Gour Govinda Swami:
ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba [CC Ādi 9.37]
ātma-icchāmṛte vṛkṣa siñci nirantara tāhāte asaṅkhya phala vṛkṣera upara [CC Ādi 9.38]
āmi kata phala khāba, nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba “I am the only gardener. If I do not distribute these fruits, what shall I do with them? How many fruits can I alone eat?”
Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu produced so many fruits of devotional service that they must be distributed all over the world; otherwise, how could He alone relish and taste each and every fruit? The original reason that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descended as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s love for Kṛṣṇa and to taste that love. The fruits of the tree of devotional service were innumerable, and therefore He wanted to distribute them unrestrictedly to everyone. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore writes:
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ
There were many previous incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but none were so generous, kind and magnanimous as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for He distributed the most confidential aspect of devotional service, namely, the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda desires that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu live perpetually in the hearts of all devotees, for thus they can understand and relish the loving affairs of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa.
His desires are also unlimited. This example of unlimited fruits is factually appropriate even within the material context, for with the good will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there can be enough fruits, grain and other foodstuffs produced so that all the people in the world could not finish them, even if they ate ten times their capacity. In this material world there is actually no scarcity of anything but Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, by the transcendental will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there will be enough foodstuffs produced so that people will have no economic problems at all. One can very easily understand this fact.
The production of fruits and flowers depends not upon our will but upon the supreme will of the Personality of Godhead. If He is pleased, He can supply enough fruits, flowers, etc., but if people are atheistic and godless, then nature, by His will, restricts the supply of food. For example, in several provinces in India, especially Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and other adjoining states, there is sometimes a great scarcity of foodstuffs due to lack of rainfall. So-called scientists and economists cannot do anything about this. Therefore, to solve all problems, one must seek the good will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and worshiping Him regularly in devotional service.
ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba
Śrīla Kavi-rāja Gosvāmī speaks something today. I don't know how far you can relish it and how far I can express it in my [faulty] language, very, very deep confidential philosophical pure love prema. That
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ [CC Ādi 1.4]
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ, Unless you can carry śacī-nandana in your heart, you cannot understand it. [This is the] most important: gaurāńgera duṭi pada, jār dhana sampada, se jāne bhakati-rasa-sār. Do you follow me? Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura sings, and we should sing that song. He knows, only he knows gaurāńgera duṭi pada, jār dhana sampada, [the] two lotus feet of Gaurāńga [are] wealth and asset. No other wealth and asset is there. [He] whose only wealth and asset is [the] two lotus feet of Gaurāńga, only he understands this thing. Bhakti rasa sāra, [the] essence of prema bhakti—sāra means essence—he knows gaura-prema-rasārṇave, śe tarańge jebā ḍube se rādhā-mādhava-antarańga. gaura-prema-rasārṇave, gaura-prema-rasā. The mellow of Gaura prema is an ocean, [an] unlimited ocean. One who always drowns himself in that ocean—do you follow me?—always drowns himself in that ocean, he knows he is very dear and intimate to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, [to] Rādhā Mādhava only. Otherwise, how [can he]? Only he can relish this mellow. Otherwise, nobody can relish it. Do you follow me?
So this is here. Prabhupad has said [the] original reason that Śrī Kṛṣṇa descended as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to understand Śrīmatī Rādhārani's love for Kṛṣṇa and taste that love. Three desires [are] infinity. That is [the] eternal cause of Gaura avatāra. So how can one understand that Śrīmatī Rādhārani's love for Kṛṣṇa, then taste it, then distribute? Easy affair? Not an easy affair. Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura says,
rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhabo se jugala-pīriti
Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura says, "When I can understand that love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?" Impossible, rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti catching straw with the teeth, if I cry from the core of my heart, if I cry, grasping the lotus feet of Rūpa and Raghunātha, beg their mercy, if they shower their mercy on me, then I will be able to understand the love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, I can't. I cannot. rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti I shall not, when can I understand? I can't. It's not an easy affair. Not an easy affair. No. So, in order to taste that, [and] understand that, and taste that now, Kṛṣṇa came as Gaurāńga, accepting the mood and complexion of Rādhārani. Isn't it? Without that, one cannot, Kṛṣṇa cannot understand, Kṛṣṇa cannot relish, what to speak of myself and yourself and others?
