥
নির্ব্বোধ তাহার সম কেহ নাহি আর ।
কুণ্ডতীর সর্ব্বোত্তম স্থান প্রেমাধার ॥৬॥

govardhana-giri-tata radha-kunda chhadi’
anyatra ye kare nija kunja puspa-badi [5]
nirbodha tahara sama keha nahi ara
kunda-tira sarvottama sthana premadhara [6]

ara keha nahi–There is no one sama–as nirbodha–foolish [as] tahara–someone ye–who chhadi’–leaves radha-kunda–Radha Kunda tata–at the base govardhana–of Govardhan giri–Hill [and] puspa-badi kare–makes a tent of flowers [in their] nija–own kunja–grove anyatra–elsewhere. tira–The bank kunda–of Radha Kunda [is] uttama–the highest sarva–of all sthana–places [and] adhara–the treasury prema–of divine love. [5–6]

There is no one as foolish as someone who leaves Radha Kunda at the base of Govardhan Hill and makes a tent of flowers in their own grove elsewhere. The bank of Radha Kunda is the highest of all places and the treasury of divine love.

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Vaikuntha, situated in the spiritual sky, is higher than all other abodes. The district of Mathura is higher than Vaikuntha because the Lord took birth there. Vrndavan, the place of Krishna’s Rasa Dance, is higher than Mathura. Govardhan, the place of the Lord’s spontaneous play, is higher than Vrndavan. Radha Kunda, where the nectar of Krishna’s divine love completely overflows, is higher than Govardhan. What wise and sincere devotee would reject service at Sri Radha Kunda, situated at the base of Govardhan Hill, and attend to any other service? Sriman Mahaprabhu’s extremely intimate devotee, Sri Rupa Goswami Prabhu, has instructed that service at Radha Kunda is the highest mood in the heart of Sri Gaurahari and the ultimate culmination of service. To Vaisnavas in the schools of Sri Nimbarka and other Acharyas, and even to devotees situated in madhura-rasa who are devoid of devotion to Gaura, this service is completely inconceivable and unattainable.

Verse Ten

कर्म्मिभ्यः परितो हरेः प्रियतया व्यक्तिं ययुर्ज्ञानिनस्
तेभ्यो ज्ञानविमुक्तभक्तिपरमाः प्रेमैकनिष्ठास् ततः ।
तेभ्यस्ताः पशुपालपङ्कजदृशस्ताभ्योऽपि सा राधिका
प्रेष्ठा तद्वदियं तदीयसरसी तां नाश्रयेत्कः कृती ॥१०॥

karmibhyah parito hareh priyataya vyaktim yayur jnaninas
tebhyo jnana-vimukta-bhakti-paramah premaika-nisthas tatah
tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas tabhyo ’pi sa radhika
prestha tadvad iyam tadiya-sarasi tam nasrayet kah krti [10]

jnaninah–Knowers [of impersonal Brahman] vyaktim yayuh–are known [to be] priyataya–more dear, paritah–in all respects, hareh–to the Lord karmibhyah–than performers [of material activities]. [More dear] tebhyah–than them [are] bhakti-paramah–devotees vimukta–completely free jnana–from knowledge [of Brahman]. [More dear] tatah–than them [are] nisthah–those who are fixed eka–exclusively prema–in divine love. [More dear] tebhyah–than them [are] tah–they, pankaja-drsah–the lotus-eyed pasu-pala–cowherd women, [and more dear] tabhyah api–than even them [is] sa–She, radhika–Sri Radhika. iyam–This sarasi–lake tadiya–of Hers [is] tadvad–similarly prestha–dear [to the Lord]. kah–What krti–fortunate soul na asrayet–would not take shelter tam–of it? [10]

More dear to Krishna, in all respects,
than performers of pious deeds
are knowers of Brahman,
more dear than them
are devotees completely free from knowledge of Brahman,
more dear than them
are devotees fixed exclusively in divine love,
more dear than them are the gopis,
and more dear than them is Sri Radhika.
Her lake is similarly dear to Krishna.
What fortunate soul would not take shelter there?

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

চিদন্বেষী জ্ঞানী জড়কর্ম্মী হইতে শ্রেষ্ঠ ।
জ্ঞানিচর ভক্ত তদপেক্ষা কৃষ্ণপ্রেষ্ঠ ॥১॥

chid-anvesi jnani jada-karmi ha-ite srestha
jnani-chara bhakta tad apeksa krsna-prestha [1]

jnani–Knowers [of Brahma who] anvesi–seek chid–spirit [are] srestha–higher ha-ite–than jada–material karmi–actors. bhakta–Devotees chara–free from jnani–knowledge [of Brahma are] prestha–dear krsna–to Krishna [more so] apeksa–than tad–them. [1]

Jnanis who seek spirit are higher than those who are engaged in material activities. Devotees who are free from jnan are more dear to Krishna than them.

প্রেমনিষ্ঠ ভক্ত তদপেক্ষা শ্রেষ্ঠ জানি ।
গোপীগণে তদপেক্ষা শ্রেষ্ঠ বলি’ মানি ॥২॥

prema-nistha bhakta tad apeksa sreṣtha jani
gopi-gane tad apeksa srestha bali’ mani [2]

jani–We know [that] bhakta–devotees nistha–fixed prema–in divine love [are] sreṣtha–higher apeksa–than tad–them, [and] bali’ mani–we consider gopi-gane–the gopis srestha–higher apeksa–than tad–them. [2]

We know that devotees fixed in divine love are higher than them, and we consider the gopis higher than all other devotees.

সর্ব্বগোপী-শ্রেষ্ঠা রাধা কৃষ্ণপ্রেষ্ঠা সদা ।
তাঁহার সরসী নিত্য কৃষ্ণের প্রীতিদা ॥৩॥

sarva-gopi srestha radha krsna-prestha sada
ta̐hara sarasi nitya krsnera pritida [3]

radha–Sri Radha [is] srestha–higher [than] sarva–all gopi–the gopis. [She is] sada–forever krsna–Krishna’s prestha–favourite, [and] ta̐hara–Her sarasi–lake [is] nitya–always pritida–pleasing krsnera–to Krishna. [3]

Sri Radha is the highest of all the gopis. She is forever Krishna’s favourite, and Her lake always pleases Krishna.

এ হেন প্রেমের স্থান গোবর্দ্ধন-তটে ।
আশ্রয় না করে কেবা কৃতী নিষ্কপটে ॥৪॥

e hena premera sthana govardhana-tate
asraya na kare keba krti niskapate [4]

keba–What krti–fortunate soul asraya kare na–would not take shelter [in] e hena–that sthana–abode premera–of divine love tate–at the base govardhana–of Govardhan niskapate–with [all] sincerity? [4]

What fortunate soul would not take shelter in that abode of divine love at the base of Govardhan Hill with all sincerity?

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Devotees who reside on the bank of Radha Kunda are higher and more dear to Krishna than all other types of practitioners that exist throughout the world. This is being shown in the tenth verse. Jnanis who seek spirit are more dear to Krishna than all types of karmis. Devotees who are free from jnan are more dear to Krishna than all types of jnanis. Amongst all types of devotees, devotees fixed in divine love are most dear to Krishna. Amongst all such devotees, the Vraja-gopis are extremely dear to Krishna, and amongst all the gopis, Sri Radhika is the most dear. As Radhika is dear to Krishna, so Her lake is also most dear to Him. Therefore, those who have great spiritual fortune will reside at Sri Radha Kunda and serve Sri Krishna during the eight periods of the day.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

সত্ত্বগুণে অধিষ্ঠিত পুণ্যবান্ কর্ম্মী ।
হরিপ্রিয়জন বলি’ গায় সব ধর্ম্মী ॥১॥

sattva-gune adhisthita punyavan karmi
hari-priya-jana bali’ gaya saba dharmi [1]

saba–All dharmi–followers of dharma bali’ gaya–proclaim [that] punyavan–pious karmi–actors adhisthita–situated gune–in the mode sattva–of goodness [are] jana–persons priya–dear hari–to the Lord. [1]

All followers of dharma proclaim that pious karmis situated in the mode of goodness are dear to the Lord.

কর্ম্মী হইতে জ্ঞানী হরিপ্রিয়তর জন ।
সুখভোগবুদ্ধি জ্ঞানী না করে গণন ॥২॥

karmi ha-ite jnani hari-priya-tara jana
sukha-bhoga-buddhi jnani na kare ganana [2]

jnani–Knowers [of Brahma are] jana–persons tara–more priya–dear hari–to the Lord ha-ite–than [material] karmi–actors; jnani–knowers [of Brahma] ganana kare na–have no regard buddhi–for the mentality [of seeking] sukha–pleasure [and] bhoga–enjoyment. [2]

Jnanis are more dear to the Lord that karmis, as they have no regard for the mentality of seeking pleasure and enjoyment.

জ্ঞানমিশ্রভাব ছাড়ি’ মুক্তজ্ঞানীজন ।
পরাভক্তি সমাশ্রয়ে হরিপ্রিয় হন ॥৩॥

jnana-misra-bhava chhadi’ mukta-jnani-jana
para-bhakti samasraye hari-priya hana [3]

mukta–Liberated jnani-jana–knowers [of Brahma who] chhadi’–leave behind bhava–devotion misra–mixed jnana–with knowledge [and] samasraye–take full shelter [in] para–transcendental bhakti–devotion hana–are [more] priya–dear hari–to the Lord. [3]

Liberated jnanis who leave behind devotion mixed with jnan and take full shelter in transcendental devotion are more dear to the Lord.

ভক্তিমান্ জন হৈতে প্রেমনিষ্ঠ শ্রেষ্ঠ ।
প্রেমনিষ্ঠ হৈতে গোপী শ্রীহরির প্রেষ্ঠ ॥৪॥

bhaktiman jana haite prema-nistha srestha
prema-nistha haite gopi sri-harira prestha [4]

[Devotees] nistha–fixed prema–in divine love [are] srestha–higher haite–than [all other] bhaktiman–devoted jana–persons, [and] gopi–the gopis [are more] prestha–dear sri-harira–to the Lord haite–than [other devotees] nistha–fixed prema–in divine love. [4]

Devotees who are fixed in divine love are higher than all other devotees, and the gopis are more dear to the Lord than other devotees fixed in divine love.

গোপী হৈতে শ্রীরাধিকা কৃষ্ণপ্রিয়তমা ।
সে রাধাসরসী প্রিয় হয় তাঁর সমা ॥৫॥

gopi haite sri-radhika krsna-priya-tama
se radha-sarasi priya haya ta̐ra sama [5]

sri-radhika–Sri Radhika [is] tama–more priya–dear krsna–to Krishna haite–than [all the other] gopi–gopis, [and] se–this sarasi–lake radha–of Radha’s haya–is priya–dear [to Krishna and] sama–equal ta̐ra–to Her. [5]

Sri Radhika is more dear to Krishna than all the other gopis, and Her lake is equally dear to Him.

সে কুণ্ড-আশ্রয় ছাড়ি’ কোন মৃঢ়জন ।
অন্যত্র বসিয়া চায় হরির সেবন ॥৬॥

se kunda-asraya chhadi’ kona mudha-jana
anyatra vasiya chaya harira sevana [6]

kona–What mudha–foolish jana–person [would] chhadi’–leave asraya–the shelter [of] se–this kunda–lake [and] chaya–desire sevana–service harira–to the Lord vasiya–residing anyatra–elsewhere? [6]

What fool would leave the shelter of this lake and desire to serve the Lord residing elsewhere?

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Pious karmis fixed in the mode of goodness are more dear to Krishna than souls engrossed in whimsical behaviour. Jnanis who have realised Brahma and given up the three modes are more dear to Krishna than karmis. Pure devotees are more dear to Krishna than jnanis. Devotees fixed in divine love are more dear to Krishna than all other pure devotees. The beauties of Vraja are more dear to Krishna than other devotees fixed in divine love, and Srimati Varsabhanavi is more dear to Krishna than all the other beauties of Vraja. As Srimati Radhika is Krishna’s favourite, so Her lake is also most dear to Krishna. The most fortunate of all devotees of Krishna will take shelter exclusively at Sri Radha Kunda.

Verse Eleven

कृष्णस्योछ्छैः प्रणयवसतिः प्रेयासिभ्योऽपि राधा
कुण्डं छास्या मुनिभिरभितस्तादृगेव व्यधायि ।
यत्प्रेष्ठैरप्यलमसुलभं किं पुनर्भक्तिभाजां
तत्प्रेमेदं सकृदपि सराः स्नातुराविष्करोति ॥११॥

krsnasyochchaih pranaya-vasatih preyasibhyo ’pi radha
kundam chasya munibhir abhitas tadrg eva vyadhayi
yat presthair apy alam asulabham kim punar bhakti-bhajam
tat premedam sakrd api sarah snatur aviskaroti [11]

radha–Sri Radha [is] uchchaih–a higher vasatih–object krsnasya–of Sri Krishna’s pranaya–love [than] api–even [Krishna’s other] preyasibhyah–lovers, cha–and asya–Her kundam–lake eva–also vyadhayi–has been established tadrg–as such abhitah–in all respects munibhih–by all the sages. idam–This sarah–lake aviskaroti–bestows snatuh–upon those who bathe [in it] api–even sakrd–once prema–divine love yat tat–that [is] alam–already asulabham–difficult to attain api–even presthaih–for those who are dear [to Krishna], kim–what punah–more bhajam–for practitioners bhakti–of devotion.

Sri Radha is the highest object of Sri Krishna’s love,
above all His other lovers.
Her lake has also been established
as such in all respects by the sages.
This lake bestows upon those who bathe within it only once
divine love that is extremely difficult to attain
even for those who are dear to Krishna,
let alone for practitioners of devotion.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

সকল প্রেয়সী-শ্রেষ্ঠা বৃষভানু-সুতা ।
তাঁহার সরসী নিত্য শ্রীকৃষ্ণ-দয়িতা ॥১॥

sakala preyasi-srestha vrsabhanu-suta
ta̐hara sarasi nitya sri-krsna-dayita [1]

suta–The daughter vrsabhanu–of Vrsabhanu [is] srestha–the highest sakala–of all [Krishna’s] preyasi–lovers, [and] ta̐hara–Her sarasi–lake [is] nitya–always dayita–dear sri-krsna–to Sri Krishna. [1]

The daughter of Vrsabhanu is the best of all Krishna’s lovers, and Her lake is always dear to Sri Krishna.

মুনিগণ শাস্ত্রে এইরূপ নির্দ্ধারিল ।
ব্রজমধ্যে শ্রেষ্ঠ বলি’ কুণ্ডে স্থির কৈল ॥২॥

muni-gana sastre ei-rupa nirdharila
vraja-madhye srestha bali’ kunde sthira kaila [2]

sastre–In the scriptures, muni-gana–the sages nirdharila–have ascertained ei-rupa–this [and] bali’ sthira kaila–determined that kunde–this lake [is] srestha–supreme madhye–within vraja–Vraja. [2]

In the scriptures, the sages have ascertained this and determined that this lake is supreme within all of Vraja.

