[On this most excellent and auspicious day of Janmashtami, the Appearance Day of Lord Krishna, under the guidance and by the unlimited and causeless mercy of Guru and Gauranga, we are allowed the opportunity to present this nectarean hari-katha spoken by the sweet, lotus lips of our beloved Srila Gurudeva, Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vana Gosvami Maharaja on August of 2014, during his preaching mission in London.]
Today is Janmashtami, the appearance day of Lord Krishnachandra, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Svayam Bhagavan. In Bhagavad-gita Krishna says:
janma karma ca me divyam evaḿ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna
Bhagavad-gita (4.9)
[“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”]
Krishna confirms, “My birth and activities are transcendental. One who realises My transcendental activities, will attain perfection and after his death, reach My dhama (abode) and he will never return to this material world.” In this way, Krishna’s janma (birth) and His activities are aprakrita (transcendental).
aprākṛta vastu nahe prākṛta-gocara veda-purāṇete ei kahe nirantara
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 9.194)
[Spiritual substance, aprākṛta vastu, is never within the jurisdiction of the material eyes, words or mind. This is always the verdict of the Vedas and Puranas.]
These topics are transcendental, they cannot be comprehended by our material senses, it is just not possible. However, by the causeless mercy of Guru and Krishna, and by chanting the holy names, you will realise these transcendental things. In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna said, na jayate mriyate - “Even the atma (soul) does not take birth.” Then, how is it possible that Krishna takes birth? This pastime only occurs for the sake and the benefit of fallen jivas. Yesterday, I said this shloka (verse):
anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ mānuṣaṁ deham āśritaḥ bhajate tādṛśīḥ krīḍā yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 4.34)
[Krishna manifests His eternal humanlike form and performs His pastimes to show mercy to the devotees.]
In the transcendental world, Goloka Vrindavana, there are very nice and sweet lilas (pastimes) going on in this way, nitya-lila (eternal pastimes). With His Yogamaya, Krishna manifested the same lilas in this material world.
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu jīve dayā kori’ swa-pārṣada swīya dhāma saha avatari’
Sri Krishna-Chaitanya Prabhu Jive Daya Kori by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
[Out of compassion for the fallen souls, Sri Krishna Caitanya came to this world with His personal associates and divine abode.]
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explained, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the same Krishna who manifested His dhama, Goloka Vrindavana, in this material world and He performed sweet lilas with His parikaras (associates). Why? Because by listening, visualising or glorifying His pastimes, you will become absorbed in krishna-lila and after death you will attain the Lord and His abode.
Who Is Happy?
Srila Shukadeva Gosvami explains who is happy in this material world. ‘Dukhalayam ashashvatam’ – this material world is called the abode of distress and unhappiness. So, where can one find happiness? This is true. All of you are intelligent, so try to understand this. All of you are searching for happiness, as this is the spontaneous nature of living entities. The Lord is called the anandamayi brahman, He is the embodiment of ananda (bliss) and the shuddha-jivatma is part and parcel of the Lord. The same dharma (nature) resides in the heart of all living entities. Due to this, all living entities are constantly seeking sukha (happiness). Where do we find sukha?
Who is happy in this material world? One who has no money is not happy. Is one with money, actually happy? No, he is also not happy. ‘Dhani kahe maha dhani sukhi’. A wealthy man thinks, “Who has more money than me? Perhaps, he is happy.” Although that wealthier man is thinking only the king is happy, the king says, “No! No! I am not happy. Maharaja is happy.” Maharaja is one who controls many kings. Then, Maharaja is also saying, “I am not happy. Indra, the king of heaven, is happy.” ‘Indra kahe’ - Indra declares, “I am not happy. Brahma is happy. Brahmaji, the creator of this universe, is happy.” Yet, Brahmaji states, “I am not happy. Who is happy? In this material world, no one can attain true happiness.”
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
Bhagavad-gita (8.16)
[“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again”.]
Krishna said, “a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah puna - In this material world, from small insects, from indra-gopa, up to Brahmaji, are all suffering different sorts of distress from the three-folds of maya.” Where can one get true happiness from? True happiness only resides in Goloka Vrindavana, chit-jagat (transcendental world) or Vaikuntha-jagat. Beyond Vaikuntha-jagat is Ayodhyaloka, Ramaloka, Dvaraka-puri, Mathura and then Goloka Vrindavana. This is their order in the transcendental world. Our Vedanta philosophy explains – ‘ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt, ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt, ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt’ - one must consistently endeavour to realise Krishna, the embodiment of ananda.
Again, sukham asti - where is perfect bliss found? In Bhagavad-dhama (Lord’s abode). This is true. Though He is beyond material energies, for our benefit, the Lord performs His sweet human pastimes in this material world, sometimes displaying human emotions like unhappiness and even at times, weeping bitterly.
