Pleasing Guru
naca, gao, bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
krsna-nama upadesi' tara' sarva-jana
SYNONYMS naca — go on dancing; gao — chant; bhakta-sange — in the society of devotees; kara — continue; sankirtana — chanting of the holy name in assembly; krsna-nama — the holy name of Krsna; upadesi' — by instructing; tara' — deliver; sarva-jana — all fallen souls.
TRANSLATION "‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sankirtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting krsna-nama, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.'
PURPORT It is another ambition of the spiritual master to see his disciples not only chant, dance and follow the regulative principles but also preach the sankirtana movement to others in order to deliver them, for the Krsna consciousness movement is based on the principle that one should become as perfect as possible in devotional service oneself and also preach the cult for others' benefit. There are two classes of unalloyed devotees — namely, gosthy-anandis and bhajananandis. Bhajananandi refers to one who is satisfied to cultivate devotional service for himself, and gosthy-anandi is one who is not satisfied simply to become perfect himself but wants to see others also take advantage of the holy name of the Lord and advance in spiritual life. The outstanding example is Prahlada Maharaja. When he was offered a benediction by Lord Nrsimhadeva, Prahlada Maharaja said:
naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan
"My dear Lord, I have no problems and want no benediction from You because I am quite satisfied to chant Your holy name. This is sufficient for me because whenever I chant I immediately merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. I only lament to see others bereft of Your love. They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification, with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of maya." (Bhag. 7.9.43) Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains in his Anubhasya, "A person who has attracted the attention of the spiritual master by his sincere service likes to dance and chant with similarly developed Krsna conscious devotees. The spiritual master authorizes such a devotee to deliver fallen souls in all parts of the world. Those who are not advanced prefer to chant the Hare Krsna mantra in a solitary place." Such activities constitute, in the language of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, a type of cheating process in the sense that they imitate the activities of exalted personalities like Haridasa Thakura. One should not attempt to imitate such exalted devotees. Rather, everyone should endeavor to preach the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all parts of the world and thus become successful in spiritual life. One who is not very expert in preaching may chant in a secluded place, avoiding bad association, but for one who is actually advanced, preaching and meeting people who are not engaged in devotional service are not disadvantages. A devotee gives the nondevotees his association but is not affected by their misbehavior. Thus by the activities of a pure devotee even those who are bereft of love of Godhead get a chance to become devotees of the Lord one day. In this connection Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advises that one discuss the verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam beginning naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah (10.33.30), and the following verse in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.255):
anasaktasya visayan yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate
One should not imitate the activities of great personalities. One should be detached from material enjoyment and should accept everything in connection with Krsna's service. Adi 7.93
