Since the beginning of the Millennium September 2018

ŚRĪ ŚRĪ PRAPANNA-JIVANAMRTAM

by Śrīla Rakṣhaka Śrīdhara

Deva Goswāmī Mahārāja

Verse 2.8-9

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta aprapannanam jivana-vaiphalyac ca – Prabhupada asitin caturas caiva, laksams tan jiva-jatisu bhramyadbhih purusaih prapya, manusyam janma-paryayat The destination of transcendence is tad apy aphalatam yatam, tesam atmabhimaninam to become the personal associate of varakanam anasritya, govinda-carana-dvayam the Personality of Godhead, who is -vaivartta Purana known as adhokṣaja, He who is beyond the reach of the senses. The renouncers of the world, the sannyāsīs, give up all worldly connections, namely family, wife, The utter futility of life without surrender – children, friends, home, wealth — everything — to attain the "After wandering throughout 8,400,000 species, the soul transcendental bliss of eventually takes a human birth. But that human birth is rendered happiness. But adhokṣaja worthless by those miserable fellows who are so proud of their happiness is beyond Brahman bodies that they refuse to take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord happiness. The empiric Govinda." philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead. Brahman bliss is enjoyed by living entities after liberation from material bondage.

(Prabhupada Purport SB 3:1:31) Entanglement without surrender WORDS OF OUR GUARDIANS

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣhaka Śrīdhara Goswāmī Mahārāja from The Search For Sri - Reality The Beautiful

TRANSCENDENTAL MADNESS of the world, or even expressed in any scripture how such intense love Mahaprabhu went to Vrndavana within can produce such through Bengal. Six years passed, corresponding symptoms on the and Advaita Prabhu almost gave surface. That was shown by leave to Mahaprabhu, saying, “Our Radharani and later shown by Sri pastimes of introducing the chanting . of are finished.” Then Mahaprabhu continuously showed It was shown by Mahaprabhu in His Radharani’s mood of tasting krishna- practices also, how krishna prema, prema, ecstatic love of Krishna, for love of Krishna, can play a man twelve years. Svarupa Damodara and like a doll. Sometimes His legs and Raya, who are Lalita and hands would enter inconceivably into Visakha, the two principle gopi His body, and sometimes His joints assistants of Radharani, were would disconnect and His Mahaprabhu’s most important transcendental body would appear company during that time. There, so elongated. Sometimes His whole many things about the deep feelings body would. become white, and He of Divine love have been shown. It would lay unconscious, breathing has never been found in the history so slowly that His breath could not

be traced. In this way, He exhibited eternal expressions of the same Srila Bhakti Rakshak many amazing symptoms of ecstasy. Absolute Truth. Summer, autumn, Sridhar Deva Goswami winter, and spring continue in a Maharaj Svarupa Damodara, the personal cyclic order; it cannot be said secretary of Sri Chaitanya that summer is the beginning and “So, if we Mahaprabhu has explained the winter comes later. scientifically search meaning of His appearance in his out who Mahaprabhu memoirs, which were recorded in the So, the pastimes of Sri and is, we cannot Chaitanya-caritamrta of Kaviraj Krishna are eternally being enacted. but find that He is the Goswami. He writes: In ancient times, sometimes Radha Ultimate Reality. He is mad in tasting His and Krishna divided Themselves and own internal nectar, rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī showed Their pastimes; again both and His dancing is the śaktir asmād of Them, the potency and the owner outcome of His ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha- of the potency, are combined and transcendental bhedaṁ gatau tau closely embraced as Sri Chaitanya ecstasy. And He is caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā Mahaprabhu. The predominating chanting, distributing tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ and the predominated moiety are that to others.” rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi mixed, and an extraordinary ecstatic kṛṣṇa-svarūpam feeling is there. Krishna is over powered by His potency, and He Sometimes Radha and Krishna are Himself is searching after His own combined; sometimes They are Self: krsnasya atmanusandhana. separate. They are separate in Krishna Himself is engaged in the Dvapara-yuga, and in Kali-yuga they search for Sri Krishna, Reality the are combined as Sri Krishna Beautiful. The influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Both are Radharani over Krishna has transformed Him into a devotee, gaura-sundaram and He is searching Himself. Sweetness is tasting Itself and “The highest conception of the becoming mad. And it is living Absolute Truth must also be the sweetness — not dead or static, but highest form of ananda, ecstasy. dynamic ecstasy, sweetness Mahaprabhu’s dancing indicates endowed with life. And He is that He is full of ecstasy, and His tasting Himself, the personification is distribution of that rasa. of happiness, ecstasy, and beauty — So, if we scientifically search out Logo of Sri Chaitanya and dancing in madness. And His who Mahaprabhu is, we cannot Saraswat Math performance of kirtan means but find that He is the Ultimate distributing that ecstasy to others. Reality. He is mad in tasting His The ultimate sweetness, or ananda, own internal nectar, and His is such that no other thing exists dancing is the outcome of His that can taste itself and express its transcendental ecstasy. And He is own happiness with such intensity. I chanting, distributing that to others. have described Sri Chaitanya So, studying quite closely the Mah aprabhu in the Prema Dhama character of Sri Chaitanya Deva Stotram: Mahaprabhu, we cannot but think that He is the Supreme Absolute atma-siddha-savalila-purna- Truth, in its fullest, and most saukhya-laksanam dynamic expression.” Principal domes of Sri svanubhava-matta-nrtya- kirtanatma-vantanam Chaitanya Saraswat Math advayaika-laksya-purna-tattva-tat- paratparam prema-dhama-devam eva naumi DIVINE INSTRUCTION

