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A Talk by Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n For the most auspicious celebration of Sri Radhastami, we read from Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>, Canto Two, Chapter Three: \u201cPure Devotional Service.\u201d<\/p>\n TEXT 23<\/p>\n jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum TRANSLATION<\/p>\n The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord\u2019s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi<\/em> leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.<\/p>\n PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada<\/p>\n According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, the breathing dead body is a ghost. When a man dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to our present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost. Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. Similarly, the ghostlike nondevotees who have no respect for the pure devotees, nor for the Visnu Deity in the temples, create a fearful situation for the devotees at all times. The Lord never accepts any offerings by such impure ghosts. There is a common saying that one should first love the dog of the beloved before one shows any loving sentiments for the beloved. The stage of pure devotion is attained by sincerely serving a pure devotee of the Lord. The first condition of devotional service to the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement \u201creception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has also served another pure devotee.\u201d That is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional parampara<\/em>.<\/p>\n Maharaja Rahugana inquired from the great saint Jada Bharata as to how he had attained such a liberated stage of a paramahamsa<\/em>, and in answer the great saint replied as follows (Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> 5.12.12):<\/p>\n rahuganaitat tapasa na yati \u201cO King Rahugana, the perfectional stage of devotional service, or the paramahamsa<\/em> stage of life, cannot be attained unless one is blessed by the dust of the feet of great devotees. It is never attained by tapasya<\/em> (austerity), the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of the renounced order of life, the discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns, or the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water, or before the blazing fire.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna to another devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Chaitanya therefore designated Himself as gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah<\/em> (Cc Madhya<\/em> 13.80), or \u201cthe most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord, who maintains the gopi<\/em> damsels at Vrndavana.\u201d A pure devotee therefore never approaches the Lord directly, but tries to please the servant of the Lord\u2019s servants, and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and only then can the devotee relish the taste of the tulasi<\/em> leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In the Brahma-samhita<\/em> it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee. In Vrndavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krsna. Srimati Radharani is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Radharani is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krsna, the Lord at once accepts the devotee\u2019s admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one\u2019s doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.<\/p>\n COMMENT by Giriraj Swami<\/p>\n This verse and purport are so deep. Practically the whole philosophy of Krishna consciousness is contained in this purport, and one could discuss it for many hours and days. Still, we shall try to say something within the time available to us.<\/p>\n The first point\u2014the most basic point\u2014is that the living entity is not the body. The living entity is the soul within the body. The living entity in the material body has material desires for sense gratification and more subtle material desires that express themselves in mental speculation. After leaving the body, some unfortunate living entities end up as ghosts, in subtle, ghostly bodies, but they still have gross desires.<\/p>\n How does someone become a ghost? A typical way is that a living entity full of material desires becomes so frustrated and disappointed (which everyone is, to some extent), he commits suicide. The result is that he gets a ghost body, a subtle body without a gross body. Krishna, the Supersoul, fulfills all desires. The person who commits suicide wants to be free from his gross body, so Krishna fulfills his desire and gives him a ghost body, a subtle body. But the frustration and disappointment that gave rise to the impulse to commit suicide came from strong material desires, and he still has the material desires but not a gross body through which to fulfill them. So he is even more frustrated. And so the ghost will try to inhabit, or possess, someone else\u2019s gross body in order to fulfill its desires through that person\u2019s senses. Thus ghosts are disturbing elements. They create fearful situations.