সাধন-ভক্তির কথা কি বলিব আর ।
কৃষ্ণপ্রেষ্ঠগণের দুর্ল্লভ প্রেম-সার ॥৩॥

sadhana bhaktira katha ki baliba ara
krsna-prestha-ganera durlabha prema-sara [3]

ki–What ara–more baliba–shall I say katha–on the subject sadhana–of the practice bhaktira–of devotion? sara–The highest prema–divine love [is] durlabha–difficult to attain [even] prestha-ganera–for those who are dear krsna–to Krishna. [3]

What more shall I say about the practice of devotion? The highest form of divine love is difficult to attain even for those who are dear to Krishna.

নিষ্কপটে সেই কুণ্ডে যে করে মজ্জন ।
কুণ্ড তাঁরে সেই প্রেম করে বিতরণ ॥৪॥

niskapate sei kunde ye kare majjana
kunda ta̐re sei prema kare vitarana [4]

[Yet] kunda–Radha Kunda vitarana kare–gives sei–such prema–divine love ta̐re–to those ye–who majjana kare–bathe [within] sei–this kunde–lake niskapate–sincerely. [4]

Yet Radha Kunda gives such divine love to those who bathe within it sincerely.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

The eleventh verse has been put forth for the purpose of making the heart of the practitioner firm by describing the natural glory of Sri Radha Kunda. Sri Radhika is the greatest recipient of Sri Krishna’s love and superior to His other lovers in all respects. In the scriptures, the sages have also described the excellence of Sri Radha Kunda in this way. If one bathes in Radha Kunda with devotion, Radha Kunda easily gives one divine love that is difficult to attain even for Narad Muni and others who are dear to the Lord, what to speak of practitioners of devotion. Radha Kunda, therefore, is the proper place for all devotees to reside. The supramundane soul attaining the supramundane body of a gopi in supramundane Vraja, residing as a maintained maidservant at Radha Kunda in the grove of their Guru in her form as a sakhi, externally taking constant shelter of the Name, and assisting Srimati Radhika in the service of Krishna throughout the eight periods of the day is the perfection of service for those who have taken shelter at the feet of Sri Chaitanya.

ananda-vrddhaye srimad-gosvami-vana-malinah
tatha sri-prabhu-nathasya sukhayatma-nivedinah
svasya bhajana-saukhyasya samrddhi-hetave punah
bhakti-vinoda-dasena sri-godruma-nivasina
prabhos chatah-satabdeha dvadasabdadhike mrge
rachiteyam sitastamyam vrttih piyusa-varsini

To increase the joy of Srimad Vanamali Goswami, who has dedicated himself to the satisfaction of the Lord, and to increase the joy of his own service, the servant Bhakti Vinod, while residing in Sri Godruma, has completed this commentary that showers nectar (Piyusa-varsini-vrtti) on the eighth day of the waxing fortnight of the moon during the solar month of Capricorn in what will be year 412 of our Lord (30 January 1898).

sri-sri-godrumachandrarpanam astu

May this be offered to the moon of Sri Godruma.

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

শ্রীমতী রাধিকা কৃষ্ণকান্তা-শিরোমণি ।
কৃষ্ণপ্রিয় মধ্যে তাঁর সম নাহি ধনী ॥১॥

srimati radhika krsna-kanta-siromani
krsna-priya madhye ta̐ra sama nahi dhani [1]

srimati radhika–Srimati Radhika [is] siromani–the crown jewel krsna–of Krishna’s kanta–lovers. madhye–Amongst [all who are] priya–dear krsna–to Krishna, nahi–there is no dhani–fortunate person sama– equal ta̐ra–to Her. [1]

Srimati Radhika is the crown jewel of Krishna’s lovers. Amongst all who are dear to Krishna, there is no one as fortunate as Her.

মুনিগণ শাস্ত্রে রাধাকুণ্ডের বর্ণনে ।
গান্ধর্ব্বিকা-তুল্য কুণ্ড করয়ে গণনে ॥২॥

muni-gana sastre radha-kundera varnane
gandharvika-tulya kunda karaye ganane [2]

[In their] varnane–descriptions radha-kundera–of Radha Kunda sastre–in the scriptures, muni-gana–the sages ganane karaye–have ascertained [that] kunda–Radha Kunda [is] tulya–equal gandarvika–to Radha, the best of dancers. [2]

In their descriptions of Radha Kunda in the scriptures, the sages have ascertained that Radha Kunda is equal to Sri Radha Herself.

নারদাদি প্রিয়বর্গে যে প্রেম দুর্ল্লভ ।
অন্য সাধকেতে তাহা কভু না সুলভ ॥৩॥

naradadi priya-varge ye prema durlabha
anya sadhakere taha kabhu na sulabha [3]

prema–Divine love taha ye–that [is] durlabha–difficult to attain naradadi varge–for Narad and others [who are] priya–dear [to the Lord is] kabhu na–never sulabha–easy to attain [for] anya–other sadhakere–practitioners. [3]

Divine love that is very difficult to attain for Narad and others who are dear to the Lord is never easy to attain for other practitioners.

কিন্তু রাধাকুণ্ডে স্নান যেই জন করে ।
মধুর-রসেতে তাঁর স্নানে সিদ্ধি ধরে ॥৪॥

kintu radha-kunde snana yei jana kare
madhura-rasete ta̐ra snane siddhi dhare [4]

jana–Persons yei–who snana kare–bathe radha-kunde–in Radha Kunda, kintu–however, dhare–attain [through] ta̐ra–their snane–bath, siddhi–perfection madhura-rasete–in paramour love [for Sri Krishna]. [4]

Those who bathe in Radha Kunda, however, attain perfection in madhura-rasa.

অপ্রাকৃত-ভাবে সদা যুগল-সেবন ।
রাধাপাদপদ্ম লভে সেই হরিজন ॥৫॥

aprakrta-bhave sada yugala-sevana
radha-pada-padma labhe sei hari-jana [5]

sei–Such hari-jana–devotees labhe–attain [in] aprakrta–supramundane bhave–form [the] sada–eternal sevana–service yugala–of the Divine Couple [and] padma–the lotus pada–feet radha–of Sri Radha. [5]

Such devotees attain the eternal, supramundane service of the Divine Couple and the lotus feet of Sri Radha.

শ্রীবার্ষভানবী কবে দায়িতদাসেরে ।
কুণ্ডতীরে স্নান দিবে নিজজন করে ॥৬॥

sri-varsabhanavi kabe dayita-dasere
kunda-tire snana dibe nija-jana kare [6]

kabe–When [will] sri-varsabhanavi–the daughter of Sri Vrsabhanu dibe–allow dayita-dasere–Dayita Das snana–to bathe tire–on the bank [of Her] kunda–lake [and] kare–make [him] jana–a person [of Her] nija–own? [6]

When will Sri Varsabhanavi allow Dayita Das to bathe on the bank of Her kunda and accept him as one of Her own?

‘উপদেশামৃত-ভাষা’ করিলে দুর্জ্জন ।
পাঠকালে হরিজন করিহ শোধন ॥৭॥

‘upadesamrta-bhasa’ karila durjana
patha-kale hari-jana kariha sodhana [7]

[A] durjana–fallen soul karila–has composed [this] bhasa–explanation ‘upadesamrta’–of the Upadesamrta. [May] hari-jana–the devotees sodhana kariha–correct [it] kale–at the time [of its] patha–recitation. [7]

A fallen soul has composed this explanation of the Upadesamrta. May the devotees correct it as they recite it.

‘উপদেশামৃত’ ধরি’ রূপানুগ-ভাবে ।
জীবন যাপিলে কৃষ্ণকৃপা সেই পাবে ॥৮॥

‘upadesamrta’ dhari’ rupanuga-bhave
jivana yapile krsna-krpa sei pabe [8]

yapile–If souls spend [their] jivana–life bhave–as anuga–followers rupa–of Sri Rupa dhari’–following ‘upadesamrta’–the Upadesamrta, sei–they pabe–will attain krsna–Krishna’s krpa–mercy. [8]

Souls who follow the Upadesamrta and spend their lives as followers of Sri Rupa will attain Krishna’s mercy.

সত্য ত্রেতা দ্বাপরের যে সকল ভক্ত ।
কৃষ্ণকৃপা লভিয়াছে গৃহস্থ বিরক্ত ॥৯॥
ভাবীকালে বর্ত্তমানে ভক্তের সমাজ ।
সকলের পদরজঃ যাচে দীন আজ ॥১০॥

satya treta dvapare ye sakala bhakta
krsna-krpa labhiyachhe grhastha virakta [9]
bhavi-kale vartamane bhaktera samaja
sakalera pada-rajah yache dina aja [10]

aja–Today, [this] dina–fallen [soul] yache–prays pada-rajah–for the foot-dust sakalera–of the whole samaja–society bhaktera–of devotees: [those] vartamane–of the present, [those] bhavi-kale–of the future, [and] ye sakala–all the bhakta–devotees, [both] grhastha–householders [and] virakta–renunciants, [who] labhiyachhe–attained krsna–Krishna’s krpa–mercy [in the Age of] satya–Satya, treta–Treta, [and] dvapare–Dvapar. [9–10]

Today, this fallen soul prays for the foot-dust of all the devotees: all the devotees of the present, all devotees of the future, and all the devotees, both the householders and renunciants, who attained Krishna’s mercy in the Ages of Satya, Treta, and Dvapar.

ভকতিবিনোদ-প্রভু-অনুগ যে জন ।
দয়িতদাসের তাঁর পদে নিবেদন ॥১১॥
দয়া করি’ দোষ হরি’ বল হরি হরি ।
‘উপদেশামৃত’-বারি শিরোপরি ধরি’ ॥১২॥

bhakati-vinoda-prabhu-anuga ye jana
dayita-dasera ta̐ra pade nivedana [11] daya kari’ dosa hari’ bala hari hari
‘upadesamrta’-vari siropari dhari’ [12]

nivedana–The prayer dayita-dasera–of Dayita Das pade–at the feet ta̐ra ye jana–of anyone who [is] anuga–a follower bhakati-vinoda-prabhu–of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur [is:] “daya kari’–“Please be kind, hari’–do away [with all] dosa–offences, [and] bala–chant hari hari–‘Hari! Hari!’, dhari’–holding vari–the water ‘upadesamrta’–of the Upadesamrta upari–atop [your] sira”–head.” [11–12]

Dayita Das prays at the feet of anyone who is a follower of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur: “Please be kind, do away with all offences, and chant the Lord’s Name, holding the water of the Upadesamrta atop your head.”

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

The greatest recipient of Krishna’s love and the crown jewel of His lovers is Srimati Radhika. In the scriptures, the sages have described Her lake as supreme and comparable to Srimati Herself. Those who once bathe in Radha Kunda develop divine love that is not easy to attain for even Narad and other dear devotees of the Lord, let alone for practitioners of devotion. Supramundane residence at the Radha Kunda, which is filled with divine love, and a supramundane bath in Radha Kunda, in which the nectar of divine love overflows, mean that souls become detached from the desire to enjoy matter and, while rendering service within the mind for the remainder of their life and in their afterlife in earnest submission to Sri Radhika, directly engage in their eternal service in their supramundane eternal body; those who thus bathe in Radha Kunda attain the highest auspiciousness. Their fortune is difficult to attain for even Narad and other devotees. What to speak of materialists, bathing in Radha Kunda is difficult to attain for even devotees sheltered in dasya-, sakhya-, and vatsalya-rasa. What more can I say about a supramundane bath in Radha Kunda? Those who perform such a bath even once attain the fortune of becoming a maintained maidservant of Sri Varsabhanavi.

গোবিন্দ-বচনে জানি ইহাই গৌরাঙ্গ-বাণী
অপ্রকট-কালে সারকথা ।
নীলাচলে সিন্ধুতীরে শ্রীগৌরাঙ্গ ধীরে ধীরে
বলিল শুনিল ভক্ত তথা ॥১॥

govinda-vachane jani ihai gauranga-vani
aprakata-kale sara-katha
nilachale sindhu-tire sri-gauranga dhire dhire
balila sunila bhakta tatha [1]

jani–I recognise [that] ihai–this itself vachane–in the words govinda–of Sri Govindadev Kavi [is] vani–the message gauranga–of Sri Gauranga, [His] sara–concluding katha–words kale–at the time [of His] aprakata–departure. tire–On the bank sindhu–of the ocean nilachale–in Jagannath Puri, sri-gauranga–Sri Gauranga balila–spoke dhire dhire–gently, [and] bhakta–the devotees tatha–there sunila–listened. [1]

I recognise in the words of Sri Govindadev Kavi* the message of Sri Gauranga, His concluding words at the time of His departure. Sri Gauranga spoke gently on the bank of the ocean in Nilachal, and the devotees there listened.

* Sri Govindadev Kavi was a Vaisnava poet from Odissa and descendant of Srila Vakresvar Pandit. He wrote a Sanskrit book about Sriman Mahaprabhu in 1758 named Sri Sri Gaurakrsnodaya. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur published this text in 1912. In the final chapter of the book, entitled Svadhama-vijaya [“Departure for His Abode”], Sriman Mahaprabhu is said to have gathered with devotees from various regions on the bank of the ocean in Nilachal and spoken to them five verses of final instruction, four of which (GK: 18.52–5) are found in Sri Upadesamrta (verses 5–8).

গৌরমুখ-উপদেশ সর্ব্ব-অমৃতের শেষ
শ্রীরূপ-গোস্বামী প্রভুবর ।
কর্ণদ্বারা পান করি’ লেখনীতে তাহা ধরি’
কলিজীবে দিল ভবহর ॥২॥

gaura-mukha-upadesa sarva amrtera sesa
sri-rupa-gosvami prabhu-vara
karna-dvara pana kari’ lekhanite taha dhari’
kali-jive dila bhara-hara [2]

[These] upadesa–instructions mukha–from the mouth gaura–of Sri Gaura [are] sesa–the essence [of] sarva–all amrtera–nectar. sri-rupa-gosvami prabhu-vara–Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu pana kari’–drank [this nectar] dvara–through [his] karna–ears, dhari’–put taha–it lekhanite–with [his] pen, dila–gave [it] jive–to the souls kali–of the Age of Kali, [and] hara–relieved [them] bhara–of [the] burden [upon them]. [2]

These instructions from the mouth of Sri Gaura are the essence of all nectar. Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu drank this nectar with his ears, wrote it down with his pen, gave it to the souls of the Age of Kali, and relieved them of the burden upon them.

শ্রীরাধারমণদাস শ্রীরাধারমণ-পাশ
রহি’ এই শ্লোকে একাদশ ।
করিল সংস্কৃত-টীকা নাম তার ‘প্রকাশিকা’
অকিঞ্চন পায় যাতে রস ॥৩॥

sri-radha-ramana-dasa sri-radha-ramana-pasa
rahi’ ei sloka ekadasa
karila samkrta-tika nama tara ‘prakasika’
akinchana paya yate rasa [3]

sri-radha-ramana-dasa– Sri Radha Raman Das, rahi–remaining pasa–by the side sri-radha-ramana–of Sri Radha Raman [the Deity of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami], karila–made samkrta–a Sanskrit tika–commentary [on] ei–these ekadasa–eleven sloka–verses. tara–Its nama–name [is] ‘prakasika’–Prakasika (Upadesa-prakasika-tika) yate–in which akinchana–the surrendered paya–find rasa–taste. [3]

Sri Radha Raman Das, living by the side of Sri Radha Raman, wrote a Sanskrit commentary on these eleven verses called the Upadesa-prakasika-tika in which the surrendered souls taste rasa.

বিস্তারিয়া নিজশক্তি কলিরাজ প্রেমভক্তি
আচ্ছাদিল যেই মন্দক্ষণে ।
দয়াল গৌরাঙ্গ হরি জীব-দুঃখ মনে স্মরি’
পাঠাইল এক নিজজনে ॥৪॥

vistariya nija-sakti kali-raja prema-bhakti
achchhadila yei manda-ksane
dayala gauranga hari jiva-duhkha mane smari’
pathaila eka nija-jane [4]

[At the] manda–inauspicious ksane–moment [in] yei–which raja–King kali–Kali vistariya–spread nija–his sakti–influence [and] achchhadila–hid prema–loving bhakti–devotion, dayala–merciful hari–Lord gauranga–Gauranga smari’–remembered [within His] mane–heart duhkha–the suffering jiva–of the souls [and then] pathaila–sent eka–one nija–of His jane–associates. [4]

At the inauspicious time when King Kali spread his influence and hid loving devotion, merciful Lord Gauranga remembered within His heart the suffering of the souls and then sent one of His associates.

ভকতিবিনোদবর ‘পীযূষবর্ষিণী’-কর
‘উপদেশামৃত’ যাঁর মূর্ত্তি ।
‘উপদেশামৃত’-রত্নে সংগ্রহ করিয়া যত্নে
জীবে করাইল কৃষ্ণস্ফূর্ত্তি ॥৫॥

bhakati-vinoda-vara ‘piyusa-varsini’-kara
‘upadesamrta’ ya̐ra murti
‘upadesamrta’-ratne sangraha kariya yatne
jive karaila krsna-sphurti [5]

bhakati-vinoda-vara– Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, kara–the author ‘piyusa-varsini’–of the Piyusa-varsini-vrtti (commentary that showers nectar), ya̐ra–whose murti–form [is that] upadesamrta–of the Upadesamrta, yatne–carefully sangraha kariya–collected ratne–the jewels upadesamrta–within the Upadesamrta [and] karaila–induced jive–souls sphurti–to realise krsna–Krishna. [5]

Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, the author of the Piyusa-varsini-vrtti and embodiment of the Upadesamrta, carefully collected the jewels within the Upadesamrta and then induced souls to realise Krishna.

কহিহত জীবগণ ‘উপদেশামৃত’-ধন
ছাড়ি’ কৈল নবীন বিধান ।
নদে নাগরীর মত আর বা কহিব কত
কৃষ্ণ ত্যজি’ মায়ার সন্ধান ॥৬॥

kali-hata jiva-gana ‘upadesamrta’-dhana
chhadi’ kaila navina vidhana
nade nagarira mata ara va kahiba kata
krsna tyaji’ mayara sandhana [6]

jiva-gana–The souls hata–ruined kali–by Kali chhadi’–rejected dhana–the wealth ‘upadesamrta’–of the Upadesamrta [and] kaila–made up navina–new vidhana–methods, [such as] mata–the conjecture nagarira–of the Gaura-nagaris nade–in Nadia, kata va–how many ara–more kahiba–shall I name? tyaji’–Rejecting krsna–Krishna, [they have] sandhana–delved mayara–into illusion. [6]

The souls ruined by Kali rejected the wealth of the Upadesamrta and made up new methods, such as the conjecture of the Gaura-nagaris in Nadia. How many more shall I name? Rejecting Krishna, they have delved into illusion.

এ হেন সময়ে কলি মায়াবাদ-অস্ত্রে ছলি’
কৃষ্ণভক্তি আচ্ছাদন কৈল ।
জীবেরে দুর্ব্বল পেয়ে মিছা ভক্তি ছাঁচ লয়ে
ভব-সাগরেতে ডুবাইল ॥৭॥

e hena samaye kali mayavada astre chhali’
krsna-bhakti achchhadana kaila
jivere durbala peye michha bhakti chha̐cha laye
bhava-sagarete dubaila [7]

[At] e–this hena–very samaye–time, kali–Kali chhali’–fired astre–the weapon mayavada–of illusionism [and] achchhadana kaila–hid bhakti–devotion krsna–to Krishna. peye–Getting jivere–souls durbala–weak, laye–he brought in chha̐cha–a mould michha–of false bhakti–devotion [and] dubaila–submerged [souls] sagarete–in the ocean bhava–of material existence. [7]

At this time, Kali fired the weapon of illusionism and hid devotion to Krishna. Getting souls weak, he brought in a mould of false devotion and submerged souls in the ocean of material existence.

বিপ্রলম্ভ-মূর্ত্তিমান্ শ্রীগৌরাঙ্গ ভগবান্
সম্ভোগের পুষ্টির লাগিয়া ।
প্রচারিল নিজতত্ত্ব প্রকাশিয়া শুদ্ধসত্ত্ব
“ভজ কৃষ্ণ মায়াকে ছাড়িয়া” ॥৮॥

vipralambha-murtiman sri-gauranga bhagavan
sambhogera pustira lagiya
pracharila nija-tattva prakasiya suddha-sattva
“bhaja krsna mayake chhadiya” [8]

murtiman–The embodiment vipralambha–of separation, bhagavan–Lord sri-gauranga–Sri Gauranga, pustira lagiya–to enhance [the experience] sambhogera–of union, prakasiya–manifested suddha–pure sattva–goodness [and] pracharila– broadcast tattva–the truth nija–about Himself, [saying:] “bhaja–“Serve krsna–Krishna [and] chhadiya–leave behind mayake”–illusion.” [8]

Then, the embodiment of separation, Lord Sri Gauranga, to enhance the experience of union, manifested pure goodness and broadcast the truth about Himself, saying: “Serve Krishna and leave illusion behind.”

মায়াবাদ-উপদেশ গৌরাঙ্গ-দাসের বেশ
গ্রহণ করিয়া কলিরাজ ।
কৃষ্ণভক্তি ছাড়াইয়া সম্ভোগের দাস হৈয়া
দেখাইল ছায়া প্রেমসাজ ॥৯॥

mayavada upadesa gauranga dasera vesa
grahana kariya kali-raja
krsna-bhakti chhadaiya sambhogera dasa haiya
dekhaila chhaya prema-saja [9]

raja–King kali–Kali [then] grahana kariya–accepted vesa–the dress dasera–of a servant gauranga–of Gauranga [and] upadesa–taught mayavada–illusionism. chhadaiya–He made [souls] reject bhakti–devotion krsna–to Krishna [and] haiya–become dasa–servants sambhogera–of union; dekhaila–he showed [them] chhaya–the shadow prema–of divine love’s saja–garb. [9]

King Kali then accepted the dress of a servant of Gauranga and taught illusionism. He made souls reject devotion to Krishna and become servants of union; he showed them the shadow of divine love’s garb.

কখন বাউল-ব্রত কখন নাগরী-মত
নেড়া সহজিয়া কর্ত্তাভজা ।
প্রাকৃত সম্ভোগ-কথা প্রচারয় যথা তথা
নাগরীর গৌরভক্তি-ধ্বজা ॥১০॥

kakhana baula-vrata kakhana nagari-mata
neda sahajiya kartabhaja
prakrta sambhoga-katha pracharaya yatha tatha
nagarira gaura-bhakti-dhvaja [10]

kakhana–Sometimes [he propagated] vrata–the practices baula–of the Bauls, [and] kakhana–sometimes mata–the conceptions nagari–of the Gaura-nagaris, neda–Nedas, sahajiya–Sahajiyas, [and] kartabhaja–Kartabhajas. pracharaya–He propagated katha–the idea prakrta–of material sambhoga–union yatha tatha–everywhere, [which is] dhvaja–the hallhark nagarira–of the Gaura-nagaris bhakti–‘devotion gaura–to Gaura’. [10]

Sometimes he propagated the practices of the bauls, and sometimes the conceptions of Gaura-nagaris, nedas, sahajiyas, and kartabhajas. He propagated the idea of material union everywhere, which is the hallmark of the Gaura-nagaris’ ‘devotion to Gaura’.

কলিজন হয়ে কেহ “আপনাতে গৌর-দেহ
প্রকাশ করয়ে অবতার” ।
কেহ বলে, “আমি গুরু আমাকে ভজন কুরু
কামিনী-কাঞ্চন আমি সার” ॥

kali-jana haye keha “apanate gaura-deha
prakasa karaye avatara”
keha bale, “ami guru amake bhajana kuru
kamini-kanchana ami sara” [11]

haye–Becoming jana–followers kali–of Kali, keha–some [claimed, “I] “apanate–myself [am] deha–a form gaura–of Gaura. prakasa karaye–He has manifest avatara”–an incarnation.” keha–Some bale–said, “ami–“I [am] guru–Guru. bhajana kuru–Worship amake–me. ami–I [am] sara–the best [in comparison to] kamini–women [and] kanchana–gold.” [11]

Becoming followers of Kali, some people claimed, “I myself am a form of Gauranga. He has manifested an incarnation.” Others said, “I am Guru. Worship me. I am more valuable than women and wealth.”

গৌরভক্তি নাশ করি’ কলি ভাসাইল তরি
পারকীয় গৌরপ্রেম-ছলে ।
সখীভেকী গৌরভজা লইয়া জড়ের মজা
মাতিল আনন্দে কুতূহলে ॥১২॥

gaura-bhakti nasa kari’ kali bhasaila tari
parakiya gaura-prema-chhale
sakhi-bheki gaura-bhaja la-iya jadera maja
matila anande kutuhale [12]

nasa kari’–Destroying bhakti–devotion gaura–to Gaura, kali–Kali bhasaila–floated [his] tari–boat chhale–on the pretext prema–of ‘love gaura–for Gaura parakiya–as a paramour’. sakhi-bheki–Sakhi-bhekis [and] gaura-bhaja–Gaura-bhajas, la-iya–indulging maja–in the delights jadera–of the mundane, kutuhale–cheerfully matila–became mad anande–with pleasure. [12]

Destroying devotion to Gauranga, Kali floated his boat on the pretext of ‘love for Gaura as a paramour’. Sakhi-bhekis and Gaura-bhajas, indulging in the delights of the mundane, cheerfully became mad with pleasure.

কেহ বলে, “বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া ভজ নিজ প্রাণ দিয়া
রূপানুগ-পথ ত্যাগ করি’ ।
রাধাকৃষ্ণ-সেবা ত্যাজি’ থিয়সফি-কাম ভজি’
প্রাকৃত ভোগের পথ ধরি’” ॥১৩॥

keha bale, “visnu-priya bhaja nija prana diya
rupanuga-patha tyaga kari’
radha-krsna-seva tyaji’ thiyasaphi-kama bhaji’
prakrta bhogera patha dhari’” [13]

keha–Some bale,–said, “bhaja–Worship visnu-priya–Visnu Priya diya–with [your] nija–own prana–heart, tyaga kari’–leave patha–the path anuga–of the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa, tyaji’–leave seva–the service radha–of Sri Radha [and] krsna–Sri Krishna, bhaji’–serve kama–the aims thiyasaphi–of Theosophy, [and] dhari’–follow patha–the path [of] prakrta–material bhogera”–enjoyment.” [13]

Some said, “Worship Visnu Priya with your heart, leave the path of the followers of Sri Rupa, leave the service of Radha-Krishna, serve the aims of theosophy, and follow the path of material enjoyment.”

ভূত-প্রেত-বাদ লয়ে গৌরপ্রেমে মিশাইয়া
নিজ ভোগে গড়িল গৌরাঙ্গ ।
“জড়ভোগে গৌরহরি গড়াইছি নিজ হরি”
বলে, “তোরা হবি সাঙ্গোপাঙ্গ ॥১৪॥

bhuta-preta-vada laye gaura-preme misaiye
nija bhoge gadila gauranga
“jada-bhoge gaurahari gadaichhi nija hari”
bale, “tora habi sangopanga [14]

laye–Taking bhuta vada–materialism [and] preta [vada]–spirit worship [and] misaiye–combining [them] preme–with ‘love’ gaura–for Gaura, [they] gadila–fabricated gauranga–a Gauranga [of their] nija–own bhoge–enjoyment. [They] bale–said, “gadaichhi–“We are making [our] nija–own hari–God: gaurahari–the golden Lord [of] jada–material bhoge–enjoyment, [and] tora–you all habi–will be [His] sanga–associates [and] upanga”–companions. [14]

Taking materialism and spirit worship and combining them with ‘love’ for Gaura, they fabricated a Gauranga of their own enjoyment. They said, “We are making our own God: the golden Lord of material enjoyment, and you all will be His associates and companions.

আমার গৌরাঙ্গ লহ বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া তার সহ
নবীন ভজন শিখ ভাই ।
রূপানুগ রঘুনাথ নাহি সঙ্গ তার সাথ
নিশ্চয় করিয়া কহি তাই ॥১৫॥

amara gauranga laha visnu-priya tara saha
navina bhajana sikha bhai
rupanuga raghunatha nahi sanga tara satha
nischaya kariya kahi tai [15]

laha–Accept amara–our gauranga–Gauranga, [and] visnu-priya–Visnu Priya saha–with tara–Him, [and] sikha–learn [this] navina–new [form of] bhajana–worship, bhai–brother! raghunatha–Raghunath [and] anuga–the [other] followers rupa–of Rupa nahi–have no sanga–connection satha–with tara–Him. tai–This kahi–I say nischaya kariya–certainly. [15]

“Accept our Gauranga with Visnu Priya and learn this new form of worship, brother! Raghunath and the followers of Sri Rupa have no connection with Him. This I say for certain.

পার্ষদের যেই মত তাতে আমি নহি রত
তাহাতে আমার কার্য্য নাই ।
ভজনেতে আছে দুঃখ প্রতিষ্ঠা সম্ভোগ সুখ
তাই ভজি গৌরাঙ্গ নিতাই” ॥১৬॥

parsadera yei mata tate ami nahi rata
tahate amara karya nai
bhajanete achhe duhkha pratistha sambhoga sukha
tai bhaji gauranga nitai” [16]

ami–I rata nahi–do not follow tate yei–the mata–conception [of the Lord’s] parsadera–associates. amara nai–I have no karya–interest tahate–in that. bhajanete–In service, achhe–there is duhkha–suffering, [but in] pratistha–prestige [and] sambhoga–union [there is] sukha–pleasure. tai–So, bhaji–I worship gauranga–Gauranga [and] nitai”–Nitai.” [16]

“I do not follow the conception of the Lord’s associates. I have no interest in that. In service, there is suffering, but in prestige and union there is pleasure. So, I worship Gaura and Nitai.”

