304 The Nectar of Devotion

from his statement to Rasada: “‘Just hear me! Please place me so that
I may always be engaged in the service of Lord Krsna, who has now
become famous as the lifter of the Govardhan Hill.”

The devotees of Krsna engaged in His personal service are always
very cautious because they know that becoming personal servitors of
Lord Krsna is not an ordinary thing. A person who offers respect
even to the ants engaged in the service of the Lord becomes eternally
happy, so what is there to say of one who offers Krsna direct service?
Raktaka once said within himself, ““Not only is Krsna my worshipable
and servable Lord, but also the girl friends of Krsna, the gopis, are
equally worshipable and servable by me. And not only the gopis, but
anyone who is engaged in the service for the Lord is also worshipable
and servable by me. I know that I must be very careful not to become
overly proud that I am one of the servitors and devotees of the
Lord.” From this statement one can understand that the pure devo-
tees, those who are actually engaged in the service of the Lord, are
always very cautious and are never overly proud of their service.

This mentality of the direct servitor of Krsna is called dhurya.
According to expert analytical studies of the direct associates of the
Lord, Srila Ripa Gosvami has divided these into three classes—name-
ly, dhurya, dhira and vira. Raktaka is classified among the dhurya, or
those who are always attached to serve the most beloved gopis.

One dhira associate of Krsna is the son of Satyabhama’s nurse.
Satyabhama is one of the queens of Lord Krsna in Dvaraka, and
when she was married to Krsna, the son of her nurse was allowed to
go with her because they had lived together from childhood as broth-
er and sister. So this gentleman, the son of Satyabhama’s nurse, used
to live with Krsna as His brother-in-law, and sometimes as brother-in-
law he used to play jokes with Krsna. He once addressed Krsna in this
way: “My dear Krsna, I never tried to gain the favor of the goddess
of fortune, who is married to You, but still I am so fortunate that I
am considered one of the members of Your house, the brother of
Satyabhama.”

This same person once expressed his pride, declaring, ‘‘Lord Bala-
deva may be a great enemy of Pralambasura, but I have nothing to
worry about from Him. And as far as Pradyumna is concerned, I have
