Chapter Four: Within the Holy Dhām

Introduction and welcome lecture in Govardhan

Śrīla Ragunāth Dās Goswāmī always prayed to Girirāj Govardhan: nija-nikaṭa-nivāsaḥ dehi govardhana tvam. And Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu also said:

vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād-
vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ
rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛtāplāvanāt
kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevāṁ vivekī na kaḥ

At first we can see Vaikuṇṭha Dhām as being a very high place, but above that, the more important place is Mathurā — janito varā Madhu-purī. Why? Because Kṛṣṇa Himself is born there; that is His līlā there. Nārāyaṇ, though, does not take birth. He has no birth, He has no father and no mother, but Kṛṣṇa has His father and mother — that is within His līlā. And, Vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā Madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād… better than Mathurā is Vṛndāvan, where Kṛṣṇa has His Pastimes with the gopīs. And over that place, is the highest place, Śrī Govardhan. Śrīla Prabhupād Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur says: Giridhārī-Gāndharvikā yathā krīḍā kaila.

The most worshipful place, at the foot of Govardhan, is Rādhā Kuṇḍa; there Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī have Their highest prema-līlā. One who has a little intelligence, he must try to stay in Govardhan, and if possible, he can stay at Rādhā Kuṇḍa. Everyone, though, cannot stay at Rādhā Kuṇḍa, but they can stay at the lotus feet of Govardhan.

Śrīla Prabhupād Saraswatī Ṭhākur said that we can stay at the lotus feet of Govardhan and every day go to Rādhā Kuṇḍa and serve Rādhā Kuṇḍa, Śyām Kuṇḍa, etc. The devotees will stay at Govardhan and render service in their gopī-bhāva, their transcendental service mood form of a gopī.

The gopīs also stay in Govardhan. The sakhīs and mañjarīs stay in Govardhan, and everyday for their service to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa they go to Rādhā Kuṇḍa. In the night they do not all stay with Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; only a few stay, and the others return to Govardhan and spend the night there up to three o’clock in the morning. Then at four o’clock they start their sevā again at Rādhā Kuṇḍa, and spend the whole day there. When Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa go to sleep, they again return to Govardhan. At that time only a few, like Rūpa Mañjarī, stay for the service of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, in order to massage Their lotus feet and give Them some nourishment.

At night They are engaged in Their līlā, and the mañjarīs also help that, but the sakhīs cannot enter that place. Only the mañjarīs can go there at that time. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa is tired and very much in need of a glass of water, but nobody can go inside at that time — only the mañjarīs can go. That is a very high thing, and it is not a matter discussable by us, but it is happening.

Ourselves, we will stay at the lotus feet of Govardhan and pray to Kṛṣṇa, or rather, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. All the group at Govardhan are serving Rādhārāṇī — they actually have no connection with Kṛṣṇa. From Govardhan they go to Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyām Kuṇḍa and arrange many things. The aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā happens there, not elsewhere, and one who exclusively wants to serve Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa will think about these Pastimes. But we shall not think of such things now — with our mundane body and mind we cannot think about that.

dhāmera svarūpa sphuribe nayane
hai-ba rādhāra dāsī

Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur said that while chanting, chanting, chanting we will forget our body consciousness, and at that time our main form as a servitor to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī will manifest. That is a very high thing, but immediately we will not consider such things because we are sure to make offence to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and the devotees. We say ‘Vṛndāvan’, but Vṛndāvan means all associated places combined — that is Vṛndāvan.

jaya rādhe, jaya kṛṣṇa, jaya vṛndāvan
śyāma-kuṇḍa, rādhā-kuṇḍa, giri-govardhana
kālindī jamunā jaya, jaya mahāvana

All these places and more are included in Vṛndāvan. And in this village of Vṛndāvan, Kṛṣṇa is engaged in many different types of līlā. In this place Kṛṣṇa’s līlā is going on in many areas. We are here in Vṛndāvan and praying that we may find somewhere for our ‘Śrīla Śrīdhar Swāmī Sevā Ashram’. I do not know where Rādhārāṇī will give us a place, but it is approachable only by prayer. We can only pray: “Please, give some entrance.”

