• Kurukṣetra Is Not Vṛndāvana: Continuing from the morning, Gurudeva recalls the verse yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ that Mahāprabhu recited at Ratha-yātrā, and Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī’s answering verse priyaḥ so ’yaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ, in which Rādhā says that meeting Kṛṣṇa in Kurukṣetra gives no joy, for Her heart longs for the forest on the Yamunā’s bank. Kṛṣṇa is the same, but His bhāva (mood) in royal dress among the Pāṇḍavas and Yādavas is different from the tribhaṅga-lalita (threefold-bending) cowherd with flute and peacock crown.
• The Four Sweetnesses: Kṛṣṇa’s rūpa-, līlā-, prema- and veṇu-mādhurya (sweetness of form, pastimes, love and flute) are shown through barhāpīḍaṁ naṭa-vara-vapuḥ, kā stry aṅga te and gāvaś ca kṛṣṇa-mukha-nirgata-veṇu-gīta: even the cows stand like painted pictures, tears falling like pearls, and the calves forget to drink. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, led to Vṛndāvana by Kṛṣṇa Himself, sang the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta and told Him, “You may leave my hand, but not my heart.”
• Seeing with the Ears: Bhagavān is not seen with material eyes but through hari-kathā, which purifies the heart and grants aprākṛta netra (transcendental vision), as in śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Without ruci (taste) for kathā, all dharma is śrama eva hi kevalam (“mere labour”), just as food tastes good only when one is hungry.
• No Rules in Chanting: When Mahāprabhu held His tongue on the way to the toilet, the boy Gopāla reminded Him that the name has no restrictions (nāmnām akāri bahudhā, apavitraḥ pavitro vā), and Mahāprabhu named him Gopāla Guru. The impure body is purified only by remembering Puṇḍarīkākṣa, the lotus-eyed Lord.
• Three Kṛṣṇas: Śāstra speaks of the Kṛṣṇa of Vraja, of Mathurā and of Dvārakā; kṛṣṇo ’nyo yadu-sambhūto declares that the Kṛṣṇa of Vṛndāvana never leaves Vṛndāvana, and Rādhā laments for Him in the Bhramara-gīta. Śrī Rūpa wrote his verse on a palm leaf in Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s hut; Mahāprabhu found it, embraced him, and Svarūpa Dāmodara explained that only Mahāprabhu’s mercy, given to Rūpa at Prayāga, could reveal His heart (phalena phala-kāraṇam anumīyate, “the cause is known by its fruit”).
• Inquiry and Mercy: Like Sanātana Gosvāmī asking ke āmi (“who am I?”), one should practise ātma-jijñāsā (inquiry into the self) through tad viddhi praṇipātena (obeisance, inquiry and service), yet tattva is known only by the Lord’s mercy (athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya). Gurudeva gently scolds devotees who sleep after maṅgala-āratī.
• The Nectar of “Kṛṣṇa”: Seeing Śrī Rūpa’s pearl-like handwriting, Mahāprabhu read tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī: the two syllables “Kṛṣ-ṇa” make one long for millions of mouths and ears. Rādhā’s eyes, unlike Candrāvalī’s, stick wherever they fall on Govinda; Gurudeva warns, with bandhu-saṅge yadi tava, that whoever sees Govinda at Keśī-ghāṭa never returns home.
• Make the Home Vṛndāvana: Observing Ekādaśī includes all vratas, yet people fast nine days for Navarātri and eat on Ekādaśī. One name of Rādhā outweighs countless names; so make the home and mind Vṛndāvana, free from onion and garlic. Through yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu, Jayadeva’s dehi pada-pallavam udāram, the Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi and the Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava, he glorifies Vraja and Śrī Rādhā, and closes with Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the Nāmācārya chanting three lakh names daily, dancing in joy at Śrī Rūpa’s verse.
Gurudeva asks everyone to examine how much pure harināma they chant and, wherever they live, to make their heart and home Vṛndāvana by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā.
