Ocean of Nectar: The Holy Name Part- 7 (Final Part Of The Series)

1. THE HOLY NAME- PART 7

Krishna came in this particular Dwaparyuga, seventh manvantara, 28th caturyuga, the end part. What did Krishna display when He came here? He revealed His Brajalila. Why is Brajalila so special? In Brajalila, Krishna is not displaying Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, rather in these pastimes Krishna is displaying His dealings with His devotees in friendship, parental and conjugal relationships. Generally, people think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Does Krishna’s activities in Vrindavan look like the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? No, but that is the special aspect of Braja and people could not understand. Caitanya Caritamrta is describing this point after abundantly performing His pastimes Krishna withdrew His pastimes and disappeared from this planet. Krishna thought and considered How will people ever understand these pastimes of Mine? Everybody consider Me to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead and they follow the rules and regulations of the scriptures. Vaidhi bhakti cannot give one the understanding of Braja. Vaidhi bhakti means worshipping the Supreme Personality of Godhead following the rules and regulations of the scriptures, following the mood of awe and reverence so following Vaidhi bhakti when one achieves perfection, where does he go? Vaikuntha. What is the mood in Vaikuntha? Awe and reverence. What’s the mood in Vrindavan? Friendship, parental and conjugal. So, Krishna considered how will anyone ever enter Vrindavan because My devotees will naturally serve Me following Vaidhi bhakti and they will go to Vaikuntha. Krishna has a problem, it’s a puzzle that Krishna had to solve. Another consideration is that when you go to Vaikuntha you get your svarupa, spiritual identity which is eternal. Remember Gopa Kumara, the Vaikuntha vasis were asking him why are you remaining in your human form and Gopa Kumara didn’t want to change, he is a rare case. Anyone who goes to Vaikuntha assumes his four-armed form there. Krishna considered how will anybody enter into Vrindavan, therefore Krishna decided to come as a devotee and preach. See how this actually solves this problem. You serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead following vaidhi bhakti and you’ll go to Vaikuntha, you serve the devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead following vaidhi bhakti. Vaidhi bhakti is a must, if you want to follow raganuga bhakti yourself then don’t stay in Durban, go to the forest. If you try to follow raganuga bhakti in the society you will create a disturbance, not only ordinary disturbance but terrible disturbance. If one renders devotional service without following the sruti, purana, etc very earnestly it will simply create disturbance. Rupa Goswami is making it very clear that devotional service must be rendered following vaidhi bhakti and Krishna is also considering the same point. Devotees will render service following vaidhi bhakti but when the vaidhi bhakti is executed towards Supreme Personality of Godhead one goes to Vaikuntha. When one renders vaidhi bhakti to the devotee Supreme Personality of Godhead he will go to Vrindavan. So that is how Krishna solved the problem, He decided to come as a devotee.

There is another consideration which has been explained by Nityananda Prabhu when He was instructing Jiva Goswami, Krishna came as a devotee, what does it mean? Krishna came in the mood of Srimati Radharani, what’s the mood of Radharani? Pure love. This is the mood that Krishna assumed therefore He came assuming the mood of a devotee. There are different types of devotees, two namely: Vaidhi bhakti leads to Vaikuntha and raganuga bhakti leads to Vrindavan. Consider the meaning of the word raganuga, rag means pure love and the residents of Vrindavan have only love, love and love for Krishna, therefore they are known as ragatmika bhaktas. Anuga means following, when the devotional service is rendered following a ragatmika bhakta then that is called raganuga. When we are following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that is Krishna as a devotee, who are we following? Srimati Radharani. Who is the greatest devotee or ragatmika bhakta of Vrindavan? Srimati Radharani. Serve following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the vaidhi bhakti will be transformed into raganuga bhakti. The goswamis of Vrindavan were following raganuga bhakti but look at their situation they were in the remote parts of Vrindavan and all they were absorbed in is remembering Krishna and singing His glory they did not have any other activity. Mahaprabhu wanted to distribute Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Just consider if one follows that kind of raganuga bhakti means following a resident of Vrindavan, would it be possible to execute that in a city like Durban, New York, Bombay? No. The perfect system that Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged when you follow vaidhi bhakti it will automatically be transformed into raganuga bhakti. Vaidhi bhakti means following the rules and regulations of the scriptures. How to serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu? The way to serve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is through sankirtana. This Krishna is worshipped by sankirtana. What is the meaning of sankirtana? Not throwing ghee in the fire, it is a fire the fire is chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. Chant the Holy Name and invite everybody to chant and facilitate everybody to chant this is sankirtana. This is how this movement is going to spread, not only is going to spread, it is spreading all over the world. See how wonderful devotees are making spiritual advancement and the ultimate proof of our advancement is how we are going to die. At the time of death what kind of consciousness we will leave our body. One thing you can notice when devotees leave this planet you can see their degree of advancement. A simple lady not a big scholar or sankirtana devotee, big sanyasi or GBC ordinary ladies leaving their bodies in such pure consciousness, where are they going and that is the proof of their spiritual advancement.

Now we are seeing the perfect process that Srila Prabhupada gave us. Do we have to go anywhere else thinking that Prabhupada has not given us everything? If somebody comes with a proposal that he has something that Srila Prabhupada didn’t give us what should be our response? Get lost. We have the perfect process. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is confirming this process, Nityananda Prabhu is confirming this process. A beautiful point about this, as one develops his attachment to the lotus feet of Gaura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, due to his pious activities, according to that attachment to Caitanya Mahaprabhu springs forth from the heart all of a sudden the abundant flow nectar from the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani. You develop your attachment to Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and your heart will be inundated with Radharani’s mercy and that is Brajaprema. We do not have to separately endeavour for Brajaprema, just develop our attachment for Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the rest will automatically happen. Somebody was asking the other day how will it happen? How will our attachment to the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu will lead us to Vrindavan? The answer to that is when you serve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and when this attachment to Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet achieves this perfection then will happen? In place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu what will we see? RadhaKrishna. When you are developing your attachment for Caitanya Mahaprabhu you see RadhaKrishna because Caitanya Mahaprabhu is non other than RadhaKrishna and when you are seeing RadhaKrishna you are in Vrindavan. So, this is how we access Vrindavan.

2. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: At what point did Gopa Kumara realise his eternal form?

A: When you become free of all material attachments and become situated in spiritual consciousness. It’s a process, follow the process it will happen by Krishna’s divine arrangement. At what point we cannot say. We cannot demand to Krishna, “You have to give me liberation”. Krishna can give it in five seconds but we have to become qualified. Qualification means how attached we have become to Krishna. That attachment to Krishna will naturally cause detachment to material involvement. Material involvement means sense gratification, our personal sense gratification. When we put ourself in the centre that is sense gratification when we put Krishna in the centre that is spiritual. Just judge it from that point how much we are putting ourself in the centre, or are we putting Krishna in the centre or ourselves?

Q: You made a nice point about chanting of the Holy Name and there is a nice verse of sadhu sanga, a moment’s association with a pure devotee, we chanting and the sound vibration is the same. How can we differentiate that this person chanting is a pure sound vibration?

A: Again, we go to that point the degree of our devotion to what extent we become purified. Like taking sound so much sound comes out like we say giving lip service. But more earnest is when it is coming from the heart, the real sound actually comes from the heart. Bhaktivinode Thakura is saying the Holy Name rises from the heart, that is what really matters. The heart is where the soul is. The extent of purity that the soul has developed to that purity.

Q: Can a pure devotee tell if one is chanting purely?

A: It does, like we used to chant by Srila Prabhupada’s rooms. Actually, once I was chanting next to Prabhupada’s room and I was chanting very loudly and at the back of my mind I was thinking Prabhupada would hear my chanting and appreciate it. Then Prabhupada called me in and said stop chanting so he could see that I was chanting the Holy Name with false ego.

Q: Does that pure chanting affect one in a tangible way?

A: You see both are there, as Prabhupada pointed out it’s important that we hear the Holy Name from a pure devotee then it’s up to us how we going to reciprocate. We may receive it from a pure devotee but the extent of our reception will depend on our view. He may be pure but how pure are we to receive it, our consciousness may cause some impurity. Impurity of our consciousness will cause impurity of the holy name.

Q: Please give some clarification on how we have a goal of reaching Vrindavan but in my understanding we are in a sankirtana movement and our goal is to take shelter of the spiritual master?

A: As Srila Prabhupada said there is an ISKCON in the spiritual sky so after this life if you make it you will end up in that ISKCON there, Prabhupada will be there, all the devotees will be there. We are serving Caitanya Mahaprabhu and how His mercy will become manifest is up to Him. It has been described when Gopa Kumara was going from Dwarika to Vrindavan he actually did not bid farewell to Krishna and Uddhava told him there is no need to take Krishna’s permission so he left and then Sanatana Goswami in his purport he pointed out that Krishna Himself directed him because Gopa Kumara was reluctant to leave Krishna in Dwarika, so that is why Uddhava said there’s no need. Krishna Himself actually directed. So that is how the Lord deals with His devotees. We do not have to separately make arrangements. We simply have to develop our love. Do you know the story of the yogi and the cobbler? When he asked Narada Muni how many lifetimes would it take me to go back to Godhead and Narada Muni said as many leaved as there are in this trees that many lifetimes and he started to dance, “Oh at least sometime Krishna will remember me.” Then what happened? All the leaves from the tree fell off and the chariot came. Leave it up to Krishna, there’s no separate desire, “Krishna do this for me, Krishna do this for me.” No. Surrender to Krishna means completely depend on His will, His arrangement. Therefore, don’t set any goals, the goal is just surrender to Krishna, that’s the only goal and for that also we have to work so hard. If we have to consider the degree of our surrender what would be the percentage? See how hard we have to work on it.

Q: Can you move from Navadwip to Vrindavan from the chamber please elaborate?

A: The point is actually in Goloka there are two chambers, two parts One part is Vrindavan and the other part is Navadwip. In Vrindavan, Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally enjoying His loving exchanges with the devotees, He is experiencing Krishnaprema. In Navadwip the same Krishna as Caitanya Mahaprabhu is distributing that Krishnaprema. When you are getting Krishnaprema you have access to both, when you are getting it and where are you are getting it from. Those who are in Mahaprabhu’s side will naturally get access to Vrindavan by the mercy of Mahaprabhu when we achieve our perfection.

3. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION

4. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS

The perfect system that Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged when you follow vaidhi bhakti it will automatically be transformed into raganuga bhakti. Vaidhi bhakti means following the rules and regulations of the scriptures. How to serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu? The way to serve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is through sankirtana. This Krishna is worshipped by sankirtana. What is the meaning of sankirtana? Not throwing ghee in the fire, it is a fire the fire is chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. Chant the Holy Name and invite everybody to chant and facilitate everybody to chant this is sankirtana; and
Therefore, don’t set any goals, the goal is just surrender to Krishna, that’s the only goal and for that also we have to work so hard. If we have to consider the degree of our surrender what would be the percentage? See how hard we have to work on it.

(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on 19th June 2017)

(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Dasi)

CONTENTS:

1. THE HOLY NAME- PART 7

2. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

3. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION

4. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS