What is the ultimate goal of life (prayojana) for all living beings in this world? The ultimate goal is divine love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We should speak on this subject throughout the yearnot just for half an hour. We should speak on this subject wherever we go.

Śrīnātha Cakravartī, a great Indian saint of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s school of thought, has given the substance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teachings in a Sanskrit verse:

ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas
tad-dhāma vṛndāvanaṁ
ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-
vargeṇa yā kalpitā
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalaṁ
premā pumartho mahān
śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhor matam idaṁ
tatrādaro naḥ paraḥ

Who is the highest object of worship? Śrī Kṛṣṇa is. Here Caitanya Mahāprabhu is speaking about Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, the king of Vraja. Vraja means “where the cows graze.” Nanda Mahārāja is the king (indra) of the cowherds (the gopas and gopīs). The son of Nanda Mahārāja, Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the highest object of worship. Nanda-nandana means the “son of Nanda.” Vṛndāvana is the transcendental realm of Nanda-nandana Kṛṣṇa, and He performs many kinds of pastimes there.

Now why has Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed us to worship Nanda-nandana Kṛṣṇa? Caitanya Mahāprabhu has not instructed us to worship demigods. He did not instruct us to worship Paramātmā, the object of worship of the yogīs. Nor has He instructed us to worship Brahman and merge in this formless aspect of the Absolute, the object of the jñānīs. He has not even taught us to worship the various forms of Kṛṣṇa that have been displayed in numerous pastimes, such as Rāma, Narasiṁha, or Vāmana. Also, During His pastimes, Kṛṣṇa, He appears as Mathurādhīśa Kṛṣṇa, Kurukṣetra Kṛṣṇa, and Dvārakadhī śa Kṛṣṇa. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu has specifically stated that we should worship Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Why?

The answer is that we can worship Nanda-nandana Kṛṣṇa in the context of any possible relationship we desire. On the other hand, we cannot participate in all types of relationships with the Supreme Lord in His form of Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa displays a majestic form of God, so we can only have a relationship of friendship with Him from a distance. Persons fear going near to Nārāyaṇa because he is playing the role of a majestic king. His devotees may become His friends, but their intimacy is inhibited by fear. Moods like parental affection and conjugal love are absent. Thus those who wish to serve the Supreme Lord as a firm bosom friend, as their son or in a mood of conjugal love, cannot acquire this sort of relationship with the Lord in His Nārāyaṇa form. Therefore, Nārāyaṇa cannot be the common center for all devotees.

In Kṛṣṇa, the cowherdboy of Vṛndāvana, however, all sorts of intimate relationships are possible and, of all these various forms of worship, the amorous worship of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa is the highest. The gopīs have engaged all their senses to the fullest extent for the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and amongst the gopīs, Śrī Rādhā, the absolute counterpart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the best. She is the personification of His internal potency of ecstatic love and Her devotion to Kṛṣṇa is beyond comparison.

In Kṛṣṇa we find twelve rasas. Rasa is the mellow of the relationship, the taste or bliss one experiences in a particular relationship with Kṛṣṇa. There are five primary rasas (mukhya-rasas), namely śānta (neutrality), dāsya (servitude), sakhya (friendship), vātsalya (parenthood) and mādhurya (consorthood). In addition there are seven secondary or gauṇa-rasas, namely hāsya (laughter), adbhuta (astonishment), vīra (heroism), karuṇa (compassion), raudra (anger), bhayānaka (fear), and bībhatsa (disgust). All these rasas are described in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. There, it is related how the evil king Kaṁsa tried to kill Kṛṣṇa. Kaṁsa thought, “I will built a great stadium. I shall invite all the inhabitants of Mathurā and Vraja to come there to participate. There will be a wrestling match. The wrestlers will fight with Kṛṣṇa and His brother Balarāma and kill them.” So Kaṁsa made arrangements and many visitors came to watch the wrestling in the great stadium. When Kṛṣṇa and His elder brother Balarāma made Their entrance into the wrestling arena, all the spectators saw Kṛṣṇa in different ways.

mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ
strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān
gopānāṁ sva-jano satāṁ kṣiti-bhujāṁ
śāstā sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ
mṛtyur bhoja-pater virāḍ aviduṣāṁ
tattvaṁ paraṁ yogināṁ
vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devateti vidito
raṅgaṁ gataḥ sāgrajaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.43.17)

All the twelve rasas were thus manifested there. The first was vīra-rasa: the warrior rasa. The wrestlers saw Kṛṣṇa in this way. The ordinary spectators saw Kṛṣṇa as a wonderful human being: adbhuta-rasa. All the gopīs were there and they saw Kṛṣṇa as their most beloved husband—strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān.

