The following is an excerpt from a morning walk conversation with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, on June 24, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007

Balarāma dāsa: May I ask you a question, Gurudeva? Tomorrow is nirjala Ekādaśī (full fasting, even from water). If there were any defects in following any Ekādaśīs during the year, how can we properly observe nirjala Ekādaśī to nullify the reactions to these defects?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We should try to follow all Ekādaśīs. If there was a defect in your observance of any previous Ekādaśī, simply continue practising. By chanting harināma, everything will be okay.

Balarāma dāsa: Should one clean one’s teeth on nirjala Ekādaśī?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why not? Should you not take a bath?

Balarāma dāsa: Bath is not drunk.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Still, some of the water somehow enters the body.

Of course, you must bathe, but do not take caraṇāmṛta (the Deities’ bath water) on that day; simply offer praṇāma to the caraṇāmṛta.

Balarāma dāsa: What about ācamana?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Just touch the water to your lips.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: When a devotee does ācamana, the water is supposed to go to his heart. It says in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that the proper way to do ācamana is like this (demonstrates) – like a chicken.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I have not seen this in that scripture, or any other scripture.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: It also says that when you take ācamana, it has to come into the body and purify the heart.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You can take ācamana in that way on other days, but not on Ekādaśī.

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: Actually, if we have somehow failed to observe other Ekādaśīs, will the observation of Pāṇḍava nirjala Ekādaśī compensate?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I have just answered this question. You can compensate only by harināma – not by properly following nirjala Ekādaśīs. You will have to follow every Ekādaśī. Only for Bhīma was a concession given; only for him.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: We have always understood that if someone does not observe the other Ekādaśīs throughout the year, if he very strictly follows Pāṇḍava nirjala Ekādaśī, then he won’t get a bad reaction for not having followed all the other Ekādaśīs. Is this not true?

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: It is not true at all.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: But we always thought this. Everyone thought this.

Nṛhari dāsa: Gurudeva, it is also stated in Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Svāmī’s book – the book you told us not to read.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is wrong information. ISKCON (the disciples of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, but not Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja personally) has manufactured this.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: Those devotees consider that they are getting some concession because of Bhīma.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They are not Bhīma.

From ancient times up to the time of the six Gosvāmīs, devotees used to observe all Ekādaśīs as nirjala Ekādaśī, without taking even water. Ambarīṣa Mahārāja observed each Ekādaśī for three days: on the first day, he controlled his eating; on the second day, he avoided eating and drinking (nirjala) altogether; and on the third day, he ate only once.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: The Pāṇḍavas used to observe nirjala Ekādaśī on every Ekādaśī. Once, Bhīma told Kṛṣṇa, “It is not possible for me to fully fast every time. Kṛṣṇa replied, “On all other Ekādaśīs you can take fruits and roots, but you must follow nirjala on this particular Ekādaśī.” Bhīma was thus permitted to follow nirjala on only one day of the year, but he had to properly observe all the other Ekādaśīs as well. This day is therefore called Pāṇḍava nirjala Ekādaśī.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: In India, every Ekādaśī is generally observed without food or water. Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja saw that the Western devotees were somewhat lacking in their ability to perform austerity, so he introduced a concession for them. He said they could take aṇukalpa (eating a little, just to maintain one’s strength) three times in the day. However, instead of following aṇukalpa, they were in the habit of taking ‘bṛhat-kalpa,’ eating and drinking as much as they could take as long as it was grain-free. Do you understand? This is not good. 

Vrajanātha dāsa: They say that if they do not eat sufficiently, they would not have any strength or power.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: That is a bogus statement. That was the argument of Mohinī.*

Devotee: Gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Kṛṣṇa will fulfil a devotee’s desire only to the degree that the devotee desires. How can we increase our desire for preaching?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You can do so by following our paramparā – Śrī Nārada, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the six Gosvāmīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and all of Mahāprabhu’s followers – who have personally performed bhajana. Like them, first become qualified by properly following, and then you can teach and preach. If you are not personally following and are therefore not realising anything, then what can you preach?

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 7.128)

[“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”]

By first knowing all siddhānta (philosophical conclusions), our preaching will be successful. It is important for us to consider that preaching is also bhajana, so we must preach.

Preaching means to help others. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna, “This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.” (Bhagavad-gītā 18.67).” In the chapters of the Bhāgavatam called Uddhava-saṁvāda, Kṛṣṇa told Uddhava, “You should not share this instruction with anyone who is hypocritical, atheistic or dishonest, or with anyone who will not listen faithfully, who is not a devotee, or who is simply not humble.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.29.30).” Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in his Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his Ṣaṭ-sandarbha have written that those who have no śraddhā, or faith, should not read their books.

