English
23 October 2020
Kali’s 5th place of residence
Hare Krsna! Devotees from 788 locations are chanting with us. Gauranga! Hari Haribol!
After accepting Sannyāsa, Gaurānga Mahāprabhu met all the devotees and Saći mata at Santipur. Mahāprabhu desired to go to Vrindavan, but His mother Saći devi proposed that He should go to Jagannātha Puri instead, as it is nearby. Mahāprabhu accepted this proposal. Now Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu is heading for Jagannātha Puri from Santipur, the village of Advaita Ācārya on the banks of Ganges where Advaita Ācārya prayed to the Lord to descend as there was a decline in religious practice.
yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
Translation
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself. (BG. 4.7)
Mahāprabhu appears to re-establish Dharma (religion). Advaita Ācārya appeared some 50 years before Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was observing that in so many ways adharma (irreligious practice) had spread due to the decline in religious practice.
abhyarthitas tadā tasmai
sthānāni kalaye dadau
dyūtaṁ pānaṁ striyaḥ sūnā
yatrādharmaś catur-vidhaḥ
Translation
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, thus being petitioned by the personality of Kali, gave him permission to reside in places where gambling, drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter were performed. (ŚB 1.17.38)
Advaita Ācārya saw that the four regulative principles were not followed by most people.
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
Translation
If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it. (BG. 9.26)
In Bengal, people eat fish and say that it is the 'fruit of water'[jal-phal]. Thus, where these four, gambling, drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter are performed, Kali resides there as ordered by Pariksit Maharaja. Also, upon Kali's request, Pariksit Maharaja let him stay in the 5th place, where black marketing is practiced. When money is used for sense gratification, eating, enjoying, for extra luxurious life then Kali goes there. Dharma (righteousness), Artha (money), Kama (desire) and Moksha (liberation) are the four puruṣārthas. Artha (money) is in between Dharma and Kama. Money should be used for Dharma or to facilitate us to progress in Bhakti and not for Kama (desire). Hence, these are the 5 places where Kali stays.
Advaita Ācārya was intensely praying to Mahāprabhu that He must appear as Dharma was declining and adharma was spreading. He was offering his water from Ganges with a leaf of Tulasi to his Saligram Sila on the banks of the Ganges.
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge
Translation
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium. (BG. 4.8)
Krsna says, “I appear to protect the devotees, to destroy the demons and to reestablish Dharma.” Thus, Mahāprabhu heard and accepted the prayer request of Advaita Ācārya. He started His work of establishing dharma before He appeared. Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in the evening, but He appeared in the form of His holy name during the day.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
On the full moon night of 18 February 1486, Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared (ajani) to Saći Devi.
śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ
Translation
“Desiring to understand the glory of Rādhārāṇī’s love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Śrīmatī Śacīdevī, as the moon appeared from the ocean.”[CC. Adi 4.230]
Ajani means to appear, Hari means Krsna and indu means moon (chandra). Thus, Mahāprabhu or Caitanya Chandra appeared to Saćidevi. He spent 24 years in Mayapur to establish Harināma Dharma. Mahāprabhu grew up gradually, took teaching and initiation from His spiritual master Iśvara Puri. He started preaching Dharma in Navadvīpa, Mayapur through Harināma Sankīrtana. But He wanted to reach out to more people. Therefore, He accepted Sannyāsa from Keshav Bharti.
śri-rādhār bhāve ebe gorā avatāra
hare kṛṣṇa nāma gaura korilā pracāra
Translation
It is He who has come. He has come! Oh, from Vraja He has come to Nadiya. Accepting the mood and luster of Sri Radha, He has come from Vraja to Nadiya. He has come! Now Lord Govinda, the cowherd boy, has come as Lord Gauranga. He has come distributing the Hare Krsna maha-mantra! (Verse 4, Jaya Jaya Jagannatha Sacira, Vasudeva Ghosa)
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
Translation
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. (CC Madhya 6.242)
After accepting Sannyāsa, Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached Harināma Sankīrtana. Mahāprabhu got the name Śrī Krsna Caitanya after His Sannyāsa initiation. Before He was not called Caitanya. He was called Nimai, Visvambhar, Gaura Hari, etc. But now, His name was Sri Krsna Caitanya, who will spread consciousness all over the world. 'Cetan', means something that has life. From Cetan, the word Caitanya is derived. Everyone is like the dead if they are devoid of Dharma or in illusion that they are this body, American or Indian, male or female. But Mahāprabhu spread this consciousness to everyone by preaching Dharma. He moved to Jagannātha Puri from Santipur after accepting sannyāsa with the motive to spread the Harināma dharma all over the world. Krsna appears to deliver His devotees, destroy the Adharma and reestablish Dharma. Mahāprabhu also appeared with the same motive. Krishna Consciousness means Dharma. ISKCON, the society established by Śrīla Prabhupāda, also has the same motive as Caitanya Mahāprabhu had. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote 7 main purposes of ISKCON to help the devotees, destroy the obstacles in devotion and reestablish dharma.
dvau bhūta-sargau loke ’smin
daiva āsura eva ca
daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta
āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu
Translation
O son of Pṛthā, in this world there are two kinds of created beings. One is called divine and the other demoniac. I have already explained to you at length the divine qualities. Now hear from Me of the demoniac. (B.G. 16.6)
There are two types of people. One is the saintly people and the other is the people with demoniac propensities. The Lord appears to protect His devotees by destroying the demons or demoniac qualities and reestablishing Dharma. Although there are seven purposes of ISKCON, it can be condensed to three:
1. Delivering the pious people,
2. Destroying the evil (anarth) in people and make them pious.
3. Re-establishing Dharma (Bhagavat, Sanātana or Varnāśrama Dharma).
avatari’ caitanya kaila dharma-pracāraṇa
kali-kāle dharma — kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
Translation
In this Age of Kali, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has descended to preach the religion of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore the chanting of the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa is the religious principle for this age. (CC Madhya 11.98)
Harināma Sankīrtana is also a dharma. Therefore, these are the 3 main purposes behind the appearance of the Lord. Gauranga and Nityānanda Prabhu preached Hare Krsna and thus fulfilled these three motives. They are the fathers of this Sankīrtana movement. We also have to contribute to this movement. It's our family business. Head of the family is Gauranga and Nityānanda. We also have to engage in Sankīrtana.
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā
varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
Translation
O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead. (ŚB 1.2.13)
Whether one is brahmaćāri, grahasta, vānprastha, sannyāsi, brāhmana, kśatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, the main motive must be to please the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Krsna. That is our success.
jiver svarupa hoye krsner nitya dasa
Translation
The true nature of the soul is that it is the eternal servant of Śrī Krsna.
One should not remain idle. We are servants of Krsna. We should always remain busy in satisfying Krsna, not the government. That is the perfection of life. Always remember that our original identity is that we are eternal servants of Śrī Krsna. We must accept and understand this and therefore, engage ourselves in the services of Śrī Krsna. This is exactly the dharma as we are servants. Rendering services are the dharma of a servant like the dharma of water is to quench the thirst or the dharma of electricity is to give a shock. Therefore, as a servant, it's our dharma to serve Krsna.
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Everyone is supposed to make videos of people offering deep daan during Kārtika month. Chanting of mahā-mantra will also be done along with deep daan. This will be a competition again. You can also approach the same people who made Harināma videos earlier. This will help in getting the mercy of Damodara.
Questions & Answers Session
Question 1: Is chanting a sadhana or seva?
Gurudev Uvaca: Chanting is dharma and rendering services (seva) to Krsna and it is also the dharma of living entities. Therefore, sadhana is seva itself. Sadhana means chanting or reading books. It's also seva.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
Translation
By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact. (ŚB 1.2.18)
Nine types of bhakti (śravanam, kīrtanam) is also sadhana and seva as well as dharma. Sadhana is seva and seva is dharma.
Question 2 : Do the modes of nature apply to the devotional services performed?
Gurudev Uvaca: Being enthusiastic is a requirement to go outside for sankīrtana. Devotional services to the Lord is of pure goodness. It does not fall under the three modes of nature. Although we must take advantage of early morning hours as it falls under the mode of goodness, but in daytime also, we have to perform our devotional services in pure goodness even though it's a time of mode of passion. We must not get affected by the mode of passion. Bhakti should be in pure goodness, above all the three the modes of nature. We have to become paramhansa or transcendental. When we perform devotional services in pure goodness, then every time will become favourable.
jīv jāgo, jīv jāgo, gauracānda bole
kota nidrā jāo māyā-piśācīra kole
Translation
Lord Gauranga is calling, "Wake up, sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! How long will you sleep in the lap of the witch called Maya? (Verse 1, Jiv Jago Jiv Jago, Arunodaya Kirtana Song 2, Bhaktivinoda Thakura)
Someone is sleeping in the mode of goodness, some in the mode of passion or some in the mode of ignorance. We have to wake up above these modes, whether it's day time or night time or any place.
Question 3 : How much Artha (money) should be used for Dharma (religion)?
Gurudev Uvaca: 50% of money should be used for Dharma or religious activities, 25% for day to day maintenance and 25% for future emergency.
Question 4: Whose incarnation was Advaita Ācārya?
Gurudev Uvaca: Advaita Ācārya was the incarnation of Maha Visnu.
Question 5: How can we attain the mode of pure goodness and overcome all the three modes of nature?
Gurudev Uvaca:
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te
Translation
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it. (BG. 7.14)
Lord said, "Those who surrender unto Me can easily overcome the three modes of material nature." Śrīla Prabhupāda used to explain. When we go to meet someone and find a dog barking on the door, then we call the owner of the dog to keep him aside so that we can easily enter. Similarly, Maya (illusion) is Krsna’s dog. When we call or surrender unto Krsna, we can overcome Maya. Brahma and Shiva are also Vaiśnavas. Thus, the same rule holds for them. Therefore, we must surrender to the Lord and His holy name.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
When we chant attentively, then we can overcome the three modes of material nature and go Back to Godhead.
Question 6 : There is a presence of the mode of passion and ignorance in women and if her husband is a devotee and in the mode of goodness, then there is a chance for her to go Back to Godhead? What if her husband is not a devotee?
Gurudev Uvaca: Make Krsna your husband. We have an eternal relation with the Lord. We all are the soul and the soul is female. It means we all are women. Therefore, make Krsna your husband. Get attracted to Him and go Back to Godhead. We become free from all material designations like men or women when we perform devotional service.
sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
Translation
Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord. (CC Madhya 19.170)
The soul performs devotional service, not bodies of men or women. There could be more or less presence of the three modes of nature in men or women, but we are eternal souls. Therefore, we must perform devotional service. Keep the husband away. In a marriage, the first person is Krsna and then the wife and husband. Therefore, keep Krsna in the centre and spend grhasta life doing bhakti. Serve your husband as well as the Supreme husband, Śrī Krsna.
Question 7 : Can you explain 'aśtha kaliya lila'?
Gurudev Uvaca: There are a total of 8 divisions (prahar) in 24 hours. The Lord performs 8 different pastimes in those 8 prahars. Nishanta kāla, Prātah kāla, Purvahna kāla, Madhyan, Aparahna, Sayana kāla, Pradosh kāla, Nisha kāla are the 8 prahar. There are sādhaks who remember the pastimes of the Lord according to the time or kāla. "This time the Lord must be performing Gochāran lila with His cowherd friends or He must be in Bhāndir vana. At Madhyan, Krsna must be with Radha and the gopīs at Radha-kunda playing with swings and in water. In Sayana kāla, Krsna must be heading back home from Gochāran lila. And now He arrives at Nandagram. Mother Yasoda is embracing Krsna. And now they are bathing and then mother Yasoda and Rohini are feeding them.
Hare Krsna! Gaura Premanande Hari Hari bol!!