All the friends of Kṛṣṇa saw Him as their friend—gopānāṁ sva-jano. A joking mood (hāsya-rasa) can also be found in relations between friends. For example, Kṛṣṇa’s sakhā (friend) Madhumaṅgala steals Kṛṣṇa’s sweets and creates a humorous atmosphere. The humorous is a secondary or gauṇa-rasa, but the principal rasa is the sakhya-rasa or relation of frienship. In this sakhya-rasa, we see that the hāsya-rasa inspires feelings of love.

Those who were of an oppressive nature were afraid when they saw Kṛṣṇa. They thought that their punisher had come. They were very much afraid, because they saw Kṛṣṇa as angry and wrathful. This is bhayānaka-rasa. And all the parents saw their beloved child when they saw Kṛṣṇa—sva-pitoḥ śiśuḥ. This is vātsalya-rasa. Karuṇa-rasa also plays a part in parental affection. Karuṇa means feelings of sympathy or pity. When they saw the sort of thing was happening before them—that a small child was opposing those formidable wrestlers—they felt pity. So this karuṇa-rasa is included in parental rasa.

Next, Kaṁsa thought death had come to him—mṛtyur bhoja-pater. He saw seeing Kṛṣṇa as something dreadful. Kṛṣṇa is not dreadful, but that is how Kaṁsa saw Him. The ig norant saw him as a mere man—virāḍ aviduṣāṁ. The yogīs saw Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Truth in śānta-rasa while the Yādavas saw Kṛṣṇa in dāsya-rasa, the mood of service. So, we can find all the five principle rasas and seven secondary rasas in Kṛṣṇa alone. We can experience all kinds of rasas by serving Kṛṣṇa, but we cannot obtain the same result by serving any other form of the Lord.

Kavīrāja Gosvāmī has written in Caitanya Caritāmṛta that fifty kinds of divine qualities can be found in the jīvā souls in minute quantity. Five more divine qualities can be found to a fuller extent in Śiva and Brahmā. Again, five more qualities are present in their full form in Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu. This makes a total of sixty divine characteristics or qualities in all. Now, there are four other qualities that you will not find anywhere else except in Kṛṣṇa. These qualities are the incomparable sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s līlā (līlā-mādhurya), the sweetness of His form (rūpa-mādhurya), the sweet sound of His flute (veṇu-mādhurya), and the sweetness of His love (prema-mādhurya). Kṛṣṇa has many wonderful pastimes in which He assumes a sweet form. He does not appear in a very gigantic figure with all kinds of weapons. Thus, He does not fight with Pūtaṇā, the witch, but rather appears as a baby He kills her by sucking her breast, exhibiting sweetness toward her. This is the wonder of Kṛṣṇa’s līlā. Also we find that even while keeping His own sweet form, Kṛṣṇa lifts the mountain, Govardhana, with the small finger of His left hand. He does not assume a very great and strong figure to do this. As a small boy Kṛṣṇa subdued Kāliya, a great serpent, when He jumped on Kāliya’s thousands of heads. In no other form of God will you find such wonderful pastimes.

Kṛṣṇa’s associates are also very sweet. His sakhās climb on His shoulders to pluck fruit from the tops of the trees. They then taste the fruits to see whether they are good before giving them to Kṛṣṇa. So much affection! So much intimacy! There is no majestic aspect in Vraja. There they think of Kṛṣṇa as their own bosom friend. Kṛṣṇa’s parents love Him as their very own son. And Kṛṣṇa’s mother Yaśodā Devī even tries to discipline Him, thinking that otherwise His future will be bad… God’s future will be bad!! And Nanda Mahārāja, with great affection, says to Kṛṣṇa, “O Lālā, bring my slippers.” What is this? He is ordering Bhagavān to bring him his slippers!! So, Kṛṣṇa runs to fetch the slippers and puts them on His head. Observing this, Nanda Mahārāja thinks that his son will grow up to be very good. Kṛṣṇa and Nanda Mahārāja runs toward each other and they embrace.

Be that as it may, we cannot compare the gopīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa to anything else. It is incomparable. And the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute! When the gopīs hear the sound of the flute they run toward Kṛṣṇa, leaving behind all other duties and even their own babies. All the mountains melt upon hearing thevaṁśī-dhvani: the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute. By hearing this sound the river Yamunā begins to flow in the opposite direction. All is so beautiful that even Kṛṣṇa is attracted by His own beauty and love. There is no one greater than or equal to Him.

Because of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness Brahmā, who has been designated the task of creation by the Supreme Lord, could not recognize Him as the Supreme Lord. Brahmā did not believe it when he heard that Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd boy from Vraja, was God. He thought, “How can He be Svayaṁ-Bhagavān? He is the son of Nanda Mahārāja, a milkman and one of my created beings. He cannot be Bhagavān. A cowherd boy has no opulences—nothing! Bhagavān is the possessor of all opulences, but this Kṛṣṇa is walking in the jungle with cowherd boys and has no valuable possessions. He wears a garland of forest flowers and has a peacock feather in His hair. How can anyone say that He is Bhagavān? A peasant cannot be Bhagavān.”

Now, at that time there was a demon named Aghāsura who wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa and the cowherd boys. Aghāsura took the form of a giant snake and opened his mouth wide so that from a distance the cowherd boys thought they were seeing a nice cave. They also saw a road leading to the cave, which was actually the tongue of the snake-demon. So thinking Aghāsura’s mouth to be a cave, the cowherd boys walked into it and the demon immediately swallowed them. When Kṛṣṇa saw what had happened, He decided to save His friends. He followed them into the demon’s mouth and started to expand Himself. His body became bigger and bigger and by so doing blocked the snake’s throat. The snake could not breath anymore and soon died of suffocation. When he saw that Kṛṣṇa had killed the demon Aghāsura, Brahmā began to wonder, “How could a this mere cowherd boy kill such a giant demon?” He then decided to find out whether Kṛṣṇa was Bhagavān or not.

In the meantime, Kṛṣṇa, being very fond of picnics, came to the bank of a lake with His friends. The cowherd boys had brought some food for Kṛṣṇa and had hung it in the trees at the picnic spot earlier so that no one could take it. When they came to that spot, they took their lunch bags down from the trees and began to feed Kṛṣṇa—but only after testing the food by tasting it first. If it was good they would say: “Hey Kṛṣṇa! Kanhaiyā! This tastes good, try some!” Then they would give it to Kṛṣṇa.

Brahmā came there at that moment and when he saw Kṛṣṇa taking the remnants of all of the cowherd boys, he again thought, “This cannot be Bhagavān—He is nothing more than a peasant.” Brahmā also saw a mixture of curd and rice in Kṛṣṇa’s left hand. The Vedic scriptures enjoin that one should take food from the right hand, not the left. So Brahmā thought, “He does not know right from left, He cannot be Bhagavān. He is nothing but an ignorant rustic.” He also saw that Kṛṣṇa kept a flute tucked inside his waistband and a horn under his armpit. All the cowherd boys were addressing him in a familiar manner instead of using words of respect. Brahmā thought, “Bhagavān should be respected from a distance with prostrated obeisances. One should pay respects to Him with the appropriate formal speech. How could Bhagavān tolerate this behavior?”

At one point, the cowherd boys said to Kṛṣṇa, “We have to go and get the calves, otherwise it will be late when we get back home.” But Kṛṣṇa replied, “No, you stay here and rest, I will get the calves.” Now, when Kṛṣṇa went looking for the calves, He could not find them because Brahmā had stolen them and had hidden them in a cave. Kṛṣṇa became sad and asked everyone He saw, “Our calves are lost, have you seen them? How can I go back home without them?”

By the time Kṛṣṇa had returned to the picnic spot, Brahmā had also stolen all the cowherd boys and taken to the same cave in Mount Sumeru where he had earlier hidden the calves. Now that He had lost all the calves and the cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa sat down and wept. Brahmā observed this and smiled. He thought with great satisfaction, “Bhagavān knows everything. If Kṛṣṇa were the Supreme Lord, He could have taken back the calves forcibly. But He does not know where the calves and boys are and He is incapable of recovering them. So I was right, He is just an ordinary cowherd boy.” And so he left.

