Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had written the mantra: 'pūjala rāga-patha gaurava-bhaṅge.' It's in your songbook, near the end. I have it marked, actually, there are flags there. And in this mantra, he says that we will work hard on this plane. This plane means 'iha' in this world, to utilize all kinds of technologies and wealth, to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam points out that the highest of devotees are those who have compassion for others. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, Kṛṣṇa says: ātma-pamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo'rjuna sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ (BG 6.32).'There’s no better yogi,' he said, 'than somebody who has compassion for others.'

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had written extensively railing against those who would go off to a solitary place and make a show of being advanced by chanting. He wanted a worldwide movement that would touch the hearts of people everywhere, even as the Bhāgavatam has announced: kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khaśādayaḥ ye'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ (SB 2.4.18). Meaning everybody can become converted to their original transcendental position as a servitor of the Lord by the power of Lord Viṣṇu invested in His pure devotees.

So, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was demonstrative about this mood of preaching. He considered it the highest level of devotional service. And He also had shown that those who would prematurely try to enter into the topics of the exchanges of love between Kṛṣṇa and His intimate devotees in Vṛndāvana, this spontaneous idea of prematurely entering in, he considered to be illegal in the Gauḍīya Maṭha.

And this mantra that he had composed says that we keep that conception above our heads and we worship it from here. And while we're here, we work to engage all the energies in the service of the Lord. In fact, in Vṛndāvana, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that we don't stay at Rādhā-kuṇḍa. We live down the road from Rādhā-kuṇḍa and keep it in our worshipable purview. We'll stay at Govardhana Hill and worship Rādhā-kuṇḍa from a distance, which is part of the mood. And in that mantra that he sang, he mentioned that.

Also, in our songbook, we've included the Gauḍīya Maṭha's logo. You'll find that in the logo is the printing press. Actually, there's a lot going on in this logo. Nowadays, you just get a swoosh or a circle or something like that. And I don't think a modern consultant would say, 'Oh yeah, this is a great logo.' It's got about 50 things going on here and all kinds of mantras inside. But he packed it up to show, 'These are our values. This is our mood, and this is our mission.' And you'll find here that the printing press, right above the printing press in the section of the logo where the printing press is, says rāga-mārga.

So, he equated the preaching of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the printing of books, and reaching out to poor, fallen, conditioned souls to be the method of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he also encouraged his disciples in that way.

(excerpt from the talk)

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