Ramananda Raya

"Because You are asking me to speak of the pastimes of Radha and Krsna," Ramananda Raya humbly submitted, "I will obey Your order. I will speak in whatever way You like."

He said that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Source of all incarnations, and the Cause of all causes. There are innumerable Vaikuntha planets, and there are innumerable incarnations and expansions of the Supreme Lord, and there are innumerable universes also. Of all these existences the Supreme Lord Krishna is the only Source. His transcendental Body is composed of eternity and blissfulness and knowledge, and He is known as the Son of Maharaj Nanda, or as the Inhabitant of Goloka Vrindaban; He is full with six opulences-namely, all wealth, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge, and all renunciation. (More...)

"What is the highest standard of education?" Lord Caitanya began His inquiry, and Ramananda Raya immediately replied that the highest standard of education is knowledge of the science of Krsna.

Prthu Maharaja was blessed by the saintly persons present at the meeting to have a long life because of his unflinching faith and his devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although one's duration of life is limited in years, if by chance one becomes a devotee, he surpasses the duration prescribed for his life; indeed, sometimes yogis die according to their wish, not according to the laws of material nature. Another feature of a devotee is that he lives forever because of his infallible devotion to the Lord. It is said, kirtir yasya sa jivati: "One who leaves a good reputation behind him lives forever." Specifically, one who is reputed as a devotee of the Lord undoubtedly lives forever. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was talking with Ramananda Raya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu inquired, "What is the greatest reputation?" Ramananda Raya replied that a person who is reputed as a great devotee has the greatest reputation, for a devotee not only lives forever in the Vaikuntha planets, but by his reputation he also lives forever within this material world. (More...)

Lord Chaitanya was very satisfied upon hearing this statement from Ramananda Roy, and He embraced him. Both of them began to cry in ecstasy in that transcendental realization. Both the Lord and Ramananda Roy discussed throughout the whole night the transcendental Pastimes of Radharani and Krishna, and in the morning They separated. Ramananda left to go to his place, and the Lord went to take His bath. (More...)

At the time of separation, Ramananda Roy fell down at the feet of Lord Chaitanya and prayed as follows: "My dear Lord, You have come just to deliver me from this mire of nescience. Therefore I request that You may remain here at least for ten days, and You can purify my mind of this material contamination. There is nobody else who can deliver such transcendental love of God." (More...)

The Lord replied, "I have come to you to purify Myself by hearing from you of the transcendental Pastimes of Krishna and Radha; and I am so fortunate, for you are the only teacher of such transcendental Pastimes. I do not find anyone else in this world who can realize this transcendental loving reciprocation between Radha and Krishna. You are requesting Me to stay here for ten days, but I feel that I wish to remain with you for the rest of My life. Please come toJagannath Puri, My headquarters, and We may remain together for the rest of My life, and I can pass My remaining days in understanding Krishna and Radha by your association." (More...)

Sriman Ramananda Roy came to see the Lord the next day in the evening, and there were discourses on this transcendental subject matter. And the Lord again began to inquire from Ramananda Roy, as follows: "What is the highest standard of education?" Ramananda Roy immediately replied that the highest standard of education is to know the science of Krishna. The standard of material education is sense gratification, but the standard of spiritual education, especially the highest standard, is to know the science of Krishna. In the Srimad Bhagwatam, Fourth Canto, 29th Chapter, 47th verse, it is stated that work which pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest standard of work, and the science or knowledge which places one in full Krishna Consciousness is the highest standard of knowledge. Similarly, Prahlad Maharaj, while instructing his childhood friends at school, also stated that hearing or chanting of the Lord, remembering, worshipping, praying, serving, making friendship with Krishna and offering everything to Him, is to be understood as the highest standard of spiritual knowledge. Then Lord Chaitanya asked Ramananda Roy, "What is the highest standard of reputation?" Ramananda Roy immediately replied that if a person is famous by a reputation of Krishna Consciousness, he is to be called the most famous man in the world. In other words, if a man is known as Krishna conscious, he is the greatest, most famous of men. (More...)

After giving a summary of the beauty of Krsna, Ramananda Raya began to speak of the spiritual energy of Krsna, which is headed by Srimati Radharani.

He again began to speak about the spiritual energy of Krishna, headed by Srimati Radharani. It is said that Krishna has immense expansions of energy, out of which three energies are predominant: one is called internal energy, the second is called external energy, and the third is called marginal energy, or the living entity. This is confirmed in the Vishnu Purana, 6th Chapter [6.7.61]: Vishnu has one energy, which is called spiritual energy, and it is manifested in three ways. When spiritual energy is overwhelmed by ignorance, that is called marginal energy. So far as spiritual energy is concerned-because Krishna is a combination of eternity, bliss, and knowledge, the spiritual energy is also exhibited in three forms. So far as Krishna's bliss and peacefulness are concerned, His spiritual energy is manifested as pleasure-giving potency, His eternity is manifestive energy, and His knowledge is manifested as spiritual perfection. It is confirmed in the Vishnu Purana, First Canto, 12th Chapter [1.12.69]: "The pleasure potency of Krishna can give Krishna transcendental pleasure and bliss." Therefore, when Krishna wants to enjoy pleasure, He exhibits His own spiritual potency, known as Alhadini. (More...)

When the pleasure potency is further condensed, it is called Mahabhava. Srimati Radharani, the eternal Consort of Krishna is a personification of that Mahabhava. This Mahabhava representation is explained by Rupa Goswami in his book Ujjal Nilmoni [4.3] in the Second Canto, 2nd Sloka. It is stated there, that although there were two competitors in love of Krishna, Radharani and Chandravali; still, by comparison, it appears that Radharani is the best, and She is possessed of the Mahabhava Svarupa. Therefore, this Mahabhava Svarupa, or personification, is applicable to Radharani only, and no one else. (More...)

Although I appear to be speaking, I am actually not the speaker. You are speaking. Therefore You are both the speaker and the audience.

Lord Chaitanya, after hearing from Sri Ramananda Roy about the qualities of Srimati Radharani and Krishna, desired to hear from him about the reciprocal exchange of love between Radharani and Krishna. Krishna is described by Ramananda Roy as Dhirlalita, and He is always engaged in love affairs with Radharani. Dhirlalita describes a person who is very cunning and youthful, and always expert in joking, without any anxiety, and always subservient to his girlfriend. This Krishna is always engaged in the bushes of Vrindaban to enjoy lusty activities with Radharani, and thus He successfully carried out the instincts of lust. (More...)

On hearing this, Ramananda Roy said, "It is very difficult for me to express anything beyond this. But I can only say that there is an emotional activity which is called Prembilasa Bivarta. I may try to explain the Prembilasa. I do not know whether You will be happy to hear it, but I must explain it toYou." In the Prembilasa emotion there are two kinds of emotional activities, which are called separation and meeting. That transcendental separation is so acute that it becomes more ecstatic than meeting. Ramananda Roy was expert in understanding such highly elevated dealings between Radha and Krishna, and he composed a very nice song which he narrated to the Lord. The purport of that song is as follows: the lover and the beloved, before their meeting, by the exchange of their transcendental activities, generate a kind of emotion. That emotion is called Raga, or attraction. Srimati Radharani expressed Her willingness, that "This attraction and affection between Ourselves has risen to the highest extent"-but the cause of such attraction is Radharani Herself. "Whatever the cause may be, that affection between Yourself and Myself," said Radharani, "has mixed Us in oneness. Now it is the time of separation, so I cannot see the history of the evolution of this love between You and Me. There was no other cause or mediator in Our love, the only cause was Our meeting and visionary exchange of feelings." (More...)

Lord Chaitanya admitted that this is the highest position of transcendental loving reciprocation, and He said to Ramananda Roy, "By your grace only I have been able to understand such a high transcendental position. This transcendental position cannot be achieved without the performance of transcendental activities; so would you kindly explain to Me how I can raise Myself to this platform?" (More...)

Ramananda replied, "It is similarly difficult for me to make You understand, but so far as I am concerned, I can speak what You would like me to say before You. For no one can escape Your Supreme Will. There is nobody in the world who can surpass Your Supreme Will, and although I appear to be speaking, I am not actually the speaker-You are speaking. Therefore, You are both the speaker and the audience. Let me speak as You will me to speak, about the performance required to achieve this highest transcendental position." Ramananda Roy then began: (More...)