Actually, Rādhārāṇī does not give entrance. Admission is granted by the sakhīs, the girlfriends of Rādhārāṇī. Especially, we are in the group of Lalitā Devī, and in that group, Rūpa Mañjarī is the head of the mañjarī section, and Lalitā Devī is our mistress. Our prayer is that she will take us and engage us in service. We are very hopeful because Lalitā Devī’s mood is very open, something like that of Nityānanda Prabhu. She is very affectionate with all and she is the head of all the sakhīs.

The aṣṭa-sakhīs, the eight principal gopīs are: Lalitā, Viśākhā, Chitrā, Champakalatikā, Tuṅgavidyā, Indurekhā, Sudevī, and Raṅga Devikā. Lalitā Devī is the leader of that group. She has a special group and through them she arranges for maintaining the service to Rādhārāṇī. She is the head mistress of our spiritual form. We are now in mundane bodies so we will not think of that, still that is our goal of life. Therefore, we must worship that with our full regard and we must not make any offence in the Dhām.

It is very difficult to stay in Vṛndāvan Dhām. We must have an exclusive service mood to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and that can give us some place here. By the mercy of Lalitā Devī, through our Śrīla Guru Mahārāj and Rūpa Goswāmī, it is possible to get that. And if in that way we try to see everything, then no problem will come to us.

We are so fortunate that we have reached, by the grace of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, Vṛndāvan Dhām. Actually, Vṛndāvan is in the transcendental world, and we cannot reach that transcendental plane with our mundane body. But here we have some special facility by the mercy of Mahāprabhu as well as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. We are like bees who try to take honey from a tightly sealed honey pot, but they may give us some chance to attach with that transcendental world. The pot is solid, and the bees cannot remove the seal and take the honey. This is an example only, but still, from it we can understand what our position is like. The bees are on the outside of the bottle, and our position is similar — but we are also near the honey!

We can enter Vṛndāvan Dhām by the mercy of Rādhārāṇī. But She is engaged with the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and She has no time to see to us, but by the mercy of Her finest, closest and topmost associate, Lalitā Devī, we may gain a chance to enter. Lalitā Devī is the leader of the group of sakhīs, the friends of Rādhārāṇī; she is very merciful and can give us admission to Vraja Dhām, Vṛndāvan Dhām.

But here is one question. Do we want that or not? We hear about Vṛndāvan Dhām, but we hear through our mundane senses and with our mundane feelings. Some essence, however, is coming through that, and we express, “We like Vṛndāvan Dhām.” But, like Śrī Hari-nām mahāmantra, Vṛndāvan Dhām is also transcendental. If we want to enter there, we need some special mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī through Her associates, and we can only get that with our super-hankering mood.

Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī said:

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto ‘pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate

We can do many auspicious services to the Lord, but that is not the cause of the real hankering necessary for service to Vṛndāvan Dhām.We need to have the association of the associates of Vraja Dhām, hear the līlā of Kṛṣṇa, and engage in śravaṇam, kīrtanam, Viṣṇoh-smaraṇam, pāda-sevānam, etc. With that kind of activity in our devotional path, inspiration can come to us, and by the causeless mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, that kind of devotional hankering can enter our heart: Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matih. It is very rare in this mundane world, but that is our super goal of life. We need it. We cannot touch that ecstatic līlā through our mundane body, but we may understand it a little through our preceptorial Masters’ line, the Guru-paramparā.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sach-chid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

“The Supreme Lord, the embodiment of truth, consciousness and joy, is Govinda, Kṛṣṇa. He is beginningless, the origin of all that be, and the cause of all causes.”

That is His position.

nāma chintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś chaitanya-rasa-vigraha
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto ‘bhinnatvān nāma-nāmiṇoḥ

The Holy Name and Kṛṣṇa are non-different. Both are transcendental; therefore, through our mundane knowledge and mundane activity we cannot touch that ecstasy. In the Upaniṣads it is said:

nāyam ātmā pravachanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām

(“The Supreme Lord is not attained by preaching, by vast intelligence, nor by knowing very expertly the Vedas. He is attained only by one who He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own Form.”)

When from the upper level causeless mercy comes and touches a fallen soul, he can understand: “Something is touching me, and that thing is very exalted and auspicious.” An example is that if an ant is running past me and I touch it, the ant can understand it is being touched. All is under my control, not his. When I lift my finger, he then thinks, “Oh, whatever came and touched me has now gone away.” In this situation he has no possibility to exert his personality; he has no free-will to control the situation.

