Secret Truths of the

(R BHGAVATA RAHASYA)

r-r-guru-gaurga jayata

Secret Truths of the

(R BHGAVATA RAHASYA)

Lecture Series given in New Vraja (Badger), California June, 1999

by

r rmad Bhaktivednta Nryaa Gosvm Mahrja

Gauya Vedanta Publications

Other titles by rla Bhaktivednta Nryaa Mahrja: The Nectar of Govinda-ll Going Beyond Vaikuha Bhakti-rasyana r Prabandhval r ikaka r Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu-bindu r Mana-ik Bhakti-tattva-viveka r Upademta The Essence of All Advice r Gauya Git-Guccha The Pinnacle of Devotion Shower of Love r rmad Bhakti Prajna Keava Gosvm: His Life and Teachings Veu Gta My ik-guru and priya-bandhu Gauya Vaiavism vs. shajism Arcana Dpik Rays of the Harmonist Published by Gauiya Vednta Publications

Books are distributed via:

r Keavaj Gauya Maha Mathur, U.P. 281001, India Tel: (0565) 409453 r Rpa-Santana Gauya Maha Sev Kuja, Vndvana, U.P. 28112, India Tel: (0565) 443270 r Devananda Gauya Maha Tedarph Navadvpa, West Bengal India r Gour Govinda Gauya Maha 32 Handsworth Wood Road Birmingham B20 2DS, England Tel: 0121 682 9159 r Nanda Gopla dsa Adikr P.O. Box 99 Badger, CA 93603 U.S.A.

Preface
By the causeless mercy of Paramrdyatama Gurupdapadma, O Viupda Paramahasa Parivrjakcrya Aottara-ata r rmad Bhaktivednta Nryaa Gosvm Mahrja, the following series of his lectures is happily presented for our respected readers. In June 1999, rla Nryaa Mahrja spent ten days at the New Vraja community in Badger, California. There he gave a series of classes on the deep meanings of the rmad Bhgavatam from the First Canto to the Tenth, culminating in the inner significance of r Kas pastimes in Vndvana. rla Mahrja explained that each loka of the Bhgavatam has many levels of meanings. When a faithful hearer understands these meanings in the association of Kas pure devotees, he becomes free from hunger, thirst, illusion, unhappiness and fear, and ultimately attains the association of Ka Himself. rmad-bhgavatrthnm svdo rasikai saha sajtyaye snigdhe sdhau saga svato vare (Cc. Madhya ll 22.131) One should taste the meaning of rmad Bhgavatam in the association of pure devotees. One should associate with the devotees who are more advanced than oneself, and who are endowed with a similar type of affection for the Lord. rla Mahrja told his audience that never before had he explained such elevated meanings in western countries, although he had discussed them for many years with devotees in Mathur and Vndvana. When he completed his lecture series, he requested that these discourses be presented as a book for distribution to a large reading audience. He pointed out that he cannot share his hearts realizations as easily in English as he does in Hindi because English is not his native language. For this reason he wanted the lectures edited so that the meanings would be easily accessible to a wide range of western readers. While preparing this publication we asked rla Mahrja many questions for clarification. We also asked his secretary, rman Navina Ka Brahmacr Vidylakara, who has been hearing these lectures in Hindi for the past twenty years. Their responses were then added, sometimes in the body of the lectures, and sometimes as footnotes.

In order that the flow of the Bhgavatam topics develop in an uninterrupted way, rla Mahrja wanted the other subjects on which he lectured alternatively with the Bhgavatam classes to be placed together in a separate section of the book. Part One, therefore, is the series of seven evening classes on the Bhgavatam; Part Two consists of rila Mahrjas explanations of Gauya Vaiava bhajanas; and Part Three is comprised of his morning classes at the homes of the New Vraja residents as well as other topics that he discussed in the evenings before delving into his main pointthe secret truths of the Bhgavatam. Throughout his discourses rla Mahrja often quoted verses from rmad-Bhgavatam and, although he explained their purports, he did not always give the translations. Therefore, after each verse quoted, we have added the translations of Paramrdyatama Gurupdapadma Nitya ll Pravia O Viupda aottarasata r rmad Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda, taken from his Bhaktivednta Book Trust (BBT) publications. In addition, we have inserted explanations from these BBT books as footnotes to define certain Sanskrit terms mentioned in the lectures. We want to express our gratitude to the BBT for allowing us to use these invaluable books as references. It was by rla Prabhupdas request and inspiration that rla Bhaktivednta Nryaa Gosvm Mahrja is now preaching in the Western countries. We think that readers will be satisfied to see how the instructions of rla Prabhupda and rla Mahrja complement and illuminate each other. During rla Mahrjas western tour in California and elsewhere, unedited transcriptions were e-mailed to his disciples and well-wishers all over the world after each lecture. In this way his disciples could feel like they were practically participating in the classes. When the first transcriptions were mailed out, they were accompanied by a message that they were for those who are already very familiar with rla Mahrjas English usage, and that they were not for general distribution. Due to the tremendous pressure of timeone or two transcriptions were sent every day for two monthsit was not possible to clarify certain points during the tour. Some points, therefore, remained unclear due to linguistic irregularities. The message further explained that the lectures would eventually be edited, after rla Mahrja was consulted on various concepts and information, and that they would then be clarified and embellished by his own comments. After that, they would be distributed widely and freely in book form. We are very happy to present this publication to the Vaiava community at large. We pray that our respected readers will excuse any mistakes and imperfections in our presentations of rla Mahrjas

instructions, and we hope that they will cherish this literature and find it helpful in their practice of bhakti. Vaiava dsnudsa, The editors

Part I
rmad-Bhgavatam Classes

rla ukadeva Gosvm instructing Mahrja Parikit

Chapter One

I Meditate on the Absolute Truth

Inquiry by the Sages
Now I want to begin my classes. First I will explain the first sloka of Srimad- Bhagavatam, and gradually I want to come to the sweet pastimes of Krsna. Srimad-Bhagavatam states that once, at the very beginning of Kali-yuga, many hundreds of thousands of maharsis and devotees assembled at a very pious place called Naimisaranya. They were thinking how to save the world from the effects of Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga is such an era that for absolutely no reason everyone will quarrel among themselves: husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, brothers, sisters, and neighbors. Although there will be no cause, still everyone will quarrel. Kali-yuga will create such misunderstanding that we will be bound to quarrel-even with our own mind and soul. Therefore these maharsis and devotees were thinking about what to do. At that time Ugrasrava Suta, the son of Romaharsana and direct disciple of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, inspired by Baladeva Prabhu Himself, came there. All the realized devotees present, like Saunaka and others, showed him respect and enquired from him.
The sages said: Respected Suta Gosvami, you are completely free from all vice. You are well versed in all the scriptures famous for religious life, and in the Puranas and the histories as well, for you have gone through them under proper guidance and have also explained them. 0 Suta Gosvami, being the eldest learned Vedantist, you are acquainted with the knowledge of Vyasadeva, who is the incarnation of Godhead, and you also know other sages who are fully versed in all kinds of physical and metaphysical knowledge. And because you are submissive, your spiritual masters have endowed you with all the favors bestowed upon a gentle disciple. Therefore you can tell us all that you have scientifically learned from them. Please, therefore, being blessed with many years, explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general. 0 learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all,

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam

always disturbed. There are many varieties of scriptures, and in all of them there are many prescribed duties, which can be learned only after many years of study in their various divisions. Therefore, 0 sage, please select the essence of all these scriptures and explain it for the good of all living beings, that by such instruction their hearts may be fully satisfied. (SB 1.1.6-11)

The sages told Sri Suta Gosvami, You are so learned, and a disciple of SrIla Sukadeva Gosvami himself. You know the essence of all sastra and you are perfect. We therefore have some questions for you. Now that Kali is coming, what should we do? Yenatma suprasidati. How can our souls be happy? By what process can less intelligent persons, with little time, short duration of life, so many problems, difficulties, and sorrows, make their souls pleased? You are very learned and qualified. We believe in you, and we believe that by reciting the pastimes of Krsna you will certainly save us from the effects of Kali-yuga. We know that nothing else but the very sweet and powerful pastimes of Krsna can save all people from Kali-yuga. Suta Gosvami became happy by the questions of the sages, thanked them for their words, and then began to answer them by speaking Srimad Bhagavatam.

Invocation Sloka
Suta Gosvami had heard Srimad-Bhagavatam from Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who heard it from Sri Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva began his great literature with the following sloka: janmadi asya yato nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah sva-rat tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah tejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo mrsa dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi (SB1.1.1)
O my Lord, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Sri Krsna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great

I Meditate on the Absolute Truth

sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth

Mangalacarana
First of all I should pray unto my spiritual master. Then I will begin to explain the Bhagavatam. om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya caksur-unmilitam yena tasmai sri-guruve namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama to you and I pray from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes that have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.

vancha-kalpatarubyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

I offer pranamas unto the Vaisnavas who are just like desire trees, who are an ocean of mercy, and who deliver the fallen, conditioned souls.

namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah

I offer pranama unto Sri Krsna Caitanya, who is Sri Krsna Himself. Having assumed the golden hue of Srimati Radhika, He is munificently bestowing that rare gift of krsna-prema.

guruve gauracandraya radhikayai tadalaye krsnaya krsna bhaktaya tad-bhaktaya namo namah
I offer pranama to Sri Gurudeva, Sri Gauracandra, Srimati Radhika and Her associates, Sri Krsna and His associates, and to all Vaisnavas.

yam pravrajantam anupetam apeta-krtyam dvaipayano viraha-katara ajuhava

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam putreti tan-mayataya taravo bhinedus tam sarva-bhuta-hrdayam munim anato smi
I offer pranama to Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who can enter the hearts of all living entities. When he left home without undergoing the purification processes such as accepting the sacred thread, his father Vyasa cried out, 0 my son! As if they were absorbed in that same feeling of separation, only the trees echoed in response to his call.

tavaivasmi tavaivasmi na jivami tvaya vina iti vijnaya devi tvam naya mam caranantikam
1am Yours! I am Yours! 1 cannot live without You! 0 Devi (Radhe), please understand this and bring me to Your lotus feet.

bhaktya vihina aparadha-laksaih ksiptas ca kamadi-taranga-madhye krpamayi tvam saranam prapanna vrnde! numaste caranaravindam
O merciful Vrnda-devi! Devoid of devotion and guilty of unlimited offences, l am being tossed about in the ocean of material existence bv the turbulent waves of lust, anger, greed, and other inauspicious qualities. Therefore, I take shelter of you and offer pranama unto your lotus feet.

Try to hear this very patiently, with deep honor, and try to understand it. Dont do any work during this class. Allow your mind to be controlled my words. Give up all your other activities, like sleeping or anything else. Give your ears to me, your hands, and all your senses-only for a couple of minutes. Afterwards you are free to do as you like. Dont sleep and dont yawn. Sleepiness may come, but try to control it. Sit straight so that sleep will not come. You should hear, very patiently, and with all your energy. Janmady asya yatah. Sri Vyasadeva is offering pranama, obeisances. To whom? He does not actually say the name of Sri Krsna, but all the symptoms of the worshipable object of his pranama apply only to Krsna. To which Krsna? Not to the Krsna of Mathura, or Dvaraka, To that Krsna who is the source of all others-Nanda-nandana Krsna, Yasodanandana Krsna, Vrajendra-nandana Syamasundara. All others are included within Him.

I Meditate on the Absolute Truth

Why Krsna Descends

Why did Krsna descend to this world? The first reason is that mother Prthvi (earth in the form of a cow) along with the demigods, went to Brahma, the creator. Actually, Brahma is only externally the creator of this world, like a manager, Prthvi told him, Recently mv four legs have been broken and I cannot walk. My husband Dharma (religion personified), who is now in the shape of a bull, also cannot walk. Nowadays there is so much sin in this world, Both men and women are like animals. So-called saintly persons and sannyasis do not observe the rules of saintly life, and they are therefore more wretched than animals. They make an artificial show of saintliness, wearing big neck beads, five-kilo japamala, and very big tilaka. At the same time, however, they are always duplicitous, absorbed in making money, and full of lust. In all these ways we have so many problems, Please save me and my husband Dharma, Brahma became very worried, and went with Prthvi and the demigods to Ksira-samudra (the ocean of milk). There he began to do aradhana (meditation) on Garbhodakasayi Visnu, In his trance he heard the reply to his prayers: I already know about this. My Prabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is also aware, and He will quickly descend, All the demigoddesses should come in the form of earthly ladies to Gokula, Vrndavana, and Mathura. All you demigods should come in the form of gopas and Yadus. Krsna will appear very soon, This is one reason for Krsnas descent. Secondly, the time had come for the establishment of yuga-dharma1. What was the yuga-dharma at that time? The worship of Deities. Yavanas and others were destroying temples, people had no faith in the Deities, and the standard of worship was at its worst. In order to save the situation, Krsna appeared in this world, taking with Him the yuga-avatara, manvantara, and all other incarnations like Narayana, Rama, Nrsimha, Kalki and Vamana. There were also other reasons for Krsnas descent. Jaya and Vijaya had been cursed to come to this world as demons for three births. Now, in their third birth, they would become Sisupala and Dantavakra. Krsna had to come to liberate them. Moreover, Krsna came to fulfill the promises He had made in the form of Ramacandra. Rama went to Dandakaranya forest with Sita and Laksmana to carry out the orders of His father, There He dressed as a sadhu. Although His hair was jata, matted, He was so beautifula
1 The religious principles prescribed for any one of the four yugas.

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam teenager of about sixteen years. At that time, sixty-thousand sages were performing aradhana. Aradhana means service in meditation to Radha-Krsna conjugal, Rama or others, by mantra. They had been chanting gopala-mantra, that is, gopi-jana-vallabhaya svaha, for thousands of years. During that long period of time, however, they did not become like fish who, if taken out of water, would die at once. The practices of these sages were somewhat weak. Their practices were much superior to yours, but still they were somewhat weak. Your practices are very weak. Sometimes you chant your gayatrimantra and sometimes you do not. Sometimes you sit awake and sometimes you fall asleep. If you think about all your problems instead of concentrating on the mantras, your mantra chanting will be like zero and you will fall asleep. Big problems will then quickly come at that time. So these sages were performing their somewhat weak practices. When they saw Rama, however, and He glanced upon them, they had some inspiration, and they began to pray to Him, Please fulfill our desires. Rama knew that they wanted to serve Radha-Krsna conjugal and that they wanted to participate in rasa and other lilas. He therefore kindly and mercifully told them, In My next birth I will be Krsna, and there in Vraja, by the help of Yogamaya, you will take birth from the wombs of gopis. At that time you can meet Me and I will fulfill your desires. The sages went on with their practices for a very long timefrom the appearance of Rama to the appearance of Krsna-for lakhs2 and lakhs of yugas. Do not think that in a moment you can have pure bhakti, as you can have laddus and rasagullas. You cannot say, 0 Guru Maharaja, you gave me the mantras, but still I have not realized that I am in Goloka Vrndavana. I want to be in Vrndavana now. Valmiki Rsi took initiation from Narada, engaged in very severe austerities for 60,000 years, and then became self-realized. But you dont want to follow all these thingslike chanting your mantras. Srila SwamI Maharaja gave some of you initiation into the gayatri-mantras. For one day, two days, one month, or for some years you practiced; but after that you became weak. Especially after his departure, you left your chanting. You have no faith in these mantras. You will have to practice them. It may be that two, three, four, five, or so many births will pass, but we
2

One lakh equals 100,000.

I Meditate on the Absolute Truth have the good fortune that in this Kali-yuga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabbu came to sprinkle His mercy. We can therefore chant with some hope that very soon we can become realized souls. So dont worry. Go on practicing like the Dandakaranya rsis. When Krsna descended, these rsis took birth from the wombs of gopis, and they also became gopis. Later they worshiped the demigoddess Katyayani for a long time in order to get Krsna as their husband. Krsna then came and their desires were fulfilled. It was for this reason also that He descended. In the same way this process will bear fruit for you; but you must do one-pointed krsna-bhajana, engaging in all the practices. Another reason for Krsnas descent is as follows. When Rama went to Janaka Puri, the raja-kumari princesses became charmed to see Him. When they saw that Sita was married to Him they developed a very strong desire: Oh, if Rama would also marry us it would be so good. We want Rama to become our husband, and we will not marry anyone else. With this determination they never married. Rama was pleased and told them, You will take birth in Dvapara-yuga in the wombs of gopis. In His later years Ramacandra ordered Sita to leave His palace. She thus left and lived alone in Valmikis asrama, where she gave birth to Ramas two sons. Rama was in His palace and Sita was in the forest. For certain reasons the king had left His queen, but Rama never left His dear Sita. He remained there in His palace but He was always remembering Her. He was not passing His days well. Feeling so much separation, Rama would sometimes speak to His guru and priest, Vasistha. Once He requested him, I want to perform a fire sacrifice, an asvamedha-yajna or any other yajna. Please allow Me to do this. Vasistha replied, Because You have left Your wife, You cannot perform any sacrifice. You should bring her back and sit beside her. Then You can do it. That cannot be, Rama told him. Please make any other arrangement so that I can perform the sacrifice. Your father married three-hundred and sixty wives, so You can also marry again. I think that there are so many beautiful ladies in the world who will want to marry You. They will very easily be ready to marry You, Vasistha suggested. Rama said, No, I cannot marry anyone else. Then You cannot perform the sacrifice. Please somehow arrange it, Rama insisted. Then Vasistha said, You can make a golden statue of Sita. With that Sita You can sit and perform the sacrifice.

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Every following year Rama had one murti of Sita made. These Deities were established by mantra, by both Vasistha and Rama Himself. By their invocation, therefore, these installed Deities were actually alive. In Ramas last days, just before His pastimes in this world were completed and He was about to go to aprakat Ayodhya (His spiritual abode), all those Deities came and told Him, We all want to go with You, and always be with You. Rama replied, In this incarnation I can only accept one Sita. Only one Sita will remain with Me. You are now so many. You should go to Vrndavana and take birth from the wombs of gopis. There I will manage everything. I will fulfill all your desires. So Krsna also came for this reason. Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana, was another cause. She wanted to marry Rama, and because Rama is like a desire tree, He had to fulfill her desire. By mystic power Surpanakha was able to assume many beautiful forms and could allure many men. Rama considered, Because I have accepted her, no one else may be allowed to marry her in this life. In order that no one marry her, He ordered Laksmana to cut off her nose. In her next life she would become Kubja and she would be crooked in eight parts of her body. In that life also, therefore, no one would marry her. Her face would be very beautiful but her entire body would be very crooked and bentlike a hunchback. When Krsna would come and touch her, then she would become very straight, and at that time her wishes would be fulfilled. For this reason also Krsna descended. Narada Muni was another cause for Krsnas descent. Once during Naradas travels he saw the two sons of Kuvera, Nalakuvera and Manigriva, playing with many heavenly apsara girls. They were naked like trees and stones, drinking wine, and totally shameless. When they saw Narada coming on that path the girls became ashamed. They folded their hands, covered themselves with garments, and prayed to Narada from far away. The two men, on the other hand, completely mad and intoxicated by wine, began abusing both the girls and Narada. They called out, Why has this old man come here and disturbed everything? Narada was very merciful and thought, They are sons of my friend Kuvera. Kuvera was Naradas friend, and Sankara was also his friend. Narada had been on his way to meet Kuvera, and when he saw his sons so degraded he thought, I should punish them. He therefore cursed them, You should become trees. You are behaving like trees, and so you should be trees. At once they felt, Oh, we are

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I Meditate on the Absolute Truth going to be trees. They fell flat at Naradas lotus feet and he told them, What I have foretold will not prove false; it will come true. But you will become trees in Gokula, where Krsna will take birth and perform so many sweet pastimes. He will touch you and you will be liberated. Not only that, but you will attain bhakti and become His transcendental associates forever. So Krsna also descended to fulfill Naradas foretelling. Krsna also came to perform rasa-lila. The personified Upanisadmantras had been performing austerities and chanting gopal-mantra and kama-gayatri in order to become gopis. By their chanting they became gopis in their next birth. They became known as upanisad-carigopis and Krsna accepted them as His beloveds. There are two types of devotees who, by chanting mantras and performing austerities, were accepted by Krsna. They are called yauthaki and ayauthaki, those who were in groups and those who were not. By this history we see that these mantras are very high-class and powerful. Never neglect them. Once Krsna and Arjuna were going traveling. Krsna said, 0 Arjuna, Im so thirsty. Bring water from somewhere. While looking for water, Arjuna saw some birds coming and going in the direction of the Yamuna. Upon reaching there, he saw that she was flowing very sweetly and her water was very pure and clear. He also saw an old lady with white hair who was in trance. He circumambulated her and offered pranama. After some time, when she returned to external consciousness, Arjuna asked her, Mother, who are you, and why are you meditating in this place? No one is here. What are you doing here on the bank of the Yamuna? The lady replied respectfully, Ive been here for lakhs and lakhs of years. I want to be a gopi in Vrndavana and serve Radha and Krsna conjugal. Narada was pleased to give me gopala-mantra and kama-gayatri. Im doing aradhana by these mantras. Arjuna returned to Krsna and told Him what had happened. Krsna then went to her and gave her the benediction of His mercy. These are some of the reasons for Krsnas descent to this world. There are so many stories and so many reasons that it would take about ten days to explain them all.

Meaning of the First Sloka

Sri Vyasadeva writes: janmady asya yatonvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat tene brahma-hrda. Although Krsnas name is not directly stated, all the qualities described in the verse apply to Him,

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Vrajendra-nandana Syamasundara. Vyasadeva is offering pranama: satyam param dhimahi. This means, I am meditating on param satya. Param satya is the Supreme Transcendental Truth, the advaya jnana-para-tattva, Krsna Himself. There is no one other than Him. Janmady asya yatahit is He who created all these worlds, He who supports and nourishes them, and He into whom the entire creation enters after dissolution. Janma, sthiti, pralaya----creation, sustenance (maintenance), and destruction--everything is coming from Him. Yato nvayad itaratas. Anvayat means direct and itaratah means vyatireka, indirect. I will explain anvayat, direct, in a simple way. Krsna has three saktis (powers)cit-sakti, jiva-sakti and maya-sakti. From His cit-sakti He creates all transcendental worlds, like Goloka Vrndavana and Vaikuntha. All transcendental forms, like those of Krsna, Baladeva, Nanda, Yasoda, the gopis and so on, are also manifest by the citsakti. And all liberated souls and conditioned souls are manifest by the jiva-sakti. As far as the maya-sakti is concerned, she is not a zero. She is the power of Krsna. She creates lakhs and lakhs of brahmandas, universes. This is what is meant by direct. What is meant by the word indirect? All souls are cetana (conscious) or cit (aware), and this maya is jada (inert). Although inert, maya covers the cetana padartha (the conscious beings). This is a very strange thing. The jiva is conscious and maya is inert. Still, how wonderful it is that the jiva is covered by and involved with this inert maya. Thus covered, he thinks he is this perishable material body. Such thinking should not be done, but still it is done. This strange phenomenon becomes possible by the power of Krsna. This power is kartum akartum anyatha kartum. By this power everything that is impossible becomes possible. This is the meaning of indirect. The complete, transcendental power or sakti of Krsna is called parasakti. It is only one sakti, but it manifests as three: hladinisakti3, samvit sakti,4 and sandhini-sakti.5 In this way, by anvaya and Hladini is the personal manifestation of the blissfulness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by which He enjoys pleasure. The essence of the hladini potency is love of God. (Cc. Adi 4.60) 4 The transcendental potency by which the Lord knows Himself and causes others to know Him is called samvit.. The essence of the samvit potency is knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Lord Krsna. All other kinds of knowledge, such as knowledge of Brahman, are its components. Material knowledge and indirect spiritual knowledge are by-products of the samvit sakti. (Cc. Adi 4.62, 67)
3 5 See next page for 5.

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I Meditate on the Absolute Truth itaratas, directly and indirectly these worlds are created by Krsna. Avijnah means that Krsna knows everything; He is very expert in creating and destroying, and also in supporting and nourishing. No one is as expert as He is. Even Rama, Nrsimha, Kalki and Vamana-all come from Him. He is therefore Adipurusa (the original person) and sarva-karana-karanam (the cause of all causes). isvara paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah anadir adir govindah sarva karana karanam (Brahma-samhita 5.1)
There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavan, but Krsna is Supreme because no one can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the cause of all causes.

The second line of this first sloka is tene brahma-hrda ya adi-kavaye. Krsna Himself gave inspiration in the heart of Brahma, the adi-kavi (first poet). He inspired Brahma by sabda-brahma, transcendental sound vibration, thus giving him all knowledge of Himself, of the jivas, maya, etc. Tene brahma means in the heart of Brahma. The other demigods cannot understand all these truths. He only inspired the heart of Brahma. tejo-vari mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargomrsa dhamna svuena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi Tejo-vari-mrdam. There are three elements in this world, or three kinds of creations, which we are able to see. Teja means fire, vari means water, and mrda means earth. Here teja refers to Krsna. Sometimes you can see fire bv rubbing sticks together or by striking a match, but fire is everywhere. Without fire no one can live. If fire leaves your body you will die at once. It is manifest and seen by the help of a match. After
5 The transcendental potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by which He mantains His existence is called sandhini-sakti.. This sandhini-sakti of the internal potency maintains and manifests all variegatedness of the spiritual world. In the kingdom of God, the Lords servants and maidservants, His consorts, His father and mother and everything else, are all transformations of the spiritual existence of sandhini-sakti. The existential sandhini-sakti in the external potencv similarly expands all the variegatedness of the material cosmos, from which we can have a glimse of the spiritual field. (Cc Adi -4.62 pp. 67 verse & pp)

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam some time, when the fuel is finished, the fire is no longer seen. Similarly, Krsna can be seen by practicing certain processes, and the soul can also be seen by certain practices. It will never be seen by mortal eyes, and it can never be realized by mortal senses. Regarding the jivas, they are compared with vari, water. When water is solidified it becomes like ice or snow. It becomes so hard that if you throw it at someone it will cause an injury. Water itself, however, is not like that. Similarly, in his natural position, when he is liberated, the jiva is serving Krsna. By chance he has forgotten Krsna and has come to that unnatural solidified stage. He thinks, I am this body and all kinds of problems arise, such as quarreling and so on. Next is mrda. In this world there are many kinds of pots made from earth. Some are called glasses and some arc called pots and vessels, but all are made with mud, with earth. Ultimately there is no difference at all between them; only the name is different. This is also true with golda cup made of gold, a garment of gold, a necklace of gold and a ring of gold, are all gold. Their names are different but all of them are gold. Yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargomrsa. It seems that all these worlds are true, but they are not. When we see fire we think it is true. However, when we realize Krsna we will see that He is true. Souls are true, but the idea that I am this body is not true. This illusion is called vinimayo, exchange, meaning the interactions and reactions of the three modes of material nature. Dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam. Unlike this world, in the abode where Krsna resides, there is no maya at all. Only Yogamaya is there. Only para-sakti is there. The maya which creates this world, and by whose effect we think, Im this body, is not there. Therefore, those who live in that spiritual realm can never fall to this world. It is not that the jivas who are here in this world have forgotten that abode and come here. Rather, they have forgotten that they are originally manifest from the borderline region between the material and spiritual worlds called tatastha. jivera svarupa hayakrsnera nitya dasa krsnera tatastha sakti bhedabheda-prakasa (Cc. Madhya 20.108) Srila Svami Maharaja has explained this, but we are not thinking deeply. The Gita (15.6) states: yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mamaThose who reach that supreme abode of Mine

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I Meditate on the Absolute Truth never return to this material world. By practicing great austerities for lakhs and lakhs of births one may go to Goloka Vrndavana. Since there is no maya in Vrindavana, and no chance of forgetting Krsna, how can a jiva fall down from there? It is never possible. Everyone is always serving Krsna there; and Yogamaya helps them to serve Him. Dhamna svena sada means that in Krsnas transcendental abode there is no maya. Only hladini-sakti, sandhini-sakti and cit-sakti are there. The phrase nirasta-kuhakam also means there is no maya there. Satyam param dimahi. Krsna, Vrajendra-nandana Syamasundara, is parama-satya, the Supreme Truth. Dhimahi: I meditate on Him; may He kindly be merciful and manifest in my heart. The meaning of this first sloka is the same as that of brahmagayatri: om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat. Actually, this first sloka of the Srimad Bhagavatam is the translation of brahma-gayatri, and it is also like a mantra.

Further Meanings of the First Sloka

There is a second meaning of janmady asya. Adi means adi-rasa. the original rasa. That original rasa is srngara-rasa, madhurya-rasa, and it comes from Krsna, not from anyone else. There is more than one meaning for every word of each sloka, and all the meanings are very good. In this sloka, for example, the meanings of each word may be changed. Here anvayad itaratas, direct and indirect, means separation and meeting. Krsna is very perfect in this. Tene brahma hrda ya. Here adi kavaye means Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Krsna means Krsna who is the ocean of rasa, from whom madhurya-rasa comes. Therefore the word is adi. All rasas are included in Krsna. He is rasa-brahma and He inspired the heart of Sukadeva Gosvaml, the first kavi. Muhyanti yat suraya. Brahma, Sankara, and all other demigods are in confusion. They cannot understand this deeper meaning. Tejo-vari-mrdam also has a change of meaning. Here teja means, as it has been said in brahma-gayatri, bhargo devasya. Devasya means Krsna Himself, and bhargah means His power. I meditate on the power of Krsna. who is Srimati Radhika. Tejo-vari-mrdam. Here Vyasadeva prays to Radhika, the power of Krsna. Without this understanding we cannot enter Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sometimes there is separation (between Radha and Krsna), sometimes meeting

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam and sometimes neutrality.6 Even when apparently separated, Krsna is always with Radhika. Radhasa sva-dhamani ramsyate namah brahmani ramsyate namah (SB 2.4.14). He is always with Radhika and all the gopis in His abode. In the Brahma-samhita it is stated: ananda-cinmaya- rasa-pratibhavitabhis tabhir ya eva nija-rupataya kalabhih goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhuto govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord. He resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency (hladini). Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful rasa.

(Cc. Madhya 8.139)

All the gopis are as transcendental as Krsna. They are all the kayavyuha, bodily manifestations, of Srimati Radhika. Radhika is one with Krsna and therefore all the gopis are like Him. They are not less than Him. Krsna plays with them. He meets with them in Vrndavana-dhama. In this way, satyam-param dhimahi means, We meditate on Krsna with Srimati Radhika. There is still a more superior meaning, a fourth meaning. No rasa can exist without Radhika. Therefore Radha and Krsna are conjugal. Janmady asya. From this conjugal Radha-Krsna madhurya-rasa comes. Without Radhikas presence Krsna is like nirvisesa-brahma,7 there is no rasa in Him at all. If He is with Sita, if He is with Laksmi or even if He is with Satyahhama or Rukmini, there is only a percentage of rasa. It is not complete. Even if all the gopis are present but Radhika is not, still rasa cannot be full. If He is with the gopis, and especially with Radhika, then rasa will be full. Here, therefore, Vyasadeva is praying to whom? In this context satyam-param dhimahi means Radhika. An example of neutral is mana, transcendental loving anger. Srimati Radharani may say, I have no connection with Krsna, but internally She wants to meet with Him. 7 *Impersonal Brahman, with no shape, attributes, name, opulencenothing. In the eyes of brahma-jnanis Krsna becomes Brahma, for those in dasya-rasa He is Narayana. When 2 rasas are there, He is Rama, and when all rasas are there, He is Vrajendranandana Krsna. (Srila Narayana Maharajas lecture: Maui, Hawaii, May 1999)
6

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I Meditate on the Absolute Truth May She kindly come and manifest. As stated in brahma-gayatri: dhiyo yo nah pracodayatMay Srimati Radhika mercifully come. The first meaning refers to Krsna and to this creation. The second refers to madhura-rasa in relation to Vrajendra-nandana Krsna. The third is in relation to conjugal Radha and Krsna. The fourth is only in relation to Radhika. This is because without power Krsna cannot do anything. Finally, the fifth meaning is in relation to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. All the meanings of all the words will then refer to Him. Satyam-param dhimahi. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is paramasatya because He is conjugalboth Radha and Krsna. He has come to distribute all these truths, to sprinkle His mercy by preaching ragamarga8 and also to taste the beauty of the moods of Radhika. Therefore satyam param dhimahi means, This Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu should kindly be manifest in our hearts. Here adi-kavi means Srila Rupa Gosvami. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu inspired all truths in him at Prayag, and thus Rupa Gosvami wrote Bhaktirasamrta-sindhu, Ujjvala-nilamani, Vidagdha-madhava and so many other books. He then manifested this over the whole world. Now we are in this line. You should know how fortunate you are to have come in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Always think in this way. Always be hopeful and practice like this. Satyam param is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Spontaneous devotional service, following in the footsteps of the residents or Goloka Vrndavana, especially those in the conjugal mellow.
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Chapter Two

rmad-Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat

If you hear rmad-Bhgavatam, then tat kat, immediately, without delay, Ka will be controlled in your heart. rmad-Bhgavatam is so powerful and sweet. It is not like quinine (a medicine for malaria patients) which is bitter. Other medicines may be somewhat bitter, but this medicine is not. It is like nectar. This nectar of rmad-Bhgavatam may not appear to be sweet in the beginning, and it may even appear somewhat bitter; but afterwards its real quality of sweetness manifests. It is actually very sweet and very powerful. If you hear it, Ka will come in your heart and be controlled. I have explained the essence of the first loka of rmad-Bhgavatam, which is the magalcaraa, auspicious invocation. I explained its five different meanings. Now we will begin the essence of the second loka, the third loka and beyond. dharma projjhita-kaitavo tra paramo nirmatsar sat vedya vstavam atra vastu ivada tpa-trayonmlanam rmad-bhgavate mah-muni-kte ki v parair vara sadyo hdy avarudhyate tra ktibhi urubhis tat-kat

(SB 1.1.2)

Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhgavata Pura propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vysadeva (in his maturity), is sufficient in itself for God-realization. What is the need of any other scriptures? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.

Mahmuni rla Vysadeva wrote many Puras. He even put the G topaniad (Bhagavad-gt) within the Mahbhrata. He divided the Vedas into four, and also compiled Brahm-stra in which he presented very high-class truths. But he was not satisfied. Nrada Ri therefore came

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam and suggested to him, Enter in trance, totally surrendering to Ka, and in trance you will realize something by which you will be satisfied. Otherwise it will not be possible. Vysadeva then heard the rmadBhgavatam in trance,1 and after that he wrote it down. Dharma projjhita-kaitavo tra. In this Bhagavata Pura all types of cheating religion, which are covered by fruitive intention, are completely rejected. rmad-Bhgavatam is the final book written by rla Vysadeva. In all other scriptures, like the Puras, Mahbhrata, and Brahm-stra, he expounded so many truths and histories, but he did not explain the pastimes of Ka. Kas pastimes are very powerful and very sweet, and there is no adulteration in them. In all other Puras there is some adulteration. For example, one Pura states that in Goloka Vndvana rmat Rdhik became angry and cursed rdama, who also cursed Her, and therefore they both had to come to this world. This cannot be; it is impossible. Some statements in certain Puras imply that there are impurities in Goloka Vndvana, like quarreling, anger and lust. However this is only to arouse the curiosity and interest of general people. The intelligence of such people is not very high, and therefore Vysa gave all these mixed (adulterated) ideas only for them. In the Puras Vysadeva made many statements that are not true to the fullest extent, only for beginners, just as rla Swmj made certain statements for beginners. For advanced devotees he told something else. In this way we should try to reconcile all apparently contradictory statements. Dharma projjhita-kaitavotra. Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhgavata Pura propounds the highest truth. In other Puras the histories of Haricandra, Dhruva, Prahlda, and Citraketu Mahrja are given, but not clearly. For example, Haricandra was engaged in karma. He thought that worldly truths are real truths. rmad-Bhgavatam also tells this history, but at the same time states that only transcendental reality is truth. In the rmad-Bhgavatam, Vysadeva clearly explains what can lead us to Goloka Vndvana.
1 Although this book, rmad-Bhgavatam, came from Vysadeva, he is not the original writer. Who is the writer? No one in this world is the writer; even Ka is not the writer. Where did it come from? From the heart of Ka Himself. This book is Rdh and Ka. It is the embodiment of Ka Himself. So Vysadeva has not compiled it; he received it in trance. It is transcendental and has come from Goloka Vndvana. The pastimes of Ka and Ka Himself are not separate. They descended into the heart of Vysadeva, and rmad-Bhgavatam is therefore called samdhi-bhy, trance language. (rla Nryaa Mahrjas lecture: Maui, Hawaii, May 1999.)

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat Some other Puras discuss worship of materialistic gurus and relatives. They state, for example, that a wife should worship her husband, even if he is not a devotee. rmad-Bhgavatam however, never cheats us in any way. It directly states: gurur na sa syt sva-jano na sa syt pit na sa syj janani na s syt daiva na tat syn na pati ca sa syn na mocayed ya samupeta-mtyum ( SB 5.5.18)
One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.

What is the meaning of na sa syt? If a guru is not really a guru, if he cannot give love and affection for Ka, you should reject him. A guru may think, All these disciples are my property, and I will enjoy their property. They have no connection with Ka. Their connection is only with me. That guru is a wretched guru, not a real guru, and he should be at once rejected, just as Bli Mahrja rejected his guru. There are so many examples of this in the stras. A husband is not a husband if he is not actually helping his wife in Ka consciousness; that wife should reject such a husband. If a wife is not helping her husband in Ka consciousness, or if a husband is not helping his wife in Ka consciousness, they should be at once rejected. If a son is not helping his father in Ka consciousness, then he is rejected as a son. There should be no relationship. If others help us in Ka consciousness, then they are guru, husband, wife, daughter, son, father or friend. Otherwise you should reject them. This must be the root of all relations. If you consider some compromise in this regard, you will be deprived of Ka. This has all been clearly explained in r mad-Bhgavatam. The gops are the most superior devotees in the world and they all disregarded their husbands. rmad-Bhgavatam explains all these truths. It has never said anything to cheat us. Nirmatsarn sat means that only those who are free from envy, duplicity, hypocrisy and all other impurities can understand the statements in rmad-Bhgavatam. Vedyam vstavam atra vastu means the real truth or reality. Who is vstavam vastu? Ka is Himself advayajna par tattva. Nothing exists without some relation to Him. No one is independent; only He is independent. Still sometimes He becomes dependent. On whom? On the Vrajavss, the gops, and especially on rmat Rdhik. 21

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam rmad-bhgavate mah-muni-kte ki v parair vara. Ultimately there is no need to read. Simply by hearing rmad-Bhgavatam Ka will at once be controlled. He will be bound to come in the devotees heart, if he has honor for hari-kath and strong faith that whatever is written in rmad-Bhgavatam is true to the fullest extent. All that is required is this honor or faith. There is still another condition for understanding. One should not offend rmad-Bhgavatam or the bhgavata. There are two kinds of bhgavatas: bhakta-bhgavata and grantha-bhgavata. Never offend either one of these. Then, if you simply hear rmad-Bhgavatam with honor, Ka will come at once and be controlled in your heart. The loka says, at once, very quickly. Dont disbelieve rla ukadeva Gosvm, Sta Gosvm or Vysadeva. How will it come about? Ka knows. At once He will enter your heart and never leave. By hearing, you will be able to follow with your heart and your activities.

The Ripened Fruit

nigama-kalpa-taror galita phala uka-mukhd amta-drava-sayutam pibata bhgavata rasam layam muhur aho rasik bhuvi bhvuka (SB 1.1.3)
O expert and thoughtful men, relish rmad-Bhgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of r ukadeva Gosvm. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.

Nigama-kalpa-taror means that all the Vedas, Upaniads, rutis, Mahbhrata, and Rmayana combined together are like a kalpataru, a transcendental desire tree. On that tree the rmad-Bhgavatam is the sweetest fruit of all. If you suck the root of the tree, no sweet taste will come. If you suck the leaves or the branches of the tree, the sweetness cannot come. Even if you suck the green raw fruits, still it will not come. When a fruit is matured and has fully ripened, and when some cuckoo birds or parrots come, attracted by its fragrance, and have bitten it, then it will be so very tasteful. All the Vedas and Upaniads are like trees. You can serve them, you can hear and follow them, but there will be no sweetness. In all the

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat Puras there is no sweetness. Even in Rmayana and Mahbhrata there is not so much sweetness. And even if you read rmad-Bhgavatam by yourself, no sweetness will come. Why? Because the parrots or cuckoo birds have not touched it. There is something in their mouths, within their beaks, and when they inject that substance into the fruit, that fruit becomes very tasteful. That is why it is said: yaha bhgavata pada vaiavera sthaneIf you want to understand rmad-Bhgavatam, you must approach a self-realized Vaiava and hear from him. (Cc. Antya 5.131) So many devotees are reading rmad-Bhgavatam. akarcrya also read it and all his sannyss read it. The myvads also read r mad-Bhgavatam. Without doing this their business cannot advance. They would not be able to attain followers and money, respect and praise. Therefore they read it. Actually, they know more than us. They are very, very learned and they can explain hundreds of meanings for one word, as Srvabhauma Bhacrya did. But they dont understand rmad-Bhgavatam at all. Why? Because they dont hear from a realized, rasika (who tastes all the rasas) and bhvuka (who has bhva, transcendental emotion) Vaiava. rmad-Bhgavatam has come from Ka through the guruparampar. Who is rla ukadeva Gosvm? He is the parrot of r mat Rdhik. He has seen and tasted all the pastimes of Ka with his own eyes, with his own senses, and with his own intelligence. Anyone who has not read rmad-Bhgavatam with such a pure rasika and bhvuka bhgavata in this line cannot really explain it. That nectar will not come. If one has not come in this process, if one has not read or heard rmad-Bhgavatam through this disciplic line, and has not become rasika and bhvuka, he can neither touch rmad-Bhgavatam nor can he explain it. He can utter words, and there is no harm in that. In other words, he can give some explanations, but the fruit will not be like that which rla ukadeva Gosvm gave to Parkit Mahrja and others. There are some devotees, like rla ukadeva Gosvm, who have read rmad-Bhgavatam with their gurudeva, and they themselves are rasika and bhvuka, but still they cannot explain it fully. Why? When they explain certain portions, they would remember Kas pastimes and at once faint. They would become unconscious and thus be unable to speak. If Ka Himself comes and tries to explain it, He would be the first person to faint. r Caitanya Mahprabhu, for example, could not explain rmad-Bhgavatam Himself. Therefore He sometimes wanted to hear it from rla Gaddhara Paita. And if Rdhik hears

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam even the first words of the first chapter of rmad-Bhgavatam, janmdy asya yato, what will happen? She will remember Ka and at once faint. She also cannot explain it. Gaddhara Paita was also always weeping, but there was some arrangement. Because Mahprabhu had a desire to hear from him, Yogamy made an arrangement that he would not faint. Rdh and Ka may give special mercy, just as They gave to ukadeva Gosvm. Just before entering Their aprakata-ll They ordered him, You should remain in this world. We are going, but you should stay here for some time. We are giving you special mercy so that you can explain rmad-Bhgavatam to everyone. You will not faint. There may be a chance that you will fall unconscious when you remember Me or Rdhik in Brahmra Gt, or in rsa, or anywhere else. So try to pass by those subjects. Dont utter the name of Rdhik and Myself directly there. Try to subside your feelings. Special mercy will come from Us so that you can explain rmad-Bhgavatam. Otherwise it will be very difficult. Very difficult.

Who can Explain Rsa?

If one is not rasika he cannot explain rmad-Bhgavatam. This is because rmad-Bhgavatam is rasa Himself. Vrajendra-nandana is Himself rasasvarpa.2 r Caitanya Mahprabhu is Himself rasa-svarpa. So this is a very high subject. We can explain an abhsa, a semblance. You can imagine that if the semblance is like this, then when rasika and bhvuka bhaktas like r Gaddhara Paita, rla Raghuntha Bhaa, rla Rpa Gosvm, and rla Santana Gosvm explain rmad-Bhgavatam how powerful it will be. If you have read Bhad-Bhgavatamta, then you can imagine something; otherwise, you cannot. This rmad-Bhgavatam is like a very high-class transcendental treasure, more valuable than cintmai, desire- stone. One cannot even compare the two. Those who try to compare them are foolish persons. rmad-Bhgavatam cannot be compared even with cintmai. For the benefit of those who have no taste in rmad-Bhgavatam, ukadeva Gosvm has stated in the Tenth Canto: nivtta-tarair upagyamnd bhavausadhc chrotra-mano-bhirmt
2 The embodiment of transcendental mellows, taste and relationships.

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat ka uttamaloka-gunnuvdt pumn virajyeta vin paughnt (SB 10.1.4)
Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampar system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?

Those who think only about worldly problems, and thus give up hearing rmad-Bhgavatam from any devotee in the line of r ukadeva Gosvm, rla Prabhupda, and others who have left behind all worldly desires, are like butchers. Actually they are worse than butchers. They are committing suicide and are thus butchers of their own souls. In this context butcher does not only mean killer of animals. It also means self-killer. The entire future of such a person is blocked. Hearing rmad-Bhgavatam in this process is the only mahauadhat, great medicine and panacea for this world. Hearing it will not go in vain. It is medicine, but very sweet like nectar. It has also been stated: n-deham dyam sulabham sudurlabham plavam sukalpam guru-karnadhram maynuklena nabhasvateritam pumn bhavbdhim na taret sa tma-h (SB 11.20.17)
The human body, which can award all benefit in life, is automatically obtained by the laws of nature, although it is a very rare achievement. This human body can be compared to a perfectly constructed boat having the spiritual master as the captain and the instructions of the Personality of Godhead as favorable winds impelling it on its course. Considering all these advantages, a human being who does not utilize his human life to cross the ocean of material existence must be considered the killer of his own soul.

Although it has been told many times in many stras, still we remain worldly persons, like butchers, cutting our own souls. We think it is very good to cut ourselves, but not to hear rmad-Bhgavatam. Dont be like this.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam nigama-kalpa-taror galita phala uka-mukhd amta-drava-sayutam

The fully mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures, rmadBhgavatam, has emanated from the lips of ukadeva Gosvm and therefore this nectarean fruit has become all the more relishable.

r ukadeva Gosvm brought the Bhgavatam from Goloka Vndvana. He was the special parrot of rmat Rdhik, and therefore he knows so many things. If he were a parrot of Ka, he could not have known the heart of rmat Rdhikhow much happiness She feels in meeting with Ka. This parrot is always with Her and he knows everything that happens.3 Rdhyh pranaya-mahim. He knows Kas four types of mdhuris, sweetness. Because he is the servant of rmat Rdhik, he knows how sweet and beautiful Ka is. Unlike Ka, that parrot also knows the happiness tasted by rmat Rdhik. Ka wants to taste what rmat Rdhik tastes, and that is why He had to steal Her heart. But this parrot has no need to steal because he is always serving Her. He knows everything. He is rasika and he is bhvuka. He knows more than Ka, and this is why Ka deputed him to remain in this world and manifest the rmad-Bhgavatam. Try, therefore, to hear rmad-Bhgavatam with great care, great honor and a strong belief that, I do not need to do anything for my departure from this world. I need not worry about mukti, salvation, and I need not worry how I will achieve bhakti. Everything will come automatically by hearing. Ka has promised, In the form of harikath I enter the heart of the devotees and manage everything. He is very powerful. Therefore you need not worry. rla ukadeva Gosvm has told that you should hear rmadBhgavatam for your whole life. He has not told that you should read it. Did he say anywhere that you should read rmad-Bhgavatam? Never. By reading it will not come; so we should hear. And this is true for harinma also. First you should hear, ravanam, then chant k rtanam, and so on. rmad-Bhgavatam also advises to first listen to hari-kath, and then you will be matured to explain it. Otherwise your explanation will be like zero.

3 Rdhik loved him so much. She would take that parrot on Her left hand and give him some pomegranate seeds and sometimes rice and milk. Caressing him, She would tell him, O parrot, can you repeat after Me? Ka! Ka! Ka! Ka! Then, in the same tune as Rdhik he would repeat, Krsna! Ka!(rla Mahrjas lecture: Maui, Hawaii May 1999)

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat

Hari-Kath Pleases Ka and the Soul

r Sta Gosvm heard the question of all the is: tatra tatrjas yuman bhavat yad vinicitam pusm ekntata reyas tan na asitum arhasi

(SB 1.1.9)

Please explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general.

ata sdho tra yat sra samuddhtya manay brhi bhadrya bhtnm yentm suprasdati

(SB 1.1.11)

Therefore, O sage, please select the essence of all these scriptures and explain it for the good of all living beings, that by such instruction their hearts may be fully satisfied.

The is requested, Tell us the essence of all the scriptures, Vedas, Upaniads, and also rmad-Bhgavatam, by following which, our tm, soul, will be satisfied and happy. There is a deeper meaning to yentm suprasdati. tm here refers to the tm of all tms, Ka Himself. If Ka is satisfied and pleased, then the whole world is pleased. We should try to please Ka; then our soul will automatically be happy. If you do everything to please your self, your own soul, then Ka cannot be pleased and you also cannot be pleased. The best process is to please Ka by all your activities. Then you will see that your tm is happy and others tms are also happy. Now Sta Gosvm is telling: sa vai pus paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokaje ahaituky apratihat yaytm suprasdati

(SB 1.2.6)

The supreme occupation (dharma) for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendental

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam

Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

Certainly, the most elevated paro-dharma, transcendental religion, is to serve Adhokaja. Who is Adhokaja? He who is beyond the material senses. He is Ka Himself, Vrajendra-nandana ymasundara. Perform causeless, uninterrupted bhakti to Him. Dont be like this: Oh, in the morning I did some bhakti, and after that I went to my job and I forgot all these things. When I returned in the evening I again remembered something: o ... bhr ... bhuva. Kl ... Kaya ... svh. Then again you take prasd, and then begin to yawn. Bhakti should be an uninterrupted flow, like a stream, always flowing like the Ganges river. This is high-class bhakti. dharma svanuhita pus vivaksena-kathsu ya notpdayed yadi rati rama eva hi kevalam

(SB 1.2.8)

The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.

If you are chanting, remembering, sometimes worshipping, sometimes doing your three sandhyas, gyatr-mantras, but you have no taste for hearing the pastimes of Ka from mah-bhgavatas, then your chanting may stop very quickly. If you are worshipping, your worship may stop. If you are serving your gurudeva and devotees, then that also may stop very easily if you are not hearing hari-kath. You will become weak very soon, and you will think, I should return to my home and marry. We will make money, and then we will have a golden Deity. Then we will serve all devotees, always read Bhgavatam, and give classes. Instead, however, youll become weak, and then you may leave Ka consciousness forever. The words dharmh svanuhita pus vivaksena-kathsu ya: indicates the duties executed by men which do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead. Those who have very strong faith in hearing rmad-Bhgavatam can taste something. Try to create taste. How will it come? It comes by hearing, hearing, hearing. If you have no taste in chanting the holy name, continue chanting and hearing Kas glories; then it will come. But you will have to be in high-class association. If that association is lacking, you cannot develop your Ka consciousness. Then you will be weak and think,

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat We have very big problems. rla Prabhupda was here in this world, and at that time we were very happy and enthusiastic, doing this and that. But when he left very big problems came, so many sannyss fell down, and brahmacrs also left. I think that most of you were brahmacrs at the time of rla Swmj. But when he left you became weak and married and had children; and you made a sasara (household) of Gt. You may also be thinking, rla Mahrja is now here and we are very inspired and performing devotional service. But after he departs what will happen? At that time the same thing will happen to us. Dont think like this. We were also serving our Gurudeva, and he departed from this world. But we are still here doing devotional service. So try to be like us, always chanting and remembering with strong belief. Im not a high-class Vaiava, but I have so much strong faith due to hearing hari-kath from our guru-varga. Never worry about the future, as animals never worry. Have faith, not in problems, but in what gurudeva has given in your heart. He has given everything, but now you will have to protect it, sprout it and nourish it. Then you will see that everything is alright and there is no problem at all.

Benefits of High-Class Association

r ukadeva Gosvm told the story of Nrada. Without the help of a transcendental, elevated guru, no one can develop in bhakti. A guru who has not internally served his gurudeva, who is not inspired and strong enough, and who has no faith, cannot help his disciples. Therefore r ukadeva Gosvm first related the life history of Nrada. Nrada was the son of Brahma, born from his throat. In the throat there are words, especially transcendental words, and therefore Nrada is the manifestation of word. What word? abdha-brahma. abda-brahma is Ka Himself. Nrada has therefore been called bhakti-avatara, the incarnation of devotion. In a previous life Nrada was born in a very low-class family, and his mother used to clean here and there. When he was only five years old the four Kumras Sananda, Saaka, Santana and Sanat, along with many is, came to the village where he lived with his mother. He used to serve them with great honor. They would order, O Bring my lota, bring my kaupina and my kamaalu. You can come with me when I go to bathe in the river.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam By good fortune, one day Nrada took some remnants of food from those is, the prasd which was on their leaf plates. What was the result? Vaiava-pad-dhli, bhakt-pad-jala. bhakta-pada-dhli ara bhakta-pada-jala bhakta-bhukta-avaea,tina mah-bala (Cc. Antya 16.60)
The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee, and the remnants of food left by a devotee are three very powerful substances.

You should have strong faith in this. Even if you are doing a great deal of chanting and reading of Bhgavatam this will not help you very much. If, however, you receive the remnants of any high-class Vaiava, you will be greatly benefited. Remnants are of two kindsthe nectars of hari-kath and of prasd. The other powerful substances are the dust of the lotus feet of the Vaiava and the water that washed his feet. One must serve these with honor. Do not jokingly quarrel and wrestle with that Vaiava, trying to throw him flat on the ground to forcibly take his foot-dust. Try to follow Nrada. He became very near and dear to the saints. When his mother, who was an attachment for him, quickly died after being bitten by a snake, he left home and very easily saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead in trance. The Lord advised him, You should continue hearing, chanting, remembering and telling My hari-kath to all. A day will come when death arrives, but you will not die. You will keep your feet on the head of death. This came about, and Nrada attained his own siddha-deha, which is always present within the gross and subtle body. He realized his transcendental form, and in that form he travelled everywheresometimes in this world, sometimes in Goloka Vndvana, sometimes with Nryaa, and here and there. Without guru we cannot go up. But that guru should not be like a Kali-yuga guru. We are the property of Ka, so guru should bring us to the lotus feet of Ka. That is guru. rmad-Bhgavatam states that bhakti should not be like that of Dhruva. There was some defect in him. You know that the exalted devotee Nrada initiated Dhruva. He initiated Prahlda Mahrja, and he also initiated Citraketu Mahrja. But these three disciples were in different categories. Even if the guru wants to give the same thingGoloka Vndvana, service to Kaif the disciple has no past impressions, that guru cannot give it. He wants to give it, but the disciple cannot take it. Dhruva Mahrja had no past

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat impressions. Although he performed severe austerities for six months, and although he was ultimately able to live without air and water, he did not have previous impressions from high-class devotees. Therefore Nrada could not give him the purest bhakti. rla Swam Mahrja4, rla Prabhupda Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura, and rla Bhaktivinoda hkura wanted to give all these things, and that is why rla Bhaktivinoda hkura began ngara-sak rtana and nma-haa. rla Swamj* also began in this way, but he could not give his disciples the pure devotion to Rdh and Ka that r Caitanya Mahprabhu wanted to give. Even Caitanya Mahprabhu would not give this to Kla Kadsa. He was with Kla Kadsa, in South India, but He could not give him this high-class of devotion. The recipient requires sufficient impressions from this birth and also from previous births. If you neglect to associate with high-class Vaiavas, and neglect to realize all these truths, then He will not give it. Even though gurudeva wants to give this bhakti, and even though he can do anything, he will not deviate from the process. That is why Nrada could not give it to Dhruva. That is why Dhruva is still in Dhruva-loka and not in Goloka Vndvana. Everywhere in the scriptures we see the necessity of elevated association. In the history of Devahti and Kapiladeva, Kapiladeva told His mother: satm prasagn mama vrya-savido bhavanti ht-kara-rasyan kath taj-joad v apavarga-vartmani raddh ratir bhaktir anukramiyati (SB 3.25.25)
In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.
4 It is tradition in the Gauya Maha that all cryas and sannyss refer to one another by their given sannysa names. Because rla Prabhupdas sannysa name is Swm, rla Nryaa Mahrja refers to him as such, adding the suffix j. J denotes great regard, as well as intimacy and affection. Besides being the ik disciple of rla Prabhupda, since their fist meeting in 1946, they always related with one another as intimate friends. Also, as they both took sannysa from rla Bhaktiprajna Keava Gosvm Mahrja, they have a Godbrother relationship as well. Sometimes r la Nryaa Mahrja refers to rla Prabhupda as Swmj, and sometimes as Swm Mahrja, sometimes as Prabhupda, and sometimes as rla Prabhupda.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam It is also stated in r Caitanya-Caritmta: sdhu-saga, sdhu-sagasarva-stre kaya lava-mtra sdhu-sage sarva-siddhi haya (Cc. Madhya 22.54)
The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moments association with a pure devotee one can attain all success.

If one is in sdhu-sanga for even a moment, it will not go in vain. But this should be with honor and very strong belief. Otherwise there will be no effect. No effect. Bharata Mahrja was a very advanced Vaiava and was just about to attain rati. He had crossed nih-bhakti and had taste in the holy name and hari-kath. He became very renounced and approached the stage of askti. He left his home, wife, childreneverything, and was now renounced. He came to a very dense forest and there he lived alone, chanting and remembering. But what happened? He became attached to a deer who was drowning in the river. Before this he had left his children, his wife and everything else. He had no attachments and had even reached the stage of rati. He took pity on that baby deer and this is called mercy in the mode of goodness. Devotees should be merciful, but not attached. Bharata Mahrja was correct in being merciful, but he became attached, and his attachment for Ka went down. Soon he died, and remembering only that deer he became a deer. He was very careful in his second birth, and also in his third. You should therefore also be very careful about this. Even from this stage, rati, there is a chance to fall down. And, if you have no taste although you are chanting and remembering, then, because you are still full of anarthas, there is so much chance of falling. We should therefore always be in elevated association. If Bharata Mahrja had been with Nrada, he would not have continued in this world for three lives. But no one was there. Try, therefore, even at the stage of nih or ruci, to always be in the association of advanced devotees. What is the essence of this story, told by rla ukadeva Gosvm to Parikt Mahrja when he was going to die? ukadeva said, You came here, having given up your son and all kinds of attachment, and therefore I am telling hari-kath to you. You should not be like Bharata. You should not give a moment to other attachments. At the time of death Bharata remembered a deer and also became a deer. Similarly, if one has many dogs and is very attached to them, it is certain that he will be a dog in his next life. No one can avoid this. If one has any worldly

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat attachment he may become a serpent, tiger, deer, horse, and so on. He may even become a very beautiful lady, although he was previously in a male form, and he will be very lusty. If a lady remembers any male person, she may become like that male, and she will be very lusty. It may be like that. One may also become a donkey, because donkeys are very lusty. He may become a donkey, monkey, dog and so on. So dont be attached. From the beginning try to always chant and remember Ka, but not Ka alone. If you remember only Ka, you may merge in Him like the myvds. We should remember Ka with His devotees. If gurudeva has given some idea to you, try to follow that. He wants to give so many things, and he does give them; but if there is no association, the disciple may not be able to fully understand and follow. Gurudeva gives him everything in gopala-mantra and kama-gyatr, but the disciple is not qualified to know what he is being given. If, however, he is always in the association of high-class, exalted Vaiavas, he will realize all these things. Such Vaiavas can make you realize what is in gopala-mantra. It was given to Brahma by Ka Himself. Kama-gyatr was also given to him. By these mantras one can enter Goloka Vndvana. More than remembering Ka, we should remember Yaod, or gops, like Rpa-majr and others; then we can serve Ka in that same way. There are so many things to say on this subject. It is our duty to follow rla Rpa Gosvm, and that is why we are called rpnugas. We say in Jaya-dhvani: rpnuga-guru-varga k jaya, but we dont know what is rpnuga. We should try to know by questioning, What is rpnuga? What is rgnuga? What is rga? What is raddh? What is nih? What is taste? What is askti, rati, prema, sneha, mna, praaya, rga and anurga? Then we will know all these stages of bhakti. We may read rmad-Bhgavatam, but if we dont have proper association we cannot attain anything. Therefore, satm prasagam mama vryasavido. We can learn so many things from Bharata-carta (the life history and character of Bharata Mahrja). Bharata was very renounced in his third birth. He became a brhmana, but at the same time he was totally like a madman. Actually he was not mad. He always remembered Ka and never associated with worldly persons. It is doubtful, however, whether he received that kind of bhakti which r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to give: anarpita-car cirt karuayvatra kalau (Cc. Adi 1.4). Mahprabhu never gave this to Bharata.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam You are so lucky, more than Bharata Mahrja and others. You are so fortunate that you have come at this time, just after r Caitanya Mahprabhu. But we are so unfortunate that we dont want to follow the process. We want to take gold, or worldly reputation and other things from Vaiavas, but not their high-class love and affection for Ka. Bharata Mahrja never attained this love. He received so much advanced knowledge, but has he received a drop of love of Rdh and Ka conjugal? He never even heard about it. He never had the chance. Citraketu Mahrja was also an elevated Vaiava, as was Prahlada Mahrja. Prahlada used to see Ka here, there and everywhere, but did he have any anugatya (guidance) of the gops? Did he have any taste or greed for attaining the mood of the gops love? Because he had no association of r Caitanya Mahprabhu and His followers, he will never have that greed. Do not neglect or misuse this time, otherwise you will be like butchersself-killers. Always be detached and try to utilize your time properly. In the absence of good association, if you are sincere and pray to Ka, He is so merciful that He will at once arrange everything. You can pray to Nitynanda Prabhu, who is more merciful than anyone. O, please manage this. Give me the association of rasika devotees so that I can hear Caitanya-caritmta and rmad-Bhgavatam. Be merciful. I depend on You. Im giving my whole heart to You. If you have very strong belief in Nitynanda, He will surely manage everything.

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Chapter Three

Yesterday I explained that we should try to hear rmad-Bhgavatam from superior, self-realized, rasika Vaiavas. This is written everywhere in rmad-Bhgavatam and r Caitanya-caritmta. Caitanya caritmta states: yha bhgavata paa vaiavera sthne. If you want to understand rmad-Bhgavatam you must approach a self-realized Vaiava and hear from him. (Antya 5.131) What is the meaning? Paa means read. If you want to read rmad-Bhgavatam, you should first go to any superior, rasika Vaiava, and there hear and learn from him how it is read. It is imperative to know the process. You can read and realize any straafter hearing. It has also been written that those who have no high-class association cannot understand the meaning of rmad-Bhgavatam. In India all the myvd-sannyss, highly learned in Sanskrit, always speak and give lectures in the Sanskrit language. They know many meanings of each word, its verbal roots and so on. But why have they become myvds? Because they cannot truly understand Bhgavatam at all. They also give explanations on the books of Jva Gosvm and others, but they do not understand them. This is why it has been told: aha vedmi uko vetti vyso vetti na vetti v bhakty bhgavatam grhya na buddhy na ca kay (Cc. Madhya 24.313)
Lord iva said: I may know; ukadeva Gosvm, the son of Vysadeva may know, and Vysadeva may, or may not know the rmadBhgavatam. On the whole, rmad-Bhgavatam, the spotless Pura, can be learned only through devotional service, not by material intelligence, speculative methods or imaginary commentaries.

The Process ofof Hearing The Process Hearing

This verse has been spoken by akara. Who is akara? Mhdeva. Vaiavanam yath ambhu. He is the supreme Vaiava, the di (original) Vaiava. He says: aha vedmiI know the meaning of r mad-Bhgavatam. uko vetti: And uka knows. Vyso vetti na vetti va: There is some doubt as to whether Vysa knows or not.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Vysadeva has written rmad-Bhgavatam and he has seen it in trance, but akara says, it is not certain whether he knows it or not. Actually he knows half. How? He is in the category of Ka, aktimantattva, meaning that he is the object of prema. akara, on the other hand, is the araya, abode of prema. He is in the line of rmat Rdhik (the embodiment of araya-tattva). In Ka ll, r ukadeva Gosvm is the parrot of rmat Rdhik, and therefore he is also in Her line or category. Anyone who is in the line of Rdhik can know rmadBhgavatam. But Ka Himself cannot know it. That is why He comes here to this world to learn in the form of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. When He was initiated by Vikh (in the form of Rmnanda Rya), He came to know. After that, in Gambhira, in the mood of Rdhik, He was tasting rmad-Bhgavatam. rmad-Bhgavatam is nothing but the internal, intrinsic mood of Rdhik. It is the glorification of Rdhik, not the glorification of Ka. vande nanda-vraja-strn pda-reum abhkaa

(SB 10.47.63)

I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Mahrjas cowherd village.

akara is correct, therefore, when he says: vyso vetti na vetti vthere is some doubt as to whether Vysa knows or not. rmad-Bhgavatam also states: sruto dhyayato anumodata. One should hear rmadBhgavatam. If he is not accustomed to such hearing, he can remember something about it. If he cannot even do that, he can give his approval: O, to hear Bhgavatam is very good. He certifies it. Even by this certification, a strong impression comes and acts as sukti (pious activities which leads to bhakti). It has therefore been told: rmad-bhgavatam puram amalam yad vaiavanam priya yasmin pramahasyam ekam amala jnam para gyate tatra jna-virga-bhakti-sahita naikarmyam vikta tac chvan su-pahan vicraa-paro bhakty vimucyen nara (SB 12.13.18)
rmad-Bhgavatam is the spotless Pura. It is most dear to the Vaiavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahasas. This Bhgavatam reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of transcendental

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The Process of Hearing

knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand rmad-Bhgavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, becomes completely liberated.

If anyone hears the Bhgavatam with raddh, from superiors who are explaining its deep meanings, whose bhakti is very elevated, and who have surrendered themselves to rmad-Bhgavatam, then the words, which are Ka Himself, will come in his heart and be realized. This is the process of hearing. vikrita vraja-vadhbhir ida ca vio raddhnvito nuuyd atha varayed ya bhakti parm bhagavati pratilabhya kma hd-rogam v apahinoty acirea dhra (SB 10.33.39)
Anyone who faithfully hears or describes the Lords playful affairs with the young gops of Vndvana will attain His pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.

If one hears rmad-Bhgavatam in this process, and then reads it with raddh, all the words will come to him, reveal themselves, and he will be self-realized. If one does not have very much association with exalted Vaiavas, he should still readthere is no alternative. But he should surrender to rmad-Bhgavatam. This is called supahan vicrana-paro. Then he should think, How deep the meaning is. O words of rmad-Bhgavatam, you are transcendental. Please reveal yourself. Manifest your mercy in my heart so that I may realize all these truths. This is the process. I know so many highly learned and scholarly devotees of rla Swamj who took the renounced order. They could remember many rmad-Bhgavatam lokas, from beginning to end, along with their many meanings. However, when Swamj departed from this world, they left sannysa, their reading of Bhgavatam, and everything else. This is not the process. If you want to enter deeply into rmad-Bhgavatam, you must read; but it will help you only if you are reading in the process. If, luckily, we have good association, and in that association any superior Vaiavas are explaining rmad-Bhgavatam, we should not lose that time. We must try to utilize it. If there is no high-class Vaiava association available, we should read very carefully under the guidance of such Vaiavas or gurus. We should be free from the

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam false ego of thinking, We will understand rmad-Bhgavatam by our own endeavor. You can read yourself, but in this processbeing very humble and offering yourself in saragat to the Bhagvatam.

Preparing to Hear the Tenth Canto

We have explained why the nine cantos were told, and then the Tenth Canto. A platform is required for hearing rmad-Bhgavatam, Tenth Canto. We must know what this world is, by hearing the dialogue of Kapiladeva and Devahti. It is necessary to realize what this world is, and what this body is. This body is only a combination of stool, urine, and many other bad things. We cannot purify ourselves simply by taking bath, because the body is always full with all these things. It can only be purified by chanting the holy names. Even after taking bath we utter: ya smaret puarkka sa bahybhyantara uci (Garua Pura).
By remembering the lotus-eyed Lord, Puarkkya, one becomes pure, internally and externally.

Therefore, even after taking bath one should do acaman and recite the names of Ka. On the other hand, whether we do something to attain perfection or not, we are always pure. We are pure by heart and by soul, because we are part and parcel of Ka. We have the potential to serve Him. We can try to serve Ka like Dhruva Mahrja, no harm, but he could not achieve pure bhakti, due to his worldly desires. Prahlda Mahrja had no desire; he was a mah-bhgavata. By hearing, we can try to make a platform to become like him. Although so many problems came to him, he was never touched by them. He remained outside all the problems and was never disturbed. If you become like him, you can remember and chant rmad-Bhgavatam always. Otherwise you will be disturbed. To know all these truths you can also read the chapters concerning Bhrata Mahrja and Citraketu Mahrja. Dont be very attached to your children and wife or husband, as Citraketu Mahrja was in his first life. What became of Citraketu? He finally left everything and was given transcendental knowledge by Nrada and Agira i.

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The Process of Hearing Follow all these teachings. Material relationships can never make you happy. Never. So dont be anxious. Remain in whatever position you are, somehow or other maintain your life, and always remember and chant, Ka. Now I am quickly coming to the Tenth Canto. r Parikit Mahrja said to rla ukadeva Gosvm, You have told me everything up to the Ninth Canto; but Im not yet satisfied. Im so hungry for this hari-kath. nivtta-tarair upagyamnd bhavauadhc chrotra-mano-bhirmt ka uttamaloka-gunuvdt pumn virajyeta vin paughnt (SB 10.1.4)
Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampar system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?

