Srila Rupa Gosvami is not teaching in the beginning the loving affairs of Radha-Krsna. No. He's training, first of all, the reader, the devotee, how to become first of all pure devotee

Expressions researched:
"Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is not teaching in the beginning the loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. No. He's training first of all the reader, the devotee, how to become first of all pure devotee"

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

You should first of all try to serve the Six Gosvāmīs, rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti, how they are directing. Just like this Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is not teaching in the beginning the loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. No. He's training, first of all, the reader, the devotee, how to become first of all pure devotee.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:

As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, tāṅdera caraṇa-sevi-bhakta-sane vāsa (Nāma-saṅkīrtana 7). One's aim of life should be to serve the ācāryas. Ācārya upāsanam. So our ācārya in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, the śrī-rūpa sanātana bhaṭṭa-raghunātha, śrī-jīva gopāla-bhaṭṭa dāsa-raghunātha, the six Gosvāmīs, and if we associate with them . . . this book, Nectar of Devotion, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, if you read regularly, try to understand, this means you are associating with Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī directly. And if you act accordingly, then you are serving their lotus feet. Tāṅdera caraṇa-sevi-bhakta-sane vāsa. And unless you are associated with devotees, you will not be able to understand the import of the writings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu's secretary, Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, recommended one brāhmin, bhagavata para giyā bhagavata sthāne. Bhagavat . . . he, he came to Caitanya Mahāprabhu to read some poetry he had written, but it was the system that unless anything written . . . there were many devotees. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was living at Purī, Jagannātha Purī. So, many devotees from other provinces used to come and visit. And some of them wrote some poetries. But all of them, first of all, would be tested by Svarūpa Dāmodara. And then he'll be allowed to go before Caitanya Mahāprabhu and read it. That was the system.

Because people do not know siddhānta, general people. Those who are advanced devotee, they know siddhānta, the conclusion. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, therefore, it has been advised:

siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa

ihā haite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa

(CC Adi 2.117)

If you neglect siddhānta, conclusion, given by the ācāryas, then you will misunderstand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa . . . therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says . . . these are the evidences.

rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti

kabe hāma bhujhaba se yugala-pīriti

(Lālasāmayī)

Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, such an exalted ācārya, he's teaching us, "Don't try to understand yugala-pīriti, the love affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, concoctedly, by your own concoction." No. You should first of all try to serve the six Gosvāmīs, rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti, how they are directing.

Just like this Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is not teaching in the beginning the loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. No. He's training first of all the reader, the devotee, how to become first of all pure devotee.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

(Brs. 1.1.11)

First of all, he's trying to bring the devotee to the standard devotional service. Vidhi-mārga. Then gradually, when he becomes accustomed, then rāga-mārga will be revealed. Rāga-mārga is not artificial. It becomes . . . svayam eva sphuraty adhaḥ.

Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau sva . . . (Brs. 1.2.234). Everything, devotional relationship with Kṛṣṇa, you cannot establish artificially. Everyone has got a particular relationship with Kṛṣṇa in his original, constitutional position. That will be revealed gradually as you advance in devotional service in the prescribed rules and regulation, as they are directed in the śāstras and by spiritual master. When you are trained up properly, you come to the platform of rāga-mārga, then your relationship . . . that is called svarūpa-siddhi. Svarūpa-siddhi.

So svarūpa-siddhi is attained at a certain stage. Just like svarūpa-siddhi . . . the desire for sex life is there in every human being, but when the boy and the girl come to the mature stage, it become manifest. It is . . . is not learned artificially. Similarly, the rāga-mārga, svarūpa-siddhi, becomes revealed, or manifest. Śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya (CC Madhya 22.107). Udaya. This very word, udaya, is used. Just like sun. Sun becomes visible when the sun rises automatically. You cannot force the sun to rise at dead of night. That is not possible. Sun will rise. You just wait. When the time will be right, morning, six o'clock, you'll find the sun.

Similarly, the devotional service we have to execute with patience, with enthusiasm. Utsāhāt dhairyāt niścayāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt (NoI: verse 3). We must be enthusiastic, that we . . . "I, I shall engage myself very nicely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement." That is first qualification: enthusiastic. Dullness will not help you. You must be very enthusiastic. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, prāṇa ache yara sei hetu pracāra. A preacher can . . . a person can become a preacher if he has got life. A dead man cannot become a preacher.

So you must be very enthusiastic that, "I shall preach the glories of the Lord to my best capacity." It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm, "My Lord is so great, so kind, so beautiful, so wonderful. So I must speak something about my Lord." This is the qualification, enthusiasm. You may not know Kṛṣṇa very perfectly. It is not possible to know Kṛṣṇa very perfectly. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. We cannot know Kṛṣṇa cent percent. That is not possible. But Kṛṣṇa reveals as far as possible you can understand. So if we are sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa, utsāhā, and if we serve patiently, then Kṛṣṇa reveals.

The example is given in this connection: Just like a girl is married. Generally, a girl wants a child. But if she wants a child immediately after marriage, that is not possible. She must wait. She must serve her husband nicely. Utsāhān dhairyāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt, just like a faithful wife. Time will come she will become pregnant and she will have child. So niścayāt means . . . just like the girl must know because she's married, because she has got a husband, that there must be a child. It is a fact. It may be little later.

Similarly, when you have entered into devotional service, bhakti-yoga, bhakti-mārga, your success is assured, provided you are enthusiastic and patient. Not that, "Immediately I want a child," "Immediately I become fully Kṛṣṇa consciousness and perfect." No. There may be so many imperfections, because we are in the imperfect atmosphere. But patiently if you go on executing your duties in devotional service as it is directed in the śāstras and confirmed by the spiritual master, then rest assured that your success is guaranteed. This is the way. Utsāhān dhairyāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt. You must execute the duties.