<\/p>\n Another way a person can get the body of a ghost is if he is very attached to a thing or place\u2014to his house, for example\u2014and at the time of death thinks of that object of attachment. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram\/ tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah<\/em>: \u201cWhatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.\u201d (Gita<\/em> 8.6) Whatever you think at the time of death will determine your next body. Now, if you think of your house at the time of death, you can\u2019t get the body of a house, because that is not one of the species of life, but you can take birth as a ghost in that house. Therefore many houses, especially big, opulent ones\u2014mansions and castles\u2014are reputed to be haunted by ghosts.<\/p>\n How can one be freed from ghosts? The chanting of the holy name is the best remedy for practically any ill in the world, and it is the remedy for being troubled by ghosts. Sometimes devotees take advantage of this fact. A large estate will be haunted and so people won\u2019t want to buy it, but the devotees will see, \u201cOh, here is a good opportunity. We can get a major property to use in Krishna\u2019s service for only a small sum of money, and as for the ghosts, we\u2019ll just do hari-nama\u2013sankirtana<\/em> and the ghosts will go away and we will have a nice place for Krishna.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em> Srila Rupa Gosvami composed a beautiful verse in which he says that one who is haunted by material desires can never experience the sweet taste of devotional service.<\/p>\n bhukti-mukti-sprha yavat \u201cThe material desire to enjoy the material world and the desire to become liberated from material bondage are considered to be two witches, and they haunt one like ghosts. As long as these witches remain within the heart, how can one feel transcendental bliss? As long as these two witches remain in the heart, there is no possibility of enjoying the transcendental bliss of devotional service.\u201d (Brs<\/em> 1.2.22) Pisaci <\/em>means \u201cghost\u201d or \u201cwitch.\u201d Material desires are like ghosts that fill our minds with ideas foreign to us. In our normal consciousness we think in a certain way, but when a ghost possesses our mind, we think in a completely different way. As spirit souls, we are all originally Krishna conscious, by constitution eternal servants of Krishna (jivera \u2018svarupa\u2019 haya-krsnera \u2018nitya-dasa\u2019<\/em>). So to desire anything other than to be a servant of Krishna or a servant of a servant of Krishna is like being haunted by a ghost. We get desires, ideas, for sense gratification, and instead of accepting Krishna as the supreme enjoyer, which is His constitutional position, we want to take His place and enjoy independent of Him. Such desires, such ideas, are foreign to our true nature. So, being possessed by these desires is like being haunted by a ghost.<\/p>\n Everyone in the material world is in a fearful position, and everyone needs shelter. Once, someone asked Srila Prabhupada, \u201cWhat do you personally feel when you chant?\u201d And Srila Prabhupada replied, \u201cI feel no fear.\u201d Every conditioned soul is fearful. If we think about it, we are always afraid. We can\u2019t even count all the things we are afraid of all the time. The Bhagavatam<\/em> (11.2.37) says that fear arises from thinking of things as being separate from Krishna.<\/p>\n bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad \u201cFear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called maya<\/em>. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul.\u201d If we recognize that everything is related to Krishna and that Krishna is the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and our best friend, we won\u2019t be afraid. We\u2019ll feel peaceful.<\/p>\n We need shelter, and we can get the shelter we need only from Krishna. But we cannot get Krishna\u2019s shelter directly. We have no way to approach Him directly. Therefore all scriptures and bona fide acharyas recommend that to achieve the shelter of Krishna we should seek the shelter of a pure devotee who himself has achieved the shelter of another pure devotee who has achieved the shelter of another pure devotee\u2014all the way back to Krishna. This is devotional parampara<\/em>.<\/p>\n mahatmanas tu mam partha \u201cThose who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.\u201d (Gita<\/em> 9.13) The great souls are not under the material energy. They are under the divine energy, the spiritual energy. And they achieve the shelter of the spiritual energy by taking shelter of a pure devotee who is under the spiritual energy, who in turn has taken shelter of a pure devotee under the spiritual energy, and so on back to Krishna.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada was once invited to speak at the home of the wealthiest family in India then, the Birlas. I presented Mrs. Birla a list of topics on which Srila Prabhupada could speak (I knew he could speak on any topic), and she chose \u201cHow to be Successful.\u201d The invitees would be people we imagined were very successful, but her choice suggested that they wanted to become more<\/em> successful\u2014that they were not satisfied as they were. Thus they would want to learn the secret of how to become more successful.