Kṛṣṇa is like that. When that Transcendental Knowledge Himself comes down and touches us, at that time, we can understand it; otherwise, there is no possibility for us to understand. It is not mechanical. One possibility is there — yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas. If we take shelter with our full unalloyed devotion to the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa must be merciful to us, and that gives us some hope. It is up to the sweet will of Kṛṣṇa, but in this way we can gain some position and enter into the transcendental world.

Why are we doing other types of activities such as worshipping, etc.? It is our practice for devoting everything, including ourselves, unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. In this way we are trying to practise.

But Kṛṣṇa said in Bhagavad-gītā:

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śuchaḥ

“Totally rejecting all kinds of religion, take shelter of Me exclusively. I will liberate you from all kinds of sins. Do not despair.”

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

(“Oh Arjuna, son of Kuntī, whichever action you perform, whether general or scriptural, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whichever austerity you perform or vow you keep, all that you perform should be as an offering unto Me.”)

There are many ślokas like this. Another one is:

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te

“This other-worldly, supernatural, external potency of Mine composed of three modes of nature most certainly is difficult to cross. However, those who take shelter exclusively in Me alone and who completely surrender unto Me, they certainly are able to surpass this almost insurmountable illusion.”

Kṛṣṇa wants full surrender unto His lotus feet, and if we do this, He will take our full responsibility, and when He takes us, our bodies will become transcendental.

dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa
sei-kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama
sei deha kare tāra chid-ānanda-maya
aprākṛta-dehe tā̐ra charaṇa bhajaya

When the conditioned soul takes shelter unto the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa takes him and provides for him whatever he may lack. He gives to him whatever is necessary, making him complete in that transcendental position. The main thing is devotion. A fully surrendered soul has no responsibility for himself.

mānasa, deha, geha, yo kichhu mora
arpilu̐ tuyā pade nanda-kiśora
sampade vipade jīvane maraṇe
dāya mama gelā tuyā o pada varaṇe

Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur says, “Whatever I have, everything I am offering unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. I do not know what I have, but whatever it may be, please take that for Your service. From this day on I have no responsibility for myself. You may maintain this body or not; this is Your matter not mine. I shall only try to serve Your holy lotus feet.”

When the conditioned soul takes shelter under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa takes that conditioned soul as His own property.

rakṣā karabi tuhu̐ niśchaya jāni
pāna karabu̐ hāma yāmuna-pāni

Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur said in Śaraṇāgati, “You must save us. It is your duty, I know, so what fear can I have? I can jump into the polluted waters of the Kāliya Lake without fear — I can do anything.”

Here we can see the main thing: faith in Kṛṣṇa. The faithful world, that is the real transcendental world. In that world, faith is the very ground — the very foundation. When we live there with our full faith, we will attain the highest result of highest benefit in life.

One example you may have heard. If a police officer chases some thieves but mistakenly kills someone, all liability for his actions, even his mistakes, goes to the government and not to the police officer. His responsibility is only towards capturing the thieves — that is his duty. This is the main point.

After self-surrender, the result of what we do goes to Kṛṣṇa and does not come to us, but that surrender must be perfect. This is the first quality of the conditioned soul. After that, everything depends on Kṛṣṇa, and only He knows in which way He will take the charge of the conditioned soul.

Through the Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, you can understand what is the will of Kṛṣṇa and what is not. If you try to gain that knowledge and maintain your devotion within that environment, you will have no fear from anywhere.

This advice comes within the category of our primary and secondary education. But the super-position comes by the mercy of the associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. If we have super-hankering, then it will come to us. Who has some special quality of hankering — hankering for madhura-rasa — he will get it. It is true. Only hankering after that līlā can give us a little chance.

In the pastimes of Śrīla Dās Goswāmī we can see:

āśābharair-amṛta-sindhu-mayaiḥ kathañchit
kālo mayātigamitaḥ kila sāmprataṁ hi
tvaṁ chet kṛpaṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me
prānair vraje ma cha varoru bakārināpi

Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī passed his life, some eighty years, in Vṛndāvan Dhām with this special type of hankering. He showed by his position and through his līlā how this mood of hankering can come to the jīva-soul — and in what a super way it can come.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu showed all kinds of bhāvas, including mahābhāva, in this mundane world. He tasted it, Kṛṣṇa Himself tasted it, and the auspicious souls can see it as well as His paraphernalia and His associates. For the auspicious soul, everything shows him in which way he will proceed to his destination.

