The Travels of Gopa Kumara - Part I
Sri Sanatan Goswami's Sri Bhagavat-amrta is filled with love and concern for all aspiring transcendentalists. Following is a small installment in two parts from that valuable treasure chest.

One may have the doubt that Shravan-Kirtana etc. are done with or through the material senses only, but it is not a fact. A devotee’s senses are surcharged with the electric current of devotion and in consonance with the soul they function—the whole thing is here transcendental which is not understood by gross materialists. Like an iron rod which when placed in fire gets the power of the fire the soul surcharged with Bhakti makes the physical body cultured by the soul with the divine elements. Bhakti and Bhakta both are Aprakrita and we are the very example thereof. Without in any way being associated with phenomenal qualities (prakrita) we, through our spiritual body and senses eternally cultivate different types of Bhakti and for propagating it we freely roam about all the worlds. A neophyte devotee may think that his endeavour of culturing the Bhakti shows the progress in his willingness of Shravana and Kirtana. But the fact is this: that to create enthusiasm and rapture in him for tasting the succulence of Bliss, Bhaktidevi kindly condescends to the senses of the serving temperament. The great souls never agree with the theory that Bhakti depends upon one’s own endeavour; it entirely depends upon the Grace of God.

Therefore Gopakumar ! if you desire to go immediately to Vaikuntha then go to that Sri Vraja-Land, because that Vraja is the best land to fulfil the highest pursuit in life. There you should constantly perform Sri Krishna - nama-sankirtana which is the best among all the transcendental devotional practices but that should be done with the sole yearning of attaining the Lotus-Feet of Sri Bhagavan and at the same time must be completely dissociated from the tendency of jnana and karma. Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana soon will bring forth the Prema unto the heart and endowed with the treasure of Prema you will happily enter in Vaikuntha and have the vision of Sri Krishna in Person. No doubt the yogindras of Tapo-loka have said that among all the elements of Bhakti the Smaran (meditation) is the best and as per their idea Kirtana is cultured only through the tongue and that may be pleasing to the ears but that happiness is very little whereas Smaran is done in the mind who is the monitor of all the senses and it dissociates the mind from the attachment of the worldly objects which is practically impossible by other means. Therefore Smaran is definitely superior to Kirtana.

But to speak the truth-, In our opinion which is the unbaised conclusion Kirtana is the best among all for Smaran is done only in mind which is very treacherous whereas Kirtana delights the tongue, mind and ears as well as those who listen to it. Again Smaran cannot be perfectly done without Kirtana. Without Kirtana the treacherous mind is not composed; nay it is said that what could be had in Satya-yuga by Dhyana, in Tretayuga by Yajna and Dvaparayuga by Archana can all be easily had in Kaliyuga by Sri Krishna-nama-kirtana.

Therefore Kirtana is superior to them all; Kirtana is the friend to his all other senses as well as to those who listen to it—they all get a chance to culture Bhakti whereas Smaran is only for the mind. Secondly if the tongue, which drives the outer and inner senses is controlled then chitta becomes complacent and in the complacent heart only Smaran of Bhagavan is possible. Therefore Kirtana favours the Smaran—this is the agreed statement of the persons who subscribe to the process of Dhyana.

Again second argument may be that when Smriti of God becomes constant there comes Dhyana. At the time of Kirtana when Dhyana comes then all the senses viz. tongue, eye, ear get absorbed in Dhyana; so Dhyana is definitey superior to Kirtana.

Now it is a fact that as per the spiritual sentiment of the particular devotee one takes recourse to the perceptive aspect of nine-fold Bhakti-sadhana and in harmony with his taste the prescribed aspect becomes the best and sweetest. So it is said by the holy men, as per one’s Nistha sentimental attachment to the respective aspect of Bhakti one secures Prema. Here we find Sankirtana helps the pleasure of Dhyana; again Dhyana also helps the Kirtana to go deeper therefore both are reciprocal and we may say both are same. Dhyana is as blissful as Sankirtana because both give remembrance of the Beloved Lord and bring forth peace in the heart. Contradicting this a subscriber of Dhyana-method may argue that even as a man with high fever may feel that he drinks sweet cool water and without water may even quench his thirst, likewise in Dhyana one may feel Bliss, but in Kirtana everything cannot be expressed such as expressing one’s sorrowful heart to his dear friend so as to get solace, and there are certain things most secret which cannot be exposed in public through Kirtana whereas in Dhyana one may perpetuate it in mind and feel greater Bliss than Kirtana. But the fact is that Dhyana is possible only at a solitary place and that too alone but Kirtana can be performed in a lonely as well as crowded place. Amongst all the Kirtana Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana is the best because this Nama-sankirtana produces Prema in no time.

