Mahaprabhu or Maha-Visnu
by
Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Goswami Maharaj
A few years ago I explained some important siddhanta, but the general devotees could not understand. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Himself Srimati Radhika and Krsna. anarpita-carim cirat karuNayavatirNah kalau. After a very long period, after one complete day of Brahma, which comprises 1000 Kali-yuga cycles, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. He is Krsna Himself, but with the beauty and mood of Srimati Radhika. As the combined form of Srimati Radhika and Krsna, He is mahabhava-rasaraja. Perhaps you have heard this word before.It is a very special and esoteric description of the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Sacinandana Gaurahari, as given in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.
Lord Caitanya advented in Mayapura, Sri Navadvipa-dhama, only to give a most confidential and hidden treasure. Even for greatly exalted devotees such as Sanata, Sanaka, Sanandana and Sanatana, for Prahlada Maharaja, and even for Narada and Uddhava, this treasure is very mysterious. Lord Caitanya came to distribute this with two hands--not only with two hands, but with lakhs and lakhs of hands. In other words, all of the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were His hands, and they did not consider anyone's qualification.
Even tigers, bears, serpents, creepers and trees--whoever saw the lovely appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and heard Him calling, "O Krsna, where You? Where are You? O Radhike, where are You?"--became devotees. They began to sing and weep, and they received Krsna prema. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has thus descended in this world, particularly to give this prema. He did not come only to establish the yuga-dharma, or to simply act as bhakta-raksa, simply protecting His devotees from demons--the primary purpose of His advent was to establish this:
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih puratta-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanaMay that Lord, who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi, be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart.
Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of His service. [C.c., Adi-lila: 1.4]
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come only for unnatojjvala-rasa. What is this unnatojjvala-rasa? It is the gopis' mood of service to Krsna, and particularly it is the mood of Srimati Radhika. Don't think that the use of the word 'gopi' is sahajayism. If this were the case, then Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja (the author of Caitanya-caritamrta), Srila Rupa Gosvami (the author of this sloka), and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (the embodiment of Caitanya-caritamrta) are all sahajiyas; because this verse is the mangalacaraAa (invocation) and main verse of Caitanya-caritamrta.
Unnatojjvala-rasa is of two kinds: the mood of Srimati Radhika and gopis like Lalita, Visakha, Citra, etc., and also the mood of the paliya-dasis, the maidservants of Srimati Radhika. The paliya-dasis of Srimati Radhika do not want to serve Krsna if He is without Radhika. If Krsna, alone, is calling them, they will not go to Him. They do not in any way want to personally taste KrsNa. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to distribute the mood of these maidservants like Rupa-manjari and Lavanga-manjari, in their service of Srimati Radhika and Krsna. Srimati Radhika's mood cannot be given; it is Her's exclusively. As Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna fully tasted Her three moods:
sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva-
svadyo yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhava hyah samajani saci-garbha-sindhau harinduh
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.6)Desiring to understand the glory of Srimati Radharani's love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appears from the womb of Srimati Sacidevi, as the moon appears from the ocean.
The pleasure that Srimati Radhika experiences in serving and seeing Krsna cannot be given to anyone, but the mood of the maidservant gopis can be given. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore come only to give this--the mood of service to Srimati Radhika, the mood of leaning more towards Her service than Krsna's, but ultimately serving both. Prior to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance, Sri Ramanujacarya, Sri Madhvacarya and so many Vaisnava acaryas had already appeared; and incarnations like Lord Rama and Lord Nrsimha also descended. All of Them gave a very special contribution to the world, but none of Them gave this prema, called bhakti-rasa, which Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave through Srila Rupa Gosvami.
sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistam
sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam
dadati sva-padantikamWhen will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?
