The gradation of transcendental realisation has been explained by Srila Sanatan Goswami in his book Brhad-bhagavatamrta. There we find that in the course of the realisation of suddha-bhakti, pure devotional service, the great sage Narad Muni is visiting different places. First, he encounters karma-misra-bhakti, or devotional service mixed with fruitive activities.
Once, there was a brahman in Allahabad. He was a wealthy man, and on the occasion of the Kumbha-mela, when millions of sages and devotees gather for a religious festival, he arranged for services to the different types of saintly persons who were present there. He conducted a sacrifice and finally finished the function with the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord. The brahman was mainly engaged in karma-kanda, or fruitive work, but he was also rendering service to the saintly persons. Ultimately, he ended everything with Nam-sankirtan, the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.
Narad Muni approached the brahman, saying, «You are very fortunate that you are doing these things. This is the proper utilisation of your money and caste. By engaging in such holy activities, you are certainly most fortunate.» The brahman told him, «What am I doing? This is nothing. You should go to see the fortune of King Indradyumna. He is distributing the prasad remnants of Lord Jagannath in a grand style. How grandiose is the worship of Narayan there! Go there and you will appreciate his devotional service.»
So, Narad Muni went to see Indradyumna Maharaj, and there he also found the king extensively engaging all his resources in the worship of Lord Jagannath. Narad approached him, saying, «You are so fortunate in this world.» The king told him, «What can I do Narad? This is nothing. If you want to see how devotional service should be practised, you should go to Lord Indra, the king of heaven.»
Narad Muni went to Indradev and praised him by saying, «O Indra, you are very fortunate. Vamandev, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared as your younger brother. And here in Indraloka, there are always religious festivals worshipping Krishna.» Indra said, «Oh, what do you say? What love have I for Krishna? Everything belongs to Him, but in my foolishness, I tried to prevent Him from taking the parijata tree from heaven. Not only that, but I am always being attacked by the demons, and my wife is also sometimes disturbed. What fortune do you find in me?»
From Indra, Narad went to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe. There, he found the personified Vedas singing praise to Lord Brahma. Narad, who was also his son and disciple, approached Lord Brahma saying, «How greatly fortunate you are! You are entrusted by Lord Narayan Himself with the management of the whole universe, and sometimes you visit Him for guidance in the administration of the universe. We also find that some portions of the Vedas are engaged in singing your glories. You are so fortunate!»
Lord Brahma felt a little disturbed. He said, «What are you saying, Narad? You are praising me and increasing my false pride, but did I not tell you that I am nothing but a small creature in the hand of Narayan? I am engaged in external activity. I have no time to give in the interest of my devotional life. My Lord has rather deceived me by engaging me in such a busy matter as managing the universe. I am most unfortunate. Rather, you should go to Mahadev, Lord Siva. He does not care for anything in this world. He is aloof and indifferent and has his aim toward Lord Narayan. He is devoted to Lord Ramachandra, and he is very fond of the Holy Name of Lord Rama. His wife, Parvati Devi, is also helping him in his devotional life, and she is very happy.»
Narad Muni went to Sivaloka and began to chant in praise of Lord Siva, «You are the master of the world. The Vedas sing your glories. You hold the highest position.» In this way, Narad began to glorify him, but Lord Siva became very excited and a little angry at this: «What are you saying, Narad? I have so much indifference towards this world that I am mainly interested in knowledge and penance. This holds the better portion of my interest. Whatever little inclination I have for devotional service to Narayan is very negligible. Sometimes I have such an apathetic spirit towards Narayan that I even fight with Him in favour of one of my disciples! I am disgusted with my position. Penance, power, mystic yoga perfection, and indifference to the world — that is my business.»
This is jnana-misra-bhakti, or devotional service mixed with empiric speculative knowledge. Lord Brahma is the ideal of karma-misra-bhakti, or devotional service mixed with fruitive activity, and Lord Siva is the ideal of jnana-misra-bhakti. He still maintains some affinity for an independent position, and not for cent per cent acceptance of service to the Supreme Lord, Narayan.
Lord Siva said, «If you really want to experience suddha-bhakti, go to Prahlad Maharaj. There you will find pure devotional service.»
In this way, we have been directed to trace the development of suddha-bhakti, pure devotional service, beginning with Prahlad Maharaj because Prahlad does not want anything in exchange for his devotional service.
