Santoṣa: "In a temple of jewels in Vrndavana, underneath a desire tree, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my humble obeisances unto Them."

Prabhupada:

divyad-vrndaraṇya-kalpa-drumadhah-
srimad-ratnagara-siṁhasana-sthau
srimad-radha-srila-govinda-devau
preṣṭalibhiḥ; sevyamanau smarami
[Cc. Adi 1.16]

So, description of Vrndavana, Vrndavana and Radha and Krṣṇa situated there. The Vrndavana... Vana means forest, and vrnda means tulasi. Mostly there are tulasi plants and other trees also, but all the trees are living desire trees, spiritual. They can serve Krṣṇa in any way, desire. They have become trees by their voluntary desire. They're all spiritual beings—there is no force—but everyone has got a particular tendency to serve Krṣṇa in a different way. So these trees and plants, they are also living beings. They are not ordinary living beings, but they have decided to serve Krṣṇa by supplying fruits and flowers. They want that service. Everyone has got his particular propensity. So someone is serving as the land there, someone is serving as the throne, someone is serving as the supplying agent of fruits and flowers, someone is engaged in His service as the gopis, confidential servitors. The cows, calves, everything—they are all different living entities. They are not made of these material things, material body. Ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis tabhir ya eva nija-rupataya kalabhiḥ; [Bs. 5.37]. They are all also expansion of Krṣṇa's pleasure potency. In one sense they are also Krṣṇa; they are not different from Krṣṇa. Sakti-saktimatayor abheda: "The power and the powerful, they are not different, identical." Just like the sun and the sunshine. So in the sun globe there is heat and light, and the sunshine, there is heat and light. So, so far heat and light is concerned, they are one. Similarly, Krṣṇa and Krṣṇa's pleasure potency, ananda-cinmaya, ahladini... It is already described, radha krṣṇa-praṇaya-vikrtir hladini-saktir asmat.

So whatever description is there of Vrndavana, that is expansion of Krṣṇa's pleasure potency. They are not different. Therefore in the beginning it is said, divyad, "shining," or "divine," "transcendental." So we should not consider Vrndavana as ordinary forest. Here we have got Vrndavana on this planet. That is also not ordinary forest. The exactly the same Vrndavana as it is Goloka Vrndavana... There is no difference. Therefore Narottama dasa Ṭhakura says that

viṣaya chaḍiya kabe suddha ha 'be mana
kabe hama herabo, sri-vrndavana

Viṣaya chaḍiya. Our present position is that we are materially diseased, so we have to become free from the material disease. Material disease means sense gratification, and the most formidable disease is sex. This is called material disease. So viṣaya chaḍiya. We have to be, become free from the contamination of viṣaya, material enjoyment. This is the statement of Narottama dasa Ṭhakura.

viṣaya chaḍiya kabe suddha ha 'be mana
kabe hama herabo sri-vrndavana

"When my mind will be cleansed of all material desires, then I shall be able to see what is Vrndavana." It is very difficult to see Vrndavana with material desires. Bhakti means the first qualification is to become free from all material desires. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam.

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrṣikena hrṣikesa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

anyabhilaṣita-sunyaṁ
jñana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krṣṇanu-
silanaṁ bhaktir uttama
[Brs. 1.1.11]

You know all these definition of bhakti given in our Nectar of Devotion. So spiritual life means free from material desires. And material desires mean just to hanker after sense gratification. This is material desire. When we have no more desire for sense gratification, then we should think that we are on the spiritual platform.

So this description of Vrndavana is spiritually described; therefore in the beginning the word is used, divyad. Divyad means divine. Krṣṇa says, janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. This is not ordinary material thing. So desire tree also described in the Brahma-saṁhita: Cintamaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrkṣa [Bs. 5.29]—the same kalpa-vrkṣa-lakṣavrteṣu surabhir abhipalayantam, lakṣmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam. This lakṣmi-sahasra-sata-sevyamanam is described here as preṣṭhalibhiḥ; sevyamanau. Preṣṭha-alibhiḥ;. Preṣṭha means very dear, and ali means gopis, associates of Radharaṇi, friends. So they are all Lakṣmis, goddess of fortune. Lakṣmi... You have heard the name Lakṣmi, Lakṣmi-Narayaṇa, associates of Narayaṇa. Krṣṇa is Narayaṇa. So all these gopis, they are expansion of Srimati Radharaṇi, the original Lakṣmi. This is spiritual world. It is not impersonal, neither nirakara, formless. Everything form, but that form is different from this form. That form is sat-cid-ananda form—eternal, full of bliss, full of knowledge. This is not this material form. When we speak of formless, that means without any material form. Formless does not mean Krṣṇa and His expansion, they are formless. They are not of material form. Aprakrta, not material. Here everything is prakrta. It is not, neither, eternal nor blissful nor full of knowledge. It is temporary, full of ignorance and always miserable, this form. We can understand it.

So that is just opposite. This form is temporary. Everyone knows this form will be finished. Antavanta ime deha [Bg. 2.18], Krṣṇa says. This body is antavat. Antavat means it will be finished. It grew at a certain date, and it will increase, it will stay, then it will dwindle, then it will produce some by-products and then vanish. This is called ṣaḍ-vikara, six kinds of changes of the material body. Of the spiritual body there is no such change. That is the difference between spiritual body and material body. Therefore it is called sat. Sat means eternal; there is no change. Just like Krṣṇa. His body is sac-cid-ananda; therefore He never grows old. You'll never find a picture of Krṣṇa that He has grown old. No. There is no change. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyaṁ puraṇa-puruṣam [Bs. 5.33]. Puraṇa-puruṣam means the oldest person. Because Krṣṇa is the origin of everything... Sometimes they consider, "Because God is very old, therefore He must have big, big beard and..." That is imagination. Here you find the real description of God: advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam [Bs. 5.33], "Original," Puraṇa-puruṣam, "the oldest of all," nava-yauvanaṁ ca, "but His bodily feature is just like a fresh young man." That is Krṣṇa. You'll never find Krṣṇa... Krṣṇa, when He was in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, He was a great-grandfather, but you'll find a young boy. That is Krṣṇa. So that is eternal.

Now our body is not sat. Krṣṇa's body is sat, cid, ananda. Our, this material body—asat. And because we have got... Asat means temporary, that will not exist. And because we have accepted this material body, therefore we are full of anxiety. Ultimately, what is our anxiety? We are always trying to... This is called struggle for existence, survival of the fittest. So we are trying to become the fittest, to exist. But that is not possible in this body. That is not possible, because it is asat; it is not sat. And because the struggle is that we want to exist in this body, therefore there is anxiety. Asad-grahat sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat [SB 7.5.5]. The sastra says that we are always full of anxieties. Why? Now, asad-grahat: "We have accepted this body, which will not exist." Asad-grahat. These are facts. Study sastra in that way. Why we are full of anxiety? Because we have accepted this body. So our main business is how to get out of this entanglement of this temporary body. The people are not very seriously thinking, neither they have got sufficient knowledge how the temporary body is obtained, how it is changed, another temporary body, and there are 8,400,000 different forms of body, and we are changing one after another. Why this disease? "If I am, my position is, as I understand from Bhagavad-gita, na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]—I am not destroyed after the destruction of this body—why I am in this position that I have to change my body?" Tatha dehantara-praptiḥ; [Bg. 2.13]. This is intelligence. When you come to this intelligence, then athato brahma jijñasa; then the inquiry about spiritual life begins. But unfortunately, we are in such a civilization that we have no time to think of this great dangerous position of changing body one after another, and we have accepted it that "There is no remedy; we have to change or die for good." These theories, this ignorance, is going on, and Krṣṇa consciousness movement is the only movement which is trying to educate man to this standard of knowledge, that he may at least think that "I am not this body, as I understand from the sastras. I am within the body. So how I can become free of this material body?" That is our real problem. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duḥ;kha-doṣanudarsanam [Bg. 13.9].

So if we take it very seriously, then we become gradually advanced and eligible or fit candidate to go into the spiritual world—divyad-vrndaraṇya-kalpa-drumadhaḥ;. We can go there. That is wanted. Be serious. Don't be misled by the allurement of maya. Remain strong. And then, in this life, you'll be able to become fit candidate to go back to home, back to Godhead. Divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadhaḥ;. You'll also be one of the associates of Krṣṇa, as you desire. Krṣṇa will give you the opportunity to serve Him as you desire. If you want to serve Him as a gopi, you'll get that position. If you want to serve Him as cowherds boyfriend, you'll get that opportunity. If you want to serve Krṣṇa following the footsteps of mother Yasoda, accepting Krṣṇa as your son, you'll get it. Accepting Krṣṇa as your son, Nanda Maharaja following... We have to follow their principles, not that "I shall become Nanda Maharaja" or "I shall become Yasoda," "I shall..." No, that is Mayavada. You have to follow how they are loving Krṣṇa. You have to learn that. Then you'll get the chance of Krṣṇa's association.