After Brahmā had gone, Kṛṣṇa also smiled and expanded Himself into as many calves and cowherd boys as Brahmā had stolen. Thus when He returned home, the cows were not even aware that they had lost their calves, and the gopas and gopīs were equally unaware that they had lost their children. Everything is possible for Kṛṣṇa. To fulfill the desires of the gopas and gopīs who would have liked to have Him as their son, Kṛṣṇa came to them as their sons. The gopas and gopīs had always thought that Nanda and Yaśodā were so lucky to have Kṛṣṇa as their son. Now that He came to them as their own sons, they could not recognize Him, but as soon as they touched them, they experienced an overwhelming sense of love that can only be had from Kṛṣṇa. They drowned in the ocean of ānanda.

The cows of Vṛndāvana were not ordinary cows. They had all been sages in their previous lives. Cows normally have affection for their own young calves, but now that Kṛṣṇa had taken the form of their calves, they tore the ropes that bound them and went rushing toward them. They were even running through thorns and getting cut and bleeding all over, such was the extent of their love. Due to their yearning for Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Himself had come as their calves to suckle their breasts. Kṛṣṇa came for an entire year for that reason alone—to satisfy them and fulfill their desires.

After one year, Brahmā came back. He saw the same calves and cowherd boys that had been there before. He thought, “Impossible! It can’t be. I imprisoned them all in the mountain cave. I cannot understand this.” Thinking in this way, he went back to to the cave in Mount Sumeru and saw that the same calves and same cowherd boys were still sleeping there. Once again he returned to Vṛndāvana and saw that the cows and cowherd boys were there as well. Brahmā could then understand the situation and he thought, “ All creatures are deluded by my illusions, but now I myself have been deluded by my Master.” He then took absolute shelter of Kṛṣṇa and prayed for forgiveness. Once he had taken shelter, Kṛṣṇa was gracious and came and showed Brahmā His majestic four-handed Vāsudeva form in each of the cowherd boys and in each of the calves. Brahmā then said:

naumīḍya te ’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya
guṅjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya
vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-
lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatm 10.14.1)

“You are the highest object of worship. I know this to be true: You are the cause of all causes, the source of all avatāras. You are the possessor of all rasas. Your body is the color of the rain-bearing clouds. Your garment is brilliant like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced by Your guñjā earrings and the peacock feather in your hair. Wearing garlands of various forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute, You stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand.”

Thus Brahmā recognized the supremacy of the sweetest of lords, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Nowhere in the entire creation is there any comparison.

In Kṛṣṇa līlā we find that one day, there were no servants in Nanda Mahārāja’s house. So mother Yaśodā went herself to churn butter from the milk. While she was churning the milk, the young child Kṛṣṇa came to her. Kṛṣṇa had just learned how to walk and was playing the pastime of being hungry. He said, “O mother, stop churning, I am hungry. Give me milk!” To this Yaśodā replied, “There are no servants here and so I am busy. Don’t disturb me.”

After hearing this, Kṛṣṇa, with His beautiful small hand, grabbed hold of the churning stick. Yaśodā was charmed and put the child on her lap to breastfeed Him, but at that very instant, the milk on the stove started to boil over. So, Yaśodā said to Gopāla, “Get down, the milk is boiling.” But Kṛṣṇa’s appetite had not been appeased and He did not want to get down. He said, “Give me more milk.” Yaśodā thrust Kṛṣṇa down and ran to the stove. Kṛṣṇa became very angry because of this and wanted to break the pot containing the yogurt. Though He was still afraid of His mother, He silently struck the pot with a small stone until it broke and all the curd spilled onto the floor. Then, seeing other pots hanging from the ceiling, He climbed onto the mortar and broke them all.