Srila Bhakti Sundara Govinda Deva Goswami Maharaja from “Revealed Truth”

NAMA -SANKIRTTAN within them so many of the Lord, trying to THE ESSENTIAL rsis, munis and scholars satisfy Him and His INGREDIENT IN present their research. associates. Try to avoid all EVERYTHING But Vedavyas collected relations with material and presented the gist of existence as you practise We can also understand everything in his -Nama-sankirttan. the supreme position of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Through that you will be Hari-Nama-sankirttan and ended Srimad- freed from all sin and you through Srimad- Bhagavatam with his will receive the supreme Bhagavatam. Vedavyas final advice: benefit of your spiritual Srila Bhakti Sundara composed Srimad- life, service of your Lord Govinda Deva Goswami Bhagavatam after nama-sankirttanam Sri Krsna in the Maharaja presenting the , yasya sarva-papa- transcendental world.” In , the Upanisads, pranasanam this way Vedavyas ended “Chant the Holy Name of , etc. and in pranamo duhkha- his Srimad-Bhagavatam the Lord, trying to satisfy Srimad-Bhagavatam he samanas tam namami with his final prescription Him and His associates. Try presented his supreme harim param and conclusion: Hari- to avoid all relations with and final conclusion. So Nama-sankirttan is best for material existence as you many Scriptures can be (Srimad-Bhagavatam’s everyone. practise Hari-Nama- found within the Vedic last verse: 12.13.23) sankirttan.? school and culture and “Chant the Holy Name Whenever anyone participates in any religious function it is Names like Visnu, Madhusudan, Hrsikesa, Hari, necessary for them to understand why they are etc., is the abode of all auspiciousness. Simply participating. Indian religion has its own by remembering Him and chanting His Names customs, Muslim religion has its own customs; all obstacles are destroyed and all auspiciousness other Western religions have their own customs. manifests. There is no doubt about this.” All religious people follow those customs and the rules and regulations they prescribe, and This mangalacharanam, auspicious invocation, through that everyone gets some auspicious reveals that everything will be auspicious if connection in their lives. But what is the chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, Nama- fundamental basis of that auspicious connection? sankirttan, is present within it. Everything It is always connection with the Lord through depends on a connection with the Lord and that His Holy Name. Before any Vedic sacrifice is connection, Krsna conception we can say, is performed there is always a particular mantram what produces all actual auspiciousness. recited to invoke auspiciousness. This is the fundamental basis of all religion. It is mangalam visnur mangalam first of all necessary for everyone to understand madhusudanah that all religious functions will be super mangalam hrsikeso ’yam mangalayatano harih auspicious when they are based on chanting the visnuchcharana-matrena krsnasya smaranad- Lord’s Holy Names, and in that way everyone dhareh will understand the fundamental basis and sarva vighnani nasyanti mangalam syan na purpose of all religious activity, the satisfaction samsayah of the Lord. (Brhad Visnu Purana) The Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the topmost guide to the “The Supreme Lord, who has many different regulations of Vaisnava religious functions, says there is an auspicious mantram not only for sankirttan everything can be set right. So, Hari- beginning but also for ending all religious Nama-sankirttan is actually our only real hope to sacrifices. satisfy the Lord and we must include it in everything we do. yadasanga kriya janata vapy ajanata purnam bhavatu tat sarvam sri harer nama THE POWER OF HARI-NAMA-SAÌKIRTTAN kirttanat (Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa) Hari-Nama-sankirttan is so powerful that it can even overcome the extreme influence of the This mantram explains, “Whatever offence I current age of Kali, the age of quarrel. The age may have made during the performance of this of Kali is filled with so many very bad qualities. religious sacrifice, knowingly or unknowingly, There is always a sinful wave blowing willingly or unwillingly, will be removed and throughout the material world in the age of Kali everything will be fulfilled by Hari-Nama- and there is almost no real religious practice left sankirttan.” in the world because of it. In the age of Kali three of the four primary religious principles— We know there are so many possible faults, both austerity, cleanliness and mercy—are broken. internal and external, in performing religious Only the quality of truthfulness remains, and this sacrifices and we know it is not possible to also the influence of Kali is constantly trying to perfectly perform any religious function. We break. So the jiva-souls must be hopeless and know we must make some mistakes and get frustrated in this age because they do not have a insufficient results according to our own karma. good opportunity for religious practice. But all deficiency and offence can be removed by Hari-Nama-sankirttan. Through humble apology and prayer to the Lord in Nama-

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

Srila Bhakti Nirmal Maharaja

from “Guidance” {Volume 1 }

Yamadūts and Ego: How to Survive?