ঠাকুর শ্রীনরোত্তম নাশিয়া জগৎ-ভ্রম
বসাইল গৌর-বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া ।
মহাজন-পথ ধরি’ রাধাকৃষ্ণ সদা স্মরি’
ব্রজে ভজে নিজ হিয়া দিয়া ॥১৭॥

thakura sri-narottama nasiya jagat-bhrama
basaila gaura-visnu-priya
mahajana patha dhari’ radha-krsna sada smari’
vraje bhaje nija hiya diya [17]

sri-narottama–Srila Narottam thakura–Thakur nasiya–destroyed bhrama–the misconceptions [throughout] jagat–the world [and] basaila–installed [Deities of] gaura–Gaura [and] visnu-priya–Visnu Priya. dhari’–Following patha–the path mahajana–of the great souls [and] sada–always smari’–remembering radha–Radha [and] krsna–Krishna, [he] bhaje–worshipped vraje–Vraja, diya–giving [his] nija–own hiya–heart. [17]

Srila Narottam Thakur destroyed the misconceptions throughout the world and installed Deities of Gaura and Visnu Priya. Following the path of the great souls and always remembering Radha and Krishna, he wholeheartedly worshipped Vraja.

প্রেমভক্তি-স্বরূপিণী রাধাকৃষ্ণ-গৌরবিণী
নারায়ণী বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া দেবী ।
লক্ষ্মীদেবী লক্ষ্মীপ্রিয়া নীলাদেবী ধাম হিয়া
তিন শক্তি রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবি’ ॥১৮॥

prema-bhakti svarupini radha-krsna-gauravini
narayani visnu-priya devi
laksmi-devi laksmi-priya nila-devi dhama hiya
tina-sakti radha-krsna sevi’ [18]

devi–The goddess visnu-priya–Visnu Priya [is] narayani–the consort of Narayan, [who is] svarupini–the embodiment [of] prema–loving bhakti–devotion [and] gauravini–reverent radha–of Sri Radha [and] krsna–Sri Krishna. laksmi-priya–Laksmi Priya (Sri Gaura’s first wife) [is] laksmi-devi–Laksmi Devi (the consort of Visnu), [and] nila-devi–Nila Devi [manifests her] hiya–heart [as] dhama–the [Lord’s] abode. [These] tina–three sakti–energies sevi’–serve radha–Sri Radha [and] krsna–Sri Krishna. [18]

Visnu Priya Devi is Lord Narayan’s consort, who is the embodiment of loving devotion and reverent of Radha and Krishna. Laksmi Priya is Laksmi Devi, and Nila Devi manifests her heart as the Lord’s abode. These three energies serve Radha and Krishna.

গোপী-অনুগত হয়ে মানসে সেবিল ত্রয়ে
রাধাকৃষ্ণ গৌর-ভগবানে ।
এবে যে নূতন মত নাগরিয়া কলিহত
ভক্তির নাশক ভক্ত মানে ॥১৯॥

gopi-anugata haye manase sevila traye
radha-krsna gaura-bhagavane
ebe ye nutana mata nagariya kali-hata
bhaktira nasaka bhakata mane [19]

haye–Being anugata–subservient gopi–to the gopis, [these] traye–three [energies] sevila–serve radha–Sri Radha [and] krsna–Sri Krishna and gaura–the golden bhagavane–Lord manase–within [their] hearts. ebe–Now bhakata–the devotees mane–recognise ye–the nutana–new mata–conception nagariya–of the Gaura-nagaris [to be] hata–defiled kali–by Kali [and] nasaka–destructive bhaktira–to devotion. [19]

Being subservient to the gopis, these three energies serve Radha-Krishna and the golden Lord within their hearts. Now the devotees recognise the new conception of the Gaura-nagaris to be defiled by Kali and destructive to devotion.

ভকতিবিনোদ নিজ প্রভুপদ-সরসিজ
আপনে জানিয়া গৌরভৃত্য ।
নরোত্তম-পদ স্মরি’ মায়াপুরে প্রিয়া হরি
বসাইল জানি’ নিজ কৃত্য ॥২০॥

bhakati-vinoda nija prabhu-pada-sarasija
apane janiya gaura-bhrtya
narottama-pada smari’ mayapure priya hari
basaila jani’ nija krtya [20]

bhakati-vinoda–Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, sarasija–a lotus pada–at the feet nija–of his prabhu–Lord, janiya–knowing apane–himself [to be] bhrtya–a servant gaura–of Gaura [and] smari’–meditating pada–on the feet narottama–of Sri Narottam, [and] jani’–understanding [his] nija–own krtya–duty, basaila–installed [Deities] hari–of Gaurahari [and] priya–Visnu Priya mayapure–in Mayapur. [20]

Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, a lotus at the feet of his Lord, knowing himself to be a servant of Gaura, meditating on the feet of Sri Narottam, and understanding his duty, installed Deties of Gaurahari and Visnu Priya in Mayapur.

রূপ-প্রদর্শিত পথ স্বচরিত্রে যথাযথ
জগৎ-জীবের দেখাইল ।
ভকতিবিনোদাশ্রিত প্রেমভক্তি-সমন্বিত
উপদেশামৃত তার হৈল ॥২১॥

rupa-pradarsita patha svacharitre yathayatha
jagat-jivere dekhaila
bhakati-vinodasrita prema-bhakti-samanvita
upadesamrta tara haila [21]

[By his own] yathayatha–proper svacharitre–conduct, [he] dekhaila–showed patha–the path pradarsita–revealed rupa–by Sri Rupa jivere–to the souls jagat–of [this] world. asrita–Sheltered bhakati-vinoda–by Sri Bhakti Vinod [and] samanvita–filled prema–with loving bhakti–devotion, upadesamrta–the Upadesamrta haila–became tara–their own. [21]

By his own proper conduct, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur showed the path revealed by Sri Rupa to the souls of this world. Sheltered by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and filled with loving devotion, the Upadesamrta became their own.

কলির বঞ্চনা যত তাহে ভক্ত নহে রত
প্রাকৃত করিয়া তাহে মানে ।
রূপ-শিক্ষামৃত যেই গৌর-শিক্ষামৃত সেই
অন্য শিক্ষা না শুনয়ে কাণে ॥২২॥

kalira vanchana yata tahe bhakta nahe rata
prakrta kariya tahe mane
rupa-siksamrta yei gaura-siksamrta sei
anya siksa na sunaye kane [22]

bhakta–Devotees rata nahe–do not follow tahe yata–all the vanchana–deceptions kalira–of Kali; kariya–they consider tahe–them prakrta–mundane [and] mane–recognise sei yei–the amrta–nectar siksa–of the teachings rupa–of Sri Rupa [to be] amrta–the nectar siksa–of the teachings gaura–of Sri Gaura. [They] sunaye na–do not listen kane–with [their] ears [to any] anya–other siksa–teachings. [22]

Devotees do not follow the deceptions of Kali; they consider them mundane and recognise the nectar of Sri Rupa’s teachings to be nondifferent from the nectar of Sri Gaura’s teachings. They do not listen to any other teachings.

শ্রীগৌরবিমুখ-ভাব রাধাকৃষ্ণ-প্রেমাভাব
ভকতিবিনোদ দেখে যবে ।
সংসারের দেখি’ গতি কৃষ্ণভক্তিহীন মতি
বাতব্যধি-ছলে মৌনী তবে ॥২৩॥

sri-gaura-vimukha-bhava radha-krsna premabhava
bhakati-vinoda dekhe yabe
samsarera dekhi’ gati krsna-bhakti-hina mati
vata-vyadhi chhale mauni tabe [23]

yabe–When bhakati-vinoda–Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur dekhe–saw [the world’s] vimukha-bhava–aversion sri-gaura–to Sri Gaura [and] abhava–absence prema–of love radha–for Radha [and] krsna–Krishna, tabe–then, dekhi’–seeing [this] gati–condition samsarera–of the world [and its] mati–mentality hina–lacking bhakti–devotion krsna–to Krishna, [he became] mauni–silent chhale–on the pretext vata-vyadhi–of rheumatism. [23]

When Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur saw the world’s aversion to Sri Gaura and absence of love for Radha and Krishna, when he saw the world’s condition and mentality devoid of devotion to Krishna, he became silent on the pretext of rheumatism.

অবলম্বি’ জড়ভাব “জড়ত্যাগে ব্রজ-লাভ”
অনুক্ষণ এই কথা মুখে ।
কৃষ্ণভক্তিশূন্য-ধরা দেখি’ প্রকাশিল জরা
অন্তর দশায় ভজে সুখে ॥২৪॥

avalambi’ jada-bhava “jada-tyage vraja labha”
anuksana ei katha mukhe
krsna-bhakti-sunya-dhara dekhi’ prakasila jara
antara dasaya bhaje sukhe [24]

avalambi’–Adopting [a] jada–material bhava–condition, anuksana–always [with] ei–this katha–statement mukhe–in [his] mouth, labha–“Reach vraja–Vraja tyage–by giving up jada–the mundane”, [and] dekhi’–seeing dhara–the earth sunya–devoid bhakti–of devotion krsna–to Krishna, prakasila–he manifest jara–infirmity [and within his] antara–internal dasaya–absorption, sukhe–happily bhaje–served [the Lord]. [24]

Adopting a material condition, repeatedly saying, “Reach Vraja by giving up the mundane”, and seeing the earth devoid of devotion to Krishna, he manifest infirmity and within his inner absorption, happily served the Lord.

মিছাভক্ত-অভিমানে মূঢ়লোক নাহি জানে
অপরাধ কৈল ভক্ত-পায় ।
নিজ ক্ষুদ্র অধিকারে চায় ভক্তে দেখিবারে
অবশেষে অপরাধ হায় ॥২৫॥

michha-bhakta-abhimane mudha-loka nahi jane
aparadha kaila bhakta-paya
nija ksudra adhikare chaya bhakte dekhibare
avasese aparadha haya [25]

mudha-loka–Fools jane nahi–do not understand abhimane–the pride michha–of false bhakta–devotees [and] kaila–make aparadha–offence paya–at the feet bhakta–of [true] devotees. chaya–They want dekhibare–to see bhakte–devotees [from their] nija–own ksudra–insignificant adhikare–position, [and] avasese–ultimately [they make] aparadha–offence [to them,] haya–alas! [25]

Fools do not understand the pride of false devotees and make offence at the feet of true devotees. They want to see devotees from their own insignificant position, and ultimately they offend them, alas!

জীবের দুর্গতি হেরি’ কত অশ্রুপাত করি’
শুদ্ধভক্তি করিতে প্রচার ।
আদেশিল ভক্তরাজ কর গৌরহরি-কায
এবে তুমি করিয়া আচার ॥২৬॥

jivera durgati heri’ kata asru-pata kari’
suddha-bhakti karite prachara
adesila bhakta-raja “kara gaurahari-kaya
ebe tumi kariya achara” [26]

heri’–Seeing durgati–the degradation jivera–of the souls [and] asru-pata kari’–weeping kata–profusely, raja–the foremost bhakta–of devotees adesila–instructed [me] prachara karite–to propagate suddha–pure bhakti–devotion: “ebe–“Now tumi–you kara–perform kaya–the work gaurahari–of Gaurahari [and] achara kariya–practise [it yourself]. [26]

Seeing the degradation of the souls and weeping profusely, the foremost of devotees, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, instructed me to propagate pure devotion: “Now you perform the work of Gaurahari and practise it yourself.”

হৃদয়ে বলিল কেবা “দয়িতদাসের সেবা
গোপীধন-কথার কীর্ত্তন ।
‘পীযূষবর্ষিণী’-বৃত্তি, তার কর ‘অনুবৃত্তি’
প্রচার করহ অনুক্ষণ” ॥২৭॥

hrdaye balila keba “dayita-dasera seva
gopi-dhana-kathara kirtana
piyusa-varsini-vrtti tara kara anuvrtti
prachara karaha anuksana” [27]

keba–He [also] balila–told [me] hrdaye–within [my] heart, “seva–“The service dayita-dasera–of Dayita Das [is to] kirtana–glorify kathara–the message [about] dhana–the wealth gopi–of the gopis. kara–Write anuvrtti–a sub-commentary tara–for the piyusa-varsini-vrtti–Piyusa-varsini-vrtti [and] prachara karaha–propagate [it] anuksana”–continuously.” [27]

He also told me within my heart, “Dayita Das, your service is to spread the glory of the gopis’ wealth. Write a sub-commentary (the Anuvrtti) on the Piyusa-varsini-vrtti and propagate it continuously.”

বিনোদের পদরেণু স্মরি’ যবে আরম্ভিনু
‘অনুবৃত্তি’ করিতে লিখন ।
অষ্টশ্লোক হলে পর ভকতিবিনোদ-বর
বিজয় করিল ব্রজবন ॥২৮॥

vinodera pada-renu smari’ yabe arambhinu
‘anuvrtti’ karite likhana
asta-sloka hale para bhakati-vinoda vara
vijaya karila vraja-vana [28]

yabe–When arambhinu–I began likhana karite–to write anuvrtti–the Anuvrtti (sub-commentary) smari’–meditating [on the] pada–foot- renu–dust vinodera–of Sri Bhakti Vinod, para–after [only] asta–eight sloka–verses hale–were done, bhakati-vinoda-vara–Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur vijaya karila–departed vana–for the forest vraja–of Vraja. [28]

I began to write the sub-commentary meditating on the footdust of Sri Bhakti Vinod, but after only eight verses were completed, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur departed for the forest of Vraja.

অদ্য শুভ রাধা-দিনে কর কৃপা দীনহীনে
শুদ্ধ ভাগবত হরিজন ।
‘অনুবৃত্তি’ সমপিয়া তব করে সমর্পিয়া
দন্তে তৃণ করিয়া ধারণ ॥২৯॥

adya subha radha-dine kara krpa dina-hine
suddha bhagavata hari-jana
‘anuvrtti’ samapiya tava kare samarpiya
dante trna kariya dharana [29]

adya–Today, [on this] subha–auspicious dine–day radha–of Sri Radha (Sri Radhastami), krpa kara–be merciful dina–to [this] poor hine–lowly soul, suddha–O pure bhagavata jana–devotee hari–of the Lord! samapiya–I have completed [this] ‘anuvrtti’–Anuvrtti, samarpiya–I place [it in] tava–your kare–hand, dharana kariya–holding trna–straw dante–between [my] teeth. [29]

Today, on the auspicious day of Sri Radha’s appearance, please be merciful to this poor, lowly soul, O pure devotee of the Lord! I have completed this sub-commentary, and I place it in your hand, holding straw between my teeth.

