Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Madhya 8.230

gopī-ānugatya vinā aiśvarya-jñāne

bhajileha nāhi pāya vrajendra-nandane

SYNONYMS

gopī-ānugatya — subservience to the gopīs; vinā — without; aiśvarya-jñāne — in the knowledge of opulence; bhajileha — if serving the Supreme Lord; nāhi — not; pāya — gets; vrajendra-nandane — the son of Mahārāja Nanda, Krishna.

TRANSLATION

"Unless one follows in the footsteps of the gopīs, he cannot attain the service of the lotus feet of Krishna, the son of Nanda Mahārāja. If one is overcome by knowledge of the Lord's opulence, he cannot attain the Lord's lotus feet, even though he is engaged in devotional service.

PURPORT

One can worship Lakshmī-Nārāyana by the process of vidhi-mārga, worshiping the Lord with regulative principles according to the instructions of the śāstra and the spiritual master. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Rādhā-Krishna, cannot be directly worshiped by this process. The dealings between Rādhā and Krishna and the gopīs are devoid of the opulences of Lakshmī-Nārāyana. The process of vidhi-mārga, following the regulative principles, is utilized in the worship of Lakshmī-Nārāyana, whereas the process of spontaneous service — following in the footsteps of the gopīs, who are the denizens of Vrindāvana — is transcendentally more advanced and is the process whereby Rādhā and Krishna are worshiped. One cannot attain this elevated position while worshiping the Lord in His opulence. Those attracted by the conjugal love between Rādhā and Krishna must follow in the footsteps of the gopīs. Only then is it possible to enter into the Lord's service in Goloka Vrindāvana and directly associate with Rādhā and Krishna.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness