Travel Journal#21.43: Stuyvesant Falls, Chatham, Schenectady

 Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 21, No. 43
By Krishna Kripa Das
(Week 43: October 22–28)
Stuyvesant Falls, Chatham, Schenectady
(Sent from Stuyvesant Falls on November 1, 2025)

Where I Went and What I Did

The forty-third week of 2025, I lived at Viraha Bhavan, the ashram of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, my Guru Maharaja, in Stuyvesant Falls, New York. I helped his caretakers with different services like cleaning the kitchen, waking up the deities, singing for Them, and uploading dictation tapes. I also did some personal service for Guru Maharaja. On Wednesday evening I attended a Govardhan Puja festival in Chatham. 

Friday I was happy because two devotees joined my harinama on the porch. 

On Saturday evening I attended a program at ISKCON Schenectady on the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada, where I led the first Hare Krishna kirtan and talked about Srila Prabhupada not being just a guru or even just the founder-acarya of ISKCON, but a divine personality personally empowered by Krishna to spread eternal dharma all over the world, especially by teaching the chanting of the holy name and the study of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

I share quotes from the final chapters of Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead. I also share quotes from two lectures by Srila Prabhupada on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita given in the fall of 1966 at 26 Second Avenue. I share a lengthy quote from Sri Caitanya-bhagavata by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura showing that some Muslims of His time also accepted Lord Caitanya to be an incarnation of the Supreme Lord Himself.

Many thanks to Shreyakari Devi Dasi and ISKCON Schenectady for their kind donation. Thanks to Kamesi Devi Dasi for the video of the harinama on the porch. Thanks to Krsna dasi for the videos of the Govardhan Hill circumambulation by the kids and by myself at the Chatham Wednesday program Govardhan Puja festival. Thanks to Mathura Mohan Prabhu for the ride to and from Schenectady.

Itinerary

September 12–November ?: serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
November ?–December 31: NYC Harinam
– December 6: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja / Hudson Winter Walk harinama

Chanting Hare Krishna in Upstate New York

Although we had a small team of four cooks, we had a nice Govardhan Hill at Viraha Bhavan, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s ashram in Stuyvesant Falls.

Baladeva made the best preparation, saffron-cardamom sweet rice. He also made the banana halava which was the main constituent of the hill. Krsna dasi made the rice and the dal. Ojasvini Radha Devi Dasi made the pakoras.

I made laddus and walnut burfi which we also offered to Laddu Gopal. 

Govardhan Puja was on a Wednesday so we observed it at our Chatham Wednesday program. I was happily surprised by both the popularity of our Govardhan Puja festival and the enthusiasm of its participants.

Many attendees brought sweets for the hill. I included my walnut burfi and laddus.

Under the hill were people and cows, a detail I had never seen before.

Krishna Kumari Devi Dasi did a drama about the Govardhan pastime.

She looked striking as Indra, wearing a crown and riding on the elephant carrier, Airavata.

She used cotton attached to a tree branch to serve as Indra’s clouds.

Here Patrick chants Hare Krishna at the Chatham Wednesday Program on Govardhan Puja (https://youtu.be/RuxmvEM3mTo):

While Patrick chanted, Krishna Kumari and the kids circumambulated Govardhan Hill (https://youtube.com/shorts/fvQo-bfs5OA?feature=share):

The kids looked like they were having such a good time walking around Govardhan Hill, I decided to join them (https://youtube.com/shorts/cpFkOUJdr1o?feature=share):

Damodara Priya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at the Chatham Govardhan Puja program (https://youtu.be/YisirV1wr-A):

Patrick chants Hare Krishna at the end of the Chatham Wednesday program on Govardhan Puja, and many dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/NpiL5uHavFE?feature=share):

Patrick and Amalini Radha Devi Dasi chant Hare Krishna after the Chatham Wednesday Govardhan Puja Festival (https://youtu.be/czx7R6_gx2o):

On Friday I chanted Hare Krishna in Stuyvesant Falls on the porch of Viraha Bhavan with Damodara Priya Devi Dasi, who was gardening, and another devotee who did not want to appear in this video (https://youtube.com/shorts/2zwdbQBKKhU):

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 89:

“All the sages who assembled on the bank of the river Sarasvati to try to determine who is the supreme predominating deity became freed from all doubts about Vishnu worship. All of them thereafter engaged in devotional service, and thus they achieved the desired result and went back to Godhead.”