গদাধর-দিন ধরি’ পাইয়াছ গৌরহরি
ভকতিবিনোদ প্রভুবর ।
‘উপদেশামৃত’-ধারা সিক্ত হয়ে ভবকারা-
সুখমুক্ত হয় যেন নর ॥৩০॥

gadadhara-dina dhari’ paiyachha gaurahari
bhakati-vinoda prabhu-vara
‘upadesamrta’-dhara sikta haye bhava-kara-
sukha-mukta haya yena nara [30]

dhari’–Choosing dina–the day gadadhara–of Sri Gadadhar, paiyachha–you have reached gaurahari–Gaurahari, vara–O greatest prabhu–of masters, bhakati-vinoda–Sri Bhakti Vinod! yena–May [all] nara–souls sikta haye–be bathed dhara–in the current ‘upadesamrta’–of the Upadesamrta [and] haya–become mukta–free sukha–from the pleasures kara–of the prison bhava–of material existence. [30]

Choosing the day of Sri Gadadhar, you have reached Gaurahari, O greatest of masters Sri Bhakti Vinod! May all souls be bathed in the current of the Upadesamrta and become free from the pleasures of the prison of material existence.

চৈতন্যাব্দে চতুঃশত অষ্টাবিংশ হলে গত
হৃষীকেষ দ্বাবিংশ দিবসে ।
শ্রীব্রজপত্তনে বসি’ চিন্তি’ গৌরপদ-শশী
লভি সুখ রূপানুগ-যশ ॥৩১॥

chaitanyabda chatuh-sata astavimsa hale gata
hrsikesa dvavimsa divase
sri-vraja-pattane vasi’ chinti’ gaura-pada-sasi
labhi sukha rupanuga-yase [31]

[On the] dvavimsa–twenty-second divase–day hrsikesa–of Hrsikes gata hale–in the year chatuh-sata–four hundred [and] astavimsa–twenty-eight [of] chaitanya–the Chaitanya abda–era, vasi’–sitting sri-vraja-pattane–in Sri Vraja Pattan [and] chinti’–thinking pada–of the feet sasi–of the moon gaura–Sri Gaura, labhi–I find sukha–joy yase–in the glory anuga–of the followers rupa–of Sri Rupa. [31]

On the twenty-second day of the month of Hrsikes in the year 428 of the Chaitanya era (on 28 August 1914 on Sri Radhastami tithi), sitting in Sri Vraja Pattan and thinking of the feet of the moon Sri Gaura, I find joy in the glory of the followers of Sri Rupa.

Discourse at Sri Radha Kunda

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

The following is a translation of the lecture given by Srila Prabhupad on Krishna Dvitiya, Sunday, 16 October 1932, on the bank of Sri Radha Kunda during Sri Gaudiya Math’s Vraja Mandal Parikrama in the afternoon of the party’s third day at Sri Radha Kunda and eighth day of parikrama.

We are present today between Sri Radha Kunda and Sri Syama Kunda. We are the Gaudiya Sri Rupanuga sampradaya. We do not speak of anything except service under the guidance of Sri Rupa. Before we discuss everything Sri Rupa’s Upadesamrta has said to pull us out of the mud of the contamination we attribute to the name of the followers of the followers of Sri Rupa, please hear the glories of Sri Rupa within this song by Sri Rupa’s follower Srila Narottam Thakur.

[Saying this, Srila Prabhupad requested Pandit Srila Haripada Vidya Ratna Mahoday to chant Srila Thakur Mahasay’s song:]

sri-rupa-manjari-pada sei mora sampada
sei mora bhajana-pujana
sei mora prana-dhana sei mora abharana
sei mora jivanera jivana [1]

[“The lotus feet of Sri Rupa Manjari are my fortune. They are my service and my worship. They are the wealth of my heart. They are my ornaments. They are the very life of my life.”]

sei mora rasa-nidhi sei mora vanchha-siddhi
sei mora vedera dharama
sei vrata sei tapa sei mora mantra japa
sei mora dharama karama [2]

[“They are my ocean of nectar. They are the fulfilment of my desires. They are my scriptural duty, my vows, my austerities, my chanting of mantras, and my virtuous acts.”]

anukula habe vidhi se pade ha-ibe siddhi
nirakhiba e dui nayane
se rupa-madhuri-rasi prana-kuvalaya-sasi
praphullita habe nisi-dine [3]

[“When Providence favours me, I will reach those feet and see them with these two eyes. Sri Rupa’s abounding beauty is the moon of the lotus of my heart, which will bloom night and day.”]

tuya adarsana-ahi- garale jarala dehi
chira-dina tapita jivana
ha ha prabhu! kara daya deha more pada-chhaya
narottama la-ila sarana [4]

[“Afflicted by the poison of the snake of separation from you, my body wastes away, and my heart constantly burns. Alas! O mistress! Be merciful. Give me the shade of your feet. Narottam Das has taken shelter of you.”]

suniyachhi sadhu-mukhe bale sarva-jana
sri-rupa-krpaya mile yugala-charana [1]

[“I have heard from the mouth of the sadhus, and everyone says, that by the mercy of Sri Rupa souls attain the feet of the Divine Couple.”]

ha ha prabhu sanatana gaura-parivara
sabe mili’ vanchha-purna karaha amara [2]

[“O Prabhu Sanatan! O associates of Sri Gaura! May you all unitedly fulfil my desires.”]

sri-rupera krpa yena ama prati haya
se pada asraya yara, sei mahasaya [3]

[“May Sri Rupa be merciful to me. Those who have taken shelter of Sri Rupa’s feet are great souls.”]

prabhu lokanatha kabe sange lana yabe
sri-rupera pada-padme more samarpibe [4]

[“When will my master, Sri Lokanath, take me with him and offer me to the lotus feet of Sri Rupa?”]

hena ki ha-ibe mora—narma-sakhi-gane
anugata narottame karibe sasane [5]

[“Will I ever attain this? Will the intimate sakhis ever chastise their follower Narottam?”]

When the kirtan ended, Srila Prabhupad began to speak again:

If we are to attain the mercy of Sri Vrsabhanu Nandini, then we have no means other than subservience to Sri Rupa Manjari. Sri Raghunath Das Goswami is the foremost follower of Sri Rupa. Sri Jiva is a follower of Raghunath. The instructions that Sri Rupa Goswami has given are revealed in the hearts of the highest section of devotees (the paramahamsa Vaisnavas).

The bank of Sri Radha Kunda is not simply a holy place like Jambudwip, Vaikuntha, or the district of Mathura. For those who beg for the lotus feet of Sri Radha, there is no other place to take shelter. Sri Radha Kunda is their one and only place of shelter, and Sri Upadesamrta has explained how they are to follow the path to Sri Radha Kunda.

Because a faint presence of the message of Sri Rupa can be found in the hearts of the paramahamsas, the first verse of Sri Upadesamrta is the same as a verse from the Hamsa-gita in the Mahabharata.

vacho vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

Vakya-vega: giving up talk of Sri Krishna and those devoted to Krishna, and talking about other things. Sitting silently is also vakya-vega; it is unexpressed vakya-vega. Those who speak about numerous worldly matters, whose speaking power has waywardly remained engaged in worldly talk—be it in this birth or a previous birth—may remain silent with the desire of taking rest for a little while after saying many things to atone for their sins. Some may become silent for a week, and some may have performed an act of remaining silent for ages, but inside their unexpressed urge to speak remains like a loaded gun. Genuine goodness can never come about through such artificial endeavours. Only the tongue that resonates talk of Krishna is chaste. A tongue that croaks like a frog about worldly matters or indulges in unexpressed vakya-vega by remaining silent like a python has no chastity. We have no reason to remain silent. We have heard the dictum, “Kirtaniyah sada Harih: we must always glorify the Lord.”

The subject (asray) and object (visay) of the respective rasas of those who relish the various rasas in the service of Krishna should be discussed. The devotees of the Lord have no other life. Their life is filled exclusively with devotion—with the endeavour to gratify the senses of Krishna. Their devotion is not mixed with abstract knowledge (jnan), meditation (yoga), or austerity (tapasya). Their entire life—their everything, their sustenance—is Krishna’s service.

The service of Krishna is performed in five forms. In santa-rasa, there is residence on the bank of the Yamuna in the district of Mathura. In dasya-rasa, there is subservience to Raktaka, Patraka, and Chitraka. In intimate sakhya-rasa, there is compliance with Sudam, Sridam, Stokakrishna, and others. In vatsalya-rasa, there is subservience to Sri Nanda and Yasoda, and in madhura-rasa, there is servitorship to the gopis of Vraja.

If you can become an emperor by holding the supramundane dust of the gopis’ feet on your head, then you can serve Krishna. If you adorn your head with the dust from the feet of the surrendered Vaisnavas, then you will attain all perfection.

naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim
sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo-’bhisekam
niskinchananam na vrnita yavat
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 7.5.32)

[“So long as souls attached to worldly happiness do not bathe in the dust of the feet of great souls who are detached from this world, their consciousness, which is intent upon the removal of misfortune, cannot touch the Lord’s feet.”]

The only duty of the gods of the earth—the brahmans—and all other classes is service to Krishna. If they do not do this, they all must become subject to punishment by Yamaraj. In Srimad Bhagavatam (6.3.28–9), Yamaraj said to his attendents:

tan anayadhvam asato vimukhan mukunda-
padaravinda-makaranda-rasad ajasram
niskinchanaih paramahamsa-kulair asangair
justad grhe niraya-vartmani baddha-trsnan

[“Bring me the non-devotees who are bound by desire to the path to hell—their homes—and averse to the taste of the nectar from the Lord’s lotus feet, which is relished by the selfless paramahamsas free from bad association.”]

jihva na vakti bhagavad-guna-namadheyam
chetas cha na smarati tach-charanaravindam
krsnaya no namati yach-chhira ekadapi
tan anayadhvam asato ’krta-visnu-krtyan

[“Bring me the non-devotees whose tongues have never even once uttered the Lord’s Name or qualities, whose minds have never even once remembered His lotus feet, whose heads have never even once bowed to Krishna, and who have never even once served Krishna.”]

Manasah krodha-vegam: the mind has two types of urges: reciprocal affection and reciprocal opposition; the urge for affection and the urge for opposition. Jihva, udara, and upastha vegas: these are three types of bodily urges. One who can control the urges of the body, the mind, and speech is a carrier of the triple-staff (tridandi), and engaging these three types of urges in Krishna’s service is a characteristic of being a master of the senses (goswami). If we are to engage in Krishna’s service, then we must become a goswami. Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati, a resident of Kamyavan, was such a tridandi-goswami.

The second instruction of Sri Rupa is,

atyaharah prayasas cha prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas cha laulyan cha sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati

Excessive eating, amassing wealth in large quantities, amassing strength, and amassing prestige (pratistha) are all atyahara. Accepting as much of these things as is necessary to live (yavan nirvaha pratigraha, Cc: Madhya, 22.112) is the conduct of a Vaisnava. After giving up talk of service to Krishna, all talk that remains is prajalpa. Talk of worldly sin and piety is all prajalpa. Niyamagraha means both excessive attachment to and detachment from rules. “I will be attached to rules and give up the service of Krishna” and “I will give up the rules of service to Krishna”—these are both aversion to the Lord’s service. Regarding Srila Das Goswami Prabhu, the greatest of all servitors of Sri Radha Kunda and the best of the followers of Sri Rupa, Srila Kaviraj Goswami has written,

raghunathera niyama yena pasanera rekha
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 6.309)

[“Raghunath’s adherence to rules is like a line carved in stone.”]

Jana-sanga means associating with those who are averse to Krishna’s service. Associating with many wealthy persons, egotists, and intellectuals (jnanis) who are averse to the Lord, considering them disciples, and associating with non-devotees of Krishna is jana-sanga. Associating with those who are devoted to Krishna is not jana-sanga.

Sri Rupa’s third instruction:

utsahan nischayad dhairyat tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati

Progressive enthusiasm for Krishna’s service, conviction that all goodness can be attained only in Krishna’s service, (perseverance in Krishna’s service), performing activities that please Krishna, giving up the association of non-devotees of Krishna, those who illicitly associate with women, and those who associate with such persons, and following the proper conduct of the sadhus and the great souls—devotion develops through these six types of actions that are favourable to devotion.

Srila Rupa Prabhu’s fourth instruction is about association: what is association and how are we to associate with others?

dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prchchhati
bhunkte bhojayate chaiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam

With love, we should give servants of Krishna whatever articles they require. We should accept things given by devotees. We should speak from our heart with genuine servants of Krishna, and we should listen to what they speak from their hearts. With love, we should feed the Vaisnava, and we ourselves should eat the prasad given by the Vaisnava. These six things are the characteristics of love, and in these six ways, our association with both sadhus and non-sadhus takes place. Those who selfishly behave in these six ways with materialists, sinners, atheists, religious hypocrites, and fradulent devotees—mundane imitationists (prakrta-sahajiyas)—do not serve Krishna; they engage in bad association (asat-sanga). So-called gurus who increase the material property of their materialistic disciples and indulge the sins of their sinful disciples associate with these materialists and sinners. Such so-called gurus and so-called disciples engage in bad association with one another; they do not serve Krishna.

Sri Rupa Prabhu’s fifth instruction is about service to the Vaisnavas. How much should I associate with a Vaisnava? Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, in one of his songs, has said,

ye yena vaisnava chiniya la-iya
adara kariba yabe
vaisnavera seva yahe sarva-siddhi
avasya paiba tabe
(Kalyana-kalpa-taru: 3.7.5)

[“When I will recognise and honour a Vaisnava as is appropriate, then I will certainly attain their serivce, within which there is all perfection.]

Sri Rupa Prabhu also has said,

krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti chet pranatibhis cha bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya-
nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya

We should honour within the mind those who (under the shelter of a genuine Guru’s feet) chant the Name of Krishna. If they become initiated and sincerely engage in the Lord’s service through service to Sri Guru, then we should know them to be intermediate Vaisnavas and honour them with obeisance. We should know the association of great devotees who have taken shelter exclusively, are indifferent to criticism and praise, and engage in genuine service to Krishna during the eight periods of the day to be most desirable, and we should serve them in all respects. Service to the great devotees in body, mind, and words is the root of service to Krishna. Beginners often times proudly consider themselves great devotees and fall down. We should honour the Vaisnavas with our heart, and we should give external social respect to non-Vaisnavas. If we do not honour the Vaisnavas with our heart, then our fall down is inevitable. Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu quotes a verse from the Puranas in his sandarbhas:

hanti nindanti vai dvesti vaisnavan nabhinandati
krudhyate yati no harsam darsane patanani sat
(Skanda-purana)

Killing a Vaisnava, showing anger towards a Vaisnava, being inimical towards a Vaisnava, criticising a Vaisnava, not offering obeisance upon seeing a Vaisnava, and what more, not feeling joyful at heart upon seeing a Vaisnava—these six are causes of fall down.

