Give Up at Once Whatever Is Unfavourable for Bhakti

the devotee no longer desires worldly sense gratification or even mukti; and in fact, he sees liberation as insignificant. The word sudurlabhä means extremely rare, and it refers to rägänuga-bhakti. That rare bhakti, sudurlabhä bhakti, now makes its appearance, and thus the devotee becomes kåñëa-karñaëa; he can attract Kåñëa. Kåñëa-karñaëa is one of the leaves of the third pair, and the other leaf, sändränanda-viçeñätmä: (condensed and unlimited happiness) now manifests.1 At that time the devotee becomes overjoyed because Kåñëa may sometimes give him His darçana. By the mercy of Nityänanda Prabhu, when Çré Kåñëadäsa Kavirajä Gosvämé went to Våndävana, he saw its beauty. He saw it as it was at the time when Kåñëa was there. By the influence of bhakti, Kåñëa and His abode will also manifest to you, and then your life will be successful.

Before this stage, when the devotee is at the stage of niñöhä (steadiness), unwanted desires and anarthas are somewhat gone. Then, after niñöhä comes ruci (taste), and then äsakti (natural attachment for bhajana and the object of bhajana) manifests. These are some of the stages of sädhana-bhakti, and in this way the devotee gradually advances.

Give Up at Once Whatever Is Unfavourable for Bhakti

If you see that after many years of trying to practice sädhanabhakti your lust, desire for sense gratification, and anarthas are not disappearing, you can understand that there is something wrong with you, or with your guru. If the guru cannot help you to give these up, you should give up that guru. The real guru is he who can help the devotee in his Kåñëa consciousness. If your guru is not doing sädhana-bhajana, or chanting harinäma, but is always managing, making money, and keeping a big bank account, he is

1. See Endnote 1.