English
25th February 2020
Acquiring Transcendental Knowledge
Hare Krishna.
Today there are 486 participants.Welcome you all. When there is kirtan mela then the number of participants increase.Yesterday there were more than 1000 participants. Don't think that only those who were present in temple were part of kirtana mela. Narahari from Osmanabad is having his birthday today. You also will have your birthday someday. So happy birthday to you! What do we say in English? We say, "You may never take birth again". Isn't this good? Please share your thoughts or realisations, experience or comments regarding chanting? Are you having any special experience while chanting? I keep on speaking, you may also speak. We are not always distinct.
In Navadvipa Mayapur, there are 9 islands which are formed with rivers flowing in be-tween. Dvipa is island. Generally they are in the middle of the ocean. Like Dwaraka or Mauritius which is in middle of Indian Ocean. In Navadvipa, Ganga and Yamuna flow next to each other. We can only see the Ganga. There are 5 rivers that is why it is called pan-caveni. There is triveni in Allahabad. And pancaveni is in Mayapur dhama. Veni means braid. In Modern times, ladies don't have braided hairs.In a veni the hairs are criss-cross. In the Same way, the rivers are criss-cross in Mayapur. Mandakini , Alakananda, Ganga ,Yamuna, Saraswati and they are the cause of the separation of the land here and there. There is Gaura bridge from where we can see all 5 rivers. It seems that there are only 2 riv-ers, but actually there are 5 rivers. Transcendental knowledge is never lost. It gets covered.
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa
Translation:
This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost. [BG 4.2]
Sometimes rivers are covered and sometimes they are visible. Those who have Dhama re-alisation can see. Jalangi River should be Jalangri. Pankajangri Prabhu? Pankaja means lo-tus. Angri means feet. Jalangri means water which flows from the lotus feet of the Lord. Knowledge is not different from the Lord. In the same way the Lord has become water. So it is transcendental.
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
Parikrama means padasevanam. So navavidha bhakti is one of which is padasevanam. A humble attitude has to be there and then we do kirtana. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur had spoken regarding bhavas. When will I chant and dance along banks of river Ganges? When will I eat prasad by begging alms? So this is an introduction. This is play of bhava.
Question.
How to become genuinely humble from the heart and not just from outside to show others?
Answer.
This is part of self realization. This is also knowledge. You don't have to become humble as the soul is very, very humble. The living entity is very insignificant. vidya dadati vinayam. If you become knowledgeable then the first outcome of acquiring knowledge is that you will become humble. We are important because we are Krsna's devotees. We should be proud of being Krsna's devotees.
Yesterday we celebrated the disappearance day festival of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja in Mayapur Dhama.He was very demanding as a manager and then complaints would go to Srila Prabhupada about his attitude.
Srila Prabhupada said to Tamal Krishna Prabhu who later became Maharaja that in this creation there is this one universe out of many universes. Then in that universe we have 14 planetary systems. Then we have the Earth in that. On Earth we have many countries. We have USA as one of them.In USA we have 50 states. In such one state we have Los Ange-les. In Los Angeles there are so many buildings and in that building you're sitting in one corner. We're like a mustard seed in the creation. Srila Prabhupada was explaining how in-significant we are. We are so tiny that we are almost nothing.
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
Translation:
One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly. (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3)
But we consider ourselves very big and great. This is an illusion. When there is knowledge and realisation of that knowledge then we will become humble. Humility is the result of that knowledge. In such a state of mind, a person can chant holy names constantly. This is state of mind. sunīcena means very low. Considering ourselves lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. If there are a lack of facilities then our humility is gone.Then we can't exhibit our humility. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given an example of trees who toler-ate in all circumstances. Yesterday there was rain and we were looking for an umbrella everywhere. So to be humble is difficult, but we need to do difficult tasks.
In this verse there are 2 words amāninā and mānadena. Amani means one who doesn't ex-pect to be honoured by others, but gives all respects to others. In such consciousness, one can chant. If this is not there, then we will think of the receptionist of a guest house as he didn't give us the room first. This is the influence of modes of passion and ignorance. The Lord puts us in such situations that we should understand that we should practice what we have heard. Time is up. Wish you great success in chanting but we have to endeavour. Effort is necessary. When we endeavour results will come.
Gaur Premanande!
Hari Haribol!