Then one question is there. This question is there. What is that question? If Śyāmasundara or Kṛṣṇa would have assumed only the mood of Rādhārani, He would have relished it. So what is the use or utility of assuming the complexion of Rādhārani? This is our question. You follow me, my language? Excuse me, my language is a faulty language. I try my best to express this philosophical philosophy very confidentially. This is the question. Why? What is the necessity of accepting the complexion of Rādhārani? [With] only [the] mood, You would have assumed the mood, accepted the mood of Rādhārāṇī. You would have relished it. What is the necessity of accepting the complexion of Rādhārāṇī?
This is a very, very deep, [as] you understand, philosophical question. Do you know? Yes. There's an answer. What is your inner mood? That will manifest as the complexion. It is quite natural. So, it is not different. Example: A green, unripe mango. The inside is not ripened. So, outside [the] complexion is green. It's quite natural. When it becomes ripened, then [the] complexion [is] changed. It becomes yellow. Do you follow me? So, when Kṛṣṇa accepts the mood of Rādhārāṇī, [it] is quite natural [that the] complexion will be manifested. Do you follow me?
Gaura-mandal. Kṛṣṇa is śyāmasundara, He is śyām. He is śyām, like [a] green mango. Green. This is [a] very, very confidential topic relating to the mellow, because acharyas like Rūpa Gosvāmī, Jiva Gosvāmī, they know this. They say the complexion of śṛṅgāra-rasa is śyām. Do you follow? [The] complexion of the śṛṅgāra-rasa, [the] color of the śṛṅgāra-rasa is śyām. Therefore, He is Śyāmasundara. Śṛṅgāra-rasa-rāja. He is Śṛṅgāra-rasa-rāja. Do you follow me? Śṛṅgāra-rasa? Conjugal mellow. That is śṛṅgāra-rasa. Do you follow? The color of that śṛṅgāra-rasa is śyāma, is śyāma. So He is Śyāmasundara. And He is Śṛṅgāra-rasa-rāja. So He is Śyāmasundara. That is [the] natural color. Do you follow me?
But the color of love, anurāga, affection, love and affection is reddish like [the] rising sun, the color of the rising sun. That is the color of the love and affection. Do you follow me? And by gradual[ity], [as] the sun rises, then goes up, up, up, up. With gradual rising, so at noon it's not reddish, [but] it's yellow. Isn't it? Do you follow me? So, when this mood, bhava, becomes more and more and more blossomed, gradually it turns, that reddish color turns [into] yellowish, like molten gold. Do you follow me? That is the complexion of Gaura. tapta-kāñchana gaurāṅgi, tapta-kāñchana gaura. Yes. He is molten gold, [the] complexion of molten gold. Yes. That is the bodily complexion of Rādhārāṇī. That is [the] bodily complexion of Gaura. Hmm. So, when He accepts the mood of Rādhārāṇī, it is quite natural that complexion will be manifested.
Then another question, one, is also raised. He Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa. He is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. So only [by] accepting the mood of Rādhārāṇī, He could have remained Kṛṣṇa, śyām. Outwardly. What harm is there? This is another question. What harm is there? Yes, harm is there. Definitely there is harm. And what is that? As Rādhārāṇī is crying, feeling the pangs of separation from Kṛṣṇa, Gaurāṅga is similarly crying for Kṛṣṇa: kāhāṅ karoṅ kāhāṅ muralī-vadana ke mora mile śrī nanda-nandana. "Where shall I go? Where shall I find that Kṛṣṇa with a flute in His lips? Can anybody help me to find out that son of Nanda Maharaj?" Saying this, Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is crying.