Who doesn’t cry? Lord Ramachandra appeared and performed His sweet lilas, yet, His whole life was spent crying. He married Sita-devi, a very nice and beautiful young bride, and returned from Janaka-puri to Ayodhya. Subsequently, Kaikeyi arranged for Him to be exiled to the forest for forteen years. During Rama’s exile, the Lord encountered a variety of distresses leading to His unhappiness, like the distress of many demons disturbing Sita-devi. You can read these stories in Ramayana, like how Ravana kidnapped Sita-devi, a catalyst for many stressful events. In many rama-lilas, Ramachandra ends up crying and crying.
Therefore, who is actually happy? In krishna-lila, gopis (Vraja cowherd girls) are always crying. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krishna enacts His sweet pastimes in Vrindavana, causing everyone to become completely intoxicated with krishna-prema (pure love for Krishna).
However, after a few years, when Krishna departed Vrindavana, all the gopis were weeping bitterly.
śrī-gopya ūcuḥ aho vidhātas tava na kvacid dayā saṁyojya maitryā praṇayena dehinaḥ tāṁś cākṛtārthān viyunaṅkṣy apārthakaṁ vikrīḍitaṁ te ’rbhaka-ceṣṭitaṁ yathā
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.39.19)
[The gopis said: O Providence, you have no mercy! You bring embodied creatures together in friendship and love and then senselessly separate them before they fulfil their desires. This whimsical play of yours is like a child’s game.]
Gopis are saying, “O Vidhata (providence)! In your heart there is no trace of mercy (daya). You arranged for us to meet our beloved Govinda, yet, before our love matured, we have separated and as a result, we are now suffering.” In this mood of separation, all the gopis began to cry uncontrollably.
There is one Bengali song which explains that after Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Gaurasundara, took sannyasa, Vishnupriya-devi felt pangs of separation from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus, she sang,
satya yuge chela mami satya narayani
[“I am the same Lakshmi, and my husband is also the same, Narayana.”]
Vishnupriya-devi sang, “satya yuge chela mami satya narayani – In Satya-yuga, I was Narayani, the consort of Lord Narayana.” Once, Durvasa Rishi came to Vaikuntha and cursed Lakshmi-Narayana to go to the material world. From this curse, Lakshmi-Narayana appeared here and suffered in these different ways.
“Treta yuge chela mami – The same Lord Narayana, in Treta-yuga, appeared as Lord Ramachandra and Lakshmi-devi appeared in the form of Sita-devi,” said Vishnupriya-devi. As mentioned, rama-lila can appear to be very pathetic, everyone seems to be always crying. After Kaikeyi’s arrangement, some spent their entire lives weeping.
Vishnupriya continued, “dvapare yuge chela mami – In Dvapara-yuga, I was the so-called wife of Abhimanyu, but My mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jatila and Kutila made Me seem unchaste. They would say, ‘O Srimati Radhika, She is asati (unfaithful wife)’.” Every moment of every day, Jatila and Kutila are acting this way, kut, kut, kut, kut. Kutila means nagging, always noticing one’s faults. “Jatila and Kutila have made Me appear unchaste,” said Srimati Radhika. “kali yuge hola mami gauranga dharani – In Kali-yuga, I am the wife of Gaurasundara, but something occurred. Gaurasundara took sannyasa and now, I am alone,” ended Vishnupriya.
bhaja gaurāńga japa gaurāńga laha gaurāńgera nāma re je jan gaurāńga bhaje, sei hoy āmāra prāṇa re
Bhaja Gauranga Kaha Gauranga
[Worship Lord Gauranga! Chant Gauranga! Speak about Lord Gauranga only! Those who worship Lord Gauranga are indeed my life and soul.]
In her mood of separation, Vishnupriya-devi sang this song. Mahaprabhu, Himself gave His own vigraha (deity) to Vishnupriya-devi and she served that Gauranga Mahaprabhu vigraha every day. She sang this song beautifully while serving her Thakuraji, “bhaja gaurāńga japa gaurāńga laha gaurāńgera nāma re.”
Why Chant Krishna Maha-mantra?
What can one do in this Kali-yuga? Chant gaura-nama. Do you understand? Gaura-nama is very sweet. ‘Bhaja gaurāńga japa gaurāńga laha gaurāńgera nāma re je jan gaurāńga bhaje, sei hoy āmāra prāṇa re’. The Lord states, “One who chants gaura-nama is My life and soul.” This is true. A question may arise - why are you chanting the maha-mantra ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’? Instead, why aren’t you chanting “Gaura, Gaura, Gaura, Gaura”? Gaura-nama is such a sweet name. Shastras explain:
‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’ kare aparādhera vicāra kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 8.24)
[There are offences to be considered while chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Therefore, simply by chanting Hare Krishna one does not become ecstatic.]
caitanya-nityānande nāhi e-saba vicāra nāma laite prema dena, vahe aśrudhāra
Caitanya-caritamrita (Adi-lila 8.31)
[But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offences. Thus, as soon as he chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.]
If you chant the maha-mantra, you have to consider ten offences to the holy name, starting from satam ninda (criticising a saintly person). However, there are no considerations when chanting the names of Gaura-Nityananda. If you chant gaura-nama, your heart will melt and tears will roll down your face. Gaura-nama is very sweet. Knowing this, one could ask - why are we chanting krishna-nama? Why are we chanting the maha-mantra?
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is our guru. We have to follow the instruction of gurupada-padma. Who is our original guru? Shachinandana Gaurahari, Mahaprabhu Himself confirmed this. The Lord also confirmed the maha-mantra is our current yuga-dharma (religion of mankind in this age). Satya-, Treta-, Dvapara- and Kali-yuga all have their own specific maha-mantras. In Kali-yuga, the maha-mantra is:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
made up of thirty-two syllables. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also clearly instructed:
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 7.76)
[“For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.”]
Sriman Mahaprabhu Himself, instructed His followers, “ama-prati sneha jadi thaje sabakara – If you really love Me, you have to follow My instructions.” What is His instruction? Chant the maha-mantra daily.
Try to realise, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is our original guru. If you really have love for your guru - what do you do? You follow his instructions. Otherwise, it is guru-avajna (dishonour to the guru). Whatever the guru instructs, you must follow. You have to follow the instructions of gurupada-padma (lotus feet of Sri Guru). So Mahaprabhu very humbly said:
śuno śuno nityānanda! śuno haridāsa! sarvatra āmāra ājñā karaha prakāśa prati ghare ghare giyā kara ei bhikṣā ‘bala kṛṣṇa, bhaja kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kara śikṣā
Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata (Madhya-lila 13.8-9)
[“Listen, listen, Nityananda! Listen, Haridasa! Spread My order everywhere; go door to door and beg everyone: ‘Chant the Name of Krishna, serve Krishna, and learn about Krishna”.]
Mahaprabhu told, “śuno śuno nityānanda! śuno haridāsa! - O Nityananda! O Advaita Acharya! Haridasa!” Ājñā means this is My instruction, strict order, “prati ghare ghare giyā kara ei bhikṣā – Go from house to house, village to village, city to city, country to country, everywhere. Go and beg, ‘O my brother, o my sister, please, everybody chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra’.”
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu clearly stated, “pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma - One day, My name will be preached all over the world, everybody will chant the holy names.”
We must follow the instruction of Gurupada-padma, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. A chaste woman follows the instructions of her husband. Mahaprabhu Himself said, “You have to follow the instructions of your husband.” Yet, who is actually our husband? Govinda, Krishna, He is called jagat-pati, Jagannatha. Do you understand the meaning of jagat-pati? Pati means husband and jagat means universal. Who is our real pati? Jagannatha, Krishna, Govinda and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. If you do not follow the instructions of jagat-pati Krishna, then you are asati (unchaste). Do you understand this concept? If you do not understand, please let me know, because this is very important. Otherwise, you will be misguided by sahajiyas. If you visit Radha-kunda or other places you will hear them saying:
nitai gaura radhe shyam, hare krishna hare ram
Although, this is not a bona fide mantra. Some declare, “O my Gurudeva received this mantra in a dream.” Except, a dream is not acceptable evidence. If we accepted this as reliable proof everybody would say, “O my Gurudeva also had this dream.” According to this logic, all of the shastras are just dreams. No, dreams are not valid evidence. Understand? Sahajiya, babaji sampradayas utter this mantra, “nitai gaura radhe shyam, hare krishna hare ram. O, we are giving respect to everybody.”
This is not perfect. Thus, Mahaprabhu is very humbly saying, “ama-prati sneha thaje sabakara - If you really love Me, only chant the holy names and preach the holy names to others.”
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
For this reason we are chanting the maha-mantra and not always chanting gaura-nama. You can chant gaura-nama out of love and affection, this is allowable, yet, always consider the maha-mantra as the most important. Everyday, take your japa-mala (prayer beads) and chant the maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
In his Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Gosvamipada explains, “yo mantraḥ sa guruḥ - Mantra means guru and guru means mantra.” You are chanting your guru-mantra, this means Gurudeva himself is there with you; mantra-adhishthatra-devata (presiding deity of mantra) is present.
Sri Krishna Manifests as Nama, Vigraha and Svarupa
If you recall, in Kali-yuga, Krishna manifests in three forms – nama (holy name), vigraha (deity) and svarupa (form). Nama – we are chanting ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’.
This is called shabda-brahma (transcendental sound). When you chant krishna-nama, it means Krishna Himself is there.
nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ
Sri Shikshashtaka (2)
[“O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.”]
The Lord invested all of His shakti in His holy names. Chant the holy names, nama is very powerful. Chant with firm faith, as in this Kali-yuga, the Lord has mercifully manifested Himself in the form of His holy names.
Date: 15 August 2014 Location: London
Transcriber: Govinda Priya dasi (Lithuania) Editor: Janardana dasa (UK), Sanatana dasa (USA) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia) Proofreader: Chandrika dasi (UK), Damodara dasa(UK) Image: Navin-krishna dasa (Holland)
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