How the servitors of the Deity experience this.

By Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

Today is a supremely beneficial day for us because we have the feeling that Reality the Beautiful, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna with His paraphernalia and His power has manifested in His non-different form of the Deity in this Soquel Ashram through the devotional mood of the all the devotees. We can see that the mood of the devotees is very happy. We can easily understand how happy they are.

The Deity form that has manifested is not a doll in any way. We know the history of many Deities. There are many truthful accounts of the Pastimes of various Deities, such as Saksi Gopal, who bore witness for His devotee, Sri Gopal, who came out of a cave for Sripad Madhavendra Puri, Ksira-chora Gopinath, who stole sweet condensed milk for him, and the Deity who took food from the young devotee Raghu Nandan. We know of many such histories. So, the Deity can walk, the Deity can eat, the Deity can do everything; He can perform all types of Pastimes. This is known to many devotees outside the line of Krishna consciousness also, such the devotees of Narayan, the devotees of Ramachandra, and the devotees of Nrsimhadev. There are so many evidences of the Deity taking food from His devotees, bestowing mercy on conditioned souls, and giving them the chance to worship Him.

The Pastimes of the Deities are described everywhere throughout the scriptures, and it is only necessary to open and develop the  transcendental vision to see them. Then, everything will be clear in front of us.

The manifestation of the Deity gives us love for the Lord. That is, the Deity’s manifestation is very near to us, very close to our mental position. We are habituated to this mundane environment and to life with our relatives. So, the Lord appears as the Deity to be our relative.

Our line is a special, very exclusive line to satisfy Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Reality the Beautiful. His divine form is worshipped everywhere, but supremely He is manifest in the midst of the full exclusive devotion found in Vrndavan and Gupta Vrndavan, Sri Nabadwip Dham. We are deeply attracted to Vrndavan Dham. Krishna performs Pastimes in Dvaraka and Mathura, but His sweetest Pastimes are in Vrndavan. Srila Rupa Goswami said,

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
(Sri Upadesamrta: 9)

We are so fortunate that Giriraj Govardhan has mercifully given us shelter at His lotus feet and especially fortunate that He has given us shelter beside His divine hidden form in Koladwip, Nabadwip. We feel that here also in this Soquel Ashram there is a manifestation of Giriraj, and it is for this reason that this divine name Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharvika Giridhari has come down from the divine abode. Gandharvika means She who is always satisfying Krishna by dancing and singing. Her Pastimes of singing and dancing with Krishna take place during the Rasa-lila and beside Sri Radha Kunda. These Pastimes beside Radha Kunda and around Giriraj Govardhan are Krishna’s hidden Pastimes, and they most beautifully satisfy Krishna. The Pastimes of the Divine Couple are supremely tasteful there, where They taste in a wide variety of ways.

We are so fortunate that our grand Guru Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur showed in his bhajan life Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharvika-Giridhari to be his worshippable Deity. Today, these Deities have manifested here. We are feeling so fortunate that this place is our home; we feel very comfortable here.

When the Deity wants to take your service, you cannot avoid it. But when you will develop more spiritual wealth, your attention will go to the service of the Deity’s servitors. When you become highly qualified, you will always want to satisfy the servitors of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is more natural.

In this mundane world, we know the saying, “If you love, love my dog.” It is a very common phrase. Krishna wants to see, “How much are you attracted to Me? How much are you attached to Me?”

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami is the highest expression of this. His worshippable mistress is Srimati Radharani, who is the supreme servitor, the supreme power of Krishna. The Power and the Powerful cannot be detached in any way, but when the transcendental Power and Powerful Themselves play, that is called the play of the Sweet Absolute. If you get some part in Their play, then how fortunate are you? When They are dancing, jumping, eating, embracing, and performing Their many other Pastimes, you cannot imagine what it is like to get a full chance to play a part in that, to serve that Sweet Absolute with His Sweetest Power. It is all infinite and full. Srila Das Goswami said,

asa-bharair amrta-sindhumayaih kathanchit
kalo mayati-gamitah kila sampratam hi
tvan chet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me
pranair vrajena cha varoru bakarinapi
(Sri Vilapa-kusumanjali: 102)

A devotee does not count how much they are getting; they are hankering, and they want only to get more and more. In that mood, Srila Das Goswami expresses to Srimati Radharani: “I do not want Krishna without Your mercy.”

This type of fanatic mentality comes when the mood of a servitor reaches the highest position. The power of Indra, Chandra, Vayu, Varuna and everyone else comes from the Powerful Sri Krishna, but how sweet is it when that Powerful plays with His eternal Power? We cannot believe it.

Source

Spoken on 19 May 1996.

References

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
(Sri Upadesamrta: 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 Govardhan Hill?”

asa-bharair amrta-sindhumayaih kathanchit
kalo mayati-gamitah kila sampratam hi
tvan chet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me
pranair vrajena cha varoru bakarinapi
(Sri Vilapa-kusumanjali: 102)

“Filled with an abundance of hope, an ocean of nectar, somehow or other I have passed the time. If You do not bestow Your mercy upon me now, O Radha, then what is the use of my life, or Vraja, or even that demon killer?”