Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Tree of Transcendental Love of Krishna

Thus, the Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu brought the desire tree of devotional service to this earth and became its gardener. He sowed the seed and sprinkled upon it the water of His will. In [the] purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda says, "In many places devotional service has been compared to a creeper. One has to sow the seed of the devotional creeper, bhakti-latā, within his heart. Bhakti creeper, within his heart."

This is the field where the seed of [the] bhakti creeper will be sowed. As he regularly hears and chants, the seed will fructify because the hearing and chanting is the watering to that bhakti-latā. śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale karaye secana [CC Madhya 19.152]. śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale Water is hearing and chanting. That is watering. Regular watering. Nitya-śravaṇ-kīrtan. One should [regularly do] this hearing and chanting. Then [that waters] that bhakti creeper.

So gradually it will grow into [a] mature plant and then produce the fruit of devotional service, that is prema. That is prema. That is love of Godhead. That is the fruit of that creeper. Fruits the gardener mālā-kāraḥ can then enjoy without impediments. The gardener has planted that creeper tree, so he may enjoy when the fruit, [the] ripened fruit[,] comes.

But when Mahāprabhu here [speaks,] he says, "Śrīman Mahāprabhu [H]imself is the tree of transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa, and He is also the gardener, and He is also the bestower, enjoyer of His fruit." He [H]imself, He is the gardener. He is the tree, and He is the gardener. And [H]e will be also [the] enjoyer of the [fruit,] bestower and enjoyer and bestower of that fruit of prema.

That's prema, isn't it? That is the fruit of that creeper, bhakti-latā. kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Kṛṣṇa, Love of Godhead. Himself enjoy[s] and Himself distributes. Mahāprabhu is not selfish. He is not selfish. He never enjoys Himself alone. He distributes His fruit to everyone indiscriminately[,] [as] Kavirāja Gosvāmī has written[,] and it [is] said,

namo mahā-vadānyāy kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

[CC Madhya 19.53]

Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has [composed this] pranama-mantra. I pay my obeisance to that Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya mahā-vadānyāya avatāra, who is the most munificent incarnation. Kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya because He gives kṛṣṇa-prema. ā-pāmaraṁ yo vitatāra. He says, "ā-pāmaraṁ yo vitatāra." Indiscriminately, He gives this kṛṣṇa-prema. He never discriminates whether one is eligible to get [it] or not.

dīna-hīna-patita-pāmara nāhi bāche
brahmāra durlabha prema sabākāre yāce

This prema is [very rare,] rarely given. When Kṛṣṇa came as Mahāprabhu, in that incarnation He gave it. In [another] incarnation, it was not given, or it is not given. Therefore, Mahāprabhu is known as [the] mahā-vadānyāya avatāra, [the] most munificent incarnation, because [He] freely distributes this kṛṣṇa-prema. [He] never discriminates whether one is eligible to get [it] or not. Even patita-pāmara, [the] most degraded, most fallen, most wretched persons, are also given [it] without discrimination.

Here it is said [that] this prema is the—what [do] you say?—most ripened, nectarian[,] juicy fruit of that creeper, [the] bhakti creeper. That is the most ripened, nectarian[,] juicy fruit of that creeper, [the] bhakti creeper. In Caitanya Caritāmṛta, [if] you go further, further, [in] Madhyalila, you will find this thing, Mahāprabhu, His teachings[;] He has Rūpa Śikṣā. In Rūpa Śikṣā, you can find this thing.

In the... [works] of Rūpa Gosvāmī, there you can find how He has discussed all these things about [the] bhakti creeper. About [the] bhakti creeper. I am not going [into] that anyway. That is discussed [there]. There he says,

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

[CC Madhya 22.107]

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya, śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya. It is not [an] easy affair that one can get Kṛṣṇa prema. It is all perfect, eternally perfect prema. Prema is eternally perfect, and we have that relationship with Kṛṣṇa. [An] eternally perfect loving relationship we have with Kṛṣṇa. We should understand this thing.

We have this eternally perfect loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa, so this is [a] question of love. And Mahāprabhu gives that love freely in this movement, so He has become [the] most munificent incarnation. Kṛṣṇa has not given that thing. rakṣe [lukāya] That is said. Kṛṣṇa keeps it hidden, most secure, most hidden.

Seven chambers, seven chests, [a] very tightly locked chest. One chest inside another chest[,] inside another chest[,] inside another chest, all tightly locked. Because it is very confidential. It is not easy[,] and it is a rare thing, durlabha. So we also sing that song.

atyanta durlabha prema koribāre dāna
śikhāya śaraṇāgati bhakatera prāna

That we sing. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung that.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu jīve doyā kori’
swa-pārṣada swīya dhāma saha avatari’
atyanta durlabha prema koribāre dāna
śikhāya śaraṇāgati bhakatera prāna

Why [did] Mahāprabhu [come]? This is the purpose He has come. Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, not different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said His last thing, His last instruction He gave, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [BG 18.66][,] His last thing, last instruction. Śaraṇāgati. sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja Giving up all varieties of religion, just surrender unto Me. That's it.

[In the] Gita, [the Bhagavad]-gita, [it is the] last concluding instruction. He just said it. [He] theoretically said [it]. He said it theoretically. Then He [wound] up His līlā [and] went to His abode. There He thought, "I only said this thing. Can these people of Kali Yuga understand this thing, in tattva? If somebody is intelligent, [he] can understand it [wisely] and practice it in his life, then he will get Me. Otherwise, how can he approach?"

But the people of Kali Yuga cannot understand. [It is a] mostly degraded age, [a] sinful age. All are engaged in sinful activities. Consciousness is soaked in low[,] polluted consciousness. How can they understand this tattva of śaraṇāgati? I have only said [it] theoretically. I have not practically demonstrated how to surrender. So, [for] this I have to go again. I have to go again." Because He is suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ [BG 5.29][,] [H]e is [the] only well-wishing friend of all living entities. So, He thought like that and came again as Mahāprabhu.

And another point is also there. You should understand another point is also there. Because in Kṛṣṇa līlā, Kṛṣṇa was the enjoyer. He was the enjoyer. He has said, "I am [the] only enjoyer." ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca [BG 9.24]. He is [the] only bhokta. He is [the] only enjoyer. Nobody [else] is [an] enjoyer. He is therefore called puruṣa. Puruṣa means enjoyer. Supreme puruṣa, supreme enjoyer. All [others] are to be enjoyed. That is called bhokta.

