In plain words
But in solitary sādhana we must think of Him as one with us. Kṛṣṇa was close kin to Uddhava. But for his part, in fear and with honour, simply with a kind of solemnity, he kept looking upon Him. Because he looked on Him in that way, Kṛṣṇa did not come close to him. He was a friend only, not an intimate. Kṛṣṇa said, ‘The people of Mathurā, the people of Dvārakā, all the people in the world are objects of My Prema, dear to Me as life; but the Gopikās, who remember My Name without a break, are My very life,’ He said. Consider how great a difference there is between being dear as life and being life itself. Those dear as life are … not life itself. When heavy rain has fallen and water appears wherever you look, you may say, ‘Oh, it looks like the sea,’ but it is not the sea. In just the same way there is a great difference between those who are objects of Prema, those who are as dear as Prema, and Prema itself. To a man filled with full Prema, the words come only in the familiar singular. Uddhava came to Yaśodā. ‘My dear boy! How is Gopāla in Mathurā?’ Yaśodā asked. ‘Mother, what could be lacking to Kṛṣṇa, who is full of every power? That One who roams in the city of Mathurā is quite well. He who moves in the minds of sages has no wants. He who is dear to the Gopīs has no troubles. He who revels in Ānanda is dancing in Ānanda without a break.’ Answers spoken in this way did not please Yaśodā at all. ‘Who is this one who roams in the city of Mathurā? I do not want that name. I do not know who this one who moves in the minds of sages is. I did not ask about that one's welfare; I am asking about the welfare of my Gopāla.’ Apart from the name ‘Gopāla, Gopāla’, she would not accept any other titles or any other descriptions at all.
When you were tender infants, how could King Kaṃsa bring his heart to let loose the mad elephant on you? From the day you were born he gave you up to troubles; look with your own eyes, what is this fruit of our karma? Demons in human form gathered and chased you through the streets of the town: how many sufferings Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa bore!
She never uttered words like ‘O God’ or ‘O very form of the Lord’; only ‘Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa’. That is: in the one Name everything is contained.
We must utter the natural Name itself. We keep saying a great many names and call them the thousand names. All of these are done only for our own satisfaction. There is but one Name: the words ‘Gopāla’ and ‘Śrī Rāma’. To people who utter such a natural Name, He appears quite naturally, in the subtlest way.