English
Topic: Importance of Gudi Padwa
Date: 09th April 2024
Speaker: HG Krsna Bhakta Prabhu
HG Padmamali Prabhu says:
Today’s Japa talk will be given by HG Krsna Bhakta Prabhu on a special day today. He is personal secretary of Guru Maharaj and President of ISKCON Solapur. So let’s hear the session from him:
HG Krsna Bhakta Prabhu says:
Hare Krsna!
om ajnana-timirandhasyajnananjana-salakaya
cakshurunmilitamyenatasmaisri-guravenamah
nama om vishnu-padayakrishna-preshthayabhu-tale
srimatebhaktivedanta-svaminitinamine
namastesarasvatedevegaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
(jaya) sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaitagadadharasrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Welcome all to today’s japa talk. I will pay my obeisance at the lotus feet of Guru Maharaj. As HG Padmamali Prabhu told that today is a special day and specially in South India today is Chaitra Month’s Shukla Paksha which is celebrated as Ugadi and in Maharashtra it is celebrated as Gudi Padwa. So today’s day is celebrated as a new day. So in Vaishnava community who are Gaudiya Vaishnavas and who are Rupanugas, for them new year is celebrated on Gaura Purnima. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Gaurabhadh. As per Hindu calender, new year starts today. All the Marathi months will start from this day, in which Chaitra, Vaishakh, Jeshtha, Ashadh, Sravan, Ashwin,Kartik, Marghasish, Paush, Falgun month in which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had appeared.So Falgun has ended and Chaitra maas has started. So this three and a half minute Muharata is discussed everytime. It is auspicious to buy jewellery, start new things from today like Grihapravesh, taking a new car, etc can be performed in this time frame.Although we can take Lord’s name at any time, place, circumstance, panchang etc. but for this material world, this time frame of three and an half minutes-one is Dussehra’s muhurat, then Akshay Tritiya and Gudi Padwa and third is Diwali Muhurat which is also called as Diwali ka Padwa, on this the remaining half muhurat is left. So Gudi Padwa comes in that time frame. So demonic people, start their new year on 31st December drinking, dancing naked, but in our Vedic culture, the new year starts in Brahma Muhurat. So new year starts with the first rays of sun while performing Krsna conscious activities like- Worshipping, chanting, worshipping Sun God. It is said that in this material world we can see the Vigraha of Lord but we can have darshans in three modes- One is in the form when he is in Goloka with his friends and cows:
goloka-nāmninija-dhāmni tale ca tasya
devi maheśa-hari-dhāmasuteṣuteṣu
teteprabhāva-nicayāvihitāś ca yena
govindamādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁbhajāmi(BS 5.43)
Translation
Lowest of all is located Devī-dhāma [mundane world], next above it is Maheśa-dhāma [abode of Maheśa]; above Maheśa-dhāma is placed Hari-dhāma [abode of Hari] and above them all is located Kṛṣṇa's own realm named Goloka. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who has allotted their respective authorities to the rulers of those graded realms.
We cannot have his darshans in this form while staying in this material world. The other mode is as Paramatma in which we can still see him. So yogis and munis get this darshan after so much of Tapasya because our Tapasya is not is of at that level. So the third is that he appears in the form of a deity in which he can see him. This deity is not like Krsna, it is Krsna himself. Srila Prabhupada used to say this. Out of Krsna’s different energies:
natasyakāryaṁkaraṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat-samaścābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate
parāsyaśaktirvividhaivaśrūyate
svābhāvikījñāna-bala-kriyā ca(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)
Translation
“The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, and no one is found to be equal to or greater than Him, for everything is done naturally and systematically by His multifarious energies.”
Lord has so many energies that he does not need to do anything.So amongst different energies, one energy is that we can have darshans of Narayana in the form of Sun God. So our New Year starts from the first rays of Sun. So today, there are a lot of important things which happened. On Akshya Tritiya, Ganga appeared, Parshuram appeared, and Akshya Patra was given to Draupadi. So a lot of tithis are their on Akshaya Tritiya.
So today also there are a lot of tithis in shastras. So Brahmaji created the material nature today. So on Ugadi, it was the first day of material world. So today only the yugas change like Satyayuga, Treta yuga, Dwapar yuga, Kaliyuga but it will change after many many lakhs of years on this day. So from this day, Satyayuga starts. Brahma ji started this material creation and it is the first day of his creation which is the starting of Satyayuga and that is why it is celebrated as New Year and is known by the name Chaitra Shukla PakshPratipada. So in Andhra Pradesh they make Pachandi which is drink which has all the tastes- sweetand bitter at the same time. So we get our names after sometime. Our breath begins at our birth itself which is counted. As much as we breath, our lives are getting ended. So it is said that when someone dies, we say that he took his last breath, that all his breaths has been utilised. So our countdown starts from our birth itself, not after keeping our names, our studies, our marriage,
Bg. 2.27
jātasya hi dhruvomṛtyur
dhruvaṁjanmamṛtasya ca
tasmādaparihārye ’rthe
natvaṁśocitumarhasi
Translation
One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.
