Pure Devotional Service - The Highest and Purest

1. The Lord cannot be understood by material senses. We need to purify our senses to understand the Supreme Lord and the pleasure that one can derive from executing devotional service is far more than the pleasure obtained by Brahman realization or any other material happiness.

2. The emphasis is always on pure devotional service. Rupa Goswami has gives us many characteristics in pure devotioanl service. the symptoms of those progressing on the path of devotional service.

3. The happiness derived through the process of devotional service is the highest. When we come to the path of devotional service, we get introduced to so many rules and regulations and many austerities. One may question, if I perform austerities, what will I get in exchange?

- Lord Rshabdeva explains please perform austerities for the pleasure of the Lord. One will get unlimited and unending spiritual happiness.
- There is a limit to the height of the waves of the ocean but there is no limit to the height of the spiritual ocean. The happiness derived by executing pure devotional service is unending.
- Bitter in beginning, sweet in the end and wakes you up to self-realization. - Happiness is mode of Goodness
Sweet in beginning and bitter in the end and is due to contact of senses with sense objects. - Passion

4. Sins that we perform at different stages.
Some we have already experienced. Some we are experiencing. Some we are going to experience. Some are lying as seed. But Pure devotional service destroys all miseries. It is rarely achieved because through Pure devotional service we can control Krishna.

- Notes from a lecture by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

Three Types of Happiness & Having a desire to serve Krishna

Three types of Happiness

Mode of Goodness, Passion and Ignorance.

Happiness in the mode of Goodness :- Beginning like poison and like nectar in the end and wakes one to self-realization.
- There are many activities which appear like poison in the beginning. One may ask is it something like a child who restricts his playtime because he wants to study and then gets good grades. Is this happiness in goodness? - NO. Krishna explains, this must wake one up to self-realization.
- Vedas means knowledge. We all operate under the influence that knowledge is only found in schools and colleges and vedas is for religious knowledge. But Vedas is real knowledge. One should cultivate spiritual and material knowledge together.
- Sadly, education has become one of most successful commercial businesses. We may decorate and ornament a cage but if we don't feed the bird inside the cage, what good will the bird do living in a good environment?
- kamasya nendriya pritir: We should not utilize the body like cats and dogs.
- Hearing about the instructions might be painful when one is asked to sacrifice the object of senses, but when one uses his intelligence and gets the higher taste, he is benefitted.

Happiness in the mode of Passion: Derived from contact of senses with sense objects and is like nectar in beginning and posion in the end. - If we analyze the process of sense enjoyment which people are promoting actively, we will see that we are painful.
- Everyone is worried of Cancer, AIDS. These diseases are a result of sinful life.
- So, today 99.9% of the population is interested in pursuing happiness in mode of passion. Just like instant tea, coffee. Just for this instant sense gratification, we indulge in unlimited sense enjoyment.
- When we run after wealth, we engage in any activities.

Happiness in mode of Ignorance: That happiness which is blind to self realization, all illusion and is due to sleep and ignorance.
- In Kali-yuga people are spiritually lazy and very few are awake to self-realization.
- There is no understanding to God and no desire to even understand.

So, why is Krishna explaining all this?
So that we can be educated and can make the decision.



If Krsna wants us to surrender to Him, how do we develop that love and devotion?
Rupa Goswami explains that:
- One must have a desire to establish a relation with Krsna and serve Him. When Krsna understands this desire, then Krsna will arrange a situation where you come in contact with a Sadhu & with Prabhupada's books. Then we will recieve knowledge. As a result of chanting, bhajana-kriya, the result is that the unlimited material desires that were stopping us to come to Krsna get eliminated. Just like if we take a medicine, it cures us of the germs in the body. We should never forget that the Supreme Lord is very unhappy when He sees that His parts and parcels are trying to be happy without Him.

- Service to the Lord starts with chanting His names & cleanses the heart and it is an ancient system of self-realization.
- Jump at the opportunity of becoming spiritually happy. Chant Hare Krsna, read Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam and associate with devotees. Follow this simple philospohy and there is nothing to lose but only to gain.

- Notes from a lecture by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

Pure Devotional Service controls Krishna

1. The Lord cannot be understood by material senses. We need to purify our senses to understand the Supreme Lord and the pleasure that one can derive from executing devotional service is far more the pleasure obtained by Brahman realization or any other material happiness.

