A Garland of the Holy Name and Prema

Only bona fide chanters were admitted. Others could not gain entrance. Bona fide chanters are those who can utter the pure name and who can taste the nectarean mellow emanating from the pure name. That is prema-nama. The name has an adjective with it. It is not mere nama-sankirtana, but prema-nama-sankirtana. Prema is an adjective modifying nama. So those who can do prema- nama-sankirtana are bona fide chanters and only such chanters were allowed to take part in Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic sankirtana.

On His return from Gaya, Mahaprabhu started the mission for which He had appeared—to give Krsna-prema.

namo maha-vadanyaya Krsna-prema-pradaya te

Krsnaya Krsna-caitanya- namne gaura-tvise namah

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Krsna Himself appearing as Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati RadharaNi, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krsna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

Mahaprabhu is the most munificent incarnation because He gives Krsna-prema. No one else gives Krsna-prema. No avatara gives prema. Even when Krsna comes in His own svarupa, He never gives it. He keeps it hidden. But when Krsna comes in the form of Gaura, He distributes it indiscriminately to one and all:

sei dvare acandale kirtana sancare

nama-prema-mala ganthi’ paraila sa sare

“Thus Mahaprabhu spread kirtana even among the untouchables. He wove a wreath of the holy name and prema with which He garlanded the entire material world.” (Cc. ndi 4.40)

The holy name and prema are woven together into a garland. That is nama-prema-mala. Gauranga Mahaprabhu made such a garland and garlanded the entire material world. So one should ask himself, “Am I garlanded? No, I am not. The entire world is garlanded, so why am I left out? Am I not within the world? When Mahaprabhu was garlanding everyone in this material world, where was I?”

“Oh, you were sleeping at that time. You were not awake.”One who sleeps will lose his share. His share will be distributed. Finished. Such fools we are!

Union And Separation

We should understand this nama-prema-mala. Mahaprabhu is the combined form of Rasaraja Krsna and Mahabhava-mayi Radha. Krsna is srngara-rasaraja, the King of conjugal mellows, and RadharaNi is Madanakhya Mahabhava-mayi, the personification of mahabhava. Combination means union, so why does Mahaprabhu feel such acute pangs of separation from Krsna? These two are combined, union is there. So why does He still feel separation? This is the question.

Srimati RadharaNi is always crying and feeling the acute pangs of separation from Krsna. That is vipralambha-bhava. In Sanskrit, union is called sambhoga and separation is called vipralambha. So Gaura is the combination of union and separation—sambhoga and vipralambha. Union is opposite to separation, and Mahaprabhu is the combination of both union and separation. That means two opposites are there in one container. That is Gaura. This Gaura-tattva is a very deep tattva.

When there is union between Radha and Krsna there is some relishment of mellow and pleasure, milanananda. But when separation comes, They feel the acute pangs of separation, and They cry. Feeling the acute pangs of separation from Krsna, RadharaNi cries. And that is predominating in Mahaprabhu because He has accepted the mood of RadharaNi, radha-bhava. Radha-bhava means vipralambha-bhava. Although there is union of the two bhavas, the mood of separation is predominating. So, because radha-bhava is predominating, Mahaprabhu is always crying in separation from Krsna. This is mentioned by Kaviraja Gosvami,

radhikara bhava yaiche uddhava-darsane sei bhava matta prabhu rahe ratri-dine

“Just as Radhika went mad at the sight of Uddhava, so Lord Caitanya was obsessed day and night with the madness of separation.” (Cc. ndi 4.108)

Topmost Platform

Once Krsna sent Uddhava from Mathura to Vrajabhumi. He gave him a message of love and told him, “The vrajavasis are feeling the acute pangs of separation from Me. They are all dying. Dear Uddhava, deliver My message of love and console them.”

When Uddhava came to Vrajabhumi he met Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda-mata. Then he went to meet the gopis. All the gopis, headed by RadharaNi, were constantly crying in separation from Krsna. Their bodies had become skinny; they had given up eating and sleeping. They were completely mad after Krsna. Every place they went and everything they saw reminded them of Krsna-lila. “Yes, Krsna enjoyed this pastime here.” In this way, they were always thinking of Krsna. This is vipralambha-bhava, the topmost platform in loving affairs.

When Uddhava saw their condition, he could not say anything. “What shall I say? They have such love for Krsna.” Uddhava has not a tinge of such love. Uddhava was a jnani-bhakta, not a premi-bhakta. When jnana is there, prema is absent. Jnana is dry, whereas prema is full of mellow. The gopis asked, “O Uddhava, have you come from Krsna? You are His friend and messenger.