The transcendental activities of Radha and Krishna are very confidential. They are not to be understood in the emotional relationship of master and servant, friend and friend, or parent and son to the Supreme Lord. This confidential subject matter can be understood in the association of the damsels of Vraja, because such confidential activities have arisen from the feelings and emotions of those damsels. Without the association of Vraja, no one can nourish or cherish such transcendental understanding. In other words, these confidential Pastimes of Radha and Krishna have expanded through the mercy of the damsels-and without their mercy we cannot understand. One has to adopt this life, to follow in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja, and then one can understand. (More...)

Before Ramananda Raya could even ask the Lord a question about the advancement of spiritual knowledge, the Lord Himself said, "Please quote some verses from scripture about the ultimate goal of human life."

In the evening, when the Lord was seated after taking His bath, Ramananda Roy came to see Him with a servant. He offered his respects and sat down before the Lord. Before Ramananda Roy could ask the Lord anything about advancement of spiritual knowledge, the Lord Himself inquired, "Please quote some verses from Scripture about the ultimate goal of life for the human being." (More...)

Therefore, Lord Chaitanya, after hearing from Ramananda Roy about the proper execution of regulated life, said that this is external. Indirectly, He asked Ramananda to state something which is better than this external exhibition of life. Formal execution of this ritualistic life or religious life is not very congenial unless it attains the perfection of devotional service. Actually. Lord Vishnu is not satisfied simply by the ritualistic performance of Vedic instructions, but He is actually pleased when one attains the stage of devotional service. (More...)

Encouraged by Lord Caitanya to proceed further, Ramananda Raya said that the fraternal relationship with Lord Krsna is on an even higher transcendental plane.

According to Bhagavad-gita the characteristics of pure devotees are wonderful (Bg. 10.9). The complete functional activities of a pure devotee are always engaged in the service of the Lord, and thus they exchange feelings of ecstasy between themselves and relish transcendental bliss. This transcendental bliss is experienced even in the stage of devotional practice (sadhana-avastha), if properly undertaken under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. And in the mature stage the developed transcendental feeling culminates in realization of the particular relationship with the Lord by which a living entity is originally constituted (up to the relationship of conjugal love with the Lord, estimated as highest transcendental bliss). Thus bhakti-yoga, being the only means of God realization is called kaivalya. Srila Jiva Gosvami quotes the version (eko narayano devah, paravaranam parama aste kaivalya-sangitah) in this connection and establishes that Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, is known as kaivalya, and the means which enables one to approach the Lord is called the kaivalya-pantha, or the only means of attainment of Godhead. This kaivalya-pantha begins from sravana, or hearing those topics that relate to the Personality of Godhead, and the natural consequence of hearing such hari-katha is attainment of transcendental knowledge, which causes a detachment from all mundane topics, for which a devotee has no taste at all. For a devotee, all mundane activities, social and political, become unattractive, and in the mature state such a devotee becomes disinterested even in his own body, and what to speak of bodily relatives. In such a state of affairs one is not agitated by the waves of the material modes. There are different modes of material nature, and all mundane functions in which a common man is very much interested or takes part become unattractive for the devotee. This state of affairs is described herein as pratinivrtta-gunormi, and it is possible by atma-prasada, or complete self-satisfaction without any material connection. The first-class devotee of the Lord attains this stage by devotional service, but despite his loftiness, still, for the matter of the Lord's satisfaction, he may play the voluntary part of a preacher of the Lord's glory and dovetail all into devotional service, even mundane interest, just to give a chance to the neophytes to transform mundane interest into transcendental bliss. Srila Rupa Gosvami has described this action of a pure devotee as "nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate." Even mundane activities dovetailed with service of the Lord are also calculated to be transcendental or approved kaivalya affairs. (More...)

Self realization with the sense of servitude is certainly a transcendental development. And the mode of Master and servant, with fraternity added, is a further development. And with progressive affection, it develops into parenthood. But the highest development is conjugal love in relationship with the Supreme Lord. In this connection, Ramananda Roy quoted a verse from Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu [2.5.38]. It is stated there that the development of spiritual affection for the Supreme Lord is in all categories transcendental, but that the specific aptitude of a devotee to a particular state is more relishable by him than others. (More...)

