Rādhākuṇḍa Mahānta Paṇḍita Śrī Ananta dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja:

Devotional service is the very life of bhakti, and the service of Rādhikā’s kiṅkarīs is most luscious, because their mood is completely free from awe and reverence.

This service is the heart of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has said:

“I desire Your (Rādhā’s) excellent service!”

PĀDĀBJAYOS TAVA VINĀ VARA DĀSYAM EVA
NĀNYAT KADĀPI SAMAYE KILA DEVI YĀCE
SAKHYĀYA TE MAMA NAMO’STU NAMO’STU NITYAṀ
DĀSYĀYA TE MAMA RASO’STU RASO’STU SATYAM
(Vilapa Kusumanjali, verse 16)

“O Goddess! I shall never pray to You for anything else but the excellent service of Your lotus feet!
I offer my constant obeisances to the idea of becoming Your friend, but I really relish the idea of becoming Your maidservant!”

prāṇebhyo’py adhikā priyā mura-ripor yā hanta yasyā api
svīya prāṇa parārddhato’pi dayitās tat pāda-reṇoḥ kaṇāḥ
dhanyāṁ tāṁ jagatī-traye parilasaj jaṅghāla kīrtiṁ hareḥ
preṣṭhā-varga śiro’gra bhūṣaṇa-maṇiṁ rādhāṁ kadāhaṁ bhaje
(Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Utkaṇṭhā daśakam)

“When will I serve Śrī Rādhā, who is dearer to Kṛṣṇa than His own life, who considers a speck of Kṛṣṇa’s foot dust millions of times more dear than Her own life, who is supremely fortunate, whose fames shine in the three worlds, and who is the crown jewel of all of Hari’s beloveds?”

dūre snigdha paramparā vijayatāṁ dūre suhṛṅ maṇḍalī
bhṛtyāḥ santu vidūrato vraja-pater anyāḥ prasaṅgaḥ kutaḥ
yatra śrī vṛṣabhānujā kṛta ratiḥ kuñjodare kāminā
dvārasthā priya kiṅkarī param ahaṁ śroṣyāmi kāñci-dhvanim
(Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhi)

“Let Kṛṣṇa’s parents and all elders of Vraja stay at a distance, all glories to them! Let the circle of Kṛṣṇa’s friends keep some distance! Let the servants of the Lord of Vraja, Kṛṣṇa, stay especially far away, what to speak of others!
Let them all stay away from the kunja-gate where I stand as a loving maidservant, hearing the sash of bells of Vṛṣabhānu’s beautiful daughter jingling as She engages in amorous with Her passionate lover!”

Although she is a maidservant she is also a girlfriend, she is an adolescent girl in form and qualities, and she is qualified for the most confidential service. Although she is qualified for the madhura (amorous) rasa, she is still a maidservant; her service is included in the madhura rasa. The compilations Stavamālā (Rūpa Gosvāmī) and Stavāvalī (Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī) are full of examples of this foremost devotional service. With gusto a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava-devotee should meditate on these services that are concomitant with the sweet pastimes of the Divine Couple.

sādhane bhāvibe yāhā,
siddha-dehe pābe tāhā,
pakkāpakka mātra se vicära
(Narottama das Thakur).

“Whatever one thinks of during one’s practice, one will attain in one’s spiritual body.” It’s simply a matter of being ripe or unripe.”

One must think to himself: “I am Śrī Rādhā’s fallen maidservant” while remembering these transcendental forms, qualities and pastimes with great relish.
By tastefully meditating the object of one’s meditation quickly becomes attracted and will remain in the heart. As a result of constant meditation the object of meditation is never forgotten.

In this way bhajana culminates in the genuine experience and relish of Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s forms, attributes and pastimes. By performing bhajana in this way the expertise in service of the eternally perfect Vraja-devotees can be fully understood.

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The aspirant should also always be eager and anxious to attain the direct darśana and the devotional service of the Divine Pair during his meditations. The more he progresses towards perfection, the more eager and enthusiastic he will become. The mellows of Vraja are transcendental and they cannot be perceived by someone who is in material consciousness. The more the aspirant gets purified by hearing and chanting with great attachment (to the Lord) and without offenses, the more he will experience the Vraja-rasa in his crystal-clear heart.

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Bhajana means searching, and this search will make external consciousness disappear from the aspirant. Slowly the thirst for loving devotion will increase and finally the aspirant will become anxious of thirst. When that thirst takes over the heart the material world will stay out of the mind and all activities will be connected with that thirst.