Has your master, Krsna, sent you here from Mathura? O Uddhava, we have developed love for your master. Our pure, spotless love has no tinge of lust or other desires. We are not expecting anything in return. Such is the love we have developed.”

This is known as sadhya-priti. In English, sadhana is called the means and sadhya is called the end. Nama-bhajana, the chanting of the holy name, is the sadhana, and prema is the sadhya. So what is the purpose of our chanting Hare Krsna? The purpose is to get prema. That is sadhya, the end. If we cannot have it, then what is the value of our bhajana? Similarly, the love of the gopis is called sadhya-priti because it is pure love only, nothing else.

“Tell Us Uddhava!”

When there is no tinge of other desires, do you think that such love is one-sided? When the question of love arises, there are two sides—lover and beloved, the object of love and the abode of love. Krsna is the object of love, and the gopis, headed by RadharaNi, are the abode of love. Because there are two sides there is a loving reciprocation. It is not one-sided.

The gopis said, “We have developed love toward your master, and Krsna has also developed love for us. It is not one-sided, there are two sides. So please tell us, O Uddhava. We have no desire at all; this is pure love. We are not expecting any return from Krsna. It is not that we love Krsna to get something in return. Our love is causeless. So why did such cheating come? Why? Tell us, Uddhava, O messenger from Krsna!”

They asked this question: “Why are we now dying, feeling such great heat of separation. Tell us! Tell us! Is your master such a great cheater, a pretender? Was He only pretending with us? We have heard that where there is such pure love there is no cheating, no question of separation. So tell us, Uddhava. You are His friend. You are His messenger now. Krsna is rasika—He enjoys mellows.

He is srngara-rasaraja, the King of conjugal mellow. So you are His sakha, His friend. If you are a rasika-jana, then you can answer our question. But if you are not rasika—virasika—then you cannot answer our question.”

Uddhava is a disciple of Brhaspati, so he is a jnani-bhakta. He is a great paNdita, but he is not rasika. Jnana means dry; there is no mellow. “We think you are a great paNdita, but you cannot give an answer to our question. Therefore, we understand that although you may be a great scholar, you have no knowledge of rasa-sastra. You are completely ignorant of it, anabhijna.”

More Painful

“All right, Uddhava. Hear our words. We are very much afflicted and distressed by our separation from your master, Krsna. But we are more distressed to think that such a stain came to this pure love affair. Why has such a stain come to a love that has no cause? That gives us much more pain, because in our love there is nothing artificial. It is pure and quite natural. When there is some artificial love it is to be expected, but our love is pure. So why did such separation come? It is intolerable.

“And since such separation has come to us, everyone will now consider it proof that our love is artificial and impure. Although we are completely free from any fault, so many criticisms will come to us, and therefore the people of the world will never develop love toward Krsna. What could be more painful than that? Tell us, Uddhava. Tell us! Tell us! Why did such a thing take place?”

Shameless

Speaking in this way, the gopis gave up all their shyness and shame and became completely mad. They became completely forgetful of what is good or bad. Gata-vak-kaya-manasah. All the activities of their senses—their speech, their bodies and their minds—were completely filled with the thought of Krsna.

iti gopyo hi govinde

gata-vak-kaya-manasah Krsna-dute samayate

uddhave tyakta-laukikah

(Bhag. 10.47.9)

Uddhava was a stranger there, a newcomer. How could they act so shamelessly before a newcomer? The gopis forgot everything and became overwhelmed with the thought of Krsna. This is the result of Krsna-prema. Then piteously they cried and cried. “ha Krsna! ha vrajanatha! ha gopivallabha! artinasana”, “O Krsna! O master of Vrajabhumi! O husband of the gopis! O destroyer of the distress of the gopis!” Calling out in this way, they stood up and began to look in the direction of Mathura.

Raising their hands, they loudly called out, “O VrajapraNa, the life of the residents of Vraja! Please come just once and see the condition of Vrajabhumi. From our very childhood we have developed love for You. We don’t know anything but You. Yes, from our very childhood we are all Yours. Now we are drowning in the ocean of lamentation—a very deep, unfathomable ocean. Please, come just once to Vrajabhumi and give us Your lotus feet. They are our life. Please let us get our life!”

The gopis are completely forgetful of all shame. Therefore sukadeva Gosvami says, tyakta- laukikah, “They have given up all shame.”

gayantyah priya-karmani rudantyas ca gata-hriyah

tasya sa smrtya sa smrtya yani kaisora-balyayoh

“The gopis were always thinking of the lilas Krsna performed in His adolescence and all the conjugal loving dealings they had with Him in Vrajabhumi. Remembering those pastimes and singing about them, the damsels of Vrajabhumi gave up all shyness and became completely mad.” (Bhag.10.47.10)

When Uddhava saw all these things He became amazed and thought to himself, “Yes, by coming to Vrajabhumi my life has become glorified.”

vande nanda-vraja-strina pada-renum abhiksnasah

yasa hari-kathodgita punati bhuvana-trayam

Uddhava said to himself, “I pay my obeisances at the lotus feet of the damsels of Vrajabhumi. I desire to get some dust from their lotus feet because when they sing Krsna-gita, Krsna-lila kahani, all the nice pastimes of Krsna in Vrajabhumi, it purifies the three worlds. I want to take the dust from their lotus feet and put it on my head. I will wear that as the ornament on my head. If I can have it, I will think my life has become successful. And then my heart, which is dry with jnana, will be soaked with some mellow. I think so.” (Bhag.10.47.63)

Very Strong Bolt

While he was thinking in this way, Uddhava came to the kunja where RadharaNi was lying. RadharaNi is the embodiment of Krsna-viraha. If separation from Krsna assumes a body, that is RadharaNi. Her eight intimate sakhis were all sitting around Her. She was lying on the ground with Her head on the lap of one of Her girl companions. Her whole body was cold, as if without life. If the life departs, the body becomes cold. RadharaNi was in such a dying condition, hardly able to speak.

In a very feeble voice RadharaNi said to Her girl companion, “This separation from Gokula-pati, Krsna, is burning Me like a high fever.” The acute pang of separation creates a fever of 110 degrees. At 110 degrees a man will die. “O sakhi, such heat is more painful than very dreadful poison, kala-kutavisa. It is more unbearable then the falling of the thunderbolt of Indra. At every moment the acute pang of separation is piercing My heart; completely devastating My heart.

O sakhi, I cannot tolerate it anymore. I see no need to keep this body alive. I want to give it up immediately.” RadharaNi remained silent for one or two moments, then She said, “O sakhi, death is not coming to Me. There is a great obstacle preventing death from coming to Me. A great hindrance has come in the way.”

This is described by Rupa Gosvami in his Lalita-madhava:

bhratar vayasa-maNdali-mukuta he niskramya gosthad itah sandesa vada vandanottaram amu vrndatavindraya me dagdhu praNa-pasu sikhi viraha-bhur indhe mad-angalaye sandra nagara-candra bhindhi rabhasad asargala-bandhanam

RadharaNi looked at the sky. A crow was flying overhead, going towards Mathura. All of a sudden, pointing out that crow, RadharaNi said, “Hey crow. Here! Over here! Are you going to Mathura? Please hear Me. Don’t go anywhere else! Go directly to Mathura. There you will find a King named Mathuranatha. When you meet Him, pay your obeisances and give Him a message.

Whatever message I give to you, deliver it to Him. Do you understand? If a house is on fire, what is the first duty of the house-master? His first duty is that if there are domestic animals they must be released. You may be burned to ashes, but let them not be burned. My body is like a house which is now on fire. And who has set fire to this house? It is that Krsna who has set this house on fire.

Tell Him, O crow, tell Him! My life is like a domestic animal, praNa-pasu, but it cannot get out now. And why not? This animal cannot get out because there is a very strong bolt on the door. So let Krsna come and unbolt it.”

Then RadharaNi told the crow, “If you want to know what is that bolt, I’ll tell you. When Krsna left Vrajabhumi He told us: ‘I’ll come back. I will come back.’ That promise is the very strong bolt. Only with this hope are we surviving. But Krsna is not coming back. So let Him come and unbolt it.”

This is RadharaNi’s mood, feeling the acute pangs of separation from Krsna, and dying. The whole house, Her body, is on fire. And the praNa-pasu, Her life which is like a domestic animal, is now burning. It could not get out. RadharaNi told the crow, “This is the very strong bolt on the door, so let Him come and unbolt it. That means let Him withdraw His words.”

RadharaNi fell silent for some time. Then, looking at Her asta sakhis, She said, “O My dear girl companions, immediately take Me to the bank of the Yamuna. Put Me underneath the Kadamba tree there on the bank of the Yamuna, because Yamuna and the Kadamba tree are My best friends at the fag-end of My life.

