Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung:
śrī gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi, yeba jāne cintāmaṇi,
tāra haya vrajabhūmi vāsa
"One who understands the transcendental nature of Navadvīpa and its surrounding area, where Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enacted His pastimes, resides always in Vṛndāvana." Similarly,living in Jagannātha Purī is as good as living in Vṛndāvana. The conclusion is that Navadvīpa-dhāma, Jagannātha Purī-dhāma and Vṛndāvana-dhāma are identical.
However, if one goes to Mathurā-maṇḍala-bhūmi for sense gratification or to make a livelihood, he commits an offense and is condemned. Whoever does so must be penalized in the next life by becoming a hog or a monkey in Vṛndāvana-dhāma. After taking on such a body, the offender is liberated in the next life. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that residing in Vṛndāvana with a view to enjoy sense gratification surely leads a so-called devotee to a lower species.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----2:22:132----purport).

It is the desire of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that the benevolent activities of the saṅkīrtana movement, which was inaugurated five hundred years ago in Navadvīpa, be spread all over the world for the benefit of all human beings. Unfortunately, there are many so-called followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu who are satisfied simply to construct a temple, make a show of the Deities, collect some funds and utilize them for eating and sleeping. There is no question of their preaching the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. But even though they are unable to do so, if anyone else does it they become envious. This is the condition of the modern followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Age of Kali is so strong that it affects even the so-called followers of Lord Caitanya. At least the followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu must come out of India to preach His cult all over the world, for this is the mission of Lord Caitanya. The followers of Lord Caitanya must execute His will with heart and soul, being more tolerant than the trees and humbler than the straw in the street.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----1:9:47----purport).

One may raise the question how all three worlds became inundated with love of Kṛṣṇa, since Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed kīrtana only in the Navadvīpa area. The answer is that Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself. The entire cosmic manifestation results from the Lord's first setting it in motion. Similarly, since the saṅkīrtana movement was first set in motion five hundred years ago by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's desire that it spread all over the universe, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, in continuity of that same motion, is now spreading all over the world, and in this way it will gradually spread all over the universe. With the spread of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, everyone will merge in an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----1:13:32----purport).

The King of Vrajabhūmi is Nanda Mahārāja, and the same person in Navadvīpa is Jagannātha Miśra, the father of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, mother Yaśodā is the Queen of Vrajabhūmi, and in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya she is Śacīmātā. Therefore the son of Śacī is the son of Yaśodā. Śrī Nityānanda occupies an ecstatic position of parental love in servitude and fraternal attraction. Śrī Advaita Prabhu exhibits the ecstasy of both fraternity and servitude. All the Lord’s other associates, situated in their original love, engage in the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----1:17----purport).

Father Nanda, the King of Vrajabhūmi, is now Jagannātha Miśra, the father of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And mother Yaśodā, the Queen of Vrajabhūmi, is now Śacīdevī, Lord Caitanya’s mother.
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----1:17:294----purport).

For a pure devotee of the Lord, any topics in relation with His name, fame, quality, entourage, etc., are all pleasing, and because such topics have been approved by great devotees like Nārada, Hanumān, Nanda Mahārāja and other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, certainly such messages are transcendental and pleasing to the heart and soul.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----2:2:37----purport).

Children play with an umbrella generally known as a frog's umbrella, and Lord Kṛṣṇa, when He was only seven years old, could snatch the great hill known as the Govardhana Parvata atVṛndāvana and hold it for seven days continuously with one hand, just to protect the animals and the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana from the wrath of Indra, the heavenly King, who had been denied sacrificial offerings by the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----2:7:32----purport).

