Manjari bhava is no cheap thing

[Paramananda das]

Manjari Bhava is no cheap thing
We can read in Jaiva Dharma how one vaisnava was chanting 2 laks holy names for 30 years and then told the
other vaisnavas on that day he had become a madhyama adhikari.And some are talking manjari bhava?First we have to
give up the enjoying spirit and fully accept Krsna as the Supreme enjoyer and controller.By not chanting 64 rounds
daily one shows zero adhikara for attaining Vraja Bhava because Lord Caitanya gave this instruction to all
aspiring ekantika  bhaktas, those who onepointed wants to serve Radha Krsna.More important is to spread the
sankirtana movement,through bookdistribution and Harinama this will give further adhikara to chant the holy name
purely/Aspiring for manjari bhava and any other seva in Gokula dham is noble but without being fully purified
it will not happen.


The Nectar of Instruction 8

tan-nāma-rūpa-caritādi-sukīrtanānu-
smṛtyoḥ krameṇa rasanā-manasī niyojya
tiṣṭhan vraje tad-anurāgi janānugāmī
kālaḿ nayed akhilam ity upadeśa-sāram
SYNONYMS

tat — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; nāma — the holy name; rūpa — form; carita-ādi — character, pastimes and so on;
su-kīrtana — in discussing or chanting nicely; anusmṛtyoḥ — and in remembering; krameṇa — gradually;
rasanā — the tongue; manasī — and one's mind; niyojya — engaging; tiṣṭhan — residing; vraje — in Vraja;
tat — to Lord Kṛṣṇa; anurāgi — attached; jana — persons; anugāmī — following; kālam — time; nayet — should utilize; akhilam — full; iti — thus; upadeśa — of advice or instruction; sāram — the essence.
TRANSLATION

The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one's full time — twenty-four hours a day — in nicely
chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby
gradually engaging one's tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vṛndāvana dhāma] and
serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord's beloved devotees,
who are deeply attached to His devotional service.
PURPORT

Since the mind may be one's enemy or one's friend, one has to train the mind to become his friend.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is especially meant for training the mind to be always engaged in Kṛṣṇa's business.
The mind contains hundreds and thousands of impressions, not only of this life but also of many, many lives of
the past. These impressions sometimes come in contact with one another and produce contradictory pictures.
In this way the mind's function can become dangerous for a conditioned soul. Students of psychology are
aware of the mind's various psychological changes. In Bhagavad-gītā (8.6) it is said:
yaḿ yaḿ vāpi smaran bhāvaḿ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taḿ taḿ evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail."
At the time of death, the mind and intelligence of a living entity create the subtle form of a certain
type of body for the next life. If the mind suddenly thinks of something not very congenial, one has to
take a corresponding birth in the next life. On the other hand, if one can think of Kṛṣṇa at the time of
death, he can be transferred to the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. This process of transmigration
is very subtle; therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī advises devotees to train their minds in order that
they will be unable to remember anything other than Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the tongue should be trained
to speak only of Kṛṣṇa and to taste only kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī further advises, tiṣṭhan vraje:
one should live in Vṛndāvana or any part of Vrajabhūmi. Vrajabhūmi, or the land of Vṛndāvana, is
supposed to be eighty-four krośas in area. One krośa equals two square miles. When one makes Vṛndāvana
his residence, he should take shelter of an advanced devotee there. In this way one should always
think of Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes. This is further elucidated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.294):
kṛṣṇaḿ smaran janaḿ cāsya
preṣṭhaḿ nija-samīhitam
tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau
kuryād vāsaḿ vraje sadā
"A devotee should always reside in the transcendental realm of Vraja and always engage
in kṛṣṇaḿ smaran janaḿ cāsya preṣṭham, the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His beloved associates.
By following in the footsteps of such associates and by entering under their eternal guidance,
one can acquire an intense desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Again Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295):
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ
"In the transcendental realm of Vraja [Vraja-dhāma] one should serve the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with
a feeling similar to that of His associates, and one should place himself under the direct guidance of
a particular associate of Kṛṣṇa and should follow in his footsteps. This method is applicable both in the
stage of sādhana [spiritual practices executed while in the stage of bondage] and in the stage of sādhya
[God realization], when one is a siddha-puruṣa, or a spiritually perfect soul."
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has commented as follows upon this verse: "One who has not yet
developed interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should give up all material motives and train his mind by
following the progressive regulative principles, namely chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa and His name,
form, quality, pastimes and so forth. In this way, after developing a taste for such things, one should
try to live in Vṛndāvana and pass his time constantly remembering Kṛṣṇa's name, fame, pastimes and qualities
under the direction and protection of an expert devotee. This is the sum and substance of all
instruction regarding the cultivation of devotional service.
"In the neophyte stage one should always engage in hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā. This is called śravaṇa-daśā,
the stage of hearing. By constantly hearing the transcendental holy name of Kṛṣṇa and hearing of His
transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, one can attain to the stage of acceptance called
varaṇa-daśā. When one attains this stage, he becomes attached to the hearing of kṛṣṇa-kathā.
When one is able to chant in ecstasy, he attains the stage of smaraṇāvasthā, the stage of
remembering. Recollection, absorption, meditation, constant remembrance and trance are the
five items of progressive kṛṣṇa-smaraṇa. At first, remembrance of Kṛṣṇa may be interrupted at
intervals, but later remembrance proceeds uninterrupted. When remembrance is uninterrupted,
it becomes concentrated and is called meditation. When meditation expands and becomes constant,
it is called anusmṛti. By uninterrupted and unceasing anusmṛti one enters the stage of samādhi,
or spiritual trance. After smaraṇa-daśā or samādhi has fully developed, the soul comes to understand
his original constitutional position. At that time he can perfectly and clearly understand his
eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is called sampatti-daśā, the perfection of life.
"Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises those who are neophytes to give up all kinds of motivated desires and
simply engage in the regulative devotional service of the Lord according to the directions of scripture.
In this way a neophyte can gradually develop attachment for Kṛṣṇa's name, fame, form, qualities and
so forth. When one has developed such attachment, he can spontaneously serve the lotus feet of
Kṛṣṇa even without following the regulative principles. This stage is called rāga-bhakti,
or devotional service in spontaneous love. At that stage the devotee can follow in the footsteps
of one of the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. This is called rāgānuga-bhakti.
Rāgānuga-bhakti, or spontaneous devotional service, can be executed in the śānta-rasa
when one aspires to be like Kṛṣṇa's cows or the stick or flute in the hand of Kṛṣṇa, or the flowers
around Kṛṣṇa's neck. In the dāsya-rasa one follows in the footsteps of servants like Citraka,
Patraka or Raktaka. In the friendly sakhya-rasa one can become a friend like Baladeva, Śrīdāmā
or Sudāmā. In the vātsalya-rasa, characterized by parental affection, one can become like
Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā, and in the mādhurya-rasa, characterized by conjugal love, one
can become like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or Her lady friends such as Lalitā and Her serving maids
(mañjarīs) like Rūpa and Rati. This is the essence of all instruction in the matter of devotional service."

your humble servant
 Paramananda  das