Gopesh
(Dandavats.com) – By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)
Sometimes I hear devotees say that they have been chanting Hare Krishna for thirty or forty years or more, and are still waiting to feel the taste for it, or the ecstasy from chanting, or from doing devotional service. I even heard where some devotee workshops were saying that it is not uncommon that devotees do not feel this bliss even after years of chanting, and that sometimes people leave the movement because they don’t feel the higher taste. They did not get what they expected. But the cure for that is clearly explained.
So, let’s look at exactly how we can feel the bliss of our chanting Hare Krishna and in engaging in the devotional service of Lord Krishna. This is clearly described in the Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila Chapter 6, in the descriptions of the glories of Sri Advaita Acharya. Therein it first explains how Sri Advaita Acharya is the expansion of Maha-Vishnu, the creator of the cosmic manifestation. So, it would seem that He is one of the centers or sources of all the bliss that could ever be available. But that is not exactly how it works. In Adi-Lila 6, verses 4-13, it explains the potency of Lord Advaita Acharya:
“Lord Advaita Acharya is the incarnation of Maha-Vishnu, whose main function is to create the cosmic world through the actions of maya.
“Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is called Acharya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord’s devotee. Therefore I take shelter of Him.
“Sri Advaita Acharya is indeed directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. His glory is beyond the conception of ordinary living beings.
“Maha-Vishnu performs all the functions for the creation of the universes. Sri Advaita Acharya is His direct incarnation.
“That purusha [form of the Supreme] creates and maintains with His external energy. He creates innumerable universes in His pastimes.
“By His will He manifests Himself in unlimited forms, in which He enters each and every universe.
“Sri Advaita Acharya is a plenary part of that purusha and so is not different from Him. Indeed, Sri Advaita Acharya is not separate but is another form of that purusha.
“He [Advaita Acharya] helps in the pastimes of the purusha, with whose material energy and by whose will He creates innumerable universes.
“Being a reservoir of all auspicious attributes, Sri Advaita Acarya is all-auspicious for the world. His characteristics, activities and name are always auspicious.
“Maha-Vishnu creates the entire material world with millions of His parts, energies and incarnations.”
So, herein, we can begin to understand that Sri Advaita Acharya and Maha-Vishnu are completely spiritual. Being so, They are in constant contact with the supreme bliss that comes from the spiritual abode, and They must also be one of the sources of such ecstasy. Right? But let us read on to further understand Sri Advaita Acharya’s power, in texts 18-27:
“The Lord infuses the material ingredients with His own creative potency. Then, by the power of the Lord, creation takes place.
“In the form of Advaita, He infuses the material ingredients with creative energy. Therefore, Advaita is the original cause of creation.
