Bhakti Shastri (162) Nectar of Devotion Chapter 19

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Hare Krishna. Welcome back to the last class of our Bhakti Shastri course. We will be discussing chapter 19 of the Nectar of Devotion.

So before we go into the chapter, let us once have an overview or a review of the journey that we have gone through in the Nectar of Devotion. Let us look at the eastern wave or the eastern ocean. So it is called as Bhagwat Bhakti Bhed, the varieties of devotional service.

So among the four sides of the ocean, we are covering in our Bhakti Shastri course, this eastern ocean only. So in this, the first wave was Samanya Bhakti. Samanya Bhakti is overview of devotional service.

This was introduction and chapter 1 of the Nectar of Devotion. That introduction in chapter 1 means that we discussed the introduction and then the six characteristics of pure devotional service. So Kleshagni, Shubhda, all those things are the part of Samanya Bhakti.

In the second wave was Sadhana Bhakti, devotional service and practice. This was chapters 2 to 16. This was the major part of our course.

So in this, we start from the first stages of devotion and eligibility of the candidate for accepting devotional service. And then we discussed about how devotional service, this is primarily a set of quotes. This is about how Bhakti is independent of everything else.

And then from here onwards, the description of the 64 elements starts from 6th chapter onwards and it goes on till 13, almost till 14 also. 14 devotional qualifications basically deals with the relationship of Bhakti with other elements which have not been included in the 64 items. Then these two, 15 and 16, these two talk about Raga Anugha Bhakti.

So that is, so in Sadhana Bhakti, there are two parts. There is Vaidhi Bhakti and Raga Anugha Bhakti. So 2 to 14 chapters are talking about Vaidhi Bhakti and 15 and 16 are talking about Raga Anugha Bhakti.

So both of them are parts of, all of them are parts of, 15 and 16, they are parts of Vaidhi Bhakti. Now from here onwards, 17 and 18, which we discussed in our previous class, they are a part of the third wave. The third wave is called as Bhava Bhakti, that is devotional service in ecstasy.

So the three stages of Bhakti, Sadhana Bhakti, Bhava Bhakti and Prem Bhakti, they form the second, third and fourth waves of the Eastern Ocean. So now Bhava Bhakti we discussed in our previous chapter. Now we are going to the fourth wave.

Fourth wave is Prema Bhakti, devotional service in love of God. This is called chapter 19 in the Nectar of Devotion. This is devotional service in pure love of God.

Now the description in chapter 19 is not very detailed, because chapter 19, because Prem and Bhava are similar. Prem is basically a developed stage of Bhava. So whatever analysis is given for Bhava, applies, is in many ways similar to the analysis that is required for Prema.

So now Prabhupada starts this by describing, when one's desire to love Krishna in one particular relationship becomes intensified, this is known as pure love of Godhead. So this is pure love of Godhead. Now let's look at this from the point of view of our discussion in this chapter.

We will look at the definition of Prema over here. So fourth wave, Prema Bhakti, devotional service in love of God. So let's look at the definition that Rupa Goswami gives.

So Budhai Prema Nigadhyate. Budhai means the wise. Nigadhyate means to call or describe.

They call this to be Prema. What is that Prema? So Samyan Masrinata Bhanto. That means Samyan completely.

Samyak, here when the Sandhi happens, it becomes Samyan. Masrinata, completely when the heart softens. In Bhava, the heart is soft, but in Prema, the softening is complete.

Then the Swanta, Swanta, once inside, is completely softened. And Mamatva Aatishayankitaha. Mamatva means a sense of ownership.

We will discuss what this means. It's a very significant one. Aatishayankitaha.

Aatishayankitaha means Aatishaya is a lot or abandoned. Ankitaha. Ankita is marked.

So that which is marked with a lot of feeling of intense emotion. And Bhavasyeva Sandratma. So Bhava, Sandratma, we discussed what it means.

It means condensed or concentrated. So Budhai Premanikata. This is called Prema.

So when that Bhava softens the heart, Samyan Masrinata Bhanto, softens the heart completely. And then what happens to Bhava? Becomes endowed with strong feelings of possessiveness in relationship to the Lord. Mamatva Aatishayankitaha.

It's marked with intense feeling of possessiveness and becomes very condensed and intensified. See, this is Saeva Sandratma. It is called Prema by learned scholars.

This is Chaitanjala Tamruta, Madhya 23.7. Budhai Premanikata. This is called as Prema. So now in this definition, let's look at again the characteristics of this definition, the primary and secondary characteristics.

Samyan Masrinata Swanto. So Prabhupada writes about this. Now in his Nectar of Devotion.

In the Narada Pancharatha it is clearly stated that when lust is transferred to the Supreme Godhead and the concept of kinship is completely reposed in him, such as accepted as pure love of God by great authorities like Bhishma, Prahlad, Uddhava and Narada. So Narada Pancharatha, it says that when what is happening is the lust is, there is a famous prayer of Bhaktivinoda Thakur where he says that my dear Lord, just as the very intensity with which my mind is attracted to the sense objects, let my mind now be attracted to you. So that we also discussed one prayer earlier about how a man is attracted to a woman and a woman to a man.

Similarly, let me be attracted to you. So this is actually the principle of devotion. In fact, the principle of pure devotion.

So actually our material emotions are distortions of our original pure spiritual emotions. So what we have to do is we have to draw our emotions back, but we can't just draw them back. We cannot live emotionless.

So we direct our emotions towards Krishna. And when this redirection happens completely, then that is pure love of God. And Prabhupada further quotes Bhishma over here.

According to Bhishma, love means reposing one's affection completely upon one person, withdrawing all affinities from any other person. So it is reposing one's affection completely upon one person. Now earlier we discussed that affection for Krishna is not exclusivist.

It's not narrow minded. Because sometimes if I say I love you, and then I say I don't love anyone else except you, that would mean that to love you I have to cut out everyone else from my love circle. So that may happen if we love somebody in this world.

But when we love Krishna, because Krishna is connected with everyone. In fact, Krishna intimately loves everyone. Therefore, when we love Krishna, our love flows through Krishna to everyone.

But the focus is that we have to focus our love on Krishna. And through Krishna, the love goes to everyone else. So that's why we see Bhishma, he was very considerate towards not just the Pandavas, but he was also considerate towards Duryodhana.

He tried to give him good advice and tried as much as possible to get him on the right track. So in that sense, a devotee is not insensitive. A devotee is very sensitive about various issues, and tries to deal with them properly.

And I mean, as if, because his love doesn't get divorced from everything else. So now in this, the primary characteristic is bhava sa eva sandratma. What is it? It is when bhava becomes condensed and intensified.

It is prema. It's prema. So it's very intense feeling of love.

And then what is the secondary characteristics, what I described earlier, that samyan masranata svanta. Samyan, it's complete softening of the heart, complete softening of the heart. So in that sense, it is again the same point, it is intensification of bhava.

But the other point is very significant over here. Mamatva atishayankita, mamatva atishayankita. This is a significant point.

There are two modes of relationship or two moods, which will also lead to modes, two moods in the relationship, which is based on tadiyatva and mamatva. Tadiyatva means that my dear lord, I am yours. Tadiyatva.

I am yours. This is itself an exalted level of surrender, where one thinks, we think I am my own person. I will do what I want to do.

I am free. I am independent. Now, that feeling is okay.

In one sense, the modern or postmodern ethos may like celebrate that kind of feeling. But beyond that, when one says that, that is not a feeling which is conducive to devotion. Now, that is the feeling which is conducive to bondage and a continued existence, material existence, because we want to be connected with Krishna constantly.

That is the perfection of our existence. Because in being independent, we may have a feeling of freedom, but we will not have a feeling of fulfillment. Fulfillment comes by the reciprocation of love.

And for that, we have to have relationships. And relationships means there has to be subordination. Even in this world, when people say, you know, I fall in love, we fall in love.

People don't stand in love. They fall in love. Why? Because there has to be, whenever there is a loving relationship, there has to be subordination.

So, tadiyatva means, my dear lord, I am yours. So, we see this, So, like that, Bhaktivinoda Thakur and other Acharyas have sung that, my dear lord, everything, I am yours and everything that I have is yours. This is tadiyatva.

This is an exalted level of surrender. But higher than that is mamatva. Not just that I am yours, my dear lord, you are also mine.

You are mine. What that means is mamatva. You are mine.

And not just I am yours, but you are mine. So, mamatva. How does that work out? Yashodamayi, she certainly, it is implied that I am yours, my dear lord.

She does say that I am yours. But beyond that, it also implies that, mamatva means that you are mine. So, Yashodamayi thinks Krishna is my child.

Not only my child, he is actually, I am in, I have to take care of him. He is mine. So, because she thinks he is my child, so she has to, you know, he has to be well behaved.

He cannot just go around stealing from anyone and everyone. He steals butter. What will happen to his reputation? It is very bad.

So, that mamatva is a very elevated stage of love. And here we will see, generally we think of possessiveness as bad. So many times in the Bhagavad Gita, nirmamo nirahankara sasyanti madhi gacchati.

Bhagavad Gita says so many places. So that, vihaya kama nihasarvan, humam sharati nishpruha nirmamo nirahankara sasyanti madhi gacchati. So, in 2.71 he says, nirmamo nirahankara.

Give up the feeling of mama, of possessiveness. So, there are two modes of our illusion. One is the possessiveness and the other is the misidentification, ahamkara.

So, things connected to the body are mine and I am the body. So, me and my. Ahamma methi.

So, now, normally mamatva is considered to be very bad as far as the normal understanding of spiritual life is concerned. And mamatva has to be given up. But when we come to a very evolved understanding of spiritual life, actually whatever emotions are there in the material world, they are distortions.

And we want to give up the distortions. But the way to give up the distortions is by not just rejecting them but reverting them. Reverting them to their original forms.

And that reversion to their original forms is by purification and by the process of devotional service. So, when that mamatva is directed towards Krishna, it becomes very, it makes the relationship very sweet and intimate. Now, Radharani thinks that Krishna is my Lord.

And that's why if she sees that she comes to know from some of her gopis that Krishna is with Chandravali, then she gets angry with Krishna. Later on when Krishna comes, she is angry. She says, if you want to be with her, don't come here.

So, where, what is this? This is possessiveness for Krishna. And this is very pleasing to Krishna. This mamatva indicates a very exalted level of love of God.

And it indicates, most importantly, that one has got a personal relationship with God. It's not just a personal and intimate relationship with God. When we think of God in the sense of greatness, we think, oh God is all-powerful, God is all-great, all-kind.

And I just have to offer myself to Him. That is tadiyatva. But mamatva is much deeper.

Where, okay, God is all-powerful, all-great, but God is my beloved. And we have a relationship. And in that relationship, there is a feeling of possessiveness.

And not just possessiveness, ati jayam kita, is intense possessiveness. Intense possessiveness. In fact, we see the Athyatra festival, where the gopis, what are they doing? They are taking Krishna back to Vrindavan.

That is the mood of the Athyatra festival. From Kurukshetra, where the gopis have met Krishna, in their vision, they have made a card. And they are pulling Krishna back.

So, what is the underlying sentiment behind it? You know, Krishna belongs to Vrindavan. Krishna belongs to us, the Vrajivasis. And we want Him back in Vrindavan.

So, there we have, there is mamatva. Now, in mamatva, tadiyatva is not rejected. Tadiyatva is present, but it is subordinated.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in one of the songs, says, amito tomara, tumito amara, kikaja paradhane. So, he says, amito tomara, I am yours, my dear lord. That is tadiyatva.

I offer myself completely to you. But then, the relationship with Krishna is not just one-sided. For the relationship to be truly relishable, it is both-sided.

So, amito tomara, then tumito amara, that you are all mine. You are mine. And when I have you, what do I need anything else for? You are the supreme possession.

Kikaja aparadhane. He says, aparadhane, what other dhan, what other wealth do I need apart from you? So, devotee is never poverty-stricken. Even when a devotee has nothing materially, he has Krishna.

And Krishna is the supreme possession. So, that way, a devotee is supremely wealthy, in that sense. So, that mamatva, possessiveness, is a very exalted and intimate feeling of, almost like proprietorship over the lord.

But that is the nature of love. When love is there, it is not proprietorship in the sense of wanting to restrict the freedom of someone else, or wanting to dominate someone else. But it is more in the sense of loving sense of mutual belonging.

So, I belong to you, you belong to me. And that's how the love becomes very intimate and intense. So, tadetva atishayankita.

Now, let's move forward. Now if you want to look at this further, there are two ways of achieving prema. One is by the maturation of bhava, and the second is by the lord's extraordinary mercy.

So, here this is depicted diagrammatically. So, prema can come by mercy i.e. krupa, and it can come from bhava. So, mercy is completely causeless, and mercy is causeless, and so it will just lead directly over there.

And bhava, now we have discussed earlier, bhava can come from vaidhi and raganuga. And accordingly, the prema can be called as vaidha bhavottha, and raganugya bhavottha. So, that means what? From vaidhi to bhava, and then from there one has come to prema, and then from raganuga to bhava, and from there to prema.

So, in that way, both ways, one can come to prema. So, Vishnu Prabhupada describes, from vaidhi, a devotee in the course of executing the regularity principle of devotional service, develops his natural Krishna consciousness, becomes softened at heart, chants and dances like a madman. And while performing chanting of the holy names, sometimes cries, sometimes talks wildly, sometimes sings, and sometimes, without caring for any outsider, dances like a madman.

So, evam vrata svapriyanama kirtya. This is a famous verse in the 11th canto. Prabhupada is paraphrasing this verse over in the Nodi.

This has been quoted by Prabhupada Swami. Svapriyanama kirtya. And then, he glorifies the Lord.

And what does the moon glorify? Lokabhaya. One doesn't care for anyone else. It's completely intoxicated, maddened by love of God.

And such sort of intoxication, maddening, is the perfection of love of God. Now, this perfection of love of God, what happens is, the devotee doesn't care for anything else. And this is the vaidhi bhavota.

So, vaidhi bhavota means through vaidhi bhakti, one gets to bhava and then one gets to prema. And while we were discussing about bhava, we discussed a couple of points, which I would like to refer back and then we'll move forward to raga anug bhavota. Sometimes, we discussed about how some devotees may feel spiritual emotions.

So, young sadhakas feel spiritual emotions, and that person has not had any connected contact with devotional service, has not even done sadhana bhakti, is just a very new, and is exhibiting in terms of ecstasy. What does that mean? That means that is coming from previous lives. And the person has done some sadhana in the previous life, and that's how, just continuing on, purvabhyasenate yuvarriyate yavasubhi.

Krishna says 6.44. One is helplessly attracted because of one's past practice. So, that is one way that can happen. Now, when we are talking about this bhava, they say sadhana, bhakti, bhava and prema, we understand that this is a multiple lifetime process.

By kripa, it can happen in one moment, but a devotee doesn't depend on or demand kripa. Even when there is kripa, there is endeavour. Prabhupada gives the example that, and the normal process for getting a PhD is that one has to go, start from junior KG, and from the kindergarten level, and then go through primary, secondary, then college, and then doctorate, and then one may get a postgraduate, and then one gets a PhD, a doctorate degree.

Now, there might be some other person who does some extraordinary performance. Somebody writes some novel, which becomes immensely popular, which becomes globally acclaimed. And then, because of that, maybe that novel gets a Nobel Prize in literature.

And so many universities come and start giving honorary, honorary PhDs in literature or something like that for that writer. Now, that is an exceptional thing. Now, one cannot, an ordinary student cannot think, oh, I will get an honorary PhD.

And then that person will get no honour, dishonour, no PhD at all. So, one cannot expect like that. One has to endeavour.

So, kripa is also one way one can get to perfection, but a devotee does not depend on or demand kripa as the only factor in perfection, the devotee endeavours. Devotee follows Sadhana Bhakti sincerely. And by that, the devotee shows Krishna, Krishna, I want your mercy, I beg for your mercy.

That means, when we are practising bhakti, it is not our bhakti that is leading to spiritual advancement. It is, it is Krishna's mercy that is leading to spiritual advancement. But along with that, our endeavour is also important.

Just like we have discussed, person has fallen in a well, then it is a person outside who is pulling out from the well. But along the time, one has to hold on. So, one holds on to the well and then the other person pulls out of the well.

So, like that, one can move forward and make spiritual advancement. So, one does not depend only on kripa. And sometimes when we see other devotees very advanced spiritually, what we understand is that they have, they have done endeavour in their previous lives.

So, we should not be trying, that is not the mood of a devotee, that we should be, it should not be trying to evade endeavour and trying to demand mercy. Now, that is the mood of a business. In business, the idea is that, suppose I want to purchase something and bargain.

Bargaining means what? I want to get as much valuable product as possible and I want to give as less money as possible. So, the business dealing is, give as less as possible and get as much as possible. But that is not the devotee's mood.

If we think, oh, I will not do any endeavour, but let Krishna give the mercy and then I will get everything by that. Then, that mood is non-devotional. Earlier, we have seen how by the mercy of a devotee one can get bhava.

We discussed about harda or vachika or darshan, dana. By Krishna's mercy or devotee's mercy, one can get that. One can get to bhava.

Then we think, oh, why don't devotees do that to me? I will just go and stand in front of Krishna and Krishna will give me darshan and I will get bhava. Why doesn't it happen? It can happen if Krishna wants, but demanding that is not the mood of devotion. It is the mood of basically commerce.

It is the mood of business. I want to give as less as possible and get as much as possible. No, the devotee's mood is to give everything of oneself because that is the nature of love.

If we are not habituated to giving everything, of what we have, then love itself will not have much meaning. Love means that we don't hold things back. Love means we offer ourselves completely to Krishna and Krishna also reciprocates by filling our heart with more love than it can hold and that love floods over and fills our life completely with ecstasy.

So, that is why a devotee does not demand mercy. A devotee strives and endeavours. So, now, vaidhi bhava uttama is there, bhava uttama is there and similarly there is raga anuga bhava uttama.

That means, one practices raga anuga bhakti. So, basically, there is sadhana bhakti, there is bhava bhakti and there is prema bhakti. So, we discussed earlier, the path from sadhana bhakti to bhava bhakti, there are two ways, from vaidhi sadhana and from raga anuga sadhana.

So, similarly, the paths from, you could say that the roadways that come over here, if instead of having it like two roadways coming here, you can have two roadways coming here and the same roadway continues over here. So, from sadhana bhakti, if one goes up by vaidhi sadhana, then one comes to raga anuga and then one comes to bhava bhakti and from bhava bhakti one moves forward and comes to prema and similarly another road from sadhana bhakti one is taking the road of raga anuga bhakti. So, the same raga anuga bhakti road moves forward and then one comes to raga anuga, raga anuga bhava uttama, prema.

So, through raga anuga to bhava and then from there to prema. Now, this is the pathways to prema. But along with the pathways to prema, there is also, there are types of prema.

There are types of love. Let's look at what are the types of love now. So, before we move forward to the types of love, here the example for bhava through vaidhi bhakti we discussed.

Now, let us look at the example of raga anuga bhava uttama. So, Rupa Goswami continues the example of Chandrakanthi from Padma Purana. So, it is described that one night that she danced in the mood of the gopis.

She was doing raga on Chandrakanthi, practiced raga anuga bhakti, striving to develop the mood of the raga atmikas of Vrindans, specifically the gopis. Then she achieved virakti by that, became completely different from everything else. And by maturation of her bhava bhakti, she began to constantly engage in my meditation in Krishna's form, with the concept of Krishna is my lover.

Thus, this is a symptom of prema. And then Prabhupada, here it is quoted well. About prema achieved by kripa, Krishna tells Uddhava in 11, 12, 17 about the gopis.

How did the gopis get pure love of God? The gopis of Vrindavan did not study the Vedas to achieve me, nor had they ever been in holy places of pilgrimage, nor did they ever devoutly execute principles, nor did they undergo any austerity. It is simply by my association that they have attained the highest perfection of devotional service. So, now we may say, actually, aren't the gopis nitya siddha? Aren't the gopis descended from the spiritual world to the material world? Yes, they have, but not all gopis.

There are many different categories of gopis. Like earlier we discussed about the rishicharya gopis, those who were rishis and nandakaranya. And then they appeared in Krishna Leela later on.

So, like that there are different kinds of gopis. And some gopis, they participated in Krishna Leela and thereby, by participating in Krishna Leela, they attained perfection. So, when Krishna calls gopis to perform the rasa leela, not all gopis are able to come immediately.

They experience obstacles, but different gopis are able to break free from the obstacles at different times. And some gopis were not able to break free from the obstacles. They become desperate and they meditate on the Lord and desperately long to be in the presence of the Lord.

And that longing burns away all their impurities. So, the gopis come out at different times. Not all gopis are in the same category.

So, here it is referring to those gopis who may not have had love of God earlier, but just by the association of Krishna, they develop love of God. Now, here we go to Vrindavan as a place of pilgrimage. And why is it said that in this verse, Krishna telling Uddhava, the gopis did not go to any place of pilgrimage? Weren't they living only in the place of pilgrimage, that is Vrindavan? Yes, they are living in a place of pilgrimage.

But the gopis don't think of Vrindavan necessarily as a place of pilgrimage. For them, it's just the home, the place they were born in. So, when it is said the gopis didn't go to a place of pilgrimage, what it essentially means is that the gopis did not practice the rituals of dharma too much.

It was not that some people, for the sake of purification, they go to Tirtha Yatra, okay, I'll go to this place, I'll go to that place, I'll go to that place. The gopis were not going around like that. The gopis were born in Vrindavan and they were living in Vrindavan.

So, what made them exalted was the association of Krishna. They were so spontaneously, they were so deeply attracted to Krishna. And by the attraction to Krishna, they developed more and more love of God till they attained perfection.

So, for them, the qualification was the mercy of Krishna. By the mercy of Krishna, the gopis developed spontaneous love for Krishna. Now, moving forward, let's look at the two types of prema.

So, there is Mahatmya Jnana and Kevala. Mahatmya Jnana is prema mixed with knowledge of the Lord's and Kevala is unmixed, pure prema. So, Prabhupada writes that prema can be placed in two headings.

One is profound veneration for the greatness of the Lord and the other is, one is being automatically attached to Krishna without any extraneous consideration. So, profound veneration, that is Mahatmya Jnana and Kevala is unmixed, pure prema. So, now let's look at this once again.

So, now what happens is, from Vaidhi Bhakti, if one moves forward, so these are three stages of prema. There is Sadhana Bhakti, there is Bhava Bhakti and there is Prema Bhakti. So, normally, if somebody practices Vaidhi Bhakti, then from there one will come to Vaidhi Bhavavata and from there one will get to Mahatmya Jnana.

Similarly, when one practices Raghana Bhakti, then one goes to Raghana Bhavavata and one goes to Kevala. This is the progression which happens normally. Of course, Krishna's mercy, anything is possible.

Now, Prabhupada Kursa Nag Pancharatra, as Rupa Goswami is doing, that if on account of profound veneration for the greatness of the Supreme Lord, one attains a great affection and steady love for Him, one is certainly assured of achieving the four kinds of liberation. So, Mahatmya Jnana. Mahatmya Jnana means that awareness of God's greatness and there is love over there, but that love is with an awareness of Krishna's greatness.

Now, if we see in the Damodar Lila, what is happening is, Krishna is being bound by a devotee, the Yashodamayi, and for a devotee who is in the Mahatmya Jnana Prema, this is inconceivable. Now, how can you bind God? God is the supreme object of love. You can't bind God.

You have to be very respectful to God. But in Satyavatmani only, when he is describing this, he is describing how Yashodamayi's love is Kevala. A devotee, she is not thinking of Krishna in the mood of reverence.

She is thinking of Krishna as her child. In fact, we see there are such intimate pastimes at the level of Kevala that sometimes Nandamaharaja Yashodamayi, they bless Krishna. What do they do? When Krishna comes and does some service, they say, very good, very good and they bless him.

And not only that, they ask, Nandamaharaja sometimes asks Krishna to carry his sandals and Krishna puts his sandals on his head. Now, from the normal point of view, our footwear is considered contaminated and it can't even come inside the temple. We keep it right outside the temple when we go inside the temple.

Then, the footwear is meant to be kept outside, even from the temple premises. What to speak of the altar premises? In the temple, the place where the deity is, is the altar. And then what to speak of the footwear going near the deities? And what to speak of the footwear going on top of the deities? It's for a person who has some understanding of the nature and rules of deity worship.

It's a scandalous thought to take the footwear and let it come anywhere even in the altar, what to speak of, to touch the deity's head. But that is what Nandamaharaja is doing, basically. And he is not only doing it, he is asking Krishna to do it.

Get my sandals and Krishna puts on his head and gets it. So, how are they able to do it? Because their prema is kevala, it's pure love. There is no awareness of Krishna's divinity, Krishna's supremacy.

They think that Krishna is not God. They think, oh, Krishna is just one of our lovable special rajvasi. And even when they see Krishna's extraordinary power, when Krishna does something extraordinary, for say, he lifts govardhana or something like that, at that time, there may be a temporary awareness, oh, this Krishna must be God.

But then afterwards, they don't think of him as God. That awareness gets covered over. Just like in the daytime, also stars are there.

But the stars are not visible in the daytime, because the sun is so bright. The stars are like the awareness of Krishna's greatness. And the sun for the rajvasis is like the awareness of Krishna's sweetness, awareness of Krishna, their love for Krishna basically, without an awareness of his position.

Because their love for Krishna is so great, that because of their love for Krishna, they don't care at all for Krishna's divinity, Krishna's greatness. They think that Krishna is just one among us. And as we discussed earlier, the people pray to God, rajvasis pray for God.

They pray for God. So they don't think Krishna is God. They think, oh, Lord Narayana is protecting Krishna.

Niranjan Maharaj does worship of Narayana. And because of his piety in worshipping Narayana diligently, Narayana is blessing him. And Narayana is protecting Krishna.

And how is Narayana protecting? And when the demons come, at that time, Narayana enters into Krishna. And Narayana gives Krishna a lot of power. And that's how Krishna is able to do miraculous things.

So the rajvasis, their love is Kevala. They don't care for anything except loving Krishna, not even for Krishna's supreme position. And this Kevala Prema is the perfection of life.

It is not the perfection of life, it is the perfection of all of existence in terms of the relationship of the devotee and the Lord. The idea that God will subordinate himself, and that the devotee will become greater than the Lord itself is extraordinary. So we see in the Damodarashtakam, the first and second stanza of Damodarashtakam describe the pastime.

The Mamishwaram, there it concludes that Yashodamaya has tied Krishna. And then after that is Rudantamuhurnetram, that Krishna is crying. And then the third stanza describes what is being demonstrated by this.

This pastime demonstrates the contrast between, we could say with the terminology of Bhakta Sama Sindhu, Mahatmya Gyan Prem and Kevala Prem. Iti Druk Swalila Bhir Ananda Kunde, Swaghosham Nimajantam Akhyapayantam, Tadiye Shikageshu Bhakteji Tattvam, Puna Prematastam Shatavrti Vande. So, Iti Druk, by showing this, by letting the world see this, Swalila Bhir, one's own pastimes, Ananda Kunde.

We have heard about Radha Kunda, Shyama Kunda, here it is Ananda Kunda. It is a lake of happiness. Ananda Kunde, Swaghosham Nimajantam Akhyapayantam.

So, he is declaring by just drowning his beloved Rajvasis in an ocean of happiness through pastimes like this. What is he declaring? Tadiye Shikageshu Bhakteji Tattvam, Tadiye Shikageshu. Tadiye Shikageshu means, that those who are Geshu, those who are aware of Gyan of His greatness, that those who are aware that, oh God is so great, that we have to bow down to Him, we have to worship Him with great diligence and rules.

So, they are telling them that, okay, that's all fine, but that sort of love will not win the Lord over the way Ishwadamayi has won the Lord over. That is possible by Bhakteji Tattvam. That is possible only by Bhakthi.

Puna Prematastam Shatavruthi Vande Puna Prematastam. So, again with love I offer obeisances and this love is so extraordinary. Shatavruthi Vande.

So, Sanatana Goswami has written a commentary on the Damodarashtra Dikdarshanitika and there he explains that this Shatavruthi Vande, although he is saying I offer hundreds of obeisances to you, this is actually not in the mood of awe and reverence. This is due to the spontaneity of love that is flooding the heart of Rupa Goswami that he is offering this kind of prayer. So, this pastime contrasts love and reverence and pure love.

Mahatma Gyan Prema and Kevala Prema. So, the contrast between the two is that in Mahatma Gyan Prema, the relationship with Krishna is not so close and in Chaitanya Charita Amrut also it is said that there is Aishwarya Shithil Prema. That when there is Aishwarya, when there is awareness of Aishwarya, awareness of greatness and that makes the Prema a little bit Shithil.

Shithil means it is not so alive, not so energetic. It becomes a little passive, little cold. Aishwarya Shithil.

So, if you want the vibrant love, then Aishwarya Gyan has to be covered and that is what Krishna does. So, Krishna has his Yogamaya in the spiritual world and through Yogamaya, he covers the devotees. But the devotees have such a great exalted level of love that they get covered.

So, we should not think that just because Yogamaya is there, so the devotees themselves have that desire to serve Krishna with such intensity and purity that Yogamaya acts on them and then Yogamaya covers. So, Yogamaya in and of itself is not alone responsible. The devotee's purity and intensity of love is also responsible and together this miracle happens where the devotee remembers God and forgets his Godhood.

The devotee what happens? Remembers God but forgets his Godhood. See, when we are in Mahamaya, we forget God and we forget his Godhood. Then when we come out of Mahamaya, what happens is we try to remember God and his Godhood and that means his Godhood means his position as God and then when we go into Yogamaya, at that time we remember God but we forget his Godhood.

So, his Godhood means his supremacy. So, initially for us when we have a independent enjoying mentality, it is good to remember that Krishna is not an ordinary person. Krishna is God.

Many people, in one sense, if people are born in say a pious sort of culture, say people are born in India, in one sense they know about Krishna but they don't really know Krishna. They don't know Tattvataha, they don't know Krishna. So, they may know God without his Godhood but they are knowing God without his Godhood.

So, the nominally religious people, they know God without his Godhood and the Brajavasis know God without his Godhood. The Sadhakas have to know God with his Godhood. So, if you consider three levels, the nominally religious people, they know God without his Godhood.

Krishna, yes we know. He is a Hindu God and people used to steal butter, used to dance with the Gopis. We know about Krishna.

That's what they think. But they don't really know Tattvataha. They don't know really anything about Krishna.

So, their knowledge is very superficial. So, their idea of knowing God without his Godhood is they have to come to know about his Godhood. They have to know about his greatness, his position, his power and that's what Sadhana Bhakti is primarily about.

That is we come to know about God and his Godhood, his supremacy. But as the knowledge of his Godhood becomes richer and deeper, then also we come to know about God in the intimate aspect. And there there is, what is that? There God conceals his Godhood.

And then there is love, then the people know God without his Godhood again. But then when they know, Brajavasis know know God without his Godhood, what is the difference between them and the nominally religious people? The difference is that the Brajavasis have intense love for Krishna, whereas the nominally religious people have no love for Krishna. So, that love is what makes it, is a defining characteristic of the Brajavasis.

So, they have knowledge of God without knowledge of his Godhood. And that makes it a very very special kind of love, special kind of love. That is the love which in the Gaudiya Vishnu tradition we are being offered.

So, by practicing Krishna Consciousness, by following the process of Bhakti that our Acharyas have given us based on our based on our Gaudiya Shastras and the Vedic scriptures in general, we will ultimately attain this kind of exalted love. So, then here here we see that Rupa Goswami describes the progression. Now, we have talked about this progression in an implicit way earlier also and most of us know about it.

This came earlier. So, this Prema, the line suggests Shraddha, Sadhu Sang, Bhajan Kriya, Anartha Nritya is fourth, Nishtha five, Ruchi is six, Asakti seven, Bhav is eight and Prema is nine. So, this Ayam Prem Naha.

So, this Ayam Prem Naha, how will one come to that? Pradur Bhave Bhavet Krama. Progressively one will come to that. And then it is important to understand that we cannot use, we cannot understand Prema by externals.

In the Narad Pancharatra, Lord Shiva tells Parvati, my dear Supreme Goddess, you may know from me that anyone who has developed the ecstasy of love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who is always merged in transcendental bliss on account of this love cannot even perceive the material distress or happiness coming from the body or mind. Now, what is the need for making a point like this? You see, yes, somebody is at transcendental level, that person is transcendental, so doesn't experience anything at the body or the mind. But this is for our understanding.

