Text 256] Talks Between the Lord and Ramananda Raya 253

When one is liberated and hears of Lord Krsna’s and Radha’s loving affairs, he is
not inclined to have lusty desires. One mundane rogue once said that when the
Vaisnavas chant the name “Radha, Radha,’ he simply remembers a barber's wife
named Radha. This is a practical example. Unless one is liberated, he should not
try to hear about the loving affairs between Radha and Krsna. If one is not liber-
ated and listens to a relation of the rasa dance, he may remember his mundane ac-
tivities and illicit connections with some woman whose name may also be Radha.
In the conditioned stage one should not even try to remember such things. By
practicing the regulative principles, one should rise to the platform of spon-
taneous attraction for Krsna. Then and only then should one hear about the
radha-krsna-lila. Although these affairs may be very pleasing both to conditioned
and to liberated souls, the conditioned soul should not try to hear them. The talks
between Ramananda Raya and $ri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are conducted on the
platform of liberation.

TEXT 256

SrlCwT Acs CHI SHD aera 9”
Cas Botteg—qarey “Aateee’ ays Ley ty

‘upasyera madhye kon upasya pradhana?’
‘Srestha upasya—— yugala ‘radha-krsna’ nama’

SYNONYMS
upasyera—objects of worship; madhye—among; kon—which; upasya—
worshipable object; pradhana—the chief; srestha—the chief; upasya—worshipa-
ble object; yugala—the couple; radha-krsna nama—the holy name of Radha-
Krsna, or Hare Krsna.

TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Among all worshipable objects, which is

the chief?” Rimananda Raya replied, ‘‘The chief worshipable object is the
holy name of Radha and Krsna, the Hare Krsna mantra.’

PURPORT
According to Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.3.22):

etavan eva loke ‘smin
purhsam dharmah parah smrtah
bhakti-yogo bhagavati
tan-nama-grahanadibhih
