Relationship with the Supreme Lord 251

should give up monistic speculation and the cultivation of knowledge
altogether. He should begin his spiritual life in devotional service by receiving
the information of the activities of the Lord from a realized devotee of the
Lord. If one prosecutes his spiritual cultivation by following these two princi-
ples and keeping himself rightly in the honest path of living, then, although
Your Lordship is never conquerable You become conquered by him by such
a process.”

When this prescription was presented by Ramananda Roy to Lord Chai-
tanya, the Lord at once said, “Yes, this is right.” In other words, the mission
of Lord Chaitanya is as follows: In this age there is no possibility of acquiring
spiritual knowledge by renunciation, or by mixed devotional service, or by
fruitive results in mixed devotional service, or by the culture of knowledge.
Because the people are not so advanced, and in fact most of them are fallen,
and because there is no time to elevate them in a general process, the best
thing, Lord Chaitanya prescribed, is to let them remain in whatever condition
they are—but let them be engaged in hearing about the activities of the Lord,
as they are explained in the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagwatam. Such mes-
sages should be received by aural reception from realized souls. By this principle
a person may live in whatever condition he is in, and still make progress in
spiritual advancement. He will advance surely and certainly, so much so that
he will be a fully realized soul of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lord Chaitanya accepted these principles, but He requested Ramananda
Roy to go further in advanced devotional service. Lord Chaitanya gave
Ramananda Roy a chance to develop gradually the advancement from the
principles of Varnashram Dharma (caste and the four orders of spiritual life);
and, further, offering the results of all fruitive activities. Then he recommended
discussion of spiritual knowledge. Lord Chaitanya rejected all of these, because
in the field of executing pure devotional service there is very little use for
such principles. Artificial methods of devotional service without self realiza-
tion cannot be accepted as pure devotional service. Self-realized pure devotional
service is completely different from all other kinds of transcendental activities.
The highest stage of transcendental activities is always free from all material
desires and fruitive activities, and speculative attempts at knowledge. The
highest stage concentrates on a simple, favorable execution of pure devo-
tional service.

Ramananda Roy could understand the motive of Lord Chaitanya, and
therefore he stated that attainment of pure love of Godhead is the highest
perfectional stage. There is a very nice verse in Padya Vali which is understood