So [the] gopīs, He is Gopīnātha, He is Gopī-kānta, the husband of [the] gopīs. When a place is [secluded] in the jungle of Vṛndāvana, at the dead of night, all [the] gopīs run. [At the] dead of night, all [the] gopīs run there[,] leaving aside all their household paraphernalia, their husbands, their children, their family members, breaking their family tie[s], which [are] very difficult to break. They go there. They have said [this] thing, in the tenth canto, [of] Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, you find.

pati-sutānvaya-bhrātṛ-bāndhavān ativilaṅghya te ’nty acyutāgatāḥ
gati-vidas tavodgīta-mohitāḥ kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi

[ŚB 10.31.16]

kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi, [the] Gopīs say, "Oh, Acyutā! Don't you know why we have come here? Don't you know it? Being very much enchanted by [Y]our sweet singing of [the] flute, we have come here[,] leaving aside our pati, our husband[s], our relatives, kith and kin, sons, brothers, friends, [everything,] breaking our family tie[s], we have come here at this dead of night to [Y]ou. But [Y]ou are such a crooked person." He is crooked. [In] three places curved, not straight[,] curved. Kṛṣṇa is never straight. [In] three places curved. Not one, two, [but] three. Such a crooked person. Just say Kapaṭī, you see. That word is there. Here it says Kapaṭī.

kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi ativilaṅghya te ’nty acyutāgatāḥ gati-vidas tavodgīta-mohitāḥ kitava yoṣitaḥ kas "But You are such a crooked person, You don't know why [we] have come? We have been so much enchanted with the sweet singing of [Y]our flute, so we have come here, leaving aside everything, breaking that very hard knot. [The] family tie is very hard to break. We broke it and [came] here. You know it, [yet] still[,] still [Y]ou leave us."

Then Kṛṣṇa says,

na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā

[ŚB 10.32.22]

Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Oh, gopīs, I cannot repay [it]. I cannot pay back the debt [with which] you have [indebted Me]. [By] your pure love, you have developed such pure love for Me that you broke such [a] very hard family tie, which is very hard to break, but you broke it." "You broke it." durjaya-ghoṣaṁ balam. [Can it] be [broken]? "You cannot break it. You cannot break it. Really, it is very hard to break." "Very hard knot. Very difficult."

He says, "But you broke it." "So, you have developed such prema, such love towards Me, pure prema. I cannot repay it." "I cannot repay it. The wealth, [the] wealth required to repay this debt," "is not with [M]e." This, He says, "The wealth required to repay this debt is not with [M]e." You see. "I cannot repay it." That He says.

So Kṛṣṇa became indebted. So, He was thinking how to repay it, how to repay it, how to repay it. How can He get that wealth that is required to repay it? Kṛṣṇa never becomes indebted to anybody. ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham [BG 4.11]. He always pays back, always pays back. He always pays back. He never becomes—here, if [you] can see here, to the gopīs.

So, He came as Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. It's another purpose. So, this question of prema is here, the prema-ṛṇa. ṛṇa means debt, prema-ṛṇa. To pay back His prema-ṛṇa, He came. Now He is paying back, giving freely His prema.

Devotee: What does it have to do with [those] gopīs that He's giving [it to whom] He was indebted to?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: He was indebted towards some particular gopīs.

Gour Govinda Swami: No, all [the] gopīs including Rādhārāṇī. Headed by Rādhārāṇī.

Devotee: So what does the distribution of kṛṣṇa-prema [have] to do with that debt?

Gour Govinda Swami: He said, "I have no wealth to pay back."

Devotee: [He has] to acquire that wealth.

Gour Govinda Swami: That wealth. And [that] wealth is with Rādhārāṇī. It's mahābhāva. That is mahābhāva. It is with Rādhārāṇī. It's not with Me. So how can He pay back? So, He accepted [the] mood of Rādhārāṇī and [the] complexion of Rādhārāṇī and came, Rādhā-bhāva.

So Rādhārāṇī[,] here it is said, Rādhārāṇī is the kṛpā-śakti. Kṛpā-śakti. Kṛpā means mercy[,] [and śakti means] energy. So, [i]n this Gaura incarnation, this kṛpā-śakti is independent. Always śakti is under śaktiman. Śakti means energy, [and] śaktiman, [the] energetic. In English you may say like this. Always śakti is under śaktiman. Śakti is not independent. Śaktiman is independent.

But in [the] Gaura incarnation, the kṛpā-śakti is independent. Always kṛpā-śakti is under icchā-śakti. In other words, you may say in that way. Will, icchā means will. Here, it is said here.

Devotee: Water is will.

Gour Govinda Swami: bhakti-kalpataru ropilā siñci’ icchā-pāni, All these words are very significant. You should understand [them].

śrī-caitanya mālākāra pṛthivīte āni’
bhakti-kalpataru ropilā siñci’ icchā-pāni

[CC Ādi 9.9]

That is said, Kavirāja Gosvāmī said, "Thus the Lord brought the desire tree of devotional service to this earth and became its gardener. He sowed the seed and sprinkled upon it the water of His will." icchā-pāni. So [with] iccha-śakti, in all incarnations, kṛpā-śakti is under iccha-śakti.

But it is [the] reverse. It is [the] reverse in this incarnation, [the] Gaura incarnation. In [the] Gaura incarnation, kṛpā-śakti is independent. So iccha-śakti is under kṛpā-śakti. This is the significant point here. And Kavirāja Gosvāmī has written this thing.

ataeva āmi ājñā diluṅ sabākāre
yāhāṅ tāhāṅ prema-phala deha’ yāre tare

[CC Ādi 9.36]

ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba
nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba

[CC Ādi 9.37]

ataeva saba phala deha’ yāre tāre
khāiyā ha-uk loka ajara amare

[CC Ādi 9.39]

He gives [an] order to His kṛpā-śakti. Prema-Puruṣottama-Gaurāṅga. Prema-Puruṣottama-Gaurāṅga gives complete independence to His kṛpā-śakti[.] He orders, He gives such [an] order to kṛpā-śakti, "I give you complete independence. I give you complete independence. Now you are free from My iccha-śakti." You are no longer under my iccha-śakti. You are completely free." He gives [an] order to [H]is iccha-śakti, I mean to [His] kṛpā-śakti.

So kṛpā-śakti,

ataeva āmi ājñā diluṅ sabākāre
yāhāṅ tāhāṅ prema-phala deha’ yāre tare

I give you this order. You distribute this prema-phala, this fruit of prema." Do you understand prema-phala? Prema, love, fruit, phala, fruit. prema-phala. Prema is a fruit. So, [y]ou distribute this fruit as you like. You have [the] complete independence of kṛpā-śakti. You are no longer under my icchā-śakti.

ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba. So much fruit is produced. So much, so much. I am only one gardener. How [much] can I eat? kata phala khāba. So many fruits are there. Innumerable fruits. nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba [If I don't distribute,] what shall I do [with] it? Ah, I cannot eat so many fruits. I am only one person[;] without giving, without distributing, what shall I do with it?

ataeva saba phala deha’ yāre tare khāiyā ha-uk loka ajara amare. Therefore, you distribute all these prema-phala. The prema’s fruit. The fruit of the bhakti creeper. Whomever you like, whomever you like. Indiscriminately. And let people eat this fruit and become immortal, conquer death, and conquer old age also. Remain always young. No old age, no old age. ajara amare.

If you can get that prema-phala, that fruit, [t]hat is love of Kṛṣṇa. You can never [grow] old, you never die. That is ajara amare. khāiyā ha-uk loka ajara amare. Let people eat this prema-phala and become immortal, conquer death, and conquer old age also. Remain always [in] youth, fresh youth, fresh youth and immortal. This is an example of Mahāprabhu's most—what [do] you say [to] that?

Therefore, it is said that Mahāprabhu is [the] mahā-vadānya-avatāra, [the] most munificent incarnation, because in this incarnation, kṛpā-śakti is completely independent. In other words, in this incarnation, His ichhā-śakti remains under kṛpā-śakti. Kṛpā-śakti is independent. Ichhā-śakti remains under kṛpā-śakti. That is what is said.

So [the] Gosvāmīs, those who are like Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmī, they are devotees of Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. They know this tattva. They have said [it] like this.

I first tell you that… so He became Gaura, came as Gaura, accepting the mood of Rādhārāṇī and [the] complexion of Rādhārāṇī, this rādhā-bhāva. So, in this incarnation, Rādhārāṇī is Guru. Rādhārāṇī is [in] the topmost position and Kṛṣṇa is [the] disciple. Kṛṣṇa is [the] disciple.

That has been said, "āmi, rādhikāra prema — guru, āmi — śiṣya naṭa [CC Ādi 4.124]" "rādhikāra prema — guru, āmi — śiṣya naṭa." "nānā nṛtye nācāya udbhaṭa." Kavirāja Gosvāmī has said this thing in Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, [where] Kṛṣṇa says, "In [these] loving affairs, Rādhārāṇī is My Guru. I am [Her] disciple. I am [Her] disciple." As [the] Guru makes the disciple dance, [s]imilarly, Rādhārāṇī is making [M]e dance as She likes [Me to] dance. This is [the] purport here, [the] tattva here.

So Rasarāja, Kṛṣṇa is known as Rasarāja. What do you say in English? I cannot remember. King, king, king, [the] king of [mellows]. [The] King of [mellows]. He is the reservoir of all mellows. He's Rasarāja. So Rasarāja Kṛṣṇa is now under mahabhāva mayī Rādhārāṇī[.] He is now under Her. Therefore, He has become such a munificent incarnation.

Rādhārāṇī is a kṛpā śakti. Rādhārāṇī is śakti, cit śakti and kṛpā śakti. Hlādinī-śakti, kṛpā śakti, and independent in this incarnation. So Rasarāja Kṛṣṇa is under Her, under Her. Yeah. So kṛpāmayi Rādhārāṇī, therefore all-merciful Rādhārāṇī, is distributing this prema indiscriminately [to] one and all, one and all, you see, never discriminating whether one is eligible to get it or not.

Even She is distributing this prema to [the] most [patitas], most pamaras, most degraded, most fallen. So, She has given [an] order to Gaura Hari to do this thing. So, Gaura Hari is now distributing this prema bhava to one and all indiscriminately. This is what one should understand.

This Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare[,] is also chanted by Rādhārāṇī. All [the] gopīs chant. All [the] gopīs headed by Rādhārāṇī[;] you should chant this, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. So, in [the] Rādhā-tantra, you will find this name is there.

When they feel [a] very acute kind of separation from Kṛṣṇa, they chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. They chant. Therefore, it says, golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, rati nā janmilo kene tāy [Śrī Hari-nāma-cintāmaṇi, Chapter 1, Verse 77]. Therefore, Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura has said this thing. This hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is golokera prema-dhana. It doesn't belong to this material world.

So Mahāprabhu brought it. Assuming Rādhā [bhāva,] He brought it. Because this Mahāmantra, [the] Hare Kṛṣṇa nāma, [is] chanted by all the gopīs headed by Rādhārāṇī there. So Mahāprabhu brought it. So, the chief result of this chanting [of the] Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra is prema. mukhya-pathe jīva pāya kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana. The chief result is prema. That prema Mahāprabhu is distributing. That is the chief result of chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra.

Therefore, it is said prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is not mere nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana. The adjective is prema. This prema, this word is [an] adjective to the nāma-saṅkīrtana. It is not mere nāma-saṅkīrtana. It is prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana. Do you understand my point? Prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is [the] most important thing. Because the saṅkīrtana should be done with prema. And [the] chief result of this harināma-saṅkīrtana is prema, to get prema. One can taste it and also distribute it. That here it is said.

dātā bhoktā tat-phalānāṁ yas taṁ caitanyam āśraye. I take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, who is the tree of transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa, who Himself is its gardener and also the bestower and enjoyer of that fruit, prema. He is the gardener; He is the bestower and enjoyer of this prema. He enjoys and [H]e gives prema, that prema. That is said.

So prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana, this is prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana, Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra. Because [the] chief result of this nāma-saṅkīrtana is prema. [The] Name is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa nāma is not different from Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa Himself, Gaura[,] is not different from Kṛṣṇa. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. So Kṛṣṇa Himself is tasting that prema and distributing [it] in the form of Gaura, [the] form of Gaura.

ei dekha, — caitanyera kṛpā-mahābala
tāra anusandhāna vinā karāya saphala

[CC Madhya 14.16]

apāmara patita-pāmara nāhi bāche brahmāra durlabha prema sabākāre yāce, patita pāmara nāhi bāche. This prema is not [an] easy thing[,] [being] very confidential, most secure. But in Gaura-avatāra, Mahāprabhu distributed [it] freely even to the most degraded, most fallen, most pāmaras. Which is very difficult on the part of Brahma to get. He distributed such prema. Ah, ei dekha, caitanyera kṛpā-mahābala [CC Madhya 14.16]. This is Mahāprabhu's wonderful mercy. adbhuta karuṇya, wonderful mercy. vichār na hi śeṣa [I]ndiscriminately, He is distributing this prema which is very difficult on the part of Brahma to get.

Therefore [it] says, without searching, one gets it. Without searching, one gets it. Because it's given freely. [The] most degraded, most fallen, most pāmaras get [it]. Jagāi and Mādhāi, were they searching [for] it? So, they got [it], they got it. Do you understand my point? Therefore, tāra anusandhāna vinā karāya saphala [CC Madhya 14.16] Without searching, one gets it. He is never searching [for] it[,] [yet] still he gets [it]. How merciful is Gaura, and what He gives. What He gives.

So, this is very easy, especially in Kali Yuga[;] in other yugas, people cannot get it. So, people of other yugas are thinking of how they can take birth in Kali Yuga. So, it will [be] very easy on their part to get, it will be very easy on their part to get the topmost achievement, [the] topmost fruit, that is prema, [which] Mahāprabhu gives freely.

So, this premanāma saṅkīrtana is sādhya and sādhana, both. Sādhana and sādhya. What [do] you say in English?

Devotee: Means and goal[.]

Gour Govinda Swami: Means and goal. This is [the] means and [the] goal. [The] goal is prema. [The] means is this saṅkīrtana. Sādhya and sadhana. And Mahāprabhu, prema-puruṣottama, He is known as prema-puruṣottama Gaurāṅga. Mahāprabhu came, [and] He distributed this prema freely everywhere, indiscriminately.

And also, He has ordered, He has ordered all His followers to do it. He ordered Nityānanda Prabhu and Haridāsa Ṭhākura. "You go." [He] especially ordered them, "Go to Nadiyā," because He came to—

Devotee: Purī.

Gour Govinda Swami: Purī after [the] taking of sannyāsa[,] Jagannātha Purī dhāma. He ordered [them] especially to go to Nadiyā, and go door to door, door to door, and give it, distribute it. In this way, He made Himself free from that debt. He paid back the debt in this way. In this way, He became free from that debt. Mahāprabhu, I mean to say, Kavirāja Goswāmī has written [this] nice[ly]:

pākila ye prema-phala amṛta-madhura
vilāya caitanya-mālī, nāhi laya mūla

[CC Ādi 9.27]

He sowed the seed. He [H]imself is the tree of transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa, and He is also [the] gardener. So, He sowed the seed, and [waters it] regularly, [by] regular hearing and chanting, this watering process. Then it [fructifies], it grows gradually, and at last, this fruit came out. The fruit is prema.

[The] fruit came out, and that fruit became ripened. pākila Ripened fruit[,] pākila ye prema-phala amṛta-madhura. All juicy, all [n]ectarian, [the] most ripened fruit. The prema phala[,] and [the] gardener is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He got so many fruits. So many fruits were produced, so many.

He said, "I am one malakar, only one gardener. How can I eat so many fruits? So, what shall I do? I must distribute it, distribute it." Freely, [He] never takes any price. No price. Freely [He] distributes. No price, no price. vinā mūlya[,] free of cost, free of cost. Take it, take it, take it, take it. Who may want it? Take it, take it. Without price, without price, He distributes.

tri-jagate yata āche dhana-ratnamaṇi
eka-phalera mūlya kari’ tāhā nāhi gaṇi

[CC Ādi 9.28]

Can you pay the price for this fruit? If you collect all the wealth, all the wealth, all the ratnas, jewels, whatever invaluable wealth is there in [the] three planetary systems, [if] you collect all, still that will never be [the] price of one fruit. Never the price of one fruit. So, who can pay the price of this fruit? So Mahāprabhu gives it free of cost. Free of cost.

Such [an] opportunity. [A] wonderful opportunity. [A] wonderful opportunity is now here. Nobody can pay the price. He said,

tri-jagate yata āche dhana-ratnamaṇi
eka-phalera mūlya kari’ tāhā nāhi gaṇi

Even [that] cannot be [the] price of one fruit. [Whatever] invaluable assets and wealth are available in [the] three planetary systems, if you accumulate [them] all, still you cannot pay the price of one fruit. Such [wealth].

māge vā nā māge keha, pātra vā apātra
ihāra vicāra nāhi jāne, deya mātra

[CC Ādi 9.29]

Without begging, without asking for [it,] one gets [it]. Without asking for [it,] one gets [it]. He is going somewhere, "Hey, hey, wait, take this, take this." "Oh, what is it?" "Oh, yes, take, take, take, take, take." Freely given. Without asking for [it], one gets [it]. pātra vā apātra. Whether one is eligible or not, [there is] no discrimination. ihāra vicāra nāhi Without discrimination, He gives and one gets.

añjali añjali bhari’ phele caturdiśe
daridra kuḍāñā khāya, mālākāra hāse

[CC Ādi 9.30]

añjali añjali[,] what [do] you say? Like this? añjali añjali.

Devotee: With folded hands.

Gour Govinda Swami: With folded, open hands, [He] takes some fruit, throws [it] there, throws [it] there, throws [it] there, throws [it] there. [In] all directions He throws [it]. Those who are most wretched, most poor, they get it and [eat], "Oh, [a] nice fruit, [a] nice fruit[,] juicy, so sweet, [a] juicy fruit. Oh, such a wonderful fruit." daridra kuḍāñā khāya. And the gardener is laughing, "Yes, very good. mālākāra hāse." [The] gardener is laughing.

ātma-icchāmṛte vṛkṣa siñci nirantara
tāhāte asaṅkhya phala vṛkṣera upara

[CC Ādi 9.38]

siñci’ icchā-pāni, He sows the seed and sprinkle[s] upon it the water of His will, because it is His will. In this verse, it is expressed.

prabhu kahe, āmi ‘viśvambhara’ nāma dhari
nāma sārthaka haya, yadi preme viśva bhari

[CC Ādi 9.7]

Lord Caitanya thought, "My name is Viśvambhara, one who maintains the entire universe. Its meaning will be actualized if I can fill the whole universe with the love of Godhead." That was His will. Now, His will is fulfilled. Yes. Without asking for [it], without searching for [it], everybody now gets [it] and [eats it]. So mālākāra hāse He is laughing, "Yes, now My will is fulfilled." Do you understand me this point is here? tāhāte ātma-icchāmṛte vṛkṣa siñci nirantara tāhāte asaṅkhya phala vṛkṣera upara

Still, though He is distributing so many fruits, still innumerable fruits are there. Innumerable fruits. The number is increasing, increasing, increasing, not decreasing. [The] more He distributes, [the] more it increases. This is wonderful. [The] more He distributes, [the] more it increases[.] Such [a] storehouse of prema. It [is] never exhausted. It [is] never exhausted. Ah, it [is] never exhausted[,] never exhausted. So,

luṭiyā, khāiyā, diyā, bhāṇḍāra ujāḍe
āścarya bhāṇḍāra, prema śata-guṇa bāḍe

[CC Ādi 7.24]

They broke open the storehouse. Broke [it] open. [The] Pañca-tattva came, they broke open the storehouse, [and] they distributed that prema that had been given out, distributed [it] freely, freely. Whomever you like, whomever you see, [they] distributed, distributed [to] all. They all taste[d], and they all distributed. But that storehouse is never exhausted.

It increases [a] hundredfold, hundredfold, hundredfold. [The] more they distribute, [the] more it increases. This wonderful storehouse. This wonderful storehouse. This is prema, and this is the gardener. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the gardener. mālākār, here it says mālākār. This is prema-phala, and that... This is very wonderful. We cannot think of [it]. We cannot conceive [it]. We cannot conceive [it]. This is inconceivable. This is inconceivable.

So Mahāprabhu is known as [the] most munificent incarnation. avatāra-sāra gaura-avatāra. [The] Chief of all avatars is [the] Gaurāṅga avatar because no avatar has given prema freely. No avatar gives prema to all. Mahāprabhu gave and gave [it] freely. Hayāche ke habe. In [the] future, [will] any avatar come like that? Hayāche ye habe saba ke moho bhāva.. In [the] future also, no avatar will come like that. In [the] past also, there was no such avatar.

Such [an] avatar, such [an] incarnation, is [the] Gaura incarnation. [It] is [the] Gaurāṅga incarnation. Another point is there. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, that was there.

jaya śrī mādhavapurī kṛṣṇa-prema-pūra
bhakti-kalpatarura teṅho prathama aṅkura

[CC Ādi 9.10]

"All glories to Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, the storehouse of all devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa! He is a desire tree of devotional service, and it is in him that the seed of devotional service first fructified." In [the] Purport, Prabhupāda said, "Mādhavendra Purī, also known as Śrī Mādhava Purī, belonged to the disciplic succession from Madhvācārya and was a greatly celebrated sannyāsī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. 

The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was the first person in that disciplic succession to exhibit the symptoms of love of Godhead and the first to write a poem beginning with the words ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha, “O supremely merciful Personality of Godhead.” In that poem is the seed of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s cultivation of love of Godhead." 

That poetry is the seed of the cultivation of Mahāprabhu's love of Godhead. Because in [the] disciplic succession of Madhvācārya, you'll find Lakṣmīpati. Lakṣmīpati is the guru of Mādhavendra Purī. After Lakṣmīpati came Madhavendra Purī. But up to Lakṣmīpati, this prema had not come. Prema had not come in that disciplic succession. It came only to Madhavendra Purī, so it is said.

Mādhavendra Purī is the storehouse of all devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa, [he] is [a] desire tree. He is a desire tree of devotional service, and it is in him that the seed of devotional service first fructified. First fructified. And this is discussed also in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. In [the] Madhya-līlā you will find [out] about it. A hint has been given here, but in [the] Madhya-līlā you will find some elaborate discussion is there. There that śloka is there.

ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham

[CC Madhya 4.197]

That is [a] famous verse written by Mādhavendra Purī, dīna-dayārdra nātha. Here, Prabhupāda Maharaj [has] only given [a] hint, only quoted one [phrase], ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha[.] That's it. Oh, Supremely Merciful Personality of God[head]. Those who are like that

ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham

Oh, merciful [Lord]. Oh, Supremely Merciful Personality of God[head,] dīna-dayārdra. he mathurā-nātha Lord of Mathura. kadāvalokyase When, when can I see [Y]ou? Kadāvalokyase, hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham I cannot see [Y]ou. Therefore, my heart... Do you understand what you say?

Devotee: Is burning.

Gour Govinda Swami: Is burning. My heart is burning. My heart is burning. bhrāmyati What [do] you say? Reels, [my] head reels, [my] heart is burning. bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham What shall I, what shall I do? What shall I do?

And in [the] purport, it is said that this verse is like [the] Kaustubha gem. [It] is there at the chest, [on] the chest of the Supreme Lord. This verse is like [a] Kaustubha gem in rasa-kāvya. [The] [ā]charyas have said that thing.

Devotee: rasa-kāvya?

Gour Govinda Swami: kāvya means to write this—the thesis. Thesis. Someone write[s] [a] thesis. Rūpa Gosvāmī is known as Rasācārya. He has written many books on rasa. You know, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu[;] Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. All these books are rasa books. Books on rasa, [on] mellow. He's known as Rasācārya.

So, this verse, the [ā]charyas have said, this verse is considered as the Kaustubha gem in rasa-kāvya. Do you understand what they say?

ratna-gaṇa-madhye yaiche kaustubha-maṇi
rasa-kāvya-madhye taiche ei śloka gaṇi

[CC Madhya 4.193]

In [the] fourth chapter of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya lila, you find this thing. That is there. [W]hen we analyze, we can see there are four Sampradāyas.

ataḥ kalau bhaviṣyanti catvāraḥ sampradāyinaḥ
śrī-brahma-rudra-sanaka vaiṣṇavāḥ kṣiti-pāvanāḥ

[The] Śrī Sampradāya [is the] Rāmānuja Sampradāya. [The] Brahma Sampradāya is [the] Madhvā Sampradāya. And [the] Sanaka Sampradāya is [the] Nimbārka Ācārya Sampradāya. [The] Rudra Sampradāya is [the] Viṣṇusvāmī [Sampradāya]. Four Vaiṣṇava Sampradāyas. And [in] this Madhvācārya Sampradāya[,] Mādhavendra Purī comes in this Sampradāya. So, beginning from Madhvācārya up to Lakṣmīpati, the Śṛṅgāra rasa was not there. Śṛṅgāra rasa was not there. It first came through this Mādhavendra Purī. So, it has said that thing.

jaya śrī mādhavapurī kṛṣṇa-prema-pūra
bhakti-kalpatarura teṅho prathama aṅkura

He is the desired tree of devotional service. It is in him that the seed of devotional service, [that] means Śṛṅgāra rasa[,] [appeared]. The Śṛṅgāra rasa is first fortified in Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī. So Mahāprabhu accepted this Sampradāya. Mahāprabhu accepted [it]. He first sows the seed here, the seed[,] bīja, [the] seed.

And if you analyze this verse,

ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham

[w]hy [did] he [say this]? dīna-dayārdra nātha the most merciful, oh, supremely merciful personality. You are supremely merciful, but I am dīna. Most dīna, most wretched. But [Y]ou are not merciful to me[.] You are [a] Supremely Merciful Personality, but I cannot get Your mercy, but I can see You because You have now become mathurā-nātha.

You left Vraja Bhumi [and] went to Mathura. Now [Y]ou have become mathurā-nātha. So, but You are dīna-dayārdra nātha[.] You are [the] most merciful personality and supremely merciful personality, Godhead, but I cannot get Your mercy. I can see You. Why don't You shower mercy on me? The purport [is] here. That means he is feeling such [an] acute pang of separation from Kṛṣṇa.