From lecture on 16 June 2010

Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaja Question: When we leave our body Yamadūts come to take us. How can we avoid being taken by them? If you are a surrendered soul, if you do service and follow Kṛṣṇa You must know what is bad and consciousness, Yamadūts (messengers of Yamarāj, the Lord of Death) avoid it. That is called bhakti- will never come to you. Only Viṣṇudūts (messengers of Lord Viṣṇu) pratikūl: avoiding what is not in will come to you. favour of devotion. Practise well, follow Gurudev’s instruction, that will be good… Where are your neck beads? You must always wear the neck beads. If you wear Tulasī neck beads, Yamadūts cannot touch you. In India also some are afraid to wear Tulasī beads, and they do not wear it. I tell them forcefully, “Who is telling you not to wear Tulasī beads?”

“Oh, my friends are teasing me, they are then how can he be surrendered? A gṛhastha telling some bad things to me.” can do what even a sannyāsī cannot do. “Who is feeding you?! Tulasī or your friend? Tell me.” They are silent. Tulasī feeds you, the Question: You were explaining that Lord feeds you! In India some also make Tulasī sometimes when we do a lot of service, our ego very long and try to hide that they are wearing can increase, our ego can become an obstacle, it—they button up their shirt’s collar so that and we start retarding in our service. How can nobody can see their Tulasī beads. It is very we avoid it? offensive. They are wearing Tulasī in a wrong It is necessary to avoid it through practising. way. They do not know that Tulasī feeds us. Actually, when somebody, through some mercy Why are we afraid to wear Tulasī beads? She of Gurudev and devotional activities, does a lot protects us in our devotional activities. of service, they may think, “Oh, I am not doing anything,” while somebody else may do a little Question: How can a gṛhastha be totally and think, “Oh, I have done so many things! I surrendered? How is it possible? am doing this, I am doing that…” This depends It is possible. Everything is possible because on their qualities. When you get good you will do everything for the Lord. You are association, you can understand, “What I am doing some job, you are doing it for the Lord; doing is wrong.” your wife is cooking, that cooking is for the Lord. Everything is like this—for the Lord. That You must know what is bad and avoid it. That is is called surrender. You must surrender, then called bhakti-pratikūl: avoiding what is not in there will be no problem. A gṛhastha may think, favour of devotion. You can do it easily—just “A sannyāsī is so surrendered,” but that is not keep trying to avoid it and you will be able to do so. A sannyāsī may have another desire inside, it.

VAISNAVA CALENDAR for Sri Dham Navadwip, India

September 2018

3. (Mon) Krishna Ashtami. Sri Sri . Complete fast until midnight, then no grains.

4. (Tue) Krishna Navami. Sri Nandotsav. Sri Janmashtami paran between 5:13 and 9:32 a.m. Appearance of Vishva-varenya Tridandi Swami Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad.

6. (Thu) Krishna . Annada Ekadashi. Fast.

7. (Fri) Krishna Dvadashi. Paran between 5:24 and 6:40 a.m.

14. (Fri) Gaura Panchami. Appearance of Sri Devi, the consort of Sri Advaita Prabhu.

16. (Sun) Gaura Saptami. Sri Lalita Saptami. Appearance of Sri Lalita Devi. 17. (Mon) Gaura Ashtami. Sri Radhashtami. Srimati Radharani's appearance at noon. Fast until noon.

20. (Thu) Gaura Ekadashi. No fast today (because of -shrinkhala- and Mahadvadashi the following day).

21. (Fri) Gaura Dvadashi. Appearance of Sri Vamanadev. Vishnu-shrinkhala-yoga and Vijaya Mahadvadashi. Fast. Appearance of Srila Prabhu. 22. (Sat) Gaura Trayodashi. Paran between 5:28 and 9:29 a.m. Appearance of Srila Sachchidananda Bhakti Vinod Thakur. 23. (Sun) Gaura Chaturdashi. Disappearance of Srila Haridas Thakur. 25. (Tue) Purnima. Vishvarup Mahotsav. End of month-long festival at , Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

PADMANABHA 27. (Thu) Krishna Dvitiya. Disappearance of Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj.

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