“Those who are actually eager to be liberated from material entanglement would do well to accept at once the conclusion given by Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami, it is said that hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is extremely conducive to liberation. The same fact is now confirmed by Suta Gosvami: if anyone who is traveling aimlessly within this material world cares to hear the nectarean words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami, certainly he will come to the right conclusion, which is that simply by discharging devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead one will be able to stop the fatigue of perpetually migrating from one material body to another. In other words, one who becomes fixed in loving devotional service to Vishnu will certainly be able to get relief from this journey of material life, and the process is very simple: one has to give aural reception to the sweet words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami in the form of Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

“Brahmanas, being engaged in spiritual activities, are not expected to do anything which requires physical endeavor. Therefore, they need to be protected by the ksatriyas so that they will not be disturbed in the execution of their higher occupational duties.”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 90:

“Some devotees of the Lord who want to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the mellow of conjugal love are elevated to the position of becoming wives of Krishna, and Krishna keeps them always attached to Him by His kind behavior. Krishna’s behavior with His wives – His movements, His talking with them, His smiling, His embracing and similar other activities, which are just like those of a loving husband – kept them always very much attached to Him. That is the highest perfection of life. If someone remains always attached to Krishna, it is to be understood that he is liberated, and his life is successful. With any devotee who loves Krishna with his heart and soul, Krishna reciprocates in such a way that the devotee cannot but remain attached to Him. The reciprocal dealings of Krishna and His devotees are so attractive that a devotee cannot think of any subject matter other than Krishna.”

“Lord Krishna is especially glorified for giving pleasure to the gopis and the queens of Dvaraka. Sukadeva Gosvami glorifies Lord Krishna for His enchanting smile, by which He enchanted not only the gopis of Vrindavan but also the queens of Dvaraka. The exact words used in this connection are vardhayan kama-devam. In Vrindavan, as the boyfriend of many gopis, and in Dvaraka, as the husband of many queens, Krishna increased their lusty desires to enjoy with Him. For God realization or self-realization, one generally has to undergo severe austerities and penances for many, many thousands of years, and then it may be possible to realize God. But the gopis and the queens of Dvaraka, simply by enhancing their lusty desires to enjoy Krishna as their boyfriend or husband, received the highest type of salvation.

“This behavior of Lord Krishna with the gopis and queens is unique in the history of self-realization. Usually people understand that for self-realization one has to go to the forest or mountains and undergo severe austerities and penances. But the gopis and the queens, simply by being attached to Krishna in conjugal love and enjoying His company in a so-called sensuous life full of luxury and opulence, achieved the highest salvation, which is impossible to achieve even for great sages and saintly persons. Similarly, demons such as Kamsa, Dantavakra and Sisupala, who all treated Krishna as an enemy, also got the highest benefit of being transferred to the spiritual world.”

From a lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 20.100–108 in New York on Nov. 29, 1966:

“Nirbandhini matih means he has already determined that ‘In this life I shall make my life perfect.’ Then, for him, perfection is guaranteed. If he thinks, ‘Oh, let me try. Let me test also this department of Krishna consciousness, at the same time test other department. Let us go this way...’ No. One should be very much serious to make complete perfection in this life. 
“So a man should be serious like Sanatana Gosvami. And for that purpose he sacrificed everything, he became a beggar. So we should be prepared to sacrifice anything for perfection of this human form of life. Then perfection is guaranteed. Simply we should be very serious, that’s all.”

From a lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 20.124–125 in New York on December 4, 1966:

“Bhakti, devotional service, means to undergo a, a disciplinary system of our life so that automatically we can revive our lost relationship with Lord, God, and we become happy. This is called bhakti.”

Vrindavana Dasa Thakura:

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.18–19:

“Lord Gauranga manifested such ecstasy that what to speak of others, even the Yavanas [such as the Muslims] chanted the name of Hari. Even the Yavanas offered obeisances from a distance. Such is the merciful incarnation of Lord Gauracandra!”