In Srimad Bhagavatam (7.10.4), he says:
nanyatha te ’khila-guro ghateta karunatmanah
yas ta asisa asaste na sa bhrtyah sa vai vanik
«Whoever is doing something for the satisfaction of Narayan and wants something in return is not a servant, but a merchant. He wants to give something to the Lord and then take some price in exchange for that.» So, Prahlad Maharaj is a pure devotee, and only through a pure devotee of Narayan can one attain pure devotion.
All these peculiar achievements in the devotional world begin with Prahlad Maharaj. The nature of his devotional service is that of santa-rasa, neutrality, where there is no actual service, but only perfect adherence to Narayan under all circumstances. Whatever may be the unfavourable condition in the environment, he stands true to the faith that Narayan is all-in-all, and that He is our Master. So, Prahlad Maharaj, and the four Kumaras, the sons of Lord Brahma, are in the position of santa-rasa bhakti, or neutral love of God.
Prahlad Maharaj is Narad Muni’s disciple. Still, for our benefit, Narad Muni was approaching him to measure the standard of his devotion in a comparative study of the devotional world. Approaching Prahlad Maharaj, Narad said, «I have come to see you, Prahlad, because Lord Siva also appreciates your position. You are really a devotee of Lord Krishna. You are so fortunate! I have come to see how you are.»
Prahlad Maharaj told him, «Gurudev, you are all-in-all. Have you come to test me? Whatever fortune I may have, I have received by your grace. I was born in a family of demons, so the demonic qualities have not exclusively left me. Don’t you know that in Naimisaranya, I went to fight with Lord Visnu? I repent for that, but what can I do? He has given me such a position. I cannot have the privilege of direct service to Him, but only mentally I think of Him. I think that He is everything, but I do not have the great fortune of rendering service to Him. Hanuman is really a devotee. How fortunate he is! What grace he has received! He gave everything to Lord Ramachandra. I envy his situation, but what can I do? God’s dispensation is absolute. We must accept that. Hanuman’s position is really enviable. How attached to his Master he is, and what a great magnitude of service he has done for Lord Rama.»
From there, Narad Muni went to visit Hanuman. He approached Hanuman’s residence, playing on his vina the mantram: Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama. When Hanuman suddenly heard the name of his Master, Lord Rama, he jumped towards that direction and even in the sky embraced Narad Muni. Hanuman said, «Oh, who is helping me to hear the sound of Lord Rama’s Holy Name? After such a long time, the sound of Rama-nam is enlivening me. I was dying without hearing the Name of Rama.» Ecstatic tears were running down the eyes of both of them. Then, Narad Muni went to Hanuman’s quarters and began to praise his fortune, saying, «How fortunate you are! O Hanuman, You serve Lord Ramachandra so intimately; you do not know anything but your Master, Lord Rama.You rendered such great service to Him that your service has become the ideal for the whole of human society.»
Hanuman told Narad, «Yes, by His grace I was able to do something, but it is all His grace. I am nothing, I am worthless. But I hear that now Lord Ramachandra has come as Lord Krishna. Although I don’t like any incarnation other than Lord Rama, I have heard from a distance how Krishna, who is Ramachandra Himself, is showing His favour to the Pandavas. The Pandavas are very fortunate because the Lord is dealing with them like an intimate friend. So, I have great appreciation for the fortune of the Pandavas.» In this way, Hanuman began to praise the Pandavas for their fortune.
Leaving Hanuman, Narad Muni then went to the Pandavas. There, he found Yudhisthir Maharaj seated on a throne and began to sing the glories of the Pandavas. He told Yudhisthir Maharaj, «How friendly you are in your relationship with Krishna! How fortunate you are!» Yudhisthir Maharaj said, «What are you saying Devarsi? Of course Krishna favours us — we can’t deny that — but what is our position? We have no position at all. On the other hand, I feel now and then, that by seeing our example, the people in general won’t want to serve Krishna because they will calculate that being such intimate friends of Lord Krishna, the Pandavas had to pass through difficult troubles and dangers their whole lives. They will think that to be a devotee of Krishna means that one must suffer troubles throughout his whole life. So, I am afraid that by thinking of us, people will not venture to approach Krishna.»
