View source for Rupa Gosvami said, "As far as philosophical knowledge or pious words are concerned, I don't see any opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a nice family"

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[[Category:Rupa Gosvami]]
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[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 18 - Character of One in Ecstatic Love]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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As far as philosophical knowledge or pious words are concerned, I don't see any opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a nice family. Therefore I must simply pray to You, Gopī-jana-vallabha (Kṛṣṇa, maintainer and beloved of the gopīs). I simply wish and hope that some way or other I may be able to approach Your lotus feet, and this hope is giving me pain, because I think myself quite incompetant to approach that transcendental goal of life.
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[[Vanisource:NOD 18 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 18]]
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The strong conviction that one will certainly receive the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called in Sanskrit āśā-bandha. Āśā-bandha means to continue to think, "Because I'm trying my best to follow the routine principles of devotional service, I am sure that I will go back to Godhead, back to home."

In this connection, one prayer by Rūpa Gosvāmī is sufficient to exemplify this hopefulness. He says, "I have no love for Kṛṣṇa nor for the causes of developing love of Kṛṣṇa—namely, hearing and chanting. And the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa and fixing His lotus feet in the heart, is also lacking in me. As far as philosophical knowledge or pious words are concerned, I don't see any opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a nice family. Therefore I must simply pray to You, Gopī-jana-vallabha (Kṛṣṇa, maintainer and beloved of the gopīs). I simply wish and hope that some way or other I may be able to approach Your lotus feet, and this hope is giving me pain, because I think myself quite incompetant to approach that transcendental goal of life." The purport is that under this heading of āśā-bandha, one should continue to hope against hope that some way or other he will be able to approach the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.

Eagerness for Achieving the Desired Success

When one is sufficiently eager to achieve success in devotional service, that is called samutkaṇṭhā. This means complete eagerness. Actually this eagerness is the price for achieving success in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everything has some value, and one has to pay the value before obtaining or possessing it. It is stated in the Vedic literature that to purchase the most valuable thing, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to develop intense eagerness for achieving success. This intense eagerness is very nicely expressed by Bilvamaṅgala Thākur in his book Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. He says, "I am eagerly waiting to see that boy of Vṛndāvana whose bodily beauty is captivating the whole universe, whose eyes are always bounded by black eyebrows and expanded like lotus petals, who is always eagerly glancing over His devotees and therefore moving slightly here and there. His eyes are always moist, and His lips are colored like copper, and through those lips there comes a sound vibration which drives one madder than a mad elephant. I want so much to see Him at Vṛndāvana!"

In the same Karṇāmṛta there is another statement about the chanting of Rādhārāṇī. It is said by one of the associates of Rādhārāṇī: "O Lord Govinda, the girl who is daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu is now shedding tears, and She is anxiously chanting Your holy name—Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!"

This attachment for chanting the glories of the Lord is also stated in the Karṇāmṛta as follows: "What shall I do for Kṛṣṇa, who is pleasing beyond all pleasurable conceptions, and who is naughtier than all restless boys? The idea of Kṛṣṇa's beautiful activities is attracting my heart, and I do not know what I can do!"
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