Sometimes the other gopīs complained to Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. They complained that Kṛṣṇa was very naughty and would come to their houses at night. They said, “We light lamps to keep the thieves away, but your boy blows them out. Then He steals our butter.” Nanda would ask Kṛṣṇa, “Kanhaiyā, did you do this?” “No father, I did not. They are telling lies.” Kṛṣṇa put on a very innocent face, like a sādhu or a saint. When his parents saw this innocent expression, they thought it impossible that He could have done such a thing. Nanda Mahārāja would answer the gopīs’ charges, “I have thousands of cows. I am the king of Vraja. Why should my son go to another house to steal butter?” The reason was that Kṛṣṇa sometimes wanted to go to other people’s houses to give them a chance to serve Him. Normally His parents would not allow Him to go anywhere else to eat. They love Kṛṣṇa too much themselves. That is why He sometimes acts like a thief, to give all His devotees a chance to serve Him, to fulfill their desires. So, outwardly, it seemed as though Kṛṣṇa was destroying everything and spoiling the yogurt by eating it and feeding it to the monkeys. In fact, the yogurt had been prepared from the milk of cows who desired that it be used in His service. So actually Kṛṣṇa was giving everybody a chance to serve Him in this way.

When Yaśodā returned from the stove she saw what mischief Kṛṣṇa had wrought. He had destroyed all the pots and was feeding the monkeys. As a result, she wanted to punish Him. She thought, “If I do not teach Him a lesson, His character will be spoiled.” So, Yaśodā decided to cane the Supreme Lord Bhagavān to correct His character. She approached Kṛṣṇa silently, hoping to catch Him by surprise. But just when she was about to catch Him, Kṛṣṇa jumped up and ran away. Soon Yaśodā was chasing Kṛṣṇa all over the courtyard, but she quickly became tired and started to move more slowly. Though nobody is able to catch Kṛṣṇa, He Himself slowed down and allowed her to catch Him because of her pure affection for Him.

Yaśodā said, “What have you done? I shall cane you!” Kṛṣṇa was afraid of the cane in His mother’s hand and started to cry. Even the god of death fears Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, but He is afraid when he sees a cane in the hand of His mother. How is it possible? This is Vraja prema. The Vrajavasis do not see Kṛṣṇa as God. They only love Him with all their hearts.

Then Yaśodā felt pity for Kṛṣṇa and decided instead to fasten Him with some rope so He could do no more mischief. She tried to tie the rope around His belly, but it was  two inches too short. Again and again she brought more rope, but it was always too short. So though we see on the one hand that Kṛṣṇa was limited like a small boy, in fact He is unlimited even in His apparent limitation.

Why was the rope always two inches short? What is the significance of this? One inch represents the grace of Kṛṣṇa, the other, the sincere service with which we can attract His grace. Yaśodā never stops in her service of Kṛṣṇa, and that is why in the end Kṛṣṇa allowed her to bind Him with the ropes of her love. We must also make the same kind of sincere effort to serve Guru and Vaiṣṇava; then we will be able to attract their grace.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has written this song:

bandhu saṅge jadi taba raṅga parihas thāke abhilāṣ
tabe mor kathā rākha jeyo nāka jeyo nāka
vṛndāvane keśītīrtha ghāter sakāś
nayane baṅkima-dṛṣṭi mukhe manda-hās

“If you still desire to amuse yourself with your friends, you should not go to Vṛndāvana. And if you go to Vṛndāvana, you should especially not go to Keśi Ghat. There is a danger lurking there. What is that danger? It is Śrī Hari, Kṛṣṇa Himself, who has taken the form of Govinda, Govinda vigraha dhari.. The danger is that if you go there and see Him, if you have a vision of Govinda, you will not be able to return to the customary amusements of your ordinary household life.”

The look of His eyes, His crooked glance is very dangerous—nayane baṅkima-dṛṣṭi mukhe manda-hās. He is not standing straight, but in tri-bhaṅga, with three curves. If this Kṛṣṇa  enters you, He will not come out. If Narāyāṇa enters, He may come out. Narāyāṇa is straight. But Kṛṣṇa is curved like a hook and that is dangerous.

His color is like that of a rain cloud—varṇa samujjvala śyāma.. You will find that in the springtime the leaves of the trees are so fresh. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is not old, but a young adolescent. The lips of His mouth are very dangerous and if you see the peacock feather on His head, you will not be able to come back to your household life. So, if you want to have fun with your friends, you should not go to Vṛndāvana, and you should not look at Kṛṣṇa.

Unfortunately, we go to Vṛndāvana and still come back. We do not have such devotion. If anybody truly had the greed for Govinda, he could not return to his mundane life. His worldly relations would be destroyed. Greed for devotion is developed by associating with the pure devotees of the Lord. By their grace it becomes possible for us to attain Kṛṣṇa prema, divine love of God, the ultimate goal of life.