So when you look at His body, [saying,] "Oh, I am Kṛṣṇa," can He cry? Do you follow me? So this harm is there. He can[not] relish that mellow. There must be some obstruction. No relishment will be there. So you should not disturb the mood of Gaurāṅga [by] decorating or clothing Him as Kṛṣṇa. Decorating Him as Kṛṣṇa, then you will disturb His mood. He cannot cry. He can[not] relish that mellow for which He has become Gaura. Kṛṣṇa has become Gaura. That relishment will not be there. It will be distorted, [an] impediment. Isn't it?
So, this is it. Acharyas have said, hmm, another point is there. Yes, Mahāprabhu was crying like this. Always feeling the pangs of separation from Kṛṣṇa, that Rādhārani is feeling. karuṇā vilāpa. Mahāprabhu always crying.
kāhāṅ mora prāṇa-nātha muralī-vadana kāhāṅ karoṅ kāhāṅ pāṅ vrajendra-nandana [CC Madhya 2.15]
kāhāre kahiba, kebā jāne mora duḥkha vrajendra-nandana vinu phāṭe mora buka [CC Madhya 2.16]
Mahāprabhu says kāhāṅ mora prāṇa-nātha muralī-vadana "Where is My love, the Lord of My heart?" that muralī-vadana. Do you follow muralī-vadana? Flute [at] the lips. "Is the Lord of My heart," He says. Gaurāṅga says [this] like Rādhārani because Rādhā bhav is predominating, [it] is Rādhā bhav. kāhāṅ karoṅ kāhāṅ pāṅ vrajendra-nandana "Where shall I go? Where shall I find out, find out the son of Nanda Maharaja, and what shall I do?" Saying this and crying. kāhāre kahiba, kebā jāne mora duḥkha "[To] whom shall I say these things? [To] whom shall I tell these things? Can anybody realize the pain I am having in My heart? Can anybody feel so? [To] whom shall I tell these things?" vrajendra-nandana vinu phāṭe mora buka. "My heart is pierced, is being pierced without the son of Nanda Maharaja, such pain is there in My heart." So, He says,
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ [CC Ādi 1.4]
There were many previous incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but none were so generous, kind, magnanimous as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for He distributed the most confidential aspect of devotional service, namely the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī pāda desires that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu live perpetually in the hearts of all devotees, for thus they can understand and relish the loving affairs of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise not, it's not possible. anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau. Anarpita, it was not given previously. Anarpita [means] it was not given previously. What is this prema? Rādhā Kṛṣṇa prema, very confidential. sva-bhakti-śriyam unnatojjvala-rasāṁ. bhakti-śriyam is prema bhakti rasa, [the] mellow. It was not given previously. So Mahāprabhu came to give this.
prema-nāma pracārite ei avatāra [CC Ādi 4.5]
dui hetu avatari’ lañā bhakta-gaṇa āpane āsvāde prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana [CC Ādi 4.39]
Two, two reasons are there. One external, one internal. Already said. We have discussed that thing. Appearance day of Gaurāṅga. Three days we discussed [about] that one topic. Uh, therefore, He descended, incarnated Himself with His dear devotees and did saṅkīrtan. Through that harināma-saṅkīrtana, He Himself relishes that mellow, prema and also distributes it freely. Here He says,
ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba
I am the only gardener. If I do not distribute these fruits, what shall I do with them? How many fruits can I alone eat? Uh, He distribute[s] it Himself, relishing and distribut[ing] it.
sei dvāre ācaṇḍāle kīrtana sañcāre nāma-prema-mālā gāṅthi’ parāila saṁsāre [CC Ādi 4.40]
Kavi-rāja Gosvāmī, He started this prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is not mere nāma-saṅkīrtana. Adjective is there. This prema is the adjective of nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is prema nāma-saṅkīrtana. He started. Do you follow me? This is not mere nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is prema nama. Uh, do you follow my language? This is prema nāma-saṅkīrtana.
