Chapter 1: The Service of Vṛndāvan

Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is non-different from Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. He appeared in this world to relish the sweetness of the transcendental mellows which Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī tasted in love of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa did not have that opportunity; therefore, He appeared as Śrī Gaurāṅgadev. We can understand this by this śloka of Śrīla Svarūp Dāmodar Goswāmī:

rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmād
ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
chaitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ chaikyam āptaṁ
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam

Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī has also written:

śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ chāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śachī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ

The supreme devotee of the Lord

Once our Guru Mahārāj, Om Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj, was preaching in South India, and he was invited to speak at an assembly of paṇḍits. When Śrīla Guru Mahārāj was seated, the paṇḍits asked him some questions. They were all expert in Sanskrit and vastly learned in all respects. They asked him who, in his opinion, was the supreme devotee of the Lord? They said they considered the Chatuḥsan — the four kumār sages, Sanaka, Sanātan, Sanandana, and Sanat Kumāras — to be the supreme devotees of the Lord.

At first, Śrīla Guru Mahārāj did not say anything, so the head paṇḍit directly asked him, “Can you tell us, Sir, who you think the best devotee of the Lord is?”

Śrīla Guru Mahārāj said, “I can tell you, but can you accept what I say?”

The head paṇḍit replied, “Yes, if it is reasonable, we can accept it.”

Then Guru Mahārāj said, “In our conception, the Chatuḥsan are primary grade devotees.” The paṇḍits were shocked to hear this. They asked Guru Mahārāj who, in his opinion, was a higher-class devotee.

Guru Mahārāj answered, “There is a śloka in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam that differs from your claim, and since you have all read Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, why do you say the four Kumāras are the supreme devotees?”

Then, Guru Mahārāj quoted that śloka:

na tathā me priyatama ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ
na cha saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr naivātmā cha yathā bhavān

Here, Lord Kṛṣṇa says to Uddhava, “The Chatuḥsan’s father, Lord Brahmā, is their Guru, but he is not as dear to Me as you are. Even Śaṅkar, Lord Śiva, who is the greatest Vaiṣṇava and who is always chanting My Holy Name, is not as dear to Me as you. Lakṣmī Devī, the Goddess of fortune who resides on My chest, is also not as dear to Me as you. Even My own self, naivātmā, is not as dear as you are. You are My most dear devotee.”

Kṛṣṇa told Uddhava he is His most dear devotee, and when Śrīla Guru Mahārāj gave this answer, the paṇḍits were stunned. But after Uddhava went to Vṛndāvan and saw the Vraja-gopīs and the Vraja-vāsīs mood of devotion, dedication, and wholehearted service, he said:

āsām aho charaṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathañ cha hitvā
bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām

“If I can take my birth as a piece of grass on the footpaths of Vṛndāvan where the Vraja-gopīs walk so the dust of their feet will bless me, I will feel my life is successful.”

There is no doubt Kṛṣṇa is more satisfied by the devotion of the gopīs than He is satisfied with His dearest disciple Brahmā, or with His dear brother Saṅkarṣaṇ, or with Śrī Lakṣmī Devī, who always resides on His chest, or even with His dearmost devotee, Lord Śiva.

The Vraja-vāsīs, especially the Vraja-gopīs, have this type of dedication, devotion, and wholehearted service attitude, and Uddhava, the dearest devotee and disciple of Lord Kṛṣṇa, declares this. This is real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and real Kṛṣṇa consciousness is proceeding in this line.

Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna’s charioteer

Many people have many different ideas and conceptions about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but they all accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In some of them, Kṛṣṇa’s position is like that of a master. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna like a spiritual master. He gives spiritual knowledge to him, so the followers of this line generally worship the “Gītā-Kṛṣṇa”, or the Kṛṣṇa who presented the Bhagavad-gītā to this world.

An example of this is when Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna were on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and they saw millions of soldiers ready to fight.

Previously, Duryodhan and Arjuna both wanted to ask Kṛṣṇa for His help in the battle, so when Kṛṣṇa was sleeping, they both went to see Him. When Kṛṣṇa awoke, He saw Arjuna first. Duryodhana was a great personality and like an elder brother to Arjuna, but when Kṛṣṇa saw Arjuna first, He asked him why he had come.

Arjuna said, “King Yudhiṣṭhir has sent me to ask for Your help in the battle of Kurukṣetra.”

Kṛṣṇa said, “I thought that was the reason you came, and I think Duryodhan has also come for the same reason, but I am not going to fight in this battle. I shall not use any weapons. If I can give any other help, I will do that. I have millions of soldiers, and they can fight. I am giving you first choice, Arjuna, please choose.”

Arjuna said, “I need You!”

Kṛṣṇa said, “All right, all right!”

Then, Kṛṣṇa looked to Duryodhan and said, “Is that all right with you? Are you happy?”

Duryodhan said, “Yes, that is very good, especially if You will not fight. Is that Your promise?”

Kṛṣṇa replied, “Yes! Yes, I shall not fight.”

Then, Duryodhan said, “If You will not fight, then what Arjuna said is all right with me. Shall I get all Your soldiers?”

