The B hakti-l atā-bī j a
Çréla Näräyaëa Mahäräja: Why did you say sädhaka? Anyone can receive it. Çrépad Mädhava Mahäräja: By the combined causeless mercy of guru and Kåñëa, any living entity can receive the bhakti-latäbéja. In this verse, ‘guru kåñëa’ has two meanings: It means ‘by the combined mercy of çré-guru and Çré Kåñëa’, and it means that guru is a manifestation of Kåñëa. Guru and Kåñëa are non-different, and this is confirmed in the Caitanya-caritämåta: guru kåñëa-rüpa hana çästrera pramäëe guru-rüpe kåñëa kåpä karena bhakta-gaëe [“According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is non-different from Kåñëa. Lord Kåñëa, in the form of the spiritual master, delivers His devotees.” (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädé-lélä 1.45)]
By the causeless mercy of äçraya-bhagavan (the spiritual master), the living entity can receive the bhakti-latä-béja. This bhakti-latäbéja is the desire to serve Kåñëa. How will this desire to serve Kåñëa manifest in the heart? It manifests by hearing hari-kathä from the bona fide guru and bona fide Vaiñëavas. If we try to hear Kåñëa’s pastimes with faith from Gurudeva, and also from pure Vaiñëavas, the desire to serve will appear in the heart. I would like to give some examples from the pastimes we have heard from our Gurudeva and from the Vaiñëavas.
Śrīdāmā Defeats Kṛṣṇa in a Wrestling Match One time, Kåñëa and His sakhäs like Çrédämä, Madhumaìgala, and others were wrestling with one another, and eventually Çrédämä came out the winner and Kåñëa was clapping alone. Seeing this, the sakhäs asked Him, “Kåñëa, why are You clapping so 14