2. The emphasis is always on pure devotional service.
3. The happiness derived through the process of devotional service is the highest. When we come to the path of devotional service, we get introduced to so many rules and regulations and many austerities. One may question, if I perform austerities, what will I get in exchange?
- Lord Rshabdeva explains please perform austerities for the pleasure of the Lord. One will get unlimited and unending spiritual happiness.
- There is a limit to the height of the waves of the ocean but there is no limit to the height of the spiritual ocean. The happiness derived by executing pure devotional service is unending.
- Bitter in beginning, sweet in the end and wakes you up to self-realization. - Happiness is mode of Goodness
Sweet in beginning and bitter in the end and is due to contact of senses with sense objects. - Passion

4. Sins that we perform at different stages.
Some we have already experienced. Some we are experiencing. Some we are going to experience. Some are lying as seed. But Pure devotional service destroys all miseries. It is rarely achieved cos through pure devotional service we can control Krishna.

- Notes from a lecture by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

Everything is Auspicious when Krishna is there!

A  story about Krishna from the book ‘Gopala Champu’ by Jiva Goswami. We recall when Krishna lived in Dvārakā. At that time, there was a an eclipse. A full eclipse where the eclipse of the sun was being predicted. So everyone was worried about it and Vasudeva decided that they should all go to Kuruksetra, to perform a big sacrifice there. Therefore, the whole entire family of the Yadus went to Kuruksetra and a big arrangement for a sacrifice was being made, and all on the order of Vasudeva who was arranging for everything.
It was just at that time, Nanda Maharaj was also coming to visit and he arrived. When Krishna saw Nanda Maharaj, then Krishna became so emotional and so did Nanda Maharaj. Vasudeva had never seen Krishna like that. Then he said out loud:
“It’s not surprising that Krishna is so attached to Nanda Maharaja, although Nanda Maharaj was not his real father, but of course he stayed there for a long time”.
Nanda Maharaj didn’t even hear that, he just saw Krishna and Krishna saw Nanda Maharaj. Then a brahmana came and said to Vasudeva:
“Please, you must come now for the sacrifice, so that we can counteract the inauspicious influence of the eclipse”.
And Jiva Goswami or some narrators who tell story say:
“What is the question of any inauspiciousness when Krishna is there!”
So the whole sacrifice was not required, because Krishna was present. Nanda Maharaj understood that there was no need for a yajña. But Vasudeva wanted to do the yajña, to ward off the inauspiciousness. So here, we see something between the mood of Dvārakā, and the mood of Vrindavana, which is very interesting. How in the mood of Dvārakā, there is all this opulence so they are into the external ritual, and for the sake of dharma and everything! But in Vrindavana:



‘It’s okay, we have Krishna. When Krishna is here then everything is auspicious…..where there is Krishna ”.
The gopis have that same mood! So one who chants the holy name of Krishna, goes for the essence – ‘Krishna, Krishna, Krishna!’
Wherever there is Krishna, then there is no need!

- HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Melbourne, Australia, 2011

Three types of Listening (Sravanam)

It was a king's court, the ministers, pundits and artists were all seated in their respective places. The king and his ministers had earned quite a name and fame for their wit and wisdom. One day a brahmana entered the court. He was given a warm welcome with all honor due to him. '

The king asked him: "Oh revered one! May I know what brings you here? We are very happy on account of your presence here today."

The brahmana replied: "Oh King, your court is reputed for its wit and wisdom. I have brought three beautiful dolls and I would like to have an assessment and evaluation of these dolls done by your ministers."

He presented to the king the three dolls. The king called his senior most minister and gave him the dolls for examination and evaluation. The minister just looked once at the dolls and commanded a royal messenger to fetch him a thin steel-wire. The minister inserted the wire into the right ear of one of the dolls. The wire came out of the left ear. He kept it aside. He took up another doll and once again passed the wire into its right ear. It came out of the mouth of the doll. He kept that doll in one place. He took up the third doll and inserted the wire, it neither came out of the other ear nor from the mouth. The king and the courtiers were eagerly watching the scene.

The minister paying his tributes to the brahmana said: "Oh revered one." Of the three dolls, the third one is the best. The three dolls actually are symbolic of three types of listening. There are three types of listeners, in the world. The first type listen to every word, only to pass it out from the other ear. The second type listen well, remember it well only to speak out all that they have heard. The third type listen, retain everything they have heard and treasure it up in their hearts. They are the best type of listeners."

The brahmana congratulated the king and the minister on the successful evaluation of the dolls and blessing them both, left the court.

- Shravanam is the first and the foremost among the nine processes of devotional service. Having heard the words of the acharyas, we should try to revolve their meaning and message in our minds and put them into practice to elevate ourselves in devotional service.

- HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj