This bhakti-yoga, devotional service, is raja-vidya. Raja means king, and vidya means education, knowledge, learning. As there are common men and there are kings also, as the king is important, the most important person in the state, or the president is the most important person in the state, similarly, of all learnings, this is the king of learning, raja-vidya. And raja-guhyam..., raja-vidya raja-guhyam. Guhyam means confidential. Confidential, anything confidential is not to be disclosed to the common man. Or after many, many research, one can found..., one can find out the confidence or the confidential nature of devotional service. Bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19], it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. It is most confidential because one comes to this knowledge after cultivating other knowledges for many, many births. One comes to this knowledge. What is this knowledge, devotional, raja-vidya? What is the symptom? Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. This is the symptom: that one has surrendered to Krsna. That means he is in perfect knowledge. So long he is not surrendering to Krsna, he is trying to become Krsna, or he is posing himself as equal to Krsna or sometimes above Krsna. There is a very well advertised yogi. They say, at least his disciples say, that he is above Krsna. That is not knowledge. That is ignorance. Real knowledge, jnanavan, is to surrender to Krsna. That is real knowledge. Bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. If one is actually intelligent, he should not wait for many, many births. If he believes in the Bhagavad-gita, in the statement of Bhagavad-gita, then, immediately after hearing this verse, that bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate, he should immediately surrender to Krsna.

This is surrender. Manasa deha geha. We have got our, this mind. Mind is the center of creative force. Therefore we have to surrender, first of all, our mind to Krsna, just like Ambarisa Maharaja did. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane [SB 9.4.18]. He set example that he, first of all, he surrendered his mind unto the lotus feet of Krsna. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor, and vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane, and he engaged his talkings simply on the matter of describing Vaikuntha. Krsna's another name in Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha means vigata-kuntha. Kuntha means anxiety. If you surrender to Krsna, from that moment you become free from all anxieties; therefore Krsna's name is Vaikuntha. Just like, take for example, these Americans and European boys and girls, they were raised very, in a highly comforts of life, not like Indians. Their standard of living is better than Indians'. Everyone knows. When Europeans were in Calcutta, you have..., we have seen how their standard of living. If one has not gone to the Western countries, they could not remember. But I have traveled. Their standard of living is higher than Indian standard of living, so-called material comforts. So now they have sacrificed everything, you can see. How it has been possible? Because their mind has been engaged in Krsna consciousness, sa vai manah krsna-padaravinda vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanu. If you engage your talking simply on the matter of describing Krsna, if you engage your mind always on the lotus feet of Krsna, if you engage your legs for going to the temple of Krsna, if you engage your hand for cleansing the temple of Krsna, if you engage your nose for smelling the flower offered to Krsna, if you engage your tongue for tasting prasadam which is offered to Krsna, in this way, if your all senses are engaged in Krsna consciousness, then you become the topmost yogi. Because yoga perfection means yoga indriya-samyamya. The practice of yoga means to control the mind and the senses. This is the purpose of yoga, not for playing any juggling. But sometimes the yogis become so powerful, they get some perfection, anima, laghima-siddhi, they get. But that is not the prime object of yoga. Yoga, yoga practice means that one becomes controller of the senses and the mind, and then they can perfectly meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yogino. This is yogis' business: dhyanavasthita, by meditation, tad-gata-manasa, spiritualized mind, or completely absorbed in the thought of Krsna. dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam..., they can see, they can see God, Krsna, Visnu, within the heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Isvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paramatma, He is situated in everyone's heart. You haven't got to search out. He is there within your heart. Simply you have to know the method how to see. That is wanted. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti.

This is Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, a learned scholar, a logician. When he became disciple of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu he wrote one hundred... He was a great Sanskrit scholar. So he wrote one hundred verses. Out of, two verses are available, because when these verses were presented to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He tore it and throw it out, because He did not, did not like. It is His instruction that one should not be very much attached to his self-aggrandizement. No. But His devotees collected only two, three or some such slokas. Out of these, this is one of them: vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yogam siksartham ekah purusah puranah [Cc. Madhya 6.254]. Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the purusah puranah. Sri Krsna Caitanya Himself, Sri Krsna Himself, puranah, the oldest person. Who is the oldest person? Krsna. Because Krsna is..., aham sarvasya prabhavo [Bg. 10.8]. Na me viduh sura-ganah [Bg 10.2]. These things are there. So He is the oldest person. Adi-purusam. In the Brahma-samhita it is said, govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah anadir adir govindah [Bs. 5.1]. He is the adi-purusam; therefore puranah-purusam. Puranah means old, the oldest. Who can be older than Krsna? Therefore the Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya said that adi-purusah, that oldest person, Krsna, He has come down to teach vairagya-vidya. Vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yogam. What is that vairagya-vidya? Bhakti-yoga. Our difficulty is that we have been entangled with this material world, because we have been attracted by this sense-gratification in the material world. And vairagya vidya means unless you become detestful, param drstva nivartate [Bg. 9.59], unless we find a better position, a better enjoyment, we cannot give it up. So this bhakti-yoga means offering the better position, better gratification, better pleasure, so that one can give up this inferior pleasure in the material world. Therefore bhakti-yoga means vairagya-vidya, jnana-vairagya. Vasudeve. That vairagya can be very easily achieved by bhakti-yoga vasudeva. The bhakti-yoga means,

The beginning of bhakti-yoga is hearing. So you have kindly come here to hear. This is bhakti-yoga. Caitanya Mahaprabhu approved this bhakti-yogasimply by, simply by hearing from the realized person. Caitanya Mahaprabhu had talks with Ramananda Raya how one develops spiritual life, sadhu-sadanana(?). So Ramananda Raya was answering, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu was questioning. The Ramananda Raya felt a little inconvenience that "Caitanya Mahaprabhu is such an exalted person, He is Krsna Himself. Apart from that, He's born in high brahmana family.'' Such a learned scholar Nimai Pandit He was, and so nice person, a sannyasi, the topmost order in our Vedic society. "Sannyasi, brahmana, scholar and everything complete, and He's questioning; I am answering. Oh, this is very awkward position. I have become teacher and He has become student. How it is possible?'' So he was hesitating. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu encouraged him, "No, no. Don't hesitate, because it doesn't matter that you are a grhastha, you are not even a brahmana.'' Ramananda Raya belonged to the Karana society in Orissa. They are supposed to be sudra. But still he was a very big man. He was governor of Orissa, uh... governor of Benares and very rich man. And very learned scholar, especially in this Vaisnava philosophy. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was the royal scholar in Maharaja Prataparudra's assembly house. Royal scholar. So in the beginning this Ramananda Raya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya had some talks on bhakti. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, being great logician, he could not understand the bhakti philosophy, but when he became a student of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he could understand how much elevated was Ramananda Raya. At that time before, "I could not realize,'' but when he become himself a devotee, he could understand. Therefore when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was going to the South Indian tour he recommended, "Sir, if You can meet Ramananda Raya, You'll be very much pleased. He's a great, advanced student in Krsna consciousness.'' Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu met him on the bank of Godavari River. And the talk was going on, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu took the position of the student, and he was offered, Ramananda Raya was offered the position of the teacher, although he was grhastha, governor, and according to our social custom, karana, sudra. So he was hesitant.

"Why you are hesitant? You are guru. It doesn't matter that you are a grhastha, you are governor, you are dealing in politics. But I know that you are Krsna-tattva-vetta. You know the science of Krsna. Therefore, you are guru.'' This is the test. To become guru it doesn't matter that one has to become..., one has to come out from brahmana family or high family or Hindu family or this family or that family. No. Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, yei krsna-tattva: never mind what is. He may be European, he may be American, he may be sudra, he may be whatever. That is past. That is his past life. Now, when one has become krsna-tattva-vetta, really Krsna conscious, he comes to the transcendental position. Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate. Any devotee, any devotee, mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate [Bg. 14.26]. Any devotee who has unflinching faith on guru and Krsna, such devotee, yasya deva para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau, such person, bhakti-yogi. Bhakti-yoga, you cannot... Without accepting guru there is no possibility of understanding bhakti-yoga. Naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim, niskincananam pada-rajo-'bhisekam. Unless one touches the lotus feet of niskincana vaisnava, there is no question of bhakti-yoga. That is not possible. Naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim [SB 7.5.32]. Urukramanghrim means Krsna's lotus feet. One cannot be attached unless he takes the dust of a niskincana vaisnava. This is first. So bhakti-yoga...,

