101st Vyasa-puja Offering from Vrindavan Das

 Dear Śrīla Gurudeva Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, please accept my humble obeisances!

Śrī Basu Rāmananda and his father, Śrī Satyarāja Khān, who were originally from the village of Kulīn-Grām, once asked Śrīman Mahāprabhu about the duties of a householder Vaiṣṇava. In response, Mahāprabhu stated that serving Kṛṣṇa, serving the Vaiṣṇavas, and continuously chanting the Holy Name are the sole duties of a householder Vaiṣṇava.

Upon hearing this, Satyarāja inquired: "Service to Kṛṣṇa and chanting the Holy Names in saṅkīrtana are easy to understand, but if one does not know how to recognize a Vaiṣṇava, serving them will be very difficult. O Prabhu, who is a Vaiṣṇava? What are his primary and secondary qualities? It is my greatest desire to hear this from Your divine lips."

In response to Satyarāja's question, the beloved king of devotees, Śrīman Mahāprabhu, described the qualities of Vaiṣṇavas over three years—starting with the neophyte (kaniṣṭha), then the intermediate (madhyama), and finally the highest-level Vaiṣṇava (uttama).

In the first year, Mahāprabhu said:

yāṅra mukhe śuni eka-bāra kṛṣṇa-nāma,

sei pūjya, — śreṣṭha sabākāra.

"One who chants the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa even once is worshipable and is the best among all."

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.106)

ataeva yāṅra mukhe eka kṛṣṇa-nāma

sei ta’ vaiṣṇava, kariha tāṅhāra sammāna

"Therefore, one from whose lips the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa has come even once is a Vaiṣṇava, and he should be respected."

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.111)

In the second year, fulfilling His promise, Mahāprabhu said:

vaiṣṇava-sevā, nāma-saṅkīrtana

dui kara, śīghra pābe śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa

"By serving the Vaiṣṇavas and engaging in the congregational chanting of the Holy Names, you will very quickly attain the shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet."

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 16.70)

When Satyarāja once again asked about the qualities of a Vaiṣṇava, Mahāprabhu replied:

kṛṣṇa-nāma nirantara yāṅhāra vadane

sei vaiṣṇava-śreṣṭha, bhaja tāṅhāra caraṇe

"One whose lips are constantly engaged in chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is the best among Vaiṣṇavas—worship his lotus feet."

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 16.72)

At the end of the rainy season, the same question arose once more, and Mahāprabhu declared:

yāṅhāra darśane mukhe āise kṛṣṇa-nāma

tāṅhāre jāniha tumi ‘vaiṣṇava-pradhāna’

"One in whose presence the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa spontaneously appears on your lips—know him to be the topmost Vaiṣṇava."

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 16.74)

Thus, step by step, Mahāprabhu provided an understanding of the three categories of Vaiṣṇavas—neophyte, intermediate, and topmost. From this, it is evident that Mahāprabhu, through the medium of a Vaiṣṇava devoted to the Holy Name, instructs householders about the necessity of serving Vaiṣṇavas. Even one who has received initiation into the Viṣṇu-mantra may still, due to philosophical blindness, be influenced by Māyāvāda concepts or other shortcomings. For this reason, Śrīman Mahāprabhu proclaimed that one who chants the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa without offense is a pure Vaiṣṇava.

Someone who has once chanted the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa without offense is a pure Vaiṣṇava, even if he is the most junior among Vaiṣṇavas. A householder Vaiṣṇava should thus render service to the Vaiṣṇavas. In the second year, Mahāprabhu instructed that one should serve the person in whose mouth the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is always present due to his growing attachment to it, recognizing him as the best among Vaiṣṇavas—this is the intermediate Vaiṣṇava.

Dear Śrīla Gurudeva, You are the topmost Vaiṣṇava, whom Mahāprabhu described in the third instance: "One whose lips are always engaged in chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa" and "One in whose presence the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa spontaneously appears on one’s lips."

You are the very embodiment of Mahāprabhu’s Saṅkīrtana. Please shower even a single drop of Your mercy upon us and make us dust particles at Your lotus feet.

Jaya Gurudeva! Jaya Param-Gurudeva! Jaya Prabhupāda!

Koti-koti daṇḍavat praṇāma at Your lotus feet!

Your insignificant servant,

Vrindavan Das