THE GLORY OF SRI RUPA GOSWAMI
There were so many great devotees like the six Gosvamis, Sri Svarupa Damodara and Sri Raya Ramananda, who were also present as intimate associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but this sloka, composed by Srila Narottama dasa mhakura, was especially writtne to glorify Srila Rupa Gosvami. Why? Because Srila Svarupa Damodara and Srila Raya Ramananda were Lalita and Visakha; Neither their moods nor their specific type of service can be given. They serve Krsna like Srimati Radhika serves Him, in the sense that Krsna enjoys rasa with them and they taste Krsna directly.
Srila Svarupa Damodara and Srila Raya Ramananda were the siksa-gurus of Srila Rupa Gosvami and the other Gosvamis. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu requested them, as well as Nityananda Prabhu and all of His other associates, to give special mercy to Srila Rupa Gosvami, so that he could realize His heart's inner desire, and distribute it to the entire world. They all thus gave their special mercy, and Srila Rupa Gosvami was thus empowered to compose literatures expressing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's inner moods. And in this way Srila Rupa Gosvami pleased the Lord; none before Him had composed books like this. Sriman Mahaprabhu gave a special order to Srila Rupa Gosvami; to preach what He had previously taught him at Prayaga, and to establish raganuga-bhakti, spontaneous devotional service in the world. Srila Rupa Gosvami thus fulfilled the Lord's order in his various books, such as Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and Ujjvala-nilamani. He also presented tattvas, truths, which were not vividly explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Puranas, or anywhere else, in his various works like Vidagdha-madhava and Lalita-madhava. In these and other special books, he wrote many slokas describing the moods of Srimati Radhika and the gopis, vraja-bhava.
All the acaryas in our line, beginning from Srila Svarupa Damodara and Srila Raya Ramananda down to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami and his disciples, have not come to establish vaidhi-bhakti. Because they are special acaryas, none of them have come for this. They have not come to preach the theories and moods of vaidhi-bhakti as taught by Sri Ramanujacarya, Sri Madhvacarya etc. Rather, if they were preaching these things, then they would have been representing the Sri sampradaya, Madhva sampradaya, Visnuswami sampradaya, Nimbaditya, or any other sampradaya. All of our acaryas, that is, all the acaryas in the Gaudiya Sampradaya -- beginning from Madhavendra Puripada, and Isvara Puripada down to Srila Svarupa Damodara and from them down to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja and Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja -- have not come to establish vaidhi-bhakti.
Rather, they have preached about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's descending to distribute that prema, that vraja-bhakti, that vraja-rasa. Sriman Mahaprabhu also established the yuga-dharma through nama-sankirtana and thus, but He did this through the medium of Mahavisnu, Narayana, Nrsimhadeva and the other avataras, all of whom were contained within Himself, within His own body. Because all the avataras were within Him, no other incarnation was required to perform the function of establishing the yuga-dharma and giving mercy to Jagai and Madhai. He did all this Himself. He fulfilled the wish of Advaita Acarya to appear very soon, He preached and gave Krsna prema through the chanting of the Holy Name, He tasted the moods of Srimati Radhika and He fulfilled all His other purposes.
Among all His purposes, however, two were prominent, as described in Caitanya-caritamrta -- to give Krsna prema and to taste the moods of Srimati Radhika.
prema-rasa-niryasa karite asvadana
raga-marga bhakti loke karite pracarana
rasika-sekhara krsna parama-karuna
ei dui hetu haite icchara udgamaThe Lord's desire to appear was borne from two reasons: He wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction.
Thus He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all.
Krsna is Rasika-sekhara. Do you know what the meaning of rasika-sekhara is? He is the taster, the enjoyer of all rasas, and He is the ocean of prema-rasa. Lord Rama has some rasa, but He is not an unlimited ocean of rasa. Lord Nrsimhadeva has one rasa. When He appeared, He was rudra, angry and the whole world was fearful. But Krsna is rasika-sekhara, an endless ocean; there is no limit to the depth of the ocean of His rasa. In a general sense, all scriptures glorify Krsna in this way, but according to Gaudiya siddhanta (the disciplic succession coming from Lord Caitanya) Srimati Radhika is a greater ocean of rasa than Krsna. If He were to dive into that ocean, He Himself would not be able to fathom its depth. Actually, the Srimad-Bhagavatam was only presented for the purpose of glorifying Srimati Radhika and the gopis. So many Puranas and other literatures were previously written to glorify Krsna, and so, in Srimad-Bhagavatam, in glorifying Krsna was not the supreme objective; rather it was to glorify the prema of the vraja-bhaktas.
Krsna is not the object of life. Krsna prema is our object.
Kamsa also had darsana of Krsna, but he had no prema and therefore could not satisfy or serve Krsna. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta it has been revealed that Krsna prema is the supreme goal of all jivas, and that Radha prema is the supermost prema. Krsna, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, came only to taste that prema, and to give the moods of Rupa-manjari, Rati-manjari and all paliya-dasis of Srimati Radhika.
The jiva cannot possess the mood of Srimati Radhika. He cannot digest more than the mood of paliya-dasi -- but that mood is a very high position.
Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, and all the Gosvamis were absorbed in this internal mood of servant of Srimati Radhika.
sankhya-purvaka-nama-gana-natibhih kalavasani-krtau
nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau catyanta-dinau ca yau
radha-krsna-guna-smrter madhurimanandena sammohitau
vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunath dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord and bowing down in a scheduled measurement. In this way they utilized their valuable lives, and in executing these devotional activities they conquered over eating and sleeping and were always meek and humble, enchanted by remembering the transcendental qualities of the Lord."
This is such a beautiful sloka. Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, and all of the Six Gosvamis chanted and rolled on the ground in Vrndavana.
Sometimes they were in Radha-kunda or Syama-kunda, sometimes in Vrndavana or Bandhiravana or and sometimes in Nandagaon or Varsana Everywhere they were weeping profusely and calling out, "O Radhike where are You?" With very deep feelings, they daily chanted not less than one lakh of harinama. They were absorbed in thinking of Krsna's Names and pastimes, and they were offering lakhs and lakhs of dandavat-pranamas. They prayed: "He Radhe! He Radhe! He Krsna! Karuna-sindhu! Dina-bandu! Jagat-pate!". They were always chanting these types of slokas and weeping.
Srila Rupa Gosvami was in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, giving only the moods which the Lord wanted him to preach. Srila Jiva Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Srila Syamananda Prabhu, Srila Narottama Thakura, Srila Srinivasa Acarya, and after that Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, Srila Gaura Kisora das babaji Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivinode das Thakura -- all are Rupanuga Vaisnavas. They have not come to preach vaidhi bhakti, but they did so in order to first cut the jungles of philosophical misconceptions, then to establish the yuga-dharma, and then to give these deeper conceptions. Without this preliminary work, no-one can understand their inner moods and real purpose.
Srila Svami Maharaja has also come to give this supreme conception to the world. He did not come just to give Harinama or establish vaidhi bhakti; he has given us these principles to prepare us for further progress. He has cut down the jungles of mayavada, sahajiyism and sakhi bekhism (those who, although full of material desires, dress themselves as sakhis of Radha and Krsna) and all other spiritual misconceptions. Wherever he went, he purified hearts, but his mula, his root objective, was to give this supreme prema.
Have you read Swami's commentaries of Upadesamrta, The Nectar of Instruction? The first sloka is:
vaco vegam manasah krodha-vagam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyatA sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.
First, we have to practice this; this is related to vaidhi bhakti. Srila Rupa Gosvami has given these practices.We have so many material desires. After the age of 18 or 19, we contemplate whether or not to marry, and this becomes a very big problem. "Oh, Swamiji has married, and so I should also marry.
Then, after 70 years of age I should take the renounced order." We don't know what to do, and we are always in dilemma.