Lord Caitanya next asked Ramananda Raya, "What is the most valuable thing in the world?" Ramananda Raya replied that he who has love for Radha-Krsna possesses the most valuable jewel and the greatest riches.

The foolishness of gross materialism is that people think of making a permanent settlement in this world, although it is a settled fact that one has to give up everything here that has been created by valuable human energy. Great statesmen, scientists, philosophers, etc., who are foolish, without any information of the spirit soul, think that this life of a few years only is all in all and that there is nothing more after death. This poor fund of knowledge, even in the so-called learned circles of the world, is killing the vitality of human energy, and the awful result is being keenly felt. And yet the foolish materialistic men do not care for what is going to happen in the next life. The preliminary instruction in the Bhagavad-gita is that one should know that the identity of the individual living entity is not lost even after the end of this present body, which is nothing but outward dress only. As one changes an old garment, so the individual living being also changes his body, and this change of body is called death. Death is, therefore, a process of changing the body at the end of the duration of the present life. An intelligent person must be prepared for this and must try to have the best type of body in the next life. The best type of body is a spiritual body, which is obtained by those who go back to the kingdom of God or enter the realm of Brahman. In the second chapter of this canto, this matter will be broadly discussed, but in as far as the change of body is concerned, one must prepare now for the next life. Foolish people attach more importance to the present temporary life, and thus the foolish leaders make appeals to the body and the bodily relations. The bodily relations not only extend to this body but also to the family members, wife, children, society, country and so many other things which end at the end of life. After death one forgets everything about the present bodily relations; we have a little experience of this at night when we go to sleep. While sleeping, we forget everything about this body and bodily relations, although this forgetfulness is a temporary situation for only a few hours. Death is nothing but sleeping for a few months in order to develop another term of bodily encagement, which we are awarded by the law of nature according to our aspiration. Therefore, one has only to change the aspiration during the course of this present body, and for this, there is need of training in the current duration of human life. This training can be begun at any stage of life, or even a few seconds before death, but the usual procedure is for one to get the training from very early life, from the stage of brahmacarya, and gradually progress to the grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa orders of life. The institution which gives such training is called varnasrama-dharma, or the system of sanatana-dharma, the best procedure for making the human life perfect. One is, therefore, required to give up the attachment to family or social or political life just at the age of fifty years, if not earlier, and the training in the vanaprastha and sannyasa asramas is given for preparation of the next life. Foolish materialists, in the garb of leaders of the people in general, stick to family affairs without attempting to cut off relations with them, and thus they become victims of nature's law and get gross bodies again, according to their work. Such foolish leaders may have some respect from the people at the end of life, but that does not mean that such leaders will be immune from the natural laws under which everyone is tightly bound by the hands and feet. The best thing is, therefore, that everyone voluntarily give up family relations by transferring the attachment from family, society, country and everything thereof to the devotional service of the Lord. It is stated herein that one should give up all desires of family attachment. One must have a chance for better desires; otherwise there is no chance of giving up such morbid desires. Desire is the concomitant factor of the living entity. The living entity is eternal, and therefore his desires, which are natural for a living being, are also eternal. One cannot, therefore, stop desiring, but the subject matter for desires can be changed. So one must develop the desires for returning home, back to Godhead, and automatically the desires for material gain, material honor and material popularity will diminish in proportion to the development of devotional service. A living being is meant for service activities, and his desires are centered around such a service attitude. Beginning from the top executive head of the state, down to the insignificant pauper in the street, all are rendering some sort of service to others. The perfection of such a service attitude is only attained simply by transferring the desire of service from matter to spirit, or from Satan to God. (More...)

