The Krishna-Worshipper is either a householder or a hermit. He is either a devotee who cultivates the love for Krishna amid the duties and distractions of the world or a devotee who leaves the temptations and turmoil of the world and sojourns in some sylvan retreat in the holy forest of Brindāban, the earthly abode of Krishna, or in the outskirts of a town or village within a humble monastery composed of a couple of huts with a little flower garden fenced around. But the most advanced Krishna hermit tarries nowhere longer than a few days, but ever roams about in the land sanctified by the touch of the Lotus Feet of his Lord.
The formula of worship and religious rules of life practised by both the hermit and householder are practically the same. It consists of mental and physical practices, more mental than physical. The moment the householder awakes from his sleep in the morning he utters the name of Krishna thus:
Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna!
O Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna!
Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, nourish me!
Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, protect me!
I salute Thee, O Krishna, give Thou me Thy Love!
Then before he leaves his bed and puts his foot upon the earth, he prays and salutes Mother Earth thus:
"O thou ocean-girdled, mountain-breasted goddess! I salute thee, O thou Consort of Vishnoo! Forgive me, thy suckling. O Mother, this my touching thee with my feet!"
Then, after answering the calls of Nature, and after rubbing his hands and feet with pure earth and washing them for many times, he takes a full bath either in the Ganges or in any river if it is near by. If not, he bathes in a pond or at a well or at home with two or three large jarfuls of water. While bathing, he utters many a hymn and prayer to Krishna. After the bath, he wears a piece of dry cotton cloth which has been washed in clean water, or a piece of pure silk cloth. He then goes to a flower garden and culls some scented white flowers for Krishna, whom he then sits to worship in his sacred room. He mentally repeats for one hundred and eight times the Mantram he has received from his Gooroo, counting it on his fingers. Then he takes a few tiny leaves of the sacred Tulsi plant, smears them in sandal-wood paste and, closing his eyes, mentally offers them with the sacred white flowers to the Lotus Feet of his Deity upon whom his mind is concentrated. This concentration is helped from outside by the spiritual vibrations of his sacred room and the inspiring effect of the perfume of the incense, the sandal-paste and the flowers. He then chants long prayers and hymns in Sanscrit to Krishna and His Love-Energy, Rādhā, and to all the saints and great devotees of Krishna of the past, begging, them for their blessings of Krishna's Grace. He then sings songs of the Lord's Love, and tears of ecstasy roll down his cheeks as he sings in the abandon of his devotion to the accompaniment of a pair of small cymbals he keeps striking to keep time.