<\/p>\n At the program Srila Prabhupada gave an interesting definition of success, one that we had not anticipated. He explained that everyone in the material world is under the control of the material energy, personified as Durga, who rides on her lion carrier and exhibits many arms with many weapons. He said that Durga holds a trident (trisula<\/em>), which represents the threefold miseries of material existence, and that she pierces the conditioned souls with these miseries. And opposed to the material energy is the spiritual energy, personified as Srimati Radharani. Srila Prabhupada said that success in life means to transfer oneself from the control of Durgadevi, the material energy, to the shelter of Radharani, the spiritual energy. Of course, Durgadevi herself is serving Lord Krishna, but her service is to punish us conditioned souls who are under her control. She is the warden of the prison house of material existence, and success for a prisoner is to be released from the prison\u2014not to get better facility within the prison house. Success is to be freed.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada\u2019s definition was so intelligent and subtle. He was saying that success doesn\u2019t mean to move to a better grade of prison: a better house, a better office, a better car\u2014a better material position. Success means to get out of prison, and that is achieved by surrendering to Krishna, as stated by Him in the Bhagavad-<\/em>gita<\/em> (7.14):<\/p>\n daivi hy esa guna-mayi \u201cThis divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.\u201d<\/p>\n We must take shelter of Krishna and move from the control of the material energy to the protection of the spiritual energy, Srimati Radharani. But we cannot do that directly. We do it by taking shelter of someone who has taken shelter of someone who has taken shelter of someone who has taken shelter of Srimati Radharani. That is parampara<\/em>. We take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and of those working under his direction, just as he took shelter of his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and served him, and as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took shelter of his spiritual master, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, and served him\u2014like that, all the way back to Krishna.<\/p>\n It is a simple process, but it requires humility. And that can be a problem\u2014a big, big problem. We don\u2019t want to submit, to surrender. When Hiranyakasipu asked his five-year-old son, Prahlada, \u201cWhat is the best thing you have learned in school?\u201d he thought his son would say something agreeable. Sometimes we may also ask a child, \u201cWhat is your favorite subject?\u201d and we would be shocked and dismayed if the child said, \u201cThe best thing I learned is how to cheat people and get ahead by pushing others into the ground.\u201d We would wonder, \u201cWhere did he learn that?\u201d Hiranyakasipu was the type who thought that being selfish and learning how to defeat others was a good thing. So when Prahlada replied, \u201cThe best thing I have learned is service to God (sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam<\/em>),\u201d Hiranyakasipu was shocked: \u201cWhere did you learn that? Who has spoiled your consciousness?\u201d<\/p>\n The powerful tyrant accused the boy\u2019s teachers: \u201cYou have taught him this nonsense, bhakti<\/em>, devotional service to Lord Visnu. You have spoiled his intelligence.\u201d \u201cNo, we haven\u2019t,\u201d they replied. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t learned devotional service from us or from anyone else. He seems to be naturally Krishna conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Hiranyakasipu asked his son directly, and Prahlada replied with a verse similar to the one quoted by Srila Prabhupada in the purport. First he said,<\/p>\n matir na krsne paratah svato va \u201cBecause of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krsna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.\u201d (SB<\/em> 7.5.30) Now, if one cannot become Krishna conscious by one\u2019s own efforts, by the efforts of others, or by the combined efforts of oneself and others, how can one become Krishna conscious? It seems that all logical possibilities have been eliminated.<\/p>\n Then Prahlada said,<\/p>\n naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim \u201cUnless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaisnava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Krsna conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.\u201d (SB<\/em> 7.5.32) One cannot become Krishna conscious unless one has been favored by the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has nothing to do with the material world. By taking shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee\u2014by serving the instructions of a pure devotee\u2014one becomes free from anarthas<\/em>, unwanted, miserable conditions. The miseries of birth, death, disease, and old age are all unwanted. And by following the pure devotee\u2019s instructions one becomes free from all unwanted, material desires, which bind us to material existence. One becomes free from everything unfavorable to Krishna consciousness.