Wanting to Associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa in His Eternal Pastimes
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the desire for association is a natural quality of the living entity. In the conditioned state, people want to associate with mundane society, but through the mercy of a pure devotee, this desire is spiritualized. The ultimate goal of a Vaiṣṇava is not merely to achieve liberation or even the opulence of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Rather, the pure devotee wants to return to Goloka Vṛndāvana to eternally associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa in His blissful, transcendental pastimes.
Seeking Genuine Spiritual Association
In the modern age, a common symptom is that people want to associate with various mundane organizations or engage in sense gratification, such as seeking the company of society girls. However, by good fortune, one develops the desire to associate with pure devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that when one wants to associate with a sādhu, they should not expect advice on improving material conditions; instead, the sādhu provides the strict instructions needed to sever material attachments completely.
- This is the symptom of this age: "I want to associate with some organization."
- Free mingling with women has never been possible in India, but for one who wanted to associate with society girls, they were available in a district of prostitutes.
- A person becomes interested in devotional service by some good fortune. Eventually he becomes interested in pure devotional service without material contamination. At that point, a person wants to associate with devotees.
- If we want to associate with a sadhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on how to improve our material condition, but he will give us instructions on how to cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction.
Elevating the Desire for Association
Even if one initially seeks the association of a great soul for material reasons, the spiritual potency of that association can lead to liberation, as seen when Devahūti wanted to associate with Kardama Muni. Ultimately, the bhaktas want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead eternally. Unlike the impersonalists who seek to merge into the Brahman effulgence, the pure devotees desire to act as His eternal servants, returning to the spiritual abodes from which they never fall down.
- Devahuti expressed her gratefulness, for although she wanted to associate with Kardama Muni only for sense gratification, because he was spiritually great she was sure to be liberated by his benediction.
- Although only some of these (God's transcendental qualities) are aspired for by persons who hanker after the pleasure of merging in the impersonal Brahman, there are other aspirants who want to associate with the Lord personally as His servants.
- The bhaktas, the devotees, want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead eternally and serve Him.
- Those who want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form as Narayana in the Vaikunthas, or with Krsna in Krsnaloka, go to those abodes, wherefrom they never return.
The Aspiration of the Goddess of Fortune
The desire to associate with Kṛṣṇa is so powerful that even Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, wanted to leave Lord Nārāyaṇa to associate with the cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana. Since Kṛṣṇa is the original form of her husband, her chastity is never compromised by wanting to associate with Him in His different dresses. Furthermore, advanced devotees can even qualify themselves to associate with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī by rendering pure devotional service.
- However, my Lord is Lord Sri Krsna, a cowherd boy who is engaged in tending cows. Why is it that Laksmi, being such a chaste wife, wants to associate with My Lord.
- It is understandable that a chaste woman wants to associate with her husband in all his different dresses. Therefore one should not criticize Laksmi for wanting to associate with Krsna.
- It was in great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord Krsna. The goddess of fortune considered that her vow of chastity would not be damaged by her relationship with Krsna.
- If we living entities want to actually associate with Radharani, that may be possible, although She is not an ordinary woman. We can become associates of Radharani by qualifying ourselves in advanced devotional service.
The Highest Ambitions in Vṛndāvana
The pinnacle of spiritual desire is found in Goloka Vṛndāvana. A pure Vaiṣṇava does not even aspire for the opulences of Vaikuṇṭha; rather, they want to associate with Kṛṣṇa's beautiful atmosphere and His intimate residents, such as His parents, friends, and the gopīs. The gopīs were so deeply attached to Kṛṣṇa that they were not satisfied merely with the rāsa dance at night, but they wanted to associate with Him constantly during the daytime as well, setting the absolute highest standard of unalloyed love.
- Devotees of Lord Visnu may aspire for a position in Vaikunthaloka, but a devotee of Krsna never aspires even for the facilities of Vaikuntha; he wants to return to Goloka Vrndavana and associate with Lord Krsna in His eternal pastimes.
- He (the pure devotee) simply wants to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead like the inhabitants of Vrndavana - Srimati Radharani, the gopis, Krsna's father and mother (Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda), Krsna's friends and Krsna's servants.
- He (the pure devotee) wants to associate with Krsna's atmosphere of Vrndavana's beauty. These are the highest ambitions of a devotee of Krsna.
- The gopis of Vrndavana were so attached to Krsna that they were not satisfied simply with the rasa dance at night. They wanted to associate with Him and enjoy His company during the daytime also.
Conclusion
In summary, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the urge to associate is an eternal function of the soul that finds its true satisfaction only in spiritual life. Seeking association for sense gratification or mundane purposes keeps one bound to the material world. However, by seeking the association of a genuine sādhu, the conditioned soul learns how to cut material ties and redirect their love toward the Supreme Lord. Whether aspiring for the majestic Vaikuṇṭha planets or the intimate, beautiful atmosphere of Goloka Vṛndāvana, the perfection of life is achieved when one simply wants to associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees in eternal, loving service.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Wanting to Associate. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.