SB_10.9.18 – The proper sadhana which alone unveils the mercy of Krsna in Vrindavan !


Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.18 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 11 November 2026

jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda  
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda  

Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine

jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 9 Verse 18.


ŚB 10.9.18

स्वमातु: स्विन्नगात्राया विस्रस्तकबरस्रज: ।
द‍ृष्ट्वा परिश्रमं कृष्ण: कृपयासीत् स्वबन्धने ॥ १८ ॥

sva-mātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā
visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
kṛpayāsīt sva-bandhane

Synonyms

sva–mātuḥ — of His own mother (Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Yaśodādevī); svinna–gātrāyāḥ — when Kṛṣṇa saw His mother perspiring all over because of unnecessary labor; visrasta — were falling down; kabara — from her hair; srajaḥ — of whom the flowers; dṛṣṭvā — by seeing the condition of His mother; pariśramam — He could understand that she was now overworked and feeling fatigued; kṛṣṇaḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛpayā — by His causeless mercy upon His devotee and mother; āsīt — agreed; sva–bandhane — in binding Him.

Translation

Because of mother Yaśodā’s hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Kṛṣṇa saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.

Purport

When mother Yaśodā and the other ladies finally saw that Kṛṣṇa, although decorated with many bangles and other jeweled ornaments, could not be bound with all the ropes available in the house, they decided that Kṛṣṇa was so fortunate that He could not be bound by any material condition. Thus they gave up the idea of binding Him. But in competition between Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, Kṛṣṇa sometimes agrees to be defeated. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s internal energy, yoga-māyā, was brought to work, and Kṛṣṇa agreed to be bound by mother Yaśodā.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:

This is a description of mother Yasoda becoming tired. Of course, if it’s a spiritual world, no one should become tired. However, we see that shramam is actually one of the Vyabachari Bhavas. Normally, Vyabachari Bhavas are emotions. But we will see some of them look almost physical because we have shrama, we have near death, etc., we have symptoms like epilepsy, etc. So, of course, simultaneously there is an emotional internal component of tiredness, etc., plus external symptoms like sweating, etc., perspiration.

This description is also that the garlands were falling from her hair. So, due to the effort, even her flowers were falling off. Krishna noticed that. And then, out of His mercy, he became bound up. So, in this way, we see that the factor which allowed Krishna to give His mercy was He was seeing mother Yasoda tired. And, of course, Krishna does not like to see His devotees in a tired, suffering state. And thus, He agreed to be bound up. But, previous to this, we see that Krishna refused to be bound up. In other words, Krishna refused to be tied up even by His mother. And, finally, seeing His mother so tired, then He agreed. 

So, she became tired because of all of her efforts to tie Him up. And, of course, spiritually there is no fatigue, there is no tiredness, etc. So, ultimately, it’s her attempts to serve Krishna. This is what was frustrating her. Her show of affection was her attempts to tie up Krishna. And, it was not succeeding. But, she did not give up. So, in other words, she continued in her attempt to do her particular service as a mother. And, when Krishna saw that big attempt with no response, then He decided to respond.

In other words, Krishna responds when He is satisfied with your efforts in devotional service. Of course, the nature of bhakti is even if we don’t put effort into it, we still get some response. And, even if it is namabhas, with no attempt at all to serve the Lord, still there is some effect. So, even the slightest action of bhakti done accidentally invokes mercy of Krishna. However, then we should not think, well, I’ll just accidentally do bhakti and that’s it. Krishna is satisfied, I’m out of the material world. Certainly, Krishna is merciful, and He is merciful to these people more than He is merciful to Jnanis and yogis. So, Ajamila achieved destruction of all of his karmas in a second, which takes yogis thousands of years. However, the principle is, Krishna responds to your type of devotion. So, with accidental bhakti, yes, the Lord responds, but if you do intentional bhakti, the Lord responds more.

So, one may do mixed bhakti, still the Lord responds. One example is Gajendra. Another example is Dhruva. So, definitely, the Lord responds to those persons. However, if one does pure bhakti, we expect the Lord to respond even more. So, according to Krishna’s mercy, you get different results. Ultimately, through namabhas, accidental chanting, or even intentional chanting with mixed devotion, you can get liberation. So, of course, with this accidental chanting, with no offense, you can get sayujya mukti. With namabhas, in the form of mixed devotion, you can get salokya, sarupya, etc. But with pure bhakti, you get Prema.