We see that for the sake of bhakti, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami and Sri Narada Muni did not obey their father. Srila Vyasadeva, desiring that his son Sukadeva remain at home with him, called out, "Come on, come on, my son! My son!" But Srila Sukadeva Gosvami ran toward a very dense forest and never returned. When Srila Narada Muni's mother died, he also ran away into the forest. Lord Brahma told Narada, "You are my son. Your older brothers, Sanat Sanandana, Sanaka and Sanatana Kumara, have not obeyed me, and they've gone to do austerities for the pleasure of their Istadeva, their worshipable Lord.
But now you are born from me, and you must obey. When you reach maturity, you should marry and be like me. I have two wives, and you may have more than that -- no harm." But Narada did not obey; he left his home.
So what to do? We have been repeatedly marrying -- not only in this life, but for hundreds and millions of lives. If in one life you do not marry, what is the harm? Asses, pigs and hogs also marry. Let marriage remain aside for this human body. Srila Rupa Gosvami writes:
vaco vegam manasah krodha vegam
jivha-vegam udaropastha vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyatA sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world. Such a person is jagat guru.
For whom are these instructions? They are for those who want Krsna prema, for those who want to serve Krsna. But first you must make a platform, a ground from which to grow. Srila Swami Maharaja has also told us to do this.
In the next sloka, Srila Rupa Gosvami says:
atyaharah prayasas ca prajalpo niyamagrahah jana-sangas ca laulyam ca sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati (upadesamrta #2)
One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krsna conscionsness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.
If you are not giving up these six detriments to devotional service, your bhakti will disappear and your life will be destroyed. Don't engage in these activities.
In the third sloka, Srila Rupa Gosvami writes:
utsahan niscayad dhairyat dhairyat tat-tat-karma-pravartanat sanga tyagat satovrtteh sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati
There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam--hearing, chanting and remembering Krsna], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous acaryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.
Some aspiring devotee may have been chanting the Holy Name for the past 10 or 15 years, but still he cannot fix his mind. His mind is always disturbed and his desires for tasting the pleasures of the world are not decreasing; rather, they are increasing. This means he has no faith. He wonders, therefore, if his attempt to control his senses is going to be in vain; he wonders if he should thus give up his attempt. Don't think like this.
utsahan niscayad dhairyat.
All jivas are qualified to do bhajan. Ajamila, Jagai and Madhai, Bilvamangala -- and even more wretched persons than them -- received the service of Krsna. Niscayat means "confidence". We should have the confidence that by practicing the principles of bhakti, we will certainly achieve Krsna prema. Dhairyat means patience. Krsna consciousness is not like a laddhu or rasagulla which we can easily taste, simply by putting it in our mouth. Even for a few dollars, we have to work hard, day and night. How can we think that the highest attainment, Krsna consciousness, will enter our mouth like a rasagulla. We will surely have to endeavour for it. Whatever practices our previous acaryas adopted, both in householder life, and in the renounced order, we have to follow. Unfortunately, however, we are not actually following. We must try to adopt all these principles.
Next, in the fourth sloka, Srila Rupa Gosvami discusses the six kinds of sanga:
dadati pratigrhnati
guhyam akhyaiti prcchati
bhukte bhojayate caiva
sad-vidham priti-laksanam
(Upadesamrta #4)Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.
After this, Srila Rupa Gosvami explains how we should properly honor Vaisnavas.
krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti cet pranatibhis ca bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya-
nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya"One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Krsna, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation [diksa] and is engaged in worshiping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others."
If we have no taste for Harinama -- and if we want to achieve that taste -- we'll have to regularly practice these principles, appropriately honoring devotees.
THE ESSENCE OF ALL ADVICE
Srila Rupa Gosvami states:
tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saramThe essence of all advice is that one should utilize one's full time--twenty-four hours a day--in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one's tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vrndavanaa dhama] and serve Krsna under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord's beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.
You should read Swamiji's splendid explanation of this sloka. He writes that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has descended to this world only to distribute Krsna prema. If you want this prema, you must follow the principles of this sloka.
Here, Srila Rupa Gosvami has briefly given the sum and substance of the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
One should nicely chant and rememberthe Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one's tongue and mind.