In his Bhakti-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu has established the definition of initiation (diksa) by quoting from the Agama-purana:

divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih

The Guru who can, through the gift of the mantra, establish spiritual perception in the place of material knowledge and remove all mundane sins in the form of forbidden activities [within a disciple] is a giver of initiation (diksa), and those who take shelter of him are initiated. A Vaisnava who is fortunate to attain initiation into the mantra has no mundane ego. Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, quoting from a statement from the Puranas, has said,

ahankrtir ma-karah syan na-karas tan nisedhakah
tasmat tu namasa ksetri-svatantryam pratisidhyate
bhagavat-paratantro ’sau tadayatatma-jivanah
tasmat svasamarthya-vidhim tyajet sarvam asesatah

The Lord’s Name is the Lord Himself. The union of the Lord and the word namah in a devotional manner which expresses subservience to the Lord is the Lord’s mantra (Bhagavan-mantra). Ma means mundane ego, and na is there to negate it. The word namah has been used for the purpose of giving up mundane ego in subservience to the Lord. The master of the field in the form of the body is known as the jiva. By the use of the word namah, the jiva’s independence in the form of absorption in matter has been checked.

There are three designations for devotees: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. In service also, there are three principles: love for the Lord, friendship with those surrendered to Him, and mercy for the unknowing. Ignoring the inimical also, as an alternate, is mercy and avoidance of bad association. Offer obeisance to the inimical from a distance. Offer obeisance to materialistic followers of the smrti scriptures from a distance. Offer obeisance to the various schools of demigod worshippers from a distance. Speak about the Lord only with those who want to listen.

Worship of the Lord is the fundamental principle. Austerities, rites, and so on are not.

aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
antar bahir yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
nantar bahir yadi haris tapasa tatah kim

[“If the Lord is worshipped, what is the use of austerities? And if Lord is not worshipped, what is the use of austerities? If the Lord is within and without, what is the use of austerities? And if the Lord is not within and without, what is the use of austerities?”]

Previously, the conception in the Sri sampradaya was mixed with yoga, but Gosthipurnapad curbed this.

The characteristics of a great devotee are:

sarva-bhutesu yah pasyed bhagavad-bhavam atmanah
bhutani bhagavaty atmany esa bhagavatottamah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.2.45)

[“Those who see the presence of the Supreme Lord within all beings and the presence of all beings within the Supreme Lord are advanced devotees.”]

sabe krsna bhajana kare, ei-matra jane
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 13.133)

[“They know only that everyone serves Krishna.”]

“Everyone is a devotee, but I have never had any devotion.” Sriman Mahaprabhu said,

na prema-gandho ’sti darapi me harau
krandami saubhagya-bharam prakasitum
vamsi-vilasy-anana-lokanam vina
bibharmi yat prana-patangakan vrtha
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 2.45)

[“I do not have even a trace of love for Krishna. Still, I cry to show that I have a great fortune. Without a glimpse of the face of that Flute Player, I carry on My meaningless, insect-like life.”]

The Lord is present as the Supersoul within everyone. Horses, donkeys, outcasts—great devotees offer obeisance to everyone.

The qualities of beginners, intermediates, and the advanced have been examined in both the Bhagavat and the Pancharatra. Followers of the Pancharatra have taste for the process of worship (archan), and the followers of the Bhagavat engage in glorification (kirtan). Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, in his Bhakti-sandarbha, has said,

tatah prema-taratamyenaiva bhakta-mahattva-taratamyam mukhyam.
yair lingair sa bhagavatah priya uttama-madhyamatadi-vivikto bhavati tani lingani.
tatraivarchana-marge trividhatvam labhyate.
padmottara-khandoktam mahattvan tu archana-marga-paranam madhya eva jneyam.

[“The gradation in advancement amongst devotees is ascertained by the gradation in their love. The signs by which the advanced, the intermediate, and a beginner are distinguished as being relatively dear to the Lord are the characteristics for establishing the gradation amongst devotees. In the system of worship given in the Pancharatra, three stages are found. The advancement amongst Vaisnavas mentioned in the Uttara-khanda of the Padma-purana should be understood to apply to followers of the system of worship given in the Pancharatra.]

tatra mahattvam—

tapadi-pancha-samskari navejya-karma-karakah
artha-panchaka-vid vipro mahabhagavatah smrtah

[The characteristics of an advanced devotee according to this system: “A brahman who has undergone the five samskaras, engages in the nine forms of worship, and understands the five branches of knowledge is known as a great devotee.”]

madhyamatvam—
tapam pundram tatha nama mantro yagas cha panchamah
ami hi pancha-samskarah paramaikanti-hetavah

[The characteristics of an intermediate devotee according to the system of worship given in the Pancharatra: “Performing austerities, wearing tilak, chanting the Name, chanting one’s mantra, and offering worship are the five samskaras. They (as practised by intermediates) are the cause of earnest and intense devotion.”]

kanisthatvam—
sankha-chakrady-urdhva-pundra-dharanady-atma-laksanam
tan-namaskaranan chaiva vaisnavatvam ihochyate

[The characteristics of a beginner devotee according to the system of worship given in the Pancharatra: “Those who mark themselves with the conchshell, disc, and other signs of the Lord, wear vertical line tilak, and offer obeisance to other Vaisnavas who wear such marks are said to be beginners.”]

bhagavata-mate manasa-lingena mahabhagavatam laksayati

[According to Srimad Bhagavatam, an advanced devotee is characterised by a particular state of mind:]

sarva-bhutesu yah pasyed bhagavad-bhavam atmanah
bhutani bhagavaty atmany esa bhagavatottamah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.2.45)

[“Those who see the presence of the Supreme Lord within all beings and the presence of all beings within the Supreme Lord are advanced devotees.”]

atha manasa-linga-visesanenaiva madhyama-bhagavatam laksayati—

[Next, an intermediate devotee is characterised by a particular state of mind:]

isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.2.46)

[“Those who love the Lord, befriend the devotees, are merciful to the innocent, and ignore the inimical are intermediate devotees.”]

atha bhagavad-dharmacharana-rupena kayikena kinchin manasena cha lingena kanistham laksayati—

[Next, a beginner devotee is characterised by marks on the body that represent engagement in service to the Lord and to a certain extent by a particular state of mind:]

archayam eva haraye pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu chanyesu sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.2.47)

[“Those who faithfully worship the Deity of the Lord but not His devotees or other souls are beginner devotees.”]

prabhate chardha-ratre cha madhyahne divasa-ksaye
kirtayanti harim ye vai na tesam anya-sadhanam
(Hari-bhakti-vilasa: 20.379)

[“Those who chant the Name of the Lord in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and at midnight need no other practice.”]

yena janma-sataih purvam vasudevah samarchitah
tan-mukhe hari-namani sada tisthanti bharata
(Hari-bhakti-vilasa: 10.454)

[“O descendant of Bharat, the Names of the Lord always remain in the mouth of those who previously worshipped Vasudev for a hundred births.”]

We should chant the Name of the Lord twenty-four hours a day every day. Those who are qualified to engage in service at all times always think, “Everyone is serving the Lord; only I have not served Him.” Such souls have no conception that, “Some are good, and some are bad.” If beginners, intermediates, or persons with selfish desires, however, imitate advanced devotees and think, “I will not conceive of good and bad; good association and bad association are the same”, then they will fall into bad association and will not be able to enter even the proximity of the land of devotion. We should offer obeisance to intermediate devotees and honour beginners, that is, we should give them enthusiasm. We should honour Pandas who guide pilgrims at holy places; they engage in worship. We should offer obeisance to devotees, and we should serve experts in devotion with our body, mind, and words. We should remain engaged in their service at all times. To external vision, we should even leave the service of the Lord to serve the devotees.

aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param
tasmat parataram devi tadiyanam samarchanam
(Padma-purana)

[“Of all types of worship, the worship of Visnu is supreme. Even better, however, O Goddess, is the worship of those who are dear to Him.”]

abhyarchayitva govindam tadiyan narchayanti ye
na te visnu-prasadasya bhajanam dambhika janah
(Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya: 13.76)

[“Proud persons who worship Govinda but do not worship those who are dear to Him are not recipients of the Lord’s grace.”]

“I have become the Guru of everyone. Everyone is my disciple.” The name for such an attitude is pride. A tridandi is nirasir-nirnamas-kriyah: he does not bless anyone and he does not offer obeisance to anyone. Even the mother and father of a tridandi in his previous asram should offer obeisance to him.

Sri Rupa’s sixth instruction:

drstaih svabhava-janitair vapusas cha dosair
na prakrtatvam iha bhakta-janasya pasyet
gangambhasam na khalu budbuda-phena-pankair
brahma-dravatvam apagachchhati nira-dharmaih

We should never look with mundane vision at the innate faults, such as being low class, rough, or lazy, or the bodily faults, such as having an unpleasant complexion, a deformed figure, or an unsightly appearance as a result of disease, of a devotee of the Lord present in this world. “Because all these faults appear before our eyes, Vaisnavas engaged in the service to the Lord must also be living beings just like all other souls.” If such a conception comes to us, then we are unfortunate. Bubbles, foam, mud, and various types of refuse can be seen in the stream of the Ganges, but the greatness of the Ganges of liquid spirit is not diminished by this.

Although Sathakopa Das appeared in a family of sudras, Yamuna Muni described the greatness of Sathakopa Prabhu’s appearance in a brahman family.

mata-pita-yuvatayas tanaya vibhutih
sarvam yad eva niyamena mad-anvayanam
adyasya nah kula-pater bakulabhiramam
srimat-tad-anghri-yugalam pranamami murdhna
(Stotra-ratna: 2)

“I offer my obeiance with my head to the holy feet of Sri Sathakopa Acharya, the first Acharya in our family. Our entire family’s wealth is simply the holy feet of Sri Sathakopa Prabhu. Our mother, father, wife, sons, and wealth—everything is the lotus feet of Sathakopa Deva.”

Yamuna Acharya also said:

tava dasya-sukhaika-sanginam
bhavanesv astv api kita-janma me
itarav asathesu ma sma bhud
api me janma chaturmukhatmana
(Sri Stotra-ratna: 55)

“O Lord, a birth as an insect in the home of Your devotee is good, but I do not want to reside even in the body of Brahma himself in the home of a non-devotee.”

Ramanuja Acharya has said,

vaisnavanan cha janmani nidralasyani yani cha
drstva tanya-prakasyani janebhyo na vadet kvachit
(Prapannamrta: 65.50)

Even if we know about a Vaisnava’s low birth, sleep, or laziness, (for the good of society and to help persons whose faith is soft) we should never proudly speak about such things with others to defame them. We should overlook a Vaisnava’s present and visible faults and glorify their qualities.

In this verse, Sri Rupa Prabhu has repudiated the mundane mentality of the prakrta sahajiyas. Those who do not recognise a genuine devotee of Krishna if they have not taken birth as a descendant of the Lord or an Acharya and imagine deceitful persons who identify themselves as descendents of the Lord or an Acharya but are averse to the Lord’s service to be goswamis or prabhus have mundane vision. They can never enter the land of devotion.

Those who do not look at a pure devotee with mundane vision and see their pure devotion can quickly become free from vision of misbehaviour in an advanced devotee and develop the qualities of a sadhu. There is a difference between a practitioner who has not developed taste (ruchi) and a perfected (siddha) devotee. The prakrta sahajiya school cannot understand this point. We should know one of such persons to be a disciple, and one to be a Guru. We should not give advice to a Guru, and we should not accept advice from a disciple.

Srila Vedavyas, therefore, has said,

archye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhir
visnor va vaisnavanam kali-mala-mathane pada-tirthe ’mbu-buddhih
sri-visnor-namni-mantre sakala-kalusa-he sabda-samanya-buddhir
visnau sarvesvarese tad-itara-sama-dhir yasya va naraki sah
(Padma-purana)

[“Anyone who thinks the Deity is a stone, Sri Guru is a man, the Vaisnava is from a particular caste, the foot-wash of Visnu or the Vaisnava is ordinary water, the Lord’s Name and mantra, which vanquish all sins, are ordinary sounds, or Visnu, the Lord of Lords, is equal to others is damned.”]

svapakam iva nekseta loke vipram avaisnavam
vaisnavo varno-bahyo ’pi punati bhuvana-trayam
(Padma-purana)

[“As one should not look at a dog-eater, so one should not look at a brahman in this world who is not a Vaisnava, but a Vaisnava even from outside the brahman class purifies the three worlds.”]

viprad dvi-sad-guna-yutad aravinda-nabha-
padaravinda-vimukhat svapacham varistham
manye tad-arpita-mano-vachanehitartha-
pranam punati sa kulam na tu bhurimanah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 7.9.10)

[“I consider outcasts who have dedicated their mind, words, actions, wealth, and life to the lotus feet of the Lord to be superior to brahmans who have all twelve qualities (wealth, high birth, beauty, austerity, learning, strong senses, lustre, power, strength, virility, intelligence, and discipline) but are averse to the Lord’s lotus feet. The outcasts purify their entire family, while proud brahmans do not (even purify themselves).”]

aho bata sva-pacho ’to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanuchur nama grnanti ye te
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 3.33.7)

[“Amazing! The outcast on the tip of whose tongue Your Name appears is exalted. Those who chant Your Name have performed all austerities and sacrifices, bathed at all the holy places, observed all the codes of conduct, and studied all the Vedas.”]

mukha-bahuru-padebhyah purusasyasramaih saha
chatvaro jajnire varna gunair vipradayah prthak
ya esam purusam saksad atma-prabhavam isvaram
na bhajanty avajananti sthanad bhrastah patanty adhah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 11.5.2–3)

[“The brahmans, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras were born from the face, arms, thighs, and feet of the Lord through the modes of nature along with the four asrams. Those amongst them who do not serve and thus disrespect their own creator, the Supreme Lord, lose their positions and fall down.”]

We cannot recognise a Vaisnava by observing external detachment or external attachment. We can recognise a true Vaisnava as a Vaisnava by observing their extremely sincere attachment to the Lord’s service and their extremely genuine constancy within it. We should not confuse a practitioner with an expert. We should not look at Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj of Nabadwip’s habits of chewing pan and smoking tobacco, and we should not imitate him. We should look at his extreme propensity for service.

abhyarthitas tada tasmai sthanani kalaye dadau
dyutam panam striyah suna yatradharmas chatur-vidhah
punas cha yachamanaya jata-rupam adat prabhuh
tato ’nrtam madam kamam rajo vairan cha panchamam
amuni pancha sthanani hy adharma-prabhavah kalih
auttareyena dattani nyavasat tan-nidesa-krt
athaitani na seveta bubhusuh purusah kvachit
visesato dharma-silo raja loka-patir guruh
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 1.17.38–41)

[“Having been requested, Maharaj Pariksit gave Kali the places of the four forms of adharma (dishonesty, lust, violence, and pride): gambling, intoxication, illicit association with women, and slaughter. When requested again, Maharaj Pariksit gave Kali gold (wealth), in which dishonesty, pride, lust, violence, and a fifth (form of adharma), enmity preside. Kali, the propagator of adharma, following this order, took up residence in these five places given by Maharaj Pariksit. Therefore, souls who desire good fortune should never indulge in these five things. Virtuous souls, kings, social leaders, and spiritual masters should completely avoid these things.”]