So, according to the type of surrender, then the Lord gives different types of mercy. So, this is not a criticism of the Lord, this is quite natural. If the Lord rewards the person who does nothing more than he gives the person who is serious and does great endeavor, then it doesn’t make sense [Laughs]. So consequently the Lord responds best or gives the most mercy to those who practice pure bhakti. And this is the basic type of bhakti which is presented in Bhagavatam and Nectar of devotion.

However, in pure bhakti, when we are doing sadhana, we are not pure. We still have anarthas. The only pure bhakti is ultimately Prema. But how do we get to Prema from the material world when we have anarthas? We cannot get there by accidental bhakti, we cannot get there by mixed bhakti. So, therefore, we can only go by practicing pure bhakti even though we have anarthas. So, thus pure bhakti is defined in terms of three stages, Sadhana, Bhava and Prema. It’s all called pure bhakti. And the reason is that it is only this pure bhakti in sadhana which leads to Prema.

And if we do other types of bhakti, no, we don’t get Prema. I mentioned that ultimately sadhana bhakti is not pure. However, as far as a person in the material world, it is not expected that in one second he becomes pure. So, that’s why it’s called sadhana [Laughs]. So, it is a practice in order to become pure. So, it differs from mixed bhakti or whatever and sadhana because at least our goal is that pure bhakti. And in all of our attempts and actions in sadhana, we are rejecting other desires. So, this is a, say the foundational actions of the devotee.

And then we get further types of bhakti and responses of Krishna. You do vaidhi bhakti, you get one response from Krishna. You do Raganuga bhakti, you get different response [Laughs]. And all this is based on the principle that Krishna responds according to how you approach him and worship him. So, pure bhakti in any case gives Prema. But depending on whether we do vaidhi bhakti or Raganuga bhakti, we get different types of Prema [Laughs]. Of course, Bhagavatam is ultimately presenting Krishna and Vrindavan as the ultimate goal. And therefore, by hearing the pastimes of Krishna and Vrindavan, we can develop an attraction for that type of Prema. So, that’s a first step in attaining Krishna in Vrindavan through our sadhana.

So, one of our basic sadhanas, of course, is Nama Sankirtan. And that in itself inclines us to the spontaneous mood of Vrindavan. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has presented Nama Sankirtana as Yuga Dharma. Of course, it is the Yuga Dharma for every Kali Yuga. So, it is a practical process for everyone to get their spiritual advancement. However, Caitanya Mahaprabhu has done something else. He has used the name to get the highest goal. So, normally, of course, Krishna is not available in other Yugas. And even in our Kali Yuga, it is difficult to attain Him. And, of course, to attain Radha Krishna in Vrindavan is even more difficult. But, Caaitanya Mahaprabhu was eager to give people of Kali Yuga, Radha Krishna Prema. So he does this through Nama Sankirtan, and thus in our Nama Sankirtan we have the name of Radha and Krishna. So, Nama Sankirtan has a special power in relation to Krishna in Vrindavan.

In Brhad-Bhagavatamrta, there is a story of Gopakumar. And he got a Krishna mantra from his Guru. In that way, he got his Diksha. So, that was not Nama Sankirtan. It was a secret mantra he was chanting all the time. Through that, he developed an attraction to Krishna in Vrindavan. And, though he got the power to go to all sorts of different places in the material world and spiritual world, he was not satisfied. So, he got to Vaikuntha. Still, he was unsatisfied. And, Narada Muni actually told him that, actually, if you want Krishna in Goloka, you have to chant the name of the Lord. So, instead of chanting his mantra, he chanted the name of the Lord, then he went to Goloka. So, thus, chanting of the name of the Lord, Nama Sankirtan, with Krishna’s name and Radha’s name, is a very powerful way to get to Vrindavan. So, that has been presented by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, somehow or other, through the chanting of the holy name, we can develop that attraction for Vrindavan, for Krishna in Vrindavan, and eventually we can get that realization.

So, when we are doing Sadhana Bhakti, then we have to put forth effort. And, of course, different devotees put different amounts of effort. Generally, the more effort you put, the better results you get. So, this is also according to this rule that Krishna responds according to your efforts. Of course, effort can mean two things. One, of course, is to do a lot of activity. But, the other is to do the activity and make the effort to do it in the proper way. So, therefore, along with all the action, we do need some knowledge. So, both things are part of our parisrama, our efforts. And, just simply to do with all the activity, without the proper procedures and knowledge, then we don’t get much result. So, therefore, yes, effort is very good, but we have to understand that part of the effort is to do everything properly. So, according to that effort, then we get the mercy of Krishna and we advance. And, the more we advance, the more Krishna responds. Why? Because that suddha bhakti and sadhana becomes pure and pure. Krishna is merciful, so even if we have some impurity, Krishna reveals Himself. And, thus, in the Bhava stage, we are not completely pure, but Krishna does reveal Himself. However, we also notice in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami explicitly says that it’s in Prema that we get this sixth unique quality of bhakti. And what is the sixth quality is Krishna Akarshani. That Prema attracts Krishna.

Of course we know in sadhana you put your efforts that attracts Krishna etc. But we get much attraction of Krishna in Prema. So, it is in Prema that Krishna serves the devotee. It’s in Prema that the devotee controls Krishna. And, Krishna in Vrindavan is the most controlled. Why? Because we got the strongest Prema in Vrindavan. So, Krishna cannot be controlled by the queens of Dwaraka, but He is controlled by the gopis [Laughs]. And, here we see Krishna controlled by Mother Yasoda. And, not just metaphorically, you know, doing something, but physically controlled, and she ties Him up with a rope [Laughs]. So, this is a famous example of how Prema, the ropes of Prema of Mother Yasoda tie up Krishna.

Hare Krishna!

Q&A:

1.) Hare Krishna Maharaj in the beginning you were saying that different sadhana leads to different goal like Ajamila example you are giving and also you are giving example of those who are doing mixed bhakti, one can go to Vaikuntha. But, my question is that, if someone is doing mixed bhakti, in the next life, will he go to Vaikuntha or not?

So, through mixed bhakti, we can purify ourselves slowly. And, after many lifetimes of doing this mixed bhakti, we can go higher and higher and higher. Eventually, we destroy all the anarthas. So, just as through jnana, you can ultimately destroy all the anarthas, you can do so with mixed bhakti, but of course quicker. So, the Jnani, with a little bhakti, attains mukti. Someone doing mixed bhakti, with not a little bhakti, mostly bhakti, with a little bit of jnana or karma or whatever, he gets more than liberation. So, this is also according to how much you surrender [Laughs]. You send a little bit of bhakti with your Jnana, then you get mukti. We also see Krishna kills demons, they get liberation [Laughs]. Then, if you perform mixed bhakti, you get purified and whatever, ultimately, then you must get more than sayuja. But, you should get less than a person who does pure bhakti. The person who does pure bhakti gets Prema. The person who does jnana gets liberation.

The person who does mixed bhakti, what does he get? Something in between [Laughs]. Above liberation, less than Prema [Laughs].  Therefore, he can get more than liberation, means vaikuntha. But then, if you are in Vaikuntha, what do you do without Prema? So, there are some people there, they are in Vaikuntha, they have salokya, and they also have sarupya, they get spiritual form. And, they are quite happy with that. They are also devotees of the Lord, because they did mostly bhakti. But, because of that mixture in their bhakti, their bhakti is not so strong, so they get less than Prema. So they are in the spiritual world they are devotees of the Lord, but they don’t serve the Lord too much. But, certainly, they think of the Lord.

Devotee : That what you were saying, someone doing mixed bhakti they go to Vaikuntha, that is a general statement. But bhakti purifies that person gradually. That means he doesn’t go to Vaikuntha. It may take many lifetimes for him to get purification completely and to get the Prema. That means, although mixed bhakti can elevate him to the Vaikuntha, but it still doesn’t do. Because, he has to, it purifies and slowly, slowly, slowly, then he comes to the pure bhakti and he gets the Prema also.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So, because he is doing bhakti, mixed bhakti, eventually, he destroys all anarthas. So, in one sense, yes, there is no anarthas, there must be pure. However, if we compare that bhakti with someone who is doing pure bhakti, who destroys his anarthas, the result is different, because the amount of bhakti is less in the first person. So, that we can say it is pure bhakti, but it is a weaker form of bhakti in the spiritual world. So therefore, we don’t put it at the Prema level.

2.) You are bringing the example of Gopakumar. Previously, he was chanting the mantra which is given by his guru. And later, by the instruction of Narada Muni, he gave up the mantra and he started chanting holy name. That means, giving up the instruction of his own guru is not [Not clear]. Because his guru had given him some mantra, he gave up that mantra and started chanting holy name. What type of offense is this because he is not following the instruction of his own guru?

So, of course, generally he followed the instructions of his Diksha Guru. And ultimately, he discovered that the Diksha Guru was Vishnu [Laughs]. Vishnu came in disguise [Laughs]. So, yeah, and he followed until he got to Vaikuntha and then still he was dissatisfied. So, Narada Muni was his Siksha Guru. With that instruction, he got the Goloka. That’s also stated in Caitanya Caritamrta, where it says that mantra gives you one goal and name gives you Prema.

3.) That means you are saying that for the sake of Krishna. Because ultimately both mantra and purpose is to attain the Krishna. Both mantra. But that mantra which is given by his own guru cannot help him to attain the Prema or Krishna. So, for that purpose, he has given up what mantra his guru has given. And he took the nama from Narada Muni and by that nama he went to the Goloka.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So, what’s the question?

Devotee : By that nama only he went to the Goloka, not the mantra

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah.

Devotee : Which is given by his own guru.

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Yeah, yeah that was the instruction of Narada Muni. It’s not mentioned there, but one can assume that the mantra has power. It’s non different from Krishna etc. Its got Krishna’s name in it. But it is used for Archana and is part of Vaidhi Bhakti.

So, therefore the realization, even if it is Krishna, it will be mixed with Aishwarya [Laughs]. Maybe that’s the ultimate thing [Laughs]. And that’s why I pointed out that Nama Sankirtan gives inclination towards Raga and Vrindavan. And that’s why again in Caitanya Caritamrita, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that Nama is not dependent on Diksha or mantra. It is superior.

There is only Krishna.

4.) Maharaj those who are in Madhurya rasa they chant Hare Krishna maha mantra because Radharani and Krishna both are together there. And those who are in Sakhya rasa and Vatsalya rasa. Even in Vatsalya rasa Radharani is not there, there is only Krishna. For the sakhya rasa also there is only Krishna, Radharani is not there. Only some intimate sakha of Krishna only knows about that relationship between Krishna and Radharani. So how will you see this? Because if someone aspires for Sakhya rasa or Vatsalya rasa, if they chant Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, there Radharani is involved. Whereas in the Seva, that Siddha Deva Seva, Radha is not there.

We see that Gopakumar was chanting this mantra and of course mantra was not revealed. And then he was instructed to do Nama and what was his realization? Sakhya-rasa, not Madhurya-rasa. But then there is a story of another person, a Brahmana who also got the same mantra. And then Gopakumar was there in his new form. And then Radharani came and instructed him. You go to this person [Laughs] and you enlighten him[Laughs] in the material. He also got Sakhya-rasa [Laughs]. So therefore somehow even Radha is not separate from the cowherd boys etc. and Gopakumar. So through Radha’s mercy this other Brahmana became a cowherd boy, Sakhya-rasa [Laughs].

Devotee : How do you explain this Vatsalya rasa?

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Oh, it’s not mentioned there.

5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, we say that Krishna responds to my type of devotion. So when we see the Vrajavasis, Krishna purposefully gave them the pain of separation. So how do we understand that?

We see in Nectar of Devotion when Rupa Goswami describes the different rasa’s, then in the Stayi-Bhava of each one, he has two parts, separation and meeting. So Prema will have two parts to it in any case, whether it is Madhurya rasa or Sakhya rasa or even Santa rasa, separation and union. So therefore the separation of Krishna from his devotees in Vrindavan is only part of their Prema. And it is also said that though it looks like suffering to us in separation, actually one experiences higher bliss than in union. How is that so? We don’t know [Laughs].

6.) So some devotees say that Hare Krishna maha mantra is also a mantra and it must be received from a Guru through Diksha. Is it so. Here we also see that Narada muni gave the nama to Gopakumar evevn though it might not be proper Diksha.

So we can say everything is mantra, Bhagavad Gita mantras, Vedic mantras, everything is mantra in one sense. However, when used among the Gaudiyas, especially in Caitanya Caritamrita, when we refer to mantra and Nama, they are very distinct. And when we talk about Diksha, you get a mantra, which is not public, it is secret. And Lord Caitanya got a mantra. What was it? You don’t know. It’s not described. It’s ten syllable mantra. Nithyananda got a ten syllable mantra. You don’t know. Gopakumar got a ten syllable mantra. You don’t know what it is. It was not Hare Krishna mantra. It’s only ten syllables. So that was their Diksha. And Lord Caitanya is teaching Nama Sankirtan to everybody. It’s not secret. It doesn’t require Diksha. So certainly a person can teach you that mantra or that Nama [Laughs]. But it’s not secret. And Ajamila didn’t get it from anybody [Laughs]. He accidentally [Laughs], he chanted the name of Narayana. And of course, in Caitanya Caritamrita itself, it says that Nama does not depend on Diksha. So it is distinct from Diksha mantras. So to say that Nama or Hare Krishna depends upon Diksha is a contradiction to Caitanya Caritamrita.

So of course, in ISKCON, we have something called First Initiation. But you’re not getting a new mantra there. You’re already chanting Hare Krishna. You have to chant 16 rounds. So you don’t get the mantra from somebody at that point. You’ve already got it. So in that sense, it’s not a Diksha. There is an aspect of Diksha in First Initiation. That is, you get a name like Krishna Das or Gauranga Das, etc. That’s part of initiation. But Lord Caitanya didn’t even get a name when he was initiated. But even if you get a name, if you don’t get the mantra, you’re not considered initiated. It’s not Diksha. If you just say, I got a name from so and so, it doesn’t mean you got Diksha. So what’s your mantra? If you got a mantra, yeah, you’re initiated. And you can do deity worship. If you just get a name, no, you can’t do deity worship.

7.) So Maharaj, you say that just effort is not enough. We must do it properly. So what does it exactly mean, Maharaj? So is it that we have to perform our sadhana with the proper intention and mood based on our goal?

So we have some people who are classed as Kanisthas. They have some faith in Krishna. In fact, they may be very dedicated to Krishna. And so they may be doing a lot of puja and everything for their deities. But what is their goal? Their goal may be to merge into Krishna.

Their goal may be to attain Svargaloka. So they could have many different goals. And they can put great effort into it. But they never get Prema. If they put forth that effort, but they have proper knowledge, then of course they can attain Prema. So to do that, we have to understand the difference between Krishna and Devatas. The difference between Mixed Bhakti and Pure Bhakti. The goal is Prema, not Svargaloka or Mukti. So the efforts have to be guided by knowledge of scripture.

8.) Maharaj, you said that by doing Mixed Devotion also, we will be free from all the anarthas. And one of the anarthas is Tattva Vibhramaha. So by doing that, by doing Mixed Devotion, that anartha should be removed. Then why is that we will not be understanding that our existence’s real purpose is to attain Krishna, Prema?

So, people can have nice philosophical knowledge, and they can also worship Krishna. At the same time, they may find it difficult to give up their material desires. So I worship Krishna, I want Prema, but I want some material enjoyment also [Laughs]. That can be refined and eventually becomes enjoyment on Brahmaloka. And if it gets further refined, then they can get to Vaikuntha, and get Salokya, and Sarsti, and Sarupya.

9.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Dandavat pranam.  If nama is the way to achieve Krishna Prema that was given by Siksha guru of Gopakumar as Naradamuni then at the same time Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu spread Harinama sankirtan which is the prominent way to achieve Prema in Kaliyuga. Then what is the need of Diksha guru in the current yuga.

We see in Caitanya caritamrita, when Lord Caitanya speaks, he very rarely mentions about Diksha. However, he himself took Diksha. So, in our Sampradaya, of course, we are mainly emphasizing Nama Sankirtan, which does not require Diksha. But, Diksha is required for Deity Worship. So, if one, of course, in Deity Worship is one of the five primary Angas of Bhakti, so if you wanted to do Deity Worship, then you have to get Diksha. Of course, it can also have a social value. And perhaps that is the reason, Lord Caitanya took Diksha.

And that is, that was the accepted standard for being a Vaishnava, because Pancharatra and Deity Worship were mainly, that made you a Vaishnava. However, we see that Lord Caitanya taught something completely different, that is Nama Sankirtan, which is beyond Diksha and beyond Deity Worship. So, then Diksha continues, of course, because if we want to do Deity Worship, we need Diksha mantras. But again, it had a social significance. And that is, through the Diksha, you can identify yourself with a certain lineage, Diksha Parampara. However, that also, because it is, let’s say, a social consideration, identity, etc., it can also become materialized. And thus, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati did not want to emphasize that, so he didn’t even trace the Diksha line, he traced the Siksha line instead.

10.)Dandavats Maharaj. In today’s sloka, why Yashodama is called sva-mātuḥ, why not for importance for Devaki?

So, of course, traditionally, we think of Devaki as the mother because Krishna was born in the prison house to Devaki. However, Yashoda is also the eternal mother of Krishna in the spiritual world. And it’s also described that actually when Krishna was born from Devaki, he was also born from Yashoda  


    11.) Maharaj, According to Bhagavad Gita, among five factors, karma is changeable. And also according to Padma Purana, prarabdha, aprarabdha, kutam, bijam, phalonmukham.  Through Sadhana Bhakti, how does the sinful activities, in which fraction it is nullified?

    Devotee : How is karma nullified in Sadhana Bhakti? Which factor of Sadhana Bhakti nullifies karma? That is, in this point of Sadhana Bhakti, your karma is nullified. Can we trace this out? Which stage?

    From the very beginning. Even if by chanting the holy name once, as Ajamila did, all your karma destroyed. And the first quality of Bhakti mentioned in Nectar of Devotion is Klesha agni. All karmas, vasanas, ahankara get destroyed through the process of Bhakti.

    12.) Maharaj, Prahlad Maharaj chanted Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya and got perfection. In the age of Kali, what effect one will get by chanting this mantra, not Hare Krishna Mahamantra?

    So all Vaishnava mantras are powerful, they are scriptural, they are purifying. But Nama Sankirtan is principal means in Kali Yuga. We can chant many mantras, but Nama Sankirtan is principal means in Kali Yuga. Nama Sankirtan is principal means in Kali Yuga. So that is our main sadhana and of course we can chant so many mantras and whatever but our main Sadhana for getting Prema is Nama sankirtan.

    13.) Gopakumar followed Pancharatrika Vidhi and developed attraction to Vrindavan by chanting this mantra. However, according to Caitanya Caritamrta, one is qualified to Vrindavan only by Raganuga Sadhana Bhakti. How to understand this?

    Well, that means that he did Nama Sankirtan. That was his Raga [Laughs]. Of course, in one sense, he was already past Sadhana because he’s got to Vaikuntha and Dwaraka, etc. So, he was beyond that. But, in order to get to Vrindavan, he had to do Nama kirtan.

      14.) You said, a soul having weak Bhakti, reaching Vaikuntha, doesn’t engage in intensely serving the Lord. Does it mean he is distracted? But, is that due to anartha? 

      In the spiritual world, we have no material anarthas. But, the strength of one’s relationship with the Lord can be very weak, or stronger, or stronger, or strongest.

      15.) Prabhupada said that, chant sixteen rounds and follow four regulative principles. I will take you back to Godhead. You said that we should get Prema to attain Goloka. How to understand this, Maharaj?

      So, what is the goal of chanting Hare Krishna? So, of course the goal is Prema. So, we start by chanting Hare Krishna, we start with anarthas. And, through that Sadhana, and by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, and Lord Caitanya, and Krishna, then we can get Prema.

      Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!