If you want to have Krsna prema, then [tan nama rupa caritadi] you should chant the Names of Krsna. And what are the best Names? The best Names are those in relation to [tisthan vraje tadanuragi jananugami] Krsna in
Vrndavana, in the relations with His dearmost devotees there.
he Krsna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta Radha-kanta namo 'stu teO my dear Krsna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
The author is praying, "O Krsna, You are very kind, merciful, charming and beautiful. I beg you to bestow your mercy." He considers here, that if one is very humble, then the Lord's mercy can be obtained --otherwise not.
Rain falls on the top of hills, but it does not remain there. it eventually collects in a pit or a valley. The pit represents the humble devotee and the rainfall represents Krsna's mercy. If we are not humble -- although mercy is always everywhere -- we cannot gather it. The author therefore says: dina bandho! I am not qualified or humble, but you have so much mercy for everyone. Dina means fallen and I am certainly one of the fallen souls. I have so much false ego, however, that I don't consider myself a wretched person.
Jagat-pate. I am in this world, but you are Jagat-pate, master of the entire universe. You nourish and support everyone in the universe, and I am one of them. The above Names are Names of Vasudeva Krsna, and now the author calls out to the Krsna of Vrndavana. He says "Gopesa, you are the Lord of the gopas and gopis of Vrndavanaa, Vraja, but I am not among them." He wants to be among them and so he then prays, "You are also very beloved of the gopis." This Name is more prominent, but the most prominent Name is the final Name of the prayer, Radha Kanta. Radha Kanta means that Krsna is controlled by Radha.
So we should chant these Names and remember the pastimes of Krsna connected with them. If you chant the Name Damodara, what will you remember? Yasoda Mayi is binding Krsna to the ukkal, grinding mortar; He is weeping because Yasoda is chastising and controlling Him. Then, there is also another Damodara -- Radha Damodara, that is, Krsna, who is controlled by Srimati Radhika. One can remember these pastimes: how Srimati Yasoda controls Krsna, or how Srimati Radhika controls Him.
It is better to live only in Vrndavana, where these pastimes were performed.
And if one cannot live there, he or she can be there by mind. But that alone is not sufficient, for Srila Rupa Gosvami gives still another rule. We will have to be under the guidance of a rasika tattva-jna Vaisnava, that is, under the guidance of a fully realized soul who has complete knowledge of sastra, and who is experiencing his loving relationship (rasa) with Krsna! Like Srila Rupa Gosvami, or his rupanuga Vaisnava followers. Otherwise, it is not possible to advance on this path.
This is the most essential of all the upadesa, the instructions of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Swamiji Maharaja has come to give these elevated principles through the Holy Name, and for unqualified persons he also gave vaidhi-bhakti through the Name. His innermost mood, however, was to give this Krsna prema. I explained in Vrndavana that Srila Swami Maharaja was not in the line of Advaita Acarya, Mahavisnu, who comes in each kali-yuga to establish the yuga-dharma of chanting the Holy Name, This kali-yuga Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally came to establish the Name with vraja prema: and as this was His speciality, it was also the speciality of Swamiji. So I have glorified Swamiji. I've established that he has come in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa Gosvami to give this prema -- as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did, he has also established yuga-dharma.
Swamiji was a rupanuga Vaisnava, a follower of Rupa Gosvami and Rupa Manjari.
Although I explained this previously, some devotees could not understand.
They told me: "Oh, you are not glorifying our Gurudeva." But he is my Gurudeva, not only yours. I have shared my Gurudeva with you, only to sprinkle some mercy on you. You cannot glorify him more than I can. He has given me a special opportunity to serve him, and so I am offering my heartfelt puspanjali at his lotus feet here. You should try to obey all his principles and try to have the same internal mood and objective as Swamiji, that is, vraja-prema, gopi-prema. This is our goal; but you should begin from the very preliminary stages and, anyabhilasita sunyam, ultimately give up all material desires -- to please Krsna. I offer my dandavat pranams to His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja.