Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj explains how the servitors of the Deity experience this.
Today is a supremely beneficial day for us because we have the feeling that Reality the Beautiful, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa with His paraphernalia and His power has manifested in His non-different form of the Deity in this Soquel Ashram through the devotional mood of the all the devotees. We can see that the mood of the devotees is very happy. We can easily understand how happy they are.
The Deity form that has manifested is not a doll in any way. We know the history of many Deities. There are many truthful accounts of the Pastimes of various Deities, such as Sākṣī Gopāl, who bore witness for His devotee, Śrī Gopāl, who came out of a cave for Śrīpad Mādhavendra Purī, Kṣīra-chora Gopīnāth, who stole sweet condensed milk for him, and the Deity who took food from the young devotee Raghu Nandan. We know of many such histories. So, the Deity can walk, the Deity can eat, the Deity can do everything; He can perform all types of Pastimes. This is known to many devotees outside the line of Kṛṣṇa consciousness also, such the devotees of Nārāyaṇ, the devotees of Rāmachandra, and the devotees of Nṛsiṁhadev. There are so many evidences of the Deity taking food from His devotees, bestowing mercy on conditioned souls, and giving them the chance to worship Him.
The Pastimes of the Deities are described everywhere throughout the scriptures, and it is only necessary to open and develop the transcendental vision to see them. Then, everything will be clear in front of us.
The manifestation of the Deity gives us love for the Lord. That is, the Deity’s manifestation is very near to us, very close to our mental position. We are habituated to this mundane environment and to life with our relatives. So, the Lord appears as the Deity to be our relative.
Our line is a special, very exclusive line to satisfy Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Reality the Beautiful. His divine form is worshipped everywhere, but supremely He is manifest in the midst of the full exclusive devotion found in Vṛndāvan and Gupta Vṛndāvan, Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām. We are deeply attracted to Vṛndāvan Dhām. Kṛṣṇa performs Pastimes in Dvārakā and Mathurā, but His sweetest Pastimes are in Vṛndāvan. Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī said,
vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād
vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ
rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛtāplāvanāt
kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevāṁ vivekī na kaḥ
(Śrī Upadeśāmṛta: 9)
We are so fortunate that Girirāj Govardhan has mercifully given us shelter at His lotus feet and especially fortunate that He has given us shelter beside His divine hidden form in Koladwīp, Nabadwīp. We feel that here also in this Soquel Ashram there is a manifestation of Girirāj, and it is for this reason that this divine name Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvikā Giridhārī has come down from the divine abode. Gāndharvikā means She who is always satisfying Kṛṣṇa by dancing and singing. Her Pastimes of singing and dancing with Kṛṣṇa take place during the Rāsa-līlā and beside Śrī Rādhā Kuṇḍa. These Pastimes beside Rādhā Kuṇḍa and around Girirāj Govardhan are Kṛṣṇa’s hidden Pastimes, and they most beautifully satisfy Kṛṣṇa. The Pastimes of the Divine Couple are supremely tasteful there, where They taste in a wide variety of ways.
We are so fortunate that our grand Guru Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur showed in his bhajan life Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī to be his worshippable Deity. Today, these Deities have manifested here. We are feeling so fortunate that this place is our home; we feel very comfortable here.
When the Deity wants to take your service, you cannot avoid it. But when you will develop more spiritual wealth, your attention will go to the service of the Deity’s servitors. When you become highly qualified, you will always want to satisfy the servitors of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is more natural.
In this mundane world, we know the saying, “If you love, love my dog.” It is a very common phrase. Kṛṣṇa wants to see, “How much are you attracted to Me? How much are you attached to Me?”
Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī is the highest expression of this. His worshippable mistress is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the supreme servitor, the supreme power of Kṛṣṇa. The Power and the Powerful cannot be detached in any way, but when the transcendental Power and Powerful Themselves play, that is called the play of the Sweet Absolute. If you get some part in Their play, then how fortunate are you? When They are dancing, jumping, eating, embracing, and performing Their many other Pastimes, you cannot imagine what it is like to get a full chance to play a part in that, to serve that Sweet Absolute with His Sweetest Power. It is all infinite and full. Śrīla Dās Goswāmī said,
āśā-bharair amṛta-sindhumayaiḥ kathañchit
kālo mayāti-gamitaḥ kila sāmprataṁ hi
tvañ chet kṛpāṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me
prāṇair vrajena cha varoru bakāriṇāpi
(Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali: 102)
A devotee does not count how much they are getting; they are hankering, and they want only to get more and more. In that mood, Śrīla Dās Goswāmī expresses to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī: “I do not want Kṛṣṇa without Your mercy.”
This type of fanatic mentality comes when the mood of a servitor reaches the highest position. The power of Indra, Chandra, Vāyu, Vāruṇa and everyone else comes from the Powerful Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but how sweet is it when that Powerful plays with His eternal Power? We cannot believe it.
Source
Spoken 19 May 1996.
References
vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād
vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ
rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛtāplāvanāt
kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevāṁ vivekī na kaḥ
(Śrī Upadeśāmṛta: 9)
“Above Vaikuṇṭha is Mathurā, where Kṛṣṇa took birth. Above Mathurā is Vṛndāvan, where Kṛṣṇa enjoys the Rāsa Dance. Above Vṛndāvan is Govardhan, where Kṛṣṇa plays amorously. And above Govardhan is Rādhā Kuṇḍa, where the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s divine love overflows. What wise soul would not serve Rādhā Kuṇḍa at the base Govardhan Hill?”
āśā-bharair amṛta-sindhumayaiḥ kathañchit
kālo mayāti-gamitaḥ kila sāmprataṁ hi
tvañ chet kṛpāṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me
prāṇair vrajena cha varoru bakāriṇāpi
(Śrī Vilāpa-kusumāñjali: 102)
“Filled with an abundance of hope, an ocean of nectar, somehow or other I have passed the time. If You do not bestow Your mercy upon me now, O Rādhā, then what is the use of my life, or Vraja, or even that demon killer?”