Lord Chaitanya at this point inquired from Ramananda Roy, "What are the most valuable riches in this world?" Ramananda Roy replied that one who has love for Radha Krishna has the most valuable jewel, the greatest riches. One who is too much addicted to material sense gratification, or to material wealth, has no such value. When one comes to the spiritual platform in Krishna Consciousness he can understand that there are no more valuable riches than love of Radha Krishna. In the Srimad Bhagwatam, Maharaj Dhruva sought out the Supreme Lord because he wanted to get some land, but when he saw Krishna he said, "I am so pleased that I don't want anything." In the Bhagavad Gita it is also stated that if one takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or is elevated to the Supreme State of love of Godhead, then there is nothing more to aspire to. Although such devotees can obtain anything they desire from the Personality of Godhead, still, a pure devotee does not ask anything from God. (More...)

Ramananda replied that any song which describes the Pastimes of Sri Radha and Krishna is the best song. The conditioned soul is such that everyone is captivated by sex life; all the material fiction-dramas and novels-are descriptions of love between a man and woman. As people have so much attraction for this literature, Krishna therefore appeared on this material world and displayed His transcendental loving affairs with the Gopis, and there is an immense literature dealing with the transactions between the Gopis and Krishna. Anyone who takes shelter of this story of Radha and Krishna enjoys actual happiness. In the Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, 33rd Chapter [], it is said that the Lord, in order to show His actual life, displayed His Pastimes at Vrindaban; and any intelligent person who tries to understand the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna is the most fortunate. And that sort of song and story is the highest in the world. (More...)

Ramananda Roy replied that one should always think of the Pastimes of Krishna. This is Krishna Consciousness. Krishna has multiple activities, and they are described in so many Vedic Scriptures. One should think of all those Pastimes, always; that is the best meditation, and the highest ecstasy. (More...)

And Ramananda Roy replied that one should give up all other pleasures and should live in Vrindaban, the place where Lord Krishna had so many Pastimes. In the Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, 47th Chapter [10.47.61], it is said by Uddhava that it is best to live at Vrindaban, even as one of the plants or creepers of the land; where the Supreme Lord was, and where the Gopis went, worshipping the Supreme Lord, the ultimate Goal of all Vedic knowledge. (More...)

And Ramananda Roy replied, "The best subject matter to hear of is the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna." Actually, when the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna are heard from the right source, one becomes at once a liberated soul. But sometimes it happens that people do not hear the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna from a person who is a realized soul. And they are therefore sometimes misguided. It is stated in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, 30th Chapter [10.33.39], that one who hears about the Pastimes of Krishna with the Gopis will attain to the highest platform of devotional service, and he will be freed from the material lust which is overwhelming everyone's heart. In other words, the actual result of hearing the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna is to get rid of all material lust. If one does not become freed from material lust, then he should not indulge in hearing the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Unless we hear from the right source, the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna will be misrepresented, and we shall think that it is an ordinary affair between a man and woman, and we shall be misguided. (More...)

Ramananda Raya remarked that this was the first time that he had been asked to go further than the gopis in an attempt to understand Krsna.

This transcendental love between Radharani and Krishna was described by Ramananda Roy. Lord Chaitanya admitted that, "I came to you for understanding about the transcendental loving affairs of Krishna and Radha, and I am very much satisfied that you have described it so nicely. I can understand now from your version that this is the highest loving state between Krishna and Radha." Lord Chaitanya still requested him to try something more: What are the transcendental features of Krishna and the transcendental features of Radharani, and what are the transcendental features of the reciprocation of Their feelings, and what is the love between Them? If you will kindly describe all this to Me, I think I shall be very much obliged, because I know that except for you, nobody can describe such things." (More...)

Ramananda Roy in all humility replied, "I do not know anything, but whatever You are causing me to say I am saying. I know You are Krishna Himself, but still You are relishing hearing about Krishna from me. Therefore, You will excuse me for my faulty expression. I am just trying to express whatever You are causing me to express." (More...)

Lord Chaitanya said, "I am a Mayavadi Sannyasi. I have no knowledge of the transcendental features of devotional service. By the grace of Sarbabhouma Bhattacharya My mind is now clear and I am trying to understand the nature of devotional service to Lord Krishna. He recommended that I see you for understanding Krishna, and he said that Ramananda Roy is the only person who knows something about love of Krishna. I have come to you recommended by Sarbabhouma Bhattacharya, so you should not hesitate to relate to Me all the confidential affairs of Radha and Krishna." (More...)