sei dvāre ācaṇḍāle kīrtana sañcāre nāma-prema-mālā gāṅthi’ parāila saṁsāre
[To the] ācaṇḍāle? Even [to the] caṇḍālas, [the] lowest persons, dog-eaters, sinful, degraded. He gives them, and he nāma-prema-mālā gāṅthi’ parāila saṁsāre. He makes a garland of this holy name. This is [a] garland of nama prema. And He gives that garland to everybody indiscriminately. Put on this garland. nāma-prema-mālā gāṅthi’ parāila saṁsāre. That is said. In Śikṣāṣṭaka it says... That is there.
tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Śikṣāṣṭaka verse 3]
Uh, most important.
tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
This is the mood. uttama hañā āpanāke māne tṛṇādhama [CC Antya 20.22]. He is uttama, he is the topmost, but he thinks himself the lowest of the low. [He is] more humble than a blade of grass lying on the street. And as tolerant as a tree. amāninā māna-dena. He doesn't demand respect. He rather gives respect to one and all. jīve sammāna dibe jāni’ ‘kṛṣṇa’-adhiṣṭhāna [CC Antya 20.25] He doesn't disrespect even a tiny ant. Where is [any lack of] respect, because Kṛṣṇa is there. Isn't it? Kṛṣṇa is there. This is prema.
ei-mata hañā yei kṛṣṇa-nāma laya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇe tāṅra prema upajaya [CC Antya 20.26]
One who chants this Hare Kṛṣṇa, uh, with this mood, he develops prema.
ei-mata hañā yei kṛṣṇa-nāma laya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇe tāṅra prema upajaya
So, chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you develop prema, you get prema. But the mood should be like that, otherwise no prema. ei-mata hañā yei That is Mahāprabhu's teaching. So, nāma-prema-mālā, He is making a garland of nama-prema. He is making a garland.
cirād adattaṁ nija-gupta-vittaṁ sva-prema-nāmāmṛtam aty-udāraḥ ā-pāmaraṁ yo vitatāra gauraḥ kṛṣṇo janebhyas tam ahaṁ prapadye [CC Madhya 23.1]
It was not given previously, this prema. It was not given. This, gupta-vittaṁ most confidential, hidden treasure, this prema, was not given. But in Gaura-avatar, He distributed [it] to brahmanas [and] candalas indiscriminately, without discrimination. Distributed to everybody.
Then how is it? This is a question, a very, very confidential topic and [a] very deep question. Uh, how He makes this garland of nama-prema, and how He puts that garland [on] the neck of everybody. Yes, philosophical discussions. The name is both sadhana and sadhya. What [do] you say in English? Means as well as goal, for what?
Devotee: Means and end.
Gour Govinda Swami: Means and end or goal. Isn't it? Sadhan sadhya. Sadhan means [the] means, [and the] end is [the] goal. Sadhana is name and end is prema. Isn't it? Goal is prema. Sadhana is holy name, and goal is prema. Sadhan sadhya. nāmera phale kṛṣṇa-pade prema upajaya [CC Antya 3.178]. Because this holy name, if chanted offenselessly, will give you prema, [which is] the sadhya, the end. Both sadhana and sadhya. It's both means as well as end. Isn't it? This name.
Then question is that, means and end, how? This means and end, these two, how they are united together and how they are—what do you say? In English, how can you say make a garland. Prema nama. Nama, name is means, prema is the end. How they are garland-like, sewn together, and a garland is prepared? How is it? This is the question. The means and end together, sewed together and [a] garland is prepared. How is this? This is the confidential question. Do you follow my language? Very, very deep question, philosophical question.