Take some mud from the Yamuna and smear My whole body with it. After that, write ‘syama, syama, syama, syama,’ on My whole body. Then take some tulasi- manjaris and put them on His name because the name of syama and syama are not different, nama- nami abhinna. All of you should then sit around Me, and when My life-breath goes out you should all shout, ‘Hari! Hari! Hari!’

Uddhava was just standing there, gazing with dilated eyes and hearing everything RadharaNi was saying out of madness. That is udghurNa, various types of insane raving speech. Uddhava could understand, “Yes, this must be Radhika. Many times I have heard about Her from my friend Krsna. And when Krsna is asleep, with every breath that name comes out, ‘Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe.’ I have heard all these things in Mathura from My friend. This must definitely be Radhika.”

Image Of Emotions

Uddhava recognised RadharaNi by the seriousness of Her condition. And that very same condition is always felt by Gaura. Therefore in Caitanya-caritamrta Kaviraja Gosvami has written,

radhikara bhava yaiche uddhava-darsane sei bhava matta prabhu rahe ratri-dine

“Just as Radhika went mad at the sight of Uddhava, so Lord Caitanya was very much obsessed day and night with the madness of separation.” (Cc. ndi 4.108)

RadharaNi is in a dying condition. She is going to die. And that same severe pang of separation from Krsna is always felt by Gauranga. Day and night He experiences the madness of separation.

radhikara bhava-murti prabhura antara sei bhave sukha-duhkha uthe nirantara

sesa-lilaya prabhura Krsna-viraha-unmada bhrama-maya cesta, ara pralapa-maya-vada

“The heart of Lord Caitanya is the image of Sri Radhika’s emotions. Thus feelings of pleasure and pain arise constantly therein. In the final portion of His pastimes, Lord Caitanya was obsessed with the madness of separation from Lord Krsna. He acted in erroneous ways and talked deliriously.” (Cc. ndi 4.106, 107)

He who is Krsna Himself, felt the madness of separation from Krsna, because radha-bhava is predominating. This is vipralambha-bhava, the acute pang of separation. Mahaprabhu feels the same condition of separation from Krsna as RadhArANI, because Mahaprabhu is in radha-bhava. In that mood He is always crying:

kahan mora prana-natha murali vadana kahan karon kahan pan vrajendra-nandana

kahare kahiba, keba jane mora duhkha vrajendra-nandana vinu phate mora buka

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to express His mind in this way: “Where is the Lord of My life, who is playing His flute? What shall I do now? Where shall I go to find the son of Maharaja Nanda? To whom should I speak? Who can understand My disappointment? Without the son of Nanda Maharaja, My heart is broken.” (Cc. Madhya 2.15,16)

In this way, Mahaprabhu is crying exactly like RadharaNi: “To whom shall I tell this tale of woe? Is there anyone who can feel such unbearable pain as I am feeling in My heart? My heart is splitting, feeling the pangs of separation from Vrajendra-nandana, the son of Nanda Maharaja.”

Never Given Before

dui hetu avatari’ lana bhakta-gana apane asvade prema-nama-sankirtana

sei dvare acaNdale kirtana sancare

nama-prema-mala ganthi’ paraila sa sare

“Thus with two intentions the Lord appeared with His devotees and tasted the nectar of prema with the congregational chanting of the holy name. Thus He spread kirtana even among the untouchables. He wove a wreath of the holy name and prema with which He garlanded the entire material world.” (Cc. ndi 4.39,40)

cirad adatta nija-gupta-vitta svaprema-namamrtam atyudarah

apamara yo vitatara gaurah

krsno janebhyas tam aha prapadye

“The most munificent Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as GauraKrsna, distributed to everyone—even the lowest of men—His own confidential treasury in the form of the nectar of love of Himself and the holy name. This was never given to the people at any time before. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” (Cc. Madhya 23.1)

This prema is gupta-vitta , the hidden treasure of Goloka Vrndavana that has not been given until now. But now Gaura is distributing it to everyone here in the material world, even down to the lowest untouchables, pamaras and caNdalas. How? By chanting His own name, Krsna-nama.

hare Krsna hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

That is not ordinary nama. It is prema-nama, the name that gives prema. Mahaprabhu relishes the mellow and distributes it. But how did He weave a garland of nama and prema? And how did He garland one and all. How is it possible? This is the question, and its answer should be understood.

