kṛṣṇa-lÄ«lÄ amá¹›ta-sÄra, tÄra Å›ata Å›ata dhÄra,
daÅ›a-dike vahe yÄhÄ haite
se caitanya-lÄ«lÄ haya, sarovara aká¹£aya,
mano-haá¹sa carÄha' tÄhÄte
kṛṣṇa-lÄ«lÄ amá¹›ta-sÄra - the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are the essence of all eternal bliss; tÄra Å›ata Å›ata dhÄra - the flow of that eternal bliss is running in hundreds of branches; daÅ›a-dike - in all the ten directions; vahe - flows; yÄhÄ haite - from which; se - those; caitanya-lÄ«lÄ - pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; haya - are; sarovara aká¹£aya - a transcendental eternal lake; manaḥ-haá¹sa - my mind, which is like a swan; carÄha' - please wander; tÄhÄte - in that lake.
The pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are the essence of all nectar, and that nectar is flowing in hundreds of rivers in all directions. The pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu are an eternal reservoir, and one is advised to let his mind swim like a swan on this transcendental lake.
The essence of spiritual knowledge is found in the pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, which are identical with the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of knowledge. If knowledge does not include the understanding of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and Kṛṣṇa, it is simply superfluous. By ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s grace, the nectar of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is flowing in different directions in hundreds and thousands of rivers. One should not think that the pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu are different from Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. It is said, Å›rÄ«-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rÄdhÄ-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: “Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu is a combination of RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa.†Thus without understanding the pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, one cannot understand RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa. ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura therefore sings, rÅ«pa-raghunÄtha-pade haibe Äkuti/ kabe hÄma bujhaba se yugala pirÄ«ti: “When shall I become very eager to study the books left by the six GosvÄmÄ«s? Then I shall be able to understand the conjugal pastimes of RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa.†Caitanya MahÄprabhu directly empowered ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«. Following in their footsteps, the other GosvÄmÄ«s understood ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and His mission. One should understand ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa from the six GosvÄmÄ«s in the paramparÄ system. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is following as strictly as possible in the footsteps of the GosvÄmÄ«s. Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura says, ei chaya gosÄñi yÄá¹…ra, mui tÄá¹…ra dÄsa: “I am the servant of the six GosvÄmÄ«s.†The philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to become the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord. Whoever wants to understand the difficult subject matter of kṛṣṇa-kathÄ should accept the disciplic succession. If one is somehow or other able to understand Kṛṣṇa, his life is successful. TyaktvÄ dehaá¹ punar janma naiti mÄm eti so ’rjuna. A perfect devotee is able to understand Kṛṣṇa through the disciplic succession, and his entrance into the kingdom of God is thereby certainly opened. When one understands Kṛṣṇa, there is no difficulty in transferring oneself to the spiritual kingdom.