Generally, we when we want to understand somebody, we look at the person and see how big is the smile on the face of the person, how happy this person is. And based on that we think, oh, this person is happy. We just, we look at the external expression and based on that we try to think how happy the person is.

But this standard cannot work for a devotee in Prema. At one time, a devotee had clicked a photograph of Prabhupada and Prabhupada was seeing the photo and a devotee said, Prabhupada, you look so grave in this photo. So Prabhupada said, that was a moment of ecstasy.

And the devotee said, there is no smile, it is so grave. How can it be a moment of ecstasy? So Prabhupada said that actually ecstasy is not just dependent on the external smile on our face. Ecstasy is dependent on our inner remembrance of Krishna.

To the extent we are remembering Krishna, to that extent we are ecstatic. So that is the primary characteristic of ecstasy, that we are absorbed in remembrance of Krishna. And when we are just absorbed in the remembrance of Krishna, then we don't need anything else.

Completely satisfied. And sometimes that remembrance in Krishna may lead to external crying. So if we look at the life of the gopis after Krishna left Vrindavan, they are constantly crying in separation from Krishna.

And we may say, what is this? I want to love Krishna and by loving Krishna I thought I will become happy. But the topmost devotees of Krishna, what are they doing? They are crying constantly. So as it is I was crying in the material world, do I have to go through following all the regular principles of bhakti and then do so much sadhana and then what is the perfection? That you cry for the rest of eternity.

No, no, no, there is a very peripheral superficial understanding. The gopis may be crying, but even their crying is filled with ecstasy. Because what brings ecstasy, what is the central aspect of spiritual happiness is not whether I am smiling or whether I am crying.

The central aspect of spiritual happiness is that I am remembering Krishna. If I am remembering Krishna, that remembrance of Krishna itself is the source of happiness. That actually, I don't, Kulshekar Maharaj is saying in Mukunda Mala Stotra, that I don't know of any happiness other than the happiness of remembrance of Krishna.

There is nothing like that. It is such a great happiness. So when I am remembering Krishna, we shouldn't think of remembrance of Krishna as say, maybe we saw some sunrise long ago, and it was on a beautiful sight.

So I remember, I remember the sunrise and feel, oh, it's so beautiful and feel some satisfaction. So I think remembrance of Krishna is like that. Oh, I remember the sunrise.

So I remember Krishna like that. No, it is not like that, because the sun is basically a passive object, at least to our vision. We just think your sun, okay, it was there and it moved up.

But Krishna is a living, loving person. And our relationship with Krishna is constantly evolving. And because it is evolving, so depending on whether we are feeling the presence of Krishna or feeling the absence of Krishna, whether Krishna is with us or Krishna is away from us, the mode of emotions will change.

The mode of emotions will change means that if Krishna is away from us, we feel the separation. And that separation, there will be agony. But although there is agony, underlying that agony is intense remembrance of Krishna.

And because there is intense remembrance of Krishna, there is ecstasy. So we can't judge whether a devotee is at prema or not by externals. So yes, as we generally, devotees are happy because they're remembering Krishna.

But sometimes the remembrance of Krishna, because it is not just a passive remembrance on a passive object, it is an active remembrance on a supremely active object. That is Krishna. So therefore, actually this remembrance can take on various forms.

Now Prabhupada may sometimes be angry. He may sometimes be in great anxiety. And if some devotees make some mistake, when the devotees wanted to, they were supposed to inaugurate the temple in Ramana Rayati in Vrindavan at a particular time, but they had not completed the work only.

And Prabhupada came to the temple. And Prabhupada said, where the temple was supposed to be? It was simply a construction site. Prabhupada, what is this? How can you inaugurate the temple? The devotees just couldn't speak.

Prabhupada was furious. But then that anger was not material. In that he was remembering Krishna and he was thinking, oh Krishna, I was going to offer you a temple and this temple is not ready.

So Prabhupada, there was a sadness in Prabhupada's heart because of that. So there is intense remembrance of Krishna. So even if there is fury externally, that's based on internal remembrance of Krishna.

Or sometimes the devotees may be in great anxiety over something. And Prabhupada sent Tamal Krishna Maharaj to get land for Mayapur. And he did not come for several days.

And Prabhupada had given him a lot of money to settle the deal. And Prabhupada was apprehensive. Did the land come or not? At night he could not sleep.

He could not do his translation and commenting. And Tamal Krishna Maharaj came late in the night and Prabhupada immediately saw him and said, yes, the land is yours. And Prabhupada was very happy.

So now this is not a material emotion. This is all spiritual because it's all for the service of Krishna. So then if that is the case, then how can we know who is advanced devotee? Well, it takes one to know one.

We cannot know precisely who is how advanced. But earlier we discussed about non-imitable characteristics. avyarthakalatvam, then virakti, then ashabaddha.

We see over there, in those characteristics, he does not put happiness as one of the characteristics. And namaganesa daruchi is there. Samutkanta is there.

Pritidapastisala is there. That constantly chanting the holy name of the Lord, wanting to be in the holy places and eagerness to just connect with the Lord. All these are there.

But just ananda is not there as one of the characteristics because that can be faked. Somebody can just put a plastic smile on the face. In fact, that's what in most offices, secretaries and salespeople are trained to put on a plastic smile on their face.

So somebody wants to sell a toothpaste, you know, they'll have a big smile on their face where they'll be showing their tooth. That is not a sign of happiness. So we can't just depend on external symptoms of whether a person is smiling or not to indicate how advanced is or whether the person is at the level of prema.