Only very wretched animals, and those who are like slaughterers of animals, can avoid hari-kath from superior speakers like r ukadeva Gosvm. In ka-ll ukadeva Gosvm was a very dear parrot of rmat Rdhik. He had no contact with my, even in the womb of his mother. Soon after his birth he was again admitted in the school of Vysadeva, and there he studied rmad-Bhgavatam from beginning to end. After this he explained Bhgavatam in the assembly of rla Parikit Mahrja. Here he says: nivtta-tarair upagyamnd. If a speaker of r mad-Bhgavatam has no worldly desires, no worldly problems and no attachment, like ukadeva Gosvm or anyone in his line, one should not lose the opportunity to hear from him. rmad-Bhgavatam is for three kinds of persons. It is for those who want to fulfill worldly desires, those who want mukti (liberation), or who are already liberated, and for those who are bhaktas, or ultimately, those who are rasika-bhaktas. For all kinds of devotees the explanation of rmad-Bhgavatam should be heard from that class of speaker. Nivtta-tarair upagyamnd. What is the meaning of upag yamnd? It is the opposite of gyamnt. One has heard from his guru, a rasika Vaiava, and then he is speaking. The example is Sta

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Gosvm Ugrarava. He attended the council of ukadeva Gosvm and heard rmad-Bhgavatam from him when Parikit Mahrja heard it. He heard everything; then he did gyamnt. First one engages in ravanam (hearing), and then, when he perfects that, he begins krtanam (speaking). At that time his speaking becomes avyarthmha auadhi, the infallible medicine. It will not go in vain. Those who were in the council of Parkit Mahrja and ukadeva Gosvm were all liberated. In other words, those who were both junior and senior, the kaniha-adhikrs and the madhya-adhikrs, all improved in their stages of bhakti. Those who were about to be liberated were liberated, and those who had no love and affection received that. In this way everyone developed. Nivttatarair upagyamnd bhavauadhc chrotra-mano-bhirmt. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing the roga, disease, of repeated birth and death. What is the disease of this world? What is the main disease from which all diseases come? The root of all disease is to forget Ka. This is called avidy, ignorance of ka-tattva, and of love and devotion to Ka. This avidy disappears very quickly. Those who do not listen with great honor and strong belief are like butchers, killing themselves and killing others. In this world, therefore, many are butchers. I explained several reasons, ten or more, for Kas descent to this world. He appeared in the jail of Kasa, from the womb of Devak, by Vasudeva Mahrja. At the same time, in Vndvana, He appeared like a baby, connected by an umbilical cord with his mother, Yaod. Both appearances are true. Ka appeared to Devak in His cturbhuja (four-armed) form, with long wavy hair and golden and jeweled ornamentsa very beautiful teenage boy of about sixteen. At the same time, twelve midnight, He took birth from the womb of Yaodjust as a baby comes. And He was weeping, kyaaah-kyaaah- kyaaah. ukadeva Gosvm has told that Ka was the son of Vasudeva and Devak. But to whom did he tell this? To all the Mathurvass. If ukadeva was in Vndvana, however, what would he say? None of the Vndvana residents would even believe him, if he said that Ka is the son of Vasudeva and Devak. They had already seen that Ka came from the womb of Yaod. There was a link, an umbilical cord, and that link was cut in their presence. How would they believe ukadeva Gosvm, or Akrra, or Uddhava, or anyone else? They would never believe them. If you are a Mathurvas, then you may maintain the belief that Ka is the son of Devak and Vasudeva; no harm for you. But if you

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The Process of Hearing want to become any of the Vrajavsseven a creeper, a bird, or an animal of Vndvanathen you will have to believe that Ka is the son of Yaod; never the son of Devak and Vasudeva. Both are true in their own position. ukadeva Gosvm has explained so many times that the Mathurvass are devotees of high caliber, and the devotees of Vndvana are as well. But who is superior? The Mathurvass like Uddhava and Akrra, or the Vrajavss like rmat Rdhik, Lalit, Vikh, Yaod and Nanda Bb? Who are superior among them? The Vrajavss. Therefore we must obey what they are telling. We should believe more in their words. Sometimes Mathurvass tell lies. In fact, Ka Himself has said that Mathurvass are liars. In Bhagavad-gt He told Arjuna, You should promise that I cannot neglect any of My devotees. If I promise it, it may be that I will changebecause Im a Mathurvas. But if you promise, I will have to keep your promise. Who was fighting in Mahbhrata? He was not Vrajendra-nandana; He was VasudevaKa. In this way He admits that Mathurvass tell lies. Therefore, those who say that Ka is the son of Vasudeva and Devak are liars; their words are not so true. On the other hand, if Yaodmaiy tells Ka, You are my son, there is no doubt of it. First you should believe this. It was only for beginners that Swmj wrote somewhere in his r mad-Bhgavatam that Ka was the son of Vasudeva, and He was given to Nanda and Yaod only to support and nourish Him as their foster child or adopted child. This is not true. You should have a firm belief in this. Try to be a Vrajavs. If you are hearing this class, then try to be a Vrajavs. The first thing is to have this faith, then you can realize rmad-Bhgavatam. This is the basis. Ka has so many opulences and all kinds of powers; He especially has six kinds of opulences. When He is in Nanda Bbs house as Vrajendra-nandana, all opulences and all powers are there, more than in Dvrak and Mathur; but they are covered with very sweet mdhurya. Only high-class devotees can realize all these truths; so try to have the heart of the Vrajavss. Those who are sleeping will not obtain all these understandings. Please try to sit properly; otherwise you will sleep and miss my class. Then you will be Mathurvass; not even Mathurvass, you will be Dvrakvass, or you will be Vaikunavass. If you do not hear with attention, it may be that the evils of all others will enter your heart and very easily sleep there. Dont be inattentive.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam This is the first thingKa is Vrajendra-nandana. The second is that Vrajendra-nandana is very merciful. aho bak ya stana-kla-ka jighsaypyayad apy asdhv lebhe gati dhtry-ucitm tato nya ka v daylu araa vrajema (SB 3.2.23)
Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon (Ptan) although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

When Ka was about two and a half or three years old in Gokula, He performed many beautiful pastimes. Once Kasa sent a demon named akatsura to kill Him. The demon thought, Im so intelligent. Ill not go there in any particular form. I will go there as air. He entered a bullock cart and wanted to press down on Ka and smash Him. But Ka is not an ordinary boy. Playing, He touched akatsura with His toe-nails, and the demon was killed at once. What is the meaning behind this pastime? If anyone is very learned, if he has read rmad-Bhgavatam, all the Vedas, Upaniadas and all other scriptures, still he may be like a demon if he does not serve Ka with love and affection. Actually all myvds are like akatsura, as are all in their line. They are very qualified in quoting the scriptures, they can explain so many meanings of rmad-Bhgavatam, and when they speak all are charmed. But ultimately they will say, We are that same brahm. They are all like akatsura, and therefore Ka kills them by any trick, and purifies their hearts. We must be careful not to be like them. Do you know the demon Tvarta? What is the meaning or essence of the pastime of Kas killing Tvarta? What are the dhula (dust) and ta (straw), thrown about by Tvarta? They are the logic that is against bhakti, against love and affection, they are the arguments of myvda, smrta-vda, impersonalism and so on. Ka can destroy all these arguments. We should not hear the logic of all these demons. During Kas time there were only a few demons in this world. But nowadays there are lakhs and lakhs of demons everywhere. By logic they will speak against bhakti, so we should be careful about this.

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The Process of Hearing

How to Control Ka
After this, we should understand how we can control Ka and bind Him in our heart. For this purpose Ka manifests damodara-ll. Yaod wanted to bind Him. She thought, Oh, Ka has done something bad. His nature is that of a thief, here and there stealing butter and everything else. She asked, Have You taken? Ka replied, O, I have not taken. So Yaodmay said, What is in Your mouth? I want to see. What did she see? Everything was in Kas mouth, including all the worlds. She saw Kas universal form, and lakhs and lakhs of Vius and Brahms were there. What did she think? O, perhaps Im dreaming. Or a ghost has come and he is in Kas mouth. She could not decide. She took water and washed her face, wondering, Am I in dream or reality? Then she saw nothingand she never thought that Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Ka showed His universal form to Arjuna he folded his hands and prayed: O Ka, Ive committed so many offenses. I have called You friend, but You are not really friend. You are the Supreme Creator, the creator of creators of creators. You are vara parama ka sac-cid-nanda-vigraha andir dir govinda sarva-kraa-kraam. In the future I will not call You friend. I married Your sister, and by that I became such an apardhi. Im not qualified for this. I have given You so many instructions like, Bring my chariot and place it in the middle of both armies. I will never do this in the future. Please excuse me. After that, when Ka made that universal form disappear, He called Yogamy. Under her influence Arjuna said, O friend, come on, come on. We should try to fight with these armies. Devak and Vasudeva sometimes thought, Ka is my son. But then they saw how easily He leaped up on the high throne, very easily grabbed Kasa, threw him down, jumped on him and killed him. Actually Kasa had killed himself. Ka only jumped on him. Ka did nothing to kill Kasa because he was already dead.1 At that time Vasudeva and Devak were also present. Everyone was present. Kasa had brought them in order to say to them, You should see how Im killing your son. Nanda Bb was there with all the gopas; Kasas father Ugrasena was also brought there, and Akrra was there with so many others. Kasa wanted to kill Ka in the presence of all, to show that, Im so superior. But quickly, without any effort, Ka jumped on him and Kasa died. Ka said, What
1 This is a statement by Nanda Bb. He meant that Kasa was now tasting the results of his own sinful activities.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam can I do? I simply jumped on him and he died. What can be done? At this time Devak and Vasudeva prayed to Ka. Ka was bowing down at the feet of Devak, and Baladeva at the feet of Vasudeva Mahrja. But they prayed, Oh, I know who You are. You are Nryaa-tattva Himself. Ka began to weep there, and Baladeva wept at the feet of Vasudeva Mahrja. They even sat on Their parents laps; but still Devak and Vasudeva continued in their devotion with the mood of opulence. Yaod had also seen exhibitions of Kas opulences, but she never thought that Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Never. This is the difference between Mathur and Vndvana, and therefore Yaod is so much superior to the Mathurvass.

Dmodara-Ll
In Gokula, Ka was bound around the waist by mother Yaod. Ka loves the devotees, and the devotees also love Him. If the devotees love for Ka is superior to His, then He may be bound or controlled; otherwise not. How can you control Him? By being under the guidance of mother Yaod, or Subala, rdama and Madhumagala, or by being under the guidance of the beloved gops, especially those gops who can bind Ka and easily control Him. r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to sprinkle this kind of love. Why was Yaod not able to bind Ka in the beginning? The rope was always short by two fingers. All the ropes were joined together by knots, and together they became about one or two miles long. Kas waist was only twelve fingers wide, and around it was a golden chain given to Him by mother Yaod. Although His waist did not expand, still the rope was not sufficient to fully go around it even one time. It was always two fingers too short. Two things are represented by the two fingers. The first is the endeavor of the bhaktas to do bhakti. If we want to bind Ka by our own intelligence, our own efforts, we cannot. We can neither have His darana, nor His mercy, nor can He be controlled. The second principle, therefore, is Kas mercy. We cannot bind Ka merely by endeavor. We must first become aragata, surrendered, totally surrendered. At our present stage we are not actually surrendering. We will say, Gurudeva, today Ive surrendered to you. But my lock and key remain with me. In this way we have surrendered in word only. This will not

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The Process of Hearing do. Well have to totally surrender. How do we surrender? You can go to Arjuna, or you can go to the Vrajavss who are totally surrendered. And if you want to be more qualified in surrendering, then you will go to the gops. They will tell you the process of surrender. While Yaod was trying to bind Ka, He was thinking, If mother binds Me, how can I play with the boys? rdama and Subala are waiting for Me. All the cows are waiting. For what? They have pain in their udders, but they cannot give milk to their children, the calves. Only if Ka comes will they give milk. In this way Ka is thinking, If miy binds Me, I cannot go. It will be better that She does not bind Me. Therefore, Yogamy at once came and this miracle took place. Although Kas waist was small and the ropes became longer and longer, they would not go around His waist even one time. Yaodmiy was trying to bind Him, but she felt that, From the beginning of the morning Ive been trying, and now it is twelve, but still I cannot bind Him. She took shelter of her hkuraj and prayed, O Nryaa, O hkuraj, if I do not bind my son, then all the Vrajavss will laugh at me. The color of her face was changing and tears were about to drop from her eyes. Sweating, she now considered that she could not bind Him. Although she had full belief in this, still she promised, I will bind You. I will try for one day, two days, three days, my whole life; but I will not give up. I must bind You. She was taking shelter of Nryaa, and weeping. Tears were coming. Ka saw this and immediately became merciful. Yogamy at once left and Ka was tied very easily by the rope with which mother Yaod had bound her hair. If we follow the gops, or Nanda Bb, Yaod, rdama, and Subala of Vraja, we can tie Ka. This love and affection belongs to the arayatattva, the abode of love. The Vrajavss are all abodes of that love.

Fruitseller Ll
There was a fruitseller who lived in Mathur. She had heard from some persons who were coming to Mathur from Gokula that a very beautiful and charming child of about two years old, the son of Nanda and Yaod, lived there in Gokula. She wanted to take His darana. Therefore she used to take some fruits in her basket and go to the area of Nanda-bhavan, the home of Nanda Mahrja, and call, O, phala lo, phala lo, take fruits, take fruits. Just as in Mathur and Vndvana

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam there are so many fruitsellers everywhere, so she would sell fruits in that way. However, sometimes Ka was sleeping, sometimes He was playing here and there, and sometimes He was in the lap of Yaod, taking breast milk. Therefore, she never had a chance to see Him. One day she said, Today I will go, and I will not return until I have His darana. She made a vow of do or die. Her object of life was fixed, and we should also try to make a vow like this. Having made this promise, she called out, Phala lo, phala lo. Gradually she forgot this and instead began to call, Govinda lo, Govinda lo, take Govinda, take Govinda. Dmodara lo, take Dmodara, Mdhava lo, take Dmodara, take Mdhava. Govinda Dmodara Mdhaveti. The easiest way to see Ka is nma-sakrtana. She adopted that process, as did the gops. When Ka disappeared from the rsa dance they sang like that, so that He would come back. As other fruitsellers are practiced, this lady was practiced not to touch her basket with her hands. She could even easily dance without it falling from her head. In this way, from morning until twelve she was looking for Ka. At last she became tired and sat down at the door of Nanda-bhavan. She was thinking, How will I see Ka? At this time Ka took some corn, wheat and other grains from the storehouse. He was quite naked, wearing only a gold chain with tinkling bells around His waist, the sweet sound of which sometimes charmed even Himself. Somehow He took some grains and went towards the fruit seller, but in the meantime the grains fell through His fingers and only two or three remained. He came to her with very greedy eyes, looking towards the very sweet golden, yellow and reddish bananas, mangos, grapes, kadamba, and so many other fruits. He said, Oh, give Me fruits. Give Me fruits. The fruitseller looked towards Him and became totally charmed. She said, I may give Youif You call me mother and sit on my lap. This was a very big problem for Ka, who thought, If anyone sees that Im sitting on her lap and addressing her as mother, everyone will laugh. What should I do? He quickly looked here and there to see if anyone was watching or not. When He saw that there were no witnesses, then very quickly, for a moment, He sat on the lap of that fruitseller. He said, O mother, give Me fruits, and then quickly jumped off. The fruitseller very happily began to give Him fruits. She asked, What do You want? He replied, This and that. At first He held out His hands, and then He came to the position of holding out both arms close to His chest, taking more and more fruits. She gave two, three, four, fiveand His arms were filled up.

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The Process of Hearing Looking and dancing, He then went to His mother and put all the fruits in her veil. She asked Him, Oh, from where have You brought the fruits? And quickly she began to distribute them. Although hundreds of gops came there and took those very sweet fruits, the supply was not finishing. It was unlimited. And what became of that fruitseller? She was sitting there and thinking. Her heart had been stolen by Ka, and without her heart she could only be absorbed in remembering Him. After some time, someone came and asked, Why are you here? What you are doing? Somehow she remembered her duties. She took her basket and started for her home in Mathur. Midway, near to where the Yamun was flowing, she began to wonder, Why is this basket so heavy? When she removed it from her head, she saw that it was full of diamonds and many other jewels. She became astonished. Again she put it on her head, and then threw it into the Yamun. She had no need at all for the jewels. What became of herno one knows. She became totally mad in the eyes of the world. Do you know what became of her? She became greater than Devahti. She was not concerned whether her veil was on or off, whether she was naked, or in what condition she was. She was always in trance, and she entered a state even greater than trance. It may be that Ka immediately took her body, her outer shell, and quickly gave her a greater position than Ptan, sending her at once to Goloka Vndvana to serve Him there. Ka is so kind. She had no special relationship with Ka; her bhakti was like nta-rsa. Still, thinking her something like a mother, Ka had called her mother. He therefore gave her a position far superior to Ptan, Kubja and others. He is so merciful. Try to quickly realize all these truths. If your bhakti is very high, then in one birth you can achieve a destination like this. Ptan went to Goloka, but the fruitseller lady went to Vndvana which is superior.

More Childhood Lls

Then Ka came to Vndvana, and He performed so many pastimes there. First, along with Baladeva Prabhu He killed Dhenuksura. Actually, Baladeva Prabhu killed him. What is the essence of this story? Symbolically, donkey has so many meanings. First of all, donkeys are quite ignorant. Secondly, they are so lusty that although the donkey is always kicked by the hind legs of the she-donkey, he is so ignorant

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam that he never gives up trying to enjoy her. Who can save you from this? Only Gurudeva, Baladeva Prabhu. You should always know that all gurus who are qualified and bonafide are praka, manifestations of Nitynanda Prabhu or Baladeva Prabhu. Those who do not realize this are not qualified gurus, and they cannot save you from these donkeys. Nitynanda Prabhu and Baladeva Prabhu, They are the same tattva, but Nitynanda Prabhu is the most merciful. As Mahprabhu is more merciful than Ka, Nitynanda Prabhu is more merciful than Baladeva Prabhu. Although They are the same, although there is no difference between Them at all, there is some difference in the degree of Their mercy. Therefore, if we take shelter of a guru in the line of Nitynanda Prabhu or Baladeva Prabhu, he can save us from this lust and ignorance. It is very, very, very hard to become free from lust. Ka has created in all species some males and some females; and it is very rare and very hard to become free from this hda-roga, disease of the heart. You can give up your children, wealth, reputation and everything else, but it is very difficult to give up the idea or mood of self-praise. It is even more difficult to renounce lust, because it is in the heart. Only Baladeva Prabhu can release us, and therefore He quickly killed that demon. Many brahmacrs, engaged by rla Swamj, had been worshipping for twelve years or twenty years, but when he departed from this world, most of them became lusty and again married. This lust came even to the sannyss who were serving and worshipping the Deities, reading Bhgavatam and doing so much preaching, it controlled them, and they were driven from this devotional line. So you should try to be very careful. This is not the first time you have taken the shape of a human and married. I think it is hundreds and thousands upon hundreds of thousands of times, or more than that, that you have been with these things. When you realize this fact, at once you will become like rla ukadeva Gosvm, rman Mahprabhu, rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm and all others like them. You will have to come in this process if you want to go where they are. Today, or after some days, you will have to be like them. Even if you are in married life, you will have to be like the Pavas, like rvsacarya, and otherslike the gopas and gops. They were all attached to Ka, not to anything else. This is the essence of all instructions. After the pastime of killing Dhenuksura, Ka performed the pastime of Brahma-vimohana-ll. Brahma saw that Aghsura was

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The Process of Hearing liberated and merged in the effulgence coming from the toes of Ka. He was actually liberated. Although it seemed that he merged in Ka, he could not actually merge. Jaya and Vijaya, in the shape of iupla and Dantavakra, were also liberated, and also seemed to merge in Kas body but in reality again became Jaya and Vijaya. Then, when Kas pastimes were completed, they went to Vaikuha along with Nryaa (who, along with all other incarnations, were within Kas body and had come with Him to this world). Similarly, it only seemed that Aghsura merged in Ka. Brahma somehow saw this, became very happy and thought, Oh, Ka is so merciful. He has appeared like a boy and He is performing all these sweet pastimes. I want to see some more pastimes; so I should do something by which I can see them. If Brahma had prayed to Ka, he would have been engaged in the correct process; but he never prayed. He was discovering a way in which, by his own efforts, he would induce Ka to perform more pastimes. He thought, I should do something so that Ka will play. I should steal away all the cowherd boys and all the calves. From where did these thoughts come? They came by the influence of Yogamy-dev. It was Kas wish at that time. Ka had been thinking, Lakhs and lakhs of gops want Me to be their son. They want to keep Me in their laps and give Me their breast milk. They all want this. I will have to fulfill their desires because I have made a promise to this effect: ye yath m prapadyante ts tathaiva bhajmy aham (Bg 4.11). So I must become their son. Also, lakhs and lakhs of cowsthe nine lakhs of Nanda Bbs cows, the eleven lakhs cows of Vabhanu Mahrja and uncounted numbers of others, wanted that Ka become their calves. Ka is a desire tree, and so He also wanted that, I should become the calves of all the cows. In Vndvana, Gokula, Nandagon and everywhere, all the young girls thought that, Ka should be our husbandlike our beloved. They all wanted this. So He had to fulfill their desire as well. For these reasons He decided, Its a good time, and at once He sent for His Yogamy. Actually, there was no need to send for her because she is always in Him. She knew His wish and at once managed everything. Brahma stole the cowherd boys and calves and he kept them in a cave. He went to his abodefor only a momentand quickly returned. For this world, though, it was one year. What happened before Brahma returned? Baladeva Prabhu had been thinking, Oh, a very strange thing! I used to see that all the gops

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam had so much more love and affection for Ka than for their sons. But now I see that they have equal love for Ka and their sons. I see also that the cows now have so much more affection for their older sons than for their new calves. Why? What is the cause? Baladeva then understood everything Ka is very wonderful. He began to smile and told Ka, O Ka, what is this? I see that You have become all the boys and calves. Your stomach was not filled up by taking only the milk of rmat Yaod, Your mother; so You became lakhs and lakhs of cowherd boys. Still Your stomach was not filled, and so You became all the calves here. All the cowherd boys are You Yourselfnot the original ones. Why have You done this? To marry all the gops. You have married them all. Gargcrya had previously told the Vrajavss, This year is a very good year, an auspicious year. You should give all your daughters in marriageeven those who are still in the wombs of their mothers. You should even arrange their marriage. Make a vow in friendship that, if a son will be born from your womb, and my child is a daughter, then they will marry. You should make a promise like this. In this way, all the gops were married. By trick, all the gops who married that year were actually married to Ka. Only Rdhik was not married, and this was also a trick of Yogamy. Vabhanu Mahrja had been told during that year that it was a very bad year for marriage arrangements. Rdhik was later married to Abhimanyu; and actually She was not married to him, but Her manifestation was married. Who is Abhimanyu? He is also a manifestation of Ka. So Her shadow was married to His shadow. Because Rdh is none other than the power of Ka, She cannot be separated from Him. She is one with Him. For pastimes They become two, but otherwise They are only one. Both appear as one in the form of rman Mahprabhu, and when They are two, They are Rdh and Ka. They are one soul in two bodies. By pure devotion you can realize all these things. This is the essence of the brahm-vimohana-ll. Ka can accomplish many tasks by one activity.

Later Vndvana Pastimes

Those who, in their previous lives were the golden statues of St, and those who were previously theVedic mantras, the is of Daakaraya, and all the girls of Ayodhya-puri and Janaka-puriall became gops by yauthak and ayauthak. That is, they either came singly, alone,

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The Process of Hearing or they came in groups. They all came to Vndvana and observed ktyyan-vrata for one month. But who came to them at last? Why could Ktyyan not come? If they were worshipping Ktyyan, Ktyyan should have come. But she never came. Ka Himself came, and He gave His benediction to them. Ka desires that those who want to be like the gops should give up all worldly considerations. For the happiness of Ka we can give them up. This body is like a garment. As you may know, Devahti and others like ukadeva Gosvm had no need to cover themselves with another garment. We are ignorant, and that is why we are doing so. We will have to transcend this. There should be nothing we keep for ourselves; we should give everything to Ka. Then we can come to that realm. Now we will very quickly come to the topic of rsa-ll, and after that I will come to my object of telling hari-kath here. Why did Ka leave Vndvana? Everyone wants to be in a place where there is very much love and affection. We know that in Vndvana love and affection for Ka is so superior to anywhere else. There is also love in Mathur, but not like that of Vndvana. Then why did Ka leave? And, even if He left, He should have returned from time to time to meet with the Vrajavss; but He never came back. Why? He wanted to console the gops, so why could He not have come Himself to directly console them? Instead He sent His messenger, Uddhava. Why did He send him? Ka has so much opulence, and He is so powerful. Why could He not have invited all the gops, along with Nanda Bb and Yaod, to Mathur or to Dvrak? If He could take all the Ydavas from Mathur to Dvrak in one nightat oncewhy could He not bring all the gops, Nanda Bb, Yaod, the cows and everyone and everything else there, and live with them? Was there a scarcity of place in Dvrak because it is surrounded by an ocean? Is this the fact? There was so much room in Dvrak. But why could the gops and Nanda Bb not reside there? These are the questions we will try to solve in class tomorrow.

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Chapter Four

I have explained the essence of some of the pastimes of Ka. Now Im going to tell some very secret pastimes. First of all you should know who Ka is; He is not a worldly boyfriend, rmat Rdhik is not a worldly girlfriend and Their most elevated love is not material lust. Their love is beyond the touch of all kinds of bodily senses and even the mind. vyattya bhvan-vartma ya camatkra-bhra-bh hdi sattvojjvale bha svadate sa raso mata (SB 10.43.17)
That which is beyond imagination, heavy with wonder and relished in the heart shining with goodnesssuch is known as rasa.

Ka Ka and the Gops Gops and the

No mental speculation can touch Them. That is why Ka is called adhokaja-tattva or aprkta-tattva. Although this is true, if we have even a seed of transcendental raddh, honor to hear, we can gradually understand all these truths. All kinds of lust will go away, gradually uddha-sattva1 will come, and then we can realize these truths. We are not qualified to speak or to hear. Still, those who are senior must hear; for senior devotees I am telling something. They should hear with very strong faith and honor. They should know, and then follow the process from its beginning. But they should hear. First, Ka is Bhagavn: varah parama ka sac-cid-nanda-vigraha ndir adir govinda sarva-kraa-kraa (Brahma-sahit 5.1)
1 The transcendental platform of pure goodness on which bhava-bhakti is manifest.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam

There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavn, but Ka is the Supreme because none can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the cause of all causes.

Not only this. Ka is Svaya Bhagavn: ete ca-kal pusa kas tu bhagavn svaya indrr-vykula loka mayanti yuge yuge

(SB 1.3.28)

All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord r Ka is the original Personality of Godhead. All of Them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.

Ka is Bhagavn Himself, Vrajendra-nandana, the ocean of rasa. He is sarva aktimn. All kinds of powers, contradictory to each other, are in Him. He is akti aktmatorabheda (Vednta-stra). There is no difference between Ka and His powers. He is sarva-kraa-kraa (the cause of all causes), sarva aktimn (the embodiment of infinite powers), and akhila-rasmta-sindhu (the complete ocean of the nectar of loving relationships). We can hear, but we have no realization. We can only hear. If by practicing for many thousands of births we realize what we have heard, then we are very, very fortunate. Who are the gops? They are the vilsa-mrti (pastime expansions) of Ka Himself. Ka is one without a second. He is advaya-jna-paratattva (the complete truth). All viva-brahmandamaterial worlds, all cit-jagattranscendental worlds, and all jva-jagatall the jvas, have come from His power. There is no difference between them. Still, bhedaabheda: there is difference and non-difference. We cannot calculate this by our mind. We can only understand it through our guru-parampar. mnya-prha.2 You should know what mnya means. mnya is the authentic evidence of the Vedas, Upaniads and all other scriptures, which has been accepted by our guru-parampar. If something is called Veda, but it is not accepted by our parampar, then we will reject it. Our guru-parampar has accepted that rmad-Bhgavatam is amalapramana (immaculate evidence). rmad-Bhgavatam and all stras are telling that all the gops are non-different from Ka. The Brahma2 From rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras Daa-mla ka.

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Ka and the Gops sahit states: nanda-cinmy-rasa-pratibhvitbhis tbhir ya eva nijarpatay kalbhi (Brahma-samhita 5.37). They are the rpa of Ka. They are Ka Himself. rmat Rdhik is Herself Ka; there is no difference at all. Only for vilsa, pastimes, for tasting each other, has Ka divided Himself in two. Ka was in Vndvana, alone at Vami-vata, and from His left side, His very beautiful para-akti,3 hldin-akti in the form of rmat Rdhik, came out and ran towards Him with rga. RShe ran after Ka to meet Him. Ranurga, dhadhavati with anurga, high-class ecstatic love and emotion. She ran towards Ka calling, Ka! Ka! Thus She became Rdh. She was worshipped by Ka Himself, and so Her name is also R dhik; but She is Herself Ka. You cannot imagine this, but it is stated in stra, so you should accept it. What is Their love? Bhva.4 Bhva is not anything of this world. It is uddha-sttva, the essence of hldin and samvit, on the platform of sandhin. Without sandhin there is no hldin and no samvit. They will meet on the platform of sandhin. Rdhr is Herself Kas hldin potency. Why hldin? She always gives hlda, pleasure, to Ka. Her body is made of the most elevated mah-bhva.5 All Her organs, moods, senses, hair, eyes, and everything about Her is made of mah-bhva. Therefore She is hldin.

Stages of Prema
Regarding the other gops, they are like kayavyha, bodily manifestations, of rmat Rdhik, and therefore they are also one with Ka. You cannot imagine how they are one and how they are different. Their love is mah-bhva. To have some idea of this, let us begin from bhva, rati. What is rati? When, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, we cross sdhana-bhakti,6 we come to the border of bhva-bhakti. We perform sdhana-bhakti only to achieve bhva. Then it is real sdhana. If one is chanting, remembering and practicing all the processes of bhakti, but the objective is not bhva, not thinking, I want to attain bhva,
3 Topmost energy, superior potency of the Lord (rmat Rdhik). 4 Transcendental emotion. 5 Highest stage of prema or divine love. 6 When transcendental devotional service by which love for Ka is attained is executed by the senses, it is called sdhana-bhakti, or the regulative discharge of devotional service. Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity. The awakening of this eternal devotion is the potentiality of devotional service in practice. ( Cc Madhya-ll 22-105 .)

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam then it is not sdhana. What kind of bhva do we want? Not that of r dma or Subala, Nanda Bb, or Yaodmiy. We want mah-bhva like that of the gops; and among the gops, only like the mood of Rpamajar, Rati-majar and Labaga-majar. When that mood comes like an electric current in the heart and the mood of the jva becomes tdtma, one with that of the gops, it is called bhva-bhakti. There is also something in the souls heart, and by a combination of both, bhva-bhakti manifests. When bhva comes, then svarpa-siddhi7 comes and after svarpa-siddhi, vastu-siddhi (the spiritual body) manifests. At that time you will totally give up this body, take birth from the womb of a gop, and you will have to continue your practice there. In that body prema8 will come, but not in this present body. This body cannot withstand prema. At once you will die; or rather, this body will die. If prema enters this body, it will burn at once. You can never have prema in this body. For that prema, the ddha-sttva body is essential. There may be many causes for that love, that prema, to go away. sarvtha dhvama-rahita saty ap dhvasa-krane yad bhva-bandhnam yno sa prema parikirtt (Ujjvala-nlmai) True love is that love which does not break, even when there is sufficient cause to break it. Even when there is sufficient cause, and, instead of breaking, it becomes unlimitedly more new and fresh. This is called prema. It is not like the lust of worldly persons, where in one day, or two days, or some days, a man and woman marry and next day get divorced. We claim to have a friendship, a very bosom friendship, but if there is any cause, that friend quickly goes away and becomes our enemy. I know so many who were first bosom friends and afterwards became enemies; and those who were enemies became friends. This is not prema; it is not actually love. When that love touches our heart and becomes very dense, very thick, then our heart melts, tears come, and many symptoms of atasttvika9 manifest. Then it is called sneha. When sneha becomes very
7 Stage of bhakti where the internal spiritual form and identity becomes manifest. 8 When that bhva softens the heart completely, becomes endowed with a great feeling of possessiveness in relation to the Lord and becomes very much condensed and intensified, it is called prema (love of Godhead) by learned scholars. (Cc. Madhya 23.4) 9 Eight symtoms of spirtual ecstacystunned, perspiration, hairs standing on end, trembling, change of colour, tears, fainting, faltering of voice.

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Ka and the Gops thick, and then thicker and thicker, it reaches its last stage and becomes praaya. Do you know what praaya is? It is when the lover and beloved become as one, when there is no shyness at all, no difference in their thinking. When a person goes to the bathroom, becomes naked and sees himself in a mirror, he has no shyness. Similarly, in praaya, the lover and beloved are like the same person, with no shame. They do not think, This is my form, and this is my reflection in the mirror, but rather, I myself am the reflection of my beloved. Both lover and beloved are like this. You cannot imagine it, but still you can hear about it. After this, mna comes. The beloved thinks, If I do mna, if I enter a sulky (angry) mood, my lover must certainly come and pacify me. In this stage praaya becomes mna. Ka has to come to pacify His beloved; otherwise He will never be able to meet Her. After this, rga develops and then anurga, which is nitya-navina ever fresh. At that time the beloved sees Ka, or Ka sees His beloved, as new. The beloved thinks, O, I have never seen Ka before. Who is that black person? When this emotion reaches its highest stage, it is called mah-bhva. In Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu this has been described. Only if we come to this stage can we realize something of the love of Rdh and Ka, and understand who Rdh is and who Ka is. Still, I am giving some glimpse, like a shadow. I am not a realized person, but I am always thinking and thinking of this, so Im giving some idea of that. What is mah-bhva? When Rdh and Ka meet together They forget Themselves. They dont know, Who am I? Who are You? There is only ecstatic love, and that love controls Them both. Ka does not know, I am Ka. rmat Rdhik does not know, I am Rdhik. This mood is especially in Rdhik, not Ka, because Ka is the object of love, and Rdhik is the reservoir, or the abode of love. In this mood She forgets, Who am I? She forgets, Who is Ka? Rather, She thinks, We are one. She alone can think like this. pahilehi rga nayana-bhage bhela anudina bhala, avadhi n gela n so ramaa, n hma rama duhu-mana manobhava peala jni e sakhi, se-saba prema-khin knu-hme kahabi vichurala jni n khojaly dt, n khojalu n duhukeri milane madhya ta pca-ba

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam ab sohi virga, tuhu bheli dt su-purukha-premaki aichana rti. (Cc. Madhya 8.194)
Alas, before We met there was an initial attachment between Us brought about by an exchange of glances. In this way attachment evolved. That attachment has gradually grown, and there is no limit to it. Now that attachment has become a natural sequence between Ourselves. It is not that it is due to Ka, the enjoyer, nor is it due to Me, for I am the enjoyed. It is not like that. This attachment was made possible by mutual meeting. This mutual exchange of attraction is known as manobhva, or Cupid. Kas mind and My mind have merged together. Now, during this time of separation, it is very difficult to explain these loving affairs. My dear friend, although Ka might have forgotten all these things, you can understand and bring this message to Him. But during Our first meeting there was no messenger between Us, nor did I request anyone to see Him. Indeed, Cupids five arrows were Our via media. Now, during this separation, that attraction has increased to another ecstatic state. My dear friend, please act as a messenger on My behalf , because if one is in love with a beautiful person, this is the consequence.

There was no messenger between Our love. Nothing was there. Only Our eyes were there. A high-class rasarja-mahbhva manifests at that time. This has been told in r Caitanya-caritmta. Gop-prema, therefore, is not very easily obtained like a Calcutta or Delhi rasagulla. Many persons here in the West make rasagullas but they are not actually like Vndvana or Calcutta rasagullas, saturated like a sponge with sweet juice and a very sweet fragrance.

Come with Me to Vndvana

Now, thinking about all these things, come to Vndvana. Leaving your mortal body here, leaving all kinds of moods, problems, and everything else, come with me. Let us go to Vndvana, and then you can realize something. Dont remember anything worldly. You should come to Vndvana. Ka has gone to graze the cows, and the gops are saying: akavat phalam ida na para vidma sakhya pan anuviveayator vayasyai vaktra vrajea-sutayor anaveu-jua yair v niptam anurakta-kaka-mokam (SB 10.21.7)

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Ka and the Gops

O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Mahrja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by Their friends, driving the cows before Them, They hold Their flutes to Their mouths and glance lovingly upon the residents of Vndvana. For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision.

It was vasant tu, spring time, but all the flowers of each season were in bloom in Vndvana. The Yamun was flowing very sweetly, making sounds of ka-kala-kala-kala. So many lotus flowers were blooming, and their fragrance was attracting the bumblebees who were perhaps saying, Rdhe, Rdhe, Rdhe, in glorification, and perhaps they had become mad. All the bumblebees had become mad. Ka took lakhs and lakhs of cows, and His friends also joined Him with lakhs and lakhs of their own cows. There were so many cowherd boys, you cannot imagine. Here in this class are no more than three hundred persons, but if there were lakhs, perhaps the devotees would have no place even to sit. If Ka comes here with the nine lakhs of Nanda Bbs cows, and rdma comes with eleven lakhs of cows, where will they sit or stand? There would be no room even to stand. Where would they graze, and how would they be controlled? It would be very difficult. But the dhma is also Ka. It is a manifestation of Baladeva Prabhu Himself. It expands and sometimes also contracts. In this way Ka goes to graze cows with the cowherd boys. They play and jump, and all are calling, Ka, Ka, Kanaiya, Bhaiya, Kanaiya. At this time the gops are in their homes. There are many different groups of gops and they are remembering Ka as if they are seeing Him. They say, We know we have eyes, but simply having eyes is not sufficient. With these eyes we have not taken darana of Ka. Ka and Baladeva are both there in the forest, and Baladeva is somewhat ahead. Ka is playing on His flute, searching for something here and there with His crooked eyes (side-long glances). Many gops are standing here and there, performing rati with their eyes, and Ka is accepting their rati. Vrajea-sutayor means the son of Nanda Bb. The gops say, The eyes of those who have not seen Vrajesa-suta going cowherding are in vain. A thunderbolt should come and punish those eyes; there is no need of them. Vrajea-sutayor has another meaning. Baladeva is not the son of Nanda Bb, but He has been supported and nourished by him. He therefore always thinks, My father is Nanda Bb, not Vasudeva or anyone else. And Yaod is My mother. Vrajea-sutayor,

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam therefore, as explained by r ukadeva Gosvm, also means the two sons of Nanda Bb, Ka and Baladeva. There is also a deeper meaning. There are two vrajes. Nanda Bb is one, and superior to him is Vabhanu Mahrja. He is also vrajea. Nanda Bb has one son, Ka, and Vabhanu Mahrja has three children; two daughters and one son. Sut, his daughter, is Rdhik. Here suts ca becomes sutayor by Sanskrit grammar. The deeper meaning, therefore, is that the eyes which do not see vrajea-sutayor, Rdh and Ka, are useless. What are Rdh and Ka doing? Ka is playing on His flute and Baladeva has walked ahead to give Ka a chance to be with the gops. The gops have surrounded Ka, and Rdhik has met with Him. She forcibly takes His flute, anuveu-jua, and then begins to play it. Ka becomes very attracted and thinks, I cannot play like this. He therefore looks with a crooked, side-long glance, very attracted by Her playing. A sakh says, If this scene has not been seen, then ones eyes are useless. A thunderbolt should at once come and finish that persons life. I dont want such a life. The explanation of r Vivantha Cakravart hkura is very rasika. He quotes a gop: O, let us go to see Ka. Just now He is in the lane; we should go. But another sakh says, Dont speak so loudly. If your mother-inlaw hears, she will at once punish you. Dont worry. What will she do? The first gop replies. Her daughter is going there and my mother-in-law herself is going. So I dont fear. But there is reason to fear. We should not go to Ka. O, let us go. This scene will never be seen again, and life is very short. If Ka passes by us, youll no longer see Him. So please come. We should go and meet Him. But still, how is it possible to go? Kas sweet voice and face are so beautiful and attractive that when you see Him, He will attract you, and you will give up your dhairya (patience), pati-vrata-dharma (chastity) and lajja (shame). Then you will be desperate and quickly come. Let us come there. Vaktra vrajea-sutayor anaveu-jua yair v niptam anuraktakaka-mokam. All the gops were speaking and feeling like this, as shown by many other lokas like purna pulindya (SB 10.21.17).

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Ka and the Gops

Gop Gt
After that, in the coming arada-tu, autumn season, Ka decided: bhagavn api t rtr radotphulla-mallik vkya rantu mana cakre yoga-mym uprta

(SB 10.29.1)

r Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences. Yet upon seeing those autumn nights scented with blossoming jasmine flowers, He turned His mind toward loving affairs. To fulfill His purpose He employed His internal potency.

The gops had no desire, but Ka had the desire. Bhagavn api. Ka is Svayam Bhagavn. He is tmrma, and ptakma,10 self-satisfied; He has no wishes. Yet, when He remembered the gops, He at once remembered yoga-mym-uprta. Yogamy is the power of Ka, an expansion of His hldin-akti or para-akti, and she manages everything. Where there is Yogamy, there is no influence at all of this material Mahmy. In Goloka Vndvana everything is managed and controlled by Yogamy, with no influence of Mahmy. Therefore, any jva soul who is serving Ka cannot forget Him, and he cannot fall down from there. Rantum manas cakre. Ka at once decided, I should perform such a vilsa, that by hearing about it everyone will be attracted, follow the principles of bhakti-yoga, become liberated, and quickly go to Goloka Vndvana. There is no other powerful way or process. Ka is very merciful, and out of His mercy He performed this pastime. vana ca tat-komala-gobi rajita jagau kala vma-d manoharam (SB 10.29.3)
Lord Ka saw the unbroken disk of the full moon glowing with the red effulgence of newly applied vermillion, as if it were the face of the goddess of fortune. He also saw the kumuda lotuses opening in response to the moons presence and the forest gently illuminated by its rays. Thus the Lord began to play sweetly on His flute, attracting the minds of all the beautiful-eyed gops.
10 There is a subtle difference between tmrma and ptakma. tmrma means taking pleasure in the self, and ptakma means not requiring any more than one has in this world. Such a person is fully satisfied with what he already has.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Ka took His flute. It was evening time, the moon was golden and full, and it was coming from the very reddish eastern horizon. Purvadia, the east direction, is like the moons beloved. It was as though, by his rays, which are like his hands, the moon took a large quantity of gulab (red coloring) and decorated the face of purva-dia. Remembering this, Ka at once placed His flute upon His lips, and jagau kala, played a very sweet tune. What was that tune? It is written in kl, the seed mantra. Each gop thought that Ka was calling her. Rdh, Lalit and all others thought, He is calling me only, no one else. The essence of gopal-mantra is the seed kl. How? Kala, (translated as sweetly) is a combination of the two Sanskrit letters ka + la. The fourth letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is called vma-d (translated in this verse as the girls who had charming eyes) As the English alphabet begins with a, b, c, d, the Sanskrit alphabet begins, a, aa, i, ii. So the fourth letter, ii, or long i, is called vma-d. Grammar is also herethe essence of grammar. Ka and la, combined with ii, becomes kl. And what is manoharam? Ultimately, Manohara is Ka, He who attracts the mind. That Ka gave part of His quality to Candra, the moon god. The adisttra devata, predominating deity of the mind then is Candra, and that moon has now taken the shape of candra-bindu, a dot. In Sanskrit this dot is called anusvara, and the word kl is thus completed. By kl each and every gop thought that Ka was calling her alone, and therefore they all came. All the gops assembled as though mad. If a thief has taken a persons golden ornaments, that person will pursue the thief. The sound of Kas flute is herein compared to a thief. It entered the hearts of the gops, took away their hearts, and quickly returned to Ka with those hearts. All the gops followed that sound, and they came to Ka thinking, I alone am coming to Ka to get back my heart. jagmur anyonyam alakitodyam sa yatra knto java-lola-kual (SB 10.29.4)
When the young women of Vndvana heard Kas flute song, which arouses romantic feelings, their minds were captivated by the Lord. They went to where their lover waited, each unknown to the others, moving so quickly that their earrings swung back and forth.

Charmed as though mad, they all came to Ka. Ka now smiled and told them, O My dear gops, You are high-class devotees. I know that you came to see this scenery of Vndvana forest, and you

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Ka and the Gops especially came to see Me, because I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So now you have seen Me, and you have seen this very beautiful Vndvana, the Yamun, and everything else. Now you should return. No chaste lady should be alone with any male person. Even if her husband is very ugly, worthless, attacked by disease, incapable, penniless, or even if he is crooked and hunchbacked, a chaste lady should serve him. This is Vedic culture. I know that you all have husbands, so you should return and serve them. If you do not do this, then you are deviating from your religious dharma and your Vedic culture; and you will have to go to hell. Certainly, you should return. In this way, Ka gave many examples from the Vedas and elsewhere to explain why they should go home. The gops were wondering whether Ka was joking or speaking seriously. One gop said, O Gurudeva, namaskra to You. You are our Gurudeva. I think that these high-class elevated teachings and instructions cannot be given by anyone but You. You are really our guru. stra states that first, before worshipping anyone else, one must worship gurudeva. You are our Gurudeva and so You should accept our worship; then we will worship our husbands, Bhagavn Nryaa, and anyone else. If You do not accept our worship, You are breaking all the laws of dharma, and You will be responsible for the reactions. You have especially told: ye yath m prapadyante ts tathaiva bhajmy aham mama vartmnuvartante manuy prtha sarvaa

(Bg. 4.11)

All of themas they surrender unto MeI reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pth.

Those who worship Me, meditate on Me, and so on, I must reward according to their qualities. We are serving You, and You are not accepting our worship. So You are guilty; You will be bound to suffer. The gops told so many things that Ka became speechless. He could not reply. Then their rsa dancing and singing began, and after that, Ka disappeared from the rsa dance. At that time all the gops lamented and cried bitterly. They all became totally mad. They asked the trees, creepers, animals, and the Yamun, Have you seen Ka? Have you seen Ka? Then they began to do ll. They became like Ka Himself, thinking, Im Ka. One gop held up her cloth and

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam said, O, Im Ka. Im lifting Govardhana. See how Im doing it. One gop began to sit on the breast of another lady and exclaimed, O, Im Ka, and shes Ptan. Just see how Im killing this Ptan. Some gops were playing on a flute and saying, O, how sweetly Im playing. You should see. In this way they were imitating Ka. In their total madness they began to sing: jayati te dhika janman vraja rayata indir avad atra hi dayita dyat diku tvaks tvayi dhtsavas tv vicinvate (SB 10.31.1)
The gops said: O beloved, Your birth in the land of Vraja has made it exceedingly glorious, and thus Indir, the goddess of fortune, always resides here. It is only for Your sake that we, Your devoted servants, maintain our lives. We have been searching everywhere for You, so please show Yourself to us.

tava kathmta tapta-jvana kavibhir ita kalmapaham ravaa-magala rmad tata bhuvi ganti ye bhri-d jan (SB 10.31.9)
The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.

transmitted by learned sages, eradicate ones sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast

One gop is singing: tava kathmta. mta means nectar. Your pastimes and Your speech are all like nectar. If anyone feels upset by many problems, if he is burning in the forest-fire of those problems, and if he feels so much pain in this worldif he hears hari-kath, then everything will be pacified. Therefore ka-kath is like mta, nectar, and those who distribute this nectar are the greatest donors. In this world, those who take rmad-Bhgavatam and distribute this kind of love and affection to others are surely the most charitable donors. Some gops, however, give the opposite meaning to tava kathmta. Your name, Your pastimes, Your teachings and Your words are like poison, mta. We realize this. We were very happy in our worldly affairs; but when we heard Your words, we became as though mad. All

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Ka and the Gops kinds of problems came, and now we are homeless. We no longer have even a drop of love and affection for our homes, husbands or children. Those who preach Your glories and tell hari-kath are enemies, and are like butchers. Why? If anyone hears these glories he will give up his home. A husband will give up his wife and a wife will give up her husband. They will become homeless and go to live in a forestlike birds, weeping and making their whole family weep. So dont hear this. Be very careful. Those who bring Bhgavatam here and say, I will not take any fee, come and simply hear ka-katha, are like butchers. They will cut your affection for worldly things, and you will no longer be able to be happy in this world. So dont hear all these things. Different groups of gops are giving different arthas, meanings, to the same loka, and therefore several kinds of meanings are revealed here. ukadeva Gosvm has given some idea, but rla Vivantha Cakravart hkura, rla Santana Gosvm and rla Jva Gosvm have explained many, many meanings. Each group has a separate meaning.

Which Type of Lover are You?

After the gops sang their gop gt, song of separation, Ka appeared in their assembly. He became so beautiful theresmiling, but somewhat ashamed. At that time the gops asked Him many questions. One gop placed His hands on her shoulder. Someone else placed His feet on her lap, another took betelnuts from His mouth, and another, from a distance, stared at Him with arrow-like sidelong glances. The gops asked, What kind of person are You? We gave up everything for You and have become homeless. We left our husbands and everything else, including even our dhairya, shyness, and dhrma, religious considerations. But You left us in a moment. We know that there are three kinds of persons. The first love those who love them. If you love me, I love you. This is one kind of love. Regarding the second, even if you do not love him, that person is so perfect that he loves you. And the third is he who, whether one loves him or not, has no love for anyone. We think that You must be one of these three kinds of persons. Which one are You? We see that we are loving You, but You are not loving us. Smiling, Ka replied, Listen to Me. The love of someone who only loves another if his love is reciprocated, is not pure love. It is like a business relation. The person loves and wants to be loved in return.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam This is not at all transcendental or pure love. So Im not in that group. Regarding those who love despite others not loving them, they are like fathers and mothers. Some sons, after becoming youths, give up their parents. Despite this, mothers and fathers have so much love and affection for those sons. Children may do something against the parents, but still fathers and mothers always love their children, without any desire for gain. This is somewhat better. There is some real relation there, and some actual love. But Im not even among these persons. Regarding those persons who do not love anyone in this world, whether others love them or not, they are of four kinds: tmrma, ptakma, aktaja and guru-drohi. Try to understand. Those who are ptakma do not require anything. r ukadeva Gosvm, or aaka, and Sananda, for example, have no worldly or any other desire. They are self-satisfied. Those who are tmrma are raman-ing in their tm, that is, always enjoying within themselves. Ka is satisfied in all ways. He has no need to take from anyone else in order to become satisfied. The third type of lovers are aktaja, ungrateful creatures, like animals. A father and mother do so many things for their children, but they may be so ungrateful that they may give up their fathers and mothers. The guru-drohi will not only give them up, but he will also cause them so many problems. He will think, O, why are they not dead? He even may shoot his father and mother, thinking them enemies. Such persons do not understand the real situation, and therefore they are guru-drohi. Ka continued, I am not among any of these six types. Im your beloved and You are all My beloveds. I disappeared only to increase your love. By chance a very poor man may obtain a cintmai, and, being unaware of its value, neglects it. Another person, aware of its value, may steal it. While the owner searches for it, someone asks him, What are you searching for? I am trying to find that stone; it was very beautiful and someone has taken it. Oh, this was not an ordinary stone; it was cintmai. It can give everything you desire. Then the owner begins to weep, Ive lost that priceless thing. So, first I came to you and then I disappeared. This was only to increase your love and affection for Me, to bring you more and more near to Me. You are My beloveds and I am your beloved. I cannot repay you for your love in lakhs and lakhs of births.

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Ka and the Gops na praye ha niravadya-sayuj sva-sdhu-ktya vibudhyupi va y mbhajan durjara-geha-khalh savcya tad va pratiytu sdhun (SB 10.32.22)
I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshipped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore, please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.

The gops are not sdhakas and they are not siddhas. Who are they? They are Ka Himself, the kyavyha of Rdhik. Still, Ka tastes all these loving relationships with them. These are not ordinary things. They are all transcendentalmore than transcendental. This is the nature of Ka and the gops. Those who hear all these topics, always remember these pastimes, and chant, Hare Ka Hare Ka Ka Ka / Hare Hare Hare Rma Hare Rma Rma Rma Hare Hare, take the essence of all instructions given by r Caitanya Mahprabhu. r Rpa Gosvm writes: tan-nma-rpa-caritdi-sukrtannu smtyo kramea rasan-manas niyojya tihan vraje tad-anurgi jannugm kla nayed akhilm ity upadea-sram (Upademta 8) By always chanting the names Hare Ka, thinking of these very powerful, sweet pastimes of Ka, and being in Vndvana under the guidance of any high-class rasika and bhvuka devotees, everything will be successful. This is the essence of all instructions. If you live in Vndvana but you only think of problems and are not under the guidance of any rasika Vaiava, then you are bound to commit offenses to Vndvana dhama and to Vaiavas, as lakhs and lakhs of persons are doing. You will give up your faith and again return to worldly life and engage in nonsense activities. So this is the process. You will have to come in this process. I have given a glimpse, an outline, of these pastimes. When Vndvana lla was completed, Akrra came to take Ka and

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Baladeva to Mathur in order to save Their father and mother, Vasudeva and Devak. Kasa had put them in jail and was giving them so much suffering. Sometimes he was kicking them on their chests and greatly abusing them in other ways. Why? He wanted to know, Where have you kept your child? I know He has taken birth from you, but you have sent Him away. Tell me where He is, otherwise I will kill you. Every day he would come and abuse them. He killed Devaks six sons, the seventh was transferred to Gokula in the womb of Rohi, and the eighth was Ka, who was stealthily brought to Gokula, where He mixed into the purna (complete) Ka who had taken birth from Yaods womb. Kasa realized, We sent so many demons to kill Ka, in Gokula and elsewhere. But they were themselves killed, never to return and give any message or report. So I cannot kill Him there. We should therefore try to invite Him here. We will have worship of Lord iva, dhanur-yaja, and a very good wrestling match, and all my subjects will come from different parts of the country to see the festival. Akrra was thus sent from Mathur to Vndvana, and tomorrow we will discuss what happened after that.

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Chapter Five

Ka is now completing His pastimes in Vraja. After He killed Ke and Vyomasura, Nrada came to Him and prayed, Remember that You will have to do so many things. Now You are very much charmed in Vndvana-ll, and You have forgotten that Your Mathur father and mother are in the jail of Kasa. Kasa is creating so much havoc and problems, always insulting them and crushing them with his boots. Also, You have promised to marry 16,108 devotees in Dvrak, and You will have to save and protect the Pavas. They are aragata, surrendered only to You. Duryodhana is making so many problems. He has taken their kingdom and driven them to the forest. So You will also have to help them. You have promised to destroy all the demons. There are so many demons now. Those who were killed in Rma-ll, in Lanka, have all come as katriya kings, and they are a great burden to this earth. And You have so many other responsibilities. You should remember all this, and not only be involved in Vndvana. Ka replied, You have reminded Me, and now you may go. Everything will be taken care of. Thus one day, when Ka was at Prema-sarovara, between Nandagon and Varana, He made a decision. Rdh and Ka were sitting on the bank of this very beautiful Prema-sarovara with the gops. The scenery was extremely beautiful. All kinds of flowers were in bloom, cuckoo birds were singing, so many peacocks were dancing, and Rdh and Ka were surrounded by lakhs and lakhs of kamadhenu (wish-fulfilling cows). In Their assembly were Lalit, Vikh, all the aa-sakhs, many prominent sakhs, and especially Nandimukhi, Vnddev, and Dhanitha. rmat Rdhik was sitting on the lap of Ka. The two were like one; His hand was around Her shoulder and Her hand was around His waist. A bumblebee came and thought the lotus feet of Rdhik were actually a very fragrant and sweet lotus. He came to taste some honey from that lotus, and humming, wanted to enter it. Being very soft, Rdhik became afraid and put Her hands up in front of Her to protect Herself. Madhumagala at once came with a bamboo stick. He waved it at the bee and drove it very far away. Then he returned and said, Ive driven away this madhusdana, bumblebee, and he will never come again. So dont fear.

Ka LeavesVndvana Vndvana Ka Leaves

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam The word madhusdana has so many meanings. It is one name of Ka. Why Madhusdana? The love and affection of the gops are like madhu, honey. Ka tastes that honey; thus He is called Madhusdana. Madhu also means worldly desires and attachments. Lust for wife, husband, children, and so on is also like honey. Ka can cut away all these things and so He is Madhusdana. Sdana means to cut away. If you call, Madhusdana! Madhusdana!, He will cut all bad desires and attachments. There are many other meanings, but these two are prominent. So Madhumagala came and said, Ive driven out this madhusdana forever. He will never return. When rmat Rdhik heard this, She became unhappy and thought, Oh, Madhusdana has gone. Although She was in the lap of Ka, now She was weeping so much. Where has Ka, Madhusdana gone? He will never come? Then how can I live? I will die. Without Madhusdana I cannot live. She forgot Herself, and She forgot that She was in the lap of Ka. Weeping and weeping, She became senseless, and lost Her external consciousness. Ka saw this and thought, This is a very strange thing. She is in My lap and She has forgotten everything. This is called prema-vaicittya. It is more exalted than divyonmada, and it is within the category of Rdhiks mdana mood. In meeting She feels separation. This topmost love is only in Rdhik. It is not in anyone else, including Lalit and Vikh, what to speak of Candrval. In the highest class of prema there is separation in meetingthe fullest separation and fullest meetingand at the same time forgetting everything. Ka sees that, If rmat Rdhik is very near to Me, She worries, Where is Ka? Where is Ka? In fear of future separation She becomes senseless. I cannot help Her. But if Im not here, then, going deep into the mood of separation, She remembers Me and thinks, Oh, this tamal tree is Ka. She does not think, This is a tamal tree, although we would think so. She actually thinks, Ka is here. She dresses very nicely, does gra, ornaments Herself and speaks with Him, Oh, where were You? Then She does mna, transcendental loving anger to Ka. Even in separation there is mna. This is a very strange thing. So Ka is thinking, Now She is weeping. What shall I do? How will I console Her? I cannot console Her. This is a very big problem for Me. Whenever I am with Rdhik, in fear of future separation She becomes like this. I cannot help Her. And if Im not here, She goes

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Ka Leaves Vndvana deep in Her separation mood. She sees some clouds, and thinking the clouds to be Me, She says, O clouds! It is as if She is saying, Oh Ka, dont come to Me. Rdhik struggles with Her braid because it is black like Ka. She is always like this in separation. She can sleep, She can perform any activity, and She can experience some happiness. When They meet, on the other hand, She experiences a very deep mood of separation. So Ka is thinking, What shall I do? I must be somewhat far away in order to give the gops, and especially Rdhrani, some relief; otherwise they will be always unhappy. If I remain here, they will always feel separation, weep and fall unconscious. I should be out of Vraja. Otherwise I cannot help them. Ka thus decided, I should come in their dreams, as a manifestation or some similar way; but not directly. If I come directly, then they will be unhappy. This is also why Ka does not return to Vndvana. If He returns, what will become of the gops? If you have a cut on your body and you squeeze some lemon juice on it, what will become of you? There will be more and more suffering. Their stage of mdana and modana is so high, more than rudha and adhirha. You cannot realize these moods. You can only hear something about them. If you practice love and affection like this, in elevated association, you can realize something. You will be so attached to the pastimes of Ka that you will actually realize them. Then you will have no attachment to worldly things, you will have no problems, and you will be always happy. When you read any page of rmad-Bhgavatam, you will read so deeply.

Kas Wish
In the meantime Kasa was thinking how to kill Ka and Baladeva. He had made so many plans, but they all failed, and all his demons were killed. At last he called Akrra who was like Kas uncle. He told Akrra, You are such a qualified person. I know that you have so much attachment for me. You also have some relation with Ka and Baladeva. So I think that you should help me. Im going to arrange an arena here, near Rage vara temple. There we will have many interesting events like wrestling matches and others. Then Ka and Baladeva will come, we will surround Ka, and we will all kill Him. So go at once and bring Them.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Akrra is a parama-bhakta. He has faith that Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that He has come to kill Kasa and all other demons. He therefore became very happy and thought, I must go there and see Ka. Will He remember me as He does His other servants? If so, I will be so fortunate. Somehow Kasa has given me the good fortune to go to Ka and take His darana. This is why Akrra went to Vndvana. What is at the root of all this? Kas wish. Yogamy had come and put these thoughts in the minds of both Kasa and Akrra. Kas plan was there. By His desire an arrangement was made so that He would have to go far away from Vndvanato pacify the gops. Akrra thus came, in a golden chariot given to him by Kasa. Vasudeva, Devak and Mahrja Ugrasena had been put in jail. They were bound with very thick chains and very strong guards were posted there. Kasas plot was that, after Ka arrived there with Baladeva, he would call all Kas devotees, like Nanda, Vasudeva, Devak, Ugrasena, and in front of them he would kill Ka. They will see that I am Kasa and I can kill Ka. Then they will feel so much separation that they themselves will die. According to Kasas plan, Akrra went to Vndvana to meet with Ka and Baladeva. On the way he saw the footprints of Ka. If you have gone to Nandagon, you might have seen carana-pahari, which is still impressed with the very beautiful footprints of Ka. Akrra saw lakhs and lakhs of footprints in the dust of Vraja, near Nandagon, because Ka was always roaming there with the cowherd-boys barefoot. Akrra fell upon these lotus footprints and prayed. Tears were falling from his eyes, his heart was melting, his bodily hairs were standing on end, and he offered so many prayers. Those prayers are recorded in rmad-Bhgavatam. He was a very high-class Vaiava in dsya-rasa. Later that evening Akrra met with Ka and Baladeva and secretly told Them, Do You know that You are the son of Devak and Vasudeva? Now they are in jail, and this demon Kasa is torturing them. This is only because of You. There is no other reason. Because Your parents sent You to Gokula they are now being tortured. Ka became furious and said, Because of Me? I must go there, and then return. He made up His mind and told this to His father, Nanda Bb. Nanda Bb agreed because there were some logical arguments why Ka should go there. If He did not go, Kasa would torture Nanda

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Ka Leaves Vndvana and Yaod and all the Vrajavss.1 Out of fear for Kas welfare, therefore, they agreed that Ka go. That same evening, to the accompaniment of drums, it was anounced everywhere that the next day Nanda Bb and the other gopas, along with some of Kas friends, would take Baladeva and Ka to Mathur. There they would see the arena and the wrestling match and then they would all return home. All of Kas friends were happy, thinking, We are also going, and we will see new, new things. Nanda Bb was not afraid because he thought, I am going with Ka and Baladeva, and I will bring Them home again. All the gopas were like thisneither lamenting nor feeling separation. Nanda Bb told Yaodmaiy, You should be nirbhaya, without fear or anxiety. Im going and I will bring Them back again. There is nothing to fear. Yaod thought, Oh, he is going with Them, so They will return.

The Gops Lamentation

The gops, Kas beloveds, however, were in another mood. They began abusing Brahma, the creator: Hes very cruel. Ka is so sweet, and somehow this creator has made a chance for us to meet Ka. But he is so cruel that just when we are going to meet, he took away that fortune, and again he made separation. Just when we were going to taste that sweetness, he took it away. Hes not qualified to create this world. He gathered all the beauty of the entire three worlds and made the beautiful body of Ka. Therefore, how beautiful Ka looks. His form is beautifully bent in three places, there are beautiful dimples on His cheeks, and He smiles so beautifullylike an arrow.2 And everything about Him is crooked. His words are sweet and also crooked. His glance is crooked and it penetrates the hearts of those who look at Him. We had a chance to see Him, but this cruel creator is like a baby boy. Baby boys make a palace out of sand and proclaim, Oh, this is my rja palace, my royal palace, and again they destroy
1 Before Kas birth Nanda Bb was detached. When Ka was born, due to attachment to His welfare, he went to Mathur to pay his taxes to Kasa. His concern for Kasa was only in relation to Ka. Kasa was the emperor, and Nanda Bb was under his control, like a landlord. So Nanda Bb was now thinking that their suffering at the hands of Kasa would also give suffering to Ka. He therefore, allowed Ka to go. 2 Ka shoots the arrows of His smiles to penetrate the hearts of the gops.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam it. So Brahma is like that. He gave us an opportunity to meet Ka, in whom he placed all the sweetness and beauty of the three worlds; but as soon as we met, he at once took away this fortune. So hes very cruel, very cruel. The gops continued, That Vidhta, that cruel creator of destiny, has now come here in the form of Akrra. Actually he is krra, cruel, but he has taken the name Akrra. He declares by that name, I am not cruel, but actually he is very cruel, very cruel. The gops were weeping. Not really hearing them, we may be laughing now; but they were not laughing. They were telling all these lamentations from their hearts and feeling separation. Oh, he has come here just when we were about to taste our meeting with Ka. It is as if any very beautiful, tasteful dish comes before us, and we are just about to take it, but in the meantime someone takes it away. The monkeys from Vndvana, for example also come and take your dish, jump up on a tree, and, looking bewildered, you say, What happened? Similarly, the gops are saying, This cruel Akrra came and took Ka, our beloved. How can we live? We cannot remain alive. The gops became like fish out of water. Are you at this stage? We are not, and therefore Ka is very far away from us. For these gops, Ka is always there with them. Try to come to this stage. This is our objective. How can you possibly come to this stage if you divide, and divide, and further divide your attachment to Ka with worldly wives, sons and daughters? Ka gave you your birth alone. You came into this world alone, and Ka told you in the womb of your mother, Be alone. Im giving you this birth only for practicing bhaktiyoga. Dont make any boyfriend, girlfriend, sister, mother, etc. Try to become like Bharata in his third birth as Jada Bharata. We promised then, in the womb, that we will not divide our attachment. When we came out of the womb, however, our mother or sister took us in her lap and called, Oh-h-h-h, baby, baby, baby, baby. We thus made a mother, a father, sister, neighbors, an entire community and so on. Then we gradually came to our youth and made one, two, three, four, five or six girlfriends or boyfriends. Ka is reminding us about this, in the form of guru and Vaiavas. They are warning us, but we say, Oh, after this I will not do these things. I will give it up. This is my last time. Again, however, the waves of attachment come.

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Ka Leaves Vndvana Try to realize that when you die you will die alone. Alone. Those to whom you have given your attachment and your whole energy will not remember you for a moment. They cannot help you. You must know all this. The gops are telling all this. They are very expert because they never divide their love and affection to anyone in this world. They withdrew their love from their husbands, sisters, brothers, fathers and everyone else, and came to Ka. If you want to love Ka, gradually you will have to be like them. If you do not follow them, at the time of death you will be kicked as donkeys are kicked by the hind legs of female donkeys. And then you will be burnt to ashes. Surely you should know there is no one who can help you. Only Ka can help anyone. You should try to realize all this. This is association. Take some love and affection from this association and return home with it. This will help you. The gops first blamed Vidhta, the creator. Then they blamed that creator in the form of Akrra. Now they are blaming Ka. They say, Oh, there is no blame to Vidhta, or Akrra, or anyone else. It is simply that Ka is always nava saga priya. He always wants newer and newer association. He is never satisfied with old association. Like a bumblebee He goes to any very beautiful lotus, and, after taking its sweetness, again goes to another, to another and to still another. Sometimes that bee becomes maddened and even goes to bad-smelling flowers. Although he cannot even see any madhu, honey, in them, he goes there because they are new. Ka is like this. And He is blackish also, just like that bee. He is never satisfied with old lovers, so He now wants to taste some new ones. This is why He is leaving. This is His motive for leaving us and going to Mathur. And He will be very happy. Now He is with us, but we are only village girls, and we are not so beautiful. We cannot attract anyone. The girls from Mathur can pose very beautifully, with their veils like this. They can speak many sweet words, and they can very attractively exhibit their shyness. But we are not like that. We cannot play like them. They are very expert because they live in towns. They can put on make-up so beautifully and decorate their faces with lipstick and so many cosmetics. But we dont know all these arts. And there are not only one, two, three or four, but lakhs and lakhs of them. Ka will be so attached to them. He will give His love to this one, to that one, to that one and also to that one. He will be fully engaged and He will never return. We know. The gops began to bitterly lament. We know the habit of Ka. When this night is over He will go, and we fear He will never return.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam For the Mathurvass, on the other hand, a very good morning will follow this night. All the ladies, and all the Ydavas, Vnis, and Bhojas will be very happy, because they will see the beautiful face of Ka and say, Good morning, good morning. All of them will have the chance to see the essence of beauty of the entire world, because they will see Ka. Ka will talk with them and become attached to them. But for us this night is like kla-yama, death. Tomorrow morning we will not see Ka. How dangerous. We will all die. All the birds and peacocks, and all the animals will die. And what will become of the cows? They will not graze. They will only look in the direction in which Ka may come. They will also die. Then what will become of this Vndvana? It will be a barren land only. So Akrra is very cruel. In Mathur there will be great mahotsava, festivity, daily. And in Vndvananothing. It will be barren land. Now we are wondering; we are astonished. There are so many elder persons here, like Upananda, all the brothers of Nanda Bb, and others. They seemed to be very intelligent, but now we are thinking that they are not intelligent at all. Why are they not stopping Nanda Bb from taking Ka and Baladeva to Mathur? Why dont they send Akrra back alone? Ka should not be sent, but they are not saying anything. They are accepting this proposal of Nanda Bb and Akrra. Then what should we do? We shall have to give up our usual shy behavior. We ourselves will go and tell Nanda Bb and Yaodmaiy, You are so cruel. Dont send Ka with this cruel Akrra. Ka will never return; we know. We will try. Let us go and tell Yaodmaiy and the others. In the meantime the morning came, and Akrra performed his sandhya (morning gyatr). He then brought his chariot and, taking Ka and Baladeva, began to step up on it. The gops at once came and checked the chariot. Some of them fell down, and fainted. Seeing the scene from very far away rmat Rdhik became senseless, unconscious. Those other gops who remained conscious came and, lamenting, took the reins of the horses. Some fell down, rolling on the ground in front of the chariot; and some wept. Still, Akrra was so cruel that he wanted to take Ka, by any means, to Mathur. By His eyes, Ka made a promise to all the gops who were conscious. I will come back very soon. Im going now, and I will kill Kasa today or tomorrow. Then I must return. He promised through His dhautyukaih, messengerHis eyes. And He also said to them, Give this message to all the gops who are unconscious, especially to Rdh, that the day after tomorrow I shall certainly return.

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Ka Leaves Vndvana Akrra quickly slapped the horses with a stick in such a way that they galloped off crookedly so that they could not be followed. Most of the gops fainted. Those who did not faint watched the dust of the chariot, and some of that raised dust fell upon them. The gops never returned to Nandagon, but remained instead in the forest. When Uddhava came sometime later he met them, and it was a very pathetic scene. All the gops were simply thinking, We should die; but we should not die. Why not? Because Ka may return. He has promised that I will return so it is certain that He must come. We have faith in His words; so He will come. And when He comes, if we have died, He will see this and He will also die. So we must not die. We should tolerate any kind of separation, any kind of fire. Even though we are burning in a fire, a fire of separation, still we will have to keep our livesonly for Ka, only for Kaso that He will come and see us.

Waiting for Ka
The gops therefore waited one day, two days, three days, four days, one year, two years, three years, four years, five, ten, fifteen, fifty; but Ka never returned. Why? Sometimes He may come in the shape of a bumblebee, sometimes in a dream, sometimes in any manifestation He comes and sees the gops. And they think, Oh, we are seeing Ka in a dream. Actually He has not come. Sometimes they become so deeply in love that they never think Ka has gone to Mathur. Rather they consider, Ka is here and He has gone cow-grazing. In the evening Yaod takes His rati plate and gets everything ready for His and Baladevas arrival. But she may stand there the whole night and Ka never returns. Now there is no cooking at all and now no birds sing. You cant imagine the condition of Vraja. Now I will tell a worldly story. When I was in Italy I went with two others to walk on the beach of the ocean. After the walk we returned to our car. A very beautiful old dog came there. His eyes were full of mud, and there were some signs that he had been weeping. At once he came over and smelled us, and looked at us very pathetically. Then, when another car came and stopped, he went there, and again he was looking sad. I told the two devotees, It seems that this dog formerly belonged to a good person. He was an Alsatian dog, a very good dog. I asked them, Why

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam is he waiting for each car that is coming? They replied that this dog belonged to a rich person, and for several years he was with him. His master kept him in his car when going everywhere. He bathed him and always had so much love and affection for his dog. In this way, so many years passed and the dog was so happy by always serving his master. After some time he began to get old, and then one day he came to that beach, saw a bitch, a she-dog, got out from the car and went with that she-dog. His master thought, I will have to take a new dog. So what will I do with this old dog? He therefore left him, quickly started his motor car, went to his house and never cared for that dog again. He neglected him forever. After some time that dog returned and looked for his master. Where is my master? Where is my master? Searching every car here and there, not eating anything, he was always looking for his master. One year, two years passed. His master never returned, but he always continued looking. There is no one to wash the mud or wipe away his tears, and no one to give him anything to eat. He is always weeping for his master, thinking, Oh, my master must come. And that is why he is livingin hope that, Today, or one day, my master will come. He is simply waiting; waiting. This dogs master may be cruel, but Ka will not be cruel. The dog is remembering his master, thinking, He will come. He is just now coming. Oh, perhaps hes coming. He goes up to anyone and again sees, Oh, this is not my master, and then he begins to weep and becomes sad. Then he sits and waits with hope. If a dog can do this, why can we not do this? This example is like a shadow in comparison to the gops. Why are the gops lamenting? This dog may remember, One day my master took me in his lap and washed me with his own hands. He gave me sweet things to eat. That which he was going to eat, he gave to me instead. And sometimes he used to take me in his bed. Remembering this, the dog weeps. A devotee can be like this, always remembering the pastimes of Ka. The gops remember, How Ka was dancing with us, how He used to put His betel nuts in our mouths, how He loved us, how He was sometimes dancing and singing with us. He would boast, Oh, I can sing in the fifth note, but we gops sang in the seventh note, and He praised us, O sadhu, sadhu, sadhu. Very good, well done. But now who will praise us? In this way they were simply remembering and weeping. This is like aa-klya-ll. Devotees can remember all these things, and thus their minds will not go here and there. Ka tells the gops, You should remember Me. But the gops sadly look towards Ka, and reply, Oh, we want to forget You, but we cannot forget You. All

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Ka Leaves Vndvana remembrance of You comes, like a chain, one pastime after another, and we want to forget You. If You can forget us, why can we not forget You? But this is our situation, that we cannot forget You. The gops lamentation is something like this dog, but not the same. What I told about the dogs tale is only perhaps a shadow of a shadow of a shadow. The gops are thinking like this, and they are only keeping their lives because Ka has told them that He will come. This is their only s, hope. Without this hope, they would die. But Ka would also die in their separation, so somehow they are keeping their life. They are burning in a separation fire, but yet they dont want to die.