Pan, tabacco, and other intoxicants are places of Kali. Devotees should never consume intoxicants. If a habit of consuming intoxicants can be seen in any particular sadhu, then we should look at the quality of his propensity for service. Otherwise, we should not say he is a sadhu because he can smoke a lot of ganja. You can call those who are addicted to drugs ‘sadhus’, but you should not call them servants of the Lord.

We should not judge the bodily faults of nondevotees. We should not look at their high or low birth. We should not call them servants of the Lord (‘Hari-jana’) and confuse them with supramundane servants of the Lord. “Ambaris was a grhastha, and therefore, he was less than a sannyasi. He was a ksatriya, and therefore, he was a servant of the brahmans.” We should not think like this. If we do, we will undergo tribulation like Durvasa. Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev has said,

eta saba chhadi’ ara varnasrama-dharma
akinchana hana laya krsnaika-sarana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 22.90)

[“Give up bad association and adherence to social and occupational duties, become detached, and take shelter of Krishna exclusively.”]

When drain water mixes with the water of the Yamuna, we should no longer go to judge, “Which water is this?” There is a verse of Tulsi Dasji,

brahmana-ksatriya-vaisya-sudra sabkoi karata vichara
hari na bhajeta charo chamara

[“Brahmans, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras—judge them all: if they do not serve the Lord, then all four of them are untouchables.”]

Sri Rupa’s seventh instruction,

syat krsna-nama-charitadi-sitapy avidya-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rochika nu
kintv adarad anudinam khalu saiva justa
svadvi kramad bhavati tad-gada-mula-hantri

As people suffering from jaundice think even sweet sugar candy in their mouth is bitter, so souls whose tongues have been afflicted with the jaundice of ignorance since time immemorial—souls who have been averse to Krishna since time immemorial—have no taste for the supremely sweet Name of Krishna. Although sugar candy seems bitter to someone suffering from jaundice, as sugar candy is the medicine for curing jaundice, so the Name of the Lord is the one and only medicine for warding off ignorance and attaining divine love for Krishna. Only by constantly and uninhibitedly chanting the Name of the Lord will taste for the Name develop. “Everyone should stop chanting the divine, liberating Name (Taraka-brahma-nam) and quitely meditate.” This is the conception of the materialists and illusionists. Sri Sanatan Prabhu, nonetheless, has said,

jayati jayati namananda-rupam murarer
viramita-nija-dharma-dhyana-pujadi-yatnam
katham api sakrd attam muktidam praninam yat
paramam amrtam ekam jivanam bhusanam me
(Brhad-Bhagavatamrta: 1.1.9)

“Let the Name of Murari, the origin of all joy, be glorified again and again! By hearing and chanting the supramundane Name, relief from social and occupational duties, sacrifices, meditation, worship, and other endeavours is gained. By just a semblance of the Lord’s Name, the soul is liberated from ignorance. The Lord’s Name is the one and only nectar, my very life and ornament.”

Those who chant the Name of the Lord become free from social and occupational duties. Thus, we hear in the words of Srila Madhavendra Puripad, which Sri Rupa Prabhu collected in his Padyavali:

sandhya-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bho snana tubhyam namo
bho devah pitaras cha tarpana-vidhau naham ksamah ksamyatam
yatra kvapi nisadya yadava-kulottamsasya kamsa-dvisah
smaram smaram agham harami tad alam manye kim anyena me

“O daily prayers, all the best to you. O daily baths, my obeisance to you. O gods and forefathers, I am unable to offer you oblations; please forgive me. Wherever I dwell, I will easily be able to destroy the misery of material existence and my sins and offences by again and again remembering Krishna, the crown of the Yadu dynasty and enemy of Kamsa. So, to remove the temporary misery of material existence and my tendency to sin, I have no need for daily prayers, daily baths, or any other incidental functions.”

There are linguistic differences between the words in the ancient scripts such as Brahmi, Sanki, Kharausti, and Puskarasa. All the dictionaries that have been created for these scripts are objects of enjoyment for souls who are averse to Krishna. The Name should not be conceived of in that way.

yena janma-sataih purvam vasudevah samarchitah
tan-mukhe hari-namani sada tisthanti bharata
(Hari-bhakti-vilasa: 11.454)

[“O descendant of Bharat, the Names of the Lord always remain in the mouth of those who previously worshipped Vasudev for a hundred births.”]

Sriman Mahaprabhu has said,

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah

[“O Lord, You have manifested Your many Names, put all Your power in Them, and made no rules regarding the time for remembering Them. Such is Your great mercy. My misfortune, however, is that I have no attachment to Your Names.”]

“I have taste for worship, bathing at holy places, and so on, but I have no taste for exclusive service to the Name.” All the benefits and effects of the practices of worship, bathing at holy places, and so on are intertwined in the Name simply as subsidiaries. What more, all the personal power of the Possessor of the Name is present in the Name. Still, souls are so unfortunate that they have no taste for the Name. Thus, Srila Thakur Mahasay has sung,

tirtha-yatra parisrama kevala manera bhrama
sarva-siddhi govinda-charana

[“Visiting holy places is simply labour, a mental delusion. All perfection is at the feet of Govinda.”]

According to the conception of the seekers of material gain (karma-kandis), visiting holy places is for purification of the heart, but purification of the heart is automatic for those who chant the Name:

aho bata sva-pacho ’to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanuchur nama grnanti ye te
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 3.33.7)

[“Amazing! The outcast on the tip of whose tongue Your Name appears is exalted. Those who chant Your Name have performed all austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all the holy places, observed all the codes of conduct, and studied all the Vedas.”]

The followers of Christ’s dharma say, “We should not take the Name of the Lord in vain”, and “If we take the Name of the Lord at all times, we will disturb the Lord.” Materialistic followers of the smrti scriptures say, “Visnu rests during the four-month monsoon season (Chaturmasya). Therefore, if we loudly chant the Name of the Lord at this time, we can break the Lord’s sleep, and out of anger He can bring famine, drought, flooding, and so on to the country. So, let us remain quiet and, because it is not unnecessary talk or village talk, let us give indulgence to enjoyment in the form of the unexpressed urge to speak [silence]! In Christ’s dharma, however, the purpose of the prohibition of unnecessarily taking the Name of the Lord is not that we should not call out to the Lord at all times. Its purpose is that we should call out to the Lord only for the purpose of serving the Lord. We should not call out to the Lord to take any benefits for ourselves as though He is the proprietor of a garden. Taking the Name of the Lord to acquire any kind of worldly benefit is taking the Name in vain. This, in Vaisnava scriptures, is said to be an offence to the Name (Namaparadh).

Sri Rupa Prabhu’s eighth instruction is the essence of all instructions:

tan-nama-rupa-charitadi-sukirtananu-
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram

When practitioners develop taste (ruchi) by following the gradual path and engaging their speech and mind in chanting and remembrance of Krishna’s Name, Krishna’s Form, Krishna’s Qualities, Krishna’s associates, and Krishna’s Pastimes, then they should spend their time residing in Vraja under the guidance of the residents of Vraja. This is the essence of all instructions. We should always remain submissive to the residents of Vraja. The bank of the Yamuna—the place of Krishna’s amorous play, the waters of the Yamuna, the cows, sticks, horns, and flute are all residents of Vraja—they are residents of Vraja in santa-rasa. Raktaka, Chitraka, Patraka, and others are eternal residents of Vraja in dasya-rasa. Externally acting like a resident of Vraja but internally thinking of things other than Krishna is not “residing in Vraja”. Only those who cannot even unknowingly or unwillingly engage in anything other than the service of Krishnachandra and who have constant natural attachment to Krishna’s service are residents of Vraja. If we cannot reside in Vraja in this body, then we should reside in Vraja within our pure heart—in our heart of hearts that is situated in pure goodness (suddha-sattva). The mind must always be kept fully immersed in the conception of Vraja. The mind is not meant for the concepts of enjoyment and renunciation. We need to give up both of these mentalities—enjoyment and renunciation. “Na nirvinno natisakto bhakti-yogo ’sya siddhi-dah (SB: 11.20.8) [“The practice of devotion of those who are neither excessively averse nor excessively attached grants all perfection”]. Neither a householder who is henpecked and extremely attached nor an extreme dry renunciate can serve the Lord.

We have to follow the gradual path. First is the stage of hearing (sravan-dasa). We have to hear the Name of Krishna and talks about Krishna. The Name of Krishna will reveal Himself as His Form, His Qualities, His associates, and His Pastimes. After the stage of hearing is the stage of accepting (varan-dasa). When the stage of accepting arrives after hearing, we begin to chant what we have heard. By constantly and sincerely chanting, we reach the stage of remembrance (smaran-dasa). There are five different forms of remembrance: general remembrance (smaran), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyan), constant meditation (anusmrti), and trance (samadhi). Complete constancy free from interruptions is samadhi. After the stage of remembrance is the stage of attainment (apan-dasa). In this stage, the practitioner realises their true self. After this, in the stage of fortune (sampatti-dasa), one attains absolute perfection (vastu-siddhi).

We have to properly glorify (perform sukirtan of) the Lord’s Name, Form, Pastimes, and so forth. If we perform improper kirtan (kukirtan) or make a show of kirtan, we will not be successful.

srnvatah sraddhaya nityam grnatas cha svachestitam
kalena natidirghena bhagavan visate hrdi
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 2.8.4)

[“The Lord quickly enters the heart of those who always faithfully hear and chant about His activities.”]

The rest gained in remembrance after giving up chanting is not real remembrance. By giving up chanting and making an act of remembrance, one will simply meditate on objects of enjoyment. The scriptures have explained two paths: that of pleasure (preyah) and that of goodness (sreyah). The path of preyah is what we like, and the path of sreyah is what is good for us even though we do not like it. When sreyah and preyah become one, when the pair sreyah and preyah unite (sreyah o preyera yugala-milan haya), then our heart runs to serve Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. Then sreyah becomes preyah, and preyah becomes sreyah (goodness becomes pleasure, and pleasure becomes goodness). The preyah of an advanced devotee of Krishna is sreyah, and their sreyah is preyah.

Tad-anuragi means the residents of Vraja who have deep attachment to Krishna (ragatmika Vraja-jana). The cows, sticks, horns, flute, kadamba trees, and the banks of the Yamuna are Tad-anuragis in santa-rasa. Raktaka, Chitraka, Patraka, Bakula, and others, who are servants in the house of Nanda and serve Krishna when He returns from the upper pasturing grounds, are Tad-anuragis in dasya-rasa. Sridam, Sudam, and others are Tad-anuragis in confidential sakhya-rasa. Arjuna’s conception is mixed with awareness of the Lord’s majesty; he does not have pure friendship with the Lord. There is a distinction between reverential friendship and confidential friendship. In confidential friendship, Sudam, Sridam, and others climb on Krishna’s shoulders, pick palm fruits in a palm forest, feed Krishna the pal fruits, fight with Krishna, and put Krishna on their friends’ shoulders and play with Him. Arjuna, however, becomes awestruck by seeing the universal form: “You are so powerful. I have offended You by calling You a friend. Please forgive my offence.” Overwhelmed by Krishna’s majesty, Arjuna speaks this way.

Nanda, Yasoda, and others are Tad-anuragis in vatsalya-rasa. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Raghupati Upadhyaya said,

srutim apare smrtim itare bharatam anye bhajantu bhava-bhitah
aham iha nandam vande yasyalinde param brahma
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 19.96)

[“Amongst those who are afraid of mundane existence, some follow the sruti, some the smrti, and others the Mahabharata. I, however, worship Nanda Maharaj, who has the Supreme Absolute on his veranda.”]

The gopis of Vraja are Tad-anuragis in the highest, brightest rasa (madhura-rasa). Upon meeting Krishna at Syamanta Panchaka [Kuruksetra], the gopis, stricken with separation, said,

ahus cha te nalina-nabha padaravindam
yogesvarair hrdi vichintyam agadha-bodhaih
samsara-kupa-patitottaranavalambam
geham jusam api manasy udiyat sada nah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 10.82.48)

[“O Lord whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are meditated upon by ascetics and sages, and they are the means of deliverance for souls that have fallen into the well of samsara. Although we are simply householders, may they always arise within our hearts.”]

Worldly persons think they will attain good fortune only when they are able to cross over the world, and renunciants of the world who engage in the practice of meditation think experience of the subtle material plane is pure experience of spirit, but it is not a deep experience at all. Leaving this conception, the highest expression of service to the Lord in the conception of parakiya (‘another’s’) can be seen in the gopis. Like practitioners of meditation, the gopis are not prepared to serve Krishna from a distance, but the gopis’ meditation is natural and completely spontaneous. These five types of rasa can exist in Goloka and in Vraja on earth. There are two and a half types of rasa in Vaikuntha: santa, dasya, and half sakhya—there is reverential friendship but not confidential friendship.

In Sri Rupa Prabhu’s ninth instruction, the highest plane of service has been established through comparative analysis:

vaikunthaj janito vara madhu-puri tatrapi rasotsavad
vrndaranyam udara-pani-ramanat tatrapi govardhanah
radha-kundam ihapi gokula-pateh premamrtaplavanat
kuryad asya virajato giri-tate sevam viveki na kah

According to the conception of a maintained maidservant (palya-dasi) of Sri Radha, we must always reside on the bank of Sri Radha Kunda. There is no conception of Lord Narayan’s mother and father. In the conception of cause and effect, there is no cause of the supreme cause; He is unborn. In Mathura, however, the unborn Lord’s Pastime of birth as the son of Devaki and Vasudev can be seen. In Vaikuntha, the Lord is simply unborn, but in Mathura, by manifesting His Pastime of birth through the influence of His inconceivable energy, the unborn Lord becomes manifest as the Lord even more wonderfully. Thus, Mathura is higher than Vaikuntha. Krishnachandra takes birth in the pure heart of the practitioner. Such a pure heart is also Mathura. Many people think Mathura is only figurative or subjective, but it is not. Attempting to make it only figurative or subjective is to repudiate Krishna’s inconceivable energy. By Krishna’s inconceivable energy, Mathura appears with Krishna in the earthly plane.

The place of Krishna’s Rasa Dance, Vrndavan, is even higher than the place of Krishna’s birth, Mathura.

sriman-rasa-rasarambhi vamsi-vata-tata-sthitah
karsan venu-svanair gopir gopinathah sriye ’stu nah
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Adi-lila, 1.17)

[“May Gopinath, the beautiful inaugurator of the Rasa Dance, who stands on the riverbank at Vamsi Vat and attracts the gopis with His flute-song, bestow auspiciousness upon us.”]