Essence Of Prema

Nama is sadhana, the means; and prema is sadhya, the end. Means and end. So how are these woven together to become a garland? Namera phale Krsna-pade ‘prema’ upajaya: “If you chant the pure name you will develop Krsna-prema.” Chanting the holy name is the means and Krsna- prema is the end. Sadhana and sadhya are woven together and a garland was made. How is it so?

And the prema that Gauranga gives, do you think it is ordinary prema? No. It is pure, spotless Krsna-prema on the very highest platform. If someone is fortunate and gets this prema, he kicks mukti and spits at the thought of it. Of the different types of Krsna-prema, the love found in Vrndavana is superior. In that vraja-prema there are four types: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. Of these four, gopi-prema is much better than the others. Gopi-prema also has varieties, of which the topmost is radha-prema. This prema is the hidden treasure, nija-gupta-vittam. If someone is fortunate and gets this radha-prema, all his desires are fulfilled. He achieves the supreme perfection of life.

Most Elevated Mellow

Sriman nama is the name, and nami is Krsna Himself, the possessor of the name. There is no difference between nama and nami.

bhajanera madhye srestha nava-vidha bhakti

‘Krsna-prema’, ‘Krsna’ dite dhare maha-sakti

tara madhye sarva-srestha nama-sankirtana niraparadhe nama laile paya prema-dhana

“Among the ways of executing devotional service, the nine prescribed methods are the best, for these processes have great potency to deliver Krsna and ecstatic love for Him. Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (Cc. Antya 4.70,71)

The purport is that if you can chant the pure name offenselessly, immediately all your anarthas will be destroyed. Otherwise your anarthas will never be destroyed. Then after anartha-nivrtti comes nistha, ruci, asakti and bhava. The last attainment is prema. That is the sadhya, the end. So through chanting Hare Krsna, the pure name, you will attain these stages one after another.

At last you will reach the topmost platform, the platform of Krsna-prema. Furthermore, when that prema becomes more and more condensed, then what will happen? Prema will develop from sneha to mana, praNaya, raga, anuraga, bhava and mahabhava. The topmost platform is mahabhava. This is how prema develops. So unnatojjvala-rasa, the most elevated conjugal mellow, is the essence of prema-bhakti.

This is the Sri of sadhya-bhakti, known as madanakhya-mahabhava. In mahabhava we will also find divisions—modanakhya-mahabhava and madanakhya-mahabhava. And the personification of this madanakhya-mahabhava is Srimati RadharaNi. Therefore She is known as Madanakhya Mahabhava-mayi.

So, now the question is: how is it that Gaura wove the sadhana-bhakti, which is nama- sankirtana, and prema into a garland? What is the skill behind it? And who can understand this?

gaurangera duti pada, jar dhana sampada se jane bhakati-rasa-sar

Only those devotees who have accepted the two lotus feet of Gauranga as their only wealth and asset can know the skill or purport to this.

gaura-prema-rasarnave, se tarange jeba dube, se radha-madhava-antaranga

Such devotees, premi-bhaktas, who are always drowning in this ocean of gaura-prema-rasa, can know these things. Others cannot. And this is what Gauranga has come to give us—the highest type of prema, radha-prema, Srimati RadharaNi’s love for Krsna. Gauranga Mahaprabhu came to propagate prema-nama, not ordinary nama. Prema-nama pracarite ei avatara. (Cc. ndi 4.5) He Himself tasted the mellow coming out from prema-nama-sankirtana.

Spreading kirtana even among the untouchables, He wove a mala of the holy name and prema with which He garlanded the entire material world. Prema Purusottama Gauranga is the father of prema-nama-sankirtana, not ordinary sankirtana. This is not included in sadhana-bhakti which consists of sravana-kirtana. It is beyond that. Prema-nama-sankirtana means that sankirtana which is filled with prema. And whose sankirtana is it? It is the sankirtana of Madanakhya Mahabhava-mayi Srimati RadharaNi.

Srimati RadharaNi does this prema-nama-sankirtana which is the essence of prema-bhakti. Therefore this prema-nama-sankirtana is the hidden treasure of Goloka Vrndavana.

Most Hidden Topic

There is no difference between nama and nami. Nami is Krsna. Srimati RadharaNi feels the acute pangs of separation from nami, Krsna. So this nama-sankirtana is soaked with RadharaNi’s pure love. Therefore, prema-nama-sankirtana is the parama sadhya, the ultimate goal. In this prema-nama-sankirtana, Krsna, in the form of Sriman nama, expresses or manifests His topmost murti, which is filled with conjugal mellow. Those who are premika bhaktas, they know this and they do prema-nama-sankirtana. Others cannot do it. So by chanting prema-nama they offer this prema-bhakti-mala, the garland of prema-bhakti, at the lotus feet of Sriman nama.

The damsels of Vrajabhumi do this prema-nama-sankirtana under the guidance of Srimati RadharaNi when they feel the acute pangs of separation from nami, Krsna. At that time they chant,

hare Krsna hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Thereby they decorate the nama-murti with this garland. So the purport is that nami is nondifferent from nama.

Gaura is also nami, Krsna, and nondifferent from nama. And through the chanting of prema- nama-sankirtana He tastes this prema-rasa, the nectarean mellow emanating from conjugal love. Thereby He makes a garland of the holy name and prema and offers it to everyone. Mahaprabhu is feeling the same acute pang of separation that RadharaNi was feeling. And with that feeling he was chanting,

hare Krsna hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

This garland is not only nama-prema-mala but it is also rasamaya-mala, the garland of all mellows. Prema is the fruit, and the mellow of this prema-phala is tasted in the condition of separation, viraha-dasa. This mala is not only nama-prema-mala but it is also soaked with prema- rasa, and that prema-rasa is being tasted. So this is the mala of the mellow of prema—rasamaya- mala.

Prema-bhakti is the essence of bhakti. If we prepare a garland of flowers, one thread is required by which it is woven together. Similarly, when the question of nama-prema-mala comes up, what is the thread of that garland? That thread is prema. The names are woven together with the thread of prema—prema-sutra. In that way nama and prema are woven together. This is the nama-prema- mala with which Gaura Hari garlanded everyone.

So the example is the japa-mala on which we are chanting. You should chant the holy name feeling acute pangs of separation from Krsna, then your chanting will be offenseless and pure. This is the most hidden topic in Goloka. It was not given at any time before, but when Mahaprabhu came He gave it. Golokera prema-dhana hari-nama- sankirtana. It does not belong to this material world. It belongs to Goloka Vrndavana.

A Great Festival

So nama and nami, sadhana and sadhya (means and end), asvadya and asvada (relished and relisher), they are all nondifferent. But when do they become nondifferent? That is in the most ripened stage, siddha-dasa. Otherwise, in the beginning they are different. Gauranga Mahaprabhu is wonderfully merciful, and because of this wonderful, causeless mercy the impossible becomes possible: The means and the end become nondifferent. Otherwise it would not be possible.

Sambhoga and vipralambha, union and separation, are in one container. It is completely impossible. They cannot be contained in one container. But if you get the wonderful, causeless mercy of Gauranga, then you can understand this tattva and you can have it also. How will there be no difference between sadhana and sadhya, the means and the end? The means is the beginning and the end is the last thing.

How will they be nondifferent? How will they be woven together? Where is the beginning and where is the end? It is quite impossible. But the impossible becomes possible by the mercy of Prema Purusottama Gauranga. Otherwise no one can understand how they are woven together, how Mahaprabhu garlanded everyone here in this material world and what is that prema-nama-sankirtana. It is all possible through prema-nama-sankirtana.

There is a great festival in Goloka Vrndavana when prema-nama-sankirtana goes on. That festival descends here in this material world when Mahaprabhu comes down. With this festival going on there in Goloka Vrndavana, all His eternal associates come down here and start prema- nama-sankirtana.

Though there is no difference between nama and nami, still nama is more merciful than nami. This is what one should understand, and Gauranga Mahaprabhu has shown it. He has tasted it and He has distributed it. Because of the wonderful mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, prema-nama- sankirtana brings an inundation of prema. There is a flood here in this material world and through prema-nama-sankirtana He is fulfilling His three desires. So this is why it is said, kapata diya kirtana kare parama avese pasandi hasite aise, na paya pravese

“This chanting in a very high, ecstatic condition was performed with the doors closed so that nonbelievers who came to make fun of it could not gain entrance.” (Cc. ndi 17.35)

In his Bhaktivedanta-bhasya, Srila Prabhupada says, “Only bona fide chanters should be admitted; others should not.” So who can take part in prema-nama-sankirtana? Who are bona fide chanters? Those who are chanting the offenseless, pure name are bona fide chanters. They are admitted into the congregational party; others are not. Therefore, the doors are closed. Only in the assembly of such premi-bhaktas will this prema-nama-sankirtana be possible. Otherwise there is no possibility at all.

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