According to the Gauḍīya acintya-bhedābheda-tattva philosophy, anything which satisfies the senses of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is also Śrī Kṛṣṇa. For example, ŚrīVṛndāvana-dhāma is nondifferent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa (tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam) because at Vṛndāvana the Lord enjoys the transcendental bliss of His internal potency. Similarly, the house of the Pāṇḍavas was also the source of transcendental bliss for the Lord. It is mentioned here that the Lord identified the house with His own Self. Thus the house of the Pāṇḍavas was as good asVṛndāvana, and Vidura should not have given up that place of transcendental bliss. Therefore the reason for his quitting the house was not exactly family misunderstanding; rather, Vidura took the opportunity to meet Ṛṣi Maitreya and discuss transcendental knowledge. For a saintly person like Vidura, any disturbance due to worldly affairs is insignificant. Such disturbances, however, are sometimes favorable for higher realization, and therefore Vidura took advantage of a family misunderstanding in order to meet Maitreya Ṛṣi.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----3:1:2----purport).

When Akrūra came to Vṛndāvana in search of Kṛṣṇa, he saw the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grāma and at once fell on them in ecstasy of transcendental love. This ecstasy is possible for a devotee who is fully absorbed in incessant thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----3:1:32----purport).

The purpose of pilgrimages is to remember the Lord constantly, and therefore the Lord is known as tīrtha-kīrti. The purpose of going to a place of pilgrimage is to get the chance to glorify the Lord. Even today, although times have changed, there are still pilgrimage sites in India. For example, in Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, where we had a chance to stay, people are awake from early in the morning at 4 A.M. up until nighttime and are constantly engaged, some way or other, in chanting the holy glories of the Lord. The beauty of such a pilgrimage site is that automatically one remembers the holy glories of the Lord.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----3:1:45----purport).

In the Vedas it is said that the Supreme Lord or the Paramātmā cannot be understood simply by the strength of one's erudition or power of mental speculation: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23). He can be known only by one who has the mercy of the Lord. The Yādavas were all exceptionally learned and experienced, but in spite of their knowing the Lord as the one who lives in everyone's heart, they could not understand that He is the original Personality of Godhead. This lack of knowledge was not due to their insufficient erudition; it was due to their misfortune. In Vṛndāvana, however, the Lord was not even known as the Paramātmā because the residents ofVṛndāvana were pure unconventional devotees of the Lord and could think of Him only as their object of love. They did not know that He is the Personality of Godhead.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----3:2:9----purport).

The forests on the shore of the Yamunā are all beautiful gardens full of trees of mango, jackfruit, apples, guava, oranges, grapes, berries, palmfruit and so many other plants and fragrant flowers. And because the forest was on the bank of the Yamunā, naturally there were ducks, cranes and peacocks on the branches of the trees. All these trees and birds and beasts were pious living entities born in the transcendental abode of Vṛndāvana just to give pleasure to the Lord and His eternal associates, the cowherd boys.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----3:2:27----purport).

For iron to be attracted by a magnet is natural. Similarly, for all living entities to be attracted toward Kṛṣṇa is natural, and therefore the Lord's real name is Kṛṣṇa, meaning He who attracts everyone and everything. The typical examples of such attraction are found in Vṛndāvana, where everything and everyone is attracted by Kṛṣṇa. The elderly persons like Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodādevī, the friends like Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā and the other cowherd boys, the gopīs like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Her associates, and even the birds, beasts, cows and calves are attracted. The flowers and fruits in the gardens are attracted, the waves of the Yamunā are attracted, and the land, sky, trees, plants, animals and all other living beings are attracted by Kṛṣṇa. This is the natural situation of everything in Vṛndāvana.
Just contrary to the affairs of Vṛndāvana is the material world, where no one is attracted by Kṛṣṇa and everyone is attracted by māyā. This is the difference between the spiritual and material worlds.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----7:5:14----purport).

It is understood that Mathurā City is the transcendental abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa; it is not an ordinary material city, for it is eternally connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.Vṛndāvana is within the jurisdiction of Mathurā, and it still continues to exist. Because Mathurā and Vṛndāvana are intimately connected with Kṛṣṇa eternally, it is said that Lord Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana (vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya padam ekaṁ na gacchati). At present, the place known as Vṛndāvana, in the district of Mathurā, continues its position as a transcendental place, and certainly anyone who goes there becomes transcendentally purified. Navadvīpa-dhāma is also intimately connected with Vrajabhūmi. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore says:
śrī gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi, yebā jāne cintāmaṇi,
tā'ra haya vrajabhūme vāsa
"Vrajabhūmi" refers to Mathurā-Vṛndāvana, and Gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi includes Navadvīpa. These two places are nondifferent. Therefore, anyone living in Navadvīpa-dhāma, knowing Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be the same personality, lives in Vrajabhūmi, Mathurā-Vṛndāvana. The Lord has made it convenient for the conditioned soul to live in Mathurā,Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa and thus be directly connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Simply by living in these places, one can immediately come in contact with the Lord. There are many devotees who vow never to leave Vṛndāvana and Mathurā. This is undoubtedly a good vow, but if one leaves Vṛndāvana, Mathurā or Navadvīpa-dhāma for the service of the Lord, he is not disconnected from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At any rate, we must understand the transcendental importance of Mathurā-Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa-dhāma. Anyone who executes devotional service in these places certainly goes back home, back to Godhead, after giving up his body. Thus the words mathurā bhagavān yatra nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ are particularly important. A devotee should fully utilize this instruction to the best of his ability. Whenever the Supreme Lord personally appears, He appears in Mathurā because of His intimate connection with this place. Therefore although Mathurā and Vṛndāvana are situated on this planet earth, they are transcendental abodes of the Lord.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:1:28----purport).

When a self-realized soul acts in his transcendental position, his situation is called Mathurā. In other words, when one acts in the process of bhakti-yoga, he may live anywhere, but actually he lives in Mathurā, Vṛndāvana. Devotion to Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is the essence of all knowledge, and wherever such knowledge is manifested is called Mathurā. Also, when one establishes bhakti-yoga, excluding all other methods, one's situation is called Mathurā. Yatra nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ: the place where Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, lives eternally is called Mathurā. The word nitya indicates eternality. The Supreme Lord is eternal, and His abode is also eternal. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). Although the Lord is always stationed in His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is present everywhere in fullness. This means that when the Supreme Lord descends on the surface of the world, His original abode is not vacant, for He can remain in His original abode and simultaneously descend upon Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, Ayodhyā and other places. He does not need to descend, since He is already present there; He simply manifests Himself.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:1:69----purport).

The word dhāma is significant. Dhāma refers to the place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1) it is said, dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi. In the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no influence of material energy (dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakam). Any place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present by His name, form, qualities or paraphernalia immediately becomes a dhāma. For example, we speak ofVṛndāvana-dhāma, Dvārakā-dhāma and Mathurā-dhāma because in these places the name, fame, qualities and paraphernalia of the Supreme Godhead are always present.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:2:17----purport).

The soles of the Lord's lotus feet are marked with śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-padma—conchshell, disc, club and lotus—and also by a flag and a thunderbolt. When Kṛṣṇa walks on this earth or in the heavenly planets, these marks are visible wherever He goes. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is a transcendental place because of Kṛṣṇa's walking on this land frequently. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were fortunate to see these marks here and there. When Akrūra went to Vṛndāvana to take Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma away to the festival arranged by Kaṁsa, upon seeing the marks of the Lord's lotus feet on the ground of Vṛndāvana, he fell down and began to groan. These marks are visible to devotees who receive the causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (tavānukampitām). The demigods were jubilant not only because the appearance of the Supreme Lord would do away with the burdensome demons, but also because they would be able to see upon the ground the transcendental marks from the soles of the Lord's lotus feet. The gopīs always thought of the Lord's lotus feet when He was walking in the pasturing grounds, and, as described in the previous verse, simply by thinking of the Lord's lotus feet, the gopīs were fully absorbed in transcendence (āviṣṭa-cetā na bhavāya kalpate). Like the gopīs, one who is always absorbed in thought of the Lord is beyond the material platform and will not remain in this material world. It is our duty, therefore, always to hear, chant and think about the Lord's lotus feet, as actually done by Vaiṣṇavas who have decided to live in Vṛndāvana always and think of the Lord's lotus feet twenty-four hours a day.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:2:38----purport).

Pure devotees, whose eyes are anointed with the ointment of prema, love, want to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Śyāmasundara, Muralīdhara, with a flute swaying in His two hands. This is the form available to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who are all in love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Śyāmasundara, not as Lord Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, who is worshiped in Vaikuṇṭha, where the devotees admire His opulence. Although Devakī is not on the Vṛndāvana platform, she is near the Vṛndāvana platform. On theVṛndāvana platform the mother of Kṛṣṇa is mother Yaśodā, and on the Mathurā and Dvārakā platform the mother of Kṛṣṇa is Devakī. In Mathurā and Dvārakā the love for the Lord is mixed with appreciation of His opulence, but in Vṛndāvana the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not exhibited.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:3:31----purport).

There was great jubilation all over Vṛndāvana due to Kṛṣṇa's birth. Everyone was overwhelmed with joy. Therefore the King of Vraja, Mahārāja Nanda, wanted to perform the birth ceremony for his child, and this he did. During this great festival, Nanda Mahārāja gave in charity to all present whatever they desired. After the festival, Nanda Mahārāja put the cowherd men in charge of protecting Gokula, and then he went to Mathurā to pay official taxes to Kaṁsa. In Mathurā, Nanda Mahārāja met Vasudeva. Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva were brothers, and Vasudeva praised Nanda Mahārāja's good fortune because he knew that Kṛṣṇa had accepted Nanda Mahārāja as His father. When Vasudeva inquired from Nanda Mahārāja about the welfare of the child, Nanda Mahārāja informed him all about Vṛndāvana, and Vasudeva was very much satisfied by this, although he expressed his grief because Devakī's many children had been killed by Kaṁsa. Nanda Mahārāja consoled Vasudeva by saying that everything happens according to destiny and that one who knows this is not aggrieved. Expecting many disturbances in Gokula, Vasudeva then advised Nanda Mahārāja not to wait in Mathurā, but to return to Vṛndāvana as soon as possible. Thus Nanda Mahārāja took leave of Vasudeva and returned to Vṛndāvana with the other cowherd men on their bullock carts.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:5--summary).

Everyone is seeking Kṛṣṇa, for He is the Supersoul of all individual souls. Everyone loves his body and wants to protect it because he is within the body as the soul, and everyone loves the soul because the soul is part and parcel of the Supersoul. Therefore, everyone is actually seeking to achieve happiness by reviving his relationship with the Supersoul. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: "By all the Vedas, it is I who am to be known." Therefore, the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and saintly persons are all seeking Kṛṣṇa. But by following in the footsteps of devotees who are in a direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa, especially the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, one can reach the supreme position of associating with Kṛṣṇa. As it is said, vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya padam ekaṁ na gacchati: Kṛṣṇa does not leave Vṛndāvana even for a moment. The vṛndāvana-vāsīs—mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa's friends and Kṛṣṇa's conjugal lovers, the younger gopīs with whom He dances—have very intimate relationships with Kṛṣṇa, and if one follows in the footsteps of these devotees, Kṛṣṇa is available. Although the nitya-siddha expansions of Kṛṣṇa always remain with Kṛṣṇa, if those engaged in sādhana-siddhi follow in the footsteps of Kṛṣṇa's nitya-siddha associates, such sādhana-siddhas also can easily attain Kṛṣṇa without difficulty. But there are those who are attached to bodily concepts of life. Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, for example, have very prestigious positions, and thus they have the sense of being very exalted īśvaras. In other words, because Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are guṇa-avatāras and have exalted positions, they have some small sense of being like Kṛṣṇa. But the pure devotees who inhabit Vṛndāvana do not possess any bodily conception. They are fully dedicated to the service of the Lord in sublime affection, premā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore recommended, premā pum-artho mahān: the highest perfection of life is premā, pure love in relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And mother Yaśodā appears to be the topmost of devotees who have attained this perfection.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----10:9:21--purport).