Ramananda Raya understood the purpose of Lord Caitanya, and, stating that it is better to give up the results of fruitive activities, he quoted a verse from Bhagavad-gita:

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66) The Supreme Personality of Godhead can accept the reactions of anyone's sinful deeds and neutralize them because He is pavitra, pure, like the sun, which is never contaminated by any worldly infection. Tejiyasam na dosaya vahneh sarva-bhujo yatha (Bhag. ). One who is very powerful is not affected by any sinful activity. But here we see that mother Ganges fears being burdened with the sins of the people in general who would bathe in her waters. This indicates that no one but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to neutralize the reactions of sinful deeds, whether one's own or those of others. Sometimes the spiritual master, after accepting a disciple, must take charge of that disciple's past sinful activities and, being overloaded, must sometimes suffer-if not fully, then partially-for the sinful acts of the disciple. Every disciple, therefore, must be very careful not to commit sinful activities after initiation. The poor spiritual master is kind and merciful enough to accept a disciple and partially suffer for that disciple's sinful activities, but Krsna, being merciful to His servant, neutralizes the reactions of sinful deeds for the servant who engages in preaching His glories. Even mother Ganges feared the sinful reactions of the people in general and was anxious about how she would counteract the burden of these sins. (More...)

"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me." Surrender unto the supreme form is the result of bhakti. This bhakti, or understanding of one's own position, is the complete liberation. As long as one is under an impersonal understanding of the Absolute Truth, he is not in pure knowledge, but must still struggle for pure knowledge. Kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam (Bg. 12.5). Although one may be spiritually advanced, if one is attached to the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth one must still work very hard, as indicated by the words kleso 'dhikatarah, which mean "greater suffering." A devotee, however, easily attains his original position as a spiritual form and understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form. (More...)

This is typical of all Mayavadis or atheists who interpret the meaning of Vedic literature in their own imaginative way. The real purpose of such foolish people is to impose the impersonalist conclusion on all Vedic literature. The Mayavadi atheists also interpret Bhagavad-gita. In every verse of Srimad Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In every verse, Vyasadeva says, sri bhagavan uvaca, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead said," or "the Blessed Lord said." It is clearly stated that the Blessed Lord is the Supreme Person, but Mayavadi atheists still try to prove that the Absolute Truth is impersonal. In order to present their false, imaginary meanings, they must adopt so much word jugglery and grammatical interpretation that they finally become ludicrous. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remarked that no one should hear the Mayavadi commentaries or purports to any Vedic literature. (More...)

Therefore Ramananda Roy stated that it is better to give up the result of fruitive activities. Ramananda Roy understood the purpose of Lord Chaitanya. He quoted a verse from Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Ninth Chapter, 37th verse. The Lord says there that, whatever one does, whatever one eats, whatever one sacrifices, whatever one gives or whatever austerity one undergoes for a certain achievement-everything should be dedicated to the service of the Supreme Lord. Srimad Bhagwatam also, Eleventh Canto, Second Chapter, verse, has a similar passage, in which it is stated that one should submit everything, the result of his fruitive activities, either by his body, by his speeches, by his mind, by his senses, by his intelligence, by his soul, or by his practical natural modes of Nature-everything should be surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayan. (More...)

On hearing this from Ramananda Roy, Lord Chaitanya rejected it again. By rejecting Ramananda Roy's third proposal, Lord Chaitanya wanted to demonstrate that simple renunciation is not sufficient. There must be positive engagement. Without positive engagement the highest perfectional stage cannot be attained. Generally, in the renounced order of life, there are two kinds of philosophers: the goal of one is Nirvana, and of the other, the impersonal quality of the Brahman effulgence. They cannot conceive that they can reach beyond, or that there is a Spiritual Sky with Vaikuntha Planets. Because such mentalities cannot have any conception of the Spiritual Planets and activities, therefore Lord Chaitanya rejected the proposal of renunciation. (More...)

