English
4th February 2020
Holy name: Caitanya rasa vigraha
I interrupted you in your Japa. Please forgive me for that. Now we just chanted. After japa, we have a japa talk.This is going on for 1 year and 1 month. Radio conferences keep going on in the world. I would chant in the morning and devotees of those respective temples would chant along with me. Then the thought of chanting on this zoom conference came and now we have devotees from 503 places chanting with us.
Pune is one of the locations. 10 to 20 countries are also participating in this conference. Devotees who do not get any association or are grihasta devotees, benefit by joining this japa conference. There is a small place called Reunion Island. There are just a handful devotees and they also join this japa conference. In this way many devotees join. Many devotees are from India and hence we do the japa talk in Hindi. English transcription also takes place and it is also transcribed in Russian. Many devotees from temples and BACE join. We have taken this initiative. You can also follow in the same way by chanting with your counselees.
There can be a japa and a japa talk. Walk the talk. Many devotees are benefitting and thanking me for this. So how can I stop? Devotees from Mauritius, Toronto, Moscow are chanting with us. While chanting we are benefitted by the place and the association of devotees. When we chant we are protected because of the association of the devotees. We have to think of devotees before thinking of the world of Maya. When we do japa then we are protected and we are benefitted by Krishna conscious thoughts.This helps our chanting. Devotees take benefit of this facility. Many are nodding their heads. There can be a question answer session also.
Sometimes a dialogue can take place with the help of this chanting facility. We chant for 45 minutes and have a 15 minute japa talk. The chanting of the holy names is dharma. Philosophy has to be there with religion. Japa talk is there for philosophy. Religion without philosophy is sentimentalism. We need to understand the glories of the holy names. Package of japa and japa talk becomes a complete presentation. We don't have any talk in any particular sequence. I just share my realisations. Sometimes I share those in series.
In ISKCON, senior devotees are welcomed by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra three times. I was also welcomed in this way. When I was hearing this announcement, a thought came in my mind. I thought Krsna will also be there to welcome me. When devotees say we welcome by chanting Hare Krishna I realised that the Lord will also be there to welcome. What is siddhanta?
naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah
Translation:
“I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities.”
nāma-cintāmaṇe kṛṣṇa
caitanya-rasa-vigraha
pūrṇa śuddha nitya muktā-
bhinnātman karuṇāmaya
Translation
O Lord whose holy name is a cintamani jewel! All-attractive Lord Krsna! Lord whose form is spiritual nectar! Perfect and pure Lord! Eternal Lord! Liberated Lord! Lord not different from Your holy name! Merciful Lord! [Song Nama Cintamani Krsna 1]
Nama and Nami are non different. I thought that the Lord will also be there.When we relate this with our chanting and chant, then we can think that the Lord is welcoming us and saying 'Thank you.’ When we chant we all call Radha and Krsna . They appear in front of us and respond also. Chanting means an interview with the Lord. This is a personal dialogue with the Lord. When there is an interview, we shake hands also. Japa means a meeting with the Lord. When we are chanting, I am sure that the Lord could welcome you. This happens when we say Hare Krishna. This is not only shaking hands, but embracing each other. In this way devotees keep on welcoming each other. In the same way we will be welcomed at the entrance of Vaikuntha.
Dhundhukari listened to this katha for 7 days and an airplane came from Vaikuntha for him. He took his seat in that plane. Gokarna, the speaker asked why he was going alone when all had heard the katha. In the same way why is Radheshyam Prabhu going ahead alone? There was an air host only, no air hostesses. There was a difference in the hearing. One heard without committing offences and one heard committing offences. Only one devotee was contemplating on what he heard. This is called manan, smaran. This is not just to be accumulated, but also assimilated and only one person heard in this way. One should contemplate on what one has heard. Gokarna then asked what would happen to these people. They were given a list of offences which they had committed. If they heard attentively without committing offences then they could be taken back to Godhead. There was a list of dos and don’ts (vidhi and nishedh). Next time when all heard the katha in this way, they brought a big jumbo jet, like a 747. Earlier there was just a helicopter. In this way thousands were greeted. Individuals can also be welcomed as well. We were welcomed at the time of japa. In this way we were welcomed and we got the association of the Lord.
Nama is the Lord. From that the form will manifest. That's why we call Nama Prabhu. It indicates that the Lord is a person. While chanting, that same name can give us darsana. The name is the complete Lord, full of all opulences. There is no difference between Nama and Lord. One must think of the Lord, His form, pastimes and associates while chanting.
dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
Translation:
Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another. [NOI 4]
In this way we can meet the Lord and also discuss confidential matters by revealing our heart. The Lord hears. He may not respond on the spot. But if you call from the core of your heart then surely, He will reciprocate. It might not be immediate, but He will surely respond in His way and by His calculation, He will respond and answer. It might be that devotees answer our questions. Gandhiji said that he referred to Bhagavad-Gita when in difficulty. The Lord is very personal. No one is as personal as the Lord. There is need, interest and concern. NIC.
The Lord is our best friend and He knows our needs, interests and concerns. If He thinks about us then why worry? Then there is,
ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham
Translation:
But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. [BG 9.22]
He keeps his promise,
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me
Translation:
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. [BG 18.65]
We have to do our part then the rest is taken care of by Krsna. This is His promise. When we call the all - powerful Lord, then He reveals Himself to us.
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
Translation:
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear. [BG 18.66]
Gaur Premanande!
Hari Haribol!