This is Śṛṅgāra rasa. This Rādhārāṇī feels. Rādhārāṇī feels this thing. And that you find here in this verse, dīna-dayārdra nātha. That means he says, when you offer your prayer or call that [S]upreme [P]ersonality, Godhead, you should call Him in this mood. In this mood, feeling [an] acute pang of separation from Him.

You are so supremely merciful [a] Lord, but I am devoid of Your mercy. Why are You not showering mercy on me? I am most dīna, most dīna, and You are dīna-dayārdra nātha. The mood. The mood. So, this teaching is here. When you do your Kṛṣṇa bhajan, you should do your bhajan in this mood. That is [the] teaching. And Mahāprabhu's bhajan is in that mood. That mood. dīna-dayārdra nātha dīna.

One should call that merciful Lord in such [a] mood. Such [a] mood. This is bhajan. svābhāvika bhajan. Natural bhajan. When Kṛṣṇa went to Mathura, all the gopīs headed by Rādhārāṇī, especially Rādhārāṇī, felt such [an] acute pang of separation from Kṛṣṇa. And She has said [it] like that. She has said like that.

Oh, my dayita, oh[,] my husband. dayita, husband. Oh, my husband. You are so merciful, supremely merciful, but I am most dīna, [and] I cannot get Your mercy. My heart is burning. Now tell me, what shall I do? What shall I do? Ki kari? I cannot see You. What shall I do? Please tell me. How can I have Your darshan? Please tell me.

Rādhārāṇī was saying like that. Rādhārāṇī's mood was like that. Rādhārāṇī's mood is like that. And that mood is there in Mādhavendra Purī. So Mādhavendra Purī is the root, [the] root of [the] Śṛṅgāra rasa tree. If [the] Śṛṅgāra rasa becomes [a] tree, Mādhavendra Purī is the root. This root, [the] mula-tattva [is] Mādhavendra Purī[,] and then comes Īśvara Purī. What [do] you say?

Devotee: Main branch.

Gour Govinda Swami: Main branch. Main branch pralobha. Then came Mahāprabhu. From Mādhavendra Purī came Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu is, from [the] main branch, one branch [that] comes.

Devotee: Offshoot, Branch[.]

Gour Govinda Swami: From [the] main branch—

Devotee: Trunk. That’s the Trunk[.]

Gour Govinda Swami: The root is Mādhavendra Purī.

Devotee: Yes.

Gour Govinda Swami: [The] trunk is Isvara Puri. Then?

Devotee: Branch.

Gour Govinda Swami: [A] branch came. That's Mahāprabhu. It just [expands]. Then the followers of Mahāprabhu are His sub-branches, sub-branches, sub-branches, sub-branches. This is [the] tree, [the] whole tree. This root is Mādhavendra Purī. And this is stated here. bhakti-kalpatarura teṅho prathama aṅkura.

He is a desire tree of devotion[al] service, and it is in him that the seed of devotion[al] service is fortified[;] it[']s all Mādhavendra Purī. So Mahāprabhu accepted this Sampradāya because it was His will[;] He is Viśvambhara, "I'll fill the whole universe with prema. Unless I fill [it], My name will not be actualized." Viśvambhara. That is why I said [this]. Thank you.

Devotee: Jaya Gurudeva! Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda Mahārāja kī jaya[!]

Gour Govinda Swami: Prabhupāda Mahārāja kī jaya, I have no wealth to pay back this debt, O gopis[;] [y]ou make Me indebted. Then He was always thinking, thinking how to pay back, how to pay back. Where is that wealth? Oh, that wealth is there with Rādhārāṇī. That is mahābhāva. It is in Her heart. Unless I get that wealth, how can I pay back?

So [H]e became Gaura, therefore. Kṛṣṇa became Gaura therefore to pay back this debt. Now He's paying back, giving, distributing this prema. That is Rādhārāṇī's kṛpā. Rādhārāṇī's mercy. Rādhārāṇī is independent now. His kṛpā śakti is independent. Always kṛpā śakti is under iccha śakti. Iccha means will. But in this incarnation, iccha śakti is under kṛpā śakti. It's [the] reverse.

Devotee:

Gour Govinda Swami: In [the] Gaura incarnation, iccha śakti is under kṛpā śakti. In other incarnations, kṛpā śakti is under iccha śakti. Do you understand my point?

Devotee: Guru Maharaj, when Kṛṣṇa came 5,000 years ago, He didn't distribute prema.

Gour Govinda Swami: No. rakhe lukāya[.]

Devotee: Because Rādhā was under—

Gour Govinda Swami: rakhe lukāya. [He] keeps it hidden. He keeps it in seven chambers. One inside, one inside, one inside, one inside. With strong locks. With strong locks.

Devotee: I mean, kṛpā śakti was under iccha śakti.

Gour Govinda Swami: Under iccha śakti. Kṛpā śakti is under iccha śakti.

Devotee: He didn't want [to].

Gour Govinda Swami: He didn't want that. But in this incarnation, iccha śakti is under kṛpā śakti. Kṛpā śakti is independent. Just [the] reverse.

Devotee: So, would it be right to say that the more these seeds are being distributed, the more Caitanya Mahāprabhu can distribute it?

Gour Govinda Swami: The more [H]e distribute[s], the more it increases. That storehouse never becomes exhausted. Prema, [the] storehouse of prema, never becomes exhausted. The more He distributes, Mahāprabhu came as [the] Panca-tattva, you see. Panca-tattva. Panca-tattva. He expands [H]imself [into] five [as the] Panca-tattva. And all are distributing. All are distributing.

Devotee: I was just—

Gour Govinda Swami: The more they are distributing, the more it increases. Yes?

Devotee: I was just referring to that point you said at the beginning of the class, that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the one that is the enjoyer of the fruit... of the bhakti-latā[.]

Gour Govinda Swami: And [the] enjoyer and bestower. He enjoys and gives also. He enjoys, and He doesn't become selfish. He gives to one and all, because that was His will. I am Viśvambhara. I am the Viśvambhara. [The] [m]aintainer of the whole universe. Unless I fill the whole universe with prema, how can I become Viśvambhara? That was His will. That verse we read. That verse we read.

Devotee: Yes.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes? So now [H]e is fulfilling [H]is will. Distributing this, filling the whole universe with this prema freely, indiscriminately.

Devotee: So, our goal is to become helpers for Him to distribute it?

Gour Govinda Swami: You first get it. Unless you get it, how can you distribute [it]? You first get [it], you first taste [it], then don't become selfish, then distribute [it]. Unless you get [it], unless you taste [it], how can you distribute [it]? How can you tell [others], "Oh, I have [it]. I taste [it]. You take. You take. You take. You take. I will take." But you have no prema. How can you say this thing?