We can read and hear if we have śraddhā. If we consider that we will have enormous transcendental gain from such reading or hearing, this means we have śraddhā.

Prāṇa-govinda dāsa: It is seen that Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not have much śraddhā, but Sañjaya still told him what was taking place on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Śrī Kṛṣṇa allowed that. And finally, after the war, Vidura inspired Dhṛtarāṣṭra to give up his kingdom and relatives and go to the forest in Haridvāra. There, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s body burned to ashes in a mystic fire.

At the beginning of the war, Sañjaya had told Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, through him, Śrīla Vyāsadeva would allow Dhṛtarāṣṭra to ‘see’ the events taking place on the battlefield. Vyāsadeva permitted this because he had considered, “Dhṛtarāṣṭra is a blind person. One day, his eyes should open. He should see that all his sons, whom he loved so much and to whom he had shown partiality in the tension between the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas, have died.”

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Dhṛtarāṣṭra wanted to see the Mahābhārata battle, and therefore Vyāsadeva was going to give him the transcendental vision to see it. But then Dhṛtarāṣṭra said, “I will not be able to recognise anyone in the battle, because I have never seen them. It is better that Sañjaya be able to see what is happening, and he can then narrate everything to me.” And Vyāsadeva did just that.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: (To Yaśodānanda dāsa) It is for giving you this knowledge that I am attracting you.

Yaśodānanda dāsa: I feel very attracted, Śrīla Gurudeva.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Somehow, you are very lucky; your ‘everything’ is engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Madhuvrata dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, you mentioned to Giri Mahārāja during the morning walk in Malaysia that there are five symptoms of successful preaching.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I asked Giri Mahārāja, “Why have you shaved your face? No other brahmacārī or sannyāsī has done this.” He said that he shaved for preaching. Then I said, “We have not shaven, but who is preaching more? You or us?” He admitted, “You and all other sannyāsīs are preaching more than I am.” Then I said, “If you shave in the future, I will reject you.”

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Then you told him some symptoms of a preacher. You said that the number of disciples will increase, and money will come (meaning ‘the results of people’s energy will be offered in Kṛṣṇa’s service’).

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I asked him, “What have you done in the way of successful preaching?” He said, “Nothing.” I told him, “You preach, but no one is coming to take harināma; so what is the value of your preaching? And how much praṇāmī have you handed in to me?” He said, “Nothing.” I then replied, “So what is your motive for preaching, and why have you shaved?”

If one is preaching, but those to whom he is preaching are not inspired to take the shelter of a guru and accept initiation, then his preaching is like zero. The success of one’s preaching depends on how much he inspires others to take harināma and thus make their lives successful. That person’s preaching is effective. Also, Vaiṣṇavas do not want money, but still it will come. Money for Krsna’s service will follow him. (‘Money’ means that the results of people’s energy will be offered in Kṛṣṇa’s service.)

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: Some devotees think that there is no need for them to preach at this time because they are not yet advanced. They think, “First, we will read and chant. Then, when we become advanced, then we will preach.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They should enjoy the world, and then return to the world. They should take birth after birth; they should suffer the pains of birth and death.

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: I see that you don’t accept their idea.

Yaśodānanda dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, how can we help fulfil Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s mission to make Kṛṣṇa consciousness the worldwide religion?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura did this, and after him, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja preached everywhere. Now I am taking Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja’s remnants – I am accepting whatever he has left for me and continuing his mission.

Devotee: Gurudeva, one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples, Jayapatākā Svāmī, claims to have about 60,000 disciples. Do we consider this to be a symptom of successful preaching?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He himself does not chant, and he is not established in bhakti. What to speak of him? In India, there is a person named Asaram Bapu who gives dīkṣā by phone to thousands of people at a time. He has more disciples than Jayapatākā Svāmī. Do you know Kṛpālu Mahārāja? He is now in jail. He has millions of disciples.

Aniruddha dāsa: Our Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted a planetarium to be constructed in Māyāpura, and now the GBC has pledged to construct it at the cost of about sixty million dollars. They are doing this mostly to gather all of the Prabhupāda disciples together, because they see that many devotees are fleeing ISKCON and coming to you. Do you think we should support this project?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why are you thinking about them? What is the use? Don’t think about them.

Aniruddha dāsa: But you said that successful preaching means ‘followers and money.’

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: So follow me. Follow Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Why follow them, and why always think about them? If you think about them, their bad qualities may come to you.

What is the teaching in the story we told about the male pigeon and the female pigeon?**

Devotee: The human form of life is our chance to take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not possible in any other form of life; only in the human form. So…for the short flickering time, so…I forgot.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I want to hear the story of the male pigeon and the female pigeon. I request Mahibharata prabhu to explain it. What is the teaching behind this story?