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.48–68:

“The king then summoned Kesava Khan and inquired from him in great wonder, ‘Tell me, Kesava Khan, what is your opinion about the person named Sri Krishna Caitanya? Tell me, what does He preach, what kind of person is He, and what kind of sannyasi is He? Also tell me clearly why people come from the four directions to see Him.’
“When the most pious Kesava Khan heard these questions, he became worried and spoke in a way to suppress the truth.
“Who says He is a Gosañi? He is just a mendicant sannyasi. He is a poor fellow from another country who lives under trees.”
“The king said, ‘Don’t ever call Him poor, for it is a great offense to hear such a description. Know for certain that He is the same personality whom the Hindus address as Krishna and the Yavanas address as Khoda. My order is carried out only in my kingdom, but His order is respectfully carried out in all places. Even some persons in my own kingdom have begun conspiring to harm me. But the people of all places respect Him with their body, mind, and speech. Why would they worship Him if He were not God? If I do not provide salaries to my servants for six months, they will conspire against me in various ways. Yet these people maintain themselves and still desire to serve Him, even though they do not get a proper opportunity. Therefore know for certain that He is the Supreme Lord. Do not call Him “poor.”’
“The king then said, ‘I order that no one should disturb Him in any way. Let Him stay wherever He desires, and let Him preach the teachings of His scriptures in whatever way He wants. Let Him peacefully perform kirtana with His followers, and let Him stay in a solitary place or anywhere else He likes. If anyone attempts to oppose Him, I will take his life, whether he is a Kazi or a constable.’
“After the King issued this order, he went inside his palace. Such are the pastimes of Sri Gaurasundara. This same Hussain Shah broke deities and temples throughout Orissa. Even such a Yavana respected Gauracandra, yet nowadays many blind persons do not.”

-----

This verse, which Puskara Prabhu, the artist, taught me when I lived in Alachua, explains why chanting the glories of the Lord is superior to processes of atonement. Not only does it free one from the reactions of materialistic activities, it engages one in the superior process of devotional service and thus liberates one from material entanglement altogether.

na niskrtair uditair brahma-vadibhis

tatha visuddhyaty aghavan vratadibhih
yatha harer nama-padair udahrtais
tad uttamasloka-gunopalambhakam

“By following the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies or undergoing atonement, sinful men do not become as purified as by chanting once the holy name of Lord Hari. Although ritualistic atonement may free one from sinful reactions, it does not awaken devotional service, unlike the chanting of the Lord’s names, which reminds one of the Lord’s fame, qualities, attributes, pastimes and paraphernalia.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.11)

Travel Journal#21.42: Stuyvesant Falls, Schenectady

 Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 21, No. 42
By Krishna Kripa Das
(Week 42: October 15–21, 2025)
Stuyvesant Falls, Schenectady
(Sent from Stuyvesant Falls on October 25, 2025)

Where I Went and What I Did

The forty-second week of 2025, I lived at Viraha Bhavan, the ashram of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, my Guru Maharaja, in Stuyvesant Falls, New York. I helped his caretakers with different services like cleaning the kitchen, waking up the deities and uploading dictation tapes. I also did some personal service for Guru Maharaja. On Thursday, I tried doing a half-hour harinama on the porch, an extra activity for me I’d never done before at Viraha Bhavan. On Sunday afternoon I attended the feast program at ISKCON Schenectady, where I gave a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 8.14, and talked about how Krishna is easily attained by those who already remember him.

While at Viraha Bhavan, I would chant the “Gurvastakam,” Hare Krishna, and the Nrsimhadeva prayers each morning before the amazing Gaura-Nitāi deities, who came from Ekachakra, as Krsna dasi did the arati. We would also do the tulasi arati and kirtan. In the evening I would chant the “Gaura Arati” song, Hare Krishna, and the Nrsimhadeva prayers almost always by myself, and several of us would chant “Damodarastakam” together.

I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s The Nectar of Devotion and Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead. I share quotes from Caitanya-bhagavata by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura and from its commentary by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Thank again to Shreyakari Devi Dasi and ISKCON Schenectady for their kind donation and for the video of me chanting at their program and the photo of me playing the drum.

Itinerary

September 12–October 31: serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
October 31–January 3, 2026: NYC Harinam
January 4, 2026: Miami Ratha-yatra?

Chanting Hare Krishna in Upstate New York

I asked Satsvarupa Dāsa Goswami one day if he thought it would be OK if I played harmonium on the porch. He said, “Did someone tell you couldn’t? I do not see why not?”

On Thursday I chanted on the porch with the harmonium for half an hour. It reminded me of 2020 when I chanted on the porch of ISKCON Tallahassee three hours a day for three months because of the lockdown.

On Friday Damodara Priya, who has a better voice than me, was gardening, so I had someone to sing the response, and it was more ecstatic.