First you get [it], first taste [it], then distribute [it]. The more you distribute, the more [the] supply will come from that storehouse within.

Devotee: So, what I'm tasting now—

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes...

Devotee: if I distribute that— then I'll get more.

Gour Govinda Swami: More. It will never be exhausted.

Devotee: And then when I distribute that— then I'll get more.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. This is wonderful. This is wonderful. If you distribute something material, it will be exhausted. If you distribute it, [the] more it will... [The] more [you] distribute, [the] more [it will] supply.

Devotee: Gurudev?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: When you say that Mahāprabhu was distributing prema freely to one and all, even those who didn't search for it—

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, without searching for it.

Devotee: That was during [H]is personal avatar lila. During [H]is presence on this earth.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, during [H]is presence.

Devotee: But since then—

Gour Govinda Swami: [N]ow [H]is...

Devotee: we have to pay some price.

Gour Govinda Swami: Now [H]is followers are doing that thing. His dear devotees[,] [the] Gaura priya jana, they are doing [it], they are doing [it]. Because Mahāprabhu said that. āmāra ājñāya I'm here. I order you, become [a] guru. yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa [CC Madhya 7.128] He has [ordered us to] do this thing. Whomever you meet, you say, you say. No discrimination.

Kṛṣṇa gave discrimination to Arjuna. Hey, don't tell this thing. He is not a devotee. abhaktāya, ātapaskāya. na abhyasūyati.

Devotee: Don't distribute.

Gour Govinda Swami: Don't tell him this thing. But when He came as Gaura, that bar was there. He lifted the bar. Then [H]e lifted the ban. He lifted the ban.

Devotee: yāre dekha, tāre kaha

Gour Govinda Swami: Yeah. yāre dekha, tāre kaha Whomever you meet, you say, you say.

Devotee: But during Gaura-lila, it was given without people searching. Now we have still to search for it.

Gour Govinda Swami: Now we have [to] search for it, yes.

Devotee: Now we have to pay something for it.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: śaraṇāgati and go through the whole process of surrender and developing sadhana...

Gour Govinda Swami: [W]hen you see prices, that I was telling you. [The] [p]rice is only śraddhā. śraddhā-mūlye diteche. [The] [p]rice is only your faith, nothing else. Faith. Only—no other price. You cannot pay the price. It says if you accumulate all the invaluable assets available in [the] three worlds, accumulate [them] together[,] still you can't pay the price for one fruit, he says. Still you can't pay the price for one fruit. One [fruit] is so valuable. So, what price can you give?

Devotee: No[ne].

Gour Govinda Swami: Only śraddhā-mūlye nāma diteche re. [The] only price is—

Devotee: According to faith you get [it].

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. [The] only price is faith, śraddhā.

Devotee: And on the basis of faith, you cultivate bhakti.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, that is the most important thing. Therefore, Rūpa Gosvāmī says, ādau śraddhā[.] [The] first thing is your śraddhā. śraddhāvān jana haya bhakti-adhikārī [CC Madhya 22.64] Isn't it? That is there. śraddhāvān jana haya bhakti-adhikārī. [A]ccordingly, three divisions are there. Kaniṣṭha, madhyama, uttama.

According to one's śraddhā. And komala śraddhā, soft, is kaniṣṭha. Then [with] some strength there, not so strong, is madhyam. Then

Devotee: Uttham...

Gour Govinda Swami: unflinching faith, very strong.

śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yāṅra
‘uttama-adhikārī’ sei tāraye saṁsāra

[CC Madhya 22.65]

Then. This way, according to śraddhā. This is the only price.

Devotee: Now I understand better, yeah.

Gour Govinda Swami: That's the only price. Śraddhā mula. No other price is there.

Devotee: I never really grasped exactly the meaning of that, what it meant according to Śraddhā. Now you make it very clear.

Gour Govinda Swami: You understood now? śraddhā-mūlye nama diteche Yes. That is [the] only price. No other price is there. No other price.

Devotee: So, the more one has faith, the more he surrenders.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: And the more he surrenders, the more he—

Gour Govinda Swami: śraddhā labhi jīva kare sad-guru vicāra. [Śrī Hari-nāma Cintāmaṇi, Chapter 10, Verse 24.] śraddhā labhi jīva kare sad-guru vicāra. When you develop śraddhā Do you understand me? Śraddhā means faith. What faith? Two types of faith. śāstrīya śraddhā. One day I was telling you—

Devotee: Laukika śraddhā.

Gour Govinda Swami: Laukika śraddhā, śāstrīya śraddhā. And Jiva Gosvāmī has stressed upon śāstrīya śraddhā. Then you develop ruci.

Devotee: Taste.

Gour Govinda Swami: Then comes ruci. So śraddhā labhi jīva kare sad-guru vicāra. When you develop faith, then you will think of [a] guru. Oh, I will accept a Guru. Otherwise, I cannot get it.

Devotee: That's the first type of faith.

Gour Govinda Swami: First type of faith.

Devotee: Then another faith.

Gour Govinda Swami: Then by association with [a] sadhu, hearing from him, [one] gradually develop[s] faith. This first [and] only price is śraddhā. śraddhā-mūlye nām diteche re. nitai nama aneche vraja thikere. jīvera daśā, malina dekhe nitai nama aneche vraja thikere. śraddhā-mūlye nām diteche re. That song is there. [O]nly this price, śraddhā mula. Mula means price. Yeah, śraddhā is the price.

Devotee: śraddhā-mātra mūlye dena paramānanda. That is Dalara Gita from Bhaktivinoda [Ṭhākura].

Gour Govinda Swami: Ah, Bhaktivinoda [Ṭhākura], yes.

Devotee: Śraddhā muliye du sadhya. Śraddhā muliye?

Gour Govinda Swami: Śraddhā muliye. Muliye means price. Yes, śraddhā muliye. [The] only price.

Devotee: Suddha nam.

Gour Govinda Swami: Oh, that is the only price. No other price. What price [can] you give? No price. It's priceless. Oh.

Devotee: The price is to completely become renouncing every material desire. That is a price also. Śraddhā makes you give up that.

Gour Govinda Swami: When you develop śraddhā, [it is] automatic. That is automatic. janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ [ŚB 1.2.7].

Devotee: janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ

Gour Govinda Swami: janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ. Immediately you will develop vairagya[,] detachment you will get when you taste it. Oh, such [a] nice [thing], it's nasty [by comparison]. Spit at it. You will spit at it. While we [are] hankering about it. While you are hankering about it.

So, when you taste that, paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [BG 2.59] of the Gita says, "When you have [a] higher taste, automatically you will give up the lower taste." You have not gotten that higher taste, so you are hankering after [these] nasty things. Stool. Oh, how to eat stool? Hog mentality. Hog mentality eats stool. Hog mentality.

Therefore, Mahaprabhu is distributing it. Have it[,] get it, [and] you will have [a] taste. So that verse is there in [the] Tenth Canto, [of] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ [ŚB 10.33.39]. That verse is there. vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ, apahinoty acireṇa, pratilabhya kāmaṁ. Lust, [l]ust. This is your heart disease. hṛd-rogam, yes, [h]rid means heart. This is your heart disease. hṛd-rogam kāmaṁ. This is heart disease.

Everybody has this disease, this lust. apahinoty āśv hṛd-rogam, [i]f you hear this prema-lila. Kṛṣṇa's prema-lila with the gopīs headed by Rādhārāṇī. Hear from the right source. This is [to] hear from [the] right source—vraja-bhumi, [the] damsels of vraja-bhumi. If you hear this prema-lila, Kṛṣṇa's loving [pastimes]—

Well, when you ask, when you develop śraddhā, accept such [a] guru.

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ tato bhajana-kriyā,
anartha-nivṛttiḥ

[CC Madhya 23.14-15].

Then he approaches [the] nistha stage.

Devotee: Then he can ask. He has the right to ask.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Adhikar.

Gour Govinda Swami: All anarthas are completely destroyed.

Devotee: But lust is also [an] anartha.

Gour Govinda Swami: Lust is [an] anartha. Such anarthas are completely destroyed.

Devotee: Then you can hear.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Or to destroy it, you must hear.

Gour Govinda Swami: That is the medicine. That [is] the medicine. This hearing is the medicine to cure that disease, [the] heart disease. But you should hear it from the right source. Otherwise, it will produce the reverse effect. Otherwise, it will produce the reverse effect. Instead of curing it, it will increase [it]. It may increase that disease.

So, one should not hear it from an avaiṣṇava.

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ
pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ
sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ

[Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 10.158]

Milk is [a] good thing. [Yet] if a serpent touches it, it becomes poisonous. Similarly, this Kṛṣṇa Katha is so transcendental, nectarian, so sweet. But if it comes out from the [lips] of an avaiṣṇava, it becomes the reverse. Like sarpocchiṣṭaṁ payaḥ. [Like] snake-touched milk, it becomes like that.

One should not hear [it]. So, he said, from [a] proper source, [the] right source, you should hear. This hearing. And [a] guru who knows whether he has now attained [a] similar stage, then he will speak like that. Otherwise, he will never speak [of it] in the beginning. First[,] śraddhā [must be aroused]. He will arouse śraddhā in you first. Inculcate śraddhā in you first.

When you [do] sankirtan[,] Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. ucca saṅkīrtana kare śraddhā prachar, Mahaprabhu said congregational chanting, strict. Thereby [the] Vaishnava inculcated śraddhā. My Guru Maharaja went to [the] West with one kartal. He chanted first. That [way] he inculcated śraddhā first.

Then hippies came around. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, then he said, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." They cannot utter Kṛṣṇa, you see. Still, he's so merciful, he inculcated śraddhā. "Bolo Hare Kṛṣṇa." Hare Kṛṣṇa. Then [he] said, "Hare Kṛṣṇa." "Yes, bolo, bolo, bolo."

Devotee: First they said chant chant chant[.]

Gour Govinda Swami: Chant, chant, chant. Yes, yes, yes. He's inculcating śraddhā. That is our—

Devotee: He employs the—

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, chant, chant. Yeah.

Devotee: There's one tape called Chant, Chant, Chant, Can't, Can't, Can't. It's the name of a tape of Gaura.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, yes.

Devotee: Chant, Chant, Chant, Can't, Can't, Can't. Can't...

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. That's at the beginning. That's the beginning. He's inculcating śraddhā. Yes. That ucca saṅkīrtana kare śraddhā Prachar, Rupa Goswami said, "ādau śraddhā." First is śraddhā. It's the first thing.

Then sad-guru-vicara, then guru-pada-asraya. ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ means guru-pada-asraya[,] [t]o accept a sadhu guru. Then bhajan kriya. Then anartha nivrtti. Then nistha. When you come to the nistha stage, then you are eligible to hear such topics, [the] prema-lila. Otherwise, you are not eligible to hear.

Devotee: That will destroy the last remaining anarthas.

Gour Govinda Swami: Anarthas, yes. So, Caitanya-charitamrta is [a] post-graduate study. So, it's never discussed publicly. It's for post-graduate students, those who have at least come to this stage of nistha. At least come to this stage of nistha. Otherwise, they cannot understand it. It's a difficult tattva.

Devotee: Still out of mercy, you're giving [it to] us.

Gour Govinda Swami: Still we have started this college, [this] university. This course we have started, [a] post-graduate course, we have started it. We have started it. So, [the] class is there. Anyhow, by Mahāprabhu's mercy, whomever comes, I try my best to impart it. I try my best. Still[,] [a] śraddhā-related person sits there. Still, it is beneficial.

Still, it is beneficial. Let it touch your ear. One thing is, it is still beneficial. You cannot enter into it[,] [yet] still, it is beneficial. Still beneficial. Buj, na buj. You may understand or may not understand[;] [s]till, it is beneficial.

Devotee: That verse is there.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. That verse is there. That bujhi nā bujhi poṛā gītā, ruci nā ruci khāpitā, one saying is there. Neem leaf is so bitter, it's not palatable. But still [if] you eat it, it is very beneficial. It's very beneficial. It's not palatable, [yet] still you eat it. You may understand or may not understand, still read [the] Gita. That says [it is] still beneficial.

Devotee: That is a good argument because sometimes I have heard, "Oh, Gour Govinda Maharaja is speaking [on] such [a] high subject. Why [is] he not speaking like Prabhupāda, 'You are not this body. Chant 16 rounds.'" Like that.

Gour Govinda Swami: Yeah.

Devotee: That is then our argument.

Gour Govinda Swami: That my guru has said already. That my guru has already said. That my guru has said, repeatedly said. Why will I chew the chewed? Why will I chew the chewed? I want to give you something not [yet] given.

Devotee: But they can't understand and they criticize for that. Oh, he's speaking very high topics. What is this?

Gour Govinda Swami: Let them... They may criticize. The son kicks the father. The father is so merciful, he tolerates the kicking, but he cuts the sore. The sore is there. The son is getting pain. It needs cutting. [The] [f]ather knows this[;] [it] needs cutting. Then we cure that pain.

So, [the] father gets a knife and [the] son kicks the father. [The] [s]on kicks the father. But [the] merciful father tolerates [the] kicking and cuts it. Thank you.