Divyad-vrndaraṇya-kalpa-drumadhaḥ;, preṣṭalibhiḥ; sevyamanau smarami. The Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava, generally, following the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they aspire to become one of the assistants of the gopis. There are others also who like to be the assistants of the cowherd boys. So our Gosvamis, Rupa Gosvami, sri rupa sanatana bhaṭṭa raghunatha, they were all the assistants of the gopis. Gopi-bhava-rasamrtabdhi-lahari-kallola-magnau muhur vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. These six Gosvamis, rupa sanatana bhaṭṭa raghunatha sri jiva gopala bhaṭṭa dasa raghunatha, they were all very, very big men, not ordinary men—ministers, zamindars, learned scholars. They were not ordinary men. And they gave up everything. Tyaktva turṇam aseṣa-maṇḍala-pati-sreṇiṁ sada tucchavat. Just like Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, he was, they were ministers in the government of Hussain Shah. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was the only son of his father and uncle, very, very big zamindar, landholder. Twelve lakhs of rupees' income. Five hundred years twelve lakhs—twelve crores now. He was so rich man. Similarly, Gopala Bhaṭṭa Gosvami, Srila Jiva Gosvami, they were very, very learned. Jiva Gosvami was the nephew of Rupa Gosvami, very learned scholar. So either scholar, rich men, big politician—all of them gave up their occupational, material occupational duty and joined Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His saṅkirtana movement. So they were always absorbed in the gopis' activities, always thinking. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was always thinking of Srimati Radharaṇi's activities, and the Gosvamis, they were also thinking of the gopis' activities. Gopis' activities means to assist Srimad-Radharaṇi how to serve Krṣṇa. Preṣṭalibhiḥ; sevyamanau. They are always ready.

So in this way there is the description of the spiritual world. You just have a glimpse of the spiritual world, how they are perpetually enjoying blissful life with full knowledge. That is described here. Divyad-vrndaraṇya-kalpa-drumadhah-srimad ratnagara-siṁhasana-sthau. There the siṁhasana, the throne, that is also spiritual. That is not material. Everything spiritual. Simply in different capacity they are serving. There the water is also spiritual. So this spiritual realization, if we get the opportunity fortunate enough, then naturally we shall aspire to enter into the spiritual world. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura said, krṣṇera saṁsara kara chaḍi' anacara: "If you want to enter into this association of spiritual kingdom, then practice here the family of Krṣṇa." Just like here we are trying to be family members of Krṣṇa. Here Krṣṇa is sitting, Radha-Madhava is sitting on the throne. He is the enjoyer, and we are trying to serve Him so that He may very nicely enjoy. This is called Krṣṇa family-center, Krṣṇa. Just like in ordinary family the head man is there, and he is the chief man, and all other—his wife, children, servants, and other friends, associates, even animals, cats, dogs, cows—everyone is serving the center point, master. Similarly, our Krṣṇa family means Krṣṇa is the master, and He is the supreme enjoyer. Bhoktaraṁ yajña-tapasaṁ sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. And if we understand this point, that Krṣṇa is the center, He is the enjoyer, and we are meant for serving Him for His enjoyment, that is Krṣṇa family.

So we have to, according to the sastric injunction, according to the spiritual master instruction, everywhere we have to organize this Krṣṇa family. So Krṣṇa family does not mean starvation. Krṣṇa family means to enjoy simply. Simply minus this material contamination. Chaḍi anacara. Anacara. Anacara means not proper behavior. Proper behavior means to remain always pious, and improper behavior means to become impious, sinful. If you become sinful, then you cannot enter into the family of Krṣṇa; that is not possible. Krṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad-gita by Arjuna—paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhama pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. Pavitra. Pavitra means pure, completely pure, without any material contamination. So if you want to enter into Krṣṇa's family, then you have to become also completely pure. Otherwise, there is no chance. Completely pure of all material contamination. That can be done when we give up our designations. That can be done. If I think, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brahmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya," "I am vaisya," "I am white," "I am black," these are upadhi, designations. And if we think like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that "I am not this, I am not a brahmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaisya, I am not a sudra, I am not a brahmacari, I am not a..., not, not this, not this..." Then what you are? Gopi-bhartuḥ; pada-kamalayor' dasa-dasa-dasanudasaḥ;: [Cc. Madhya 13.80] "I am simply servant of the servant of Krṣṇa." That is sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Then you'll remain pure. And as soon as you will think in the bodily concept of life, then you will remain impure. This is the process how to give up this bodily concept of life. That is called sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam.

So in this way, in one life we may practice how to become free from this material contamination and execute devotional service as it is prescribed in the sastra and by the instruction of spiritual master. If we keep ourself pure without material contamination, then we become fit to enter into the family of Krṣṇa. This is the process.

Thank you very much