I chanted Hare Krishna at the beginning of ISKCON Schenectady Sunday program (https://youtube.com/shorts/UqCHSVCjc9Q?feature=share):

Later I played the drum while Radha Dyuti Devi Dasi chanted the tulasi kirtan.

Photos

My guru told me one day that the breakfast cereal was too bland. I recall Yashoda Devi Dasi, who worked for the BBT, made a great breakfast cereal in San Diego over 30 years ago, and she told me using salt and butter were her secrets. The next day I put 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of ghee in it, and my guru told me twice how good it was!

I learned recently that if you keep the avocado pit in the guacamole, it keeps it from spoiling.

Maple yogurt with walnuts is an awesome dessert.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 49:

“There is another statement as follows: ‘Please look at this devotee of the Lord who is dancing just from remembering the lotus feet of Krishna. Simply by observing his dance you will lose all interest in even the most beautiful women!’”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 72:

“Although Jarasandha was killed, neither Krishna nor the two Pandava brothers made a claim to the throne. Their purpose in killing Jarasandha was to stop him from creating a disturbance to the proper discharge of world peace. A demon always creates disturbances, whereas a demigod always tries to keep peace in the world. The mission of Lord Krishna is to protect the righteous and kill the demons who disturb a peaceful situation. Therefore Lord Krishna immediately called for the son of Jarasandha, whose name was Sahadeva, and with due ritualistic ceremonies the Lord asked him to occupy the seat of his father and reign over the kingdom peacefully. Lord Krishna is the master of the whole cosmic creation, and He wants everyone to live peacefully and execute Krishna consciousness. After installing Sahadeva on the throne, He released all the kings and princes who had been imprisoned unnecessarily by Jarasandha.”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 80:

“King Pariksit was hearing the narrations of the pastimes of Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama from Sukadeva Gosvami. These pastimes are all transcendentally pleasurable to hear, and Maharaja Pariksit addressed Sukadeva Gosvami as follows: ‘My dear lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the bestower of both liberation and love of God simultaneously. Anyone who becomes a devotee of the Lord automatically attains liberation without having to make a separate attempt. Because the Lord is unlimited, His pastimes and activities for creating, maintaining and destroying the whole cosmic manifestation are also unlimited. I therefore wish to hear about other pastimes of His which you may not have described as yet. My dear master, the conditioned souls within this material world are frustrated by searching out the pleasure of happiness derived from sense gratification. Such desires for material enjoyment are always piercing the hearts of conditioned souls. But I am actually experiencing how the transcendental topics of Lord Krishna’s pastimes can relieve one from being affected by such material activities of sense gratification. I think that no intelligent person can reject this method of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord again and again; simply by hearing, one can remain always steeped in transcendental pleasure. Thus one will not be attracted by material sense gratification.’”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 82:

[Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, said to his sister, Kunti:] “We should always remember that we are all only toys in the hands of providence. Everyone is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

“Seeing Lord Krishna present on the spot, all the visitors felt transcendental pleasure and became very peaceful.”

“As far as the gopis of Vṛndavana were concerned, from the very beginning of their lives they did not know anything beyond Krishna. Krishna and Balarama were their life and soul. The gopis were so attached to Krishna that they could not tolerate not seeing Him even momentarily when their eyelids blinked and impeded their vision. They condemned Brahma, the creator of the body, because he foolishly made eyelids which blinked and checked their seeing Krishna. Because they had been separated from Krishna for so many years, the gopis, having come along with Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda, felt intense ecstasy upon seeing Krishna. No one can even imagine how eager the gopis were to see Krishna again. As soon as Krishna became visible to them, they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Even though they were embracing Krishna only mentally, they became so ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy that for the time being they completely forgot themselves. The ecstatic trance they achieved simply by mentally embracing Krishna is impossible to achieve even for great yogis constantly engaged in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna could understand that the gopis were rapt in ecstasy by embracing Him in their minds, and therefore, since He is present in everyone’s heart, He reciprocated the embracing from within.”

[Lord Krishna said to the gopis:] “Fortunately, you have developed loving affection for Me, which is the only way to achieve the transcendental position of association with Me. Any living entity who develops such unalloyed devotional affection for Me certainly at the end goes back home, back to Godhead. In other words, unalloyed devotional service and affection for Me are the cause of supreme liberation.”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 85:

“Lord Krishna intended for Vasudeva to see everything with the vision of a maha-bhagavata, a first-class devotee, who sees that all living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and that the Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. In fact, every living entity has a spiritual identity, but in contact with material existence one becomes influenced by the material modes of nature. He becomes covered by the concept of bodily life, forgetting that his spirit soul is of the same quality as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One mistakenly considers one individual to be different from another simply because of their material bodily coverings. Because of differences between bodies, the spirit soul appears before us differently.

