(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban – South Africa, April 2011)

To not be concerned with one’s position, to give up all designations, not to consider: ‘I am this, I am that!  I have these qualifications.’  To simply free oneself from all these designations and to dedicate oneself fully to serving the senses of Krsna – that is the essence of the residents of Vṛndāvana.

So by hearing about such Vaisnavas, who are just selflessly labouring to serve Krsna and to connect others with Krsna, such Vaisnavas are very inspiring personalities.  And they can strengthen our faith.

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, which Srila Prabhupada translated as The Nectar of Devotion, there is something called chaya bhava, which is an interesting phenomenon.  It describes that when we are associating with a great devotee, that great devotee has natural deep emotion or attraction to Krsna, and in his association we may also feel a little bit of chaya bhava, which is a shadow reflection of his mood.  So in the presence of the great Vaisnavas we feel uplifted, we feel like dancing, singing… we feel very enlivened in our Krsna Consciousness suddenly.  And then, after some time, when we are no longer in the association, we feel ‘out of it’.   But something of that shadow reflection is actually valuable.  Although it was a temporary inspiration, it gives us a taste of where we could be.