Our death countdown starts on the day of our birth. So similarly this is the countdown for this material creation. All things which happen in our lives is not always sweet. So some things are bitter as well which we call as sufferings or pain and we consider sweet things as pleasure. So generally people like sweet things and not bitter things. No one wants pain and sufferings.So this Pachandi, tells us about different tastes of life. So very few people know about this. An intelligent person is not bewildered by such things.
Bg. 2.14
mātrā-sparśāstukaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās
tāṁstitikṣasvabhārata
Translation
O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
So our pleasures in life will come and go. But an intelligent person is undisturbed. So today most powerful and blessed rays of sun come to the Earth and that’s why the on Gudi Padwa a kalash is put on a wooden stick upside down to absorb those rays of Sun.So when Brahmaji created this universe, it started with Satyayuga.
Today Lord Narayan took the form of a fish.
Sri Dasavatara-stotrafrom Gita-govinda- by Jayadeva Gosvami
pralaya-payodhi-jaledhritavanasivedam
vihita-vahitra-caritramakhedam
kesavadhrita-mina-sarirajayajagadisa hare(Text 1)
Translation
0 Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a fish! All glories to You!You easily acted as a boat in the form of a giant fish just to give protection to the Vedas, which hadbecome immersed in the turbulent sea of devastation.
So Satyavrata Muni writes when Vedas where on the verge of extinction, then to save these Vedas he appeared in the form of a fish today in Chaitra month. Once a upon a time, a demon named Shankhachurnaand he was so notorious that he stole all the Vedas and hide himself inside the ocean. So when sages and Muni couldn’t do anything, they prayed to Lord Vishnu, so they went to Sheer sagar where Lord was in a sleeping posture, and he was in Yoganidra, that is deep sleep. Even when he is sleeps then also all the work is done, but when we sleep, we can’t do any work. We become so unclean and become like a dead person. But Lords Yoganidra is not like that, can you imagine if Sun takes a leave?So demigods prayed to Lord Vishnu and tried to wake him up with Purushsupta prayer and asked him to take a new incarnation and kill this demon.Sothe whale is the largest fish in the ocean which can eat other fishes as well. So we cannot compare a whale to Lord’s form which was so beautiful. So when he was about to kill Shankhachurna, we began to pray to him, that the death which is given to me today or the punishment which is given to me, is because I stole the Vedas. Please give me the punishment which you want to give me Lord but I want to give you a conchshell, which is my symbol and you should always hold it in your left hand and he asked for one more benediction that whenever abhishekam will be performed, so conchshell should always be used.So these were the two vardans he asked for. No worship can start without conchshell.So Lord Narayana accepted his vardans and from that day he started carrying conchshell in his left hand.
Bg. 1.15
pāñcajanyaṁhṛṣīkeśo
devadattaṁdhanañ-jayaḥ
pauṇḍraṁdadhmaumahā-śaṅkhaṁ
bhīma-karmāvṛkodaraḥ
Translation
Lord Kṛṣṇa blew His conchshell, called Pāñcajanya; Arjuna blew his, the Devadatta; and Bhīma, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell, called Pauṇḍra.
So Pancajanyaconchshell was given by Shankachurna to Lord. So usually bones are considered as impure and even when we pass stool, we have to take bath again, according to Vedic scriptures, we become pure by touching cow-dung, but this conchshell is used in alter. So this is the instructions of the Vedas. Shastra’s evidence is the best form of evidence better than pratyaksha, anumanpraman. Shadhpraman is the best form of evidence. So today is Matsya Jayanti also. In Treta yuga Rama ji appeared he killed Ravana on the day of Dusshera and when he came back to Ayodhya, they welcomed him back with a lot of diyas which we call as Diwali.So in a different kalpa, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after killing Ravana. The residents of Ayodhya welcomed him back with a Vijay pataka.So his Vanvas ended today. So they raised Gudi in their homes to welcome him.
In Valmiki Ramayana it is said:
Ramayan- 6-128-42
tatohyabhyuchchhrayanpaurAHpatAkAstegRihegRihe ||
aikShvAkAdhyuShitanramyamAsasAdapiturgRiham |
Translation
Then, the citizens hoisted flags on every house. Rama reached the beautiful palace, paternal occupied by Ikshvaku kings.
