Srila Rupa Goswami has given an apt analogy to determine how he wishes to love Krishna.
He says,
yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni
yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā
mano ‘bhiramate tadvan
mano me ramatāṁ tvayi
Just as the minds of young girls take pleasure in young boys, and young boys take pleasure in young girls, kindly allow my mind to take pleasure in You alone.
Actually, this verse which Srila Rupa Goswami quotes in Padyavali is taken from Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.20.19.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays for a similar thing. He says,
viṣaye je prīti ebe āchaye āmār
sei-mata prīti hauk caraṇe tomār
As much attachment as I now have for sense gratification, I pray that a similar degree of attachment may develop for Your holy feet.
In my college days, I would see some of my friends who would be involved and engaged in developing relationship with girls. For them, it would be THE thing occupying their minds – the first and last, and the ONLY thing in their minds!!
Just like Kunti Maharani prays that her consciousness be absorbed in Krishna without being diverted to anyone or anything else, similarly, those who are addicted to sense pleasures, rather a particular type of sense pleasure, have only that thought coming repeatedly in the recesses of their minds.
In the process of bhakti, it is said that at the stage of ruchi (Ruchi is the sixth of the total nine stages beginning with sraddha or faith) one develops a taste for one of the processes of bhakti, and the stage of asakti (seventh in the rung), one develops actual taste for Krishna.
Coming back to the example of Srila Rupa Goswami, Kapila Muni tells to his mother Devahuti,
na tathāsya bhaven moho
bandhaś cānya-prasaṅgataḥ
yoṣit-saṅgād yathā puṁso
yathā tat-saṅgi-saṅgataḥ
The infatuation and bondage which accrue to a man from attachment to any other object is not as complete as that resulting from attachment to a woman or to the fellowship of men who are fond of women. SB 3.31.35
Rupa Goswami is therefore mentioning about the completeness of his attachment and also the intensity of his absorption that he wishes to develop for Krishna. He doesn’t wish to leave an inch for anyone or anything. It is a very fitting analogy.
Therefore, bhakti involves engaging our senses in the service of the Lord.
sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
To the degree we engage each one of our senses (both – knowledge acquiring and working senses) – our eyes in seeing the Lord, our ears in hearing about the Lord, our tongue in speaking about the Lord, and tasting the remnants offered to the Lord, our skin in touching objects related to the Lord, our hands and feet in serving the Lord etc. – to that degree it will enable us to develop our love for Krishna. This is exactly what Ambarisha Maharaja prays to Krishna.
Isn’t that a boy or a girl do when they meet each other? Is it too difficult to do it for Krishna who is the most attractive?