The prema Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is giving is not ordinary prema. If someone gets that prema, he kicks mukti. He kicks it out. Isn't it? Such prema. And among all this prema, Vraja prema is better. Vraja prema. Do you follow me? And among Vraj prema, gopi prema is much better. So, of the gopi prema, Rādhā prema is the best. And Mahāprabhu is giving the best one, Rādhā prema. He is relishing and distributing. That He says,
ekalā mālākāra āmi kata phala khāba nā diyā vā ei phala āra ki kariba
I am only gardener. So many fruits of prema fruit is now ripened in Me. How many can I eat alone? What shall I do unless I distribute it? He is relishing, He is not selfish. He is also distributing. One and all in this planet is wonderfully munificent, wonderfully magnanimous, wonderfully merciful. Isn't it? Adbhuta kāruṇya avatāra. So here it is said,
bhajanera madhye śreṣṭha nava-vidhā bhakti ‘kṛṣṇa-prema’, ‘kṛṣṇa’ dite dhare mahā-śakti [CC Antya 4.70]
Nava-vidhā bhakti: śravaṇam, kīrtanam, Viṣṇu-smaraṇam, pāda-sevanam, arcanam, vandanam, dāsyam, sakhyam, and ātma-nivedanam. Nava-vidhā bhakti You know? Nine. So this, this of this nava vidha bhakti, in that nava vidha bhakti, tāra madhye sarva-śreṣṭha nāma-saṅkīrtana[CC Antya 4.71]. Nāma-saṅkīrtana is the best of this nava vidha bhakti. jāhā haite mile bhāi kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana. Because through this nāma-saṅkīrtana one gets Kṛṣṇa prema very quickly. If your chanting is pure [and] without offense.
According to Rupa Gosvāmī, ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu- saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ [CC Madhya 23.14] [only] then comes niṣṭhā. After anartha nivrtti, when anarthas are completely destroyed, one attains the stage of niṣṭhā. niṣṭhā haile upajaya premera taraṅga[ CC Madhya 22.134] Unless one attains the stage of niṣṭhā, there is no question [of] prema at all. It is just beginning, just beginning like the bond, seed bond, just beginning. Niṣṭhā. Then niṣṭhā, after niṣṭhā then ruci, then āsakti, then prema, bhāva prema. This is gradual development.
So, through this nāma-saṅkīrtana, prema nāma-saṅkīrtana, it gradually develops. Do you follow? If you really do pure sankirtan of pure name under the guidance of a bona fide Gaura priyajana ācārya, guru [who is] very, very dear to Gaurāṅga, then your anarthas will be completely finished, destroyed. Then you attain niṣṭhā stage. Otherwise not possible. Then gradual development: ruci, āsakti, prema and then bhāva.
In Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, when someone attains that platform of prema, then there is also gradual development. What is that? In Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi it is said, sneha, māna, praṇaya rāga, anurāga, bhāva, mahābhāva haya [CC Madhya 19.178] then mahābhāva, [the] last one. This is [the] last one. That is known as ujjvala unnata-ujjvala-rasa. This verse says, samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ This verse is quoted here. Prabhupāda has quoted this verse only. He has not explained it. Only quotation, only quotation. I am trying to explain it. Do you follow me? That ācāryas have said,
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
This is mostly significant. That unnata-ujjvala-rasa is mahābhāva. It's known as mahābhāva. That is only available with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. It is only available with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, not with any gopīs, not with any gopīs. Hmm. That is known as mādana-khya mahābhāva. That is known as mādana-khya mahābhāva. You just hear this name. There are so many things: mādana, modana. That will come up. I am not going to explain all these things. It is all in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. Then you have to go to Ujjvala nilamani: what is modana, what is mādana, and what is mahābhāva, like this. Only hear these things. Just put it in your ear only.
