English
19 SEPTEMBER 2019
JARE DAKHO TARE KAHO KRISHNA-UPADESH!
This is the time for the World Holy Name Festival so we could announce our scores that today we had 521 participants. During this festival we want to hear some scores, results, number of different festivals conducted, japa sessions you conducted or so many people chanting because of your arrangements. So we are reporting from this session there are 527 participants.
In Lord Caitanyas life and teachings, he has taught and shared His realisations that the chanting of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna / Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama / Rama Rama Hare Hare / transformed his life. He was no longer the same person as soon as he took up the chanting. As He took to the chanting after being initiated by Isvara Puri in Gaya, when He returned to Navadvipa, Mayapur, He was a completely changed person, upside down and inside out. He was changed. No one could recognise that He is the same Nimai Pandit. He does not even look like Nimai Pandit. Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave the credit to Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
All the changes in Him had taken place because of the chanting of Hare Krishna maha-mantra. So He was exhibiting all the symptoms to the extent that by seeing Him all the people around use to say Oh! Nimai has gone mad!
So then Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu went back to his Guru Maharaja asking, 'Kiba mantra dila gosai kiba Tara Bal, japite japite mantra karil pagal' Oh!dear Guru Maharaja, my Guru Maharaja, (doesn't have to say 'dear' to an honorable person). He asked what kind of mantra have you given? There is so much power in this! As I started chanting I have gone mad. I laugh, I cry and I roll on the ground, I become stunned and this happens and that happens. And I know that this maha-mantra has done this. So what a powerful mantra it is! Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also talking to devotees, Gadadhar Pandit and Mukunda Datta. Lord was saying to them,' I wasted my lifetime. I wasn't chanting like you. I wasn't a devotee like you. From your very birth you are chanting. You are dancing and you are happy realizing this
mellows of devotion'.
hari hari! biphale janama gonainu
manusya-janama paiya, radha-krsna na bhajiya
janiya suniya bisa khainu
Translation:
O Lord Hari I have spent my life uselessly. Having obtained a human birth and having net worshiped Radha and Krsna, I have knowingly drunk poison.(Dainya Bodhika Song 2 (Ista Deve Vijnapti) Narottama Dasa Thakura He was expressing sentiments like that. I remained busy in sastra and debates, teaching and learning the scriptures, lot of Vidyarjan, but I wasted My time. Why did I not take this chanting of Hare Krishna maha-mantra from early age childhood? He was having such thoughts and was sharing them with the devotees. So with this kind of light and expression Caitanya Mahaprabhu is expressing the glories of the holy name. He is establishing harer nama eva kevalam principal.
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge (BG 4.8)
Lord has appeared to establish the Dharma for this age of Kali. We are seeing how Caitanya Mahaprabhu is establishing the accomplishment of the glories of the holy name, and Dharma for this age of Kali. We all have to chant. Specially this part is also sadhana. This is one way of chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna /Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /Hare Rama Hare Rama /Rama Rama Hare Hare.
We could say that this is 'Charity begins at home'. Charity begins with you! It begins with yourself. Mahaprabhu came with the gift of this Harinama and we should be giving this gift to our self. That is what we do when we do our Japa. We are drinking, gifting this holy name to our self and getting benefited. We are getting nourished and flourished as we do this. So certainly we have to do this. At the same time, it is certainly the will and wish of the Lord that we all chant. Those who hear the glories of the holy name understand harer nama eva kevalam. We should be chanting. But we should not be happy only with that. Okay, I am chanting, I am happy. Chant and be happy! But Mahaprabhu
did not want us only to be happy. Mahaprabhu is expecting and instructing all the chanters of the holy name, all those who are following him, all those who have taken up the chanting of the maha-mantra, Mahaprabhu's instructions all those are:
yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa
Translation
“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (CC Madhya 7.128)
This is the instruction of Mahaprabhu, Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is our Prabhu, prabhavashali, he is our master. So this is His order- yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesaamara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa. Srila Prabhupada said to me "yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa" when Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa, that includes Hare Krishna updesa also.
Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu's other famous statement, instruction or we could say desire is one which Srila Prabhupada would repeat again and again and again is
bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara
Translation:
“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bharata-varsa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. (CC Adi lila 9.41)
If you have taken birth in Bharat varsa, and you wish to make your life perfect, you have to accomplish this, kara para-upkara. Do para-upkara. Do something good for others. Bahujana hitay bahujana sukhay. Do something for the benefit of others. Give charity, be charitable, magnanimous. Give out! So that is para-upkara which Mahaprabhu wants us to do. I will take some time to explain this. There are many devotees from overseas. They think , Oh! Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “bharata-bhumite haila…… but I was not born in India! I am not Bharatvasi! I am Mauritius vasi or Russia vasi or America vasi. I am from this sthan that sthan, Pakistan, Kazakistan and Australia - Astra sthan. Sastra and astras were kept for safety in the Australian continent. All followers of Gauranga Mahaprabhu wherever they are, they are Bharat vasis. There janma is bharata-bhumite haila. One time I was talking with Ekalavya Prabhuji about this and he said, “I am Bharat vasi because I was initiated in India. I took birth in India. Although I was born in America but my real birth, my spiritual birth was in India.” Then we could say that it doesn't matter wherever you were initiated, but as you were connected to this parampara , that's it. From that time onwards you cease to be an American, Australian or Canadian and your birth from there onwards is bharatvasi. This whole planet was Bharatvarsh - India. So this is the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu to all of His followers regardless of their birth, from whichever country or continent.
So this para-upkara business is the propagation of the holy name. We would like to tell all those listeners, participants of this conference and those listening, that it is the time to do para-upkara. Be charitable. Give this gift of the holy name to others. Be charitable! So many things you could do, that we discussed, what the World Holy Name Festival organisers are expecting, about how to celebrate this holy name festival. So understand that, give out the holy name, distribute the holy name.
Just a few minutes ago I was observing a wonderful thing from Noida. Devotees have set up a booth. So many walkers and passersby were made
to sit down and they were chanting. That was a very beautiful scene to watch as I am seeing from the temple. I saw those devotees from Noida Temple preaching and doing para-upkara. Are you not seeing that the Lord is watching this? Do you think Gaurang is not watching or Radha Govind is not seeing the activities in that booth in the park? If I, who is just a tiny being am pleased by that then how much more pleased the Lord must be when He witnesses us doing this charitable work of spreading the holy name. So stay busy following Mahaprabhu order of chanting Hare Krishna and giving Hare Krishna to others. He ordered Haridas Thakur and Nityananda Prabhu,
suno suno nityananda, suno haridas sarvatra amar ajna koroho prakas prati
ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa bolo `krsna', bhajo krsna, koro krsna-siksa
Listen Nityananda, listen Haridas, This is My order. If you go from door to door and beg the people to take up this instruction of Mine, they should chant the name of Krsna, bolo Krsna bhajo Krsna, they should worship the Supreme personality of Godhead Krsna, koro Krsna siksa and they should read the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, the books which contain the teachings of Lord Krsna.
When this instruction was received from Mahaprabhu, Nithyananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur were on the job. They decided the target, Yes ! Yes! We want this Jagai and Madhai to chant. They made various attempts. One attempt was not successful , another attempt was also not successful, third attempt they were trying. They thought if personalities like Jagai and Madhai are influenced by chanting of maha-mantra, if they could be transformed, then this news will become the talk of the town. And even now 500 years after that this morning also as I am talking to you about them . It is the talk of the town then. Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur made it big news., Persons like Jagai and Madhai , as soon as they took up the process of the chanting of maha-mantra, they were changed persons. That's what happened.
Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur were thinking if this could be accomplished, if Jagai and Madhai could take up to the chanting , then you
know, the whole world will realise how great is Gauranga. Glories of Gauranga will spread, and with that glories of the holy name will also be
broadcasted far and wide. So they made them the target. They were successful. That was a demonstration of the power of the holy name and
glories of Gauranga.
We should also be in that spirit like Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur. We want to glorify the holy name. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki Jay! That is why they were out there on the mission of spreading the holy name. So stay busy, get more and more devotees to chanting together. Make efforts for that yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa That desa could be your town, that desa could be your colony, country , continent. See how big a circle you can form. Spread the glory of Gauranga , holy name and Prabhupad. Let the world know Prabhupada was the ambassador of the holy name. He gave the gift of holy name to the whole world.
We will talk about it more in Bhagavatam class this morning. Holy name is the topic for today.
Hare Krishna!