Mahibharata dāsa: The teaching behind this story is that one should not become attached to one’s wife and family, and not even marry and enter family life. Simply follow śrī gurudeva.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The male pigeon was very attached to his wife, so much so that he could not survive without her. Then, when children came, he became still more attached. What became of that husband and wife? Due to their ‘love’ for each other, both were killed by a hunter. Death had been waiting for them, but they could not see it.

This story teaches that if you are attached to the opposite gender, your bhakti will be spoiled. You will be worse than dead. Death is not bad. ‘Worse than dead’ means that you will undergo spiritual death; you will be diverted from bhakti. Always remember this instruction.

If you hear and repeat this story of the pigeons but do not realise the magnitude of its implications, and instead marry again and again, maintaining a strong sense of relationship with your spouse and children, your so-called practice of bhakti will come to nothing.

Devotee: (inaudible)

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: He is saying that although sannyāsa, or renunciation, is encouraged, in practical life, we see that householders are more steady. They remain in household life and…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Your realisation is like zero, and because you are a conditioned soul, what you say may be wrong. We follow the realisation of high-class bhaktas.

Nirguṇa dāsa: Last night, I read that the self-realised souls find it quite hilarious that the conditioned souls want to marry, because in actuality we are all female.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I also say this. They are not realising that they are all female.

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: We see many cases of god-brothers, older devotees, who have been married once or twice, and are now reaching the age of fifty or fifty-five years. They say they should have a partner again.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They must take care to avoid this.

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: They say that they want to have a companion. They don’t want to have the sex life or children, but they want a companion.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They are speaking lies. They have so much lust and other contaminations in their hearts. Why do they not want guru companions, or high-class Vaiṣṇava companions?

Gokula dāsa: Gurudeva, I am dying.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why?

Gokula dāsa: It is natural that I am attached to my wife, because I am a conditioned soul. I cannot stop this.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Remain with your wife, but don’t be attached. Moreover, those who are not married should be careful not to become entangled in sense gratification.

Gokula dāsa: But this attachment is natural because I am conditioned.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is not natural. We have seen that Mahārāja Janaka, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, and others like them remain with their entire families, but they were not attached. They supported their families out of a sense of duty, and they didn’t consider, “I cannot survive without my wife.”

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples have been following you for some years, and they feel so much help and inspiration from your association. We want everyone to have a chance to hear what they are feeling, so we want to record them speaking about their spiritual lives – how they have been helped by you in their relationship with our Śrīla Prabhupāda, as well as in their relationship with you. Is this good?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is good.

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa dāsa: Was there any formal dīkṣā initiation in Satya-yuga?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why not? Brahmā took initiation from Kṛṣṇa, and Nārada took initiation from Brahmā.

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa dāsa: That was bhagavati-dīkṣā.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Still, they received dīkṣā, as Vyāsadeva received dīkṣā from Nārada. First of all, you must know the meaning of dīkṣā.

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa dāsa: Divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt.

divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt
kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam
tasmād dīkṣeti sā proktā
deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ

[“Dīkṣā is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as dīkṣā.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.108, purport)]

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Does dīkṣā refer only to that dīkṣā-mantra? What do you understand by the word dīkṣā?

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa dāsa: They will establish their relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Did they realise their relationship with Kṛṣṇa?

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa dāsa: Yes.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is dīkṣā. If they don’t realise their relationship via the mantras, they have not actually received dīkṣā. It is about vidvad-rūḍhī and avidvad-rūḍhī.*** Do you understand? 

Vrajanātha dāsa: Yes. Real dīkṣā occurs when we have taken complete shelter of sādhu-saṅga and a sad-guru, and when we receive nourishment from them.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Dīkṣā is not completed by merely receiving the mantra. When the devotee has realisation of his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, that is dīkṣā. Brahmā received kāma-gāyatrī initiation by hearing the sound of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute.

Vṛndāvana dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, does it mean, then, that unless we have realisation of our svarūpa (constitutional form), our siddha-deha (spiritual body), we have not completed the dīkṣā process?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is essential to know all tattvas (fundamental philosophical truths) and to be established in those tattvas. We should know our relationship with Kṛṣṇa and our duty towards Him, and we should be established in that. This is real dīkṣā.

By accepting mantra-dīkṣā (avidvad-rūḍhī or anuṣṭhānikī–dīkṣā), you are merely entering the course of dīkṣā. A child admitted to a school is a student, and a PhD is also a student, but there is so much difference between the two. Similarly, avidvad-rūḍhī (anuṣṭhānikī) dīkṣā is also dīkṣā, but it is only the entrance to its cultivation. Vidvad-rūḍhī is real dīkṣā.

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Śrīla Gurudeva, I have a question regarding rāgānuga-bhakti. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.15) says rāga-mārga bhakti loke karite pracāraṇa, meaning that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to preach rāga-mārga (rāgānugā) bhakti. You have also repeatedly said that Mahāprabhu did not come to preach vaidhī-bhakti. Vaidhī-bhakti has already been preached by other ācāryas in other ages. Mahāprabhu has come to give rāga-mārga bhakti, and all of our ācāryas in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī are also giving it.

When a rūpānuga-ācārya is teaching vaidhī-bhakti to the beginner student, as Rūpa Gosvāmī taught it, is there a difference between that vaidhī-bhakti and the vaidhī-bhakti which was previously followed and preached?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The vaidhī-bhakti preached by Rāmānujācārya, Nimbāditya, and Madhvācārya is different from the vaidhī-bhakti preached by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. One who follows the principles of vaidhī-bhakti as taught by Mahāprabhu is considered to be in the beginning stage of rāgānuga-bhakti. If one hears Sanātana-śikṣā, Rūpa-śikṣā, and Rāya Rāmānanda Saṁvāda from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, his vaidhī-bhakti will turn into rāgānuga-bhakti.

Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: You have told us that actual rāgānuga-sādhana-bhakti can be performed only by one who is at least at the stage of āsakti.****

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: When you have a real desire for perfection – real, not artificial – at that time bhakti is at the stage of āsakti (spontaneous attachment).

Giridhari dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, is the harināma-guru considered to be the mantra-guru?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He is a guru. Also, if that harināma-guru is fully qualified but has passed away before giving dīkṣā to his disciple, then his disciple will take dīkṣā from a guru who is equal to him in bhakti. The dīkṣā-guru should be equal to the bona fide harināma-guru, and in the same line of mood and philosophical conception.

* Mohinī was the enchanting and alluring female creation of Brahmā who tested King Citrāṅga, a determined follower of Ekādaśī.

** The following is an excerpt from an evening darśana with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Brighton, England, on June 4, 2009, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2009

In the Eleventh Canto, it is stated that there was a pair of pigeons that had many babies. One day, the pigeon parents went to the forest to gather some food for themselves and their offspring. While in the forest they sat on a branch of a tree, under which there was very green grass. They remembered their marriage ceremony and other amorous pastimes, and kissed each other very happily with their beaks.

Just then, the female pigeon saw several grains of pearl-like rice on the grass, and she said, “O my beloved, let us go and pick up these grains of rice.” The male pigeon replied, “There is no businessman or farmer around. From where has this rice come? Don’t go. It is someone’s trap. A hunter may capture you in his trap.” The female pigeon said, “I think you are wrong,” and flew down to pick up the grains of rice.

At that moment, lurking behind a tree was a black hunter, very tall and fearsome. The hunter pulled a string, and the female pigeon became entrapped in a net that fell down upon her. The female pigeon now began to weep bitterly. The male pigeon saw this and exclaimed, “My wife has been caught in the hunter’s trap! He will kill her!” Overwhelmed with worry, he flew near that trap, weeping. He considered, “God is very cruel. Why am I not dead in that trap, with my wife outside? My wife can support our children, but I cannot.”

While the father pigeon was fully absorbed in weeping, the hunter, from behind the tree, took up his bow and arrow and shot and killed him. Clapping, the hunter came and took the dead body of the male pigeon, pulled the female pigeon out from under the net, tied their legs together, and carried them to his home. And what did he do there?

Vrajanātha dāsa: He cooked them.

Śrīpāda Dāmodara Mahārāja: Kentucky Fried.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He cooked them with some vegetables and then ate them.

*** An excerpt from Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s book Pinnacle of Devotion, from the section called “The Glories of Sādhu-saṅga”:

“There are two kinds of disciples, and therefore there are two kinds of dīkṣā (initiation): anuṣṭhānikī and vidvad-rūḍhī. Anuṣṭhānikī-dīkṣā is the external formality of a fire yajña (fire sacrifice) and the giving of dīkṣā (gāyatrī) mantras. If one thinks, ‘I have sacrificed so much, my head is shaven, and I have received my mantras. I am now initiated,’ this may be only external. Of course, formal initiation is essential, but it is not complete without vidvad-rūḍhī.”

“Vidvad-rūḍhī refers to an internal initiation wherein the disciple completely gives his heart at his guru’s lotus feet. He knows that his guru will make him qualified to serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Gurudeva gives all kinds of transcendental knowledge (divya-jñāna) about kṛṣṇa-tattva, guru-tattva, vaiṣṇava-tattva, and prema-tattva.”

**** Āsakti is a deep attachment for the Lord and His eternal associates. Āsakti occurs when one’s liking for bhajana leads to a direct attachment to the person who is the object of that bhajana. This is the seventh stage in the development of the creeper of devotion, and it is awakened upon the maturing of one’s taste for bhajana.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)