Hare Krsna,
“While churning the butter, mother Yaśodā was singing about the childhood activities of Kṛṣṇa. It was formerly a custom that if one wanted to remember something constantly, he would transform it into poetry or have this done by a professional poet. It appears that mother Yaśodā did not want to forget Kṛṣṇa’s activities at any time. Therefore she poeticized all of Kṛṣṇa’s childhood activities, such as the killing of Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvarta, and while churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form. This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Kṛṣṇa conscious twenty-four hours a day. This incident shows how Kṛṣṇa conscious mother Yaśodā was. To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons.” (SB 10.9.1-2 Purport)
The last line from the above purport by Srila Prabhupada “To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons” caught my attention. This reminds me of the eight instruction of Nectar of Instruction:
“The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one’s full time—twenty-four hours a day—in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one’s tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vṛndāvana dhāma] and serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.”
The principle enunciated in above is that in the purified stage of development service, when a desire to serve Krsna like one of the Vraja-vasis has taken hold within a devotee’s heart, then that devotee should hear about that Vraja-vasis’s mood of devotion, their service to Krsna, their bodily features, and other excellences. In this regard, Srila Prabhupada quotes in NoI 8,
“A devotee should always reside in the transcendental realm of Vraja and always engage in kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya preṣṭham, the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His beloved associates. By following in the footsteps of such associates and by entering under their eternal guidance, one can acquire an intense desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
Again Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295):
“In the transcendental realm of Vraja [Vraja-dhāma] one should serve the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with a feeling similar to that of His associates, and one should place himself under the direct guidance of a particular associate of Kṛṣṇa and should follow in his footsteps. This method is applicable both in the stage of sādhana [spiritual practices executed while in the stage of bondage] and in the stage of sādhya [God realization], when one is a siddha-puruṣa, or a spiritually perfect soul.”
The above instruction is quite far out for me. I still do not have any inkling of an idea whether I have the required qualification to follow in the footsteps of any particular Vraja-vasis. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful spiritual roadmap to have – especially when I chant the Holy Name of the Lord.
“Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises those who are neophytes to give up all kinds of motivated desires and simply engage in the regulative devotional service of the Lord according to the directions of scripture. In this way a neophyte can gradually develop attachment for Kṛṣṇa’s name, fame, form, qualities and so forth. When one has developed such attachment, he can spontaneously serve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa even without following the regulative principles. This stage is called rāga-bhakti, or devotional service in spontaneous love. At that stage the devotee can follow in the footsteps of one of the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. This is called rāgānuga-bhakti.” (NoI 8 purport)
Long story short, it is better for a neophyte like me to sincerely continue with the current sadhana practice of hearing, chanting and remembering Krsna while strictly following the four regulative principles.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 