Lord Chaitanya again rejected this proposal because in that stage of simply renouncing material results in Brahman realization there is no realization of the Spiritual World and the spiritual activities. Although in the Brahman realization stage there is no material contamination, yet, because there is no positive engagement in spiritual activity, it is not perfectly cleansed. It is still on the mental plane, and therefore external. The pure living entity is not liberated unless he has the complete spiritual idea and is engaged in spiritual activity. When one is absorbed in impersonal thought, or void thought, then his entrance into eternal life, blissful life, and life of knowledge is not complete. When spiritual knowledge is not complete, people will hinder you in your attempt to vacate the mind of all material variegatedness. Impersonalists are hindered in such attempts to make the mind void by artificial meditation. It is very difficult to make the mind void of material conceptions. In the Bhagavad Gita [12.5] it is stated that those who indulge in such voidness or impersonal meditation make very difficult spiritual advancement, and what they attain is not complete liberation. Therefore Lord Chaitanya rejected it. (More...)

After rejection of this fifth proposal, Ramananda Roy said that devotional service without any attempt at cultivation of knowledge or mental speculation is the highest stage of perfection. In this connection he gave evidence from Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, in which Lord Brahma says to the Supreme Personality of Godhead: "My dear Lord, one should give up monistic speculation and the cultivation of knowledge altogether. He should begin his spiritual life in devotional service by receiving the information of the activities of the Lord from a realized devotee of the Lord. If one prosecutes his spiritual cultivation by following these-two principles and keeping himself rightly in the honest path of living, then, although Your Lordship is never conquerable You become conquered by him by such a process." (More...)

Lord Chaitanya accepted these principles, but He requested Ramananda Roy to go further in advanced devotional service. Lord Chaitanya gave Ramananda Roy a chance to develop gradually the advancement from the principles of Varnashram Dharma (caste and the four orders of spiritual life); and, further, offering the results of all fruitive activities. Then he recommended discussion of spiritual knowledge. Lord Chaitanya rejected all of these, because in the field of executing pure devotional service there is very little use for such principles. Artificial methods of devotional service without self realization cannot be accepted as pure devotional service. Self-realized pure devotional service is completely different from all other kinds of transcendental activities. The highest stage of transcendental activities is always free from all material desires and fruitive activities, and speculative attempts at knowledge. The highest stage concentrates on a simple, favorable execution of pure devotional service. (More...)

He whose mind is fixed on My Personal Form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect. But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which is beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, fixed and immovable-the impersonal conception of the truth … at last achieve Me. For those whose minds are attached to the nonmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that unmanifested discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied. (Gita, 12.1-2) (More...)

In this Age of Kali there is no possibility of acquiring spiritual knowledge by renunciation, by speculation or by fruitive work. Because most people are fallen and because there is no time to elevate them by a gradual process, the best course, according to Lord Caitanya, is to let them remain in whatever occupation they are in but to engage them in hearing of the activities of the Supreme Lord as those activities are explained in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The transcendental messages of the scriptures should be received from the lips of realized souls. In this way a person may continue to live in whatever occupation he is in and still make progress in spiritual advancement. Thus one can surely advance and fully realize the Personality of Godhead. (More...)

The facts which I have disclosed to you cannot be understood by materialistic people. When they hear of this, they will simply laugh at Me. You can understand this yourself and keep it to yourself.

Thus Ramananda Roy and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu talked together for the whole night, sometimes dancing, sometimes singing, sometimes crying. In this way the night was passed, and at dawn Ramananda Roy went to his own place, and again in the evening he came back to see Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The next day, after talking and discussing Krishna for some time, Ramananda Roy fell at the feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and began to submit: "My dear Lord, You are so kind upon me that You have spoken to me about the science of Krishna, about the science of Radharani and Their loving affairs, and Their affairs of the Rasa Dance, and Their Pastimes-I never thought that I should be able to speak on this subject matter. So have You taught me, as You formerly taught Brahma the Vedas." (More...)

This is the system of instruction from the Supersoul. Externally He is not to be seen. Yet, internally, He speaks to the devotee, and that is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita [10.10]: to anyone who is sincerely engaged in the service of the Lord, the Lord from within dictates, and He acts in such a nice way that he ultimately achieves the Supreme goal of life. When Brahma was born there was nobody else to instruct him. Therefore, in the Vedic literature, we find that the Supreme Lord Himself instructed Brahma about the Vedic knowledge through his heart. The same thing is also confirmed in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Second Canto, 4th Chapter [22], by Sukadeva Goswami: the Gayatri Mantra was first of all instructed by the Supreme in the heart of Brahma. Similarly, Sukadeva Goswami prayed to the Lord to also help him in speaking Srimad Bhagwatam before Maharaj Parikshit. (More...)

