Foreword
T
o be honest, we are all unfortunate. Whether we can admit it or not, and even though we can’t possibly remember what we did to make it happen, we have been sent away from where we used to live very happily in the company of our best friend. “All we like sheep have gone astray.” (Isaiah 53:6) Or as Lord Caitanya tells it, praying for mercy: ayi nanda-tan¡ja ki¯kara° patita° m§° vi¢ame bhav§mbudhau k¥pay§ tava p§da-pa¯kajasthita-dh¡l¦-sad¥ªa° vicintaya “O son of Nanda, I am Your eternal servant, but somehow or other I have fallen into this horrible ocean of nescience. Kindly pick me up and fix me as a speck of dust at Your lotus feet.” (®ik¢§¢±aka 5) We were K¥¢£a’s servants, perhaps His close friends, elders, or beloveds, and for some foolish reason or other we gave up that intimacy to enter the miserable struggle of material life. But even though we chose to forget Him, He is still our well-wisher, ever ready to save and restore us as soon as we honestly recognize our helplessness and with all humility beg for His mercy. Lord Caitanya begs K¥¢£a to think of Him as a particle of dust attached to His lotus feet. Taken too literally, of course, this image is not properly understood. Lord Caitanya is not advising us to become 17