When you make some advancement, then it may come up to you if you are really hankering after it, [if] you have developed greed for it. Then it will come. Otherwise, how will it come? Uh, if you give a garland of pearls to a monkey, can he understand its value? He will say, "See, what is this? Just bite it, then throw it. Oh, this nonsense." Uh, garland of pearls given to a monkey. Similarly, you are like a monkey. If I give this, you just chew it and throw it. Why shall I give it to you? Do you follow me? Don't be angry with me. I am simply... Just I am telling you this thing because when this verse comes up, so I am going to tell you. Prabhupāda, my gurumaharaj, has only quoted the verse. He doesn't explain it because you cannot, [you cannot] understand it. You don't know its value. You are a monkey only. Do you follow me?
So, this mādana-khya mahābhāva, like that is, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is known as mādana-khya mahābhāva mayi, and Mahāprabhu has accepted that mood. Hmm. So, this question comes up. Sādhana-bhakti, nāma-saṅkīrtan is sādhan-bhakti, is sādhan. Then sādhya is prema, [the] end. It's means and end—[the] goal is prema. How the means and goal come together and are sewed together and [how it] is made a garland? And Mahāprabhu made it, and Mahāprabhu now gives that garland to each and [every] one. Everybody putting on, around [the] neck of filthy people. How is it and how? That is the question. I stop here. And who knows the answer?
gaurāńgera duṭi pada, jār dhana sampada, se jāne bhakati-rasa-sār gaura-prema-rasārṇave, śe tarańge jebā ḍube, se rādhā-mādhava-antarańga
They know. Only they know the answer to this question. This tattva whose only wealth and asset is [the] two lotus feet of Gaurāṅga, and who is always inundating, drowning himself in that unlimited ocean of prema, Gaura prema rasa. śe tarańge jebā ḍube. Only he knows. He is very intimate, very dear to Rādhā and Madhav. Nobody knows it.
So I may say tomorrow. Tomorrow we have this class, Caitanya-caritāmṛta class. So I will try my best to answer this question, how it is. How [can] both the means and end [be] sewed together, and a garland is made? How Mahaprabhu can do it, and how He gives it to one and all and puts that garland around [the] neck of everybody.
Thank you for your patience here. Hari bol. Govinda He. This is difficult, you see. It's not an easy thing to explain, you see. Gaura-Tattva, therefore [it] is so confidential [it]self, [a] very, very confidential tattva. Caitanya-caritāmṛta is known as [a] postgraduate course, but you are a primary student. But you are sitting in [a] postgraduate class. What can you understand? Without the mercy of Gaurāṅga, without the mercy [of] such dear devotees of Gaurāṅga, one cannot understand. One cannot understand. To understand is not possible, not possible, not possible at all. Do you follow?
We are not after effulgence. We pray, "Please remove, please remove your effulgence." I want that.
Devotee: Maharaj, you know, I worship a-
Gour Govinda Swami: Because when we speak of prema, it is personal. It is not impersonal. It's personal. Yes. You speak of a person, it becomes impersonal. We say, "I worship your personal form." Because... What do you want? What do you say?
Devotee: Yes, um, I worship Gopāla, who is by himself.
Gour Govinda swami: Yes.
Devotee: The Madhavendra Purī's deities, who now-
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes,
Devotee: I understand ... lives with him in Chicago. Ah. And I have a lot of controversy among the devotees in the movement who, who are telling me, some sannyasis, that I should, that, that the Rādhārāṇī is not there, that... But my understanding is that according to the gayatri māntra, we are asking to, for the mercy of all the ācāryas, and the goal is to love Kṛṣṇa.
Gour Govinda Swami: Kṛṣṇa, yes.
Devotee: And even Rādhārāṇī is bringing us to Kṛṣṇa. So then if they were to understand that even though they can't-
Gour Govinda Swami: You see, you see, Mañjarī, Rādhārāṇī may not be there. If Gaura is there, He is Rādhārāṇī. His mood is complexion. Without Gaura's mercy, you cannot go. You cannot go. Lord Gaura must be there. Then you come.
Devotee: Rādhārāṇī can-
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. You see? Very nice. Thank you so much.