Anyone who is engaged in bhakti-yoga, in real process, he is immediately elevated to the brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20] stage, transcendental stage. This is material stage, jiva-bhuta stage. I am, when so long I am identifying myself with this body, this is called jiva-bhuta, material life. When I am above this consciousness... Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught, jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna-dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. When one is firmly convinced that he is eternal servant of Krsna and is engaged in His service, Krsna confirms, "Yes!'' Brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. He immediately is elevated to the brahma-bhuta state.

Bhakti begins when one is on the brahma-bhuta stage, or one who situated in bhakti-yoga, he is in the brahma-bhuta stage. Although he appears like ordinary man, chanting, dancing, but this chanting, dancing or Hare Krsna mantra is not so easy thing. Unless one comes to the brahma-bhuta state, it is not possible.

Go-kharah. Anyone who is in bodily concept of life, he is no better than animal, like cows and asses. This is the verdict. So therefore, whence when we are in the animal consciousness of life, there is no possibility of getting Krsna consciousness.

These are uttama-sloka. These slokas, these description, are not of the material world. Just like this word, cintamani-prakara-sadmasu. In the spiritual world, in the..., the houses are made of cintamani stone. Cintamani stone you cannot have here. Maybe, but we have no experience. But cintamani stone means touchstone. If you take that stone and touch in iron, it becomes gold. That is cintamani. So cintamani-prakara-sadmasu. The vaikuntha-loka, goloka vrndavana, is made of houses, there are. Nirvisesavadi, sunyavadi, they cannot understand that in the spiritual world there are also houses, there are also gardens, there are also rivers, there are also cows. They cannot understand, because they are in the tamah, in this darkness of material world. They are disgusted with this material world. They want to make it zero, nirvana. They want to make it zero. No. Why zero? The Bhagavata said, nirasta-kuhakam. Nirasta-ku... Satyam param dhimahi, janmady asya. Actually, this material world is born out of the reflection of the spiritual world.

These are the description.

Of all yogis''there are different kinds of yogisyoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana, "one who is thinking of Me, Krsna, always, Krsna...,'' krsna bha..., sa vai manah krsna-padaravinda, "thinking of Krsna in the last stage...'' Just like Kulasekhara Maharaja:

"Krsna, now I am healthy and my mind is just like swan. The swan likes to entangle himself with the stem of lotus flower.'' So, krsna tvadiya-padapankaja-panjarantam adyaiva me visatu manasa-raja-hamsah. So raja-hamsah. The mind is rajahamsah. It should be trained to be entangled with the lotus stem of Krsna's lotus feet. Otherwise, at the time of death, kapha-vata-pittaih, the three elements, kapha-vata-pittaih, they will be strong, and we may not remember. If we chant Hare Krsna immediately, if we begin, practice this Hare Krsna mantra and think of Krsna always, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], this is Krsna consciousness. Very simple thing: always thinking of Krsna. Because this Hare Krsna maha-mantra teaches how to think of Krsna twenty-four hours. Then you'll become perfect. Raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam pratyaksavagamam dharmyam. In all types of religious systemyoga, jnana, karma or anything, whatever you have manufacturedyou are not certain how much you have advanced. But if you practice bhakti-yoga, you'll be personally feeling, "Yes, I'm making advancement.'' Pratyaksavagamam dharmyam. Otherwise how you can make progress? Unless you make progress, unless you are firmly convinced in Krsna consciousness, how long you can chant Hare Krsna? One day, two days, that's all. Then you'll be disgusted. Therefore, pratyaksavagamam dharmyam. One understands, "Yes!''

This is the process. Therefore it is raja-vidya. Unless one comes to this raja-vidya state, he has no right to make disciples. He has no right. He's himself a fool. He does not know what is Krsna consciousness movement.