Gopīnātha, who had known Mahāprabhu from Nadia, had a great reverence for him and declared that the sannyāsī was not a common human being. On this point Gopīnātha and Sārvabhauma had a hot discussion. Sārvabhauma then requested Mahāprabhu to hear his recitation of the Vedānta-sūtras, and the latter tacitly submitted. Caitanya heard with silence what the great Sārvabhauma uttered with gravity for seven days, at the end of which the latter said, "Kṛṣṇa Caitanya! I think you do not understand the Vedānta, for you do not say anything after hearing my recitation and explanations." The reply of Caitanya was that he understood the sūtras very well, but he could not make out what Śaṅkarācārya meant by his commentaries. Astonished at this, Sārvabhauma said, "How is it that you understand the meanings of the sūtras and do not understand the commentaries which explain the sūtras? All well! If you understand the sūtras, please let me have your interpretations."
Hot (CC and Other Books)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
To explain how māyā acts by Kṛṣṇa's power, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta gives the example of an iron rod in a fire: although the rod is not fire, it becomes red-hot and acts like fire itself. Similarly, all the actions and reactions of material nature are not actually the work of material nature but are actions and reactions of the energy of the Supreme Lord manifested through matter. The power of electricity is transmitted through the medium of copper, but this does not mean that the copper is electricity. The power is generated at a powerhouse under the control of an expert living being. Similarly, behind all the jugglery of the natural laws is a great living being, who is a person like the mechanical engineer in the powerhouse. It is by His intelligence that the entire cosmic creation moves in a systematic way.
Thus prakṛti, by the energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire.
It is in this way that material nature has the power to supply the ingredients. The example given is that iron has no power to heat or burn, but after coming in contact with fire the iron becomes red-hot and can then diffuse heat and burn other things. Material nature is like iron, for it has no independence to act without the touch of Viṣṇu, who is compared to fire. Lord Viṣṇu activates material nature by the power of His glance, and then the ironlike material nature becomes a material-supplying agent just as iron made red-hot becomes a burning agent. Material nature cannot independently become an agent for supplying the material ingredients. This is more clearly explained by Śrī Kapiladeva, an incarnation of Godhead, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.28.40):
Then Sanātana Gosvāmī met Haridāsa Ṭhākura and heard about the disappearance of Anupama. Sanātana Gosvāmī later described the glories of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Sanātana observed the etiquette of Jagannātha's temple by going along the beach to visit Lord Caitanya, although it was extremely hot due to the sun. He requested Jagadānanda Paṇḍita to give him permission to return to Vṛndāvana. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu praised the character of Sanātana Gosvāmī, and He embraced Sanātana, accepting his body as spiritual. Sanātana Gosvāmī was ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to live at Jagannātha Purī for one year. When he returned to Vṛndāvana after that time, he again met Rūpa Gosvāmī, and both brothers remained in Vṛndāvana to execute the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya-lila
If one tastes such love of Godhead, he can compare it to hot sugarcane. When one chews hot sugarcane, his mouth burns, yet he cannot give it up. Similarly, if one has but a little love of Godhead, he can perceive its powerful effects. It can only be compared to poison and nectar mixed together.
Aśru is explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as a combination of joy, anger and moroseness that causes water to flow from the eyes without effort. When there is joy and there are tears in the eyes, the temperature of the tears is cold, but when there is anger, the tears are hot. In both cases, the eyes are restless, the eyeballs are red and there is itching. These are all symptoms of aśru. When there is a combination of moroseness, astonishment, anger, joy and fear, there is a choking in the voice. This choking is called gadgada. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refers to gadgada-ruddhayā girā, or "a faltering voice." In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, pulaka is described as joy, encouragement and fear. When these combine, the hairs on the body stand on end, and this bodily state is called pulaka.
The Deity of Gopāla had been buried within the jungle for many years, and although He was installed and was offered thousands of pots of water, He still felt very hot. He therefore asked Mādhavendra Purī to bring sandalwood from the Malaya province. Sandalwood produced in Malaya is very popular. That province is situated on the western ghāṭa, and the hill Nīlagiri is sometimes known as Malaya Hill. The word malaya-ja is used to indicate the sandalwood produced in Malaya Province. Sometimes the word Malaya refers to the modern country of Malaysia. Formerly this country also produced sandalwood, but now they have found it profitable to produce rubber trees. Although the Vedic culture was once prevalent in Malaysia, now all the inhabitants are Muslims. The Vedic culture is now lost in Malaysia, Java and Indonesia.
When Subuddhi Rāya consulted the learned brāhmaṇas at Vārāṇasī, asking them how his conversion to Islam could be counteracted, they advised him to drink hot ghee and give up his life.
When Subuddhi Rāya consulted some other brāhmaṇas, they told him that he had not committed a grievous fault and that consequently he should not drink hot ghee and give up his life. As a result, Subuddhi Rāya was doubtful about what to do.
CC Antya-lila
At noon the sand on the beach was as hot as fire, but Sanātana Gosvāmī came by that path.
Overwhelmed by joy at being called by the Lord, Sanātana Gosvāmī did not feel that his feet were burning in the hot sand.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “How did you come along the beach, where the sand is so hot? Why didn’t you come by the path in front of the Siṁha-dvāra gate? It is very cool.
"The hot sand must have blistered your soles. Now you cannot walk. How did you tolerate it?"
His Lordship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is unaffected by the influence of the three modes of material nature. Indeed, His devotees are also unpolluted by the influence of the external energy because they engage in the service of His Lordship. Even the very body of a devotee becomes spiritualized, just as an iron rod put into fire becomes as qualified as fire because it becomes red hot and will immediately burn anything it touches. Therefore the poet from Bengal committed a great offense by treating Lord Jagannātha's body and Lord Jagannātha, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as two different entities, material and spiritual, as if the Lord were an ordinary living being. The Lord is always the master of the material energy; therefore He is not doomed to be covered by the material energy like an ordinary living entity.
In one place, chipped rice was soaked in hot milk in each of the large pots. Then half the rice was mixed with yogurt, sugar and bananas.
The hot chili-like taste burned the tongues of those who chewed the seeds. Thus the eating of pīlu fruits from Vṛndāvana became a pastime of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's.
“The women of Vṛndāvana are just like lilies growing hot in the sun of lusty desires. But moonlike Kṛṣṇa makes them all jubilant by bestowing upon them the nectar of His hands. O My dear friend, where is My moon now? Save My life by showing Him to Me!
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
There are many insignificant living entities, like cockroaches, that sometimes give us pain, and there are also other living entities who are born on different kinds of planets and who give us miseries. As far as the adhidaivika miseries are concerned, these are natural disasters that originate with the demigods of the higher planets. For instance, we sometimes suffer from severe cold or hot weather, from a thunderbolt, or from earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts and many natural disasters. In any case, we are always suffering from either one or a combination of these three kinds of miseries.
Sanātana's inquiry was therefore an intelligent one. "What is the position of the living entities?" he asked. "Why are they always undergoing these three kinds of miseries?" Sanātana had admitted his weakness.
Nectar of Devotion
He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work, and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the brāhmaṇa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity. However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot. (This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice had been prepared by the brāhmaṇa very recently, he wanted to touch it so that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As soon as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately was burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke. Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never thought that his finger would actually become burnt.
After the battle was finished, when all the Pāṇḍavas had come home, Kuntī praised Kṛṣṇa because His promise was so nicely fulfilled. She said, "Even the sunshine may one day become cool and the moonshine one day become hot, but still Your promise will not fail." Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa, along with Bhīma and Arjuna, went to challenge Jarāsandha, He plainly told Jarāsandha that He was the eternal Kṛṣṇa, present along with two of the Pāṇḍavas. The story is that both Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas—in this case Bhīma and Arjuna—were kṣatriyas (warrior-kings). Jarāsandha was also a kṣatriya and was very charitable toward the brāhmaṇas. Thus Kṛṣṇa, who had planned to fight with Jarāsandha, went to him with Bhīma and Arjuna in the dress of brāhmaṇas. Jarāsandha, being very charitable toward the brāhmaṇas, asked them what they wanted, and they expressed their desire to fight with him.
Out of jubilation, anger or separation there may be the pouring down of tears from the eyes. When such tears are very cold they are due to jubilation, and when they are due to anger the tears become hot. In all cases there is a severe movement of the eyes, and the eyes generally become reddish. There is also an itching sensation which causes the sufferer to rub his eyes.
When the lotus-eyed Rukmiṇī, the first queen of Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā, was shedding tears out of ecstatic jubilation, she did not like the tears. There is a passage in the Hari-vaṁśa wherein Satyabhāmā begins to shed tears because of her great affection for Kṛṣṇa.
An example of shedding tears because of anger was exhibited by Bhīma when he saw that Śiśupāla was insulting Kṛṣṇa in the Rājasūya arena of sacrifice. Bhīma wanted to kill Śiśupāla immediately, but because Kṛṣṇa did not order him to do so, he became morose with anger. It is described that there were hot tears covering his eyes, as a thin cloud sometimes covers the evening moon. In the evening, when the moon is slightly covered by a thin cloud, it looks very nice, and when Bhīma was shedding tears on account of his anger, he also looked very nice.
In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixtieth Chapter, verse 23, there is a nice example of Rukmiṇī's shedding tears of lamentation. When Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī were talking, Rukmiṇī became frightened of separation from Kṛṣṇa, and therefore she began scratching the earth with her red, lotuslike nails.
When mother Yaśodā was very anxiously waiting for Kṛṣṇa to return from Mathurā, Mahārāja Nanda gave her this solace: "My dear Yaśodā, please don't be worried. Please dry your beautiful lotuslike face. There is no need for you to breathe so hotly. I will go immediately with Akrūra to the palace of Kaṁsa and get your son back for you." Here is an instance of anxiety in ecstatic love caused by Kṛṣṇa's awkward position.
There is a description of Kṛṣṇa's feeling for His vayasyas in Vṛndāvana. He once said to Balarāma, "My dear brother, when My companions were being devoured by the Aghāsura, hot tears poured down from My eyes. And as they were washing My cheeks, My dear elder brother, for at least one moment I completely lost Myself."
Within Gokula, Kṛṣṇa's vayasyas are generally divided into four groups: (1) well-wishers, (2) friends, (3) confidential friends and (4) intimate friends. Kṛṣṇa's well-wisher friends are a little bit older than Kṛṣṇa, and they have some parental affection for Him. Because of their being older than Kṛṣṇa, they always try to protect Him from any harm. As such, they sometimes bear weapons so that they can chastise any mischievous persons who want to do harm to Kṛṣṇa. Counted among the well-wisher friends are Subhadra, Maṇḍalībhadra, Bhadravardhana, Gobhaṭa, Yakṣa, Indrabhaṭa, Bhadrāṅga, Vīrabhadra, Mahāguṇa, Vijaya and Balabhadra. They are older than Kṛṣṇa and are always thinking of His welfare.
Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa's flute roared like a thundercloud under the Svātī constellation, the resulting perspiration on Śrīdāmā's body appeared to be just like pearls.
When Kṛṣṇa and Subala were embracing one another, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī became a little envious, and hiding Her hot temperament She said, "My dear Subala, you are very fortunate because even in the presence of superiors you and Kṛṣṇa have no hesitation in putting your arms on each other's shoulders. I think it must be admitted that in your previous lives you have succeeded in many kinds of austerities." The idea is that although Rādhārāṇī was accustomed to putting Her arms on Kṛṣṇa's shoulders, it was not possible for Her to do such a thing in the presence of Her superiors, whereas Subala could do so freely. Rādhārāṇī therefore praised his good fortune.
There is another instance of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa in friendship. Once when a cowherd boy named Vṛṣabha was collecting flowers from the forest to prepare a garland to be offered to Kṛṣṇa, the sun reached its zenith, and although the sunshine was scorching hot, Vṛṣabha felt it to be like the moonshine. That is the way of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord; when devotees are put into great difficulties—even like the Pāṇḍavas, as described above—they feel all their miserable conditions to be great facilities for serving the Lord.
Another instance of Arjuna's friendship with Kṛṣṇa was described by Nārada, who reminded Kṛṣṇa, "When Arjuna was learning the art of shooting arrows, he could not see You for so many days. But when You arrived there, he stopped all His activities and immediately embraced You."
When Kṛṣṇa entered the Yamunā River, which had become very poisonous from the presence of Kāliya, mother Yaśodā feared all kinds of mishaps, and she was breathing hotly. Tears from her eyes were soaking her clothes, and she was almost collapsing.
Similarly, when the Śaṅkhāsura demon was attacking Kṛṣṇa's queens one after another, Lord Baladeva became more and more bluish.
In the Haṁsadūta, the following incident is described. The gopīs requested Haṁsadūta to search after the marks of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet and to accept them as Lord Brahmā had accepted them on his helmet after he had stolen all Kṛṣṇa's cowherd boys. Regretting his challenge to Kṛṣṇa, Lord Brahmā had bowed down before the Lord, and his helmet became marked with the footprints of Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs reminded Haṁsadūta that sometimes even the great sage Nārada becomes very ecstatic by seeing these footprints, and sometimes great liberated sages also aspire to see them.
In the Lalita-mādhava of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī it is stated, "After Kṛṣṇa's arrival in Kaṁsa's arena, Kaṁsa's priest looked at Kṛṣṇa with a detestful expression. The entire arena was filled with dread on the part of Kaṁsa and his priest and restless expressions of pleasure on the cheeks of Kṛṣṇa's friends. Frustration was felt by His envious rivals. The great sages meditated. Hot tears were in the eyes of Devakī and other motherly ladies, and hairs stood on the bodies of the expert warriors. There was astonishment in the hearts of demigods such as Indra. The servants danced, and the restless eyes of all the young girls glanced about." In this statement there is a description of a combination of different mellows, but there is no incompatibility.
A similar statement, which is free from incompatibility, is in the Lalita-mādhava, wherein the author blesses all the readers of the book in the following manner: "Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to lift a mountain with a finger of His left hand, He is always humble and meek.
Easy Journey to Other Planets
A complete absorption in bhāva, or love of God, makes one fit to be transferred to the spiritual sky just after leaving the material tabernacle. The perfection of love of God by a devotee actually situates him on the spiritual platform, even though he may still maintain a gross material body. He becomes like a red-hot iron which, when in contact with fire, actually ceases to be iron and acts like fire. These things are made possible by the Lord's inscrutable and inconceivable energy, which material science has not the scope to calculate. One should therefore engage himself in devotional service with absolute faith, and to make his faith steadfast one should seek the association of the standard devotees of the Lord by personal association (if possible) or by thinking of them. This association will help one develop factual devotional service to the Lord, which will cause all material misgivings to disappear like a flash of lightning. All these different stages of spiritual realization will be personally felt by the candidate, and this will create in him a firm belief that he is making positive progress on the way to the spiritual sky. Then he will become sincerely attached to the Lord and His abode. Such is the gradual process of evolving love of God, which is the prime necessity for the human form of life.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Dear friends, just look to the right- and left-hand side of the mouth of the animal. Its mouth appears to be like a big mountain cave, and its height cannot be estimated. The chin is also raised just like a mountain summit. That long highway appears to be its tongue, and inside the mouth it is as dark as in a mountain cave. The hot wind that is blowing like a hurricane is his breathing, and the fishy bad smell coming out from his mouth is the smell of his intestines.”
Then they further consulted among themselves: "If we all at one time entered into the mouth of this great serpent, how could it possibly swallow all of us? And even if it were to swallow all of us at once, it could not swallow Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will immediately kill him, as He did Bakāsura." Talking in this way, all the boys looked at the beautiful lotuslike face of Kṛṣṇa, and they began to clap and smile. And so they marched forward and entered the mouth of the gigantic serpent.
Thrown by Kṛṣṇa, the horse immediately passed out, but after a little while he regained consciousness and with great anger and force again rushed toward Kṛṣṇa with his mouth open. As soon as Keśī reached Him, Kṛṣṇa pushed His left arm within the horse's mouth, and it looked as though a big snake had entered a hole in the field. The horse felt great pain because Kṛṣṇa's arm felt to him like a hot iron rod. Immediately his teeth fell out. Kṛṣṇa's arm within the mouth of the horse at once began to expand, and Keśī’s throat choked up. As the great horse suffocated, perspiration appeared on his body, and he threw his legs hither and thither. As his last breath came, his eyeballs bulged in their sockets and he passed stool and urine simultaneously. Thus the vital force of his life expired. When the horse was dead, his mouth became loose, and Kṛṣṇa could extract His arm without difficulty. He did not feel any surprise that the Keśī demon was killed so easily, but the demigods in the sky were amazed, and out of their great appreciation they offered Kṛṣṇa greetings by showering flowers.
He released his greatest death weapon, known as Śiva-jvara, which destroys by excessive temperature. It is said that at the end of creation the sun becomes twelve times more scorching than usual. This twelve-times-hotter temperature is called Śiva-jvara. When the Śiva-jvara personified was released, he had three heads and three legs, and as he came toward Kṛṣṇa it appeared that he was burning everything to ashes. He was so powerful that he made blazing fire appear in all directions, and Kṛṣṇa observed that he was specifically coming toward Him.
As there is a Śiva-jvara weapon, there is also a Nārāyaṇa-jvara weapon, which is represented by excessive cold. When there is excessive heat, one can somehow or other tolerate it, but when there is excessive cold, everything collapses. This is actually experienced by a person at the time of death.
Therefore, when Lord Kṛṣṇa saw that the Śiva-jvara had been released by Lord Śiva, He had no recourse other than to release the Nārāyaṇa-jvara. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Nārāyaṇa and the controller of the Nārāyaṇa-jvara weapon. When the Nārāyaṇa-jvara was released, there was a great fight between the two jvaras. When excessive heat is counteracted by extreme cold, it is natural for the hot temperature to gradually reduce, and this is what occurred in the fight between the Śiva-jvara and the Nārāyaṇa-jvara. Gradually, the Śiva-jvara's temperature diminished, and the Śiva-jvara began to cry for help from Lord Śiva, but Lord Śiva was unable to help him in the presence of the Nārāyaṇa-jvara. Unable to get any help from Lord Śiva, the Śiva-jvara could understand that he had no means of escape outside of surrendering unto Nārāyaṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Lord Śiva, the greatest of the demigods, could not help him, what to speak of the lesser demigods, and therefore the Śiva-jvara ultimately surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa, bowing before Him and offering a prayer so that the Lord might be pleased and give him protection.
When Sudakṣiṇa was encouraged by Lord Śiva in that way, he was sure that he would be able to kill Kṛṣṇa. With a determined vow of austerity, he began to execute the black art of chanting mantras, assisted by the priests. After this, out of the fire came a great demoniac form, whose hair, beard and mustache were exactly the color of hot copper. This form was very big and fierce. As the demon arose from the fire, cinders of fire emanated from the sockets of his eyes. The giant fiery demon appeared still more fierce due to the movements of his eyebrows. He exhibited long, sharp teeth and, sticking out his long tongue, licked his upper and lower lips. He was naked, and he carried a big trident, blazing like fire. After appearing from the fire of sacrifice, he stood wielding the trident in his hand. Instigated by Sudakṣiṇa, the demon proceeded toward the capital city, Dvārakā, with many hundreds of ghostly companions, and it appeared that he was going to burn all outer space to ashes. The surface of the earth trembled because of his striking steps. When he entered the city of Dvārakā, all the residents panicked, just like animals in a forest fire.
After the demise of Śiśupāla, Śālva and Pauṇḍraka, a foolish demoniac king of the name Dantavakra wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa to avenge the death of his friend Śālva. He became so agitated that he appeared on the battlefield without the proper arms and ammunition and without even a chariot. His only weapon was his great anger, which was red-hot. He carried only a club in his hand, but he was so powerful that when he moved, everyone felt the earth tremble. When Lord Kṛṣṇa saw him approaching in a very heroic mood, He immediately got down from His chariot, for it was a rule of military etiquette that fighting should take place only between equals. Knowing that Dantavakra was alone and armed with only a club, Lord Kṛṣṇa responded similarly and prepared Himself by taking His club in His hand. When Kṛṣṇa appeared before him, Dantavakra's heroic march was immediately stopped, just as the great, furious waves of the ocean are stopped by the beach.
When after the dense, dark night there is finally sunrise in the morning, it is very pleasant; when there is scorching heat, cold water is very pleasant; and when there is freezing winter, hot water is very pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after experiencing the distress of the material world, relishes the spiritual happiness awarded by the Lord, his position is still more pleasant and enjoyable.
The Lord continued: "When My devotee is bereft of all material riches and is deserted by his relatives, friends and family members, because he has no one to look after him he completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord." Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung in this connection, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, You are now standing before me with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu. I am now surrendering unto You. Please accept me. Please do not kick me away. I have no shelter other than You."
Message of Godhead
An example may be given here to illuminate the above process of spiritualization. When the iron is put into the fire and becomes red hot, the iron then develops the qualities of fire and stops functioning as iron. In the same way, when all our activities are done in terms of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, then everything is surcharged with spiritualization. Because pleasing Kṛṣṇa has become our ultimate goal, all our activities have become spiritual activities. In a sacrifice there are five primary elements—namely, (1) the process of offering, (2) the offering itself, (3) the fire, (4) the sacrifice, and (5) the result of the sacrifice. When all of these elements become related with the Supreme Spirit, all of them become spiritualized; and at that time the whole thing becomes really a sacrifice. So when offered to the transcendental service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, all the above-mentioned five elements become interrelated with Him, and thus they become totally spiritualized.
He observes all living entities as so many transcendental servitors of the absolute Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His perfect spiritual vision cannot but penetrate the encagement of every material body, just as a red-hot iron cannot but burn everything that it contacts. Thus, the karma-yogī sets an example of transcendental character, by engaging everyone and everything in the transcendental service of the Personality of Godhead.
The karma-yogī knows very well that Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is the enjoyer of everything, and that He is the Lord of all living entities. He sees very little value in the false prestige by which all living entities in this material world put themselves in the position of either an enjoyer or a renouncer. The learned sages feel disgust with this sort of false prestige as the quintessential disease of material existence. All good work, culture of knowledge, meditation, austerity, and so forth—whatever is performed—all of these activities are meant to ameliorate this material disease. Therefore, the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, says in Bhagavad-gītā (5.28) that one can attain the supreme peace by knowing that He is the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Lord of all the universes, and also the supreme friend of all living entities.
Light of the Bhagavata
The example of the damsels of Vrajabhūmi Vṛndāvana (the gopīs) is given here because these eternal consorts of the Lord terribly suffered the separation of Lord Kṛṣṇa when the Lord was absent from their presence for His engagement in tending the cows in the forest. During the absence of Kṛṣṇa, the entire day would appear to the gopīs to be as unbearable as a hot day in autumn. The Lord so much appreciated this natural feeling of the gopīs that He declared His inability to repay their intense love. Lord Caitanya recommended the feeling of the gopīs as the highest mode of worship that can be rendered to the Lord. The conclusion is that the regular practice of bhakti-yoga will lead the devotee to the plane of intense love for the Lord, and that is the single qualification by which the conditioned soul is allowed to reenter the eternal life of bliss in the kingdom of God. The threefold miseries of material existence are at once nullified by intense love of God, which is the ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit.
| Page Title: | Hot (CC and Other Books) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 31 of Aug, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=17, OB=23, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 40 |