prabhu kahe, — "vá¹›ddha ha-ilÄ 'saá¹…khyÄ' alpa kara
siddha-deha tumi, sÄdhane Ägraha kene kara?
prabhu kahe - Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu said; vá¹›ddha ha-ilÄ - you have become old; saá¹…khyÄ alpa kara - reduce your number; siddha-deha tumi - you are already liberated; sÄdhane - in the regulative principles; Ägraha kene kara - why are you eager.
“Now that you have become old,†the Lord said, “you may reduce the number of rounds you chant daily. You are already liberated, and therefore you need not follow the regulative principles very strictly.
Unless one has come to the platform of spontaneous love of God, he must follow the regulative principles. ṬhÄkura HaridÄsa was the living example of how to follow the regulative principles. Similarly, RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ« was also such a living example. In the á¹¢aá¸-gosvÄmy-aá¹£á¹aka it is stated, saá¹…khyÄ-pÅ«rvaka-nÄma-gÄna-natibhiḥ kÄlÄvasÄnÄ«-ká¹›tau. The GosvÄmÄ«s, especially RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ«, strictly followed all the regulative principles. The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra loudly enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds. Not only was RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ« chanting a fixed number of rounds, but he had also taken a vow to bow down many times and offer obeisances to the Lord.