In Mathura, Krishna is an immature boy; at the site of the Rasa Dance, He is an adolescent. At the site of the Rasa Dance, Krishna danced in circles with all sorts of different gopis. Radhikaji came and saw that the speciality of Her service could not be maintained in the midst of this congressional circle dancing. So, She left the site of the Rasa Dance and came to Govardhan. The group leader Chandra also arrived there then. Krishna sat in a cave in Govardhan, and when He saw Chandra and others, He showed them that He had four arms. Tulasi, Dhanistha and other gopis in Radha’s party deceived Chandra’s messenger Saibya and sent Chandravali to Sakhi Sthali. Therefore, Srila Das Goswami Prabhu, the foremost of Sri Rupa’s followers, has offered his obeisance to Sakhi Sthali from a distance. After deceiving Chandravali, Radha’s followers brought Syamasundar to Radha Kunda.

The caves in Govardhan in which Radha and Krishna’s highly confidential amorous play takes place is higher than Vrndavan, the place of the congressional Rasa Dance.

yasyam madhava-naviko rasavatim adhaya radham tarau
madhye chanchala-ke nipata-balanat trasaih stuvatyas tatah
svabhistham panam adadhe vahati sa yasmin mano-jahnavi
kas tam tan nava-dampati-prati-bhuvam govardhanam nasrayet
(Stavavali: Govardhanasraya-dasakam, 6)

[“Who would not take shelter of Govardhan, the Young Couple’s intermediary, where the Manasa Ganga flows, where Madhava the boatman took lovely Radha in His boat and collected His desired fare after being praised by Her out of fear of the boat sinking in the unsteady water.”]

Holding on his head Syama Kunda and Radha Kunda, which are superior to billions of Ganges Rivers, Govardhan Hill is more worshippable than even Mahadev. Here, surrounded by hundreds of sakhis who are worshippable to Laksmi and embraced by Krishna’s sweet, fragrant arms, Radhika, Krishna’s beloved, dances in the month of Madhu (in the sweet early spring). Thus, a second site of the Rasa Dance exists in Govardhan.

Radha Kunda is even higher than Govardhan. This place is the plane of the full flood of the nectar of Krishna’s divine love. Sri Rupa Manjari, who knows the heart of Sri Gaurasundar, has instructed that service at Radha Kunda, which is the highest of all aspirations in the heart of Sri Gaurahari, is the pinnacle of service itself. For members of the school of Nimbarka Acharya, members of any school following Chandravali, and anyone who thinks they are situated in madhura-rasa but are devoid of devotion to Gaura, Sri Radha Kunda is completely incomprehensible and unattainable. Therefore, Srila Das Goswami Prabhu, the foremost of Sri Rupa’s followers, has said,

vraja-bhuvi mura-satroh preyasinam nikamair
asulabham api turnam prema-kalpa-drumam tam
janayati hrdi-bhumau snatur uchchair priyam yat
tad atisurabhi-radha-kundam evasrayo me
(Stavavali: Radha-kundastakam, 2)

“Radha Kunda quickly appears as a wish-fulfilling tree of divine love in the hearts of those whose bathe within it, a wish-fulfilling tree of divine love difficult to attain for even Krishna’s lovers in the land of Vraja. May Krishna’s dearmost Radha Kunda be my shelter.”

Sri Rupa Prabhu, in his tenth instruction, has ascertained through comparative analysis who is the greatest amongst all devotees:

All types of pious karmis who are engaged in virtuous acts are better than sinners and performers of impious acts. Again, Brahma-jnanis who have given up the three modes of material nature are in all respects better than pious karmis. Pure devotees such as Sanaka who are free from jnan and established in devotion are more dear to Krishna than all types of Brahma-jnanis. Pure devotees such as Narad who are fixed exclusively in divine love are more dear to Krishna than them; the gopis of Vraja, who have given their lives to Krishna, are more dear to Krishna than them; and Sri Radhika alone is Krishna’s dearmost amongst all the various gopis. Like Sri Radha, Radha Kunda is also extremely dear to Krishna. Souls who are more fortunate than all others reside at supramundane Radha Kunda with supramundane consciousness and serve Sri Krishna during the eight periods of the day.

The highest place in all of Goloka is Sri Radha Kunda, the supreme shelter for those who relish madhura-rasa. The planes of Bhuh, Bhuvah, and Svah are places of enjoyment for selfish householders who desire piety. The four planes above these—Mahah, Jana, Tapah, and Satya—are places of enjoyment for non-householders. Interim brahmacharis enjoy in Maharloka. Avowed brahmacharis enjoy in Janaloka. Vanaprasthas enjoy in Tapaloka, and sannyasis enjoy in Satyaloka. We see in Sri Gita (8.16):

a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ’rjuna

[“O Arjuna, from Satyaloka down, the residents of every plane take birth again.”]

The intensely joyful spiritual abode of Vaikuntha is very difficult for even liberated souls to attain, but selfless devotees of the Lord, after leaving their body, immediately attain this abode. Even higher than Vaikuntha is Mathura, and higher than Mathura is the site of the Pastimes of the Rasa Dance, Vrndavan. Higher than Vrndavan is Govardhan, and highest of all is Radha Kunda.

Sri Sanatan Goswami Prabhu’s conception of the Lord’s abode as three-fourths of existence is most scientific. Beyond the Causal Ocean is the undifferentiated plane. “None of the imaginary deities of the panchopasakas (worshippers of five deities), such as Surya, Ganes, and Sakti, will remain—all imaginary forms of Brahma will become one.” This is the conception of the impersonalists (nirvisesavadis).

ya ya srutir jalpati nirvisesam sa sabhidhatte savisesam eva
vichara-yoge sati hanta tasam prayo baliyah savisesam eva
(Sri Chaitanya-chandrodaya-nataka: 6.37; Hayasirsa-pancharatra)

The same scriptures that at first say that the Absolute is impersonal lastly establish that the Absolute is a person. The Lord’s two qualities of being impersonal and personal are both eternal. If we conceive in this way, then the personal aspect becomes predominant. Sriman Mahaprabhu has said,

‘nirvisesa’ ta̐re kahe yei sruti-gana
‘prakrta’ nisedhi’ kare ’aprakrta’ sthapana
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Madhya-lila, 6.141)

[“The scriptures that say He is impersonal forbid the conception of the Lord being mundane and affirm that He is supramundane.”]

“Because material personality has been rejected, spiritual personality should also be given up. Spiritual personality is also an illusion like material personality.” Those who accept such a theory are illusionists (mayavadis). The abode of impersonal Brahma exists on the far shore of the Causal Ocean. The effulgence of the Lord’s form (Brahma-jyoti), cleansed of the three non-spiritual modes, exists on the opposite shore. But,

jyotir abhyantare rupam atulam syamasundaram

[“Within that effulgence is the beautiful, incomparable form of Syamasundar.”]

In Vaikuntha, there is spiritual personality. There, in the mood of reverence, are two and a half rasas. The Supreme Lord possess infinite energies, and both spirit and non-spirit [matter] are under His control. This is the conception of Ramanuja. The Supreme Lord is the proprietor of spiritual energy and non-spiritual energy.

The conception of non-Vaisnavas is to enjoy the world, but this is not the conception of the Vaisnavas. Neither enjoying the world nor renouncing the world is the conception of the Vaisnavas. Here, there are many who consider themselves enjoyers. In Vaikuntha, there is one enjoyer (visaya) without a second, but there are many servants (asrayas): “Laksmi-sata-sahasra-sambhrama-sevyamanam (Bs: 5.29) [Govinda is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses].”

There is a distinction between reverential worship and confidential service. At death, when the body given by our mother and father will be retired, we will attain uninterrupted service. The Supreme Lord is the independent Supreme Person, and we have to accept His independent will. Regulations are for those whose propensity for service has not arisen and who are bound by the gross and subtle bodies. Otherwise, while bound by the gross and subtle body, to make a show of following our supramundane natural dharma is simply to become a mundane imitationist (prakrta-sahajiya).

The rasas described in books such as Kavya-prakasa or Sahitya-darsana are mundane. Such books describe the rasas between a man and a woman or many men and many women. Again, even when two and a half types of rasa are applied to the Lord and the remaining two and a half types of rasa are not applied to the Lord but instead applied to the improper and odious affairs of souls forgetful of the Lord, then the completeness of rasa is not manifested. The complete forms of the five types of rasa exist in the complete plane of Goloka. The supramundane gopis have no small or big conception of above and below the waist. They serve Krishna with their whole body—with all their senses. All the sages who could not fulfil their desires as worshippers of Gopal tried to fulfil their desires upon seeing the beauty of Sri Ramachandra. In the Pastimes of Sri Ramachandra, who vowed to have only one wife, however, it was not possible to fulfil their desires for that rasa. So, all the sages eagerly took birth as gopis in Vraja. This is stated in the Padma-purana. Amongst them, some attained perfection at the beginning of the Rasa Dance. This is stated in the Brhad-Vamana-purana. The great personified Upanisads were astonished to see the fortune of the gopis, and as a result of their worship in eagerness for Krishna’s service, they too took birth in Vraja as gopis filled with divine love.

According to impartial judgement, the divine love of the gopis in madhura-rasa is even more astonishing than the divine love in santa-, dasya-, and sakhya-rasas. Amongst the gopis, Sri Radhika is the highest of all. Srimati is the foremost of all the group leaders. The eight sakhis, Lalita, Visakha, and so forth, are the leaders of Srimati Radhika’s various groups. As a result of immense good fortune, entrance into the group of Srimati Lalita is attained. Thus, those who aspire to circumambulate Sri Radha Kunda today have taken care to dwell on the bank of Lalita Kunda. Some people think Chandravali is the highest amongst the group leaders, but attaining the fortune of being a maintained maidservant Sri Radha—embodiment of the greatest ecstasy (mahabhava)—is the highest of all.

Srimad Bhagavatam can fall from the hands of souls who are averse to Krishna, and thus the Name of Krishna’s favourite, the embodiment of the highest form of service, Sri Radha, is present in the Bhagavatam in a hidden way. The most munificient Sri Gaurasundar and my Gurudev Sri Rupa Goswami Prabhu, however, have not hidden Sri Radha from those who are genuinely qualified and have explained Sri Radha’s position.

yatha radha priya visnos tasyah kundam priyam tatha
sarva-gopisu saivaika visnor atyanta-vallabha
(Sri Laghu-bhagavatamrta: Bhaktamrta, 10)

[“As Radha is dear to Visnu, so Her lake is dear to Him. Amongst all the gopis, She alone is Visnu’s dearest beloved.”]

When Sri Radha is merciful, we can attain an eternal place on the bank of Her lake. This is the highest of all places. Thus, Sri Rupa Prabhu, in his last instruction in Sri Upadesamrta, has spoken about bathing in Radha Kunda:

krsnasyochchaih pranaya-vasatih preyasibhyo ’pi radha
kundam chasya munibhir abhitas tadrg eva vyadhayi
yat presthair apy alam asulabham kim punar bhakti-bhajam
tat premedam sakrd api sarah snatur aviskaroti

“Sri Radha is more dear to Krishna in all respects than all Krishna’s other lovers. Srimati’s lake is also most dear to Krishna. The sages have said this in the scriptures. Sri Radha Kunda mercifully gives those who bathe within her divine love that is difficult to attain for even Narad and others who are dear to the Lord, what to speak of ordinary devotee practitioners.”

“I took a bath in Radha Kunda. I took a dip in Radha Kunda. I am a lump of blood and flesh. I am my wife’s maintainer, or I am a sannyasi. I am a brahman, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra.” Those who think in this way have no qualification to bathe in Sri Radha Kunda. What more, even by following the path of reverence for the Lord, we cannot bathe in Radha Kunda. We have to follow the conception of Sri Radha’s maintained maidservants, but we should not imitate them. If we become a sakhi-bheki, we will not attain any good fortune. Simply by decorating our male body like a female body we do not become qualified to serve at Sri Radha Kunda.

On the path of regulation (vaidha-marg), there is the tridanda, and on the path of love (anurag-marg) there is the white dress of the paramahamsa. The followers of the path of love say of the dress for the regulated path, “Ratka-vastra Vaisnavera parite na yuyaya (Cc: Antya, 13.61) [Vaisnavas should not wear red cloth].” If we are insincere, however, we will not attain good fortune on any path. Keeping the conception of love within their hearts, some externally accept the tridanda and other formalities or wear saffron cloth. The ignorant are deceived by this. Although the writer of Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi and resident of Kamyavan Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati externally made a show of accepting a tridanda, the conception of love ruled his heart.

We have to give up our mundane conceptions. In supramundane Vraja, a supramundane soul attains the supramundane body of a gopi, lives in the supramundane mood of a maintained maidservant near supramundane Sri Radha Kunda in the supramundane grove of the supramundane sakhi dear to Krishna who is their chosen Guru, and, having externally taken constant shelter of the supramundane Name, assists supramundane Sri Radha during the eight periods of the day in supramundane service to supramundane Sri Krishna.

Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was a disciple of Srila Madhusudana Das, who served at Surya Kunda. My Gurudev was a disciple of this Srila Jagannath Das. There was no mundane sentiment (bhava) in his conception.

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke
sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih
yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhichij
janesv abhijnesu sa eva go-kharah
(Srimad Bhagavatam: 10.84.13)

[“Those who think a corpse made of mucus, bile, and air is one’s self, one’s spouse and family are one’s own, earthen images are worshippable, and bodies of water are holy places, and never associate with the wise are nothing more than donkeys who serve cows.”]

If we think bodies of water and other such things are holy places and the gross body is the true self, we cannot see Sri Radha Kunda or bathe in Sri Radha Kunda. Even though they think the true self is the gross body, their wife, sons, and family are their own, material objects made of clay and other substances are the Lord, and bodies of water are holy places, and even though they do not sincerely consider pure devotees of the Lord to be near and dear to them—even though their vision of the world is based on enjoyment and averse renunciation—the mundane imitationist school believes that they can bathe in Sri Radha Kunda. Sriman Mahaprabhu has said,

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama
sei deha kare tara chid-anandamaya
aprakrta-dehe ta̐ra charana bhajaya
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta: Antya-lila, 4.192–3)

[“At the time of initiation, devotees fully surrender themselves. Krishna then accepts them and makes their bodies spiritual and joyful, and they serve His feet in those supramundane bodies.”]

The supramundane body becomes manifested when Vaisnava nature becomes manifest within the consciousness. Matter, however, is not spirit. Spirit forever is spirit, and matter is never spirit. We should not bring sentiment (bhava) into the gross. If we remove the dress of a sakhi-bheki’s deceitfully dressed body, their natural male body will be exposed. I said this to Radha Raman Charan Dasji. Bathing in Sri Radha Kunda is the highest of all principles in the spiritual plane.

[After delivering this lecture, Srila Prabhupad recited his poetic translation, Bhasa, of Sri Upadesamrta.]

ALL GLORY TO SRI GURU AND SRI GAURANGA

SRI UPADESAMRTA

Contents

Verse One

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Two

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Three

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Four

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Five

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Six

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Seven

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Eight

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Bhajana-lalasa

Verse Nine

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Verse Ten

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Verse Eleven

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Bhasa by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Anuvrtti by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Discourse at Sri Radha Kunda