Detailed Explanation of ‘Nama-srestham’ Verse & Disappearance Day of Sri Raya Ramananda

This audio is included in the following series of lectures:

Topics

• Explanation of verse 'nama-srestham manum api saci putram' by Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami.
• The meaning and significance of the mahamantra. Everything is within the holy name.
• The power of Gayatri-mantra.
• The mood of separation.
• Attachment for Gauranga and His associates.
• Siksa-guru and diksa-guru.
• Jagannatha is Dvarakadhisa-Krsna.
• The greed for raganuga-bhakti.
• Explanation of Radha-tattva.
• Glories of Sri Raya Ramananda.
• Krsna's 4 extraordinary qualities.
• Reason for Sriman Mahaprabhu's advent.
• Meeting of Raya Ramananda and Sriman Mahaprabhu on the bank of the Godavari River.

Transcript

[This lecture was spoken by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja on May 06, 1996, in Boven-Leeuwen, Netherlands. It was his third talk in the West, after having landed in Holland for the first time the previous day.

Note: This transcript has the following editors’ inputs: the language has been slightly edited at some places, endnotes have been added, and additional text has been included in square brackets to facilitate the flow and understandability of the content. The verbatim transcript is available below the edited version.

If you are inspired to participate in the transcription sevā, please register at https://www.audioseva.com/register.]

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja:

nāma-śreṣṭhaṁ manum api śacī-putram atra svarūpaṁ
rūpaṁ tasyāgrajam uru-purīṁ māthurīṁ goṣṭhavāṭīm
rādhā-kuṇḍaṁ giri-varam aho! Rādhikā-mādhavāśāṁ
prāpto yasya prathita-kṛpayā śrī guruṁ taṁ nato ’smi

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Mukta-carita (4)

[I offer praṇāma to śrī guru, by whose abundant mercy I have obtained the topmost name of Śrī Hari, the dīkṣā-mantras, [the service of] Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari, Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, his older brother, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, the vast abode of Śrī Mathurā, Vraja, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, and Govardhana, as well as a desire for [the loving service of] Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava.]

A very, pure devotee, very rasika vaiṣṇava, perhaps Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī [is praying] “I bow down at the lotus feet of my Gurudeva. I am dedicating myself and offering myself, my heart at the lotus feet of my Gurudeva.” Are you doing so? What has he done for you? What has he given you that you are so attached to your Gurudeva?

‘Oh, my Gurudeva is so beloved. He has given such marvelous things that we cannot even imagine or even have in our dreams but yet he has given.’

Nāma śreṣṭhaṁ. Śreṣṭha nāma means the highest class of the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. What has he given?

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Where is Rādhikā’s name in this mantra? Why has it [the maha-mantra] become so highest [the most powerful]? Even more than Rādhā nāma and more than Kṛṣṇa nāma. Caitanya Mahāprabhu discovered this name from the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad, and it contains the gist of all the Vedas and Upaniṣads. It is also the gist of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Everything is in this [mantra]. The whole Srimad Bhāgavatam is in there—Veṇu-gīta, Yugala-gīta, Bhramara-gīta, Gopī-gīta - everything is in this holy name.

‘Hare’ means to take and control the heart of Kṛṣṇa; She stole Kṛṣṇa’s heart. Thus, “Hare” refers to Harā. “Hare” comes from “Harā,” not from “Hari.” There are pairs, conjugal. “Hare Kṛṣṇa” Who is Kṛṣṇa? [One] who attracts. So beautiful and so sweet.

The power of Kṛṣṇa, the energy of Kṛṣṇa, is the hlādinī-śakti - Śrīmatī Rādhikā, mahābhāva-mayī. Do you know what mahābhāva is? [laughing] I am telling so that [because] the discoverer of this mahābhāva is Rāya Rāmānanda, from whom we can know about mahābhāva. What is mahābhāva? Otherwise we are ignorant about this.

So Gurudeva has given this. Also he has given so many pairs of names: Śyāmā-Śyāma, Gaurī-Śyāma, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Kiśorī-Kiśora. All these names have been given. Kuñja-vihārī and Kuñja-vihāriṇī. Who is Kuñja-vihārī? [Kṛṣṇa.] But Śrīmatī Rādhikā is Kuñja-vihāriṇī. Kṛṣṇa is Śyāma, and She is Śyāmā. So our Gurudeva has given this. In the holy name everything is there, all pastimes are there.

Nāma-śreṣṭham manum api. He has given us manu—manu means mantra. What mantra? The best mantra. What is the best mantra? Gopāla-mantra—gopī-jana-vallabha. He has given us Gopī-jana-vallabha, and he has also given the Anaṅga-deva mantra [kāma-gāyatrī]—the most powerful mantra.

Kṛṣṇa first gave this Gopāla-mantra to Brahmā. Brahmā wanted to create this world and to know Kṛṣṇa, but he misused it; he only wanted, “I should create the world.” By this Gopāla-mantra he created this world, but he failed to attain Kṛṣṇa. So again he performed austerities—very great austerities—and then Kṛṣṇa, by His flute, gave him dīkṣā in the form of the Kāma-gāyatrī mantra. First is Brahma-gāyatrī, and when it matures, it becomes Kāma-gāyatrī.

Women should not chant this or remember this Brahma-gāyatrī. Only men should chant this. In our paramparā from Caitanya Mahāprabhu, [this is the standard], but anyhow Svāmījī has given it; there are so many reasons. We are not going to make an offence at his lotus feet. He was quite free. There is no ankush (restriction) there on a bona fide Gurudeva; he can give. But we should try to follow ourselves, the principles of our line. I know some reasons why he gave it, but I do not wish to disclose them. [everyone laughs]

So we should try to be careful: if females chant this mantra, they may lose their service. Their hearts will be like [Mount] Sumeru, like males. [all laughing]

Devotee: Like stone.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: We see that if there is a very young daughter and an elder brother, the brother may say, “Oh, sister, bring me one glass of water,” and he will give orders. But females, whether married or not, will generally not order a male to do anything—very rarely. But even if the boy is very young—what to speak of when he is older—he will give orders, and they [girls], without hesitation, will follow and try to serve, because their heart is to serve.

So all want to be gopīs, to serve Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu came.

Thus, the [Brahma-] gāyatrī mantra, Guru-mantra, [Guru-gāyatrī], Gaura-mantra, Gaura-gāyatrī, Gopāla-mantra, Kāma-gāyatrī, Pañca-tattva mantra, and the mahā-mantra; through these Gurudeva, he has inspired us, not merely with their meaning, but by manifesting Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa themselves within our hearts.

We should know something about this. If we do not know the meaning at least, we can attain [perfection[. So we should try to learn about the meaning of these mantras. But you should know that the meaning is only to help something [somewhat]; the mantra is Himself and Herself—Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

If you chant this mantra, Kṛṣṇa will come into your heart; Śrīmatī Rādhikā will come into your heart—They will manifest there. So Gurudeva has given this mantra:

nāma-śreṣṭhaṁ manum api śacī-putram atra svarūpam
rūpaṁ tasyāgrajam uru-purīṁ māthurīṁ goṣṭha-vāṭīm
rādhā-kuṇḍaṁ giri-varam aho! rādhikā-mādhavāśāṁ
prāpto yasya prathita-kṛpayā śrī-guruṁ taṁ nato ’smi

He has given so much affection for Śacīnandana Gaurahari. He has given Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, Rūpa Gosvāmī—svarūpaṁ śrī-rūpaṁ sāgra-jātam. “Sāgra-jātam” means “one who was born before”; before Rūpa Gosvāmī, that is his elder brother, Sanātana Gosvāmī—this is sāgra-jātam.

Saha-gaṇaiḥ means the associates, the parikaras of Rūpa Gosvāmī. Who are they? Rūpa, Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Jīva Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śyāmānanda Prabhu, Lokanātha Gosvāmī, Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī, Narottama Ṭhākura, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura—all are the associates.

Thus, he [Gurudeva] has given so much honour to their lotus feet. He has manifested them—their lotus feet—within my heart.

He has also given so much—goṣṭha-vāṭīṁ, māthurīṁ-goṣṭha-vāṭīṁ. What is called māthurīṁ? Gurudeva has given this idea.

When Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā; the gopīs, the cowherd boys, Nanda, Yaśodā—all were weeping for Kṛṣṇa. This is māthur-viraha, separation [of the vraja-vāsīs] when Kṛṣṇa goes to Mathurā. All are weeping. But they can console one another. They can console Śrīmatī Rādhikā. But Śrīmatī Rādhikā cannot console anyone, because Her separation is the deepest. Still, others can speak among themselves and also try to console Her.

But Kṛṣṇa—in Mathurā—has no one to console Him. He is in so much deep water of separation, and He is weeping alone—day and night—with no one to console Him.

So who has given this mood within you? Our beloved Gurudeva has given it. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has given it. And who is his Gurudeva? Who? Rūpa Gosvāmī. Did he give him anything? Dīkṣā? No. Any yajña? No. Then how is he the Gurudeva of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī?

We should know that if you have great faith in any man, any devotee, and you are following his teachings and ācāra—that is, his behaviour…

[To a devotee] You should sit by me everywhere. [laughing] To help me [with english words].

…Then he is Gurudeva. He is the śikṣā-guru, and he is not less than the dīkṣā-guru. We should understand what is a śikṣā-guru and what is a dīkṣā-guru. The śikṣā-guru is the svarūpa of Kṛṣṇa, and the dīkṣā-guru is the rūpa of Kṛṣṇa.

śikṣā-guruke ta’ jāni kṛṣṇera svarūpa
antaryāmī, bhakta-śreṣṭha, — ei dui rūpa
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 1.47)

[One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the Personality of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself as the Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.] BBT

guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 1.45)

[According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.] BBT

The śāstras declare that the Guru is the form (rūpa) of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, there is no difference between them. There is no difference between Rūpa and Sanātana. Sanātana Gosvāmī is [known as] our dīkṣā-guru [as he is the ācārya of sambandha-jñāna, knowledge of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa], and Rūpa Gosvāmī is our śikṣā-guru.

Sometimes the śikṣā-guru is considered more superior, because Kṛṣṇa is my śikṣā-guru. Lalitā is my śikṣā-guru. Viśākhā is my śikṣā-guru. Rūpa-mañjarī is my śikṣā-guru. And my dīkṣā-gurudeva is nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja—or, for yourself, Gour Govinda Mahārāja.

What will you see? Rūpa Gosvāmī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu are the śikṣā-gurus—or Viśākhā and Lalitā—are they superior, or is Gour Govinda Mahārāja superior? What will you think? Who is superior? Kṛṣṇa is superior. Rādhikā is superior. Mahāprabhu is superior. But he (Gurudeva) has taken our śīkhā; and Gour Govinda Mahārāja, or my Gurudeva, has dragged me to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So he is more worshipable for me than Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā—do you understand? But They are superior. They are the guru of guru, guru… to the guru of Gour Govinda Mahārāja. They are the gurus of all—Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī.

Rūpa Gosvāmī has taken Caitanya Mahāprabhu as his Gurudeva. Lalitā and Viśākhā are the śikṣā-gurus of Kṛṣṇa.

That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Rāya Rāmānanda. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Himself Kṛṣṇa, and to take bath in the mood of Rādhā and to steal away [experience] Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s heart, He took shelter at the lotus feet of Viśākhā-devī, that is Rāya Rāmānanda.

And then He took all these things from Viśākhā. This is the superiority and speciality of Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda. Caitanya Mahāprabhu learned from them, and then He attained this mood and tasted Rādhā-bhāva in His Gambhīrā-līlā.

You know Gambhīrā? We do not go there to see Jagannātha-deva there. Where Kṛṣṇa is present but without a flute and without a peacock feather; and He is not playing the flute, and He is not giving His paricaya [His identity]...Paricaya means recognition. He does not say, “I am the son of Nanda Bābā and Yaśodā Māiyā.” Will Jagannātha say that His mother is Yaśodā? What will He say? “I am the son of Devakī and Vasudeva. I am a Dvārakāvāsī.”

There is no flute, no Śrīmatī Rādhikā on His left side, and no doing like this [three-fold bending form]. So we do not pay more respect to Dvārakādīśa and Baladeva Prabhu, who are saying that, “I am the son of King Vasudeva Mahārāja and [queen] Devakī-rāni.” [laughing] We pay some respect?

So we go to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Who is Caitanya Mahāprabhu? [Kṛṣṇa Himself.] And He has borrowed this mood from Rāya Rāmānanda. Therefore, we bow down to Rāya Rāmānanda. Gurudeva has also given us this mood.

nāma śreṣṭhaṁ manum api śacī-putram atra svarūpaṁ
rūpaṁ tasyāgrajaṁ uru-purīṁ mathurīṁ goṣṭhavāṭīṁ
rādhā-kuṇḍam-giri varam aho! rādhikā-mādhavāśāṁ

‘Āśā’ means hope. Very deep greed and hope, a wish— that one will surely attain these things: the lotus feet of Rādhā-Kuṇḍa and Śyāma-Kuṇḍa. They are specifically Rādhā and Śyāma, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So who has inspired [this feeling] in my heart that I am having the mood - “When will I attain the lotus feet of all that I have described [in this verse]?” Who has given? My dearest Gurudeva has given this. So, I bow down to the lotus feet of my Guru, who has given this [bestowed this upon me].

Not only vaidhi-bhakti, not only that. This is not something bad or easy. It is not a sādhārana, ordinary thing. Even vaidhi-bhakti, when one attains good association, can be transformed into rāgānuga-bhakti. And that rāgānuga-bhakti changes [further develops] into rāgātmikā-bhakti.

This hope has been given and inspired in us by our Gurudeva; therefore, we bow down to our Gurudeva.

So I chanted here:

nāma śreṣṭhaṁ manum api śacī-putram atra svarūpaṁ,
rūpaṁ tasyāgrajaṁ uru-purīṁ mathurīṁ goṣṭhavāṭīṁ
rādhā-kuṇḍaṁ-giri varam aho! rādhikā-mādhavāśāṁ
prāpto yasya prathita-kṛpayā śrī-guruṁ taṁ nato’smi

On a special occasion, we will give [recite] this—not everywhere.

Today is the auspicious disappearance day of Śrīla Rāya Rāmānanda. Who was he in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes? Viśākhā. Viśākhā Devī took birth on the same day on which Rādhikā was born—she has the same qualities.

Not so prakharā, not so mṛdu. What does that mean? [Not overly harsh, nor overly soft.] Not so harsh like Lalitā—[laughing]—who can say to Kṛṣṇa, “I will see you. You are so naughty, so cheater, so hard-hearted, so cold-hearted! And you have cheated my sakhi!” So she can give a lesson to Kṛṣṇa. But Rādhikā is not so hard. She is not so mṛdu (soft) like Candrāvalī and others. She is medium—neither so mṛdu nor so harsh, in the middle. Viśākhā is the same.

All the qualities that Śrīmatī Rādhikā possesses are also present in her. She always remains with Rādhikā like a shadow. So Viśākhā is not less than Rādhikā; they are equal in nature, though each has her own attributes and specialities. Rādhikā Herself expands into the eight sakhīs. All the sakhīs are not any different things [separate entities]; they are simply different moods of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

So because Viśākhā is the special heart of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, she knows how to control Kṛṣṇa and how to serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā. When Kṛṣṇa desired, “I should take the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā so that I can taste My own beauty [and sweetness].”

Kṛṣṇa has four kinds of mādhurya. Do you know the four kinds of mādhurya? veṇu-mādhurya—so sweet [the sound of his flute]; so sweet appearance [rūpa-mādhurya]; so sweet qualities [prema-mādhurya]; so sweet parikaras - parikara means associates - Lalitā, Viśākhā, Citrā and all; Rūpa-mādhurī, guṇa[prema]-mādhurī, līlā-mādhurī, and veṇu-mādhurī.These special qualities are not found in Rāma, Dvārakādīśa, Mathurādīśa, or Nārāyaṇa or any expansions [of Kṛṣṇa].

So, how to gain this? How to have the heart and the mood of Kṛṣṇa?

śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā ki dṛśo vā nayaiḥ va
āsvādyo yena adbhuta-madhurimā ki dṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anu-bhavataḥ ki dṛśam veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harinduḥ

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 1.6)

[Desiring to understand the glory of Rādhārāṇī’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, appeared from the womb of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī, as the moon appeared from the ocean.]

This is the poem from Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Perhaps you know it, and you should know it. You must know this; otherwise, you cannot become a very qualified devotee. You should try to understand these teachings. They are very high-level, but we will have to [make the effort]. If we desire something and there is no “tax” on attaining it, then why should we not enter into these topics?

So we should [have that aspiration]: “I want that, I will accept only that thing; otherwise, I will never accept anything else. I will go only on that ghāṭa (bathing place on the bank of a water body) where that prema is achieved. I do not want anything else. I want to be a pālyā-dāsī of Rādhā—nothing else, no other desire.”

Kṛṣṇa Himself is thinking, “I love Śrīmatī Rādhikā more, yet Śrīmatī Rādhikā loves Me even more.” If They [Their love] are compared on a balance scale, then Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s side goes so down [much more heavier than Kṛṣṇa’s love] [laughter]

So [Kṛṣṇa is] thinking how to feel, how to realise all these things? When Kṛṣṇa looks at Śrīmatī Rādhikā, He is controlled, yet He does not become mad in the same way. But when Śrīmatī Rādhikā sees Kṛṣṇa, where to go? She asks Lalitā, “Who is He?”

Lalitā says, “Oh, you have been with Him before on His lap and now You are asking, ‘Who is He?” Śrīmatī Rādhikā is telling, “I am speaking the truth. I have never seen Him before.” [laughing] “What to speak of touching [Him] and what to speak of meeting Him? I have never seen Him—what should I do?”

And She becomes maddened. Kṛṣṇa thinks, “How much prema does She have for Me! I cannot imagine?” And He wonders what ānanda (happiness) She experiences in tasting all this—rūpa-mādhurī, veṇu-mādhurī, guṇa[prema]-mādhurī, and all of these things. “I do not know; I have no realization, I have no taste of this.”

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Godāvarī in South India, where Rāya Rāmānanda was the emperor. He was like a king, serving in the position of a viceroy. Viceroy, you know?

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Governor.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Not a governor, but a Governor-General. He was the pratinidhi...

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Representative.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Representative of Pratāprudra. So learned, but so rasika. Even Pratāprudra’s Rāja Paṇḍita-

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya cannot realize who is Rāya Rāmānanda. He used to joke [laugh] at him when he was, immersed in kṛṣṇa-prema, weeping and weeping. And the hairs -

Devotee: stand up.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: And weeping, heart melted. Then he [Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya] used to see and used to joke at him. "Really He is not Brahma. You cannot realize Brahma. You are like a woman weeping and doing so. This practice is not good for realizing Brahma. You should try to realize Brahma, and you should see that I am Brahma." He [Rāya Rāmānanda] used to tell that, "Those who want to be Brahma, they will go to hell."
When he…

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya realized that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not other than Kṛṣṇa, and He has come to give kṛṣṇa-prema, then he knew that, “oh, He is Kṛṣṇa.” And then he told, realized that, "Oh, Rāya Rāmānanda is so high, I cannot touch his lotus feet also. I am not able. I am not qualified to understand him." Great devotees cannot realize who Rāya Rāmānanda was. He was so high class.

So he told and prayed to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "When you go to South India, you should surely meet Rāya Rāmānanda.”

[to audience] “Oh boy, you should be calm and quiet in your father's lap. Don't disturb. [laughter] Try to understand." [laughter]

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: [It is getting late]

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: But now I have begun. What to do? I have begun to speak about Rāya Rāmānanda. But time is over.

Devotees: No!

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: So tomorrow we will?

Devotees: No.
[laughing]

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Yes, tomorrow there is no program outside.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Uh, very good. [laughing] You can tell [what happened] after that?

Devotee: You

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Myself? [laughing] Then he prayed to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “You should certainly meet him. At first, I used to think of him as a mad person, but now, by Your grace, I see that he is a topmost Vaiṣṇava—indeed, not only topmost but also so rasika. You will be very glad to meet him.”

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu went there. This is the outward reason, the external cause. But the internal reason was that He had already made up his mind that - “I should meet him there. I should go to the school of Viśākhā, that is, Rāya Rāmānanda, and there I will learn so much. In this way, I will become qualified to realise Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā.”

So anyhow, He went to that “school” as a student. When they met, Caitanya Mahāprabhu had taken bath and was sitting on the bank of the Godāvarī River. The Godāvarī is a very sacred river, considered like Lakṣmī Herself. He was sitting there like this, thinking, “When will I know the greatness of Śrīmatī Rādhikā? How will I obtain Her heart?”

At that time, a large crowd arrived, surrounded by many learned scholars—all Sanskrit paṇḍitas reciting Vedic mantras—with drums, and Rāya Rāmānanda was approaching in a pālki. Pālki—you know?

Devotee: Palanquin.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: As a king, when he had set aside all his [royal paraphernalia] and was about to take bath, he saw, not nearby but far away, a bāla-sannyāsī. Bāla-sannyāsī means?

Devotee: No hair (bald)

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Bāla-sannyāsī. Bāla means? [laughing]

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Bāla means young sannyasi.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: So, kiśora, a young sannyāsī, was sitting and meditating. [It was as if] lakhs and lakhs of sun-rays were coming down from there. He was astonished, “Who is He? Who is He?” He was so attracted, but [at the same time] he feared the crowd of paṇḍitas—what would they say? That he, being a śūdra, was going to meet a brāhmiṇ sannyāsī.

He thought, “I should not go.” Yet his heart was so stolen and attracted that he could not check himself. He took bath in the river and he told the brāhmaṇas, “Wait for me, fifteen minutes. I will return.” Then he set aside his crown and rājakīyā vastra.

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: Royal dress.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Royal dress he kept there. Then, wearing only a single dhotī—wrapped in the manner of a beggar—he went forward. As he approached, Caitanya Mahāprabhu opened [his eyes]. When the two came near, two became four. Understand?

Four eyes. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Who are you? Are you Rāya Rāmānanda?”

Rāya Rāmānanda replied, “I am so dīna-hīna (low and fallen); I am not Rāya Rāmānanda, but I am Your servant. Servant—Rāya Rāmānanda, a śūdra. I am a śūdra, very fallen and wretched. But how did You know?” he asked.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu at once embraced him. Rāya Rāmānanda thought, “He has embraced me, a śūdra! A brāhmaṇa sannyāsī— very beautiful, rays are coming [from his body] and prema-dhārā [streams of prema] … Prema-dhārā means?

Śrīpād Mādhava Mahārāja: tears.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: “So much tears are coming, every hair is standing on end, and His heart is melting—my heart is also melting upon touching Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” Then he also began to weep, and they both fell to the ground, rolling - “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa!”

Then, after some time, both came to their senses and began to speak. I will tell about that very sweet talk another day.

Devotees: No!
[laughter]

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Do you like this?

Devotees: Yes!

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Very good. This is bhakti, and this will take you to rāgānugā-bhakti at once, without any delay. Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all our Gosvāmīs have given this. It will grow a very deep greed within you to know all of these things.

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta all these things have been written. We cannot find these topics even in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Caitanya-caritāmṛta explains what Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is, who Kṛṣṇa is, who Rādhā is, what prema is, what līlā is, and how one can attain service. I want to explain this to you.

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Pūrva, 4.25,26)

[In the heart of the sādhaka, first śraddhā (faith) develops. After that come sādhu-saṅga (association with saints), bhajana-kriyā (regulated devotional activities) and then anartha-nivṛtti (the clearing of unwanted habits). Next the sādhaka develops niṣṭhā in bhajana (fixed determination in devotional service), followed by ruci (taste). Then he develops āsakti (intense attachment) to bhajana and to the object of bhajana, Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa. After this, śuddha-sattva (pure unalloyed transcendental existence) descends in the heart of the sādhaka in the form of bhāva (spiritual emotions) and finally prema arises. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead.]

[These are the] Eight stages of bhakti. Rāya Rāmānanda has described all these topics to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is asking questions, and he is answering them. I like to describe this Rāya Rāmānanda pastime from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, [and also] the Sanātana-śikṣā, Rūpa-śikṣā, and Ratha-yātrā-prasaṅga. This prasaṅga, what I am telling now - Rāya Rāmānanda-saṁvāda. And fourth chapter of the Ādi-līlā of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, a jewel.

So you should try to deeply immerse in all of this. Then we can realise who Caitanya Mahāprabhu is and for what purpose He has come here. In this way, our life [will become meaningful.] We will continue these topics tomorrow in the morning session—not for just one day, but over two, three, or four days... We can hear and then we [gradually absorb these teachings.] This is true bhakti.

Gaura Premānande! Haribol! [cheering]

[Ends with chanting mahāmantra kīrtana]

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