104 The Nectar of Devotion

through His pure devotees. Therefore, in the system of Vaisnava
activities, the first duty is to accept a devotee as spiritual master and
then to render service unto him.

Sti Ripa Gosvami affirms that all the quotations given in the
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu from different scriptures are accepted by the
great dcaryas and devotees of the Lord.

In the Padma Purana there is a statement that one should perform
the ceremonies for the Lord according to one’s financial position.
Everyone should observe the different ceremonies and celebrations
of the Lord by all means. One of the most important of these cere-
monial functions is called Urja-vrata. Urja-vrata is observed in the
month of Karttika (October-November); especially in Vrndavana,
there is a specific program for temple worship of the Lord in His
Damodara form. Damodara refers to Krsna’s being bound with rope
by His mother, Yasoda. It is said that just as Lord Damodara is very
dear to His devotees so the month known as Damodara or Karttika
is also very dear to them.

The execution of devotional service during Urja-vrata in the month
of Karttika is especially recommended to be performed at Mathura.
This system is still followed by many devotees. They go to Mathura
or Vrndavana and stay there during the month of Karttika specifically
to perform devotional services during this period.

In the Padma Purana it is said: “‘The Lord may offer liberation or
material happiness to a devotee, but after some devotional service has
been executed, particularly in Mathura during the month of Karttika,
the devotees want only to attain pure devotional service unto the
Lord.” The purport is that the Lord does not award devotional ser-
vice to ordinary persons who are not serious about it. But even such
unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the
regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the
jurisdiction of Mathura in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s
personal service.

In the Bhavisya Purana there is a statement about observing dif-
ferent ceremonies celebrating the Lord’s appearance (birthday) and
other transcendental activities. It is said, ‘““My Lord Janardana