Devarsi Narad said, «No, no, I don’t see it from that angle of vision. What is danger or affliction to the Pandavas? What is the meaning of that? That is the message that Krishna is coming. When the Pandavas are in danger that is nothing but the message that Krishna is coming to save you. So, your mother also prayed:
vipadah santu tah sasvat tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darsanam yat syad apunar bhava-darsanam
«‘Let dangers come: may they visit me always. I don’t care for that because that brings Krishna much closer to us. We rather like the dangers that bring Krishna into our intimate connection.’ That famous statement of your mother, Kunti Devi, stands there.»
The Pandavas, headed by Maharaj Yudhisthir said, «Yes, Krishna visits us now and then, in the time of our dire need, but how fortunate are the Yadus! Lord Krishna is always with them. They are so proud of their Master, Lord Krishna, that they do not care for any other power in the world. They are so fortunate that Lord Krishna is always closely connected with them.» So, Narad Muni went to the Yadus and began chanting in praise of them. They said, «What do you say, Devarsi Narad? Krishna is with us, of course, and in any time of great danger He comes to help us, but how much do we care for Him? We are living independently, careless about His existence. But among us, Uddhava is really His favourite. Whatever Krishna does, He always consults with Uddhava, and in all His confidential matters, Uddhava is present there, and in every case, He is always very thick with Uddhava. Even we envy the fortune of Uddhava.»
Then, Narad went to Uddhava and told him, «Uddhava, you are the most favourite devotee of Krishna. Krishna says:
na tatha me priyatama atma-yonir na sankarah
na cha sankarsano na srir naivatma cha yatha bhavan
«‘O Uddhava! What to speak of other devotees like Brahma, Siva, Sankarsan, or Laksmi; you are more dear to Me than My own life.’ You are such an intimate associate that Krishna values you more than His own life.» Uddhava said, «Yes, of course, out of His causeless benevolence, He might have said something like that, but I don’t think that I am His real devotee, especially after visiting Vrndavan. All my pride has been melted by seeing those devotees. The spirit of service and the intensity of love towards Krishna that I found in the devotees in Vrndavan is unparalleled. O Devarsi, I am nowhere. Do you know that statement of mine? It is recorded in the Srimad Bhagavatam (10.47.61):
asam aho charana-renu-jusam aham syam
vrndavane kim api gulma-latausadhinam
ya dustyajam sva-janam arya-pathan cha hitva
bhejur mukunda-padavim srutibhir vimrgyam
«‘The gopis of Vrndavan gave up their husbands, children, and families, who are difficult to renounce, and sacrificed even their religious principles to take shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna, which are sought after even by the Vedas themselves. Oh! Grant me the fortune to take birth as a blade of grass in Vrndavan, so that I may take the dust of the lotus feet of those great souls upon my head.’
«There I have disclosed my heart fully. The quality of love for Krishna that I found in the damsels of Vrndavan is so exalted that I could not but aspire to be born in Vrndavan as a piece of grass, so that the foot-dust of those divine damsels might touch my head. So, what are you saying Devarsi? If you would like to see real devotion, real divine love, you should go to Vrndavan. Don’t put us in an awkward position, saying that we possess devotion to Krishna; this is rather a mockery, a foundationless utterance. I found real devotees of the Lord in Vrndavan.»
In this way, Sanatan Goswami tries his best to take us through the path, by showing us the gradual development of devotion to Krishna. Prahlad Maharaj has been accepted as the basis of suddha-bhakti, the beginning of pure devotional service, because he is situated in santa-rasa, or devotional service in neutrality. Above that there is dasya-rasa, love of God in servitude, as shown by Hanuman, and above that there is sakhya-rasa, or the mood of friendship. That is exemplified by the Pandavas. Uddhava is somewhat sakhya, connecting with vatsalya, parental love, and madhura, conjugal love. In this way, we can trace the progressive development of devotion.
Our close adherence to Krishna develops in this way to Vrndavan. The acme of devotional service is found there. In the conversation between Ramananda Ray and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we find it mentioned that Radharani’s devotional service is categorically higher than that of the gopis (tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas tabhyo ’pi Sa Radhika). The kind of serving spirit we find there is unaccountable and inconceivable.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came with that quality of adherence to the truth: unconditional surrender. He came seeking that fortune of serving the truth. If we can seek such a higher type of existence, we may consider ourselves most fortunate.
Self-surrender is the very basis of our highest fortune. We cannot but surrender ourselves to whatever beautiful and valuable thing we have come across. Our appreciation for any higher thing is shown by the degree of our surrender to that. So, we can measure the quality of the truth we are connected with only by the intensity of our surrender.