So today when Lord was in South India in Kishkindha, we liberated Vali, the same person who took his wife and kingdom from him. So he became an attatai, one who causes trouble to others.So that person is allowed to get punished. So Vali performed Brahma dev’s Tapasya. So he asked Brahma that whoever comes to fight with me, half of his energy will come to me. So it was not that he was week he had the strength of seventy five lakhs of elephants.So it was not that Sugriva didn’t try but whenever he went before him, half of his energy went into him. So that’s why Lord Rama killed him from behind because of his activities. So Lord Rama was called Adharmi due to this pastime by some unintelligent people, they call him to be paksha-pati. So today Sugriva celebrated this by hoisting Vijay Pataka. All the demonic energies of Vali was killed today by Lord Rama. Vali’s son Angad also become a devotee and participated in the war against Ravana.
Today only in Adi-Parv of Mahabharata, the KingUparichta was given a wooden stick by Lord Indra as form of appreciation.So he placed it on the ground and put nice cloths and garlands over it which is called as Gudi and that’s the significance of it. The Kalesh placed on top of it is the symbol of victory,
Bg. 18.78
yatra yogeśvaraḥkṛṣṇo
yatra pārthodhanur-dharaḥ
tatraśrīrvijayobhūtir
dhruvānītirmatir mama
Translation
Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.
It is a symbol of good health which is represented by neem leaves and the flower garland represents auspiciousness and the stick represents samarthya, the embroided cloth represents wealth.So coconut is used to worship this stick which is a symbol of prosperity and turmeric and Kumkum is the symbol of luck.
Also in Mahabharata it is mentioned that Krsna told Vrajvasis, to stop the annual yatra of Indra and stop his worship and rather begin the worship of Goverdhana. So in different scriptures, different names and ways of worship are mentioned for the same pastime. In Konkan, everyday new forms of Krsna, Balrama, Rama and different kings are taken and this festival is celebrated for 10-15 days. This is also known as Singotutsav and Rang Panchami is also celebrated tomorrow. From today onwards, Navaratri starts which is called as Chaitra Navami and abhishek of Goddess Parvati was done today after marriage. So from today only after one month when a lady goes to her home after marriage, so on Akshaya Tritiya Haldi Kumkum starts. So it is associated with the marriage of Parvathi. Nine days from today, Lord Rama appears in Chaitra Navami.That’s why a nine day katha is organized during this month so that it ends on Rama Navami. We have 7 days Srimad Bhagavad kath and 9 days Ramayana katha. Today only Shali-vahanShasti starts which means Shalivan king and Shak king had a fight and Shalivan king didn’t have any army so he prepared six thousand mud statues by his tapsya sprinkled holy water on them, all these becomes his soldiers. He won over the Shak king when this war ended a new year started.So all these festivals are dependent on the movement of Sun and Moon.So in Vedic maths, every calculation is mentioned.So the first ever test-tube baby happened in Mahabharata in the form of Kaurvas.So when a ball of flesh came out of Gandhari, and till that time Kuntis son were already born so she kicked her own womb and this came out. So she was asked to keep them all in a hundred ghee pots and then hunderedKaurvas were born out of each pots.So the first baby to come out was Duryodhana. From today Vedic Panchang starts which used by astrologers.So NASA Scientists spend so much of money to know about solar and lunar eclipse but our sages used to predict everything based on vedicpanchang calendar which is worshipped with Saraswati mata. If we are lazy in the beginning of the year, then the year will go like that only.
Tukaram maharaj writes in one of his Abhangas- that I am sent by Govind and given these instruments to perform kirtan. So came in this material world seeing the condition of fallen souls and he is from Vaikuntha. These people are drowning in maya. In the 16th century Visnudas was a saint who wrote Abhangaon Rama’s arrival in Ayodhya. He described that the happiness which is there in Ayodhya, which is looking like a utsav. To welcome him pearl like rice is prepared, not like this plastic rice or cabbage, so Kaushalya-nandana was come after defeating Ravana and he has returned to Ayodhya. Today’s day is like a golden day for Ayodhya vasis. So the golden stick in the hands of Lord Rama,and the chamar also has golden stick.So this chamar is used to remove the bees and insects which might be there on the garlands of Lord which is taken from the tail of a cow found in Himalayas which is very expensive. So Vishnudas says that everyone welcomes Lord Rama.So we should eat 3 neem leaves today early in the morning and ajwain, salt and black pepper, neem chutney we should have which comes in Pachadi for prevention from summers, helps preventing skin disease, stomach problems. Neem leaves are kept in grains to prevent them from insects. We should have bath with neem leaves. So that is a very special day Matsaya’s appearance, first day of this material creation, Ugadi, Gudi Pardwa. So for devotees here on Gudi Padwa, rathayatra used to happen. But now because of the new order from Puri temple, we cannot perform Rathayatras on that day but at that time of 9 day festival in Puri. So today from 5pm there will be a shobha yatra so everyone is invited in the Rama Sita Laxman Hanuman yatra.
Hare Krishna!