Therefore the wise without any contradiction have established that Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana is the best process among all phases of Bhakti. When Sri Krishna-nama enchants a devotee in ecstasy and dances on his tongue, at that time the devotee drinks deep the Nectarine succulence thereof which cannot be compared with anything else; nay who will be able to fathom its depth? Although the greatness of all the divine Names is the same yet as per one’s spiritual sentiment one takes recourse to a particular Name and thereby delightfully chanting the same he get his solace. The nectarine divine Name when it dances on the tongue subsequently surcharges all other senses with Bliss. The divine Name when sung aloud inundates the chanter with Bliss at the same time the listeners too, whereas Dhyana creates ananda and benefits only one who does it. Therefore Kirtana is far superior to Dhyana. Sri Krishna -namasankirtana is the safest, easiest, strongest and most direct means to attain the Prema.

It is dearest to Sri Krishna and it infatuates Sri Krishna at once. Not only that, the Premic devotees of Sri Krishna accept Sri Nama-sankirtana as the be-all and end-all. Without any contradiction, it is a fact that Sri Krishna-nama-Sankirtana directly brings forth the Prema into the devotee, and it submerges him into the ocean of Bliss. Those who are drinking deep the nectar of Prema jointly in single voice declare that Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana itself is the very embodiment of Prema. They also say, Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana brings ecstacy which the best charactic of Prema. It enchants all the senses at a time. Ecstatic singing of Krishna-nama-sankirtana and Krishna-Prema both are the same. Even at the pang of separation Premic devotees get solace in singing Namasankirtana, as a chataka bird looketh for quenching his thirst nowhere else even when there is no cloud of rains but cries for water from the sky, or as a female chakrabak bird at night for union with her consort cries all the while so too a premic (Love-lorn) devotee in pang of separation from his beloved Lord sings Sri Krishna-nama.

This Vipra-lambha-bhajan is the Zenith of Prema. The Leelas and Glories of Sri Krishna are an ocean of nectarine Bliss and Namasankirtana is the natural flow of current of different Leelas and Glories of that ocean of nectarine Bliss. It flows in the heart of the devotee on its own accord by the Grace of Sri Krishna alone it cannot be had by one’s own effort.

A sincere aspirant who does Namasankirtana through a proper channel (free from the offences of Nama and properly guided by having enlightenment from a spiritual Guru) finds his apparent sufferings due to sins being destroyed in time if he simply wishes. Suppose a devotee physically or mentally is suffering; he may think it is due to his prarabdha (previous sins) but such suffering can be got rid of if he simply prays for it whereas a true devotee never prays for any thing save and except service to Sri Krishna for His satisfaction alone. One who is not a genuine devotee who shouts Krishna-nama with the selfish idea to get rid of his suffering; never gets rid of sufferings, on the contrary he commits offence against the divine Name. Those who serve Harinama are really great souls. The current of the nectarine Bliss that flows in their heart they want to keep secretly even as a man with a great fortune does not allow others to know it: therefore outwardly a devotee exhibits in his person some type of sufferings or being born in a low family.

Sri Krishna-nama-sankirtana washes away all type of defects and sorrows of a devotee but some great souls, to give a lesson to the people, being as gracious as the Lrod welcome sorrows in life; or apparently something wrong they do, such as devotees like Bharata who though pure in heart yet to teach the aspirant about the consequence of attachment loved a fawn; next Yudhisthira so great that he was known as Dharmaraj. He too accepted the challenge of Dyutakrida (playing of dice) they all were maintaining austere purity yet they did so just to warn the people against the evil deeds.