Nectar of Instruction – Part 3 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 12 November 2025
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
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, it’s Bengali [Laughs], up to this point, Rupa Goswami has been describing favorable items, unfavorable items and some basic rules of conduct of association with devotees. In verse 8, he is more particular in describing the actual sadhana of a devotee. If we look at the description of this verse, it is very similar to some of the verses in Nectar of Devotion. And particularly, it is very similar to descriptions of raganuga bhakti. Of course, raganuga bhakti is one type of sadhana. And it’s particular goal is to realize Krishna in Vrindavan. So, in this type of raganuga sadhana, there is an emphasis upon smaranam, or remembering, and kirtan. And living in Vrindavan. And following the footsteps of the great devotees. And, of course, all of this is done with a very spontaneous attitude.
So, we see, of course, in any vaidhi sadhana or raganuga sadhana, the emphasis is upon chanting. However, in raganuga sadhana, there is also a great emphasis upon smarana or remembering the Lord’s pastimes. Of course, chanting itself involves remembering the Lord. However, when we do kirtan, we can say that this is very external. And smaranam is internal. So, in raganuga sadhana, there is a little more emphasis upon the internal sadhana. So, what do we remember? Of course, we can remember the Lord’s form. We can remember His qualities. And we can remember Krishna’s pastimes.
In raganuga, they particularly remember pastimes of Krishna throughout the day. And there is particular mention of living in Vrindavan. Of course, in sadhana also, there is, one of the main elements is to live in the holy dham [Laughs]. But particularly, the goal of raganuga is to attain Krishna in Vrindavan. So, this living in Vrindavan helps one remember Vrindavan. Of course, our Goswamis also realize that not everybody can give up everything and go to Vrindavan. So, Jiva Goswami gives an alternative. If you cannot live in Vrindavan, then at least you can meditate on the dham. And the Goswamis have also written many verses, so that we can remember the dham.
So, we should follow in the footsteps of the people living in Vrindavan. This, of course, is the meaning of raganuga, to follow after the devotees of Vrindavan who have raga or great attraction for Krishna. And you are free to choose which inhabitant of Vrindavan you want to follow. So, you can follow famous servants, you can follow after cowherd boys like Sridama or Sudama. You can follow vatsalya like Nanda or Yasoda. Or you can follow madhurya rasa like the Gopis and Sakhis and Manjaris. So, following the footsteps, mainly we try to develop a similar mood to one of these ideal persons in Vrindavan.
In the Purport, Prabhupada actually mentions some of the stages of raganuga sadhana. First stage is called sravana-dasa, the stage of hearing. So, this, of course, is very similar to vaidhi sadhana where we hear about how to practice bhakti. We hear about the goal, we learn to chant without offenses.
Devotee: Maharaj, this is about vaidhi bhakti, you mentioned?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Also raganuga, similar. The next stage is called varana-dasa, the stage of acceptance. So, what do we accept? We accept a particular form. In other words, if we are going to serve Krishna in Vrindavan, we have to have a form. So, we meditate on that form and try to serve Krishna in that form. And in the smarana, we call smarana here, this is a stage of remembering. So, we try to remember Krishna’s daily pastimes. There are many books written on this. Krishnadasa Kaviraja has written Govinda Lilamrta. Kavi Karnapurna has written a work and Viswanatha Cakravarti has also written a work. So, we practice remembering, but the mind will wander in the beginning. As we progress, then the mind wanders less. That’s called dharana. When we can concentrate more, it’s called dhyana, meditation. When we can do continuous dhyana for a long time, it’s called anusmriti.
When we have got complete absorption, it’s called samadhi. So, these stages are very similar to those in astanga yoga. Difference is that here, one is remembering one’s spiritual form and the form of Krishna. The next stage is called apana-dasa, stage of attainment. At this stage, one actually enters into one’s real spiritual body. And one begins to realize Krishna’s form, qualities and pastimes. So, this happens in bhava and prema. However, one still maintains the material body. The last stage is called sampatti-dasa or prapanna-dasa or vastu-siddhi. At this stage, one gives up the material body completely, enters the spiritual body and goes to the spiritual world. After describing the sadhana, then obviously you have to attain your spiritual form. After doing sadhana, you should obtain a spiritual form. And then one can enter into spiritual dham.
So, the next verses are a glorification of the dham. Of course, in sadhana also, we are supposed to live in Vraja and Vrindavan. So, this glorification of the dham is useful for a person who is in sadhana, also for a person in prema. So, Mathura is superior to Vaikuntha. Why? Because in Vaikuntha we have Vishnu and in Mathura we have Krishna. Superior to Mathura is the forest of Vrindavan, because there Krishna has his rasa-lila. Superior to the forest of Vrindavan is Govardhana hill. Why is it superior? Because Krishna lifted it up with His hand. And there He performed pastimes, some in sakhya rasa, some in madhurya rasa. So, this is a glorification of Govardhana. And then, accept, Radha-kunda stands as supreme, because it has the prema of Krishna. Of course, Radha-kunda is right next to Govardhana. So, Radha-kunda is associated with madhurya rasa, and especially with Radha and Krishna. So, what intelligent person would not serve Radha-kunda at the foot of Govardhana [Laughs].
So, in Caitanya Caritamrta, it is described how, Lord Caitanya was looking for Radha-kunda in all the different fields in [Laughs], near Vrindavan. And in one field, then he found Radha-kunda and he became very excited. So that exact place is where we have Radha-kunda today. Okay, so, as I said, here we glorification of the dham. So, that verse describing the sadhana, one should chant the glories of Krishna and His pastimes. One should remember those pastimes. And then one should live in the dham. So, we see the Goswamis were living around Radha-kunda. Okay. So, in this, the verse, we are seeing that, Vaikuntha is spiritual world but better is Mathura, better is Vrindavan, better is Govardhana and finally Radha-kunda gets glorified [Laughs]. And as we ascend to the superior places, we see that the rasa becomes more intense.
So, in Radha-kunda, we have the most intense madhurya rasa with Radha and Krishna. Okay, this is a diagram of Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda. So, we see that there are, at present time, around the kundas, these various, various samadhis and places where the past Acharyas were living. And of course, there is a story associated here where, Krishna killed Aristasura and then, the Gopis accused Him of being contaminated by the sin of killing a bull [Laughs]. So, they said, Krishna, we can’t come near you because you are so contaminated [Laughs]. So, then Krishna built His kunda and He called all the tirthas there. And then the Gopis got jealous and so Radharani had to build a kunda also. Apparently, that happened in chaitra month. So, the appearance of Radharani, Radha-kunda is in chaitra month [Laughs]. So, when Lord Caitanya found the place, then He fainted in prema [Laughs].
So, then we have verse 10, all about devotees. The jnani is superior to the karmi. Devotees are superior to the jnanis. If the devotees got prema, he is superior to the other devotees. Among all the devotees with prema, Gopis are the best. Among all the Gopis, Radha is supreme. So, who would not take shelter of Her kunda [Laughs]? So, Radha is supreme because She has the most intense prema. By taking shelter of Her kunda, we get Her mercy. So, of course, in our temples, we often have deities of Radha and Krishna. That’s because Radha and Krishna represent the most intense prema. So, the aspiration of the devotees following Lord Caitanya is to realize Radha and Krishna. Okay, so, this is a glorification not only of Radha-kunda but Radha Herself.
So, Radha is supreme, but then Radha has a group of Gopis. There are millions of Gopis in spiritual world. They form into groups. And each group may have thousands and thousands of Gopis. But there is also a leader of each group. The highest group is the group headed by Radha. The next highest group is the group headed by Chandravali. Of course, Krishna is merciful to all of these Gopis [Laughs]. And He responds to each, according to their amount of prema.
So, this verse here is glorifying Radha’s prema. Of all the love of Gopis, Radha is dearest to Krishna. And Her kunda is similarly dear to Krishna. That prema is rarely attained even by great devotees. And it’s most difficult to attain for ordinary devotees. But if you bathe in Radha-kunda, then you can get prema like Radha’s [Laughs]. So, this is a glorification of Radha’s prema as well as Radha-kunda. So, Her kunda is non-different from Radha. And it contains Her prema. So, we associate with the kunda, we get similarity to Radha’s prema. And if you are doing raganuga bhakti, you practice at that place and in your mind, you are serving Radha and Krishna in your spiritual body and then, when you die, you get your spiritual body and go to the spiritual world.
There are different stages of prema. Of course, before prema, we have bhava or rati. Prema is more intense. Next stage is sneha or affection, where the heart melts, that’s more intense. In madhurya rasa, after that we get maan, which is anger. And then we get more intimacy in pranaya. That intimacy is manifest also in sakhya rasa. More intense is raga. And one becomes very joyous on meeting Krishna. Yasoda in vatsalya rasa is constantly in raga. More intense than that is anuraga. And this is experienced by the Gopis in madhurya rasa. Highest stage is called mahabhava. In this stage, the sattvika bhavas or involuntary ecstatic symptoms manifest very strongly.
This goes through stages. First stage is rudha, where we have intense sattvika bhavas like crying and fainting. Higher stage is adhirudha, more intense sattvika bhavas. And that has two types. In separation, we have modana. And then in separation, we get something called transcendental madness [Laughs]. And Radharani manifests a special part of this called madana. So, in this way, there are various levels of love for Krishna and in the material world, we can experience prema. But the material body cannot tolerate the higher, more intense aspects of love. So, therefore, when you give up your material body and get a spiritual body, you get these higher and higher experiences. Okay, so, that ends this short work [Laughs], ending with Radha’s intense prema.
Okay, Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj any description of how they made Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda? Any description of how Radha and Krishna made the kundas?
Well, Krishna made His kunda. I think He used the horn of Aristasura or something like that and also his heel. And then He was able to call in, all of the sacred tirthas. And then the Gopis had to build another kunda. So, they had with great effort [Laughs], they dug another kunda. And then they actually took the water from Krishna’s kunda and stuck it in there.
2.) Maharaj, it is very interesting to note that in prema sthara also, there are so many subdivisions. So, is there any subdivisions in bhava stage also or bhava is just one?
We don’t hear too much about that because it’s not so complete. So, in the bhava stage, we have the sthayi bhava, which is like, you know, sakhya, madhurya, vatsalya or dasya, santa. And some of the other factors like the sattvika bhavas manifest, but it’s not complete at that stage. So, in prema, we have all the factors which produce rasa manifest in it. However, a person who is in prema or in higher stage can sometimes manifest bhava and then prema or whatever. They can manifest all different stages.
3.) His first question is Maharaj, he is saying that, sravana-dasa and varana-dasa is it like sequential? So that is the first question. And second question is that, you mentioned that, mentally also we can live in dham. So, we are living in different parts of the world. So, how is that possible?
First one, yes, sravana is introduction. So, you first hear everything and you begin your sadhana. When you are fixed in sadhana and you have a particular desire, then the Guru may instruct you on your deha, your siddha-deha, on which you meditate, etc. That’s called the varana-dasa. And then, using that form, you should get into smarana-dasa, remembering the pastimes and in your siddha-deha, serving in those pastimes. The second question is about what? Remembering the dham?
Devotee: Yeah, so how it is possible, for example, if we are living in Japan, so how can we maintain that consciousness?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, as I mentioned, there are many verses written by the Acharyas, praising and describing the dham. So, we can recite those verses and remember the meaning.
4.) Hare Krishna Maharaj ji, dandavat pranam. As you explained in raganuga sadhana, as to do the continual chanting and the remembrance of the Lord. So, as we all are working now, we are doing household chores, we are office workers. So, remembrance of Lord is okay, we can remember anywhere. What does the actual significance of continual chanting?
So, this type of sadhana may not be practical for many people who are engaged in work. It is very good for retired people or renounced people [Laughs]. Of course, some people who are married can also practice. But usually those persons who don’t have such a heavy workload, so they have a lot of free time, they can practice. Because it does require smaranam, internal service, plus the chanting, then it requires more time, and not everybody has such time.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, dandavat pranam. So, his question is, Maharaj, you mentioned about the glorification of Radha-kunda and your Divine Grace also mentioned that our previous Acharyas, they used to stay nearby Radha-kunda only. But how about the Shyama-kunda? Is there any significance your Divine Grace would like to explain?
Well, yeah, the two kundas are right next to each other. So [Laughs], when we say they lived near Radha-kunda, they were also near Shyama-kunda because they were walking distance. They are connected together.
Okay, Hare Krishna.
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!