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710) It's often said that an aspiring devotee should never try to approach
Krishna directly, that Krishna is pleased when we serve Him by serving His
devotees, or that one should only try to approach Krishna through the
Spiritual Master. I have also heard that rather than trying to serve
Krishna directly, one should beg for mercy from Srimati Radharani to be
allowed to serve Sri Krishna, as She is very merciful and it is only by Her
mercy that we can serve Him.
When we are in the association of devotees, such as in the Japa retreat or
the temple, we are trying to directly connect with Krishna. It feels okay
because we are doing so under the guidance and instructions of the
Spiritual Master. But what do we do when we are not in the temple or with
the Spiritual Master? What do we do when we are at home with our families
and are trying to connect? Is it offensive in such an environment to try
to connect directly with Sri Krishna?
Answer: What you have stated in the first part of your question is the
internal mood of a Vaishnava. Over and above the potential offense or
neglect of protocol is the siddhanta, the fact that Krishna is much more
easily accessible by connecting to the mercy of His pure devotees. As found
in the Adi Purana, Krishna instructs that one who is the devotee of His
devotee is His devotee.
Krishna is very difficult to be known for a conditioned soul. Even though
He is within everyone's heart, He is seated as though neutral. Only after
many years, or even lifetimes, of practice and purification, one may be
able to understand and serve Krishna (bahunam janmanam ante... ). But when
we approach Krsna in the mood of being a devotee of His devotee, and we do
devotional service as directed by them, it attracts Krishna's attention
very quickly. (yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado...)
Out of natural humility, a Vaishnava feels incapable of attracting
Krishna's attention directly. "Even great demigods, yogis and pure-hearted
sages are searching for the Supreme Truth, so how is it possible for an
insignificant, conditioned soul like me to even know Krishna, what to speak
of approach Him or chant His Holy Name purely?" In this humble state of
consciousness, they take shelter of those who are very dear to Krishna.
Even Queen Kunti prays in this way -- Krishna was directly standing before
her, but she approaches Krishna through those who are very dear to Him, by
addressing Him as Vaasudeva, Devaki-nandana, Nanda-gopa-kumara etc. (See
Kunti's prayers SB 1.8.20-21) Similarly, even when he was face to face
with Lord Narasimhadev, Prahlada presented himself as the servant of his
spiritual master, Narada.
Approaching through the devotee does not necessarily mean through physical
contact (as illustrated in the above examples of Kunti and Prahlada). It
means being *conscious* of and *feeling dependent* on their mercy: it is by
their compassionate instructions and efforts that we have access to the
Holy Name, to the Deity Form, and to various services for Krishna.
Krishna is never alone: the devotees are always at His lotus feet and He is
always with His pure devotee. Just as Krishna is present everywhere and not
just in the temple, similarly the Spiritual Master is also not an ordinary
person who is restricted by mundane space or time. The Spiritual Master is
non-different from his instructions (vani). Thus when you meditate upon his
instructions and compassion, you are with him. In this way, you can
cultivate this 'internal mood' of being the servant of servant anywhere.
So, to directly address your initial question, when you pray to Krishna you
should do so *in the consciousness* of doing so upon the urging and
instruction of the spiritual master.
I am sure you are familiar with making offering of foodstuffs: we first of
all pray to the spiritual master and make the offering through him.
Although we are not qualified to cook directly for Krishna, the Lord
accepts because of the pure devotion and prayers of the spiritual master.
This same principle is operative in any activity of devotional service.
Whenever you begin your chanting, study of Gita or any devotional activity,
you can meditate first on the mercy of the spiritual master by which you
are given such intimate access to the Holy Name, thank him and sincerely
pray to him for the qualities by which you can chant offenselessly. By
such practice, you will find it much easier to connect to the Holy Name,
than by trying to chant on one's own strength or determination.
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