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada explains that Prahlada was indirectly telling his father, \u201cYou need not worry about becoming Krishna conscious, because one can become Krishna conscious only if one bows down to the lotus feet of a pure devotee, but you are too proud, so you will never bow down to a pure devotee. So, my dear father, you need not worry about becoming Krishna conscious. It just won\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n We tend to like to identify with Prahlada and to see other people as Hiranyakasipus, but if we\u2014I shouldn\u2019t speak for all of us, but many of us\u2014if we look inside ourselves, we will see that we also are not that humble. We also have a little rebellious spirit. We don\u2019t want to submit or surrender. We also have something inside us that thinks, as some people actually say, \u201cI\u2019ll never surrender. I\u2019ll never submit.\u201d Or, \u201cI can surrender to God but not to any human being. I can serve God but not some human being.\u201d But that false spirit of independence will not help us.<\/p>\n Given that we have so many doubts and reservations and rebellious tendencies, what hope do we have? The good news is that in this age of Kali, Sri Krishna came in the mood of Srimati Radharani. And as we read in the purport, Srimati Radharani is the tenderhearted feminine counterpart of Krishna. In The<\/em> Nectar of Devotion<\/em> also, Srila Prabhupada says that Srimati Radharani represents the compassionate nature of Krishna. Because Krishna is the father, He might be a little strict (which is sometimes necessary and beneficial), but the mother may be more compassionate, more understanding, more encouraging. Therefore devotees approach Krishna through Sri Radha. \u201cBecause Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krsna\u2019s compassion.\u201d (NOD<\/em> Ch 22) Srimati Radharani, in addition to having other qualifications, is a maha-bhagavata<\/em>. She sees that everyone is a better servant of Krishna than She. So if someone approaches Her with a desire to serve Krishna, She\u2019ll very easily recommend the person to Krishna, and when Radharani recommends someone, Krishna is bound to accept, because ultimately Krishna wants to please Radharani. Transcendentally, Krishna comes under the control of Radharani. Thus in Radharani\u2019s hometown of Varsana, the devotees have a saying: \u201cWhatever Radha does, Krishna likes. Whatever Radha likes, Krishna does.\u201d So if Radharani wants Krishna to accept us, He will accept us.<\/p>\n Because today is a special day, Radhastami, we can approach Radharani directly\u2014but even today it is through Her servants. Even when we are in the spiritual world, whenever that fortunate occasion arises, we will serve Radha and Krishna not directly, but under the guidance of Their servants. That is an eternal principle. There are different rasas<\/em>, or relationships, that we can have with Krishna, but in whatever relationship we have, we will be under the eternal guidance of some eternal associates of Krishna. As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says,<\/p>\n naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro \u201cI am not a brahmana<\/em>, I am not a ksatriya<\/em>, I am not a vaisya<\/em> or a sudra<\/em>. Nor am I a brahmacari<\/em>, a householder, a vanaprastha<\/em>, or a sannyasi<\/em>. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis<\/em>. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.\u201d (Cc Madhya<\/em> 13.80)<\/p>\n That principle, being the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis<\/em>, applies both in the conditioned state of sadhana-bhakti and in the liberated state of sadhya-bhakti<\/em>, or prema-bhakti<\/em>. It is an eternal principle. And we should welcome the opportunity to serve the servant of the servants. We shouldn\u2019t think, \u201cOh, all right, in the stage of bondage I am in now, I guess I have to do it. It is the only way to get out.\u201d Like, \u201cOkay, I\u2019m in prison now, so I have to do what the warden says, but once I\u2019m out, that\u2019s it. Then I\u2019m free.\u201d No. This is an eternal principle, and we should welcome it and relish it.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada paraphrased Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s verse about being haunted by ghosts: \u201cAnyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service.\u201d (NOD<\/em> Ch 3) And in a class, Srila Prabhupada stated the same thing in a positive way: \u201cThe more you become the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter devotional service becomes.\u201d It is glorious to be the servant of the servant of the servant.