“Lord Krishna then gave a nice example in terms of the five material elements. The total material elements, namely the sky, air, fire, water and earth, are present in everything in the material world, whether in an earthen pot or in a mountain or in the trees or in an earring. These five elements are present in everything, in different proportions and quantities. A mountain is a gigantic form of the combination of these five elements, and a small earthen pot is made of the same elements, but in a smaller quantity. Therefore all material items, although in different shapes or different quantities, are of the same ingredients. Similarly, the living entities – beginning from Lord Krishna and including millions of Vishnu forms, and also the living entities in different forms, from Lord Brahma down to the small ant – are all of the same spiritual quality. Some are great in quantity, and some are small, but qualitatively they are of the same nature. It is therefore confirmed in the Upanisads that Krishna, or the Supreme Lord, is the chief among all living entities and that He maintains them and supplies them with all necessities of life. Anyone who knows this philosophy is in perfect knowledge. The Vedic version tat tvam asi, ‘Thou art the same,’ means not that everyone is God but that everyone is qualitatively of the same nature as God.”

From Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 87:

“‘Dear Lord,’ the personified Vedas continued, ‘the devotee who wants to elevate himself simply by the process of devotional activities, especially by hearing and chanting, very soon comes out of the clutches of the dualities of material existence. By this simple process of penance and austerity, the Supersoul within the devotee’s heart is very pleased and gives the devotee directions so that he may go back home, back to Godhead.’ It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that one who engages all his activities and senses in the devotional service of the Lord becomes completely peaceful because the Supersoul is satisfied with him; thus the devotee becomes transcendental to all dualities, such as heat and cold, honor and dishonor. Being freed from all dualities, he feels transcendental bliss, and he no longer suffers cares and anxieties due to material existence. The Bhagavad-gita confirms that the devotee always absorbed in Krishna consciousness has no anxieties for his maintenance or protection. Being constantly absorbed in Krishna consciousness, he ultimately achieves the highest perfection. While in material existence, he lives very peacefully and blissfully, without cares and anxieties, and after quitting this body he goes back home, back to Godhead. The Lord confirms in the Bhagavad-gita, ‘My supreme abode is a transcendental place from which, having gone, one never returns to this material world. Anyone who attains the supreme perfection, being engaged in My personal devotional service in the eternal abode, reaches the highest perfection of human life and does not have to come back to the miserable material world.’”

“Sridhara Svami, the great commentator on Srimad-Bhagavatam, has composed a nice verse in this regard, the meaning of which is as follows: ‘My dear Lord, I am eternally a part of You, but I have been entrapped by the material potencies, which are also an emanation from You. As the cause of all causes, You have entered my body as the Supersoul, and I have the prerogative of enjoying the supreme blissful life of knowledge along with You. Therefore, my dear Lord, please order me to render You loving service so that I can again be brought to my original position of transcendental bliss.’”

“Those who have tasted the nectar of devotion by relishing the transcendental vibration of chanting Your glories – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare – do not care for any other spiritual bliss or for material comforts, which appear to the pure devotee as less important than the straw in the street.”

“The personified Vedas continued, ‘Dear Lord, when a person is able to purify his mind, senses and intelligence by engaging himself in devotional service in full Krishna consciousness, his mind becomes his friend. Otherwise, his mind is always his enemy. When the mind is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, it becomes the intimate friend of the living entity because the mind can then think of the Supreme Lord always. Your Lordship is eternally dear to the living entity, so when the mind is engaged in thought of You one immediately feels the great satisfaction for which he has been hankering life after life.’”

“Women such as the gopis were attached to Krishna, being captivated by His beauty, and their mental concentration on Krishna was provoked by lust. They wanted to be embraced by the arms of Krishna, which resemble the beautiful round shape of a snake. Similarly, we, the Vedic hymns, simply concentrate our minds on the lotus feet of Your Lordship. Women like the gopis concentrate upon You under the dictation of lust, and we concentrate upon Your lotus feet to go back home, back to Godhead. Your enemies also concentrate upon You, thinking always of how to kill You, and yogis undertake great penances and austerities just to attain Your impersonal effulgence. All these different persons, although concentrating their minds in different ways, achieve spiritual perfection according to their different perspectives because You, O Lord, are equal to all Your devotees.”

“The living entities are therefore called jivatma, and the Supreme Lord is called Paramatma. Both the Paramatma and the jivatma are within this material world, and therefore this material world has a purpose other than sense gratification. The conception of a life of sense gratification is illusion, but the conception of service by the jivatma to the Paramatma, even in this material world, is not at all illusory. A Krishna conscious person is fully aware of this fact, and thus he does not take this material world to be false but acts in the reality of transcendental service. The devotee therefore sees everything in this material world as an opportunity to serve the Lord. He does not reject anything as material but dovetails everything in the service of the Lord. Thus a devotee is always in the transcendental position, and everything he uses becomes spiritually purified by being used in the Lord’s service.”

“The Krishna consciousness movement therefore issues a supreme call to all kinds of religionists, asking them with great authority to join this movement, by which one can learn how to love God and thus surpass all formulas and formalities of scriptural injunction. A person who cannot overcome the jurisdiction of stereotyped religious principles is compared to an animal chained up by its master. The purpose of all religion is to understand God and develop one’s dormant love of Godhead. If one simply sticks to the religious formulas and formalities but does not become elevated to the position of love of God, he is considered to be a chained animal.”

“The personified Vedas continued to pray. ‘Dear Lord,’ they said, ‘from all Vedic information it is understood that You are the supreme controller and all living entities are controlled. Both the Lord and the living entities are called nitya, eternal, and so are qualitatively one, yet the singular nitya, or the Supreme Lord, is the controller, whereas the plural nityas are controlled. The individual controlled living entity resides within the body, and the supreme controller, as Supersoul, is also present there, but the Supersoul controls the individual soul. That is the verdict of the Vedas. If the individual soul were not controlled by the Supersoul, then how could one explain the Vedic version that a living entity transmigrates from one body to another and enjoys or suffers the effects of his past deeds, sometimes being promoted to a higher standard of life and sometimes being degraded to a lower standard? Thus the conditioned souls are not only under the control of the Supreme Lord but are also conditioned by the control of the material nature. This relationship of the living entities with the Supreme Lord as the controlled and the controller definitely proves that although the Supersoul is all-pervasive, the individual living entities are never all-pervasive. If the individual souls were all-pervasive, there would be no question of their being controlled. The theory that the Supersoul and the individual soul are equal is therefore a polluted conclusion, and no sensible person accepts it; rather, one should try to understand the distinctions between the supreme eternal and the subordinate eternals.’”

Vrindavana Dasa Thakura:

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 21.18:

“Anyone who discriminates between Me, My servant, and the book Bhagavatam is certainly destroyed.”

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 21.22:

“One who thinks, ‘I understand Srimad Bhagavatam,’ does not actually know the conclusion of Srimad Bhagavatam.”

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 21.45–48:

“As the drunkards followed the Lord in jubilation, some clapped their hands and danced while chanting the name of Hari. The drunkards joyfully danced and sang, ‘Hari bol! Hari bol! Jaya Narayana!’ The drunkards made a great commotion while chanting the name of Hari. Such is the result of seeing Vishnu and the Vaishnavas. While seeing the activities of the drunkards, Visvambhara laughed and Srivasa cried in ecstasy.”

From Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 21.22:

“Krishna appears in this world in four forms—Srimad Bhagavatam, tulasi, Ganga, and the devotees.”

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

From his commentary on Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 21.45:

“Some of the drunkards joyfully folded their hands, danced, and chanted the names of Hari as they followed Gaurasundara. Having received the association of the Lord and His devotees, the drunkards also became intoxicated in the mellows of devotional service to Hari.”

-----

This verse from Bhagavad-gita is not often quoted, but it does make a very important point:

tattva-vit tu maha-baho

guna-karma-vibhagayoh
guna gunesu vartanta
iti matva na sajjate

“One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive results.” (Bhagavad-gita 3.28)

One who really understands that the end result of engaging devotional service is a life of eternal bliss and knowledge and the result of sense enjoyment is continued material existence, with its inevitable miseries, exclusively and continuously engages in the devotional service of the Lord and ultimately becomes situated on the spiritual plane of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. We wish everyone all success in this endeavor in this very life.