PADA: Some very important instructions here. First of all, all deity worship has to be authorized by the pure devotee or it is not effective. That was my first objection in 1978, we cannot offer bhogha to conditioned souls like Jayatirtha. Gaura Kishore Das Babaji used to reject temple prasadam offered by the temple priests and he preferred food offered to him by the poor and lower class of people, considering that food more pure.
That means the official temple food is not pure when offered by materialistic contaminated brahmanas. ISKCON has been infected with these paid brahmanas and / or persons offering bhogha to conditioned souls, if not sexual exploiters.
I had one experience where I told the ISKCON temple leaders and poojari their guru was advocating wearing condoms for illicit sex, and they and the poojari insisted on keeping their guru's photo on the altars anyway. Because they are all getting paid a salary and need to keep their business going.
Nowadays most devotees are disconnected from temples and serving the deities there. So they can get their own deities at their home, and make a home temple if possible. However, if we come to a situation where we are no longer in a temple or home temple, we can still worship Krishna mentally.
Hence, manasa puja, or serving Krishna mentally even when we are absent a proper deity worship situation. Of course this is generally considered as only possible for the very advanced, but we should understand the concept because what it really means is, training the mind to serve Krishna at all times wherever and whatever, because mental pooja does not require any material situation.
Our material situations may change, but Krishna does not change, and we can connect to Him anywhere, at any time, in any situation, and that is the concept of manasa pooja. So we may not be advanced enough to perform such pooja now, but we should understand the process even theoretically as a goal for our gradual development. In the end, training the mind to worship Krishna constantly is the goal of life, and that is the overall idea here. This process cannot be imitated, but it can be aspired for.
ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com
Mānasa-Pūjā: (Smaraṇa Worship of the Pure Devotees)
— Published under the Guidance of Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
(Weekly Gauḍīya, Vol. 2, 1926–27)
— Siddhanta Vāṇī Publications
The infinitely compassionate Supreme Lord, desiring to bestow His mercy upon the conditioned souls burdened with countless anarthas, descends into this mundane realm in the forms of Śrī Nāma, Śrī Arcā, and Śrī Mahanta-Guru. Yet, even while descending into the domain of material perception, He forever remains transcendental to it. This is His divine sovereignty (īśitā).
Those bewildered by the limitations of sensory and mundane knowledge (akṣaja-jñāna) can never comprehend this truth by their own endeavor. It becomes an object of realization only for those whose hearts are inclined toward service (sevā-unmukhatā). Śrī Arcā manifests within this world in eight distinct forms. As stated:
śailī dārumayī lauhī lepyā lekhyā ca saikatī |
manomayī maṇimayī pratimāṣṭa-vidhā smṛtā ||
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.27.12)
“The Deity form (pratimā) is remembered as being of eight kinds: fashioned from stone, wood, metal, clay or sandal-paste, painted or drawn, sand, jewels, and the form conceived within the mind.”
Thus, Śrī Arcā may appear as stone, wood, metal, clay, sandal-paste, painting, sand, jewels, or as the mental form (manomayī). Yet none of these should be misconstrued as ordinary material substances. The Viṣṇu-pratimā, or Śrī Arcā, is not a temporary object produced within the realm of distorted material reflections.
Within Śrī Arcā there is no distinction between body and indwelling self. The clay doll or wooden figure meant for the gratification of the senses and the transcendental worshipable reality (adhokṣaja-sevya-vastu) known as Śrī Arcā are not the same thing. Therefore it is said:
pratimā nāhi tumi—sākṣāt vrajendra-nandana
“You are not a mere image; You are directly the son of the King of Vraja Himself.”
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 5.96)
And again:
dāru-brahma-rūpe—sākṣāt śrī-puruṣottama
“In the form of the wooden Deity, You are directly Śrī Puruṣottama Himself.”
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 15.135)
Furthermore:
‘nāma’, ‘vigraha’, ‘svarūpa’—tina eka-rūpa |
tine ‘bheda’ nāhi—tina cid-ānanda-rūpa ||
deha-dehīra, nāma-nāmīra kṛṣṇe nāhi ‘bheda’ |
jīvera dharma—nāma-deha-svarūpe ‘vibheda’ ||
ataeva kṛṣṇera ‘nāma’, ‘deha’, ‘vilāsa’ |
prākṛtendriya-grāhya nahe, haya sva-prakāśa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 17.132–134)
“Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Form, and Essential Identity are one reality. There is no difference among them, for all are manifestations of pure spiritual bliss and consciousness. In Kṛṣṇa there is no distinction between body and possessor of the body, nor between the Name and the Named. Such distinctions belong only to the conditioned jīva. Therefore Kṛṣṇa’s Name, Form, and Divine Pastimes can never be grasped by material senses; they reveal themselves by their own intrinsic potency.”
Likewise:
īśvarera śrī-vigraha sac-cid-ānandākāra |
se vigrahe kaha sattva-guṇera vikāra ||
śrī-vigraha ye nā māne, sei ta’ pāṣaṇḍa |
aspṛśya adṛśya sei, haya yama-daṇḍya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 6.166–167)
“The divine form (śrī-vigraha) of the Lord is of the nature of eternity, consciousness, and bliss (sat-cid-ānanda). How can anyone claim that such a form is merely a transformation of material goodness (sattva-guṇa)? One who refuses to accept the transcendental reality of Śrī Vigraha is a heretic (pāṣaṇḍī). Such a person is unfit for association, unworthy even of being seen, and remains subject to the chastisement of Yamarāja.”
The conditioned soul, burdened with innumerable anarthas, must certainly take shelter of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava sad-guru and engage in arcana according to the prescriptions of the Sātvata Pañcarātra. For a prosperous householder in particular, the path of Deity worship (arcana-mārga) is primary. Indeed, for every initiated person who has approached a Vaiṣṇava sad-guru and received dīkṣā, the personal worship of Śrī Mūrti with one’s own hands is absolutely indispensable.
The scriptures declare that one who becomes negligent in arcana incurs spiritual ruin and falls into hellish conditions. An initiated devotee should never delegate the worship of his worshipable Lord to hired priests or professional worshippers. Rather, he should personally and carefully worship his iṣṭa-deva according to śāstra, employing the mantras and procedures received from his sad-guru. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has discussed this point in particular detail in his Krama-sandarbha commentary on the verse:
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.23 [commonly cited from 7.5.23–24 sequence]).
Among the eight forms of Śrī Arcā mentioned previously, namely śailī, dārumayī, lauhī, lepyā, lekhyā, saikatī, manomayī, and maṇimayī, it is the seven forms excluding the saikatī (sand-made deity) that are generally worshipped by devotees of Bhagavān. The saikatī-pratimā, however, is ordinarily accepted only by those who seek material objectives. Since such a form is inherently temporary and subject to both preservation and destruction, it becomes unfavorable to the cultivation of pure loving devotion (prīti). Therefore it is not embraced by selfless devotees who seek only divine love. As Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmipāda explains in his Krama-sandarbha (11.27.12):
“saikatā saikatīty arthaḥ; eṣā tu sakāmānām eva na tu prītīcchūnām, tad-rakṣaṇayoḥ prīti-virodhāt.”
“The term saikatī refers to a form made of sand. Such a deity is suitable only for those who possess material desires, not for those who aspire for pure love, because its preservation and inevitable destruction are opposed to the mood of loving devotion.”
In truth, the so-called deity worship performed by impersonalists (nirbheda-jñānīs) or the followers of the pañcopāsanā system is founded upon the conception that the deity form is temporary and that the ultimate goal is absorption into an undifferentiated, impersonal reality. Consequently, their worship of form is merely a deception—a refined form of idolatry (pauttalikatā).
The service of the Deity performed by a devotee of Bhagavān, however, is never idolatry, for it is non-different from service to the eternal sat-cid-ānanda-svarūpa of Bhagavān Himself.
Because the gross material conception remains strong within devotees situated on the neophyte platform (kaniṣṭha-adhikārī prākṛta-bhaktas), they worship Bhagavān in those externally visible forms such as stone, wood, metal, clay, painting, and jewels,that is, in the six manifest forms of Śrī Arcā. Yet it is also observed that, from time to time, these same six forms of Arcā are worshipped by highly elevated devotees.
The worship performed by such exalted souls, however, is not at all of the same nature as the worship performed by neophytes. Their worship is not based upon external perception; rather, it is bhāva-sevā, service performed in divine spiritual emotion or even sākṣāt-sevā, direct personal service unto Bhagavān Himself. In their vision, the Deity is not an object representing the Lord; He is directly the ever-living, self-manifest Supreme Reality standing before them and accepting their service.
The Arcā employed in external worship (sthūla-pūjā) consists of the forms known as śailī (stone), dārumayī (wooden), lauhī (metal), lepyā (formed of clay, sandal-paste, etc.), lekhyā (painted or drawn), and maṇimayī (jeweled). The Arcā of mānasa-pūjā, however, is the manomayī-pratimā, the Deity manifest within the purified mind.
The temporary and mutable symbol fashioned within the imagination of a pañcopāsaka or an impersonalist (nirbheda-jñānī) according to the molds of his mind’s inclination toward enjoyment is entirely distinct from the pure manomayī-arcā perceived by a devotee whose sole aspiration is the pleasure of Śrī Hari.
Those who are only Vaiṣṇava-like (vaiṣṇava-prāya), whose hearts are still overpowered by anarthas, or who remain situated on the platform of the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī prākṛta-vaiṣṇava, are not qualified to worship the manomayī-arcā. Even a wealthy householder who, imitating a niṣkiñcana devotee whose anarthas have been eradicated, attempts to engage in the worship of the manomayī-arcā is merely deceiving himself.
The Arcā employed in external worship (sthūla-pūjā) consists of the forms known as śailī (stone), dārumayī (wooden), lauhī (metal), lepyā (formed of clay, sandal-paste, etc.), lekhyā (painted or drawn), and maṇimayī (jeweled). The Arcā of mānasa-pūjā, however, is the manomayī-pratimā, the Deity manifest within the purified mind.
The temporary and mutable symbol fashioned within the imagination of a pañcopāsaka or an impersonalist (nirbheda-jñānī) according to the molds of his mind’s inclination toward enjoyment is entirely distinct from the pure manomayī-arcā perceived by a devotee whose sole aspiration is the pleasure of Śrī Hari.
Those who are only Vaiṣṇava-like (vaiṣṇava-prāya), whose hearts are still overpowered by anarthas, or who remain situated on the platform of the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī prākṛta-vaiṣṇava, are not qualified to worship the manomayī-arcā. Even a wealthy householder who, imitating a niṣkiñcana devotee whose anarthas have been eradicated, attempts to engage in the worship of the manomayī-arcā is merely deceiving himself.
Such imitation is a symptom of self-delusion and financial miserliness or duplicity (vitta-śāṭhya). Until transcendental spiritual intelligence (cinmaya-buddhi) has awakened, true mānasa-pūjā of the manomayī-arcā remains impossible. For Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs and niṣkiñcana devotees of Bhagavān, however, mānasa-pūjā alone is prescribed in the śāstra. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmipāda writes in his Krama-sandarbha:
“gautamīye—sannyāsināṁ mumukṣuṇāṁ mānasopahṛtiḥ param iti.”
“The Gautamīya declares that for sannyāsīs and those aspiring for liberation, mental offerings are supreme.”
He further cites the glory of this practice from the Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra, where Lord Nārāyaṇa says:
“ayaṁ yo mānaso yogo jarā-vyādhi-bhayāpahaḥ...”
“This mental yoga removes the fears of old age, disease, and worldly afflictions.”
And again:
“yaś caitat parayā bhaktyā sakṛt kuryān mahāmate |
kramoditena vidhinā tasya tuṣyāmi ahaṁ mune ||”
“O great sage! Whoever performs this worship even once with supreme devotion, following the prescribed method, I become fully pleased with him.”
Those whose intelligence remains confined to material conceptions often observe that niṣkiñcana Vaiṣṇavas do not visibly engage in external forms of worship and therefore conclude that such exalted souls neglect Viṣṇu-pūjā or show disrespect toward arcana. But this conclusion is entirely mistaken.
Translator’s Footnotes: The fact is that the worship of such devotees has not ceased, it has deepened. Having transcended gross external vision, they engage in uninterrupted service within the realm of awakened spiritual consciousness. What appears externally as an absence of worship is, in reality, the culmination of worship. Their hearts have become temples, their remembrance has become service, and their every thought is absorbed in direct attendance upon the eternal Śrī Bhagavān, whose presence shines within the purified consciousness of His surrendered servant.
The niṣkiñcana devotees serve the manomayī-arcā through a variety of mental offerings. They daily worship that manomayī form of the Lord with spiritually conceived sandalwood paste, tulasī leaves, incense, lamps, fruits, flowers, and every other article of worship offered within the realm of pure devotional emotion.
Sometimes, however, materially-minded persons who are attached to external ritualistic worship observe that exalted devotees do not outwardly perform such practices as ceremonial bathing, the application of tilaka, and similar observances, and thus they commit offenses at the feet of those devotees. They are unaware of the scriptural conception of mānasa-snāna (mental bathing) and similar internal acts of worship. As the śāstra declares:
dhyānaṁ yan manasā viṣṇor mānasaṁ tat prakīrtitam
“That meditation upon Viṣṇu performed within the mind is known as mānasa-snāna.”
Among the seven kinds of bathing described in the smṛti-śāstras, it is this mental bathing that is recognized as supreme.
Thus it is said:
snānānāṁ mānasaṁ snānaṁ manv-ādaiḥ paramaṁ smṛtam |
kṛtena yena mucyante gṛhasthā api vai dvijāḥ ||
“Among all forms of bathing, the sages headed by Manu have declared mental bathing to be the highest. By performing it, even householding brāhmaṇas become freed from all varieties of impurity and anartha.”
The exclusive devotees of Bhagavān are never bereft of remembrance of Viṣṇu, even for a moment. Therefore they are perpetually bathed and perpetually purified. To judge, from a mundane and external standpoint, that those who constantly engage in Hari-saṅkīrtana are neglectful of bathing and other purificatory rites is to commit offense at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas. For this reason Śrīman Mahāprabhu told Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura:
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi sarva-tīrthe snāna |
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi yajña-tapo-dāna ||
nirantara kara tumi veda-adhyayana |
dvija-nyāsī haite tumi parama-pāvana ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 3.251–252)
“At every moment you bathe in all holy places. At every moment you perform sacrifice, austerity, and charity. Continuously you study the Vedas, and you are more purified than all brāhmaṇas and renunciants.”
The ritual procedures described in such Transcendental smṛti compilations as Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa are primarily intended for pious and affluent household Vaiṣṇavas, not for those great souls who have renounced all worldly possessions and attachments. This is explicitly stated by Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmipāda at the conclusion of Hari-bhakti-vilāsa:
kṛtyāny etāni tu prāyo gṛhiṇāṁ dhanināṁ satām |
likhitāni na tu tyakta-parigraha-mahātmanām ||
ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ |
kurvatāṁ parama-prītyā kṛtyam anyan na rocate ||
“These prescribed observances have been written chiefly for pious householders possessing material resources, not for those great souls who have renounced all possessions. For the exclusive devotees (ekāntinas), who with supreme love constantly engage in the kīrtana and remembrance of the Lord, no other duty is attractive or necessary.”
Thus, for such exalted souls, kīrtana and smaraṇa are themselves the entirety of worship. Through these alone their bhāva-mayī mānasa-sevā, their inward service saturated with divine spiritual emotion is perfectly accomplished. Their worship does not cease when external ritual diminishes; rather, it enters a more profound domain where every breath becomes remembrance, every thought becomes service, and every movement of the heart becomes an offering at the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān.
The worship (arcā-pūjā) performed by So-called Vaiṣṇava whose consciousness remains bound to material perception is gross (sthūla). The mānasa-pūjā of those whose anarthas have become contracted and weakened is subtle (sūkṣma). But the bhāva-sevā of the completely purified souls, the mahā-bhāgavatas and exclusive devotees whose anarthas have been totally eradicated is most subtle (su-sūkṣma), belonging wholly to the realm of transcendental realization.
The worship of Śrī Gaura-Nārāyaṇa at the Yogapīṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, the service of Guru-Gaurāṅga-Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, the service of Dāru-Brahma Śrī Jagannātha upon the shores of the Ratnākara at Nīlācala, and the worship of Śrī Vṛndāvana-candra near Keśī-tīrtha, these manifestations of Śrī Arcā have all appeared solely for the welfare of conditioned souls burdened with anarthas.
Again, in the Krama-sandarbha we encounter an account, cited from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, concerning the mānasa-pūjā of a Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa residing in Pratiṣṭhānapura. There once lived in that city a simple-hearted and impoverished brāhmaṇa. One day, while listening to a gathering of learned brāhmaṇas discussing Vaiṣṇava-dharma, he learned that the practices of Bhāgavata-dharma could be performed even by a person afflicted with extreme poverty.
“gautamīye—sannyāsināṁ mumukṣuṇāṁ mānasopahṛtiḥ param iti.”
“The Gautamīya declares that for sannyāsīs and those aspiring for liberation, mental offerings are supreme.”
He further cites the glory of this practice from the Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra, where Lord Nārāyaṇa says:
“ayaṁ yo mānaso yogo jarā-vyādhi-bhayāpahaḥ...”
“This mental yoga removes the fears of old age, disease, and worldly afflictions.”
And again:
“yaś caitat parayā bhaktyā sakṛt kuryān mahāmate |
kramoditena vidhinā tasya tuṣyāmi ahaṁ mune ||”
“O great sage! Whoever performs this worship even once with supreme devotion, following the prescribed method, I become fully pleased with him.”
Those whose intelligence remains confined to material conceptions often observe that niṣkiñcana Vaiṣṇavas do not visibly engage in external forms of worship and therefore conclude that such exalted souls neglect Viṣṇu-pūjā or show disrespect toward arcana. But this conclusion is entirely mistaken.
Translator’s Footnotes: The fact is that the worship of such devotees has not ceased, it has deepened. Having transcended gross external vision, they engage in uninterrupted service within the realm of awakened spiritual consciousness. What appears externally as an absence of worship is, in reality, the culmination of worship. Their hearts have become temples, their remembrance has become service, and their every thought is absorbed in direct attendance upon the eternal Śrī Bhagavān, whose presence shines within the purified consciousness of His surrendered servant.
The niṣkiñcana devotees serve the manomayī-arcā through a variety of mental offerings. They daily worship that manomayī form of the Lord with spiritually conceived sandalwood paste, tulasī leaves, incense, lamps, fruits, flowers, and every other article of worship offered within the realm of pure devotional emotion.
Sometimes, however, materially-minded persons who are attached to external ritualistic worship observe that exalted devotees do not outwardly perform such practices as ceremonial bathing, the application of tilaka, and similar observances, and thus they commit offenses at the feet of those devotees. They are unaware of the scriptural conception of mānasa-snāna (mental bathing) and similar internal acts of worship. As the śāstra declares:
dhyānaṁ yan manasā viṣṇor mānasaṁ tat prakīrtitam
“That meditation upon Viṣṇu performed within the mind is known as mānasa-snāna.”
Among the seven kinds of bathing described in the smṛti-śāstras, it is this mental bathing that is recognized as supreme.
Thus it is said:
snānānāṁ mānasaṁ snānaṁ manv-ādaiḥ paramaṁ smṛtam |
kṛtena yena mucyante gṛhasthā api vai dvijāḥ ||
“Among all forms of bathing, the sages headed by Manu have declared mental bathing to be the highest. By performing it, even householding brāhmaṇas become freed from all varieties of impurity and anartha.”
The exclusive devotees of Bhagavān are never bereft of remembrance of Viṣṇu, even for a moment. Therefore they are perpetually bathed and perpetually purified. To judge, from a mundane and external standpoint, that those who constantly engage in Hari-saṅkīrtana are neglectful of bathing and other purificatory rites is to commit offense at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas. For this reason Śrīman Mahāprabhu told Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura:
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi sarva-tīrthe snāna |
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi yajña-tapo-dāna ||
nirantara kara tumi veda-adhyayana |
dvija-nyāsī haite tumi parama-pāvana ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 3.251–252)
“At every moment you bathe in all holy places. At every moment you perform sacrifice, austerity, and charity. Continuously you study the Vedas, and you are more purified than all brāhmaṇas and renunciants.”
The ritual procedures described in such Transcendental smṛti compilations as Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa are primarily intended for pious and affluent household Vaiṣṇavas, not for those great souls who have renounced all worldly possessions and attachments. This is explicitly stated by Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmipāda at the conclusion of Hari-bhakti-vilāsa:
kṛtyāny etāni tu prāyo gṛhiṇāṁ dhanināṁ satām |
likhitāni na tu tyakta-parigraha-mahātmanām ||
ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ |
kurvatāṁ parama-prītyā kṛtyam anyan na rocate ||
“These prescribed observances have been written chiefly for pious householders possessing material resources, not for those great souls who have renounced all possessions. For the exclusive devotees (ekāntinas), who with supreme love constantly engage in the kīrtana and remembrance of the Lord, no other duty is attractive or necessary.”
Thus, for such exalted souls, kīrtana and smaraṇa are themselves the entirety of worship. Through these alone their bhāva-mayī mānasa-sevā, their inward service saturated with divine spiritual emotion is perfectly accomplished. Their worship does not cease when external ritual diminishes; rather, it enters a more profound domain where every breath becomes remembrance, every thought becomes service, and every movement of the heart becomes an offering at the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān.
The worship (arcā-pūjā) performed by So-called Vaiṣṇava whose consciousness remains bound to material perception is gross (sthūla). The mānasa-pūjā of those whose anarthas have become contracted and weakened is subtle (sūkṣma). But the bhāva-sevā of the completely purified souls, the mahā-bhāgavatas and exclusive devotees whose anarthas have been totally eradicated is most subtle (su-sūkṣma), belonging wholly to the realm of transcendental realization.
The worship of Śrī Gaura-Nārāyaṇa at the Yogapīṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, the service of Guru-Gaurāṅga-Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, the service of Dāru-Brahma Śrī Jagannātha upon the shores of the Ratnākara at Nīlācala, and the worship of Śrī Vṛndāvana-candra near Keśī-tīrtha, these manifestations of Śrī Arcā have all appeared solely for the welfare of conditioned souls burdened with anarthas.
Again, in the Krama-sandarbha we encounter an account, cited from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, concerning the mānasa-pūjā of a Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa residing in Pratiṣṭhānapura. There once lived in that city a simple-hearted and impoverished brāhmaṇa. One day, while listening to a gathering of learned brāhmaṇas discussing Vaiṣṇava-dharma, he learned that the practices of Bhāgavata-dharma could be performed even by a person afflicted with extreme poverty.
Even one who possessed none of the wealth, resources, or elaborate articles of worship available to prosperous persons could nevertheless worship the Lord through mānasa-pūjā, rendering service unto the Lord’s manomayī-arcā within the mind. Upon hearing this, that poor and simple brāhmaṇa began to perform mānasa-pūjā himself.
Within his mind he gathered magnificent and costly articles of worship worthy of an emperor of emperors and offered them to his beloved Lord. There he constructed a splendid worship far surpassing anything available to him externally. One day a desire arose within his heart to offer to his worshipable Lord a preparation of paramānna (sweet rice richly soaked in clarified butter) served upon a golden plate. Filled with the aspiration to satisfy the senses of Lord Viṣṇu, he mentally prepared that ghee-soaked paramānna with great care and devotion. Then, within his meditation, he placed the offering in a golden vessel and reverently presented it before his cherished Lord.
Thus, although externally destitute and possessing nothing of value in this world, within the kingdom of devotion he became wealthier than kings, for the treasure of loving service offered through a purified mind is accepted directly by Bhagavān Himself.
He became utterly absorbed and immersed in his mānasa-sevā, entering a state of profound spiritual samādhi. All of his senses, being wholly engaged in endeavors meant solely for the pleasure of Śrī Hari, became so deeply occupied in His service that within his service-filled meditation he perceived: “This paramānna is exceedingly hot. Indeed, even my own two thumbs, having come into contact with it, are being burned.”
The brāhmaṇa, whose heart was constantly intent upon seeking only the happiness of Hari, became distressed, thinking: “How shall I offer this excessively hot preparation for the Lord’s enjoyment?”
As this anxiety for the Lord’s comfort interrupted his samādhi, he returned to external awareness and found that even in his outward bodily condition his thumbs had become scorched and were burning from the heat. At that very moment, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha-nātha, seated in Vaikuṇṭha, beheld this extraordinary example of His devotee’s complete absorption in service and began to smile. Seeing Him laugh, Śrī Lakṣmī-devī and the other divine potencies inquired about the cause of His amusement.
Then Vaikuṇṭha-nātha summoned His loving devotee to His own abode by a celestial aerial conveyance and showed the assembled divine energies the devotee’s two thumbs, which had been burned by the heat of the paramānna. Thereafter, granting him eternal service, He established him forever at His own side.
Likewise, when Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifested in the house of Nanda Mahārāja, the countless gifts of cows bestowed at that time also transcended all considerations of the gross material world.
Such is the nature of mānasa-pūjā performed by one who has developed genuine taste (ruci) while following the path of vaidhī-bhakti.
And the mānasa-sevā or bhāva-sevā spoken of in relation to liberated souls upon the path of rāga-mārga is of an entirely different order. It is not merely imaginative worship, nor does it involve any superimposition of thought upon an absent reality. Neither is it interrupted by any discontinuity. Rather, such service is direct service itself.
There, one attains direct vision of Bhagavān, direct contact with Bhagavān, and, within one's own eternally perfected spiritual sentiment (svarūpa-siddha-rasa), renders every variety of transcendental service unto Him.
To persons governed by materialistic, sense-born knowledge (akṣaja-jñāna), such service may appear no different from the gross worship performed by a novice devotee. Examples include: the service of Śrī Gopāla by Śrīla Mādhavendra Purīpāda, the service of Śrī Gopīnātha by Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī, the service of Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara by Dvija Vāṇīnātha at Campāhaṭṭa, and the simple sāttvika service rendered by Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī Prabhu to the Govardhana-śilā bestowed upon him by Śrīman Mahāprabhu.
Within his mind he gathered magnificent and costly articles of worship worthy of an emperor of emperors and offered them to his beloved Lord. There he constructed a splendid worship far surpassing anything available to him externally. One day a desire arose within his heart to offer to his worshipable Lord a preparation of paramānna (sweet rice richly soaked in clarified butter) served upon a golden plate. Filled with the aspiration to satisfy the senses of Lord Viṣṇu, he mentally prepared that ghee-soaked paramānna with great care and devotion. Then, within his meditation, he placed the offering in a golden vessel and reverently presented it before his cherished Lord.
Thus, although externally destitute and possessing nothing of value in this world, within the kingdom of devotion he became wealthier than kings, for the treasure of loving service offered through a purified mind is accepted directly by Bhagavān Himself.
He became utterly absorbed and immersed in his mānasa-sevā, entering a state of profound spiritual samādhi. All of his senses, being wholly engaged in endeavors meant solely for the pleasure of Śrī Hari, became so deeply occupied in His service that within his service-filled meditation he perceived: “This paramānna is exceedingly hot. Indeed, even my own two thumbs, having come into contact with it, are being burned.”
The brāhmaṇa, whose heart was constantly intent upon seeking only the happiness of Hari, became distressed, thinking: “How shall I offer this excessively hot preparation for the Lord’s enjoyment?”
As this anxiety for the Lord’s comfort interrupted his samādhi, he returned to external awareness and found that even in his outward bodily condition his thumbs had become scorched and were burning from the heat. At that very moment, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha-nātha, seated in Vaikuṇṭha, beheld this extraordinary example of His devotee’s complete absorption in service and began to smile. Seeing Him laugh, Śrī Lakṣmī-devī and the other divine potencies inquired about the cause of His amusement.
Then Vaikuṇṭha-nātha summoned His loving devotee to His own abode by a celestial aerial conveyance and showed the assembled divine energies the devotee’s two thumbs, which had been burned by the heat of the paramānna. Thereafter, granting him eternal service, He established him forever at His own side.
Likewise, when Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifested in the house of Nanda Mahārāja, the countless gifts of cows bestowed at that time also transcended all considerations of the gross material world.
Such is the nature of mānasa-pūjā performed by one who has developed genuine taste (ruci) while following the path of vaidhī-bhakti.
And the mānasa-sevā or bhāva-sevā spoken of in relation to liberated souls upon the path of rāga-mārga is of an entirely different order. It is not merely imaginative worship, nor does it involve any superimposition of thought upon an absent reality. Neither is it interrupted by any discontinuity. Rather, such service is direct service itself.
There, one attains direct vision of Bhagavān, direct contact with Bhagavān, and, within one's own eternally perfected spiritual sentiment (svarūpa-siddha-rasa), renders every variety of transcendental service unto Him.
To persons governed by materialistic, sense-born knowledge (akṣaja-jñāna), such service may appear no different from the gross worship performed by a novice devotee. Examples include: the service of Śrī Gopāla by Śrīla Mādhavendra Purīpāda, the service of Śrī Gopīnātha by Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī, the service of Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara by Dvija Vāṇīnātha at Campāhaṭṭa, and the simple sāttvika service rendered by Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī Prabhu to the Govardhana-śilā bestowed upon him by Śrīman Mahāprabhu.
Yet although these services may externally resemble the worship performed by those attached merely to ritualistic arcana, in reality they are nothing but outward manifestations of the devotees’ aṣṭa-kālīya mānasa-sevā. In other words, the eternal services that they perpetually render within the pure realm of Vṛndāvana, in their own eternally perfected spiritual identities (nitya-siddha-svarūpas), become externally visible through such activities.
Similarly, the worship of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda performed on the banks of Kuliyā by the exalted and nishkiñcana Bhāgavata-mahātmā Śrīpāda Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya is also to be understood as belonging to the category of bhāva-sevā.
In all such rāga-mārga bhāva-sevās, and the vaidhī-mārga arcana performed by a conditioned neophyte (kaniṣṭhādhikārī) devotee in the state of material bondage, there exists a difference as vast as that between heaven and the netherworld. If a materialistic devotee imagines the bhāva-sevā of the path of spontaneous devotion to be equivalent to his own ritualistic worship, or if, becoming unlawfully self-willed, he attempts to imitate such rāga-mārga bhāva-sevā, he will inevitably deviate from the path of true welfare.
The service rendered unto Nāma-Brahma by Śrī Bhagavāndāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya of Kānnā may indeed be described as bhāva-mārgīya-sevā. Nevertheless, such a particular mode of service is not generally observed in the lives of the Gosvāmīs or in those of the renounced Gauḍīya devotees who appeared before and after them. Therefore, even when a particular mode of worship is seen in the life of some extraordinary mahājana, it does not necessarily follow that it is meant to be imitated by ordinary persons.
Materialistic persons, or those who are merely Vaiṣṇava-like in external appearance, are often incapable of understanding the aspiration to satisfy Kṛṣṇa’s senses that exists within exalted souls. Consequently, they frequently commit grave offences at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas by arrogantly attempting to force those uttama-bhāgavatas, whose every endeavor is solely for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇārthe akhila-ceṣṭā) and whose only concern is the happiness of divine service, into the narrow confines of their own mental speculations and petty notions of right and wrong.
Some persons of meagre intelligence imagine that by the power of their own reasoning they can thoroughly comprehend, from books and historical accounts, the lives and methods of worship of the previous ācāryas, and then use that understanding as a standard by which to judge genuine mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇavas. Such a mentality is merely a sign of their ill fortune.
The activities of a mahā-bhāgavata, or the conduct of a truly qualified spiritual personality, cannot be grasped by materialistic persons.
abodha, agamya adhikārīra vyavahāra
ihā bai siddhānta nā dekhi kichu āra
The conduct of an exalted adhikārī is inconceivable and inaccessible to ordinary understanding. Beyond this, I see no other conclusion.
adhikārī vaiṣṇavera nā bujhi' vyavahāra
ye jana nindaye, tā'ra nāhika nistāra
One who, failing to understand the conduct of an exalted Vaiṣṇava, criticizes him, has no deliverance.
adhama janera ye ācāra yena dharma
adhikārī vaiṣṇaveo kare sei karma
An act that appears ordinary or even blameworthy when performed by a fallen person may sometimes be performed by an exalted Vaiṣṇava as part of his divine service.
kṛṣṇera kṛpāya ihā jānibāre pāre
e saba saṅkaṭe keha mare, keha tare
Only by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy can one understand these truths. In confronting such matters, some perish, while others successfully cross beyond them.
— Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 10.382, 387–389
The service of an uttama-bhāgavata is svārasikī-sevā , spontaneous service arising from the innate current of his perfected spiritual disposition. Whatever he desires is precisely that which Kṛṣṇa Himself desires. Whatever is pleasing to him is pleasing to Kṛṣṇa, and whatever is displeasing to him is likewise displeasing to Kṛṣṇa. For the movements of such a mahā-bhāgavata's heart and the innermost wish of Kṛṣṇa are strung together upon a single thread.
An exclusive, fully surrendered devotee has merged all his personal desires into the desire of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, whatever is tasteful and agreeable to him is also agreeable to Kṛṣṇa.
When a sense-enjoying person, devoted to gratifying his own senses, says, “I like to eat this particular thing,” or “I desire this object,” such a disposition is properly described as jihvā-lampaṭya (greed of the tongue) or udara-lampaṭya (greed of the belly).
But when an exclusive devotee, out of mercy, reveals to an intimate servant, “I find such-and-such an item pleasing,” it should be understood that Kṛṣṇa Himself has desired that object.
The tasting of sweet rice (kṣīra) by Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpāda and the indulgence of a materialistic sahajiyā who, under the pretense of honoring prasāda, merely nourishes the greed of his tongue, are by no means the same. Frequently, some prākṛta-sahajiyās or persons governed by external, mundane perception, failing to understand the conduct of exalted Vaiṣṇavas, may remark: “These people eat without first offering the food to Bhagavān.” “Unlike me, they do not offer food with tulasī leaves before eating.”
Such statements arise from a mentality that mistakes Tulasī-devī, the eternal, spiritual beloved of Hari, for an ordinary plant or mere leaf. Their conception of a material “tulasī plant” or “tulasī leaf” is entirely different from the actual transcendental reality of Cinmayī Haripriyā Tulasī. Such remarks merely reveal offenses committed at the lotus feet of exalted Vaiṣṇavas by materially inclined sahajiyās.
Yet such persons should remember one important truth. They may enter the temple room, ring bells repeatedly, and recite mantras countless times, but they do not thereby acquire the power to offer anything to Bhagavān. Their materially inclined, enjoyment-seeking senses can never present transcendental foodstuffs before the transcendental Lord. This is what they forget.
For this reason the scriptures prescribe bhūta-śuddhi before arcana. However, until spiritual consciousness (cinmaya-buddhi) awakens through faithful service to the devotee and through following in the footsteps of Bhagavān's devotees, even the practice of bhūta-śuddhi remains merely another variety of ritualistic activity (karmāṅga). Consequently, their elaborate worship with the ṣoḍaśopacāras (the sixteen traditional offerings in arcana) does not truly reach Bhagavān in a direct and living sense.
Only when worship is animated by genuine and awakened disposition of service born from devotion—does it transcend the realm of ritual and become actual service rendered unto the Supreme Lord. For Bhagavān is not attained through mechanical ceremony, but through the surrendered current of pure devotion flowing from the heart of His devotee.
Particularly in the case of such practitioners, there remains at every moment the possibility of committing sevā-aparādha and nāma-aparādha. But the exclusive devotees, whose hearts are wholly dedicated to the pure Holy Name and whose sole aspiration is the joy of rendering service unto Bhagavān, are free from all offense. There exists not even the slightest obstruction within them that could stand between the Sevya (the Lord who is to be served) and the sevaka (the servant).
Therefore, because their current of service is eternally unobstructed, ever-manifest, and effulgently pure, they alone are capable of directly serving Bhagavān in every conceivable manner with all those objects that He truly desires. They alone can directly feed the Lord. Indeed, sometimes, being wholly intent upon discovering what will give pleasure to Kṛṣṇa, they may act like Śrī Godā-devī (Āṇḍāḷ), who would first taste an article before offering it, simply to ascertain whether it would be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Thereafter, she would offer that very article unto Him.
Such devotees possess the qualification for viśrambha-sevā, intimate service founded upon sacred confidence and affection. At times they serve Bhagavān with the mood of a dependent ward (pālya-jñāna), and at other times they render service with their very own limbs and being. Such capacities are found only in these exalted devotees of the Lord.
To the fully surrendered and exclusive devotee, the vision of Īśāvāsyam, the perception that everything is pervaded by and belongs to the Supreme Lord manifests everywhere. Such devotees never assume the role of an independent enjoyer and never accept anything in the mentality of a bhoktā.
Apart from the surrendered devotee, however, all other persons in this world, whether knowingly or unknowingly, whether openly or covertly, remain enjoyers to a greater or lesser degree within this Lord-owned universe (īśāvāsya-jagat). Therefore, except for the exclusive surrendered devotee, everyone else retains some measure of bhoga-buddhi , the mentality of enjoyment in relation to Kṛṣṇa.
The surrendered devotee serves all objects of this world with the understanding that they are Kṛṣṇa-ucchiṣṭa-vastu–articles belonging to Kṛṣṇa and sanctified by their relationship with Him. In contrast, the materialistic sahajiyā, possessing an intelligence contaminated by karma and mundane calculation, imagines that by placing a few leaves of tulasī upon his sense-perceptible offering and momentarily engaging a portion of his enjoyables in the worship of Bhagavān, those very objects may later return to him as fuel for his own enjoyment or as instruments for gratifying the greed of the tongue.
The transcendental Bhāgavata, however, perceives things very differently. He understands that all objects of this world have, from eternity, been designated solely for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses (kṛṣṇendriya-tarpaṇa). In their beginning, middle, and end, they are eternally meant for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment alone. Nothing can exist independently of having first been enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa; indeed, apart from being the remnants of Kṛṣṇa nothing in this world possesses any real existence.
It is only through the distorted vision of vivarta-buddhi that one becomes separated from the understanding that all things are Kṛṣṇa's remnants and develops the mentality of personal enjoyment toward them. The entire system of arcana has therefore been established merely to gradually rescue the conditioned soul from the captivity of this enjoyer’s mentality (bhoga-buddhi).
But those who are perpetually devoted to the service of Hari and are capable of perceiving the true nature of things see otherwise. As it is said:
“yāṅhā nadī dekhe, tāṅhā mānaye kālindī.”
“Wherever they behold a river, they perceive the Yamunā.”
Thus, when they behold excellent fruits upon the trees, pure waters flowing in rivers, blossoming flowers in the forests, or fragrant breezes moving through the gardens, they do not respond as enjoyment-seeking persons do, with the desire to gratify their own senses. Rather, they become joyful and delighted upon seeing all such objects engaged in satisfying Kṛṣṇa’s senses. And with the understanding:
“kṛṣṇera saba śeṣa, bhakta āsvādaya”
“Everything is Kṛṣṇa’s remnant, and the devotee relishes those remnants in the ecstasy of divine love for Kṛṣṇa.
Many people observed in the life of the foremost among paramahaṁsas, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Gaurakiśora Dāsa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, that on numerous occasions he would reject articles known conventionally as “Kṛṣṇa-prasāda,” which had been offered by temple priests with tulasī leaves and mantras, and instead would beg cooked food from the homes of persons socially regarded as low-born such as śvapacas (dog–eaters) and accept that food directly as mahā-prasāda.
Such conduct on the part of a mahā-bhāgavata lies entirely beyond the grasp of material intelligence. From an external perspective, such food may appear highly objectionable. Moreover, according to outward considerations, no tulasī leaves had been offered upon it in the manner expected by materialistic sahajiyās. Therefore they may ask:
“How can such food be accepted, while food formally offered with tulasī and mantras by a brāhmaṇa is rejected?” The prākṛta-sahajiyās will never be able to satisfactorily resolve this question.
Nevertheless, they must understand one fundamental truth: the vigraha, tulasī, and mahā-prasāda apprehended by their material senses and mundane knowledge are entirely different from the transcendental realities of Śrī Vigraha, the sac-cid-ānanda form of Bhagavān manifest as the worshipable Deity; Śrī Tulasī, who delights Mādhava; and Śrī Mahā-prasāda, the conscious, spiritual remnant non-different from Viṣṇu Himself. These realities are completely beyond the jurisdiction of material perception.
Therefore, a conditioned person possesses no capacity to properly understand the conduct of exalted souls. The behavior of great devotees is not to be judged by external standards, ritual formalities, or social conventions. It can be understood only through devotion, through service, and through the mercy that descends from those very souls whose conduct appears so mysterious to mundane vision.
Similarly, the worship of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda performed on the banks of Kuliyā by the exalted and nishkiñcana Bhāgavata-mahātmā Śrīpāda Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya is also to be understood as belonging to the category of bhāva-sevā.
In all such rāga-mārga bhāva-sevās, and the vaidhī-mārga arcana performed by a conditioned neophyte (kaniṣṭhādhikārī) devotee in the state of material bondage, there exists a difference as vast as that between heaven and the netherworld. If a materialistic devotee imagines the bhāva-sevā of the path of spontaneous devotion to be equivalent to his own ritualistic worship, or if, becoming unlawfully self-willed, he attempts to imitate such rāga-mārga bhāva-sevā, he will inevitably deviate from the path of true welfare.
The service rendered unto Nāma-Brahma by Śrī Bhagavāndāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya of Kānnā may indeed be described as bhāva-mārgīya-sevā. Nevertheless, such a particular mode of service is not generally observed in the lives of the Gosvāmīs or in those of the renounced Gauḍīya devotees who appeared before and after them. Therefore, even when a particular mode of worship is seen in the life of some extraordinary mahājana, it does not necessarily follow that it is meant to be imitated by ordinary persons.
Materialistic persons, or those who are merely Vaiṣṇava-like in external appearance, are often incapable of understanding the aspiration to satisfy Kṛṣṇa’s senses that exists within exalted souls. Consequently, they frequently commit grave offences at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas by arrogantly attempting to force those uttama-bhāgavatas, whose every endeavor is solely for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇārthe akhila-ceṣṭā) and whose only concern is the happiness of divine service, into the narrow confines of their own mental speculations and petty notions of right and wrong.
Some persons of meagre intelligence imagine that by the power of their own reasoning they can thoroughly comprehend, from books and historical accounts, the lives and methods of worship of the previous ācāryas, and then use that understanding as a standard by which to judge genuine mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇavas. Such a mentality is merely a sign of their ill fortune.
The activities of a mahā-bhāgavata, or the conduct of a truly qualified spiritual personality, cannot be grasped by materialistic persons.
abodha, agamya adhikārīra vyavahāra
ihā bai siddhānta nā dekhi kichu āra
The conduct of an exalted adhikārī is inconceivable and inaccessible to ordinary understanding. Beyond this, I see no other conclusion.
adhikārī vaiṣṇavera nā bujhi' vyavahāra
ye jana nindaye, tā'ra nāhika nistāra
One who, failing to understand the conduct of an exalted Vaiṣṇava, criticizes him, has no deliverance.
adhama janera ye ācāra yena dharma
adhikārī vaiṣṇaveo kare sei karma
An act that appears ordinary or even blameworthy when performed by a fallen person may sometimes be performed by an exalted Vaiṣṇava as part of his divine service.
kṛṣṇera kṛpāya ihā jānibāre pāre
e saba saṅkaṭe keha mare, keha tare
Only by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy can one understand these truths. In confronting such matters, some perish, while others successfully cross beyond them.
— Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 10.382, 387–389
The service of an uttama-bhāgavata is svārasikī-sevā , spontaneous service arising from the innate current of his perfected spiritual disposition. Whatever he desires is precisely that which Kṛṣṇa Himself desires. Whatever is pleasing to him is pleasing to Kṛṣṇa, and whatever is displeasing to him is likewise displeasing to Kṛṣṇa. For the movements of such a mahā-bhāgavata's heart and the innermost wish of Kṛṣṇa are strung together upon a single thread.
An exclusive, fully surrendered devotee has merged all his personal desires into the desire of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, whatever is tasteful and agreeable to him is also agreeable to Kṛṣṇa.
When a sense-enjoying person, devoted to gratifying his own senses, says, “I like to eat this particular thing,” or “I desire this object,” such a disposition is properly described as jihvā-lampaṭya (greed of the tongue) or udara-lampaṭya (greed of the belly).
But when an exclusive devotee, out of mercy, reveals to an intimate servant, “I find such-and-such an item pleasing,” it should be understood that Kṛṣṇa Himself has desired that object.
The tasting of sweet rice (kṣīra) by Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpāda and the indulgence of a materialistic sahajiyā who, under the pretense of honoring prasāda, merely nourishes the greed of his tongue, are by no means the same. Frequently, some prākṛta-sahajiyās or persons governed by external, mundane perception, failing to understand the conduct of exalted Vaiṣṇavas, may remark: “These people eat without first offering the food to Bhagavān.” “Unlike me, they do not offer food with tulasī leaves before eating.”
Such statements arise from a mentality that mistakes Tulasī-devī, the eternal, spiritual beloved of Hari, for an ordinary plant or mere leaf. Their conception of a material “tulasī plant” or “tulasī leaf” is entirely different from the actual transcendental reality of Cinmayī Haripriyā Tulasī. Such remarks merely reveal offenses committed at the lotus feet of exalted Vaiṣṇavas by materially inclined sahajiyās.
Yet such persons should remember one important truth. They may enter the temple room, ring bells repeatedly, and recite mantras countless times, but they do not thereby acquire the power to offer anything to Bhagavān. Their materially inclined, enjoyment-seeking senses can never present transcendental foodstuffs before the transcendental Lord. This is what they forget.
For this reason the scriptures prescribe bhūta-śuddhi before arcana. However, until spiritual consciousness (cinmaya-buddhi) awakens through faithful service to the devotee and through following in the footsteps of Bhagavān's devotees, even the practice of bhūta-śuddhi remains merely another variety of ritualistic activity (karmāṅga). Consequently, their elaborate worship with the ṣoḍaśopacāras (the sixteen traditional offerings in arcana) does not truly reach Bhagavān in a direct and living sense.
Only when worship is animated by genuine and awakened disposition of service born from devotion—does it transcend the realm of ritual and become actual service rendered unto the Supreme Lord. For Bhagavān is not attained through mechanical ceremony, but through the surrendered current of pure devotion flowing from the heart of His devotee.
Particularly in the case of such practitioners, there remains at every moment the possibility of committing sevā-aparādha and nāma-aparādha. But the exclusive devotees, whose hearts are wholly dedicated to the pure Holy Name and whose sole aspiration is the joy of rendering service unto Bhagavān, are free from all offense. There exists not even the slightest obstruction within them that could stand between the Sevya (the Lord who is to be served) and the sevaka (the servant).
Therefore, because their current of service is eternally unobstructed, ever-manifest, and effulgently pure, they alone are capable of directly serving Bhagavān in every conceivable manner with all those objects that He truly desires. They alone can directly feed the Lord. Indeed, sometimes, being wholly intent upon discovering what will give pleasure to Kṛṣṇa, they may act like Śrī Godā-devī (Āṇḍāḷ), who would first taste an article before offering it, simply to ascertain whether it would be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Thereafter, she would offer that very article unto Him.
Such devotees possess the qualification for viśrambha-sevā, intimate service founded upon sacred confidence and affection. At times they serve Bhagavān with the mood of a dependent ward (pālya-jñāna), and at other times they render service with their very own limbs and being. Such capacities are found only in these exalted devotees of the Lord.
To the fully surrendered and exclusive devotee, the vision of Īśāvāsyam, the perception that everything is pervaded by and belongs to the Supreme Lord manifests everywhere. Such devotees never assume the role of an independent enjoyer and never accept anything in the mentality of a bhoktā.
Apart from the surrendered devotee, however, all other persons in this world, whether knowingly or unknowingly, whether openly or covertly, remain enjoyers to a greater or lesser degree within this Lord-owned universe (īśāvāsya-jagat). Therefore, except for the exclusive surrendered devotee, everyone else retains some measure of bhoga-buddhi , the mentality of enjoyment in relation to Kṛṣṇa.
The surrendered devotee serves all objects of this world with the understanding that they are Kṛṣṇa-ucchiṣṭa-vastu–articles belonging to Kṛṣṇa and sanctified by their relationship with Him. In contrast, the materialistic sahajiyā, possessing an intelligence contaminated by karma and mundane calculation, imagines that by placing a few leaves of tulasī upon his sense-perceptible offering and momentarily engaging a portion of his enjoyables in the worship of Bhagavān, those very objects may later return to him as fuel for his own enjoyment or as instruments for gratifying the greed of the tongue.
The transcendental Bhāgavata, however, perceives things very differently. He understands that all objects of this world have, from eternity, been designated solely for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses (kṛṣṇendriya-tarpaṇa). In their beginning, middle, and end, they are eternally meant for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment alone. Nothing can exist independently of having first been enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa; indeed, apart from being the remnants of Kṛṣṇa nothing in this world possesses any real existence.
It is only through the distorted vision of vivarta-buddhi that one becomes separated from the understanding that all things are Kṛṣṇa's remnants and develops the mentality of personal enjoyment toward them. The entire system of arcana has therefore been established merely to gradually rescue the conditioned soul from the captivity of this enjoyer’s mentality (bhoga-buddhi).
But those who are perpetually devoted to the service of Hari and are capable of perceiving the true nature of things see otherwise. As it is said:
“yāṅhā nadī dekhe, tāṅhā mānaye kālindī.”
“Wherever they behold a river, they perceive the Yamunā.”
Thus, when they behold excellent fruits upon the trees, pure waters flowing in rivers, blossoming flowers in the forests, or fragrant breezes moving through the gardens, they do not respond as enjoyment-seeking persons do, with the desire to gratify their own senses. Rather, they become joyful and delighted upon seeing all such objects engaged in satisfying Kṛṣṇa’s senses. And with the understanding:
“kṛṣṇera saba śeṣa, bhakta āsvādaya”
“Everything is Kṛṣṇa’s remnant, and the devotee relishes those remnants in the ecstasy of divine love for Kṛṣṇa.
Many people observed in the life of the foremost among paramahaṁsas, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Gaurakiśora Dāsa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, that on numerous occasions he would reject articles known conventionally as “Kṛṣṇa-prasāda,” which had been offered by temple priests with tulasī leaves and mantras, and instead would beg cooked food from the homes of persons socially regarded as low-born such as śvapacas (dog–eaters) and accept that food directly as mahā-prasāda.
Such conduct on the part of a mahā-bhāgavata lies entirely beyond the grasp of material intelligence. From an external perspective, such food may appear highly objectionable. Moreover, according to outward considerations, no tulasī leaves had been offered upon it in the manner expected by materialistic sahajiyās. Therefore they may ask:
“How can such food be accepted, while food formally offered with tulasī and mantras by a brāhmaṇa is rejected?” The prākṛta-sahajiyās will never be able to satisfactorily resolve this question.
Nevertheless, they must understand one fundamental truth: the vigraha, tulasī, and mahā-prasāda apprehended by their material senses and mundane knowledge are entirely different from the transcendental realities of Śrī Vigraha, the sac-cid-ānanda form of Bhagavān manifest as the worshipable Deity; Śrī Tulasī, who delights Mādhava; and Śrī Mahā-prasāda, the conscious, spiritual remnant non-different from Viṣṇu Himself. These realities are completely beyond the jurisdiction of material perception.
Therefore, a conditioned person possesses no capacity to properly understand the conduct of exalted souls. The behavior of great devotees is not to be judged by external standards, ritual formalities, or social conventions. It can be understood only through devotion, through service, and through the mercy that descends from those very souls whose conduct appears so mysterious to mundane vision.
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