34 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Antya-lila, Ch. 4

TEXT 70

SHAT THT CANS aafani Sie |
SBCA’, ‘Bae’ HS aca Tarts tre |

bhajanera madhye Srestha nava-vidha bhakti
‘krsna-prema’, ‘krsna’ dite dhare mahd-sakti

SYNONYMS

bhajanera madhye—in executing devotional service; srestha—the best; nava-
vidha bhakti—the nine prescribed methods of devotional service; krsna-prema—
ecstatic love of Krsna; krsma—and Krsna; dite—to deliver; dhare—possess; mahda-
sakti—great potency.

TRANSLATION

“Among the ways of executing devotional service, the nine prescribed
methods are the best, for these processes have great potency to deliver Krsna
and ecstatic love for Him.

PURPORT

The nine kinds of devotional service are mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam
(7.5.23):

Sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranarn pada-sevanam

arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam

These nine are hearing, chanting, remembering Krsna, offering service to Krsna’s
lotus feet, offering worship in the temple, offering prayers, working as a servant,
making friendship with Krsna and unreservedly surrendering to Krsna. These nine
processes of devotional service can grant one Krsna and ecstatic love for Him. In
the beginning one has to discharge devotional service according to regulative
principles, but gradually, as devotional service becomes one’s life and soul, one
achieves the most exalted position of ecstatic love for Krsna. Ultimately, Krsna is
the goal of life. One need not have taken birth in an aristocratic brahmana family
to attain the lotus feet of Krsna, nor is a person born in a low family unfit to
achieve Krsna’s lotus feet. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.33.7) Devahiti says to
Kapiladeva:

aho bata sva-paco ‘to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