All we have to say is how dedicated a person is to the service of the Lord. And in those characteristics, you can understand. And we see from those characteristics point of view, Prabhupada was utterly dedicated to the service of Krishna.

And it is by Prabhupada's mercy that we come to know about the exaltedness of bhakti and the pathway to attain that exaltedness. So this bhakti shastri course which we have done is our service to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada wrote all his books and it is not just his books.

He's giving us the message of Krishna as has been explained by many acharyas throughout the history. And as Prabhupada has presented so that it is relevant to all of us. And when we study it, we are basically receiving Srila Prabhupada's mercy and letting that mercy enter into our heart.

So when it goes through our head and enters into our heart, it will enter deeper because we will be intellectually convinced about what we are doing. So a quick recap of the journey that we have traced. We started our course with Ishopanishad.

So in Ishopanishad, basically the focus is on understanding the inconceivable position of Ishwara and how he alone is the object of worship. And there are some indications of bhakti over there, although that is not the focus of the Ishopanishad. So Ishopanishad basically, ultimately, if you want to look at spiritual life or in any path, we need to know sadhya and sadhana.

What is the goal and what is the means? So these four books enable us to understand the sadhya and sadhana systematically. So Ishopanishad points to the sadhya. It points that there is an Ishwara with whom we have to harmonize.

And we should not get distracted to material progress, to demigod worship, to impersonal aspect, but we focus on the personal form of the absolute. And there is some indication of bhakti. We are praying to that absolute.

Please remove the effulgence that is covering your real face. And please remove the obstacles because of my past sins because of which I am not able to come close to you. And please guide me back to you.

So there is an indication of bhakti over there. And there is an indication that God is, that the absolute truth is personal. So that was what we discussed in Ishopanishad.

Then when we came to Uddeshamrit, what was the focus there? It was, okay, a knowledge about God is not just theoretical, it has to be transformational. So what is the process for transformation? That is bhakti yoga. And how bhakti yoga is to be practiced, that is the essence of the discussion of the act of instruction.

So there we discussed about how identifying who is a guru, what are the, and then based on the guru's guidance, we learn, okay, there are things which are favorable to bhakti which we should cultivate, which are unfavorable to bhakti which we should not do. And then the most important among the elements is avoiding bad association and more positively having good association. Then how to associate with devotees, the sixfold loving exchanges and how to associate senior, junior, equal devotees.

Then how to not have an offensive mentality while seeing devotees. And then we move forward on how to practice bhakti more and more deeply, in the mood of Raja. And ultimately, how to attain Radha Kund, which is the most exalted level of, which is the arena of the practice of the most level of love.

So that was, so through Ishopanishad, we understand Bhagwan, that the Ishvara is Bhagwan, is personal. And then through nectar of instruction, we understand how bhakti is to be practiced. Then in Bhagavad Gita, it's a huge field that is discussed.

So essentially, what happens in Bhagavad Gita is that the various paths are discussed. So Karma Yoga is analyzed as compared to Gyan Yoga in the first six chapters and Karma Yoga is declared to be superior. And then in the sixth chapter, it describes how Karma Yoga through Dhyana Yoga will lead to bhakti.

And then in the middle six chapters, bhakti is glorified. In the last six chapters, again from Gyan Yoga to Bhakti Yoga, it is described. So what does the Bhagavad Gita do? Bhagavad Gita establishes after comparing various paths.

This kind of comparison has not been done in earlier books. Compares various paths and establishes how bhakti is supreme. And bhakti is supreme sadhana and Bhagavan is the supreme sadhya.

So the impersonal conception, the demigods, all these things are analyzed and they are shown to be as subordinate realities. Now, after this has been conclusively demonstrated that Bhagavan and bhakti are the supreme sadhya and sadhana, then we want to know more about how to practice bhakti. And that has been the discussion of Bhakti, Rasa, Amrit, Sindhu.

So in Bhakti, Rasa, Amrit, Sindhu, the exaltedness of bhakti is talked about in terms of the six characteristics of pure devotional service. And then how to practice bhakti is elaborately talked about in 64 elements. And then if a traveler is to go on a long journey, you know, sometimes if you have to go on a long, long journey, then maybe there are pictures of the destination which are shown.

Somebody has to go say by early time, there are no planes, so you have to go by ship. If you travel for three months, and then you show there is some very beautiful island with beautiful scenery and beaches and very scenic everything. And you see the pictures.

Oh, it's so attractive. I want to go there. No matter how much trouble is there, I'll go there.

So like that, the pathway is delineated. And then when we look at Bhava Bhakti and Prem Bhakti as I described, we are getting glimpses of how ecstatic love is, our love for Krishna is. And those glimpses inspire us.

Yes. No matter how difficult, how formidable this journey is, I want to go along this journey. And Srila Prabhupada has given us the community of devotees as our protection, as our motivator, and as our guide in moving onwards in this devotional journey.

And by Krishna's mercy, by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy, by Srila Prabhupada's mercy, we will be able to go through this journey and ultimately attain life's supreme perfection. So thank all of you for joining us on this journey of the Bhakti Shastra course. It's a small step forward, which will deepen our conviction and inspiration to accept the gift that Srila Prabhupada has given us.

And during these discussions, if by my harsh speech, I have spoken anything which has hurt any devotees, I seek forgiveness for that. Vancha kalpataru bhescha, kripa sindhu bhevacha, patitaanam pavanibhyo, vaishnavibhyo namo namah. Thank you very much.

Srila Prabhupada ki jai, Gaura Bhaktivrinda ki jai, Bhakti Shastri Bhaktivrinda ki jai. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.