# The Lord’s Associates and Devotees ## 1. What is the duty of an ācārya? An ācārya is the Supreme Lord’s messenger. He carries the Lord’s message from Vaikuṇṭha and distributes it to us. One must hear that message emanating from his mouth through service-inclined ears. If one becomes fully surrendered, by the ācārya’s mercy one will achieve perfection. No one other than an inhabitant of Vaikuṇṭha is able to speak about Vaikuṇṭha. We have to hear about Calcutta from a person who has seen Calcutta. Then only will we get a true message. ## 2. Since I know nothing other than material experience, how will I understand spiritual subject matter? It is true that in our present condition it is extremely difficult to know anything about transcendence, but it is also true that there are genuine methods to gain such knowledge. The messenger brings news of our friend from the far distant country, and we simply have to hear. ## 3. What if a messenger did not bring a message for everyone? Those for whom the messenger did not bring a message are unfortunate. But we should note that those who are eager for a message will certainly be given one. ## 4. How can one recognize a messenger from Vaikuṇṭha, and how can one determine whether the message is real or false? If my prayer is genuine, then I will understand everything by the mercy of the omniscient Lord. A student can recognize a learned scholar only by the learned scholar’s mercy. The Lord in my heart will help me; I need only to depend on Him. There are two ways to know anything in this world. The first is to try to understand with the help of our material experience, and the second is to receive knowledge through aural reception from an exalted personality coming from the kingdom of knowledge. To receive knowledge by this second method we must be prepared to fully surrender to that exalted personality. ## 5. Who is Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu? Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu is an eternally perfected associate of the Lord. He is jagad-guru and the emperor of the devotees. In kṛṣṇa-līlā he is Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī. Śrī Rūpa Prabhu is also an intimate devotee of Śrī Gaurāṅga. He does not belong to the jīva-tattva and is not an ordinary living entity. Rather, he is the master of the living entities and part of the Lord’s internal energy. He is dear to the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu. Śrī Rūpa Prabhu is special among the devotees of Lord Gaurasundara, and is extremely dear to Śrī Gaurasundara Himself. Śrī Rūpa Prabhu understood Śrī Gaurasundara’s internal mood. No other follower of Gaurasundara acted as an ācārya manifesting the topics of the highest supreme service. Śrī Gaurasundara’s confidential internal mood is shown only to those who follow Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrī Rūpa. Therefore, we are all indebted to Śrī Rūpa. As long as the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya exists, no one will deny Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu’s extraordinary and matchless charity. Neither can anyone repay his debt to Śrī Rūpa Prabhu, even those who surrender fully at his feet. He who dwells in the lap, on the chest, and on the head of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is our eternally worshipable Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu. The dust from his lotus feet is our most cherished item. His lotus feet are our only hope and shelter. How can we attain Kṛṣṇa’s service? Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī Prabhu tells us to serve Kṛṣṇa by serving Śrī Rūpa and Raghunātha. Our realization of the Lord’s service is determined by how we are cheated of the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Prabhu. Śrī Rūpa’s followers possess all opulence. Śrī Rūpa is the ideal example of how to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the ordinary historians’ vision, he was a disciple of his elder brother Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, but even Sanātana Gosvāmī Prabhu begs Śrī Rūpa’s mercy. Śrī Sanātana Prabhu says that those who do not aspire for Śrī Rūpa’s mercy will never see the beauty of service to Rādhā-Govinda. When fruitive workers and impersonalists began to gather strength in their attempts to discredit devotional service, Śrī Gaurasundara required a commander-in-chief who could preach the philosophy of devotional service and defeat their arguments. Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana were His two commanders-in-chief, and all their followers formed the Lord’s army. Śrī Svarūpa Damodara Prabhu is the leader of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, and through him all armies are recruited for defeating the opponents of bhakti. Śrī Rūpa’s army has no weapon other than kīrtana. Śrī Gaurasundara empowered His commander-in-chief Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu to use this weapon when they were together at Prayāga; He taught him how to lead an expedition against those opposed to devotional service and how to protect oneself from bad association. By discussing the battle, we can also learn to fire at the conceptions of people opposed to bhakti. We too can learn to destroy sinful mentality, fruitive and other forms of material desire, atheism, godlessness, and any other contrary mood. ## 6. Who is Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī? Although Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was a servant of Śrī Caitanyadeva, he was extremely proud to be identified as a follower of Śrī Rūpa. He served both Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrī Rūpa, and was especially dear to Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara as well as other dear devotees of Mahāprabhu. Śrī Raghunātha was the beloved servant of Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, whom He served under the guidance of Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī. Even though Śrī Raghunātha proudly considered himself Śrī Caitanya’s servant, his pride at being a servant of Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrī Rūpa was more prominent. No one but Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has revealed so much about the service of Vṛṣabhānu’s daughter. ## 7. Is Śrī Caṇḍī Dāsa a pure devotee? Because Śrī Caṇḍī Dāsa was a pure devotee, Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva used to hear his songs. Caṇḍī Dāsa considered himself the Lord’s servant. A servant of the Lord thinks himself a follower of a devotee who is dear to Kṛṣṇa. There were no abominable affairs between Caṇḍī Dāsa and Rāmī. Śrī Caṇḍī Dāsa was an exalted devotee. He had no desire for personal happiness. Not understanding his position, the materialists will go to hell because they have committed offenses at his lotus feet. The pure devotee Caṇḍī Dāsa is completely different from the Caṇḍī Dāsa the great materialists have imagined. The materialists are completely unqualified to recognize a transcendental soul like Caṇḍī Dāsa. A servant of the Lord who serves in the mādhura-rati in his transcendental body is not an ordinary human being interested simply in material enjoyment. There is a gulf of difference between a mundane female body and the spiritual body of the transcendental kingdom of devotional service. Caṇḍī Dāsa taught this philosophy. If those who read Caṇḍī Dāsa and Vidyāpati engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service, giving up material pride and the desire for proprietorship, then rather than thinking of Kṛṣṇa as an object of their enjoyment they will understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then they will realize the actual purport of the songs written by Caṇḍī Dāsa and Vidyāpati and will no longer be misled by mundane misconceptions, thinking that Vidyāpati was Lakṣmīs paramour and Caṇḍī Dāsa the paramour of Rāmī. ## 8. Who has categorically revealed devotional service as the ultimate goal of life? Jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is one of those spiritual masters who have been sent to this world by Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva for the benefit of the jīvas of this world. That great personality who has given everyone the opportunity to know about pure devotional service and the disciplic succession is none other than Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. He is dear to Gaurāṅga and our only shelter. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura considers devotional service to be preyas, or for the immediate good. Previous ācāryas have considered devotional service to be sreyas, a process to bring us ultimate good. But Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, as a rūpānuga, has specifically revealed that bhakti is preyas. Those who do not consider devotional service preyas are godless non-Vaiṣṇavas, devoid of their own ultimate good. Human beings consider sense gratification, fruitive activities, and mental speculation preyas; but one who considers service to the Lord as preyas and whose only concern is to gratify Kṛṣṇa’s senses, becomes an intimate devotee. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is such an intimate associate of Śrī Gaurāṅga and is nondifferent from Him. Accepting unalloyed devotional service as his primarily duty, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura instructed everyone to practice it. People may say that all paths lead to ultimate good, but Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura protected human society from such nondevotional propaganda. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura never discussed the incomplete, nor did he discuss nondevotional topics. His philosophy is distinct from those who try to reconcile spirit with matter and who maintain that devotional service and nondevotional service are the same. Nondevotional service and devotional service are never the same. Pleasing Kṛṣṇa and pleasing Maya are not synonymous. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had no love for anything other than pure devotional service. Before Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura appeared, the current of bhakti had been obstructed by the worldly masses. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura alone considered devotional service preyas and again made the current of bhakti flow. My spiritual master is he whose life and soul is Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s teaching. Those who respect Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s words are as good as my spiritual masters. We are under the shelter of that spiritual master who considered devotional service to be the only goal and the only thing of value. We have no relationship whatsoever with those who consider Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, who was a dear associate of Gaura, an ordinary man. May we never see the sinful faces of any unfortunate persons who are envious of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura for the rest of our lives. ## 9. Why do the pure devotees sometimes laugh and sometimes cry? It is difficult to understand the activities and behaviors of pure devotees. Love of God intoxicates them. When devotees are attached to Kṛṣṇa, they sometimes laugh and sometimes cry. Devotees laugh because they see that the world is full of happiness. This is because they are seeing Kṛṣṇa everywhere. Sometimes pure devotees cry because they realize how terribly the people of this world are suffering. They do not care what other people think of them when they exhibit these behaviors. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.40) states: evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā, jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty, unmāda-van nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly, cries, or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion. The following is from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādī 7.81-83, and 86-88: kibā mantra dilā, gosāñi, kibā tāra bala japite japite mantra karila pāgala hāsāya, nācāya, more karāya krandana eta śuni’ guru hāsi balilā vacana kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahā-mantrera ei ta’ svabhāva yei jape, tāra kṛṣṇe upajaye bhāva kṛṣṇa-nāmera phala— —’premā, sarva-śāstre kaya bhāgye sei premā tomāya karila udaya premāra svabhāve kare citta-tanu kṣobha kṛṣṇera caraṇa-prāptye upajāya lobha premāra svabhāve bhakta hāse, kānde, gāya unmatta ha-iyā nāce, iti-uti dhāya “My dear Lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mahā-mantra! “Chanting the holy name in ecstasy causes Me to dance, laugh, and cry.” When My spiritual master heard all this, he smiled and then began to speak. “It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa. “The conclusion of all revealed scriptures is that one should awaken his dormant love of Godhead. You are greatly fortunate to have already done so. “It is a characteristic of love of Godhead that by nature it induces transcendental symptoms in one’s body and makes one more and more greedy to achieve the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. “When one actually develops love of Godhead, he naturally sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes chants, and sometimes runs here and there just like a madman.” ## 10. Do “associate” and “devotee” mean the same thing? The word associate means one who constantly remains with the Lord. Those who do not remain constantly with Him cannot be called associates. Even though Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura did not appear during Mahāprabhu’s appearance, he is considered an associate because he appeared to fulfill Mahāprabhu’s desire. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is eternally intoxicated by serving Mahāprabhu, and as such he understood Mahāprabhu’s internal moods. He nourished the viśrambha-bhāva (service performed with love and devotion). Therefore Ṭhākura Mahāśaya was also an eternally perfect devotee. ## 11. Who are the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas? Devotees of Viṣṇu are called Vaiṣṇavas, devotees of Kṛṣṇa are called Kārṣṇas, and the devotees of Śrī Rādhā are called Gauḍīyas. Lord Gaurāṅga’s devotees, who are under the shelter of parakīya-mādhurya-rati and who follow Śrī Rūpa, are called Gauḍīyas. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas follow Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, the incarnation of Lalitā. Therefore they can be defined as followers of Śrī Svarūpa and Śrī Rūpa. Therefore Mahāprabhu commented to Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Prabhu, “This is the behavior of your Gauḍīya devotees.” The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas are interested in mañjarī-bhāva, and Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha, and Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana are their worshipable Deities. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta states: śrī-rādhā-saha ’śrī-madana-mohana’, śrī-rādhā-saha ’śrī-govinda’-caraṇa śrī-rādhā-saha śrīla ’śrī-gopīnātha’, ei tina ṭhākura haya ’gauḍiyāra nātha’ The Vṛndāvana Deities of Madana-mohana with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Govinda with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and Gopīnātha with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are the life and soul of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya 20.142-143) ei tina ṭhākura gauḍīyāke kariyāchena ātmasāt, e tinera caraṇa vandoṅ, tine mora nātha These three Deities of Vṛndāvana [Madana-mohana, Govinda, and Gopīnātha] have absorbed the heart and soul of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas [followers of Lord Caitanya]. I worship Their lotus feet, for They are the Lord’s of my heart. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 1.19) Madana-mohan is the same Kṛṣṇa described in the eighteen-syllable mantra worshiped by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, and Govinda is that same Govinda and Gopījana-vallabha is that same Gopīnātha. Realization of Madana-mohana Kṛṣṇa is sambandha realization, service to Govinda is abhidheya realization, and attraction to Gopījana-vallabha is prayojana realization, because Madana-mohana Kṛṣṇa is the predominating Lord of sambandha, Govinda is the predominating Lord of abhidheya, and Gopīnātha is the predominating Lord of prayojana.” Generally, Lord Gaurāṅga’s devotees are known as Gauḍīyas, and the devotees in Gauḍadeśa (Bengal) are also called Gauḍīyas, just as the devotees in Utkala are called Oḍiyās. ## 12. Who is a Vaiṣṇava? A Vaiṣṇava is one who is aloof from the influence of gold, women, and tigresslike fame. Such a person is detached and pure. Such a person can defeat the wholeworld. ## 13. Who serves the Lord in the heart? Pure devotees install the Lord in the temple of their hearts and then constantly serve Him there with love. The devotees headed by Prahlāda Mahārāja have also served the Lord by establishing Him in a temple in their hearts. It is not possible to keep a temple open at all times, but the heart temple never closes. Kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs cannot understand this type of worship. ## 14. Who is Śrī Rādhārāṇī? Śrī Rādhā is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal consort and the crest jewel among His lovers. There is no one as dear to Kṛṣṇa as Śrī Rādhā. Śrī Rādhā is not inferior to Kṛṣṇa in any way. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself accepts two forms, one as the enjoyer and the other as the enjoyed. In this way He relishes eternal pastimes. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta states: rādhā-kṛṣṇa eka ātmā, dui deha dhari anyonye vilase rasa āsvādana kari Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, but They have assumed two bodies. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of love. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 4.56) If Śrī Rādhikās beauty were not greater than the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, who is overwhelmed by His own beauty, then She would not have been able to attract that most enchanting Kṛṣṇa. Thus She is known as Madana-mohana-mohanī. Kṛṣṇa is compared to the full moon, and Rādhā is like His effulgence. She is also the origin of all Kṛṣṇa’s energies. Servants do not have sufficient words to properly describe their worshipable Lord, but the worshipable Lord can describe the truth about those servants. That is why Lord Kṛṣṇa alone is capable of revealing Śrī Rādhikās glories to us. Another personality who can reveal the science of Śrī Rādhā is the spiritual master who directly serves Kṛṣṇa and the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu and who is an intimate devotee of Śrī Gaurasundara. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure and the origin of all beauty and transcendental qualities. He is the shelter of all opulence, heroism, and knowledge. Only He is capable of understanding Śrī Rādhās greatness. What can puny human knowledge understand about Her glories, or even the knowledge of liberated souls? It is impossible to describe Her greatness, She, whose only shelter is Kṛṣṇa and who is able to enchant the most enchanting Kṛṣṇa. Because of Her opulence and sweetness, the whole world is bewildered. ## 15. Who is a real devotee? Simply by wearing matted hair or dressing like a renunciant, or even by becoming a rich householder, one is not qualified to be called a devotee. Those who are always engaged in hari-kathā are devotees. Devotees are always eager to serve Kṛṣṇa throughout their lives, and their every endeavor is aimed at pleasing Kṛṣṇa. Topics that give Kṛṣṇa pleasure are called hari-kathā. Those for whom hari-kathā is their life and soul and who cannot live without glorifying Hari are devotees. One who speaks about Kṛṣṇa for His pleasure, who is not proud of being a great speaker, and who is established as Kṛṣṇa’s servant, is a real devotee. Karmīs, jñānīs, and yogīs cannot be considered devotees. Only those with no desire other than to please Kṛṣṇa are called devotees. ## 16. Who are the Lord’s associates? The eternally perfected intimate associates of Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra are His eternal associates. Those who sincerely try to fulfill His mission are His primary associates, and those who, despite living in this world, try to make advancement in bhakti under their spiritual master’s guidance are His secondary associates. ## 17. Weren’t there many spiritual masters during the time of Śrīman Mahāprabhu? All these spiritual masters were associates of the Lord. They were all dear to Kṛṣṇa, and as such, are nondifferent from one another. Their duty was simply to preach the glories of bhakti. ## 18. How does the Supreme Lord give protection? The Absolute Truth is omniscient. In order to deliver the fallen conditioned souls and to change their perverted mentality, the most merciful Absolute Truth sends His most liberated representatives to this world. This is how He protects the people here. ## 19. What is a Vrajavāsī? The root vraja means “to walk.” Anyone who is always walking the path of satisfying Kṛṣṇa is a Vrajavāsī. One should chant the Lord’s holy name after submitting to a Vrajavāsī if one does not wish to drown in the ocean of nescience. By following in the footsteps of the Vrajavāsīs, one will attain the world of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is unable to worship Kṛṣṇa constantly, then one will lose the sense of subordination to the Vrajavāsīs. My spiritual master, Śrī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Nanda-Yaśodā, and ŚrīŚrīdāma, Sudāmāall are Vrajavāsīs.