“Service to Krishna includes service to His Name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, and His pure devotees. They are all contained within ‘Krishna.’ And Srila Rupa Gosvami says that any of the items of devotional service can be performed in relation to any of these categories. Krishna is never alone. The previous acaryas use the example of a king, but we will use President Obama, because he is more in our context. If I were to say that President Obama is coming, it wouldn’t mean that he alone is coming; it would be understood soma that he is coming with his secretaries, his advisors, his bodyguards—his whole entourage. We say ‘President Obama,’ but it doesn’t mean just President Obama—there is the presidential limousine and his entourage and paraphernalia. Those are all included when we say ‘President Obama.’ So, in the same way, when we say ‘Krishna,’ it includes His associates, His paraphernalia—everything that is with Krishna. And we serve all of them. That is bhakti-yoga.”
More Questions Answered: The Nectar of Devotion, The Darshan Room, Dallas