<\/p>\n We want to take shelter of one who is niskincana<\/em>, who has no material possessions. Yes, in India there are sadhus, saintly persons, who hardly have material possessions. But as Srila Prabhupada explains, niskincana<\/em> also means one who is free from false proprietorship. Here we are in a beautiful temple, and if I think, \u201cThis is my temple,\u201d that is false proprietorship. But if I think, \u201cThis is Krishna\u2019s temple, and I am just a humble servant of His servants,\u201d that is also niskincana<\/em>. A pure devotee\u2019s only possession, so to speak, is his or her service to the lotus feet of the Lord. And the more lotus feet we have to serve\u2014the lotus feet of the servant of the lotus feet of the servant of the lotus feet of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Krishna\u2014the richer we are in bhakti, which is the life of the living entity.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s verse is one of a series that all make the same point: If we are not engaged in pure devotional service, we are dead. In other words, pure devotional service is real life, and anyone engaged in anything other than devotional service is just a walking, breathing dead man.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada has given us this life. He has given us this opportunity. Sri Krishna Chaitanya is Krishna but in the mood of Radharani, and in Her kindhearted, tenderhearted, merciful, compassionate mood of love and care, He has given us the easiest and most practical process for success in the present age: the chanting of the holy names.<\/p>\n harer nama harer nama \u201cIn this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari [Krsna].\u201d (Brhan-naradiya Purana<\/em> 38.126) By chanting the holy names without offense, all the dirty things in the heart become cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam<\/em>). Even if we have that little rebellious spirit\u2014\u201cWhy should I surrender?\u201d\u2014by chanting, which is both easy and enjoyable, all these dirty things, these misconceptions and false identifications, are cleansed, and naturally we come to our real position as eternal servants of the servants of Krishna. So it is very easy. We just have to do it.<\/p>\n This is, ultimately, Srimati Radharani\u2019s mercy. It is Her mercy that Srila Prabhupada came to America and gave us Krishna consciousness. In a poem he wrote on board the cargo ship he took to America, Srila Prabhupada wrote, krsna taba punya habe bhai, e-punya koribe jabe radharani khusi habe, dhruva ati boli toma tai<\/em>: \u201cO brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krsna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.\u201d First we must please Radharani. And how? By following the orders of the spiritual master, serving the mission of the spiritual master. We have everything\u2014every opportunity. We have beautiful Deities; we have Srila Prabhupada, our founder-acharya; we have his instructions, his books, his translations of the Bhagavad-gita<\/em> and Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>; we have the holy name; we have the association of devotees\u2014we have everything. We just have to take advantage, and that is why we are here.<\/p>\n Any questions or comments?<\/p>\n Child: How do you become the servant of the servant of the servant?<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: She is a very intelligent young lady. Do you know what ISKCON is?<\/p>\n Child: Not really.<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: ISKCON is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a spiritual organization founded by Srila Prabhupada; the temple where we are now sitting is part of that organization. You could say that the more senior devotees here who are steady in devotional service, in following Srila Prabhupada\u2019s instructions, are servants of Srila Prabhupada, that Srila Prabhupada is serving the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, and that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta is serving the instructions of his spiritual master. And so by following the instructions of one or more of the solid devotees of Srila Prabhupada here, you are automatically serving the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, going through the line all the way back to Krishna.<\/p>\n Gentleman: How can one overcome the fear of losing one\u2019s identity and uniqueness by surrendering oneself to a pure devotee?<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: Every living entity has a unique spiritual identity, and the process of Krishna consciousness means to discover what one\u2019s unique, specific, eternal identity is. So you don\u2019t lose your identity; rather, you discover your actual unique identity.<\/p>\n Just imagine Krishna\u2019s situation. There He is in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vrindavan, surrounded by wish-fulfilling cows and trees and gems, being served by unlimited numbers of beautiful, pure, loving devotees. And off somewhere in a cloud is a bunch of angry, morose, belligerent souls, each determined that \u201cI\u2019m not going to serve Him.\u201d Why should Krishna bother with them? Why should He even care? He is enjoying an eternal, celestial party. Why should He bother about us?<\/p>\n One answer is that each one of us is a unique living entity. No two of us are exactly the same. And so when we are liberated our mood of service to Krishna will be unique. This means that as long as we remain in the material world, Krishna in the spiritual world will be deprived of the particular flavor of loving service that each of us is meant to offer Him. Each of us has a specific, unique contribution to make to Krishna\u2019s pleasure that no one else can make in the exact same way.<\/p>\n Even in the stage of sadhana-bhakti, we always have our individual preferences, but as devotees we give the highest preference to Krishna\u2019s pleasure. Parents often sacrifice doing what they would ordinarily like to do, for the sake of doing what their children would like them to do. The parents are still individuals, but they give priority to pleasing their children. And when their children are happy, they feel happy. One reason we try so hard to have nice programs for children is that when the children want to come to the temple, even if the parents are feeling a little lethargic, the children will prevail upon them: \u201cCome on, Mommy. Come on, Daddy. I want to go to the temple. I want to see the Deities. I want to sing and dance in the kirtan and arati<\/em>. I want to meet the other children. I want to eat prasada<\/em>.\u201d And the parents will come, not because they don\u2019t have their individuality, but out of love. They get more happiness when they see their children happy than when they do things for their own satisfaction that would leave the children feeling neglected. So in devotional service you remain individual but you give preference to Krishna. And as you become purified, you actually experience more pleasure in doing what Krishna likes than you would get out of doing what you would ordinarily like for your own sake.<\/p>\n So, do not hesitate. Serving a pure devotee, serving a servant of the servants of Radha and Krishna, is not a matter of force, being forced into a mold without any freedom or individuality. Rather, it is an opportunity for the conditioned soul to realize his or her fullest potential, fullest individuality, and fullest freedom, in divine, ecstatic love.<\/p>\n Thank you very much.<\/p>\n Hare Krishna.<\/p>\n[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Radhastami, August 30, 2009, San Diego]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The good news is that in this age of Kali, Sri Krsna came in the mood of Srimati Radharani. And as we read in the purport, Srimati Radharani is the tenderhearted feminine counterpart of Krsna. In The Nectar of Devotion also, Srila Prabhupada says that Srimati Radharani represents the compassionate nature of Krsna. Because Krsna is the father, He might be a little strict (which is sometimes necessary and beneficial), but the mother may be more compassionate, more understanding, more encouraging. Therefore devotees approach Krsna through Sri Radha. “Because Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krsna’s compassion.” (NOD Ch 22) Srimati Radharani, among other qualifications, is a maha-bhagavata. She sees that everyone is a better servant of Krsna than She. So if someone approaches Her with a desire to serve Krsna, She’ll very easily recommend the person to Krsna, and when Radharani recommends someone, Krsna is bound to accept, because ultimately Krsna wants to please Radharani. Transcendentally, Krsna comes under the control of Radharani. Thus in Radharani’s hometown of Varsana, the devotees have a saying: “Whatever Radha does, Krsna likes. Whatever Radha likes, Krsna does.” So if Radharani wants Krsna to accept us, then Krsna will accept us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8860"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78115,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860\/revisions\/78115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/em>na jatu martyo \u2019bhilabheta yas tu
<\/em>sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah
<\/em>svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va
<\/em>na cchandasa naiva jalagni-suryair
<\/em>vina mahat-pada-rajo-\u2019bhisekam<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>pisaci hrdi vartate
<\/em>tavad bhakti-sukhasyatra
<\/em>katham abhyudayo bhavet<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>isad apetasya viparyayo \u2019smrtih
<\/em>tan-mayayato budha abhajet tam
<\/em>bhaktyaikayesam guru-devatatma<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>daivim prakrtim asritah
<\/em>bhajanty ananya-manaso
<\/em>jnatva bhutadim avyayam<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>mama maya duratyaya
\n<\/em>mam eva ye prapadyante
<\/em>mayam etam taranti te<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>mitho \u2019bhipadyeta grha-vratanam
<\/em>adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram
<\/em>punah punas carvita-carvananam<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
<\/em>mahiyasam pada-rajo-\u2019bhisekam
<\/em>niskincananam na vrnita yavat<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>naham varni na ca grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
<\/em>kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
<\/em>gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>harer namaiva kevalam
\n<\/em>kalau nasty eva nasty eva
<\/em>nasty eva gatir anyatha<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-mONNKMqcUBM\/V8QguSkpWSI\/AAAAAAAAeZo\/Su_g4KuEQso\/s0\/2016-08-29_13-47-05.jpg\")
By Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n