Dās Goswāmī said, “I am only waiting for Your mercy. Oh, Rādhārāṇī, if You do not give that, I think my life is spoiled in Vṛndāvan Dhām. Even, I do not want the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. What shall I do with Kṛṣṇa if Your mercy is not present there? You are the Supreme Servitor of Kṛṣṇa, and only under Your guidance do I want that service. Without Your connection I will not get it. I know that, and it is one hundred percent sure.

“Kṛṣṇa has many forms, but: Rādhā-saṅge yadā bhāti tadā ‘madana-mohitaḥ’. When You are with Kṛṣṇa, we can see that Kṛṣṇa is in His fully ecstatic form. Therefore, I need Your mercy. My whole time I have spent for Your mercy. My only prayer is, ‘Please give Your mercy on my head.’ I need to serve Your lotus feet. I do not want the association of Kṛṣṇa without You; such service to Kṛṣṇa has no value. Kṛṣṇa will not be happy without Your service, and I want to do Your service.”

Kṛṣṇa says in the śāstra:

mad bhaktānāṁ cha ye bhaktās te me bhakta-tamā matāḥ

(My dear Partha, one who claims to be My devotee is not really so. Only a person who is the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.”)

We can see many ślokas in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, and other places expressing this point.

So Śrīla Dās Goswāmī says: “Kṛṣṇa Himself is very pleased with the association of His devotees; therefore, I need Your mercy. Only this is my hope. One day I must get it. But I have passed my whole life here in Rādhā Kuṇḍa, and still I do not have it!” In this way, Śrīla Dās Goswāmī is praying. His ambition is only to serve Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And it is by the special mercy of the associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that we may get that kind of hankering.

Śrīla Narottam Ṭhākur wrote in one song: Nitāiyer koruṇā habe, Vraje Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pābe. Nityānanda Prabhu can give us admission there. He can give us the passport. But only the associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī can give us the visa to enter into that world, that faithful service world. So we pray to our Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. He is the non-different representation of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

āchāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhichit
na martya buddhyāsūyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruḥ

Kṛṣṇa Himself appears in the form of Guru, but when we will see the real form of Guru, then we will understand that he is the Supreme Servitor of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Viśvanāth Chakravartī Ṭhākur in his Gurvvāṣṭaka says:

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādāt na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi
dhyāyaṁ stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ
vande guroḥ śrī-charaṇāravindam

nikuñja-yūno rati-keli-siddhyai
yā yālibhir yuktir apekṣanīyā
tatrāti-dākṣyād ati-vallabhasya
vande guroḥ śrī-charaṇāravindam

From these ślokas we can see the position of Śrī Gurudev. Śrīla Prabhupād Saraswatī Ṭhākur said that if we realise in a higher way, we can see Gurudev as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; that means, the Supreme Servitor of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. To gain that vision we need the mercy of our Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. Without such mercy we cannot enter the garden of Reality the Beautiful — that transcendental world.

By the mercy of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj we are gathered together here and asking for the mercy of the lotus feet of Gurudev. If Śrīla Guru Mahārāj with his full wave of mercy will break into our hearts, then we must gain admission within that transcendental world.

Many times Śrīla Guru Mahārāj explained and praised Kṛṣṇa-līlā, and every time he would give us some clue: we must follow the service mood of Lalitā Devī.

Lalitā Devī’s mood is twenty-four hours a day continuous service, and such mood spreads throughout her group. Not only that, but all groups are enlightened by the service of Lalitā Devī. So, it is necessary to get their mercy and it is possible only by the grace of our Śrīla Guru Mahārāj — and not by any other way. This is because he commands the position of the holder of the Rūpānuga sampradāya. He is the super servitor of Lalitā Devī, and that servitor is Śrīmatī Rūpa Mañjarī.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu gave charge of His sampradāya to Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī. In this way we are connected, and we must one day fulfil our divine aspiration for their service. This is our only hope.