dvÄdaÅ›a vatsara Å›eá¹£a rahilÄ nÄ«lÄcale
premÄvasthÄ Å›ikhÄilÄ ÄsvÄdana-cchale
dvÄdaÅ›a - twelve; vatsara - years; Å›eá¹£a - balance; rahilÄ - remained; nÄ«lÄcale - at JagannÄtha PurÄ«; prema-avasthÄ - a state of ecstasy; Å›ikhÄilÄ - instructed everyone; ÄsvÄdana-chale - under the plea of tasting it Himself.
For the remaining twelve years He stayed in JagannÄtha PurÄ«, He taught everyone how to taste the transcendental mellow ecstasy of love of Kṛṣṇa by tasting it Himself.
A person who is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness always feels separation from Kṛṣṇa because such a feeling of separation excels the feeling of meeting Kṛṣṇa. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, in His last twelve years of existence within this world at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, taught the people of the world how, with a feeling of separation, one can develop His dormant love of Kṛṣṇa. Such feelings of separation or meeting with Kṛṣṇa are different stages of love of Godhead. These feelings develop in time when a person seriously engages in devotional service. The highest stage is called prema-bhakti, but this stage is attained by executing sÄdhana-bhakti. One should not try to elevate himself artificially to the stage of prema-bhakti without seriously following the regulative principles of sÄdhana-bhakti. Prema-bhakti is the stage of relishing, whereas sÄdhana-bhakti is the stage of improving in devotional service. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu taught this cult of devotional service in full detail by practical application in His own life. It is said, therefore, Äpani Äcari’ bhakti Å›ikhÄimu sabÄre. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and in the role of a kṛṣṇa-bhakta, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, He instructed the entire world how one can execute devotional service and thus go back home, back to Godhead, in due course of time.
