English
24 March 2024
Glorification of the Holy Name
Speaker: HG Anantasesa prabhu
All Glories to Sri Gaur Purnima Festival. We all are waiting eagerly for this auspicious occasion. This Tithi is the purest of all. I offer my obeisances to that Gaur Purnima which is full of all good qualities.
caitanyera janma-yātrā—phālgunī pūrṇimā
brahmā-ādi e tithira kare ārādhanā (CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 3.43)
Translation: Lord Caitanya appeared on the full moon night of the month ofPhālguna, a day thus worshiped by Brahmā and others.
parama-pavitra tithi bhakti-svarūpiṇī
yaṅhi avatīrṇa hailena dvija-maṇi (CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 3.44)
Translation: This day is the reservoir of devotional service and therefore mostsanctified, because the Supreme Lord, the best of the brāhmaṇas,appeared on that day.
nityānanda-janma māghī śuklā trayodaśī
gauracandra-prakāśa phālgunī paurṇamāsī(CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 3.45)
Translation: Lord Nityānanda appeared on the thirteenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Magha, and Gauracandra appeared on the full moon evening in the month of Phālguna.
sarva-yātrā maṅgala e dui puṇya-tithi
sarva-śubha-lagna adhiṣṭhāna haya ithi (CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 3.46)
Translation: These two days are most auspicious because all favorable planetary conjunctions are present on these days.
eteke e dui tithi karile sevana
kṛṣṇa-bhakti haya, khaṇḍe avidyā-bandhana(CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 3.47)
Translation: Therefore whoever observes these two days attains devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa and freedom from the bondage to ignorance.
It's so fortunate that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with the holy name of Krsna appeared. That's why Chaitanya is Known as "The father of congregational chanting of the holy name" or also in Chaitanya Charitamrita we read Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami offers his obeisances to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the following words "He is the Son of Jagannath Misra and all his associates and also I offer my pranams to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his only mission is "The congregational chanting of the holy name".
When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said,
Prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama,
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama(CB Antya-khanda 4.126)
Translation: In every town and village throughout the world, said Lord Caitanya, - the chanting of My holy name will be heard.
This means the holy name will be propagated everywhere. Also it refers to the name of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sri Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya
krsna-nama krsna-dhama mahatmya apara
sastrera dvaraya jane sakala samsara [42]
Translation: Through the scriptures, the whole world understood the unlimited glories of Krishna's Name and Krishna's abode.
tabu krsna-prema sadharane nahi paya
ihara karana kiba chintaha hiyaya [43]
Translation: Still, in general, souls did not attain divine love for Krishna. What is the reason for this? Consider it within your heart.
ihate achhe ta eka gudha-tattva-sara
maya-mugdha jiva taha na kare vichara [44]
Translation: In this regard, there is a highly confidential subject that souls bewildered by Maya do not consider.
bahu janma krsna bhaji' prema nahi haya
aparadha-punja tara achhaya nischaya [45]
Translation: When souls serve Krishna for many births but do not develop divine love, then certainly they have made offences.
aparadha-sunya haye laya krsna-nama
tabe jiva krsna-prema labhe avirama [46]
Translation: When souls, free from offences, chant the Name of Krishna, they quickly attain divine love for Krishna.
sri-chaitanya-avatare bada vilaksana
aparadha-sattve jiva labhe prema-dhana [47]
Translation: The special characteristic of Sri Chaitanya's Pastimes is that souls attain the wealth of divine love even while they commit offences.
"nitai chaitanya" bali' yei jiva dake
suvimala krsna-prema anvesaye take [48]
Translation: Pure divine love for Krishna searches for souls who call out "Nitai-Chaitanya!"
aparadha badha tara kichhu nahi kare
niramala krsna-preme tara ankhi jhare [49]
Translation: Offences do not obstruct such souls, and their eyes cry with pure love for Krishna.
svalpa-kale aparadha apani palaya
hrdaya sodhita haya prema bade taya [50]
Translation: Within a short time, offences leave on their own. The souls' hearts become purified, and divine love develops within them.
kali-jivera aparadha asankhya durvara
gaura-nama vina tara nahika uddhara [51]
Translation: The offences of the souls in Kali-yuga are unlimited and unavoidable. There is no deliverance for them without the Name of Gaura.
ataeva gaura vina kalite upaya
na dekhi kothao ara sastra phukaraya [52]
Translation: Thus, in Kali-yuga, I do not see any way without Gaura, and the scriptures proclaim this.
A living entity blinded by the illusory energy of the Lord does not get any desire to practice Krsna consciousness. What to say of the non devotees, even when a person chants for millions of lifetimes still he might not get any desire to chant the holy names, if he continues to commit offenses against the holy name.
bahu janma kare yadi śravaṇa, kīrtana
tabu ta’ nā pāya kṛṣṇa-pade prema-dhana (CC Ādi 8.16)
Translation: If one is infested with the ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, despite his endeavor to chant the holy name for many births, he will not get the love of Godhead that is the ultimate goal of this chanting.
But Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura Prabhupada speaks, If one chants the holy name taking the shelter of Gauranga and Nityananda then he can attain Krsna Prema even if he continues to commit offenses. Here Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura is saying, if a devotee calls out Gauranga! Nityananda! then the holy name starts to run towards him to give Love of Godhead. He is no longer bound by the tendency to commit offenses and very soon offenses start to run away from him.
'nityānanda' balite haya kṛṣṇa-premodaya
āulāya sakala aṅga, aśru-gaṅgā vaya (CC Adi 8.23)
Translation: Simply by talking of Nityānanda Prabhu one awakens his love for Kṛṣṇa. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.
