During the chariot festival, Kṛṣṇa, Baladeva, and Subhadra make the trip in their own respective chariots. The day before the festival, Caitanya Mahāprabhu told the devotees, “You see, Kṛṣṇa will come to the Guṇḍicā Temple tomorrow. You must come with Me and cleanse this temple.” “Cleansing the temple” means that you must remove all the thorns and rubbish outside, trim the grass, etc. You must clear the path of any stones and sweep away all the dust with a broom. But it also means that you are to engage your sense organs for the service of Kṛṣṇa. If you do not engage your sense organs, you will not get Him. For this reason, you have to clear your heart of all desire for the attainment of material benefits both here and in the hereafter in heaven. If such desire is there, Kṛṣṇa will not come. This desire for non-eternal benefits and emancipation, the desire to merge yourself in formless Brahman, the desire to merge yourself in Paramātmā—these sorts of desires will deter you from going to Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa will not come to you. For this reason, you have to clear all of this away—these desires are like hard stones. Externally, you clear them away with brooms, and all the devotees bring earthen pots full of water to wash everything. After this, there should be no desire for name, fame, and other such things. All of this should be totally removed. For this reason, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, with the help of His own uttri (cloth that a sannyāsī wears around his neck), scrubbed the inside of the temple. There should not be any kind of material desires within the heart, not even those hidden secretly. Then Kṛṣṇa will come tomorrow.

Kṛṣṇa is coming here from the Jagannātha Temple, and you have to clear these unwanted things away. This means that you have to clear your mind. There should be no other desire except the desire for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is coming to Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa is the only autocrat there. No other ideas, forces, or persons should dominate your heart, except Kṛṣṇa. So, you have to make your heart the same as Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa is solely dominant—He is the Sole Proprietor. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “I have made this mind Vṛndāvana, so that Kṛṣṇa will be free—free to perform all His pastimes and sporting activities.” You have to make your mind Vṛndāvana. No one else should be allowed to enter, and no other thoughts should remain.

Now you are staying in a room, and outside you have placed a big sign that says, “Welcome.” So, others see the sign and say, “Oh, welcome,” and they come to your door. But the door is closed, and behind the door there are many chairs, tables, etc. In fact, the room is completely filled with furniture! They cannot even open the door. So, they go away, disappointed. Outside, your sign says, “Welcome,” and you are thinking that you are welcoming Kṛṣṇa. But, when Kṛṣṇa comes, you have thoughts in your mind of wife, children, house, money, name, fame, and other things. All these things have filled up your heart. Kṛṣṇa will simply come and go. You have to clear your mind and heart for Him. Clear away all attachment to non-eternal things, then Kṛṣṇa will come tomorrow.

We have to perform harināma. This is the best method. So, in these days leading up to the advent of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we should perform harināma saṅkīrtana. We should not do this to show off to others. We have to do our own bhajana. We must call and call Kṛṣṇa from the core of the heart. The days should be spent performing saṅkīrtana. Then our minds will be cleansed and Kṛṣṇa may appear. If you want Kṛṣṇa, you have to remove all things that are not Kṛṣṇa—this is “adhivāsa.”

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us that you will get everything, all kinds of attainments, by means of the Holy Name. He made all the devotees chant the Holy Name, being careful to avoid the tenfold offenses. You are not to engage in meditation or any other kind of practice. By simply chanting the Holy Name, your mind will be cleansed. All the unwanted desires will be removed: “ceto darpaṇa mārjanaṁ.” You have multifarious desires, but if you perform saṅkīrtana, the first attainment is that such desires will be removed. When these mundane desires are gone, so too will be the pangs of the threefold miseries. These desires are the cause of suffering. As long as you have desires, should there be some hindrance to the fulfillment of these desires, your mind will become upset. For this reason, when the desires are removed, there will be no afflictions, and Kṛṣṇa will appear. Kṛṣṇa is All-Good. After that, you will have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa, thinking, “I am of Kṛṣṇa.” With love, you will utter the Holy Name and be drowned in an ambrosial ocean of bliss, and at every step you will taste the sweet transcendental nectar of the Supreme Lord.