Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.101
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Washington, D.C., July 6, 1976

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) “Translation: Out of Your causeless mercy, You have delivered me from the materialistic path. Now, by the same causeless mercy, please tell me what my duty is.”

Prabhupada:

krpa kari’ yadi more kariyacha uddhara apana-krpate kaha ‘kartavya’ amara

So service of Krsna is not idleness. There are different methods of spiritual realization, especially jnana and yoga. That is all right, but actual process of self-realization is service. If you speculate to know about God… You can do so, but after knowing God, if you do not know what God desires you to do, then such kind of knowledge is simply waste of time. That is, you may, of course… That is not real knowledge. Real knowledge is to—that will be explained—to be induced to give some service to the Lord. In the beginning, this is called santa-rasa, to understand the greatness of God, “God is great.”

So we can discuss about the greatness of God, but next stage is that “God is so great, why not let me render some service unto the Supreme, the great?” That is one step forward. Simply to know “God is great and I am engaged in my own occupational duty,” there is no symptom of love. Symptom of love means when one is eager to render some service to the beloved. That is love. Simply I love you and you love me, formality, but there is no service, that is not real love. Real love begins as it is stated in the sastra, dadati pratigrhnati: to give something to the lover, to the beloved, and to take something. Dadati pratigrhnati bhunkte bhojayate: to accept some eatables from your beloved, and offer him something for eating. Bhunkte bhojayate. Guhyam akhyati prcchati. And you disclose your mind; there is no secrecy between the lover and the beloved. And the other party also discloses. In this way, love becomes manifest. And our business in this human life, as recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, prema pumartho mahan. The highest achievement of life is to be situated on the loving platform with God. That is the highest perfection.

We are, in the material world, we are also busy loving somebody. That is our whole business. Unless one has got family affection, love for wife, children, he cannot work. That is the impetus for economic development. It is admitted by big, big economists. A family man is responsible. Because he has got responsibility to maintain the wife, children, therefore he works hard. That is impetus. So love is there. Unless there is love, you cannot work. That is not possible. So this is material way of life. So from the morning till night,

sita atapa bata varisana e dina jamini jagi re viphale sevinu, krpana durajana capala sukha-laba lagi’ re

There is a song, the devotee is singing that sita atapa bata varisana. Sita means severe cold, winter season, snow falling. That is called sita. And scorching heat. You have no experience of scorching heat. In India we have got 110, 120, and I think Middle East, there is 135. Here you have got less, 50 in winter. So some way or other there is always trouble. This material world means we must suffer trouble. Either scorching heat or pinching cold or blast or adhidaivika, adhyatmika. These things should be discussed. But still we got to work, why? Only for love. That is the only cause. I love my children, I love my wife, or I love my country, my society. Love is there. But this love is not giving me satisfaction. We are disappointed. As I, yesterday I cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi. For his country’s love, he did so much. He wanted Hindu-Muslim unity, and he wanted nonviolence. In this way he was organizing. But the world is so ungrateful that instead of unity of Hindu-Muslim, in India we experienced complete partition, Hindustan and Pakistan. So he was baffled. And so far nonviolence was concerned, he was killed by violence. So he died very disappointed. So everyone… This is giving the best example, typical example. Everyone. We are attached to the love of this material world, but we are all disappointed. From everyone’s experience, you’ll find. Everyone is disappointed. Both sides, the lover and the beloved, both sides. You have got very good experience in this country. They marry, again they are divorced, because disappointed. So this is going on. Therefore our love has to be reposed to Krsna. That is the recommendation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prema pumartho mahan. Pumartho, we want some achievement in this life. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Achieve love of Godhead. That is the best.” Prema pumartho mahan. So this Krsna consciousness movement is for that purpose, how we can develop our love for Krsna. The love is already there, but it is misplaced, misplaced. Somebody is loving somebody, somebody is loving somebody, but it is misplaced. Real love, if it is executed for the service of the Lord, then our life is successful.

So this Sanatana Gosvami, he was minister, he was not ordinary person. Very intelligent. So… Not that now he has retired, he has nothing to do. He does not ask, “Please give me instruction how I shall sit down idly and meditate and sleep, snoring.” He does not say. He said, apana-krpate kaha ‘kartavya’ amara. Something tangible to be done. Not that this so-called meditation. Meditation will automatically be there. If you do, if you sacrifice your life for serving Krsna, you’ll always remember Krsna. You’ll always remember Krsna. Just like you are taking so much trouble, going place to place to give one book to somebody. Why? Because you love Krsna and you are thinking if this gentleman takes one book, never mind, small or big, he’ll read at least one page about Krsna. So you are thinking of Krsna. That is meditation. Not that simply sit down at a place. The real meditation is how to think of Krsna. That is real meditation. I am thinking of some light or some sky, like that—they are not meditation; they have manufactured now. Because they have no connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so they think these are the meditation, some light, some sky, some vacant. No. Some tangible thing. We should be always. That tangible thing is Krsna: Krsna’s form, Krsna’s pastimes, Krsna’s activities, Krsna’s desire, how to fulfill it, that is wanted. That is Krsna consciousness.

So Sanatana Gosvami is begging. You know Sanatana Gosvami, he was instructed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu for two months. And he was given responsibility to go to Vrndavana and develop Vrndavana. Before Sanatana Gosvami went there it was field. Because Krsna’s lila was there, for five thousand years it became a vacant field only. Nobody knew where is Vrndavana. It is Sanatana Gosvami, he went there and he excavated. He constructed the first temple in Vrndavana, Madana-Mohana temple. You have seen who have gone to Vrndavana. So these responsibilities he took after listening Him continually for two months. This is Sanatana siksa we are studying. This is required. This is required. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, the perfect meditation, perfect yogi is he who always thinks of Krsna.

yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah [Bg. 6.47]

He is first-class yogi. Who? “Who is always thinking of Me,” Krsna says. Always thinking of Krsna. Always thinking “How I shall preach Krsna’s words, Krsna’s message?” The Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission and Krsna’s mission is the same. Only the difference is that Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He’s ordering. Because He’s God, He has the position to order you, everyone. Everyone is servant, and He is the supreme master; therefore He is ordering, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66] So you give up all other occupational duties, simply engage yourself to serve Him. This is His order. But people misunderstood it because they are not trained up. Therefore Krsna again came as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to distribute Krsna.

namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah [Madhya 19.53]

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu also said the same thing, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128] He does not say, “I have manufactured something, you take it.” No. He said you take up seriously what Krsna has said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. So every acarya… Sanatana Gosvami is acarya, direct disciple of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is taking shelter. He has already taken; therefore he said, krpa kari’ yadi more kariyacha uddhara. He’s already, he knows. Because he met Caitanya Mahaprabhu when he was minister and he got the inspiration that “I must resign from this post, my ministership. I must join Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to spread this Krsna consciousness movement,” then that determination, he is already liberated. That determination. Therefore he says, “I know it is not a very easy thing. I was minister, I was in a very good position.” Tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tucchavat. He was minister. Naturally, his associate were very, very exalted persons. Tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati, mandala-pati, big, big leaders, big, big merchants, big, big industrialists or something like that, very, very big men. They are called mandala-pati. One who has control over many people, he is called mandala-pati. So who will have control unless he is a very big man? So about these Gosvamis it is said, tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tucchavat. They gave up such position, exalted position, tucchavat, “Eh. Insignificant. What is this?” There is no meaning of this. He was not madman, but he gave up. He understood that these exalted posts… They are hankering after, they are trying to capture the big, big post, materialistic persons, laboring so hard, spending so much money. And he already possessed that position, and out of his own, or the inspiration by Krsna, he resigned it. The master, the Nawab Shah, was unwilling to give him release. He became very, very sorry, that “If Sanatana Gosvami resigns, then my empire will be ruined. I was so confident that he is managing. Now he’s going to resign, the whole responsibility will be mine.” So he became very much disturbed. He arrested him, “No, you cannot resign, then I’ll keep you arrested.” So many things happened. But still he resigned and he came to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Therefore he knows that to take away from this maya’s bondage, it is already fixed-up, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. Otherwise it was not possible. Therefore he said, krpa kari’ yadi more kariyacha uddhara. “I know that it is due to Your mercy that I have been able to give up such position, maya’s position, as Your man. So now order me what is my duty.” This is devotee. Not that “Now I am free from family life, I have no responsibility. Now I shall take prasadam and sleep.” No. That is not. (laughs) You must be hundred times more active than in your family life. That is devotional. Of course, it is not pride, but take from example of my life. I was retired in Vrndavana, and at seventy years old I thought that it was to be done: “Nobody did it. Let me try.” So I came to America. Today is the tenth anniversary. (devotees cheer) So at least from material calculation, if I had not taken that risk… When I was coming, my friends and others said, “This man is going to die.” “Never mind,” I thought, “death will come. Let me try.” So this activity must be there. That is the begging of Sanatana Gosvami, that he said, apana-krpate kaha ‘kartavya’ amara: “What shall I do?” Doesn’t matter what is your age, young man or old man. You must execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, parampara, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and your guru. That is real life of devotional service, to take some responsibility for working and execute it to your best capacity.

In this connection, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has explained in connection with the verse,

vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-sakha (hy) anantas ca buddhi avyavasayinam

So in this connection, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura said that “My only duty is to execute the order of my spiritual master. I do not mind whether I am going to hell or going back to Godhead. No. My only life and soul is to execute the order of my spiritual master.” He has explained like that. So devotional service is great responsibility, to execute the order of the superior. Then our life is successful.

Thank you very much. (end)