Sri Ramananda Roy continued to speak to Lord Chaitanya: "Sir, first of all I saw You as a Sannyasi, and again I saw You as a cowherd Boy. Further, I see before You a golden doll. Due to the presence of that golden doll, Your complexion has become gold, and yet I see Your complexion to be black, as a cowherd boy. Will You kindly explain why I am seeing You with such different complexions? Will You kindly explain to me without any reservation?" (More...)

Lord Chaitanya replied, "It is the nature of highly elevated devotees to see Krishna in everything. Whenever they see anything, they do not see the form of that particular thing, but they see Krishna." This is confirmed in Srimad Bhagwatam, Eleventh Canto, 2nd Chapter: that a person who is highly elevated in devotional service sees the Supersoul, Krishna, Who is the Soul of all individual souls. A similar passage is found in the Tenth Canto, 35th Chapter, in which it is stated that all the creepers, plants and trees, full with flowers and fruits, were bent over on account of the ecstasy of love for Krishna, because Krishna was the Soul of their soul; and those trees and plants, after Krishna manifested before them, were growing thorny. (More...)

Lord Chaitanya then continued to speak, addressing Ramananda: "You have the highest conception of the Pastimes of Radha and Krishna, and you are therefore seeing Radha Krishna everywhere." (More...)

Lord Chaitanya then passed ten nights with Ramananda Roy, and enjoyed his company in discussing the Pastimes of Krishna and Radha. The discussion between Sri Chaitanya and Sri Ramananda Roy was on the highest level of love of Krishna. Some of the talks are described, but most of them could not be described. This has been analyzed in the Chaitanya Charitamrita as an examination in metallurgy. The comparison is that the discussion proceeds just like metals being studied: first copper, then bronze, then silver, gold, and at last touchstone. The preliminary discussions between Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Roy are considered copper, and a higher discussion is considered gold. But the fifth dimension of the discussion between Ramananda Roy and Lord Chaitanya is considered to be touchstone. If, however, one is very eager to progress higher and higher to the position of the highest metallurgist, then he can understand-beginning with inquiring into the difference between copper and bronze, and then silver, and so on. (More...)

The next day, Lord Chaitanya asked Ramananda Roy to allow Him to go back to Jagannath Puri, "So that the rest of Our lives We can remain together at Jagannath Puri, and We can pass Our time in discussing Krishna." Lord Chaitanya thus embraced Ramananda Roy and sent him to his own place. In the morning He started His further journey. Ramananda Roy and Lord Chaitanya met on the river bank where there was a deity, a temple of Hanuman. After seeing the temple of Hanuman He left that place. So long as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu remained at Kavur, all kinds of people met Him, and by His Grace everyone became a devotee of the Supreme Lord. (More...)

While sitting and chanting, the Lord saw that the governor of the province, Sri Ramananda Raya, had reached the banks of the river accompanied by his associates, which included many brahmanas.

After visiting the temple of Jiayar Nrishingha, the Lord proceeded farther south into India, and ultimately He reached the bank of the Gudabudee. On the bank of the Gudabudee the Lord remembered the Yamuna of Vrindaban, and the nice trees on the bank were considered by Him the forest of Vrindaban; so He was in ecstasy there. After taking His bath on the bank of the Gudabudee, the Lord was sitting a little off from the bank and was chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Sitting in that way, the Lord saw that the governor of the province, Sri Ramananda Roy, had reached the bank of the river accompanied by his associates, many Brahmins, and a band party. The Lord had asked about Ramananda Roy, the governor of this province, from Sarbabhouma Bhattacharya, and the Lord was requested by Sarbabhouma Bhattacharya to see the great devotee Ramananda Roy at Kabur. (More...)

After this, Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Roy both sat down together, and Lord Chaitanya informed him that, "Sarbabhouma Bhattacharya has spoken very highly of you, so I have come to see you." (More...)