Kas Mood in Mathur

And what about Ka? Is He happy there in Mathur? No, He is not happy there. Somehow Lalit can pacify rmat Rdhik by saying, Dont weep, Ka will surely come. But there is no one to pacify Ka by telling Him that the gops will come. There is no friend like this in all of Mathur. So Ka is alone, intensely burning in a separation fire; but there is no one to save Him. Here in Vndvana, Yogamy Prim, Vnd, Lalit, Vikh, and all others can share Rdhiks separation mood among each other. But in Mathur there is absolutely no one. That is why Ka wanted to send someone to school. Why school? So that person could become qualified to console Him in His lamentation. For this reason. He sent Uddhava to the school of the gops in Vndvana. Ka and Baladeva were sons of Yaod and Rohi. Although They came to Mathur they could not forget this. After Kasa was killed Nanda Bb was waiting outside of the town and thinking, Why are Ka and Baladeva not coming? Kasa has been killed. Perhaps it is the conspiracy of the Ydavas. Perhaps they are purposely not allowing Ka and Baladeva to come to me. For two days he did not eat anything; he was fasting, waiting for Ka and feeling so much separation. Ka and Baladeva came after sunset and sat on the left and right side of Nanda Bb. Nanda Bb was weeping so much. Ka and Baladeva asked, Father is weeping. Why? Nanda Bb said, You have come to Mathur and You have forgotten me. Perhaps You now have a new father and mother. They also began to weep, No, father, only you are Our father. But all of the Ydavas, like Akrra, Uddhava, Ugrasena, Devak and Vasudeva are telling us, You are son of Devak and Vasudeva. They

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam dont want Us to come to you. They fear that if We come to you, you will take Us to Vndvana and We will never return to Devak and Vasudeva. They fear this and that is why they are not allowing Us to come. Nanda Bb asked, Do You think that You are son of Vasudeva and Devak? Oh, Ka replied, I can never think like that. Not even in a dream. Baladeva Prabhu said, I can never even dream like this. You are My father, Yaod is My mother. Rohi is also My mother and they are in Vndvana. I know some say that, You are sons of Devak and Vasudeva. It may be, but they have forgotten Me since My childhood. They never gave Me a drop of milk, nor have they shown Me any love and affection, and I was separated from them. But you and Yaodmaiy have nourished Me and given Me milk. Therefore you are My father and mother and My everything. I cannot think that he is My father. So I must come with you and Ka to Vndvana. Nanda Bb said, Now, what shall we do? You are both so intelligent. I think that I must go to Vndvana and You, Ka, should come with me. Baladeva Prabhu may remain here. Why? Because the six sons of Devak have been killed by Kasa and so Devak has only one son, Baladeva.3 So if You both come they may die. I think it would be better that Ka alone comes with me. Baladeva Prabhu told him, I cannot live alone; I will die. Dont separate Ka from Me. I will come with Him; without Him I cannot live a moment. Then Ka said, Father, listen to Me. It will be better if for two or three days I remain here with Baladeva. After two or three days everyone will be pacified and then I will return. Although Nanda Bb became upset to hear this, there was no other way. He thought, If I take Ka with me, then Baladeva will come. If Baladeva comes they will all die. Then I will be like a butcher. Everyone will say, Nanda Bb is very cruel. So what to do? He fell into this dilemma. Ka said, Oh, dont weep. Dont worry. I will come back very soonas soon as they are all pacified. So you should go. He then took many golden ornaments and silken garments and tied them in the chadar of Nanda Bb.
3 This is because Baladeva is the son of Rohi, Devaks co-wife. Rohi used to sometimes come from Vndvana to visit Vasudeva in Mathur.

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Ka Leaves Vndvana Nanda Bb thought, If I will take all this, then the mother of Ka will say, Oh! You have sold Ka for these garments and ornaments, and you have come empty-handed. How will I be able to show my face in Vraja? On the other hand he could not refuse, saying, I cannot take it, because Ka Himself was giving those gifts. Somehow, in the evening, Nanda Bb returned. But what became of Yaod? When she saw that Ka had not come, she became blind. (This was not immediate. Later on she became blind.) She became extremely angry and said, You have sold my son and have brought these ornaments and garments; and you think that by this we will be happy? Then she lay down on the bed and did not rise from it. She simply remained weeping. There was now such a pathetic mood in Vndvana. One hot summer day, like these days in India in the month of Jesta, during midday, Yaod decided to take some babyhood garments of Ka, His little flute, a few of His marble calves and some other toys. She placed them in a cloth and left her house. One gop came to her and asked, Mother Yaod, where you are going? Yasoda was like a dumb person; she was not in any condition to answer. But still she said, Im going to my child. Where is your child? I have heard that Hes in Mathur; so I must go. I will not tell that Ka is my son. I will go to Devakran, and I will tell her, I want to be your das, your maidservant. I will clean your vessels and do everything like a das, and I will not take anything in return. If for only one day I can see the face of your child I will be satisfied. Speaking like this she fell on the ground and totally fainted. In this way Yaod was daily feeling so much separation that you cannot imagine. And what became of Ka? All the Yduvama, Akrra and all the others, had a meeting and decided, We must change the mind of Ka. How? We should perform His sacred-thread ceremony and we should convince Him that, Devak and Vasudeva are Your father, and mother, and You are a Ydava. He should be sent to gurukula to study, and after some time He will forget. Hes like a baby of ten years or twelve years, so He can forget. They therefore made a clique, a conspiracy. The sacred-thread ceremony was then performed for Ka and Baladeva. Their heads were shaved. Brahmacr garments were given to Them as well as gytr-mantra, sacred-thread and wooden sandals. They looked like very beautiful and charming brahmacrs. If Ka and Baladeva are brahmacrs, how beautiful They must be. Their Gurudeva

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam gave them begging bowls and ordered, You should now go to at least five or ten houses and beg some bika for me. You should say, O mother give Me some donation. O mother, give Me. O father, give Me, like this. Gargcrya made His cadar like a jhuli, begging cloth. Those brahmacrs took the jhulis and daa, as nowadays you new initiates take a daa. They were given very beautiful daas. Ka was given a crooked daa and Baladeva Prabhu a very thick and straight one. Now Their Gurudeva said, You must first go to Your mother and father and beg from them, and then go to others. Ka closed His eyes and thought, Oh, My Gurudeva has told Me to go to My mother. But where is My mother? There is no mother here. My mother is where? She is in Vndvana, in Nandagon. He remembered that His mother had promised, O Ka and Baladeva, when You will be given the sacred-thread of a brahmacr along with mantras, then I will fill Your jhuli with diamonds, gold and so many other jewels. Ka was remembering this and called out, Where is My mother? Where is she? He began to shout, O mother! O mother! He was standing in front the Mathurvass. Devak and Vasudeva especially were ready to give alms, but Ka and Baladeva did not say mother and father to them. Instead They remembered Yaodmaiy and cried out, Mother! Mother! Mother! Both of them, especially Ka were crying, and rolling on the earth. This was the condition of Ka. He was feeling so much separation but there was no alternative because He had to perform so many pastimes in Mathur and Dvrak. Thus at this time, and from this time onward, it was a pathetic scene both in Mathur and in Vndvana.

Try to Realize It
Tomorrow we will discuss this again. Try to realize it. You can remember and chant Hare Ka Hare Ka Ka Ka Hare Hare / Hare Rma Hare Rma Rma Rma Hare Hare with tears, thinking, Oh, what is the state of Ka and Yaodmaiy? Yaodmaiy is always thinking, O, my dear child Ka, Ka, Ka. In this way you should also try to lament and feel separation and chant, Hare Ka. Remember Caitanya Mahprabhu and pray, O, be merciful to me. O Paca-tattva, be merciful to me. O Nitynanda Prabhu! Be merciful so that we can realize these pastimes, so that we can chant, and so that we can forget all the problems of this world. Where is the world? Who am I? Try to forget all this. Then Ka will come and wipe away your

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Ka Leaves Vndvana tears; He is so merciful. So you should chant and remember. This is the processto remember all the pastimes in such a deep way. When you are reading, these symptoms may manifest. For this reason Swamj came. He was very merciful. He wanted to make you all qualified like this. However, he saw that you had so many other desires, jungles of desires and misconceptions, and so he began to cut them. He wanted to make the ground fertile, but he left something for me in order that I can serve him. He left me this service and told me, Now you should go and tell them. Among them, some are very qualified. If they will hear, they will certainly develop some qualification for these moods. That is why I came. I have no desire to gain money or prestige. I have not come to quarrel with anyone, nor to make any disciples. On the other hand, if anyone accepts these views, they are disciples. vco vega manasa krodha-vega jihv-vegam udaropastha-vegam etn vegn yo viaheta dhra sarvm apm pthiv sa iyt (r Upademta, 1)
A wise and self-composed person who can subdue the impetus to speak, the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the vehemence of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the agitation of the genitals, can instruct the entire world. In other words, all persons may become disciples of such a self-controlled person.

Sarvm apmm pthiv sa iyt. Such a person is actually jagat-guru just as Swamj is jagat-guru, and his Gurudeva is jagat-guru, visva-guru. He is guru of all the three worlds, as is rla Rpa Gosvm. We are therefore so fortunate to be in this disciplic line. Try to remember these things. All friends and neighbors are not so dear like this. They cannot help. But you can help them. You can nourish and support them, but dont be entangled. You can do your duty, but always think like this and try to develop your Ka consciousness. Gaura-premanande!

The Glory of Govardhana

(Devotees perform a drama about Govardhana.) This was a good drama. It reminded us of the pastimes of that Ka who lifted Govardhana and saved all the gopas and Vrajavss. One may serve so many demigods, only for worldly benefit. But these

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam demigods, like Indra, Brahma and others, may have some false ego. And actually they are not giving the fruits. Ka gives all the fruits. So why not surrender to Ka? Girirja is none other than Ka Himself, and he is also the servant of Kaboth. However, we will achieve more benefit if we think that Girirja is the servant of Ka. If he is Ka, he cannot give so much; but if he is a servant, he can give love and affection for Ka as the araya, the devotee, the abode of love. Girirja can give love and affection under the guidance of the gops. He can give this, but for Ka it is very difficult to give it. This is because Govardhana is also a part, or manifestation of Rdhik not only Ka. Alhough he was seen as catur-bhuja, a four-armed Nryaa manifestation of Ka, actually he is a servant and he can give everything to anyone. pramada-madana-ll kandare kandare te racayati nava-ynor-dvandvam asminn-amandam iti kila kalanrtham lagna-kastad-dvayor me nija-nikaa-nivsa dehi govardhana! tvam (r Govardhana-Vsa-Prrthana-Daakam 2)
O Govardhana! Please grant me a dwelling by your side so that I can easily witness and serve the youthful lovers r Rdh-Ka as They perform newer and newer secret, amorous lls within your many caves. They become completely maddened from drinking prema. You are present with Them, making everything possible for Them. (G ti-guccha Song-Book)

All the very secret pastimes of Ka with the gopas and especially with the gops, and all the very beautiful kujas like Tamalkuja, Malatikuja and so on are there in Govardhana. Wherever Ka and the gops decorate each other and do vilsa (pastimes), the gops arrange the kujas. Govardhana is the witness to all of these very secret things. He can sprinkle his mercy on us so that we may also become like the gops. Only Govardhana, Rdh-kua, yma-kua, Yamun, Lalit, Vikh and Rpa-majar are qualified to give this. Sometimes they give some authority to Gopvara Mahdeva so that he can also contribute in this way. Vnda-dev and Yogamy are also fully expert at giving this. No one else can give it. Therefore, if you serve Girirja Govardhana, who is witness to these pastimes, he can also reveal them to you. yatraiva ko vabhnu-putry dna ghtu kalaha vitene

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Ka Leaves Vndvana rute sph yatra mahaty ata rgovardhano me diatm abhiam (r Govardhana-aka)
Demanding a road-tax, Ka quarreled for several hours at Dan Gati with the daughter of Vabhnu Mahrja. Rasika-bhaktas visiting Govardhana are eager to listen to that sweet prema quarrel. May that Govardhana fulfill my desire so that I can also hear that verbal battle.

(Gti-Guccha Song-book)
Ka was taking dana, tax, from the gops. The gops were quarreling. They also collected tax from Ka, and He was bound to give it. In this way, there are so many pastimes witnessed by Govardhana. Tomorrow we will remember and worship Girirja Govardhana, and offer him many preparations. By this service he may be merciful to us, to sprinkle upon us the realization and service of the pastimes of Rdh and Ka.

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Chapter Six

The Fortune of the Gops Gops of the The Fortune

Exclusive Greed to Serve Ka
Again, come along with me. We should go to Mathur. Ka and Baladeva are now there, invited by Kasa through Akrra. Kasa wanted to murder Ka and he therefore has made an arena. And when Ka came with His many cowherd boyfriends and heard the sound of the drums, He wanted to enter that arena. The elephant Kuvalaypda tried to kill Him there, and Ka quickly finished that elephant. He then entered the arena carrying its tusk, stained with drops of blood, on His shoulder. Ka and Balarama appeared very beautiful, like two baby lions; They had no fear at all when They entered the arena. Cra, Muika, and other wrestlers were waiting to fight with Them. Cra and Muika forcibly took Ka and Baladeva Prabhu and wrestled with Them. Ka and Balarama at once killed the wrestlers, and then wanted to jump up on Kasas throne. Nanda Bb was there, and Vasudeva, Devak and Ugrasena Mahrja were also brought there from jail. Prior to Ka and Balarama killing Cra and Muika, they had been very much afraid, thinking, Now Ka will be killedbecause He is a baby boy. And Baladeva is also like a baby. They will both be destroyed here. At that time the wives of the Mathur Ydavas stood up and said, Kali has come here, and adharma, irreligion, has also come. We should not be here. If we remain it means we endorse these things. We should not accept this, otherwise sin will also come to us. We must give up our seats and go from this place. The gops are so fortunate, and we are unfortunate. Ka is really the most beautiful person in the whole worldthe essence of all beauty. All madhurya, sweetness, is in Him. But we are unfortunate. We see Ka and Baladeva here, but Ka is now wrestlng with these demons. He is somewhat angry, and He is in vra-rasa, a chivalrous mood. We see Him like a lion in a cage. But oh, how fortunate are the gops who see Him when He is in Vndvana (like a lion freely roaming in the forest).

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam puy bata vraja-bhuvo yad aya n-liga ghah pura-puruo vana-citra-mlya g playan saha-bala kvaaya ca veu vikraycati giritra-ramrcitghri (SB 10.44.13)
How pious are the tracts of land in Vraja, for there the primeval Personality of Godhead, disguising Himself with human traits, wanders about, enacting His many pastimes! Adorned with wonderfully variegated forest garlands, He whose feet are worshipped by Lord iva and goddess Ram vibrates His flute as He tends the cows in the company of Balarama.

Puy bata vraja-bhuvo means that in this world Vrajabhumi is certainly more exalted and glorious than any other place. Why? Because Ka is there in Vndvana. This glory is not only due to Ka. It is due to the gops, and rmat Rdhik is especially there among them. She is the essence of everything. She is the essence of Kas madhuryaHis beauty, sweetness, and all His other qualities. In all the three worlds, therefore, Vrajabhumi is supreme. N-liga gha pura-puruo vana-citra-mlya. The Pura-purua, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ka, is there; all this is written here in this verse, in a hidden, secret way. vara parama ka sac-cid-nanda-vigraha andir dir govinda sarva-kraa-kraam (Brahma-samhita 5.1) Ka moves here and there, walking and playing with the cowherdboys like friends. He is also with the Vraja ladies in a son-and-mother relationship. G playan means He always nourishes and supports the cows. G has many meanings. One meaning refers to all the senses, and that is why Ka is called Hikea. It also means cows, Vedas, and all kinds of religious knowledge. Ka always supports and nourishes them all. Saha-bala means with Baladeva Prabhu. Kvanaya ca veu means playing sweetly on the venu. By the sweet sound of this venu Ka attracts the whole world. Vikaycati means that He always plays in Vndvana, Gokula, Nandagon, and Varana. nammvara sac-cid-nanda-rpa lasat-kualam gokule bhrjamnam

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The Fortune of the Gops O, yaod-bhiyolkhald-dhvamna parmam atya tato drutya gopy
I worship the Supreme Ivara, r Ka, whose form is saccidnanda, whose fish-shaped earrings swing and play upon His cheeks, who is supremely splendrous in the transcendental dhma known as Gokula, who, due to breaking the yogurt pots, is very fearful of Mother Yasoda and jumping down from the wooden grinding mortar quickly runs away, and who, chased by Yaod running very quicky after Him, is ultimately caught from behind.

Ka always plays there like a boynot like God, not like four-handed Ka of Dvrak and Mathur. Giritra means akara. akara, Brahma and Ram, Lakm herself, want to serve the lotus feet of Ka. She wants to worship Ka, but she does not have the chance. She has to remain on the other side of the Yamuna, in Belvana. There was no entrance at all for her. Although she was charmed by Ka, and although she left her husband Nryaa in Vaikuha and came to Belvana with a greed that, I must be in Vndvana, playing, dancing and singing in rsa-ll, she was stopped by Yogamy. Yogamy said, O, you cannot come. First you will have to become a gop, marry with a gopa, and then you can come; otherwise not. Lakm replied, This is a very big problem. I cannot change my husband. Im a brhmai. Then you should remain here, Yogamy declared. akara also wanted to worship that Ka. He was somewhat tricky. He came to the border of Vndvana and worshipped Yogamy. Yogamy came and asked, What do you want? O mother, Yogamy, I want to see Kas rsa dance in Vndvana. Have you performed any austerities to achieve this? No, I have not done anything. By her causeless mercy she quickly took akara and dipped him in Brahma-kunda. When he came out he was in the form of a very beautiful gop, a teenager of sixteen years. Then Yogamy said, You may remain here and watch. Later, when rsa was being performed, Ka told the gops, Today My interest is not so great. I do not have much enthusiasm. The gops replied, Why? Is there some defect? A vijtiya, outsider, has come? They began to search, and at last they saw a new gop in a grove. They caught hold of her and asked, Who are you? What is your name? Yogamy had never given her a name, so that new gop could

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam not give an answer. What is the name of your husband? She had not been married with any gopa, and again she could not reply. Who is your father? Yogamy had not given all these things, and therefore the new gop could not give any answer to any question. All the gops began to slap her. Her cheeks became very swollen and she began to cry, O Yogamy, save me, save me. At once Yogamy came and requested Ka and the gops, She is my disciple. Please be merciful. That gop then became Gopvara Mahdeva. She was allowed to see the rsa-ll from very far away, but she was not allowed to participate. Ka is therefore so much greater than all others. Your gurudeva has given you a relation with that Ka, Gop-jana-vallabha. You are so fortunate. Only by chanting the gopla-mantra and kma-gyatr, with a mood of relationship with Ka, can you become a gop and go to Vraja. Otherwise there is no way. This was told by r Caitanya Mahprabhu to r Rya Rmnanda, r Svarpa Dmodara, r Santana Gosvam, r Rpa Gosvam, and all His iyas (disciples). You are so fortunate to come in this line. So dont be weak; never be weak. Many problems will come, but be like the Himalayas, Mount Everest, and the Alps. Dont go here and there. Always serve Ka.

The Ladies of Mathur Glorify Ka and the Gops

gopyas tapa kim acaran yad amuya rpa lvaya-sram asamordhvam ananya-siddham dgbhi pibanty anusavbhinava durpam eknta-dhma yaasa rya aivarasya (SB 10.44.14)
What austerities must the gops have performed! With their eyes they always drink the nectar of Lord Kas form, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equalled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever-fresh and extremely rare.

The ladies of Mathur glorified the gops: The gops are so fortunate. What sacrifices and tapa, austerities, must they have performed in their past life? If we find out, then we must also perform them. Do you know what the gops did in the past to have become gops? Nothing. They are kyavyha, bodily manifestations, of Rdhik. They are not siddha-bhaktas. Some of them, however, are not kyavyha. For

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The Fortune of the Gops lakhs and lakhs of births they were practicing austerities and chanting the gopla-mantra and kma-gyatr in Daakaraya forest. When r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to this world He said that in one birth you can be like this. You will not have to do so much practice for lakhs and lakhs of births. That is why He sent r Rpa-Raghuntha, rla Bhaktivinoda hkura, rla Swamj and others. He sent them to teach that if you want to be like this, you will not have to do so many austerities, as the is did in Daakaranya. Anyone whom r Caitanya Mahprabhu glanced upon began to chant, O Ka, Ka, Ka, Rdhe, Rdhe. So you are very fortunate. But be fortunate. Try to take advantage of your good fortune. The Mathur ladies continued, Certainly the gops are the most glorious in the whole world, because they are tasting the honey of Kas beautylvaya sram, His luster. Even if one is black, no harm, but there must be lvaya, luster, coming from within, as it does in pearls. This is beauty. Ka is blackish, but lvaya sram, the essence of beauty, was emanating from within His body. In India we say, mukha ka pani, meaning lvay. There is no need for Ka to wear ornaments or beautiful garments. Nothing is needed. If there is a spot of ink here and there on Kas body, it will be very beautiful. In fact, it will make Him appear more beautiful. If He is covered with powder-like cows dust, He becomes still more beautiful. And if He is naked, oh, He is even more beautiful. In any condition, Kas beauty always increases. Dgbhi pibanty. The gops always drink the sweetness of the nectar of Kas beauty. Dgbhi pibanty anusavbhinava durpam ekntadhma yaasa rya aivarasya. Ka is the abode of all yaa, glories and fame, rya, beauty, and aivarya, all varieties of opulence, sweetness, mercy and every other good quality. You should know that your bhajanya, worshipable deity, is not a very ordinary person. The Mathur ladies say, The gops are the most worshipable for us. They drink all of Kas honey-like beauty. But here in Mathur we see Ka surrounded by so many enemies, and He is in a somewhat angry mood, wrestling with others. We are not fortunate to see Ka like the gops see Him. The gops are so glorious that their minds and tongues are the chariot of Ka. How is this? y dohane vahanane mathanopalepa prekhenkhanrbha-ruditokaa-mrjandau

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam gyanti cainam anurakta-dhiyo ru-kahyo dhany vraja-striya urukrama-citta-yn (SB 10.44.15)
The ladies of Vraja are the most fortunate of women because, with their minds fully attached to Ka and their throats always choked up with tears, they constantly sing about Him while milking the cows, winnowing grain, churning butter, gathering cow dung for fuel, riding on swings, taking care of their crying babies, sprinkling the ground with water, cleaning their houses, and so on. By their exalted Ka consciousness they automatically acquire all desirable things.

Try to follow what the gops are doing. Y dohane. When they milk the cows they sing, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti. Avahanane. When they winnow or thrash with a mussel1 and oakle, any grain, like rice and wheat, they do it in a rhythm. When the mussel goes down, it sounds like a mdaga. Their bracelets are very sweet sounding like karatlas, and they sing very sweetly, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti. Plenty of milk has been made into dahi, yogurt, and is kept in big vessels. The gops are churning and singing, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti. There is no problem at all for them. Nothing is a problem. Absorbed in singing, they simply remember the pastimes of Ka and do mathanopalepa, churn butter. Even if Ka comes they dont notice Him. So Ka says, O maiy, maiy, maiy. What are you doing? Tears fall due to love and affection, all their bodily hairs stand on end, and their hearts melt. All the gops are like this. Upalepa. They are brooming their houses. Their hands are working, but their minds are also working. What are their minds and tongues doing? Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti. Some boys are weeping, Mother, mother. The mothers at once pick them up, put them on the bed, and sing, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti. They were not saying, You should sleep, you should sleep, you should sleep. They are not telling a story or singing a lullaby. They are simply singing Kas names. Hearing their very good tune the children fall asleep, and then again they begin to churn and sing, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti, Govinda Dmodara Madhaveti... Anurakta-dhiyo. Their hearts were quite absorbed in remembrance of Ka. Aru means continuous tears, and kahya means choked voice. Dhany vraja-striya. The ladies of Mathur are saying, O, how
1 A plow like tool used for separating the grains from the husks.

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The Fortune of the Gops glorious are these gops. Dhany means very fortunate. We are not fortunate. We do not see Ka in this way. We cannot be like that here. Urukrama-citta-yn. Urukrama refers to Kas always sitting very happily on the throne or chariot of the gops minds. It also means that the gops are always sitting on the throne of Kas mind. Ka always remembers them. Why? He must be where the bhakta sings, and therefore He is always there with the gops. The gops are always there in the mind of Ka. How fortunate they are. prtar vrajd vrajata viata ca sya gobhi sama kvaayato sya niamya veum nirgamya tram abal pathi bhri-puy payanti sa-smita-mukha sa-dayvalokam (SB 10.44.16)
When the gops hear Ka playing His flute as He leaves Vraja in the morning with His cows or returns with them at sunset, the young girls quickly come out of their houses to see Him. They must have performed many pious activities to be able to see Him as He walks on the road, His smiling face mercifully glancing upon them.

O, how fortunate are the gops. Very early in the morning, at about nine, Ka comes out from Yaods house with lakhs and lakhs of friends and lakhs and lakhs of cows, and goes to the forest to cowherd. At that time the gops are either on the roofs of their houses, or at their windows, at their doors, or here and there in the groves of their gardens. They are very anurakta, absorbed in Ka, and they are taking darana of Him. When He returns from cow-grazing in the evening, they all see Him again and they are so happy. What is Ka doing? Sometimes He comes very nearby and touches them on their chins with His murli or venu flute. Having taken all their hearts, Ka enters Vraja. At that time Yaodmaiy performs rati. By their eyes, all the gops perform a better rati than Yaodmaiy, and Ka accepts it, smiling. Therefore the gops are so glorious. Who is glorifying whom? Mathur is glorifying Vraja. The gops have never gone to Mathur, and none of the ladies of Mathur have ever come to Vraja. Ka only sent one of the Mathurvass, Uddhava, to see the glories of the gops, Nanda Bb, Yaod and all the other Vrajavss. After killing Caura and Muika, Ka at last killed Kasa. Then Ka and Baladeva came to where Nanda Bb was sitting on his bullock cart in a town just outside Mathur. While waiting for Them

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam he had been thinking, When They come I will take Them both and we will return to Vndvana. On the first day after the killing of Kasa all the Mathurvass were with Ka and Baladeva. Although They were always thinking about Nanda Bb, They had no chance to meet him. So Nanda Bb and the cowherd boys remained waiting. One day passed, and then two days. On the third day Ka and Baladeva somehow came at night. Baladeva Prabhu sat on Nanda Bbs right side, and Ka sat on his left. Nanda Bb was weeping bitterly. He asked, What have You decided? Have You decided that You the are the son of Vasudeva and Devak? No, father; We cannot decide that. How could We decide that? Even in Our dreams We cannot think like this. Both Ka and Baladeva were weeping loudly, and Nanda Bb was also weeping. At last Baladeva Prabhu said, Bb, I want to come to Vraja with Ka and you. Nanda Bb said, Oh, I cannot take You. Im not so cruel. You must remain here for some days. All of Devak and Vasudevas sons have been killed by Kasa. Now You alone are alive, so You should remain here. Baladeva replied, Without Ka I cannot live anywhere for a moment. I will die. Nanda Bb asked Ka, What should I do? What should I do? Ka answered, Father, if you request, I will remain here for some days with Baladeva Prabhu. If Baladeva leaves now, then His father and mother, Vasudeva and Devak, and all the Mathurvass will die. So I think its better that I remain with Him here. After some time, when everyone is pacified, I will quickly return. They are your friends. I have no relationship with them other than that they are your friends and you are My father. Here Vivantha Cakravart hkura puts forth a purva-paka, a question one asks before he himself answers it. He asks, If Ka is the son of Nanda and Yaod, not of Vasudeva and Devak, how could He remain there in Mathur? Anyone would want to live in a place where he receives more and more love and affection, whether he is a persons son or not. The question of whether one is a son or not is secondary. If one receives very much high-class love and affection anywhere, he will like to be there. Undoubtedly all the Vrajavass love Ka and Baladeva so much more than anyone elseanywhere else. Yet, it has been told in rmad-Bhgavatam that Nanda Bb returned

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The Fortune of the Gops without Ka and Baladeva. This is true, and it is also true that Ka never leaves Vndvana. How can we reconcile this?

Vsudeva-Ka and Vrajendra-nandana Ka

Now you will have to reconcile it. When Nanda Bb was weeping, Ka and Baladeva each became two forms. One was for prakata-l l (manifest pastimes) and the other for aprakata-ll (unmanifest pastimes). In prakata-ll Ka and Baladeva were in Mathur, but Their aprakata-ll forms returned with Nanda Bab to Vndvana. The son of Yaod and Nanda Bb, Vrajendra-nandana Ka, returned with Nanda Bb. Actually, that Vrajendra-nandana Ka never comes to Mathur. His manifestation, Vsudeva-Ka, comes. So Nanda Bb took Ka and Baladeva with him on his bullock cart, but that scene was not seen by anyone. In another bullock cart a manifestation of Nanda Bb was feeling great separation and was weeping, weeping, weeping. He returned to Vndvana without Ka and Baladeva. rla Vivantha Cakravart hkura has reconciled all these very secret truths, and only the most exalted devotees can realize them. Otherwise, without this reconciliation, all the gopas and gops would have died at once, in a moment, and Yaodmaiy also. So there are two lils or pastimes there simultaneously, aprkata-ll and prakata-ll. Now Im coming to the point. What I told over these past six days was only an introduction. I want to give you some nectar of the love of the gops, which even Uddhava could not taste. He could only return to Ka and glorify them. As I have already explained, Ka went to gurukula. After this, one day He was sitting on the roof of His palace. Devak and Vasudeva and all of His other relatives were there, but Ka alone went to the roof and looked towards Vndvana, north of Mathur. He became so sad and began to weep bitterly. He saw through the eyes of His emotions that His mother was also weeping so bitterly that she had become blind. All the cows were dying, and so many were just on the verge of death. None of the calves were taking milk from the udders of their mothers. Now the cuckoos were not singing, and even the peacocks were not dancing, because Ka was not there. Looking at all these things, Ka began to cry, O Yaodmaiy! O Nanda Bb! He became immersed in separation, crying, O gops, O Rdhe, O Lalite. In the meantime Kas bosom friend Uddhava came. He had been searching for Ka, and now he saw Him sitting there and

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam weeping very bitterly. The Bhgavatam (SB 10.46.1) states: vn pravaro. Uddhava was the highest in rank, the best in every respect, in all of Mathur. He was the most intelligent of all the Ydavas. He was Kas prime minister. He was dayita, very near and dear to Ka, sakha, His friend, iya, His disciple, and bhaspate skd iya, the direct disciple of Bhaspati. He is said to be like Bhaspati, but actually he is greater than Bhaspati because Bhaspati is only the priest of the demigods. Ka took Uddhavas hands and put them in His own hands. Uddhava wanted to pacify Him, but he had no words to pacify Him. Why is Ka weeping? For whom is He weeping? At that time he did not know the glories of the gops. Therefore he could not realize what was the virahnala, separation fire, in Ka. Kas heart was burning and no one was qualified to save Him. So He was burning, burning and burning. Uddhava asked, Why, friend, are You weeping? Ka said: gacchoddhava vraja saumya pitror nau prtim vaha gop n mad-viyogdhi mat-sandeair vimocaya(SB 10.46.3) Uddhava, you are My friend, you are My prime minister and you are My all in all. In some respects you are more dear to Me than Baladeva Prabhu, what to say of Lakm, and others more dear. You are My heart, I am your heart, and I dont know anyone but you. So Im telling this secret thing to you only. You should go to Vraja, Vndvana, Nandagon, O saumya. Saumya means soft and pleasing like the moon. Saumya pitror nau. Ka says, pitror nau, meaning our father. He may say, My father, but why would He say, our father? It is because He thinks that Uddhava is His brother. And who is their father? Pitror here means both mother and father, and is used for Yaod and Nanda Bb. Ka is in Mathur, in the palace of Vasudeva and Devak, and they are present there. But still He is telling Uddhava, My father and My mother, Nanda and Yaod, are very unhappy, feeling separation like a fire. You must go there. Prtim vaha: You should pacify them. If Ka is the son of Vasudeva and Devak, why would He say this? Uddhava is now thinking, I know that Ka is the son of Vasudeva and Devak, but why is He speaking like this? It may be that He is only partly the son of Vasudeva and Devak, but fully the son of Nanda and Yaod. rla Swmj has sometimes, in the beginning, written that Ka was the adopted son of Nanda and Yaod. But after that he has explained this understanding. He is a follower of r ukadeva Gosvm. He knew this fact from the beginning, and gradually, like

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The Fortune of the Gops ukadeva Gosvm, he disclosed it. All Vrajavss know definitely that Ka is the son of Nanda and Yaod, not Vasudeva and Devak. At this time Uddhava became astonished. Oh, now Ka is admitting that He is the son of Nanda and Yaod. I must pacify them. Why has Ka first mentioned His mother and father? He wanted Uddhava to know, My mother and father are so dear to Me. But a greater secret is that My most dear are the gops. This is why He spoke in this way. Gopnm mad-viyogdhi mat-sandeair vimocaya: You should go and take My message to the gops. They are feeling so much separationmore than Nanda and Yaod. So you should go and pacify themnot with your logic, not with your tattva, not with your intelligence. By what? One can pacify someone else only by giving them My words, mat-sandeair, My message. You should repeat it as it is, as Im telling it, not mixing it with anything else, and not missing a single word. Go to the gops and give them My message. Then they may be pacified.

Ka Glorifies the Gops

Ka is admiring and glorifying the gops with His own mouth: t man-manask -pr mad-arthe tyakta-daihik mm eva dayita prestam tmna manas gat yetyakta-loka-dhara ca mad-arthe tn bibharmy aham (SB 10.46.4)
The minds of those gops are always absorbed in Me, and their very lives are ever devoted to Me. For My sake they have abandoned everything related to their bodies, renouncing ordinary happiness in this life, as well as religious duties necessary for such happiness in the next life.

Here is the glory of the gops. Ka Himself accepts and reveals this. I think there is no one in this whole world who can glorify the gops like Ka. Only He can glorify them. But even He cannot aptly glorify them. That is why He took the beauty and mood of Rdhikto understand their glories. He made Vikh-dev His ik-guru and through her He learned something. Then, in His form of r Caitanya

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Mahprabhu, He could glorify Rdhik and the gops even more than in His form as Ka. Only r Caitanya Mahprabhu could do this. If Caitanya Mahprabhu had not descended to this world, no one would have any idea how to glorify Ka, the gops, and especially Rdh. r Caitanya Mahprabhu gave this gift, and we are so lucky to have come in His line. Ka describes all the gops as t man-manask. They have engaged their entire minds. They are totally absorbed in Me and nothing else, throughout the day and night, twenty-four hours. How? You should tell the story in brief. (A devotee relates this story which appears in Nectar of Govinda-Ll. A newly married gop wanted to see Ka, but her mother-in-law would not allow her. She peeked from behind the door. Ka arranged a calf to run in her direction. He followed that stray calf, came close to the gopi and stole her heart. After that she was out of her mind. When she was asked to churn yogurt, she churned mustard seeds. When she was asked to fetch water and had a small baby to look after, she was going to put the baby in the well, thinking the baby was the water pot; but someone stopped her.) Man-manask -prn. -pr means, I am their pra, life. It is for this reason that, when Ka left Vndvana and went to Mathur, the gops would have died without Him. But they did not die. Why? Because Ka was their life. Mat-pr also means, All the gops are My life, My priya, dear ones. Mad-arthe tyakta-daihik. For Me they have given up all their deha and daihiktheir bodily conception of life and all those things in relation to their bodies, like their decorations, their taking of food, and all other activities. Mm eva dayitam: I am their only beloved; no one else. Prestam: I am their dearmost. Manas gata: They are totally absorbed in Me. Yetyaktaloka-dharm ca mad-arthe tn bibharmy aham: They have given up all their shyness, dharma, varrama-dharma, husbands, and everything else for Me. Therefore I must support and nourish them. I must nourish and serve at all times those who have left everything for Me. This is Kas promise. Always remember this. If you are giving up all worldly things, always remembering Ka and remaining absorbed in Him, you should not be in any doubt that He will surely support and nourish you. Therefore do not be worried about your support, nourishment or anything else. We depend on our relatives, but at the time of death they cannot save us. Only Ka can save us. Ka is saying, I must support and nourish them. That is why, Uddhava, you must go there.

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The Fortune of the Gops mayi t preyas prehe dra-sthe gokula-striya smarantyo ga vimuhyanti virahautkahya-vihval

(SB 10.46.5)

My dear Uddhava, for those women of Gokula I am the most cherished object of love. Thus, when they remember Me who am so far away, they are overwhelmed by the anxiety of separation.

The gops are here and there, feeling so much separation mood. They cannot perform any household duty and they do not even take any remnants of prasda. They are always waiting. For what? Ka has promised, Im coming the day after tomorrow. They are all waiting only for that. They think, Oh, the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Ka has said that when the day after tomorrow comes... tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. None of the gops enter their houses in Vraja. Where are they? In the forest of Nandagon, Kadamba Ter, Kadamba-kyari or Uddhava-kyari. No one can see them there. It was only by the grace of Ka, or Yogamy, that Uddhava saw them. dhrayanty ati-kcchrena prya prn kathacana pratygamana-sandeair ballavyo me mad-tmik

(SB 10.46.6)

Simply because I have promised to return to them, My fully devoted cowherd girlfriends struggle to maintain their lives somehow or other.

The gops are keeping their life only because Ka has promised to come. They know that He must come. But when will He come? Tomorrow, tomorrow. That is why they are waiting and remaining alive. They consider, If we die, then, when Ka comes, He will not see us and He will also die. Only to please Ka, to ensure that He would not be unhappy, they somehow keep their lives. Therefore Ka said to Uddhava, You should go there. He gave him His vaijayant-ml garland, along with His golden crown, garments, saffron cloth, and also the golden chariot of Kasa. He walked along the way with Uddhava, talking about the gops, Nanda Bb and other topics. Uddhava saw that it was becoming late, however, so he got up on the chariot, sat there, whipped the horses and rode off. Ka was still standing there, looking towards the ratha,

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam chariot. After that, when the ratha was out of sight, He looked towards the dust which came from the wheels. When the dust also subsided, He was only thinking of the gops. Then someone came and took Him away. Tomorrow we will discuss how Uddhava went to Vndvana, what dialogue transpired, and what he saw there. You only have to hear and try to remember all these topics about the glories of the gops, and especially the glories of rmat Rdhik. r Caitanya Mahprabhu came only to give this teaching. He gave it to r Rpa Gosvm and r Rpa Gosvm explained it to Jva Gosvm. Mahprabhu also explained it to r Santana Gosvm, and Vivantha Cakravart hkura also received it. Then they expressed it in their explanations of rmad-Bhgavatam. Try to remember all these things. This is called bhajana.

Take These Teachings with You

(Devotees perform a drama aboutrla Raghuntha dsa Gosvms life) I think that our coming here to New Vraja, our classes, and very sweet dramas, have been successful. These classes and dramas, especially about the teachings of rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, his life and his process of doing bhajana, will touch all pure devotees hearts. Take everything with you when you return to your homes. You must return, but take this powerful nectar of hari-kath. Remember it all, and try to do bhajana in the process of rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. You can read his Mana-ik, along with the explanation of rila Bhaktivinoda hkura, and follow the instructions of r Rpa Gosvm: tan-nma-rpa-caritdi-sukrtannusmtyo kramea rasan-manas niyojya tihan vraje tad-anurgi jannugm kla nayed akhilam ity upadea-sram (Upademta 8)
While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents who possess inherent spontaneous love for r Ka, one should utilise all his time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in meticulous chanting and remembrance of Kas names, form, qualities and pastimes. This is the essence of all instruction.

rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm followed this loka, and you saw in the drama how he prayed to r Rpa-majar:

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The Fortune of the Gops r-rpa-majar-kararcita-pada-padmagothendra-nandana-bhujarpita-mastaky h modata kanaka-gauri padravindasamvhanni anakais tava ki kariye (Vilpa-kusumjali 72)
O Rpa-majar, when golden-complexioned Rdhik is laying with Her head in Kas lap, and Her feet are in your lap, and when you are massaging Her feet, will you, by the corners of your eyes, give me your mah-prasdam sev of gently massaging Her feet while you fan Her?

rmat Rdhik was keeping Her head in the lap of Ka. In their siddha-deha, spiritual forms, rla Rpa Gosvm as r Rpa-majar and rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm in the form of r Rati-majar, were there. Rpa-majar called and gave Rati-majar the remnants of her service. How glorious this is. A strong desire or greed for the goal of life may come only by this association. It will never come by regulative bhakti. So try to come in the process of r Rpa Gosvm and r Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. Try to follow like my brahmacrs here and in India. I am proud of them, and I will be proud if you will be ideal brahmacrs, sannyss, ghasthas and lady devotees. Try to take and follow this for your whole life. Never deviate. Take it with you in your hearts forever. Be very strong. If you are weak, remember r Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, r Rpa Gosvm and your gurudeva, and remember how powerful your gurudeva is. In this way you will never deviate. Dont make any problems for anyone. Try to always give many daas, bamboo sticks, to your mind. This mind is the root of all evils. Try to control the horse of the uncontrolled mind. Then everyone will be so happy and you will be good devotees.

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Chapter Seven

Come with Me to Vndvana Come with Me to Vndvana

Pure Happiness
Come with me to Vndvana and Mathur. Concentrate your minds. Among all human beings in the world, no one is happy or satisfied. You may be living in America, you may be todays richest person and you may be making so much money. Your house may be full of all kinds of comforts and opulent paraphernalia. You may have a very beautiful wife and perhaps, after you were married for one or two years, you could pick up a new wife. You may also have very good and qualified children, as well as two, three, four or five dogs. Everything may be okaybut still there are so many problems. Everyone is suffering, and those who are rich suffer more than anyone. This life is full of miseries, problems, difficulties, sorrows, sufferings and so many rogas, diseases. No one is free from tasting the varieties. I think that among you there are so many rich persons. But can any of you raise your hand and say, I have never had any problem, Im without problems and Im always happy? I remember this morning one of you told me, Im sick. In this world, no one is happy, whether he is king, prime minister, president or anything else. All jvas want pure happiness, but it is absurd in this my-sasra (material world). That is why all the Vedas say: sukham mai bura, dukham ma bhuta. We always want to be happy. We want happiness to always come to us, but the rmad-Bhgavatam states: karmy rabhamn dukha-hatyai sukhya ca payet pka-viparysa mithun-cria nm

(SB 11.3.18)

Accepting the roles of male and female in human society, the conditioned souls unite in sexual relationships. Thus they constantly make material endeavors to eliminate their unhappiness and

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam unlimitedly increase their pleasure. But one should see that they inevitably achieve exactly the opposite result. In other words, their happiness inevitably vanishes, and as they grow older their material discomfort increases. Everyone in the world tries for happiness, alone, or by mixing with wife, husband or a whole family, and sometimes they mix with an assembly of united nations. However, although they try, they cannot check war. Because they themselves have so many problems, they cannot check anything. If they have so many problems, how can they solve others problems? It is therefore said that although we try for happiness, our sufferings are so strong that they come and keep their feet on our head, and we are forcibly bound to taste them. Can you have any remedy to escape from old age? Never. From death? Never. Everyone wants to be happy, but will mere wanting do? At the same time it cannot be said that people are always unhappy, without even a little happiness. They may have some happiness, but that happiness is very small. It passes away at once, and again sufferings and problems come like waves. We think, We will solve this problem and then we will be happy. In the meantime, however, we see that even bigger problems come. On the day of marriage you see your new bride and think, Oh, very beautiful, very beautiful. On the next day, however, you see that she wants ornaments and many other things. Moreover, she will try to control you by saying, You should not love anyone. You cannot have any girlfriends. Oh, you cannot do anything. In this way so many problems arise. So in this world there is no pure happiness. Somehow we want pure happiness, and there is happiness, but not in this world. That happiness which is beyond this world is called brahmnanda, that which a jva can taste within himself. If he attains salvation he can taste brahmnanda, wherein there is no distress at all. But brahmnanda is also not pure. It is not an affirmative condition; it is negative. What do I mean by negative? If one man catches hold of another and is going to choke him, that captive person cries, Save me! Save me! When he is about to die, someone may come and save him. He stands up, takes several deep breaths and gasps, Now Im saved. Now Im saved. This is like salvation and like brahmnanda. It is nothing positive. Only if one is a devotee surrendered to Ka, may he be happy. But even then he will say, Im not happy. He will never say that he is

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Come With Me to Vndvana happy. What will he say? Oh, I have a very big problem. Why am I alive? Why am I not dying due to being bereft of Kas darana? If you serve Ka, that is real happiness. Ka is the embodiment of ananda (spiritual bliss). You may think, I am prnanda, I am brahm. But if you do not follow Ka, if you are not serving, chanting and remembering Him, you cannot be happy in any way. This positive happiness is not called brahmnanda. It is called prema, love and affection for Ka, and there are many various kinds of this prema.

Ka Transforms into the stras

Real happiness is to serve Ka with the love and affection of the gops. By serving Him they have so much pure nanda. Really, it is this love and affection that we want, but we dont know what it is. For those who want to be happy, Ka has transformed into stra. In other words, He has manifested Himself as stra. In stra it is written that, If you follow My instructions you can have that kind of love and affection. Among all stras, rmad-Bhgavatam is amala-stra (the pure, spotless scripture), the stra upon which you can rely and believe in. It cannot cheat you because it is the embodiment of Ka Himself. All stras state that by chanting, remembering and performing bhakti to Ka, to Svayam Bhagavn Ka, He will be happy. Then certainly you will also be happy. But rmad-Bhgavatam tells something that appears different. It states, O jvas, you have no power. You will never have the qualification to serve Ka. You are powerless; you will not be able to call Him. All the stras have explained that you should remember and call Ka. Harer nma harer nma harer nmaiva kevalam kalau nsty eva nsty eva nsty eva gatir anyathThere is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way but chanting the holy names. This has been stated in Bhad-Nradya Pura, Viu Pura and other Puras, but not in rmad-Bhgavatam. All stras say, You should do bhajana to Ka. But what does rmad-Bhgavatam say? You cannot call Ka. Ka has descended to call you. He is so merciful. Out of mercy He has descended to this world. You cannot go there and serve. Can you go to Vndvana, Gokula or vetadvpa (Navadvpa dhma in the spiritual world)? You cannot go there and call Him. But the Ka of rmad-Bhgavatam is so merciful that He took His flute

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam and descended to this earth in Vndvana. And He was calling to all, Come on, come on, come on. The real guru says, You need only give your ears to me. I dont want your wealth or anything else. I only want to purify your ears. By the medium of your ears I will put something in your heart that will make you happy forever. Transcendental happiness will come to you. Besides this there is no other process to be happy. You are crying for Ka, but your crying has no power. In what way are you crying? I am giving an example by the following story. There was a very beautiful, powerful rmad-Bhgavatam class in process, and many devotees were present. The speaker of hari-kath had a long beard and long hair, which had become quite white. He was telling this and that, and everyone was attentively hearing. An old lady was also sitting there, and she was weeping. Her tears constantly fell. When the sdhu-bb had finished the class, all the hearers gradually left, but that lady remained there. He called her, O mother, you are a very high-class devotee. My hari-kath has touched your heart. Why you are weeping so bitterly? The ladys weeping increased and she replied, Bb, what can I say? I had a male goat. He was so strong, and he had a long beard just like yours. Sometimes I would give him something to eat and he happily ate in a way similar to the movements you make when you speak. So, Bb, when you tell hari-kath I always remember that goat, and because he was stolen from me, I dont know what to do. I am weeping for that goat. Our calling to Ka is like this. It may be like a semblance, but it is actually not even a semblance. It is a pratibimba, reflection. Our arthi should be pure. At this stage we cannot have that kind of arth, sincere prayer. Our prayers should be in a mood of separation, from the core of the heart. Ka has this mood koti (ten million) times more than us. He is weeping for us. He is the father of the father of all fathers, the beloved of the beloved of all beloveds. With much love and affection for us He thinks, They are greatly suffering by forgetting Me. They cannot come to Me, they cannot even call Me by weeping bitterly and their hearts are not melting. Therefore I must go to them. This is why Ka descended with His flute and all His beauty. He took the essence of all beauty and descended. He is calling us, but we do not hear Him. Try to realize this.

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Come With Me to Vndvana

Feeling Separation
vana ca tat-komala-gobhi rajita jagau kala vma-d manoharam (SB 10.29.3)
Lord Ka saw the unbroken disk of the full moon glowing with the red effulgence of newly-applied vermillion, as if it were the face of the goddess of fortune. He also saw the kumuda lotuses opening in response to the moons presence and the forest gently illumined by its rays. Thus the Lord began to play sweetly on His flute, attracting the minds of the beautiful-eyed gops.

Ka took His flute and called the gops by playing kl. We are not so qualified, however. We cannot hear this sound; nor can we call Him. This is why He came in the form of r Caitanya Mahprabhu who is both Rdh and Kaonly to call us. For this reason r Caitanya Mahprabhu went here and there, and took sannysa. rmad-Bhgavatam has thus stated: nigama-kalpa-taror galita phala uka-mukhd amta-drava-sayutam pibata bhgavata rasam laya muhur aho rasik bhuvi bhvuk (SB 1.1.3)
O expert and thoughtful men, relish rmad-Bhgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of r ukadeva Gosvm. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.

Ka became like a fruit, a nigama-kalpa-taror, the fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literature, with no skin, no pit and no strings, nothingonly rasa. He was brought by r ukadeva Gosvm through the guruparampar. He has descended to this world to call us, Dont suffer. Be happy. Be blessed by transcendental happiness. But we are not even qualified to desire transcendental happiness. rmad-Bhgavatam questions all the other Vedas, Upaniads, Puras, Mahbhrata, Rmyaa and so on, ka va dayalu arana vrajema. How shall I take shelter of anyone more merciful than Ka? None reply, and therefore rmad-Bhgavatam itself says: aho baki ya stana-kala-kuta jighasayapayayad apy asadhvi

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam lebhe gati dhatry-ucita tato nya ka va dayalu arana vrajema (SB 3.2.23)

Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon (Ptan), although she was unfaithful and prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

The demon Ptan was accustomed to take the flesh and fresh blood of babies everywhere. When she went to kill baby Ka, however, He gave her a spiritual body and sent her to Goloka, which is greater even than Vaikuha. Therefore we should try to serve Ka and hear about Him. We should become qualified by taking shelter of any qualified devotee or guru. Without such a guru we cannot make advancement. The stras have told that all humans want happiness, and they want to meet with Ka. But Bhgavatam tells that Bhagavn wants the jva. All stras have told that when Ka went to Mathur the gops were feeling separation. They wanted to send a hasa, swan, to Mathur, to let Ka know how they were suffering in their mood of separation. But rmad-Bhgavatam tells something elseKa was suffering so much that He had to send Uddhava, His messenger. Do you understand? The gops are not sending, but Ka is sending because He is so merciful. Generally we hear that the bhakta is always suffering, weeping, feeling separation and hankering for Bhagavn. But rmad-Bhgavatam tells the opposite. Ka is hankering for His devoteesalways. He is always calling, O mother! Mother! And when Brahm steals Kas cowherd boys He searches for them. Ka is searching for us, but we are so unqualified that we cannot hear His flute and we cannot call Him with our hearts. Although we should try, we can only really try when our hearts are empty and we have taken the shelter of any exalted devotee.

Kas Separation from Vndvana

Earlier I asked five or six questions. First, Vraja, Vndvana, Gokula and other places in Vraja-bhumi are filled with the highest love and affection. Vndvana is itself rasa. So why did Ka leave Vndvana and go to Mathur and Dvrak? Ka is the ocean of rasa Himself, and Vndvana is also the ocean of rasa. But still He left it. Why?

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Come With Me to Vndvana Second, if He left, there must have been a cause. If we go anywhere for any special reason, then when the reason or cause is finished, we return. Similarly, Ka left Vndvana for some special reason. After Kasa was killed He should have returned to Vndvana. But He never returned. Why? What is the answer? Anyone would want to live in a place where he receives much love and affection. He would not want to taste any lower kind of love and affection. For example, if you are eating a rasagulla and someone offers you Indian gr or anything similar to eat in its place, you will not accept it. You will want to accept the rasagulla first. So why did Ka, who was perfectly loved by the gops, mother Yaod, Nanda Bb and others, leave quickly one day and never return? The third question is that, even if Ka would not return with the intention to stay forever, why didnt He come from time to time? What would be the harm? If someone comes to America from India to make money, then as soon as there is sufficient money he can return. Even in the case that he does not return permanently, he can still go to India from time to time to meet with his relatives. So why did Ka not go to meet with His relatives, His father and mother? He should have gone, but He did not go at all. He sent a messenger, but why did He not go Himself? A messenger cannot do the same thing that Ka can do. Ka knew that the Vrajavss would not be satisfied. He thought, They will only be satisfied if I go there. But still He sent the messenger, and gave a letter for them. He told the messenger, You should give this sandea, message, to them. Even if there was a very important reason for Kas not returning, there must have been some way that He could have called all the Vrajavss to Mathur or Dvrak. There was no lack of space there. There was so much space. Ka can do anything. He can supply all the houses, boarding, and everything else needed, just as He did when He hosted all the Mathurvass. He could have brought all the Vrajavss in the same way, and He could have remained in Dvrak and Mathur with them. Why did He not bring them? If you want to know all the answers to all these questions, you will have to go deep in rmad-Bhgavatam with any self-realized devotee who has served his gurudeva and the devotees, and who has also served Bhgavatam with (the person) bhgavatam. What is the meaning? One must serve Bhgavatam with a bhakta-bhgavata, because the lock and key to its understanding is in the hands of that mah-bhgavata. We dont want to serve any mah-bhgavata and we dont want to give honor to all others, and still we want all our queries to be satisfied. How can it

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam be? Ka is so merciful that He sends His various kinds of devotees (like ik-guru, dk-guru and bhajana-guru), and says to them, O, go and give some answers so that they may also become pure devotees.

Why Ka didnt Return to Vndvana

Now we will explain the answers to our questions. The first question was: Why did Ka leave Vndvana? I told one reasonthe ll of prema-sarovara. Ka was very upset, thinking, When the gops are with Me, they feel an intense mood of separation in anticipation of the future. They become as though lifelessin mah-bhva, in premavaicittya. You cannot imagine all these feelingshow the gops hearts were burning in the fire of separation. Ka therefore thought, If I leave Vndvana they will also feel separation, but in that type of separation mood they will meet with Mein a dream, or in any other way. They will see a tamal tree and embrace it as though they were embracing Me. They will think, Oh, we are meeting with Ka. Then they will be happy. They will eat their meals and they will decorate themselves. Therefore I must leave. It is true that everyone wants to be where there is plenty of nanda, happiness. No one wants to go to a place where there is less happiness and less love and affection. But this is not the nature of Ka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His nature is somewhat different. He has lakhs and lakhs of devotees everywhere. Some of the devotees in Mathur were given great suffering by Kasa. In fact, Devak and Vasudeva had been suffering from the very day of their marriage ceremony. Since the time of their marriage eight sons were born to them, including Ka. Thus, about eight years passed. After that an additional ten years and eight months passed, because Ka was living in Vraja for that much time. Altogether approximately nineteen years passed. Therefore, it may be that Vasudeva and Devak were being tortured by Kasa for about twenty years. So many persons left Mathur and scattered here and there; and those who remained were always weeping and suffering. How can Ka give them up? He cannot neglect them. He must also care about them. If He does not take care, He is not at all merciful. The Pavas were also weeping; and Kunt also cried to Ka so that He would come and help them. Draupad had also called Him, crying, Oh, Im going to be put to shame in front of everyone. Keeping her hands upraised she was bitterly calling out, O Govinda!

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Come With Me to Vndvana Now Im dying. Under these circumstances, how can Ka play in rsa-l l at Vami-vata, in Vndvana? He will also have to save Draupad. If any bhakta calls Him, anywhere in this world, He cannot remain aloof. Otherwise He will have to give up His name, bhakta-vtsalya the giver of mercy to His devotees. He will have to take care of all the devotees. This is why, although He is tasting so much rasa in Vndvana, He will have to look after all the devotees. That is also why He went to Mathur. There is something more. Ka has promised: ye yath m prapadyante ts tathaiva bhajmy aham According to the service rendered to Me by My devotees, I will have to repay them (Gt 4.11). It was only to the gops that He could not keep this promise; He failed to keep His promise to them. For all others He could keep it, but for the gops it was not at all possible. It is sure that there is no comparison between any of the entire worlds devotees and the Vrajavss. No one can compare to mother Yaod, Subala, rdama, or to the gops like Lalit, Vikh, and all others. There is no comparison. On the other hand, Devak and Vasudeva had also performed very severe austerities in their past births as Sutapa and Pni. They kept their head down on the ground and stood on one hand while keeping their feet high in the air. They remained without breathing any air or drinking any water during the heat of summer, the cold of winter, the rainy season and so on. They continued this for more than 60,000 years. Dhruva had practiced his austerities for six months, and during the last month he fasted even from air. But they did this for more than 60,000 years. And now, in the form of Vasudeva and Devak they were calling. Will Ka not hear? He must hear. This was another reason for Him to come to Mathur. Now I will answer the second question. If Ka fulfilled His reason for coming, which was to save Vasudeva and Devak and to kill Kasa, then He should have returned to Vndvana at that time. But how could He? All the Yduvass and Mathurvass had scattered due to fear of Kasa, and His whole kingdom was disordered. Ka therefore, gave the kingdom to Ugrasena Mahrja and made him king. But Ugrasena was very old and powerless; so Ka Himself had to manage. There were two wives of KasaAsti and Prpti. They went to their father Jarsandha, a very big demon who was even more powerful than Kasa, Duryodhana and all others. Jarsandha heard from his daughters that his son-in-law Kasa had been killed by Ka for

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam no reason; he was innocent. They claimed that Kasa had simply been sitting on the throne when all of a sudden Ka jumped up, grabbed him and killed him without any cause. Jarsandha became very unhappy to hear this. He therefore took his soldiers, numbering more than those in the Mahbhrata army, about 20 lakhs or crores, and invaded Mathurnot only once, but 18 times. Knowing this Ka decided, If I go to Vraja, what will happen? Everyone there will be killed by Jarsandha. So He could not go there. He wanted to go, but He considered that if Jarsandha became aware of this, he would think, All the Vrajavss are truly beloved and very dear to Ka; so I must smash Vndvana. In Vndvana there were no soldiers, no army, no fortno protection at all, and the Vrajavass were not warriors. They were very innocentsimply grazing cows. In one day, therefore, Jarsandha would be able to come and smash all of Vndvana. Nanda Bb knew this fact. Therefore, when Ka met with him after killing Kasa, He whispered in his ear, Dont be upset. I will come. After destroying Jarsandha and all the other demons I will come. I must come. But if I come now Jarsandha will know, and after some time his soldiers will attack the Vrajavss. Everything in Vndvana would be destroyed, and I would not be able to save you. There is no fort, no armynothing. There was yet another reason. Vasudeva and Devak knew very clearly that if a person goes anywhere for a job or duty, he will return to his original place after that duty is completed. Similarly, Ka came from Vndvana. If He returned to Vndvana, He would never come back to Mathur and Dvrak. If He were to say, I am going to Indraprastha, Im going to Mithila, Im going here and there, they would never object. They would say, All right, You may go, and return very quickly. If, however, He requested permission from Devak and Vasudeva, I want to go quickly to Vndvana, and then I will return, they would become very worried and begin to weepnot saying anything and not giving permission. Why not? Vndvana is rasamayi-bhumi (the land of loving mellow exchanges). They know that Ka would not be going there to complete any duty or job; and He would become totally absorbed in rasa. Ka is Himself rasa (the embodiment of the mellow taste of loving affairs), and all the gopas and gops are also rasa. Therefore He would not return. So if Ka were to ask, May I go? they would begin to weep bitterly. Not only Devak and Vasudeva, but all the Mathurvass would weep, We will die today. This is why, although He sometimes wants to go, He cannot.

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Come With Me to Vndvana If Ka would sometimes go to Vndvana and meet with the Vrajavss He could then easily return, because Vndvana is only a distance of two fingers from Mathurthe two places border each other. They are so near. Besides this, He can even go to Goloka Vndvana, Mithila, or Dvrak in a moment. Why then could He not go in an hour or two to Vndvana? He never went. Why? If He went for a moment, the separation mood of the gops and gopas would increase lakhs and lakhs of times. It would not subside. Why? If there is a flame in a lamp, it may be extinguished by a little wind. However, if the fire is very big, like a forest fire, can it be subsided by the wind? It will increase more and more. The separation fire in the hearts of the gops and gopas is like this. It is not like a very little ghee-lamp flame, which will subside. If you put a frying pan on a stove it becomes reddish, and if at that time you put one drop of water on it, what will happen? Chhhhhhhunt. If that splash touches you anywhere you will be burnt. The fire of the separation mood in Vndvana is like this. If Ka goes there for a moment, or for one or two days, it will burn the Vrajavss more. And when He again leaves they will die at once. Therefore He does not return to Vndvana.

Opposing Moods of Mathur and Vndvana

Someone may say that Ka should bring His father, mother, and all the gops, sakhas and gopas to Mathur. But this would create a very difficult situation. There would be some danger. What danger? Rasasankata; the danger of overlapping rasas, or contradiction of mellows. In Vndvana, Ka is like a cowherd boy. He is only the son of Nanda Bb, without shoes or umbrella, and He serves all the cows, Nanda Bb and Yaod. In Mathur He has no flute, no stick, and He is not a cowherd boy. There He is a very powerful katriya king. What kind of king? He is like an emperor, or rather like an Emperor of emperors. No one can challenge Him there. In Vndvana all the Vrajavss challenge Him. So what would happen if the Vrajavass came to Mathur? Would Ka be able to keep His peacock feather on His head and His flute in His hand? What would He say if Nanda Bb comes? Whom would He address as father and mother? Devak and Vasudeva, or Yaod and Nanda Bb? And with whom would He spend the night? With the gops, or with Satyabhm and Rukmin? They would all fight.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam rmad-Bhgavatam (10.43.17) states, that in Mathur, Ka is para-devata, Lord of lords, for all the Ydavas. Para-devata means vnina para-devateti. He is King of kings and worshipable by all the Mathurvass. In Vndvana He is svajanasimply the son of Nanda Bb, simply the friend of the cowherd boys, and simply the beloved of the gops. He is not para-devat. No gopa would worship Him. Yaodmaiy never worshipped Him, and the gops can only worship Him with abuses. They say to Him, You are kl, black. You are a lampata, womanizer, a cora, thief, and You are black-hearted. This is their worship. If all the gops go to Mathur and abuse Ka in this way in front of all the Ydavas, what would happen? There would be no solution at all. In Mathur, Ka is worshipable by all the Ydavas, and even by Uddhava, Akrra and King Ugrasena. But in Vndvana, gopas like rdma and Subala climb up on His shoulders and say, O, my horse, go on, go on, and call out, Eh, eh, quickly, quickly, quickly, run! However, if rdma and Subala were to go to Mathur and make Ka be like a horse in front of all the Ydavas, there would be a big problem. Devak and Vasudeva cannot accept prama, obeisances, from Ka. Why not? They believe that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore they have awe and reverence for Him. They have seen His four-armed form. In Vndvana, on the other hand, Nanda Bb tells Ka, O, bring my paduka (shoes). Ka will put those shoes on His head and come dancing. If Nanda Bb is there in Mathur and, in front of all the Ydavas, orders Ka, O my son, You should bring my shoes, will He bring those shoes? He will be confused about what to do. Moreover, in Vndvana, Ka is with all the gops, like Rdhik, Lalit, Vikh and others. Can He sit with Rdhik or perform rsa-ll in Mathur, in front of the Ydus? Can He massage the feet of Rdhik in front of them? He cannot. This is rasa-sankula, a contradiction of mellows. How would Ka be able to reconcile all these things? He would be in a dilemma. Therefore He does not bring anyone from Vndvana. Ka is thinking, What should I do? Due to circumstances, He cannot go to Vndvana. However, if He sometimes sends His messenger to pacify His father and mother, then, at the same time, that messenger can learn something there. This is the most important reason for Kas sending Uddhavaso that he can be admitted in

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Come With Me to Vndvana the school of the gops. Here Lalit and Vikh are the teachers and r mat Rdhik Herself is the principal. Ka is thinking that Uddhava should be admitted there and learn the truths about their prema. Although he can only try to learn, but not realize these truths, still he should go and be admitted. He need only know two and half letters. He cannot know all the svara and vyjan (consonants and vowels) of Vndvana; he can never learn that. He need only know two and half lettersprema (prema, written in the Sanskrit alphabet, has two and a half letters). In English there is no word like this. In the word l-o-v-e, there are four letters. In this way, Ka sent Uddhava so that he would learn something about prema. Ka considered, When this messenger becomes qualified, he will come back here and I will be able to share some of My sufferings with him. Therefore he should be sent. His main purpose in sending Uddhava was not that He required a messenger. He wanted Uddhava to realize a little something. When he returns I can weep; and he will realize why Im weeping and why Im suffering. Then I can distribute some of My suffering to him.

Understanding these Elevated Topics

We should begin from the beginning: vco vega manasa krodha-vega jihv-vegam udaropastha-vegam etn vegn yo viaheta dhra sarvm apma pthiv sa iyt (Upademta 1)
A wise and self-composed person who can subdue the impetus to speak, the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the vehemence of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the agitation of the genitals can instruct the entire world. In other words, all persons may become disciples of such a self-controlled person.

dadti pratighti guhyam khyti pcchati bhukte bhojayate caiva a-vidha prti-lakaam (Upademta 4)
Offering pure devotees items in accordance with their requirements, accepting prsad or remnant items given by pure devotees, revealing

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to devotees ones confidential realisations concerning bhajana, eating with great love the prsada remnants given by devotees and lovingly feeding them prsadathese are the six symptoms of loving association with devotees.

There are so many important principles here. Then: tan-nma-rpa-caritdi-sukrtannusmtyo kramea rasan-manas niyojya tihan vraje tad-anurgi jannugm kla nayed akhilam ity upadea-sram (Upademta 8)
While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents of Vraja who possess inherent spontaneous love for r Ka, one should utilize all his time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in meticulous chanting and rememberance of Kas names, form, qualities and pastimes. This is the essence of all instruction.

(After the lecture a drama was performed from Bhad-bhgavatmta. In the drama, Ka in Dvrak was feeling so much separation from the Vrajavass that He was not able to perform any of His daily duties. He fainted and was then taken to Nava Vndvana (in Dvrak) and dressed as a gopa with peacock feather and flute. When He regained consciousness He spoke to murtis of the Vrajavass. The Dvrakvass who witnessed this were all astonished. After the drama rla Mahrja expressed his appreciation and commented on the significance of the play:) Really, Ka is so beautiful in Vndvana. By comparison He is not beautiful in Dvrak. Vrajendra-nandana Ka is lakhs and lakhs times more beautiful than Dvrakdhia Ka. Even Padm, an old lady of 110 years (mother of Kasa and chaste wife of King Ugrasena), was filled with lust and wanted to embrace Ka, what to speak of others. Satyamabhm, Rukmin and all the other queens lost their composure. Ka is so beautifulthe essence of all the beauty. He is manmata manmata, the Cupid of cupids.

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P a r t II
Explainations of Songs by rla Bhaktivinoda hkura

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam

r Nma Krtana
r Nma Krtana yaomat-nandana, braja-baro-ngara, gokula-rajana kna gop-para-dhana, madana-manohara, klya-damana-vidhna (1) amala harinm amiya-vils vipina-purandara, navna ngara-vara, va-vadana suvsa (2) vraja-jana-plana, asura-kula-nana nanda-godhana-rkhowl govinda mdhava, navanta-taskara, sundara nanda-gopl (3) ymuna-taa-cara, gop-vasanahara, rsa-rasika, kpmaya r-rdh-ballabha, vndvana-naavara, bhakativinoda-raya (4) (1) Ka is Yaodmaiys beloved son and the topmost lover in Vrajabhmi. As Kna (an affectionate nick-name) He delights Gokula and is the wealth of the life of the gops. He is an inveterate thief, stealing the hearts of all, and He punishes the Klya serpent. (2) These spotless holy names are filled with all of Kas sweet pastimes. He is the King (purandaraIndra) of all the forests of Vraja. He is the ever fresh and ever youthful lover, always wearing very beautiful garments and holding the flute to His mouth. (3) He always protects the Vrajavss, destroys the demons, and tends Nanda Bbs cows. As Govinda He gives pleasure to the cows, the land, gopas, gops, and the senses. As Mdhava He is the husband of the topmost Lakmrmat Rdhik. Hes always stealing butter (the prema of the Vrajavss) to increase their love for Him, and He is the beautiful son of Nanda Bb. (4) Roaming along the banks of the Yamun, He stole the clothes of the very young gops. He is the enjoyer of the rsa dance and the

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r Nma Krtan embodiment of mercy. He is most beloved to rmat Rdhik and is the most expert dancer in Vndvana. Bhaktivinoda wants to take shelter of this Ka!

Sweet Names of Ka
When you sing, try to understand the meanings. Among all krtanas, rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras Yaomat-Nandana and vibhvar ea aloka-pravea nidr chri uho jva, bolo hari hari mukunda murri rma ka hayagrva are very elevated. At the time of Prabhupada rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura, not everyone was allowed to sing these krtanas. Only very advanced devotees used to sing them, otherwise they were not sung. The moods are so high. Yaomat-Nandana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ka, covered with mdhurya (sweet human-like pastimes). Here He is not addressed as the Supreme Personality; only Yaomat-Nandana. He is not even addressed as Nanda-nandana. Nanda-nandana is such a sweet name, but I think that Yaomat-Nandana is more sweet. Why? The devotion and vatsalya love of Yaod is superior to that of Nanda Bb. The two cannot actually be compared, but when we are in taastha (the neutral position), we can compare them. From the point of view of every associate in Vraja, their specific rasa is most superior. Who is Yaomat-Nandana? He is that Ka who is controlled by Yaod, and always weeping for butter and chapatis. Although He weeps, sometimes Yaod says, I will not take You in my lap, and I will never give You milk. Ka throws Himself down, rolls on the earth and cries, Mother, mother, maiyeri maiyeri. Main duda piyunga. I will drink milk. Yaod replies, Oh, You cannot come in my lap. I will never take You in my lap and I will never give You milk. You have now become a thief, a robber. I will never give You milk. Ka is bitterly weeping. Sometimes Nrada comes, sees this scene and thinks, Oh, how fortunate is Yaod. Even though Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she thinks He is her own son. She takes hold of Ka and warns Him, You should not do that. Chastising Him she says, I will not give You milk. In r Nradas eyes, Ka is not Yaod-nandana. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sarva-krana-kranam, the cause of all causes. Nrada has never seen this in his life, and now he is seeing it in Vraja. Sometimes Yaod binds Ka to a grinding mortar. And afterwards, she weeps for hours and hours.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam It is due to Yaod that rmat Rdhik comes to the house of Nanda Bb to, cook and she engages Rdhik in that service. When Rdhik comes to her house, she supports and nourishes Her even more than she does Ka. Sometimes Yaod gives Her something to eat and Rdhik becomes shy. Yaod asks, O, why are You shy? You are my daughter. You are just as dear to me as Ka. Dont think there is any difference. I love You even more than Your mother, Krtik. Do you know that Yaod is more than Krtik? Krtik loves Rdhik, but not as much as Yaod does. Yaod always loves Her not as a daughter, but as a newly married daughter-in-law. Yaod wants Rdh and Ka to marry, and that is why she has so much love for Her. I think that if we do a comparative study we will see that she loves Rdhik even more than she loves Ka. Without Yaod there could be no sweet pastimes. She arranges Their meeting, as though she does not know anything and is not aware of Their loving exchanges. Vraja-baro-ngara. Who is He? Yaod-Nandana. Ngara and ngari, lover and beloved. Ka played everywhere and He is the topmost beloved of all the gops. Gokula-rajana-kna. Gokula, gopa kula samuha. Samuhe means all groups: groups of all gopas, groups of all gops, groups of all cows, groups of all cowherd boys, and groups of all the calves. What transpires in Gokula? Everywhere Ka plays and performs vilsa. He goes cowherding, but why does He go? There is some ulterior motive. He considers, If I go this way everyone will be sure that Im going to herd cows. But why is He actually going? Only to meet with the gops. To meet directly, as in Western countries, is not very good. But meeting in a stealthy way, hiding and meeting, makes Ka so happy. The gops come with much struggle and great difficulty, not caring at all for their fathers, mothers, fathers-in-law, neighbors and so on. In this way Ka meets them. He performs rsa with them, and that is why He is ngara. Who is kna? Kanhaiy is Kacandra Himself. Gop-para-dhana. Gop-pra-dhana. Ka is the life and soul of the gops, and the gops are also the life and soul of Ka. Both are true. Without Ka the gops cannot remain alive. Do you know what became of the gops when Ka went to Mathur? We can touch upon only a little of this confidential subject matter. I want to tell more but I cannot. I will keep it for future years. I cant fully explain it in one year. For several yearstwo, four, six, eight yearsit will be continued. Yaod is also a gop. All cowherd women, both young and old, are gops. However Lalit, Vikh and all others like them are especially

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r Nma Krtan referred to in this context. What is the meaning of gop? One who can keep Ka so secretly in her heart. She who cannot take Ka out of her heart is a gop. Madana-Manohara. Ka is the Cupid of cupid of cupid of cupid. He is manmata manmatah. rmat Rdhik is cupida. Cupida means one who is many lkhs times more enchanting than the Cupid of cupids. Klya-damana-vidhna means the punisher of the Klya serpent. It is curious why rla Bhaktivinoda hkura has brought this klyadamana-vidhna. Previously he was only referring to sweet pastimes, so why has he brought poison here? Actually it is not poison. In this pastime Ka was able to trick the gops and bring them near for the first time. This was the first occasion. The gops were six or seven and Ka was eight years old. Ka desired, O, you should see how brave I am. He danced on the hoods of Klya only to show them, How qualified and brave I am. Therefore klya-damana-vidhna is not a very dangerous or harsh pastime. Amala harinm amiya-vils. Why has rla Bhaktivinoda hkura brought in this harinma? What is the use? Ka has invested His full power, sweetness and all His nectarean pastimes in His name. If you chant harinma, Yaomat-Nandana will come, braja-baro-ngara, gokula-rajana, kna, and gop-para-dhana will all come. They are all present in harinma if you are chanting pure name with a relation to Ka. What relation? Ka is my prna-dhana, the wealth of my lifewith that relation. Then all the pastimes that I explained will be very quickly manifested in your heart. This is the process. Amala harinma. You should not think that these are only words. Amala means pure, amiya means mta, nectar, and vils means dancing and singing in rsa, playing on swings while everyone sings mlrga and so many other tunes. Sometimes Ka controls the swing Himself. Rdhik is sitting on the swing and He takes Her very high without supporting Her. She becomes afraid and cries out, Oh, stop! Stop! Stop! But Ka does not stop. Her veil and garments begin to fly, and in Her fear She embraces Ka very tightly. Ka wants this. This is amiya-vils. There are many kinds of vils, as they are written in Govinda-llmta and other books, and all these amiya-vils are invested in harinma. Vipina-purandara navna ngara-vara. Vipina-purandara. Ka is the Indra of Vndvana. Indra here means superior. One of the names of Ka is Indra, and He has given this name to the demigod Indra. Kas name is also Rma, and He has distributed it somewhat to

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Balarma and Darathi Rmacandra. All the names in the entire world belong to Ka. Who is dharan-dhara? Ka, and He has given it to nantadeva. Whose name is Baladeva? It is Kas. But He has distributed that and all His names to many others. Vipina-purandara navna ngara-vara. Ka is ever-fresh and new. Therefore Rdhik tells Lalit, O Lalite, can you tell Me who is that black person? Ive never seen Him before in My whole life. Who is that person now playing on the flute? And who is the boy in that picture painted by Citra? Oh, now I want to commit suicide. Surely I will commit suicide because Indian ladies are very chaste, but I have divided My love and affection among three persons. One person is He who plays sweetly on His flute, another is that black person I have just seen, and the third is the one in this picture. In this way there are three personalities. So I must die. I must die. Lalit told Her, You should not die. The black person, the one who plays on His flute and the person who is in this picture are one and the same. So You should not die. Ka is therefore nava-navaya mnaalways navna ngara vara. Va vadana suvsa. Va vandan. There is always a flute on Kas lips. Even when He sleeps it is close by. Or He may put it in His sash and then sleep. From His birth to the time He left Vndvana, He could not give up His flute for a moment. When He went to Mathur He kept His flute with rmat Rdhik. Weeping and weeping He told Her, When I return, You should give My flute back to Me. Suvs. Ka wears a peacock feather on His head, His form is three-fold bending, His eyes are very crooked and His cheeks are very beautiful, very beautiful. There is no comparison to His beauty. Ka can only be compared to Himself. Vraja-jana plana. Ka supports all Vrajavss. How? He kills Ptan, Aghsura, Bkasura, Kasa and all other demons. He also supports everyone with love and affection. Asura-kula-nana. He destroyed all the demons, by His sweet pastimes. Nanda-godhanarkhovl. He always protects nanda-godhana, the cows of Nanda Bb and others. Govinda mdhava navanta-taskara sundara nanda-gopl. Indra gave Ka the name Govinda because He always loves all the gopas, gops and everyone else. Mdhava means that He is the husband of Mdhav, Rdhik. Here M or Mdhav does not mean Lakm; Rdhik is superior to Lakm, as are all the gops. Navanta-taskara. Ka has so much hunger and greed to take the butter of all the gops. Even when His mother keeps butter for

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r Nma Krtan Him, He steals anyway. If one gop offers Him butter He says, I am not hungry. I dont want it. As soon as she leaves, however, He very quickly enters her house and steals it. Ymuna-taa-cara. Ka is always walking on the banks of the Yamun. Why? He has promised the gops, I will go there and you should also go there. I will meet you all there in the early morning. He is always waiting there for all the gops, and the gops may also wait there for Him. Then they perform so many pastimes together. Gop-vasanahara. Ka took the garments of the gops, and there was no shame in this. They were very youngsome were about three or four, some were older, and Ka Himself was about seven years old. So there was no lust. They were bathing naked in the Yamun when Ka said, Oh, You should not do this. It will be an offense to Varuadeva, the god of the rivers. Perhaps Ka wanted to test them, to see, If I instruct them, will they obey Me or not? Why did Ka take the gops garments? Only highly elevated devotees who are following the gops can know and understand the answer. We cannot understand. Whatever Ka instructs them to do, they will do. But we cannot even obey our gurudeva. Gurudeva will tell us, You should do it that way. And we reply, If I cannot do it, then what? When Gurudeva says, Jump, you should do that. You should know what your gurudeva wants and act accordingly. If you do not, then you are a baka, crane. The crane stands on one leg, as if performing severe austerities, as if he is one-pointed. Why? Not to obey a higher authorityonly to catch fish. Similarly, if a disciple does not obey his gurudeva he is like this. One should know the will and inner mood of his gurudeva, and act accordingly. I always knew what my Gurudeva wanted without his telling me and I would follow his will. There was a disciple of my Gurudeva named nanda prabhu who was junior to me. When I was engaged in Mathur, he also served him there. He knew exactly when Gurudeva wanted water, and what kind of water he wanted. He knew when to fan him, when to massage him and so on. He knew his heart. If a disciple does not know his gurudevas heart he is not a sevaka, servant. He should know gurudevas heart and act accordingly. We see, however, that disciples have so many problems newer and newer problems daily. The guru has to tolerate so much. The disciples may quarrel among themselves, and they may even quarrel with gurudeva himself. Such disciples are like the baka. We should try instead to be sevakas. Rsa-rasika, kpmaya. Kpamaya means that Ka is full of mercy. By His causeless mercy He performed rsa-ll to bring all the

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam gops. The gops are transcendental, but He was very kind to sprinkle His mercy. Because of this, people all over the world can hear these pastimes, develop greed, and then follow the process to attain Vrajabhakti. If there was no rsa, we could not have imagined the love of Ka and the gops. Therefore, out of His mercy, Ka called all the gops with His flute. Sr-rdh-vallabha vndvana-naavara. Rdh-vallabha means He is the only beloved of rmat Rdhik. There is no better adjective for Ka than Rdh-vallabha. Vndvana-naavara means He is naa vara, the best dancer of Vndvana, and He dances everywhere in the hearts of all the gops. Bhakativinoda-raya. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura is telling, This very Ka is my raya, my shelter. May He kindly always be manifest in my heart. I have given only a very little outline of the meaning of this krtana. Perhaps all pastimes will come in this. So try to do krtana in this way. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura always spends his nights singing and continually weeping. Sometimes he makes purs and kacors, thinking, Ka is now performing rsa, and afterwards He will come here. So I should cook these. His internal mood was that of a gop. This is our objective. Try to follow all these proper practices and become very high-class devotees. Dont be attached to worldly things, especially to your anger, lust and problems. Try to keep your feet on the head of problems. Take a broom daily and try to chastise your mind. The mind is the only atru, enemy. Others are not atru.

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Gurudeva, Kp-bindu Diy

From rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras arangati (rla Gurudeva asked Bankibihri Prabhu to explain the meaning of the song Gurudeva, kp-bindu diy.) BB: Gurudeva! Give me a drop of mercy, make me your servant. O lord, make me more humble than a blade of grass. rla Mahrja: If anyone insults you, what will you do? BB: Ill try not to fight. rla Mahrja: Speak from your heart. BB: I would try to realize that this is coming from my own karma, from my own previous abuse of others. And I would try to take it that this is working that out, and it will be gone now, and from now on I will not repeat my mistake. rla Mahrja: But if anyone is insulting you, will you insult him in return, tit for tat? What you will do? BB: Ill try to not insult him in return, and not continue the cycle. rla Mahrja: Someone may not be in the cycle. He may tolerate the insults, but at the same time vow in his mind, I will have no connection with this person, otherwise he will insult me. He may not honor the other, but rather boycott and say, I will not be with a person like him. Is this good or bad? BB: Its bad, because one is not taking responsibility for his own karma which has brought this about. Instead he is retaliating, but in a secret way. rla Mahrja: If that other person is an advanced devotee, serving guru and Vaiavas, should you honor him or not? Should you associate with him or not? Bhaktivinoda hkura is praying from his heart, O Gurudeva, please bless me that I can be so tolerant that, sakale sammna korite akati, I will honor others with my heart. Try to realize this. It is very important. Suppose a high-caliber Vaiava like r Abhirma Gosvm chastises you. Do you know Abhirma Gosvm? He had a very powerful whip. When he was happy with someones activities and service, he touched him with his whip, and by this he gave that person his full mercythe realization of prema. So you should try to honor and associate with pure devotees. If they want to help you, they will chastise or do anything to you. Otherwise, they will neglect you as if to say, He can go to hell, as he likes.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam rla Bhaktivinoda hkura therefore prays: sakale sammna korite akati deha ntha. I should honor all others. In what way? According to their stage of advancement in spiritual life. You should not give a kaniha-adhikr the respect of an uttama-adhikr. If you give this improper respect, then you do not know anything. And if you do not honor high-class devotees according to their qualities, then you may commit so many offenses. rla Bhaktivinoda Thkura therefore prays to Gurudeva, O Gurudeva, I dont know how to properly respect all Vaiavas. Please give me this quality by your causeless mercy, so that I can realize how to give proper respect. In this way I will be able to reconcile any problem. I told so much in my class, and those who are fortunate will realize all these things. sakale sammna korite akati deha ntha! jathjatha tabe to gaibo harinma sukhe apardha habe hata

kabe heno kp labhiy e jana ktrtha hoibe ntha! akti-buddhi-hna mi ati dna koro more tma-stha
BB: I am so fallen and wretched, I have no intelligence, Gurudeva... rla Mahrja: Should one tell this from his heart, or outwardly only? Is rla Bhaktivinoda hkura telling this from the core of his heart, or is he only singing? BB: Gurudeva has such high qualities, so much intelligence, and so much understanding of how to become like him, to understand his heart and to actually make ones heart like thatthrough following. jogyat-vicre kichu nhi pi tomra koru sra karu n hoile kdiy kdiy pra n rkhiba ra From the core of his heart he says that he doesnt find any good qualities in himself. Actually we are full of anarthas. Practically speaking, we are made only of anarthas. Gurudeva mercifully drives those anarthas away and replaces them with all good qualities. rla Mahrja: What is he praying?

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Gurudeva, kp-bindu diy BB: Hes praying, Please, please do this for me, and hes weeping. In a very deep and serious way he feels, I would rather give up my life than go on being without your mercy and full of anarthas. rla Mahrja: The devotee thinks in this mood, I have no qualification at all. Im really not a Vaiava, but I want to be a Vaiava, and honor all Vaiavas. If this mood is there, there will be no friction, quarrel, or misunderstanding between devotees, and no problems at all. I have come to give this point to all devotees. We should not think, Oh, hes my Gurudeva. Someone with a different guru thinks, Hes my Gurudeva, and we are in this group. Someone else thinks, We are in this group. A pure devotee never thinks like this. His love and affection are transcendental, above that of all kaniha-adhikrs. He gives everyone respect according to their devotion. He never thinks, Hes rich, hes poor. Hes not giving me money; but another is giving me so much money and helping me with worldly things. How does he think? He gives respect according to others level of devotion. r Caitanya Mahprabhu used to give respect like this. All our guru-varga would love and honor others according to their grade of love and affection for Ka and gurudeva. A qualified guru never thinks, He is my disciple, he is the disciple of another guru, he is the disciple of rla Prabhupda, he is the disciple of rla rdhara Mahrja, Bon Mahrja or anyone else. He never thinks, Hes my disciple and therefore I have special affection and mercy for him; but hes a disciple of Swm Bhaktivednta, so he is not welcome here, he should be kept far away. He gives proper respect to all, as it is told here: sakale sammna korite akati deha ntha. Sakale means `not only in my group. Any qualified devotee cannot be like this. He is above all this. We, third-class, bogus kaniha-adhikrs, however, cannot consider that we should give proper respect to everyone according to their level of love and affection for Ka, r Caitanya Mahprabhu, r Nitynanda Prabhu and for devotees. If any problem comes, we should remember guru and Vaiavas and try to reconcile all things, never quarrel with each other. Otherwise rati will be performed outwardly, with the ghee lamp, but not with the heart; and that gurudeva may not accept our worship. One may say, Oh, very good. His rati was performed with five ghee wicks, but the other devotee used one ghee wick. So his rati is not good. Another did it with seven ghee wicks. Seven. But he is doing it with only one. Hes not respecting me, and where is the

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam donation? There is no donation here? He gave flowers, but no money. He at once gave me 100 dollars but the other person gave nothing. Hes not a good devotee. A high-class guru never thinks like this. He knows his disciples heart and how much affection he has for r Guru, Vaiavas, r Gaurga, r Nitynanda Prabhu and r r Rdh-Ka. If the disciple is not doing rati with the lamp, no harm. He will do it by his eyes, and gurudeva will accept all offerings of rati by his eyes. This is actually rati. A devotee or disciple should be like this. If a guru is in the highest class, he will not be happy if his disciples quarrel with other devotees. Our community should be very elevated. We should try to respect each other. If anyone rebukes us, no harm. We should think, It is my karma and it is due to my past birth. Or, we can understand that, Ka has arranged this to teach us tolerance. We should try to realize all these teachings. Then my coming to New Vraja will be successful.

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tma-nivedanam
From rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras arangati mra bolite prabhu! re kichu ni tumi-i mra mtro pit-bandhu-bhi Nothing remains mine. Father, friend, brotherYou are even these to me. bandhu, dr, suta, suttava ds ds sei to sambandhe sabe mra prays Those whom I called friends, wife, sons, and daughters are all Your servants and maidservants. Whatever care I take is only as it relates to You. dhana, jana, grha, dra tomra boliy rakh kori mi mtro sevaka hoiy If I continue to maintain my wealth, wife, family members, home, it is because they are Yours. I am a mere servant. tomra kryera tore uprjibo dhan tomra sasre-vyaya koribo bahan For Your service I will earn money and bear the expense of Your household. bhlo-manda nhi jni seb mtro kor tomra sasre mi viaya-prahari I know neither good nor bad. I merely serve. I am but a watchman who guards the properties in Your household. tomra icchya mora indriya-clan rvaa, darana, ghra, bhojana-bsan The exercising of my senseshearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touchingis done according to Your desire. nija-sukha lgi kichu nhi kori r bhakativinoda bole, tava sukha-sr I no longer do anything for my own pleasure. Bhaktivinoda says, Your happiness is the essence of everything.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Try to hear this explanation very attentively. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura has written this especially for married persons, for both lady devotees and male devotees. Try to follow it in your daily routine. From today you can make a vow like thisif you really want to be a devotee. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura is our ik-gurumore than our dk-guru.

Only Serve Those Who Serve Ka

If a wife is not Ka conscious, should we support her or not? If a father is not in the line of bhakti, we should have no relationship with him. If a husband is not chanting and remembering, and instead he is thinking, I am not the eternal servant of Ka, we should have no relationship with him. All our relationships must depend on whether a relative or friend thinks himself an eternal servant of Ka, and whether he is also acting as one. Then we can totally serve him. Otherwise, we can even give up our guru, as Bli Mahrja did. Bli Mahrja gave up his Gurudeva, ukrcrya. Disciples are not the property of gurudeva. All disciples are the property of Ka and Mahprabhu. Some gurus think that their disciples are their own property, and that is why they are going to hell. All the gops left their husbands. Bharata Mahrja, the brother of Rma, left his mother in a moment. As soon as he knew that she was against Rma, he at once gave her up. Vibhiana promptly left his brother, Rvaa, who was making a plan to quarrel with Rma. He left him at once. We see that all these devotees were happy. Therefore, all our relationships should be centered only in relation to Kas service. There was a person who was very friendly with me. I saw that he was initiated by rla Bhaktivednta Swam Mahrja, your Prabhupda; so I was also on very friendly terms with him. When he first came to me he was renounced, but later he gave up his devotional practices, like chanting, and became like a Myvd. He continued coming to me in a friendly way, but I told him, Our friendship was only based on Ka consciousness. Now, if you are not following, we can have no friendship at all. Not even for a moment will I have any relationship with you. If we want to develop our Ka consciousness, our relationships should be based on service to Ka. Rvaa was a worshipper of akara, Lord iva, and he offered his head to him in a fire sacrifice. iva became very happy and gave him ten heads. Although iva was always very pleased with Rvaa,

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tma-nivedanam when Rvaa kidnapped St and became opposed to Rma, akara, Mahdeva, at once left him. iva never supported him in the battle and Rvaa was killed by Rma. Kasa, Bhasmasura and so many other demons were also worshipping akara. akara can give anything, even ka-prema, and they were worshipping him. When they became offenders to Ka or Rma, however, akara at once left them and they were killed. In conclusion, if you want to be a good devotee, your relations should be on this basis. Our honor to Vaiavas and guru-bhai, godbrothers, will depend on how much faith they have in gurudeva and pure Vaiavas, and how advanced they are in bhakti. We should not think, Hes my Godbrother. Even if hes committing offenses, still hes my Godbrother and hes superior to all others. Never think like this. Anyone who is chanting and remembering is in our Gaura family. He may be in r Nitynandas family, rmat Jhnavs family, r ymnandas family, rla Narottama dsa hkuras family, or any devotees family. A person may be our most bosom friend, but if he is not in Ka consciousness, we have nothing to do with him. If you make friendship with him, you will be degraded. Try to follow these words in rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras song, which are especially helpful for ghastha-bhaktas. By following this, all doubts will go away.

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Mnsa Deha Geha Mind, Body, and Home

From rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras arangati mnsa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor arpilu tuw pade, nanda-kiora! Mind, body, and family, whatever may be mine, I have surrendered at Your lotus feet, O youthful son of Nanda! sampade vipade, jvane-marae dy mama gel, tuw o-pada barae In good fortune or in bad, in life or at death, all my difficulties have disappeared by choosing those feet of Yours as my only shelter. mrobi rkhobijo icch tohr nitya-dsa prati tuw adhikr Slay me or protect me as You wish, for You are the master of Your eternal servant. janmobi moe icch jadi tor bhakta-ghe jani janma hau mor If it is Your will that I be born again, then may it be in the home of Your devotee. ka-janma hau jath tuw dsa bahir-mukha brahma janme nhi a May I be born again even as a worm, so long as I may remain Your devotee. I have no desire to be born as a Brahm averse to You. bhukti-mukti-sph vihna je bhakta labhaite tka saga anurakta I yearn for the company of that devotee who is completely devoid of all desire for worldly enjoyment or liberation. janaka, janan, dayita, tanay prabhu, guru, patituhu sarva-moy Father, mother, lover, son, Lord, preceptor, and husbandYou are everything to me.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam bhakativinoda kahe, uno kna! rdh-ntha! tuhu hmra para hkura Bhaktivinoda says, O Kna, please hear me! O Lord of Rdh, You are my life and soul!

aragati
This song is for those who want to begin bhakti. It is about aragati, surrender to Ka. First you must come to this stage and then you can be a devotee, otherwise not. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura has written this, and if you want to be a pure devotee, then you must follow it. When performing krtana, do not look here and there. Try to understand the meaning of this krtana and be totally absorbed in it. Then you can gain something. This song should be sung daily in order to remind your senses to follow the path of aragati. Try to promise that from today, from just now, you will follow this. Mnsa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor arpilu tuw pade, nanda-kiora. What is the meaning? My mind, my body, my family, and whatever I possess I am offering at Your lotus feet, O Nanda-kiora. We should not only say the words, but truly surrender by action. Do not say, Im giving You everything, but the lock and key will be with me. Rather, we must totally serve and give Him everything. If I have offered everything at Your lotus feet, I have no worry about anything. There is no need to worry, What should I do? What should I do? I have so many problems. Now there is no anxiety because I believe that Ka will solve the problems. You need only be like watch dogs of Ka, guarding.1 Always be like a guard. Be free from maintaining yourself. Do you understand what Bhaktivinoda hkura is telling? Whether You look after me or not, whether I am happy or unhappy, in all circumstances I am Yours. Now it is Your job to look after me or not. I have given You everything and therefore I never worry. If death comes, if problems come, still I have no worry. I will be like a watch dog, always sitting at Your door. If You give me some remnants, as one gives to his dogs, I will take that; otherwise I will wait for it. I will only chant and remember You. This is really aragati. Whether You give me good things or problems, no harm. Now Im happy. Ive given everything to You.
1 To protect and defend the proper siddhanta, and to defeat material logic and cheating philosophies.

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Mnsa Deho Geho Nowadays I hear so much from devotees, My wife has left me and now my children are like orphans. There are so many problems. Lady devotees come and say, I have a very big problem. My husband left me. I cannot do anything to prevent it. What should I do? Can you help? There are so many problems, so many problems. They try to do this and that to solve the problems, but everywhere, everything fails. This is because the root of all these problems is that you are not aragata, you have no relation with Ka and you have no trust in Ka and His name. That is why all these problems come. Ka has not advised, You have been brahmacr for thirteen, fourteen, twenty years in the matha (temple) of your Prabhupda, so now you can have a girlfriend. rla Swm Prabhupda was very merciful and he engaged you in devotional service. Has he told you that you should marry? Has Ka advised you to get a boyfriend or girlfriend? Who made all these problems? Only you, yourself, made your problems. If you always serve Him, and depend on Ka, no problem can come. Can any problem come to r ukadeva Gosvm or r Nrada Gosvm? They always depend on Ka. Similarly, anyone who depends on Ka has no problem at all. Whomever we touch, all his problems go. What is the meaning of touch? If you want to be touched, try to follow from today onward with firm faith that Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has created the whole world and He is supporting and nourishing the whole world. Why then can He not support and nourish you? You are the root cause of all your problems. Ka wants to take you out of problems, but you keep making them. When there was only one son you were not satisfied. You begot two daughters and then again one more son. Later, when they became somewhat matured, they went against you and their mother and created so many problems. Therefore, for freedom from all problems, you should become aragata. Nma (the holy name of Ka) is so much more merciful than Ka. Ka has invested all His mercy, power, opulence, and so on in ka-nma, but you are neglecting it. You depend on your own job and making money, but this money making creates more problemsproblems, after problems, after problems. You can realize all these truths because stra has explained them. You cannot be happy by endeavoring to solve all these problems. There is only one problem at the root of all others. You have forgotten Ka and you are neglecting Ka and ka-nmaespecially ka-nma in this Kali-yuga.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam If you chant like Haridsa hkura you will see that Lakm will come and follow you. She will ask, Oh, how can I serve you? Have you this faith? We have this faith and that is why Lakm is always with us. But we tell her, Wait a little. I have no service for you to do. Please remain very far away. We fear even the shadow of Lakmdev, what to speak of Lakm-dev Herself.2 If you are like this, you will then be able to think, Very good, very good; there is no problem at all, no problem at all. Ka will quickly solve all the problems. Your initiation has been given to serve Ka. You have not actually received initiation; you have been admitted into the class of initiation. Try to understand this. Dk means di, dviya-jna, transcendental knowledge. You have not yet received transcendental knowledge, but you should try to get it from your guru and other devotees. You have entered in the process, but this is actually not true dk. A fire sacrifice alone will not give dk. To follow and practice are pre-requisites. Ksa means washing away of sin. All your sinful activities, bad practices, unwanted habits and mentalities, and anarthas are washed by this process. At this time they have not yet been washed completely, but you have come in the process. By following all these teachings you will have dk. I know so many disciples who have taken initiation from a bona fide gurudeva. Why, then, do they fall down? They do not actually try to follow the process. They think, We have received dk. Actually they have only received external dk. Although it may take some years to achieve transcendental knowledge, try to have real internal dk. Without following all these processes you will be weak. After being brahmacr for ten, fifteen, twenty years, you will again become a mouse. Punar muika bhva. You know this mouse? Dont be a mouse. Try to advance. When you graduate you will become a very good devotee. At that time there will be no fear of falling and becoming weak.

2 This means we fear entanglement in material wealth, and we also dont want to become attracted to going to Vaikuntha instead of Goloka Vrndavana.

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r Saccidnanada Bhaktivinoda hkura

P a r t III
Entering the Process

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam

Observance of Puruottama month (May 16th to June 13th 1999)

Observance of Puruottam-month This is Puruottama month. Ka is Puruottama and therefore this month is actually Kas month. Among all the incarnations, Ka Himself is Puruottama, the supreme person. So this month is also supreme among all months, as is the month of Karttika. We are also so fortunate to be here in New Vraja, very near to Girirja-Govardhana. yma-kua and Rdh-kua are also hereall are here. Vndvana itself has manifested. Peacocks are dancing. So much is reminding us of r Vndvana-dhma. In India we observe this Puruottama month in the presence of Puruottama, in His own place, Nildri, at Jaganntha Pur. Devotees spend one month there, observing certain rules and regulations and rising early in the morning at 4:00 AM. Those who want ka-bhakti, and those who want to observe this Puruottama month, maintain many rules from the beginning of the month. In India we do not shave. But I am not telling you what you should do; it depends on you. Here it is not so strict because rla Swamj has given some concession to Western devotees. You can follow by always hearing hari-kath and by observing those regulations which you can easily maintain. At least try to wake up very early in the morning, put on tilaka, and perform all sandhya practices. If guru-gyatr has been given to you, then with all faith and honor this should be done. You should also see rati. You can either perform it yourself, or come here, where we have a temple in Nirgunas house and magala-rati is performed. If the devotees live very far away, they can do rti where they reside. Following rati some krtanas should be performed, as we do here: guru-vandan (prayers), guru-parampar vandan, vaiavavandan, and gaura-nitynanda vandan, like hari haraye nama ka ydavya nama, ydavya mdhavya keavya nama, and then rdhka vandan. In the morning or evening you can make arrangements to sing: jaya rdh jaya ka jaya vrdvana and tulas-parikram. Wherever you are you can offer some water to tulas, even one or two drops, and do tulas-parikrama and krtana daily. Without the mercy of tulas, Vnda-dev, you cannot enter in the realm of pure bhakti. This is true for both Vnda-dev and Yogamy. Yogamy arranges all the pastimes of Ka, Mahprabhu and so on.

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Observance of Puruottama Mounth In Navadvpa there is Prauddha Yogamy, and in Vraja, Yogamy Prim. The kuja-ll in Vndvana is especially arranged by rmat Vnd-dev. In fact, Vndvana is named after her. Without the mercy of Vnda-dev you cannot enter the realm of Rdh-Ka yugalasev, neither can you enter Vndvana. Even if you are outwardly in Vndvana, you may still be in the net of my. If you want to actually be in Vndvana, you will have to receive the mercy of Vnda-dev. Therefore perform parikrama to her form as tulas at least in this month. Offer all bhoga to Rdh-Ka, Mahprabhu, or any Deities. Then, at the time of taking mah-prasda, recite the jaya-dhvani prayers and: arra abidy-jal joendriya the kl, jve phele viaya-sgore tra madhye jihv ati, lobhamoya sudurmati, tke jet kahina sasre ka boro doymoya, koribre jihv jaya, sva-prasd-anna dilo bhi sei annmta po, rdh-ka-gua go, preme dko caitanya-niti
O Brother, this material body is a lump of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. We have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment. Of all the senses the tongue is the most difficult to control and is always very greedy to taste things. But Ka is so merciful that He gives us His prasda, the remnants from His own mouth, to help us conquer the tongue. This prasda is full of nectar. Take this prasda and glorify Rdh and Ka. With love call for the help of Caitanya and Niti.

(Gti-guccha Song Book)

You should not take mah-prasda, and you should not eat mahprasda. You should try to serve it. You should not chant harinma, but serve harinma. You should not hear hari-kath, but you should serve hari-kath with your ears. Never go to see the Deities. Instead you can think, Im going before the Deity so that He may see me. You cannot see the Deities, but you can pray, Oh, please see me. Please give me Your mercy. I cannot see You. With these eyes I see You like a statue made of stone, gold, copper or brass. Ka is not like this and r Mahprabhu is not like this. Therefore, try to follow these rules and regulations, so that this month will be successful. On Sunday we will make a festival for Girirja-Govardhan. From

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam today, try to prepare some offerings. Some dry preparations can be made beforehand, and at least 360 preparations should be made. Also any devotee coming from distant places should be maintained. They should be hosted with ::gentle, sweet words. Try to look after their problemsvery politely and with sweet words.

Observance of Anukut festival at Giri-govardhana in New Vraja 142

Devotion in Household Life

Devotion in Household Life There are two kinds of devotees. Those in the renounced order, like brahmacrs and sannyss, have left their homes, wealth, reputation and everything else. They have left all kinds of worldly requirementswithout regret. Their only desire is to serve gurudeva, devotees, Rdh-Ka, Mahprabhu and Nitynanda Prabhu; and they practice bhajana like r la Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. You know that despite being the son of a king, Raghuntha dsa Gosvmi gave up everythingwealth, wife, father and mother. We can give up these things very easily, but to give up the false ego of this body and mind, to give up lust and enviousness, and to give up desire for prati, self-praise, is very, very rare. Raghuntha dsa Gosvm renounced everything. Those who have left their homes, wives and children should be like rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, rla Rpa Gosvm, and rla Santana Gosvm. When Santana Gosvm understood that one gold coin remained in the possession of his servant na he said, O na, you should take this gold coin and return to your home. Dont come with me. You dont know that this coin is kla, death; so you should return. na replied, Oh, Im giving it up. rla Santana Gosvm said, No. You will again be attached. Go home. These are the ideals of brahmacrs and sannyss, as well as those who may not be called brahmacrs or sannyss, yet are in the renounced order. You know rla Vivantha Cakravart hkura. Was he a brahmacr, or a sannys? Can anyone say? He was Paramahasa. He also gave up his wife and everything else, and was living in Vndvana. In order not be influenced by false ego, he kept his name until his last daysVivantha Cakravart hkura. There was a ghastha bhakta, Mahrja Yudhihira, who was living with his wife and children. Before his marriage he requested Ka, Please give us a very beautiful wife, very qualified children, great wealth, and a very big kingdom. Why? To serve Ka. How? Not by wealth and other paraphernalia directly. The Pandavas were thinking of the many devotees in the world who want to serve Ka but fear, If we chant and remember Ka, He will take away all our wealth and possessions. This fear makes them worship Kl, Durg, Gaea, akar, and other deities instead. Some even worship Nryaa and

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Dvrakdha, but they will not worship Ka because they fear He will take everything and make them street beggars. Yudhihira Mahrja therefore prayed, Please give us a high-class kingdom, very beautiful wives, very qualified children, and great wealth and reputation. Ka began to laugh. Why are you praying like this? It is against My nature to fulfill this request. Yudihira replied, Im not asking for our sake. We are worried about the general people who think, If we chant, remember, and worship Ka, we will become beggars. We want to show that we worship You, we have friendship towards You, and we serve You; yet we are still wealthy like you. If our wives are very beautiful and our sons very qualified, and if we give lakhs and lakhs of gifts in charity, people will then think, The Pavas are serving Ka, and they are healthy and wealthy, and they have such a high position. We should also serve Ka. We have nothing to fear; nothing to fear at all. Ka will give us everything. We need not go to Gaea, Durg, Kl, akar, and other demigods. We should always serve Ka because He will give all these things more easily. Ka smiled and said, Oh, you are really My bhakta. The Pavas are high-class bhaktas, even higher than Nrada. Ka does not go to Nradas rama. Actually Nrada has no rama; where will Ka go? He never goes to the rama of any i or mahri. We see from the Mahbhrata, however, how often He is in the house of the Pavas, resting or performing so other pastimes, and sometimes serving Arjuna. This establishes the high-class devotion of the Pavas. The Dvrak mahis, such as Rukmi and Satyabhm, are still higher, and higher still are the gops. We should come to r Mahprabhus ll. Do you know Kolaveca rdhara? He used to quarrel with Mahprabhu, saying, I will not give You these banana flowers or this bundle of sak (spinach). Mahprabhu would reply, I will have it. He would take it by force and say, I will have to take this. rdhara would say, You can go to other shops. There are so many rich shopkeepers. Why do You always come to me and quarrel? I am such a poor person, with only a very small garden. When I sell my produce I use half of the profits to worship the Ganges, and half of the remainder I use to support some devotees. I barely maintain my life with the little that is left. You shouldnt worship Ganges. She is my wife. If you give all that to Me and worship Me, with that, your worship is already complete. 144

Devotion in Household Life Dont say that! rdhara would cry, That is offensive. You shouldnt say that. To alleviate this offense he would block his ears and chant, O Rma! Rma! You should not call Yourself the husband of Ganges. I dont want to hear that from You. One day you will know that I am the husband of Ganges, Lakm, and everyone else. rdhara and Mahprabhu used to quarrel in this way. What was he? Was he a family man or a renunciate? He was not a family man. He lived alone, without any family; but he was also like a ghastha, because he had his own house. All the rain water used to fall in his room because there were numerous holes in the roof. There were no rats in his house because he had no grains. He had a lota (drinking cup) made of iron that had many holes. Still, Mahprabhu used to take and drink water from it. I think rvsa Pait was higher then rdhara, and he was a householder. One night his son died while he was performing krtana for Mahprabhu. He told his family, If you weep and disturb the k rtana, I will jump in the Ganges and give up my body. Dont disturb the krtana. What a high-class devotee he was. One day he was clapping his hands three times and said, One! Two! Three! Mahprabhu asked, Why are you clapping and calling, One, two, three? rvsa Pait immediately answered, We have nothing to eat today. There is nothing in my house, and we have so many people living here. We are four brothers, my wife, their wives, and the children as well; but we have no grains. What will we take at midday and in the night? Nothing. But we are performing krtana with karatlas day and night. If we have nothing to eat one day, that is alright. If we still have nothing to eat on the second day, that is still alright, and if there is still nothing on the third day and Ka does not arrange anything, then all of us will jump in the Ganges. Mahprabhu began to smile and said, Even if Lakm, the goddess of wealth and fortune, goes begging with a bhik-ptra (begging bowl), you will never have to beg; never, never. Ka may beg for you. He will do everything by His kaka, His sidelong glance. He will do everything for you. So we should try to be devotees. If you are in the renounced order, then give up everything like rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, rla Rpa Gosvm, rla Santana Gosvm and all the other Gosvms. And if you are a householder, offer everything to Ka and Mahprabhu. 145

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Dont keep anything for yourself. You are not the owner of anything and you are not the doer. If you have so much false ego that you think yourself the doer, and if you are very attached to your body, then you are not a follower of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. However, if you offer everything, you can have the mercy of Caitanya Mahprabhu, RdhKa conjugal, and your high-class gurudeva. Maintain your life somehow or other, as best you can. Dont become so involved in maintenance; try to develop your Ka consciousness instead. Always be hopeful and dont become absorbed in problems. Try to keep your feet on the heads of your problems. Actually there is only one problem: How can we remember and how can we serve Mahprabhu, Nitynanda Prabhu, and Rdh and Ka conjugal? If this problem is solved, then all problems will be solved for ever and ever. If you dont solve this problem, there will always be newer and newer problems, and your mind will be disturbed. If you are only concerned with chanting and remembering Ka, all your problems will serve you and help youno matter what problems come. Even if the whole world is kicking you and insulting you, you will think, Oh, this is the mercy of Ka. I wanted to be solitary and to chant always, continuously. Now I have this opportunity. Always remember this loka: tat te nukamp samkamo bhujna evtma-kta vipkam hd-vg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te jveta yo mukti-pade sa dya-bhk (SB 10.14.8)
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

Try to understand and realize the meaning of this loka. Then you will be happy forever, with no problems at all. rla ukadeva Gosvm had no problems; Nrada had no problems and you actually have no problems. My only problem is, How can I inspire you in Ka consciousness? How can I fulfill the desire of my gurudeva and my ik-guru, rla Bhaktivedanta Swm Mahrja?

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The High-class Disciple

The High-class Disciple Rmnujcrya was a very powerful cryavery powerful. In the line of Rmnujcrya, rla Prabhupda Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura took tridai-sannysa, not eka-daa sannysa. Rmnujcrya had many learned disciples who were pure devotees. One of them was highly learned and he knew perfectly all the Vedas, Upaniads, and other stras. He had some ego, however, thinking himself very high-cultured and knowledegable. Rmnuja wanted to take away that egoby some type of operation. Rmnuja also had a disciple who was very beautiful, and she was from a wealthy, highly aristocratic family. Since her childhood she used to come to him. She was always sitting with him, taking prasda from him, and sometimes she used to sit on his lap. Gradually she became mature and she was given to a very high-class, wealthy person for marraige. At that time she went to her in-laws house with her husband, and after six months she returned to her father in Sri Rangam where Rmnuja was living. She came to him and began to weep very bitterly. She said, O Gurudeva, I am so unhappy. My father-in-law, grandfather-in-law and mother-in-law always chastise me. They tell me to go to a well about two miles from my home, up a very steep road. They give me two or three very big pots, and I have to carry them all. I have to cook alone for so many persons, and I have to wash all the clothes of the familyhusband, son-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and so on. I cannot do it alone. When I tell them I need help, they chastise me. They say, O, your father is so rich. Go and bring two, three or four servants. If you want to be here with us youll have to bring water, wash the clothes and pots, cook for everyone, and do everything else. Day and night I have to do thisbut I cannot. She continued to weep, They always chastise me. I want a servant. Gurudeva began thinking something, and he called that very highclass learned scholar-disciple who was honored by all. He told him, You should go to my initiated daughter-in-laws house, and help her to bring water, to cook, and to do other services. She should be like a queen and you should serve herwithout hesitation and without complaining, Why should I go there and cook, wash clothes and do so many other services for this girl? Rmnuja was a very powerful guru, and if this disciple had done anything like this, he would have said, O, get out! He was not an ordinary crya. He was Lakmaa himself, the younger brother of 147

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Rm, so he was very powerful. The disciple, therefore, could not object. Without hesitation he began to bring water, and he was always cooking. The householders did not allow him to use soap or anything like that; so he looked like a dirty person, a cook; and all the villagers knew him as a cook, and a very low-class personknowing nothing, like a servant. But he was a servant with out pay. He was a servant of his Gurudeva, not of anyone else. He was therefore carrying out orders without hesitation, without anynoo noo choo chooI will not do. I will not do. After he had been there for over six months, one day a very highly learned person came to that village. He knew all the Vedas, Upaniads and other stras and he challenged that village, If anyone wants to debate with me, he can come. But no one came. Then he began giving classes. The cook came to his classesonly to see what was going on. All were charmed by his lectures, by his knowledge of Sanskrit, and by his knowledge of all the stras. And he was very proud of his learning. After some time this cook said, May I tell something? All the villagers, along with that learned person, looked towards him. They said, O, he is a cook, a dirty person, and his personality is not so good. He has a long beard and long hair, and his dhoti is dirty and torn. So what can he tell? Stop, stop, stop! The cook said, I want to speak. There were many good persons there, and they said, Why are you stopping him? He can say anything he wants. At that time he spoke in Sanskrit. He began to recite from stra, and he totally cut all the arguments of that myvd speaker. Everyone was looking at him. How astonishing! How wonderful! How wonderful! Everyone clapped, and they all wanted to take the foot-dust of that cook. That defeated person ran away, and where he went, nobody could tell. Then all the villagers asked, Who is that cook? They knew he was a disciple of Rmnuja. All of them collectively went to Rmnuja and asked, Why have you done this? Although that girl is your disciple, still you shouldnt have made him her servant . We think that he has been insulted. Please be merciful to him and keep him with you. Rmnuja then called his disciple, Now you have been operated upon. I think your false ego has gone. Now you are pure, and now you can come to me. He gave him some service, and he gave him the renounced order, sannysa. That disciple became a very high-class sannys, preaching everywhere in the entire world. Can you be a disciple like this? This is a real disciplewith no false ego. If I told you to do as Rmnuja ordered this disciple, you would be the first person to tell me, I cannot do it. Now Im leaving you. There would be no 148

The High-class Disciple daava pramas at all. Giving up all faith in Ka and in guru, you would write a paper proclaiming, He is a bogus guru. He wanted to engage me in the service of a girl. But this was a high-class disciple, and his guru was also a highclass guru. Rmnuja gave him love and affection for Nryaa, and he became a realized soul.

rla Bhaktiprajna Keava Gosvm

Here is another example of a very good disciple. rla Prabhupda Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura was doing Navadvpa parikram along with thousands of pilgrims. On the third day he came to Navadv pa town, in front of the Prauh My temple, which was surrounded by a big population. All the so-called brhmaas and caste gosvms there were in opposition to rla Prabhupda, because they felt he thought himself superior to brhmaas.1 They made a conspiracy, saying, We will punish and kill him. About a thousand of these brhmaas took sticks, bricks, stones, soda water and hot water; and they threw these from all the houses. They wanted to kill many devotees along with r la Prabhupda. All the devotees ran away, keeping their feet on their heads.2 They were running here and there, wherever they found a way. This was reported to the police, but the police were silent; they were favoring the caste brhmaas. There was no way to escape. rla Prabhupda was alone; all his senior disciples had fled. One brahmacr was with himin white cloth, not saffron. He at once signalled to rla Prabhupda and they both approached a house. He begged the householders, O, please open the door. We want to stay for a moment. He immediatley gave rla Prabhupda his own white clothes, and took his sannyas clothes and daa. In this way he actually took sannysa there, and then he somehow sent rla Prabhupda, in white cloth, to Mypura. No one knew about
1 He was preaching that Vaiavas are the real brhmaas, superior to caste brhmaas. He was also giving sacred thread (dk) to those who were not brhmaa by birth. The caste gosvms believed that only if one is born in a brhmaa family one is a brhmaa. There is no consideration whether a man is a sannys, a brhmana, a dra, or a ghastha, householder. No. Anyone who knows the science of Ka, he is all right; he is gosvm; he is a brhmaa. That is the contribution within the last hundred years. And for this reason he had to face so many vehement protests from this (caste) brhmaa class of gosvms. They conspired to kill him. Guru Mahrja told me personally. (Taken from BBT Folio) 2 This is a hindi expression meaning, they were running very fast.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam this, and everyone surrounded that house. They thought, Oh, rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat is here; so we must take him. He knew this was a very dangerous time. He was Vinodabihr Brahmacr. He was very young, perhaps only 21 years of age. But he was very bold and very strong and he had no fear at all. And in the meantime some police came and after sometime the public disappeared. After sometime he also went to Mypura, and everyone saw that r Vinodabihri Brahmacr was now a sannysnot Vinoda Babu. That same night he changed his clothes, but Prabhupda accepted him as sannys disciple. Now you should consider who was Vinodabihri Brahmacr. He was my Gurudeva, rla Bhakti Prajna Keava Gosvm ahrja. We should try to be disciples like rla Bhakti Prajna Keava Gosvm Mahrja. He left his mother and so much wealth. He was a landlord, and at the age of only sixteen he was in college. He left everything and went to serve rla Prabhupda in so many ways that you cannot imagine. Everyone wanted to give him sannysa. It was declared three times that, Tomorrow he will take sannysa. Prabhupda wanted it, and everything was readydaa, saffron cloth and so on. The secretary of rla Prabhupda, however, rla Bhakti Vilsa Trtha Mahrja, who at that time was a ghastha by the name of Kujabihr Vidyabhuana, requested Prabhupda, If you give sannysa to Vinoda, everything will be ruined. There is no one who can manage all things like him. We cannot do it; so please wait. If we can find another who can manage, than you can give him sannysa. Three times everything was readybut he was checked. After Prabhupda disappeared, he told Vinoda in a dream, Even now you have not taken sannysa. You must take sannysa. My whole preaching has collapsed, so you should at once take it. After that Vinoda took sannysa. At that time the three, four, or five magazines had been stopped. There was no Navadvpa parikram or any other parikram. All were stopped; and preaching was also stopped. My Gurudeva, however, with the same spirit, again started everything. His first three sannyss were Vmana Mahrja, Trivikrama Mahrja and I. I was so junior. So junior. But even though I was not qualified, I always used to jump, without order, to follow him. rla Bhakti Prajna Keava Gosvm Mahrja K-Jaya! Gaura Premnande! Hari Hari bol!

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The Glory of rla Raghuntha Dsa Gosvm

The Glory of rla Raghuntha Dsa Gosvm We must fix our goal. Our goal is the love that r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to sprinkleone-pointed rdh-dsya: tavaivsmi tavaivsmi na jvmi tvay vin iti vijya rdhe tva naya m carantikam
I am Yours! I am Yours! I cannot live without You! O Dev (Rdhe), please understand this and bring me to Your feet. (r Vilpa-kusumjali 96) by rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm

Even if Ka directly comes and offers many things, we will not take anything from Him. We will only pray to Him, Please engage me in the service of Your Prnevari, Rdhik. The object is to serve rmat Rdhik in Goloka Vndvananothing less than this. For this you will have to perform more austerities than Dhruva Mahrja did. He performed austerities for six months, and you will have to do it longer. You must also be like Prahlda Mahrjato first make your platform. If you cannot be like Prahlda Mahrja, you cannot progress because you will have so many desires. Nsihadeva Himself told Prahlda, I want to give you any boon you request. As you like, you can ask. Prahlda replied, Im not a businessman. Ill never be one. He never accepted anything material. Be like this. Dont serve Ka, in your home or elsewhere, for money or for solving worldly problems. There is only one problem to solvehow to serve Rdh and Ka conjugal. If we can develop the qualities of Prahlda Mahrja, then we will be like him. He had many good qualities like akta-droha (tolerance), maitri (friendship), karuna (compassion) and kplu (mercy). If anyone did mischief to him, he would never retaliate. His father tortured him in many ways. He gave him poison, threw him in the ocean, dropped him from a mountain, put him in a pit of poisonous snakes, and sent mad elephants to trample him. Still Prahlda never blamed his father. He 151

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam was never upset; he never thought about problems. Whatever problems came were solved by Ka. Prahlda never told Ka, Oh, so many problems are coming. If you are not of the same quality as Prahlda, you will always be upset and you will have many material desires. In such a condition you cannot hear hari-kath. More advanced than Prahlda is Citraketu Mahrja. You should then become as elevated as Citraketu Mahrja became in his next life. Also, always take lesson from Bharata Mahrja regarding how to be detached from this world and attached to Ka. We cannot be truly satisfied by worldly things. Ultimately, we will only be satisfied by following the character and teachings of rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. He is many hundreds of thousands of times more advanced than Bharata, Prahlda and others. How sweet are his prayers in r Vilpa-kusumjali. The glory of rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm is not in his renunciation, not in his taking only mah-prasda in Jaganntha Pur, nor in his eating the rotten rice there. This is not his glory. This is for external persons. His glory is in the following prayers. r-rpa-majar-karrcita-pda-padmagohendra-nandana-bhujrpita-mastakyh h modata kanaka-gauri padravindasamvhanni anakais tava ki kariye
O Rpa Majar, when gauri (golden complexioned) rmat Rdhik is laying with Her head in Kas lap, and Her feet in your lap, and when you are massaging Her feet, will you, with an indication from the corners of your eyes, give me your mah-prasdam sev of gently massaging Her feet while you fan Her? (Vilpa-kusumjali 72)

And: h ntha gokula-sudhkara su-prasanna vaktrravinda madhura-smita he kprdra yatra tvay viharate praayaih priyrt tatraiva mm api naya priya-sevanya
O Natha! O nectar moon of Gokula, whose cheerful lotus-face smiles so sweetly. O crown jewel of the merciful, if You are pleased with me, then give me this benediction only: I am about to die because I dont know where my Svamn is. Please take me with You when You go to meet Her, so that I may engage in Her service. (r Vilpa-kusumjali 100)

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rmad Bhgavatam Does Not Cheat rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm also prays, I was here in Vndvana, at Rdh-kua, with so great a hope. But, O rmat Rdhik, if You are not merciful to me, then I have no connection with Ka. I dont need to live at Govardhana or Rdh-kua; I have no connection with them. O Ka, please take me to rmat Rdhik. Without Rdhik I cannot live.

Help from Guru

These prayers are the glory of rla Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. If a greed comes to take them into our hearts, we will have no attraction to this world, to wife, husband, children, wealth or reputation; nothing will be there. I want to take you all to that realm. Do not be householders in the worldly sense. If you have lust, or any attraction for this world, you cannot take what I want to give. You will be deprived of it. I want to give you this greed. If you are a householder, remain so, but do not be attached. Do not think, My gurudeva is very merciful. He has given me in marriage to a very good devotee. This is not really his mercy. We must be like Nrada i. How cunningly he cuts all material attachments by his words, which are like swords. The guru has not come to give rupees, wealth or worldly things. Some people think, Ive given so much. Im doing so much. But do you know what r la Rpa Gosvm has given to this world? Has he given any money, a house, lady or boy? He has not come for this. He has come to give the elevated love of conjugal Rdhik and Ka. Try to realize what is the glory of the pure devotee, and thus advance step by step. For this I have comenot to arrange marriages for anyone. Because they cannot control their senses, I therefore say, You should be married. But this is not actually the message of r Mahprabhu and r Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. If you are a householder, always serve and always train your children to be very high-class devotees. Give them some teachings about renunciation from the beginning, as Prahlda Mahrja taught his fellow students, and as rla Haridsa hkura taught Raghuntha dsa Gosvm. The guru may be very qualified, but at the same time he may seem harsh. He may give some slaps with his words. He may say to a disciple, You should go away. Although he may say this, if that disciple leaves him, not understanding him, then he is more foolish than a donkey. If you think, I am helping gurudeva, you are not correct. You are not qualified to help him. He is helping you. What harm will there be 153

Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam if all his disciples go away? Is there any harm to gurudeva? No. He is with us only by his mercy. You should realize this, and then you can understand advanced hari-kath. If you chant: Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hareyour senses will be controlled, your ears will be controlled, your mind will be controlled, and you will be controlled. All the creepers and trees will hear; they have ears to hear; The entire atmosphere and all atoms1 will hear; and they will benefit. Even if they do nothing, they will be benefitted. If you chant with love and affection, under the guidance of any vraja-rasika Vaiava, no one can stop you on the way to Goloka Vndvana.

1 water.

atoms means all living entities including all micro-organisims in the air and

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Honoring Devotees
Honoring Devotees At the time of sitting for class or other functions, we should try to honor everyone. In the morning, when we do parikram of the mandir or of tulas, seniors should go first, and juniors behind. In this way we are always honoring others and not disturbing anyone. Without giving honor and being humble, we cannot progress. Juniors must give honor to seniors, and seniors will teach them with love and affection as their sons or younger brothers. All the rules and regulations should be taught. Moreover, if there is a disciple of a disciple of our gurudeva who is advanced in devotion, who has given up all worldly considerations, who knows all the transcendental truths, and who is serving guru and Vaiavas, he should also be respected. In this way, by not galloping over the heads of others, we can increase our Ka consciousness. rla Swm Mahrja preached everywhere in the world, but rla Pujyapda rdhara Mahrja was sitting in Navadvpa. Yet, Swmj honored him. Nowadays, because these facts are perhaps concealed, disciples do not know how Swmj honored him. He always had so much honor for my Gurudeva and his other senior godbrothers, and he treated some of them as ik-gurus. I also honor my Godbrothers as my ik-gurus: Trivikrma Mahrja, Vmana Mahrja, and others who are senior to me. They respect me and I also honor them. Pujyapda Swm Mahrja was in the line of Vaiava-gurus. He respected other Vaiavas and he wants you also to show them respect. We should know this Vaiava etiquette.

Jagadnanda Paits Lessons

You have heard of rla Santana Gosvm, and perhaps you have also heard the name of Jagadnanda Pait Prabhu. Jagadnanda Prabhu was an associate of r Caitanya Mahprabhu from their boyhood, and he was therefore a participant in Navadvpa-ll. In Ka-ll he was Satyabhm, having some mna (transcendental loving anger) towards Ka. rla Santana Gosvm was the Prime Minister of the Muslim king. He was so intelligent and learned in all stras. He once came to Jaganntha Pur and met with ri Caitanya Mahprabhu, and then he returned to Vndvana. Jagadnanda was also in Pur at that time, and he wanted so much to serve r Caitanya Mahprabhu.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam Once in Pur, Jagadnanda Pait brought a pot full of very fragrant Ayurvedic oil, because r Caitanya Mahprabhu would sometimes faint due to ecstasy in Ka consciousness. He brought that pot with great care, gave it to Govinda, and requested, Oh, you should put some oil on the head of Mahprabhu daily. Govinda then told Mahprabhu, Jagadnanda has ordered me to put some oil on Your head. This is a very powerful Ayurvedic medicine. Mahprabhu replied very humbly, Take this oil to the Jaganntha temple and offer it for use in the deepak, the temple lamps. The next day Jagadnanda asked Govinda, Have you put this oil on His head? He replied, I could not. Jagadnanda inquired, Why not? Mahprabhu ordered me to give this oil to Lord Jaganntha. Jagadnanda became very upset and, taking the pot of oil, smashed it on the floor in front of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. All the oil splattered here and there. In his anger he went to his bhajana-kura and locked the door. He remained crying for one or two days, and did not come to see Mahprabhu. Mahprabhu thought, Oh, he is angry at Me because Ive not accepted his offering. That is why he has not come. One day, two days, three days passed. Then, on the morning of the fourth day, Mahprabhu went to Jagadnandas bhajana-kura and knocked on the door. He called, O Jagadnanda, O Jagadnanda. But Jagadnanda did not reply. He was only weeping. Mahprabhu said, For three days I have not eaten anything. I have an empty stomach and now Im so hungry. Im going to take bath in the ocean, and Im coming back very soon. Prepare all kinds of preparations for Me. Speaking in this way He went to the sea, took bath, and returned after one hour. In the meantime Jagadnanda also took bath, changed his clothes and began to prepare many kinds of vegetables, rice, dal, capatis, tamarind chutney and so on. He made more than fifty-six preparations and served them all on two or three very big banana leaves. Govinda was with Mahprabhu. He requested Govinda, Tell Mahprabhu to take prasda. Mahprabhu said, I cannot. There should be two seats and two leaves. I will sit with Jagadnanda and we will take prasda together. If he is not taking with Me, then I will leave here with an empty stomach. Jagadnanda replied, not directly, but to Govinda, Tell Mahprabhu He should gladly take. After He finishes, you and I will both take His remnants together. Govinda then told Mahprabhu, You should take. 156

Honoring Devotees He will take after You. He will only take Your remnants. Then Mahprabhu took prasda. After that the remnants were divided into two. Jagadnanda became happy, but he did not directly go and speak to Mahprabhu about anything; there was still some scent of mna. After two or three days he went to Mahprabhu and told Him, I want to go to Vndvana. Please order me to go. I want Your permission. Mahprabhu asked, Why do you want to go? I wanted to go with You for such a long time, but You would not take me. So now I want to go and take darana. I want to be there and serve Rdh-Ka conjugal. Mahprabhu said, You can go, but not for a long time. Go and see, and then return. Dont climb on the top of Govardhana. You are not qualified to remain there in Vindvana. You may quarrel there because you will see everything according to your knowledge of rules and regulations. You will inspect whether the Vrajavass are taking bath or not, and what they are doing or not doing. You will judge according to your mentality, and you may therefore commit offenses. So dont remain there for long. You should return shortly. Jagadnanda then left Pur for Vndvana. When he arrived at the border he sat under a tree. He thought, Why did I make such a mistake? I cannot remain alive without Mahprabhu. I have done wrong. Should I return? But how can I return? What reason will I give? He was in a dilemma about what to do and what not to do. He remained weeping in that place for one or two days. Later he somehow consoled his mind and considered, I should go. He entered Vndvana and there he met rla Santana Gosvm who told him, You should remain here, and together we will see all the places of pastimes. Thus they lived together in Mahvan. One day rla Santana Gosvm left his bhajana-kura to do mdhukari1 while Jagadnanda was cooking. Jagadnanda never went for mdhukari because he felt, Im not qualified. rla Santana Gosvm, and rla Rpa Gosvm are qualified, but I cannot digest it. Actually it is we who cannot digest mdhukari. We are not qualified.2 So Jagadnanda remained at the bhajana-kuracooking. And what happened? rla Santana Gosvm took a saffron cloth from someone and wrapped it around his head like a turban. Then he returned to his
1 Begging a little prasda from different homes, as a bee (madhu) takes a little honey from each flower. 2 In his humility Jagadnanda was giving example for the neophytes who are not actually qualified. Unqualified neophytes would become attached and say to the householders, Give me delicious hot sabji and hlava with ghee. They are thus controlled by the disease of the uncontrolled tongue.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam kura. In the meantime the pot of kitri was boiling on the stove, making a taka buk, taka buk sound. Jagadnanda asked Santana Gosvm, You are very faithful to r Caitanya Mahprabhu. From where have you collected His cloth? Santana Gosvm simply told him, It is not Mahprabhus. It belonged to a myvd. He gave it to me and I accepted it. A myvd? Jagadnanda at once picked up the cooking pot as though he would throw it. Santana Gosvm was very humble. With a smile he said, You are so attached to Mahprabhu. I was testing you. I know that you have such faith in Mahprabhu that you cannot tolerate seeing any of his devotees wearing the saffron cloth of myvds. He has rebuked you, but what is the meaning? He loves you very much, and thus He gives you the mdhura-rasa of rebuke. To me He says, O Santana Gosvm, you are such an honorable person, such a high-class devotee. You are superior to all others. This is like nimb-rasa, the very bitter juice of a neem tree. When Santana Gosvm was in Pur he had been feeling, Im so low. Im such a wretched person. On his way to see Mahprabhu leeches bit him and very foul smelling pus-like juice oozed out from the pores of his body. But what did Mahprabhu do? He embraced him. Santana Gosvm exclaimed, Dont touch me, Prabhu! Dont touch me, Prabhu! Santana Gosvm then met with Jagadnanda and asked him, What should I do? Caitanya Mahprabhu always wants to embrace me, but Im so wretched and full of disease. So much pus is oozing out and still Mahprabhu touches me. What should I do? Should I return to Vndvana? Yes, you should go to Vndvana, Jagadnanda Paita said, Dont remain here. Otherwise Mahprabhu will touch you and He may get some disease. You should quickly go. Mahprabhu heard this and told Jagadnanda, O Jagai, you are a boy of only two days old, and yet you are instructing Santana Gosvm? He is superior to you yet you have dared to give him advice! Dont think you are so advanced. You are only a two-day-old boy, with no intelligence. Mahprabhu taught that we should honor everyone, especially those who are pure devotees. We should be humble and try to give honor to others. This is the only way to progress in Ka consciousness.

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Ripples in a Pond
Ripples in a Pond Im so happy to have been here for nine days. Especially during this visit, I have explained very clearly about our objective. Ive never spoken like this anywhere in Western countries, although I have explained all these truths in Mathur and Vndvan. Here there are not so many advanced devotees; still I explained so many things. But I have only begun; I have given the magalcaraa, auspicious invocation. On this basis we will discuss more in future years. We are not meant to remain always in the same class. Try to be like a river current, otherwise the water will become stagnant and dirty, and will not be of any use. Bhakti is like a currentalways new, and always becoming newer and newer. By this bhakti, Ka Himself, as well as vraja-prema, always appear ever-fresh and new.

Ideal Society
Try to develop your Ka consciousness by following the process of r Rpa Gosvm, r Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, r Santana Gosvm, and othersespecially rla Bhaktivinoda hkura and r la Bhakisiddhnta Sarasvat Gosvm hkura. Always try to honor all devotees without consideration of caste or creed, thinking that we are all in r Caitanya Mahprabhus family. Try also to respect devotees, not blindly, but according to their quality of bhakti. After so many years you are coming to the stage of madhyama-adhikr, so try to realize all this. Ive heard somewhere that human beings are social animals. Without society we cannot live. We will have to choose any society, or we will have to make any society. So we should try to make a society in which we can chant, remember Ka and be happy. What is the meaning of preaching? It is only to make a very good society everywhere, so that everyone can be happy forever. For that purpose such a society should be developed here, and for this society, training is required. If this society is Ka conscious it will help everyone, and everyone will be happy. Do not think only of yourself, but of your children, because they will also be members of the society. Train them in the principles and teachings of Ka consciousness. The school which we have begun here should expand, and all children should be trained there. A committee will be required to meet and to try to solve problems which arise. If there is

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam good will and everyone honors each other, all problems may disappear and the children will be very well trained and happy. Whether one is junior or senior, everyone should be honored according to their position in bhakti. Those who are senior disciples of rla Prabhupda should be honored, and they should have so much affection and love for their juniors. In this way a very ideal society can be made. Your Prabhupda, my Swmj, also wanted this, and he tried for this. Some devotees, however, due to false ego, wanted to control by intelligence and not by love and affection. Therefore they could not be successful. The process for achieving success has nothing to do with controlling. It has to do with love and affection, viva-prema, universal love. r Caitanya Mahprabhu had that universal love, and we all must follow Him. If any problem comes, try to reconcile it. You should think, It is due to my past karma, or, Ka wants to test me and to operate on methese two things. We must not be angry and upset about disturbing occurrences. A school should be established for the purpose of teaching this. Meetings and classes may be held fortnightly, weekly, or on the occasion of any festival. This is done for association, and for developing love and affection towards each other. Sometimes one prabhu can give class, sometimes another. Everyone can benefit from these classes. There should be harmony; this is most essential. By harmony you will be successful.

Preaching and Distributing Books

We have published so many booksas rla Swmj did. You can distribute Swmjs books as well as mine. There are so many devotees, disciples and supporters. If each person takes twelve books in a year, they can distribute thousandsand if more, very good. Very good. So many thanks to them. rla Swmjs girl-disciples used to distribute his books here and there, at a very young age, as teenagers. Perhaps all the boy-devotees were book distributors, and all were brahmacrs. So why not take at least twelve books? And those who are expert can take so many. Do not forget. Try to take the books to your destinations and distribute them. If devotees have no money to pay, they may be given books now, and they will pay for them after the books have been sold. The process rla Swmj Mahrja adopted for beginners and for others (to enthuse everyone for book distribution) was beneficial for all.

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Ripples in a Pond But my request is that you not only distribute the books; you should go through and read the books yourselves. Take the nectar and the essence of the books. Then your preaching will be so high, and everyone will be attracted and energetic. Try to participate in ngara-sakrtana, harinma, and nmahatta, as rla Bhaktivinoda hkura did. This is not just for human beings. The grass, creepers, animals, and trees, as well as the atoms in the air and water, will all hear the holy names, knowingly or unknowingly, and be liberated. Ka has promised this. jayati jayati nmnanda-rpa murre viramita-nija-dharma-dhyna-pjdiyatnam katham api sakd tta mukti-da prin yat paramam tam eka jvana bhsaa me (Bhad-bhgavatmta 1.1.9)
All glories, all glories to the all-blissful holy name of r Ka, which causes the devotee to give up all conventional religious duties, meditation and worship. When somehow or other uttered even once by a living entity, the holy name awards him liberation. The holy name of Ka is the highest nectar. It is my very life and my only treasure.

Prinm means those who have cetan (consciousness)even those with only a little consciousness, like the trees, creepers, or atoms. Ngarasakrtana should be performed for every living entity. r Caitanya Mahprabhu came and gave this best process to the world. If you throw any stone in a pond, so many ripples will form around it, one after another, and they will touch all points on the banks. The pond is limited, but the ether, the sky, is endless. It extends throughout the entire viva, universe and it may even touch Goloka Vndvana. Similarly, if a sound vibration is impure here, that impurity also goes everywhere. All are shouting politics, mundane sounds, and so many bad things. Now the whole world and the entire atmosphere has been polluted. This very powerful sound vibration of the holy name will also go and touch the entire worldeven Vaikuha and Goloka Vndvana. It will touch all the trees and creepers, and all the atoms in the water, sky and everywhere else. It will purify everything, whether you are aware of it or not. rman Mahprabhu knew this, and that is why He brought the holy name. So you should also try to do sakrtana. If you chant this sakrtana, softly or loudly, Hare Ka Hare Ka Ka Ka Hare Hare / Hare Rma Hare Rma Rma Rma Hare Hare, it will purify the whole world. It may reach lakhs and lakhs of worlds. It is very powerful; so try to realize these facts.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam If you are chanting, or you are discussing hari-kath anywhere, the vibration goes all over the world. This is called krtana. Krtana is not only performed with mdaga and karatlas. Discussion of hari-kath is the most powerful krtana. It also purifies the whole world. You should know this theory and try to follow the process that rla Swmj broughtactually he did not bring it; r Caitanya Mahprabhu brought itand he, Swmj, was in that line. He brought this process to the Western countries and Eastern countries outside of India. Sometimes big festivals may be arranged, on occasions such as Janmatami, Nshadeva Caturdai and r Caitanya Mahprabhus birthday. If this is not possible, then somehow these holidays should be celebrated. Try to follow all the rules and regulations according to your ability. My blessings are always available to you; and your Gurudeva will help you. Dont have any doubt about this. What is written in the stra is true to the fullest extent.

Practicing the Process

rla Bhaktivinoda hkura has written two important lines in one of his songs. These are the essence of everything. In bangala-payr (Bengali verse) he writes:1 kera samsra koro chadi ancr jve doy, nma-rucisarva-dharma-sr
Giving up all improper behavior, carry on your worldly duties only in relation to Ka. The showing of compassion to all other souls by loudly chanting the holy name of Ka is the essence of all forms of religion.

Kera samsra koroyou can establish ka-samsra. Remain with your children and husband or wife, but the center of all your activities should be to please Ka. Do not do anything which Ka does not like. To please Ka means to please Hari, Guru, Vaiavas, rmat Rdhik, all the gopas, all the gops, and rman Mahprabhu and all His associates. Here Ka means allto please all. Kera samsra koro, chadi ancr means to give up all unwanted activities and desires, and to always try to establish ka-samsra. Jve doy, nma-ruci means to have mercy on all jvas, all living entities. What is that mercy? People are suffering so much by forgetting Ka. We must be merciful and tell them, Oh, you should chant and remember Ka, and be happy forever. Have confidence in this process. First have strong faith yourself, and then try to be merciful to others. In this
1 r Nagar-Kirtan, Song 1 Ajna-Tahal, loka 4.

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Ripples in a Pond way you will see that everyone is happy. Give jva doy according to each persons level. Nma-ruci. There should be ruci, taste for the name. If there is ruci, there can be sakti. Then uddha-sattva, bhva, will manifest, and that will lead to prema. If there is no ruci, chanting will only lead us up to mukti from this world, that is, your death may be stopped. rla Kadsa Kavirja Gosvm has told: prabhu kahena ka-sev. When the Chariot Festival in Pur was completed, the devotees were not willing to leave there. They all wanted to remain with Mahprabhu. But Mahprabhu requested them to return to their homes. They asked, Prabhu, You order us to return to our homes. But what should we do there? Now we are in the same situation. I may go back to Vndvana, and you cannot go there because there are so many problems, especially money problems. In this same way they were asking Mahprabhu, By Your order we will return to our homes. What should we do when we reach there? Mahprabhu replied in two lines: prabhu kahena, ka-sev, vaiava-sevana nirantara kara ka-nma-sakrtana (Cc. Madhya 15.104) Serve Ka, and serve the Vaiavas. Prabhu kahena ka-sev. Lord Caitanya said, Engage in devotional service to Ka. Vaiava-sevana: Serve the Vaiavas. Nirantara kara ka-nma-sakrtana: Always do nama-sakrtana. According to your ability you can do nma-sakrtana at all timeswith some sense of a relationship to Ka, and giving up all kinds of anarthas. Then the name you chant may be nmbhsa. After nmbhsa, the pure name will come. So always perform nma-sak rtana, and try to introduce it to others.

Serving the Vaiavas with Discrimination

In the next year the devotees again questioned Mahprabhu, We know something about ka-sev, as performed by arcana and all other means and we also know nma-sakrtana. But how do we do vaiava-sev? How did Mahprabhu reply? He told them, Try to realize that there are three kinds of Vaiavaskaniha, madhyama and uttama. Kanihas are always serving the Deities, but they dont care for Vaiavas. They are always engaged in this way, thinking, This kaarcana is sufficient. Madhyamas are not engaged only in worshipping the Deities, but are always worshiping and serving Vaiavas. The uttama mah-bhgavatas are superior to the other two. They are always

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam remembering Kas pastimes and serving Ka by their mnas aaklya-sev.2 Not so much has been told for the kanihas. There is no duty, no order for them. Regarding the uttama-mah-bhgavatasthey are beyond the control of the Vedas, Upaniads, and so on. Na dharma ndharma.3 They are paramahasa. They see that Ka is everywhere, and everyone is somehow serving Him. In their eyes no one is a conditioned soul; everyone is liberated. They think, All others are more qualified than I am in service to Ka. They will therefore be tnd api suncena, very humble within their heart. By their very constitution they will be like this. Therefore, it is only for madhyama-adhikrs that Caitanya Mahprabhu has given the order: prema-maitr-kpopek ya karoti sa madhyama (Cc. Madhya 22.73)
An intermediate, second-class devotee shows love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is friendly to all devotees, and is very merciful to neophytes and ignorant people.

I think that almost all of you are going to enter into madhyama-adhikr, and some have already entered. Therefore you have the intelligence to consider who is a pure Vaiava, who is not a pure Vaiava, who is kaniha, who is madhyama, and so on. Most of you are entering in the madhyama-adhikr stage, and thus this instruction, prema-maitr, is for you. There should be maitr, friendship. Maitr is of three kinds. The first kind is towards those who are superioreither madhyama-adhikrs or uttama mahbhgavatasserving them with a very familiar, affectionate friendship. There should be maitr, but with a service attitude. The second kind is also bosom friendship, to those who are equal in Ka consciousness. From superiors you can hear, and with bosom friends, equal to you in Ka consciousness, you can have iagoh, sharing ideas and realizations about Ka. r Rpa and r Santana were like this. r Jiva Gosvm and r Kadsa Kavirja Gosvm were like this with r Raghunatha dsa Gosvm. And r Narottama hkura, r ymnanda and rnivasa also related with each other as equals.
2 Serving by meditating on Kas eight-fold daily pastimes. 3 They neither perform routine religious activities resulting in piety, nor irreligious activities resulting in sin. (Mana-ika, loka 2).

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Ripples in a Pond The third kind of maitr shows kpa(friendly compassion and mercy)to those who are also madhyama but somewhat junior; helping them, but with friendship. You can tell them so many secrets about Ka consciousnesslike daa-mla, the ten fundamental principles, and like the process given by r Rpa Gosvm. Give mercy to those who are kanihas. You can give a glass of water and say, Oh, you are a very good devotee. In this way you are inspiring them. Those who are against Ka should be avoided. How should you avoid them? Should you quarrel with them by using a stick or harsh words? Never. But you should not associate with them in transcendental matters. You can speak with them about worldly things, and engage in worldly giving and taking, but without attachment. With pure Vaiavas, activities should be performed with attachment. If a beggar comes, like a myvd or a poor person, you can give him some prasda, and dont use harsh words like, Go away, go away. I will not give you anything. If you become a devotee I will give you. Dont speak like this. Give him something, but not with attachment. However, if there are any pure Vaiavas, serve them with attachment, to please Ka. This behaviour should be there. Try to honor those who chant somehow and sometimes. They are madhyama, but madhyama-kaniha. Those who are always chanting with taste are madhyama-madhyama. And when ka-nama automatically comes to your tongue by seeing a devotee, that devotee is madhyama-uttama (entering the uttama stage). In the uttama-bhgavata stage there also are so many divisionsuttamakaniha, uttama-madhyama, and uttama-uttama. Most superior is the mah-mah-bhgavata, like rla Rpa Gosvm and others. Dont criticize anyone. Nitynanda Prabhu was a brahmacr in the renounced order, but He married. He is svatantra-bhagavn, the supreme independent Bhagavn Himself. The Vedas and stras cannot control Him. If you see something wrong in an elevated devotee with your yellow, jaundiced eyes, dont criticize them. Such devotees are beyond the control of rules and regulations. They are sadhu and you should not criticize them. Offer prama to them but dont associate. When your doubt goes away, or when his character becomes acceptable to you, then you can associate. Associate with a Vaiava who is really madhyamaadhikr, whose character is very high and spotless. You should have no doubt. Thus you can advance and make a very beautiful and strong community; and you can enter in the process of r Rpa Gosvm and Mana-ik of Raghuntha dsa Gosvm.

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Secret Truths of the Bhgavatam You have heard all things. What I wanted to give, I gave through classes and dramas. Next year I want to come and see that you have all very much developed, and all of my children are now educated, helping each other and having some love and affection for all. Thus our objective may be successful, and we can love r Caitanya Mahprabhu and r r Rdh and Ka conjugal.

Morning walk in New Vraja

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