namaskÄra kaila rÄya, prabhu kaila Äliá¹…gane
dui jane kṛṣṇa-kathÄ kaya rahaḥ-sthÄne
namaskÄra - obeisances; kaila - offered; rÄya - RÄmÄnanda RÄya; prabhu - Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; kaila - did; Äliá¹…gane - embracing; dui - two; jane - the persons; kṛṣṇa-kathÄ - talks about Kṛṣṇa; kaya - discussed; rahaḥ-sthÄne - in a secluded place.
The word rahaḥ-sthÄne, “in a secluded place,†is very significant. Talks about Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes — especially His pastimes in Vá¹›ndÄvana and His dealings with the gopÄ«s — are all very confidential. They are not subject matter for public discussion because those who have no understanding of the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes always commit great offenses, thinking Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary human being and the gopÄ«s ordinary girls. Following the principle of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who never discussed the dealings between Kṛṣṇa and the gopÄ«s publicly, devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are enjoined not to discuss the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vá¹›ndÄvana in public. For the general public, saá¹…kÄ«rtana is the most effective method to awaken Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If possible, one should discuss the principles enunciated in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu followed this principle very strictly and discussed the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ with learned scholars like SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya and PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ«. However, He taught the principles of the bhakti cult to students like SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« and RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, and He discussed with ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya the topmost devotional dealings between Kṛṣṇa and the gopÄ«s. For the general populace, He performed saá¹…kÄ«rtana very vigorously. We must also follow these principles in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world.