Krsna's holy name destroys the committed sins. Similarly the names of Gauranga and Nityananda destroy the tendency to commit sins. Without taking the shelter of Gauranga's, its almost impossible to get liberated.
caitanya-nityānande nāhi e-saba vicāra
nāma laite prema dena, vahe aśrudhāra (CC Adi 8.31)
Translation: But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.
The scriptures repeatedly say, in Kaliyuga there is no other way except the holy name of the Lord. Even today those who take the shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they attain perfection in a very short span of time.
As an example we can observe the achievements of Srila Prabhupada. He went and preached amongst the Hippies, the Lowest of mankind. They had no qualifications, no purity. We can see in India, the chanting of the Hare Krsna Mahamantra is very common.
But we see no feelings towards Krsna in them. But with the efforts of Srila Prabhupada and him letting the people to chant the holy names of Krsna along with the names of Gauranga and Nityananda, these Indians themselves agreed that these foreign devotees are filled with the love for Krsna. The chanting of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's name destroys the sins.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu delivered high class people like Keshav Kashmiri, Sarva Bhauma Bhattacharya, etc. But Nityananda Prabhu delivered the lowest class of people like Jagai and Madai, those who had no connection with the Lord. Nityananda Prabhu's name develops a desire to chant the holy names of Krsna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's name and Nityananda Prabhu's name has the same characteristics as they themselves.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada says, If a person follows the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he understands himself to be lower than the blade of Grass and he can very soon attain perfection. One has to be very conscious not to commit offenses while chanting the holy name. But there is no precaution needed to chant the names of Gauranga and Nityananda.
That's why it's important to worship Gauranga and Nityananda prior to worshiping Radha Krsna directly. Unless one has not attained the mercy of Gauranga and Nityananda , it's not necessary to visit Vrindavan. Because unless one's heart is purified one cannot worship and understand Vrindavan.
āra kabe nitāi-cānder koruṇā hoibe
saḿsāra-bāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha'be (Gauranga Bolite Habe 2)
Translation: When the mind is completely purified, being freed from material anxieties and desires, then I shall be able to understand Vrndavana and the conjugal love of Radha and Krsna, and then my spiritual life will be successful.
Even if one does so, he won't attain the desired results. Firstly one should worship Guru and Gauranga and beg their mercy and by their mercy, he can approach Radha Krsna gradually.
bhaja gaurāńga kaha gaurāńga laha gaurāńgera nāma re
je jan gaurāńga bhaje, sei (hoy) āmāra prāṇa re (Bhaja Gauranga 1)
Translation: Worship Lord Gauranga! Chant Gauranga! Speak about Lord Gauranga only! Those who worships Lord Gauranga is indeed my life and soul.
The names of Krsna are non different from Gauranga's name still there is a difference, as the holy name of Krsna and Krsna himself are non different. Still the holy name is much more merciful then Krsna himself.
Sri Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya
koti koti varsa kari’ sri-krsna-bhajana
tathapi namete rati na paya durjana [33]
Translation: Unfortunate souls worship Krsna for billions of years but do not attain attraction to His Name.
gauranga bhajile dusta-bhava dure yaya
alpa dine vraja-dhame radha-krsna paya [34]
Translation: If souls worship Gauranga, their wickedness goes away, and they quickly attain Radha and Krsna in Vraja Dham.
nija siddha-deha paya sakhira asraya
nija kunja sri-yugala-seva tara haya [35]
Translation: They attain their spiritual body and the shelter of the sakhis, and serve the Divine Couple in their own grove.
Similarly Gauranga's name is more merciful than Krsna's name, though they are non different. Because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's incarnation is much more merciful. When we chant the holy names taking the shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then this holy name becomes "Prem Naam”.
Now there can be a question, if we can attain perfection by chanting the names of Gauranga and Nityananda then why should we chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra? This has become the reason why many apasan apradha arose. We need to please Gauranga Mahaprabhu also. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chanted the Hare Krsna Mahamantra, also he ordered his followers to chant Hare Krsna Mahamantra, as he did in the case of Tapana Misra.
So if we want to please Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then we have to chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra. Others those who are chanting any other mantra they just want to please themselves and not Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Nityananda Prabhu declares, if you want to attain happiness in this world then I will bless you with this boon immediately, chant Gauranga's name and dance. This will give you such bliss which is completely beyond your imagination.
There is no other way to be happy in this Kaliyuga. Even if you continue to chant Hare Krsna Mahamantra for millions of births still you won't attain perfection. On the other hand one who serves in the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mission or Srila Prabhupada's mission then very soon he will attain perfection. He will attain eternal service on the Radha Krsna's Nikunja. That's why we chant the Panchatattva’s Mantra and then we chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra.
There are no offenses in chanting the Pancha Tattva Mantra. But there are offences in chanting Hare Krsna Mahamantra. When I was hearing this in the presentation by HH Bhakti Brhad Bhagwat Swami Maharaj then he said, It's good to start with Pancha tattva Mantra. But we have attained this Pancha tattva Mantra by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. So best is to start by chanting the Pranam Mantra of Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada says about apasan apradha, that these people are chanting the names of Gauranga and Nityananda for self satisfaction. They are just emphasizing on the worship of Gauranga and Nityananda only and not on the worship of Radha Krsna and this is wrong. And they are destroying the Parampara. That's why I decided to take these philosophical aspects and not just the pastimes.
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa (CC Ādi 2.117)
Translation: A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Because unless we understand these principles nicely, our understanding is imperfect.
HG Padmamali prabhu: On this Gaur Purnima festival, we should analyse our advancement in our commitments to serve in the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which is very well quoted by HG Anantasesa Prabhu. When we are going to celebrate Gaur Purnima festival, by the mercy of HG Anantasesa Prabhu we will be able to understand the principle of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance. This session was like the essence of the previous two sessions.
Hare Krsna.