Kṛṣṇa agreed and said, “Yes!”

Both left very happily. Duryodhan was thinking he had all Kṛṣṇa’s soldiers, and Arjuna was happy because Kṛṣṇa had accepted his proposal.

After Duryodhan left, Arjuna stayed and Kṛṣṇa said, “Arjuna, you are very foolish! Why did you take Me when you heard I would not fight? You could have had all of My soldiers.”

Arjuna said, “I am not afraid to fight with that group. It is not difficult to fight with them. I can fight with everybody, but I need Your help in this battle. I have one request from You.”

Kṛṣṇa said, “What is your request?”

Arjuna asked, “Will You be my chariot driver while I am fighting?”

Kṛṣṇa was very happy to hear this. He said, “To be a chariot driver is not such a respectable position, but to be your driver is very respectable. I accept your proposal. I will be very happy to stay with you.”

When both sides were ready to fight, Arjuna said, “Senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’chyuta: O Kṛṣṇa! Please, place my chariot between the two armies. I want to see who has come to fight” (Bg: 1.21). This is very nice and expresses one form of Kṛṣṇa. He is carrying out the order of Arjuna, and then He instructs Arjuna as a spiritual master.

Subjective perceptions of the Lord

When Kṛṣṇa was fighting with Kaṁsa in Mathurā, He was young and apparently unqualified. When He came to kill Kaṁsa, He wasn’t carrying much with Him. He had only a flute and a stick for herding the cows. His dhotī was rolled up like short pants. Kaṁsa had invited Kṛṣṇa in order to kill Him. Externally, Kaṁsa announced there would be a wrestling match so there could be some sport between Kṛṣṇa and Balarām and his wrestlers, but secretly Kaṁsa wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa.

One śloka in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam explains how different types of persons saw Kṛṣṇa when He entered the arena:

mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān
gopānāṁ sva-jano ’satāṁ kṣiti-bhujāṁ śāstā sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ
mṛtyur bhoja-pater virāḍ aviduṣāṁ tattvaṁ paraṁ yogināṁ
vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devateti vidito raṅgaṁ gataḥ sāgrajaḥ

All the wrestlers saw Kṛṣṇa as death personified, mallānām aśanir. They were very much afraid to see this fourteen-year-old boy who looked like He was twenty-one. He was tall and wore His dhotī very short, like short pants. When He entered the arena, all the fighters were thinking death personified had come to kill them.

Nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ: all the kings and their sons, the princes, saw Kṛṣṇa as the king of kings. He was actually a cowherd boy, but He appeared as the greatest of all kings.

Strīṇāṁ Smaro mūrtimān: the women were also invited to see the fighting, and when they saw Kṛṣṇa, they saw Him as the embodiment of Cupid. When they saw Kṛṣṇa’s beauty and effulgence, they fainted.

The cowherd men were also invited, gopānāṁ sva-jano ’satām. Everyone was invited. The cowherd men were thinking, “Our friend is coming! Now a member of our society is coming; our boy is coming!”

The evil kings who were always harassing their people were thinking, “Our ruler is coming to punish us”, kṣiti-bhujāṁ śāstā.

Nanda Mahārāj and his fatherly group of friends were thinking, “Our own boy has come”, sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ. Kaṁsa was thinking his death had come in the form of Balarām and Kṛṣṇa, mṛtyur bhoja-pater.

All the religious experts were thinking, “Paramātmā has come in the form of Balarām and Kṛṣṇa”, virāḍ aviduṣāṁ Tattvaṁ. The yogīs were thinking, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead has come”, Tattvaṁ Paraṁ yogināṁ. And, Vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devateti: the members of the Yadu dynasty were thinking, “Our worshipable relative has come” — vidito raṅgaṁ gataḥ sāgrajaḥ.

The perfect conception of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

But a very few exceptional devotees and those who have the finest conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and who come in the line of Śrīman Mahāprabhu think the perfect conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is fully manifest in Vraja Dhām where there are five kinds of divine ecstatic relationships playing freely and happily with the Lord.

A small hint of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental abode is given in the Brahma-saṁhitā. When Mahāprabhu was in South India, He discovered the Brahma-saṁhitā. He had previously heard of it, but when He saw it, He was surprised and said, “Sei pu̐thi nila lekhāiyā: give Me the fifth chapter. The whole book of one hundred chapters isn’t necessary. I want only the fifth chapter for My devotees.” He brought Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā as well as Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta back from South India to Jagannāth Purī.

Vṛndāvan Dhām is expressed in Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā

During Lord Brahmā’s meditation on the gāyatrī-mantra, Lord Brahmā heard the transcendental sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, and the whole realm of Vṛndāvan Dhām revealed itself in his heart. He saw everything: the transcendental abode of Kṛṣṇa, the Vraja-gopīs playing, the cowherd boys, the trees, the plants, an infinite variety of beautiful flowers, lush ripe fruits, and crystal clear water. He saw the complete environment of Vṛndāvan in his meditation, and He expressed this in Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā (5.56):

śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo
drumā bhūmiś chintāmaṇi-gaṇa-mayī toyam amṛtam
kathā gānaṁ nāṭyaṁ gamanam api vaṁśī priya-sakhī
chid-ānandaṁ jyotiḥ param api tad āsvādyam api cha
sa yatra kṣīrābdhiḥ sravati surabhībhyaś cha sumahān
nimeṣārdhākhyo vā vrajati na hi yatrāpi samayaḥ
bhaje śvetadvīpaṁ tam aham iha golokam iti yaṁ
vidantas te santaḥ kṣiti-virala-chārāḥ katipaye

Śrīyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ Parama-puruṣaḥ: all the women in Kṛṣṇa’s abode are very beautiful. They are like beautiful goddesses, and all wealth is with them. They are always trying to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and they always worship Him. In Vṛndāvan, Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer, and everyone supplies enjoyment to Him; therefore, they get double enjoyment. When someone supplies food to another person, who gets the most enjoyment? The person who supplies the food gets the most enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer, but those who supply enjoyment to Him get even more enjoyment than Him.

There is no sadness in Kṛṣṇa’s abode. There everything exists in a very happy and ecstatic mood. When you eat an apple, the apple is happy to be eaten by you, and you are happy when you are eating the apple. Both are happy. When someone is eating a banana, the banana is happy and laughing. When a person is eating, he is very happy. Everyone is always very happy in Kṛṣṇa’s abode.

In Kṛṣṇa’s abode, all the trees are wish-fulfilling trees, kalp-taru. If you want a mango from a banana tree, you can get a mango. If you want an apple from a jackfruit tree, you can get an apple. And the earth — bhūmiś chintāmaṇi — can give you anything you want. If you want milk, wheat, or anything, you can get it from the earth.

The residents of Vṛndāvan don’t wear any golden rings, pearls, or any jewelry. It is not because there is no jewelry in Vṛndāvan; it is because they like the flowers of Vṛndāvan. They wear flower jewelry. Every flower is very beautiful and glorious. There is one special flower in heaven called the pārijāta flower. Indra, the god of Heaven, is very proud because he has the pārijāta flower.There are millions of different flowers like the pārijāta flower in Vṛndāvan. Everywhere you will see beautiful flowers.

We have had a little experience of this. When we went to Badarik Ashram on parikramā, there were flowers growing everywhere. It is a natural flower garden. No one gives them any nourishment; they are growing naturally. If you could see this, you would understand there are examples of Vṛndāvan on earth. Of course, one example is not fully sufficient by itself, but it can give us an idea of the reality of that divine land.

Toyam amṛtam: all the water in that divine land is like nectar, and the talking is like the sweet singing of birds, kathā gānaṁ. From outside you can’t distinguish whether they are talking or singing. You will think they are all singing, but actually they are talking. Nāṭyaṁ gamanam api: all the walking in Vṛndāvan is like dancing. You can’t tell the difference between walking and dancing. They are always dancing.

Api vaṁśī priya-sakhī: the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute is always flowing over Vṛndāvan. Only one song comes from Kṛṣṇa’s flute, and that is the sound of the gāyatrī-mantra, Om. It can deliver the entire world. Only one sound is necessary to rescue the whole world, and that is the song of Kṛṣṇa’s flute.

Complete fulfilment

We can’t imagine how much happiness exists in Vṛndāvan. Everything is gracious, glorious, and extremely beautiful there. Paramour love (parakīya-bhāva) is extremely beautiful there.

Sometimes Mother Yaśodā is frying food, and when Kṛṣṇa smells it, He says, “Give it to Me now, I can’t wait!” Mother Yaśodā says, “Wait, wait, I’ll give it to You on a plate!” And Kṛṣṇa says again, “I can’t wait! I don’t want to wait! I must have it now!”

This is characteristic of the mood of parakīya-bhāva which is more worshippable than other rasas and finds its highest expression in paramour love.

In Vṛndāvan, Kṛṣṇa is always playing with His friends. Sometimes when He plays His flute, He says He would like to play in such and such kuñja [forest grove] with certain friends. Sometimes He puts His hand on His hair, and all the girls think it is a signal He will play with them in Keśī Kuñja [keśī means hair], so the girls think of arranging things there for playing.

Lord Brahmā described the abode of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the prayers of Brahma-saṁhitā, and Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu has given the gist of that conception in a śloka composed by Śrīla Viśvanāth Chakravartī Ṭhākur:

ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam
ramyā kāchid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇā va kalpitā
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam-amalaṁ premā pumartho mahān
śrī-chaitanya-mahāprabhur matam idaṁ tatrādaro naḥ paraḥ

The essence of this śloka is: “If you want to worship anything for your complete fulfilment, you must worship Kṛṣṇa.”

The supreme conception

What are the qualities and qualifications of Kṛṣṇa? What do you need? You need love, beauty, charm, ecstasy, affection, and harmony. All these qualities are present in Kṛṣṇa.

If your master is rich with all the wealth of love, beauty, charm, and ecstasy, you won’t experience any deficiency — you will get everything through His mercy. Kṛṣṇa has many expansions, and they also possess these qualities of wealth, beauty, love, and charm. This is the Vedic conception, the conception of Vedavyās and the supreme conception of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.